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 Hey whats up MMA world here is Victorio and I am bringing another preview for the upcoming LKO event - LKO Fight Night 9 on 7th Sep. There will be a HW title fight on the line so don't miss!
HW bout: Frankie Evans vs Mr Joshua
First fight of the night we already have two up and coming HWs clashing. The red corner Frankie Evans is 2-1 in his career and he's 2-0 in LKO. He's a BJJ purple belt with decent boxing but his ultimate goal is to tap his opponent out after being taken down. He never scored a successful takedown in his career but when he's on the mat, he's a killer. So it would make Mr Joshua think twice before he wanna take him down. Anyway, Mr Joshua is unlikely to do that because he's an excellent boxer with brutal power. He scored a 14 seconds KO in his lone win in QFC. With Evans' takedown ability and Joshua's gameplan, I don't think the fight will go to the ground and Joshua will score a finish in my opinion.
MW bout: David Franklin vs William Wulver
This fight is between two MW fighters who wants to get back to win column. The red corner David Franklin is 0-2 in LKO and only won one fight in his last 10. He has some skills all around and he can put them together but really not effective. He has shown his weakness everywhere and I can hardly find his strength. He's coming off a 21 second TKO loss so I believe his opponent William Wulver will try to expose his chin again. Wulver is an excellent wrestler with decent boxing. He rather using his aggressive boxing style to slug it out. His accuracy was terrible in his last fight but against a fighter like Franklin, his boxing will work again. I am reckoning a quick KO for Wulver.
FW bout: Joao Araujo vs Purple Aki
So this is a FW matchup between two former QFC tournament winners. The red corner Araujo is 5-1 and he showcased his wrestling and blue belt level BJJ in the tournament. He aims to clinch and take the fight to the mat early then finishes it off. His only loss is in his LKO debut which he got outclinched badly. This time, he's also fighting a guy who has really good clinch game. Aki is a decent boxer with decent wrestling. He's basically a powerful head hunter who occasionally takes the fight to the clinch position. He did it once and was very effective. So it would be a big factor for Aki to win this one. Araujo has the ability to tap him out but given their similar level of wrestling, this fight will be a hard one for him, plus at the striking distance, Aki will give him lots of troubles before he can take the fight to the clinch so I think Aki will win by decision.
MW bout: Johnson N Johnson vs Jan Paul Valens
Second MW fight on the card. The red corner Johnson is winless in LKO with 2 fights by Unanimous Decision which he got outwrestled and outstruck respectively. He's a BJJ purple belt with some skills in other aspects but he prefers ground fighting. Anyway, his takedowns is less than effective as he failed all of his 60 takedown attempts in his last fight. So his opponent will be more than happy to stuff his takedowns as Valens is a really good wrestler despite being a lesser Muaythai and BJJ fighter. Valens will use his wrestling to stuff Johnson's takedowns and score his own. Johnson will have the BJJ advantage but Johnson's top control will be too much for him.
WW bout: Ricky Bombs vs Lyoto Allfront
Two WW prospects are ready to go! The red corner Ricky Bombs is 2-0 in his career with all of his fights in LKO. He has excellent boxing with nice wrestling and showcased his KO power, sprawl and brawl techniques and the ability to outbox another striker. He has proved to have a good chin in a three round war in his last fight and Lyoto Allfront should be really careful. Allfront is a decent wrestler with BJJ blue belt and he showed off his GnP wrestling in his lone win. He has powerful takedowns and GnP and if he could bring the fight to the mat, Bombs will be in a danger zone. I think Bombs can win this one as he displayed his ground defense against a BJJ brown belt. I am confident that he can survive Allfront and ultimately score a finish.
LW bout: Piektais Nau vs Curtis Johnson
This is a LW bout between two 26 year old. The red corner is Nau who is unbeaten in 4 fights. He's a dangerous fighter who can knock people out early or snap their arm early. He has weak striking but has that power and a BJJ purple belt too. While Nau showed his multi-dimensional of games, his foe Johnson has shown one only. He is a good wrestler with BJJ purple belt and also has better striking than Nau but he couldn't stay on the feet with strikers for a period of time. I think Nau will try to knock Johnson out on the feet and Johnson will try to take the fight to the ground. Johnson can provide troubles on the mat but Nau will make the whole fight a difference with his power.
HW bout: Darren Regal vs Quon Shum
Two undefeated HWs are going to make themselves a name! The red corner Regal is 2-0 and all of his wins are in LKO by first round (T)KOs. He is an excellent wrestler with BJJ purple belt but has shown his ability to knock people out on the feet and on the ground. Is he going to show his power against Shum who's 8 years older than him? Shum is also 2-0 with all wins in LKO by first round (T)KOs but he is a striking specialist. He has world class boxing and wrestling with BJJ white belt but he only wants to brutalize with distance striking and dirty boxing. I have a feeling that Shum will stuff Regal's early takedowns and the boxing advantage will be too much for Regal to handle.
MW bout: Lionel Messy vs Charlie Doyle
Third and last MW fight in the event. The red corner Lionel Messy is the former title challenger in LKO but failed to match the current champ Szalony Adi's clinch heavy gameplan and BJJ skills. I think Messy has potential as he is a pretty good fighter all around. He has limited striking skills but has power. His wrestling is his strong point and he's able to put it in practice before too. He will be looking to get back to contender status against Doyle who has no morale at the moment. He recently lost by first round armbar and badly affected by the loss now. With his weak ground game, Messy will make this one even easier.
Co-main event
HW title fight: Benga Banga vs Cherokee Wolfbreath
I can't wait for this one! HW title on the line baby! The reigning and defending champ Benga Banga will be defending for the first time here. Banga is blessed by Sir Mamado and is undefeated in his career with 5 fights. He has decent boxing, BJJ purple belt and nice skills in other aspects. With this skillsets he is able to prove why he's the champ as he's a well rounded fighter who can tap you out or knock you out. He's a submission artist in his first two MMA fights then turns out to be a knockout machine. He has skills to do that at distance and clinch and his punches are cutting as they make people bleed. Is the champ going to make the challenger bleed? The challenge is Wolfbreath who has a new management now. He is 8-4 in his career and this will be his first LKO fight. He has excellent Muaythai and decent wrestling and the gameplan is very clear: to headkick the crap out of opponents. All of his 6 knockout wins are by headkick so Banga will need to watch that out. I think the biggest factors in this one has two. First is what will be Banga's plan and second, is Wolfbreath going to kick him to death. Wolfbreath is a headkick machine but has good variety of leg kicks and body kicks which can be crucial in a 5 round fight. But with Banga's multi-dimensional gameplan, he will take Wolfbreath everywhere. And I won't be surprised if he could score a finish in any areas so I think Banga will defend his title successfully.
MAIN EVENT
Openweight showdown: Adrik Vasilev vs Josiah Bartlet
Don't tell me why this fight is in main event because we all know this is the trilogy between Adrik Vasilev and Josiah Bartlet! Vasilev has beaten him twice in LKO, both by Unanimous Decision, both awarded with FOTN. I think this one will be a war again. Vasilev has told Bartlet that he could never outstrike him. Even though Bartlet has scored takedowns in both fights, he has nothing to offer on the ground. With two examples that Vasilev can outpoint him, I will go with Vasilev again but I hope Bartlet can make it more competitive like the first fight. I think Vasilev starts getting confidence and as his win streak goes on and I believe he already figured Bartlet out in their second fight but just please Bartlet, you need to revenge and this is the main event, this time, make it closer.
So this is the preview of LKO Fight Night 9. Hope you guys enjoy it and don't forget to stay tuned. Because LKO is just that amazing! See you next time!
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