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 Empire: 9 is right around the corner, and it should be full of intriguing matchups to say the least. While some experts would suggest the card is quite a bit weaker than past cards, the main event is still a title bout, and the co-main should pack enough to get people excited.
The two one-round matches to kick things off should be interesting. The first one is pretty much a coin flip between a pair of nearly identical fighters. The second is a fight between young grapplers. I like Spong and Project each by unanimous decision.
The next pair of fights features heavyweight Empire debuts. While Jimmy King is a wonderful wrestler, Bob Barron is a strong Muay Thai artist who will look to take the fight to the clinch early and often. I like Bob “The Builder” by 2nd round TKO. The other fight sees Artis Freibergs face off against Kason Rose. Freibergs has lost to Lucas Ardin in QFC, so that gives us some info on his skills or lack thereof. Kason Rose sucks slightly less, and he should be able to do damage on the ground. I like Rose by 1st round submission due to his advantage on the ground.
The third pair of fights see underwhelming 170 lbs fighters face off against each other in a battle to see who is truly at the bottom of the division. Manny Duran’s nickname is “Hands of Stone” for a reason: his hands turned stone-cold just 22 seconds into his last match while being choked out by Damian Mia. Jimmy Murphy is making his Empire debut after going 1-2 in the developmental FFS. Murphy is moving up to a stronger organization, but at least he gets a cakewalk in his debut. I like the Irishman by 1st round submission.
The other bad 170 lbs fight features “The Outlaw King” Freddie McDowe, who got clobbered in his last fight by #8 Samuel Sanchez. He faces Puerto Rican Jerry Ruiz, who got clobbered by current belt holder Ricardo Miles. The Scot is a strong boxer, but I do not think he will be able to stay on his feet long, as Ruiz is stronger at everything else. I like Ruiz by submission in the 1st.
Up next, we are treated to a fight between two guys who have waited roughly 6 weeks to fight. All the way back at Empire: 6, #6 Glenn Ruiz scored a submission on #9 Nico I Pivo, while #8 Michael Howard defeated Francisco Danconia Jr. by unanimous decision. “The Butcher” is stronger on his feet, but I think Ruiz’s wrestling will get the better of him. For the second match in a row, I like Ruiz by submission in the 1st.
Now onto the exciting matches, or at least the ones least likely to make you fall asleep. Khizri Aliyev is a highly touted newcomer, having won all three of his fights at FFS. He faces a test in fellow grappling specialist Elam “Apprime” Armis. Both young fighters are making their Empire debuts, and they are similar in many ways. However, while both are wrestlers at heart, the Russian is at least a competent boxer. In what could be one of the ugliest fights of the night from a stylistic standpoint, I like Aliyev by majority decision.
In the fourth straight 170 lbs matchup of the night, former champion #5 Pedro Gonclaves faces #8 Samuel Sanchez. “The Rebel” Gonclaves is one of the most popular fighters in the organization due to his stunning upset over #1 Michael Howardson. Unfortunately, Gonclaves gave the belt right back to Howardson afterwards in the rematch. Samuel Sanchez has only one fight under his belt in Empire, but that was an impressive stoppage of Freddie McDowe at Empire: 7. “The Unwanted Assassin” is a wonderful boxer, but he will need to stay on his feet to avoid the Angolan’s deadly ground game. Sanchez needs an early stoppage to get the win, and I think he does just that with a TKO in the second.
The main event is a 145 lbs title bout with the winner to face the Grand Prix champion up next. Vito Golami showed impressive power in his 2nd round KO of Vince Richardson, but he may have found a match in the boxing department with Irish fighter Aiden Trapp. Trapp went 3-0-0 in QFC, but while other fighters have struggled in the move up to the big leagues, Trapp’s boxing and wrestling should translate well to the higher levels. “The Sicilian Stalker” is the same age as Trapp, but only has one fight under his belt. I think experience may be the difference, and I like Trapp by 1st round KO in what will pretty much be a pure boxing match.
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