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 Lightweight: Matt Chabala 24-13-2NC (6-6 Syn) v Tsar Bomba 13-5 (2-2 Syn)
Opening up the card is a fight between two fighters of completely different stock, if you're looking for a fighter who exploits his opponents weakness and slowly take away their will to live them in Chabala is your guy. Bomba on the other hand comes out both fists flying, and while his last four matches has ended in a decision it's not for lack of trying and it could be argued it's a result of the step up in competition from joining the Synchronicity organization.
Chabala is coming into this fight on a down note in his storied career, in what will be his 40th fight he has to try and turn around his good fortunes after losing five of his last six fights. His career has definetly had some highs though, as not so long ago he was making his run through the Synchronicity 155 division almost becoming a main eventer before losing a narrow decision to Eiji Kawashima at Syn 392 afterwards it's mostly been downhill and an undefeated Syn record has quickly become 6-6, will he be able to mount a comeback against bomba? If so Look for Chabala's counter takedowns to get the fight down on the ground and away from Bomba's arguably superior striking.
And hwo can blame him, 9 knockouts in 13 wins, the guy is a massive lightweight and knows how to bully his opponents around, he's not had the same luck since joining Synchronicity with four decisions in a row, and something tells me that Chabala's chin will hold up again for his 40th fight. I suspect Bomba will be looking to hammer Chabala's feet to weaken his shoot, and while Bomba is no slouch on the ground and has never been submitted, his striking record is excellent.
Keys to victory
Chabala: His ability to play on his opponents weakness also gives him the luxury of avoiding their strenghts, and in this case it's more a case of the latter than the former as he will look for the first opportunity to get the fight to the ground.
Additionally the anvil he calls a chin is going to be tested once again and it has to hold up should he clench the W here.
Bomba: Leg kicks for days, he has to methodically break his opponent down and slow him down if he is to take this, while should hold an edge in the striking game trying to crack Chabala's chin is going to be a hard task and Bomba needs to come in with a backup plan.
Featherweight: Timmey The Gangster 39-16-1 (2-8 Syn) v Amitraghat Nagarjun 32-15-1 (0-2 Syn)
This is Timmey's second outing in Synchronicity, the first ended in tears as he lost four in a row and unceremoniously left for greener pastures, and boy where they greener. He won seven title fights in a row and was at one point the highest rated featherweight in the world, after a detour through the organization Montreal Fight Nights the decorated fighter is now back and looking to right the record in one of the most competitive arenas in the world, the Synchronicity cage. So far he's not had much luck scoring only two wins in six fights, but his eyes are still set on a comeback, and as far as he is concerned it starts right here.
Nagarjun, one of India's finest is also looking for some sweet redemption, one of India's best and most decorated fighters he's unfortunately lost both his outings in Synchronicity and questions are being asked if the 42-year old still has it in him to compete at the top level.
And the nine years younger timmey is definetly a great test to find that out as this match is more than likely going the distance with a staggering 78 decisions between their careers, these two men are true athletes and have throughout their careers shown both a great wrestling pedigree and world class striking ability when pressed. These two fighters are very similar, and Timmey might be looking into his future when he stares across the cage on the 27th.
Keys to victory
Timmey: He has shown in his latest fight that he enjoys operating in close quarters and has really emphasized the clinch in his last fights, I dont see this changing in this fight as it's not been an area Nagarjun has shown excellence in at all.
Nagarjun: His main weapon tonight will be his wrestling pedigree, wether he'd like to strike from a distance or take the fight to the ground he has to use his wrestling skills to dictate where the fight ends up and keep it away from the clinch.
Featherweight: Don Juan Matus 14-7 (9-5 Syn) v Bostar Tyraanicao 14-4-1 (1-1-1 Syn)
Taking a break from the down-beaten grizzly veterans for a minute, we have two younger up and coming fighters fighting to position themselves for a title challenge.
The selfstyled Butcher AKA Bostar Tyraanicao has every reason to be confident, 11 knockouts in 14 wins, the 24-year old's only three fights into his Synchronicity career and he's allready fought some of the top talent their featherweight division has to offer. He's coming off a hard fought draw against Synchronicity veteran Jim Beckett, the guy's not one to step away from a challenge and boy did he take one on in Don Juan Matus.
14 fights in one of the most competitive organizations in the world and still standing tall, not many can boast that record, Matus is always a few good runs away from a title shot, coming off a loss to current champion Noob Saibot proves how close he was to realize his dreams of finally achieving MMA immortality and to Matus, Tyraanicao is merely the first stepping stone to once again mount another challenge to the title.
Tyraanicao's gameplan is not a secret, keep the fight standing and knock the ever-living shit out of anyone who steps before him and Matus is pretty much made of the same stock, come out fists flying, but it has to be said that he has often adopted a more cautious approach when necessary and while Tyraanicao has more knockouts to his name, he's also the only one of the two who's been knocked out.
Keys to victory
Matus: I think his best shot would be to lean back and let Tyraanicao start swinging and hopefully outscore his opponent, his chin will probably not crack so if he gets caught once or twice it shouldn't be the end of the fight.
Tyraanicao: He has a massive challenge in trying to knock Matus out, but that's what I percieve as his best chance to win and thats what he's going to have to do to continue his Synchronicity story.
Light heavyweight: Wi Tu Lo 16-11 (7-5 Syn) v Kimo Ovaska 30-16 (3-2)
In what promises to be contender for knockout of the night, the Finnish knockout artist Kimo Ovaska takes on simliarly accredited American Wi Tu Lo. with 38 knockout victories between them, and probably even more importantly, 17 knockout losses between them this is my bet for shortest and most violent fight of the evening.
Win or lose Lo has 18 fights end in the first round compared to Ovaska's 24, and when these two amazing boxers meet in the cage I think we can expect fireworks.
The older Ovaska has seen a lot in this business over 46 fights, and having been champion in multiple organizations the 31-year old is no stranger to high stakes and important fights, he has alot to prove coming off a dissapointing loss to Joey Kocur. On othe other side of the Cage, Wi Tu Lo has the makings of a title challenge if he can overcome Ovaska, as he is allready on a little winning streak and three wins in a row is a great argument to throw at the Syn management when discussing title shots.
Keys to victory
Lo: His fights usually end in a knockout, so his best bet would be to throw dynamite and hope it sticks.
Ovaska: I foresee him standing and fighting, but reportedly he is a more experienced grappler so maybe we will see him try to move the fight away from Lo's home turf?
Middleweight: Josh Massey 10-2 (2-0 Syn) v Clinton Hessler 24-7-2 (8-5-2)
A superstar in the making, Josh Massey is lighting up the Synchronicity middleweight division, doing quick business in his two previous fights destroying veterans Carl Woods and Seppo Hovi. Now he's faced with arguably the biggest test of his career, Clinton Hessler.
Hessler a veteran of 33 fights, is seemingly on a break from knocking fools out left, right and center. His last four fights have gone to decision, which has left bookmakers stumped as his fights usually end with someone on the floor snoring. The two time Synchronicity title contender is slowly mounting a new challenge to the title going undefeated in his last four fights, however two of those fights were draws, which should put a some breaks on the Hessler express train.
Both these fighters are excellent strikers on the rise in the Synchronicity organization, and a win here would surely launch the victor into the picture for a title shot at some point in the future.
Keys to victory
Honestly, both fighters have a very similar path to the W in this fight, both are heavy hitters and both have been knocked out in previous outtings, this match will most likely be fought in the feet and whoever comes better prepared is going to take this one.
Welterweight: Galdra Kiddi 28-12-2 (3-1 Syn)v Dave Spiteri 23-10 (10-6 Syn)
Both these fighters are comfortable on the ground and often look to take the fight there. But while Spiteri enjoys getting top control and making ground beef out of his opponents, Kiddi has a more diverse gameplan in mind.
Kiddi is coming off a win in his last fight, before that he lost against current title challenger Project Falcon. So a win against Spiteri would take Kiddi up towards the upper echelon of Synchronicity fighters.
Spiteri, unlike Kiddi is a veteran of the Synchronicity cage, he's had his ups and downs in the organization, but seems to have turned a corner and is on quite a nice winning streak at the moment. The australian seems to have turned a corner in his career and a win against the up and comer Kiddi can really put his name on the map of fighters to look out for in the immediate future.
Keys to victory
Kiddi: He's a great submission artist and can hold his own in the striking game, he's shown ability to take the fight anywhere and that's what I believe he will do, his only job is not to be taken down into a dominant position by Spiteri.
Spiteri: His main tool is his wrestling ability, and he has to use it to stay out of Kiddi's clinch and get on top of him, I dont see any other scenario working out for the aussie.
Light heavyweight: Jimmy Dias Jimenez 22-12-1 (9-4-1 Syn) v Al Hallick 14-3 (Syn Debut)
One man that has to be excited to be on the card tonight is Al Hallick, the American has earned his nickname "KO" having all 17 of his fights ending in knockout. Hallick is the embodiment of the early american style of MMA. A great wrestling pedigree, TNT in his gloves and a devil-may-care attitude, this man can end any fight in an instant and fighting him is one of the scariest and most unpredictable challenges a light heavyweight can accept.
But the man who's accepted the challenge is no slouch, Jimenez has a similar past, strewn in memory loss and early retirements. The main difference between the two is the Muay Thai infleunce obvious in Jimenez' fighting style, unlike Hallick who is more or less all punches Jimenez mixes it up with kicks and elbows to create a more hollistic approach to the fighting game.
Hallick is currently on a 7 fight winning streak, and is surely eyeing a title challenge in the near future, Jimenez is also counting on making himself part of that conversation with 4 wins in his last 5 matches a win over an up and coming star like Hallick is just what he needs to take his career that one step further.
Keys to victory
Jimenez: He has to get close and work the clinch that he's been so good at, this is where he's most comfortable and has the best arsenal to break down Hallick.
Hallick: Needs to rely heymakers, because as his record shows, if one connects properly it's goodnight Irene.
Middleweight: Malik Al-Khaldi 15-3 (1-1 Syn) v Nolan Sackett 25-5 (3-2 Syn)
Nolan Sackett is coming off a historic moment in his career, it's the first time he's lost two times in a row over 30 fights. It might be a mitigating factor that it was the current champion and the #1 contender, but that should only give him more fire to return back to his winning ways.
Malik Al-Khaldi is also on a bit of a downturn, loing a majority decision in his last fight has to be irritating, now he has to turn the apple-cart around facing of against a veteran in Nolan Sackett, not exactly a gimme. Should he win however the former LFC and LEGACY champion has laid down an excellet building block towards getting a shot at the belt, Sackett having just been in title contention is exactly the kind of notch in his belt the Omani fighter needs.
Both fighters have an eerily similar fighting style, punch, kick and fight in the clinch, if it's not on the ground they'll go there with a smile on their face. However, Sackett has been knocked out twice while Al-Khaldi has never been visibly rocked in his career, so if there fight devolves into a slugfest chances are Al-Khaldi has the better chance of scoring the knockout.
Keys to victory
Al-Khaldi: He needs the fight to get disorganized and brutal, trade strikes and the power in his hands should take care of the rest.
Sackett: Most likely he wont be rushing out and creating a barnburner, he will look to methodically pick Al-Khaldi apart and either go for the decision or finish him later in the fight.
Co-Main event, Featherweight Title: Corbin Murphy 28-9-2 (7-3-1 Syn) v Noob Saibot (C) 25-10 (11-4 Syn)
A title rematch between two of the greatest fighters to ever have competed in the sport. You would have thought after defeating two champions from other promotions that former MFN champion Saibot would be a footnote in the glorious tale of Murphy's career, but the MMA gods wanted it differently. Saibot and Murphy had an intensely close match, too close to call for some people, but the judges gave it to Saibot. Now Murphy's looking to take back the belt.
In their previous fight the two tested each other in every aspect of the sport, but it was Saibot's superior grappling that scored him enough points with the judges to win the bout. This is for sure something Murphy has to worry about as Saibot has 16 submissions to his name and has never been knocked out in 35 bouts. For a man like Murphy with suspect striking power this is a difficult matchup to prepare for. The Irishman will look to exploit his superior striking ability, allthough in their last outing Saibot held his own until he could get the fight to the ground.
Keys to victory
The style differences are obvious, submission artist vs a grindy striker, Murphy will look to wear Saibot down with punches and kicks, while Saibot will look to get the fight down slap on a submission and clock out early.
Main event: Super heavyweight title: Gun Slinga 52-25 (3-0 Syn) v Randolph Turpin 33-12 (16-4 Syn)
Another title rematch after another close fought decision win for the challenger, Randolph "The Legend" Turpin had finally secured his belt after forth crack at the elusive Syn super heavyweight title, he managed one close fought defense before putting it up against Slinga a man who's few remaining braincells have all banded together to back up one of the scariest fighters the fight game has ever seen.
Slinga has 41 knockout wins and 24 knockout losses, and while his brain surgeon might be drinking himself to sleep, Slinga's busy lifting weights and running track, mainly because he cant get those damn corks off the bottle, but anywho. The man is clearly a freak of nature, one that nature has tried reclaiming multiple times over the years, the 37 year old is probably at the twilight of his career, yet he's still managed his arguably greatest achievement to date, securing the Synchronicity title. And if he keeps the title after this fight, he will be a difficult challenge for anyone to overcome to get their hands on the title, and if he has any say in it, they will be walking out of the cage a few brain cells lighter than when they entered.
Both fighters are nearly faultless strikers, and small differences between them will determine the fight, this fight is honestly too close to call, they're both incredibly experienced, both have incredible knockout power. If you look at Slinga's career you'd think one strike would be all it takes to take him out, but he proved elusive in their last fight allowing Turpin no openings, a repeat performance is required if he is to win this fight.
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