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Hula's in Hilo will open its doors and welcome the fighter of The Syndicate on Wednesday night for a fight card jammed with ten fantastic fights. Syndicate Middleweight Champion, Matt Murdock will defend his title in the main event against number of contender, Tadamasa Yamada. The co-main event will feature a pair of top middleweights visiting from The Syndicate's sister fight organization, Brutal Deluxe, champion Max Steel and one of his top challengers, Damon Pierce. Eight other exciting fights will round out the undercard. The Syndicate is always warmly received in Hilo and Syndicate 131 should be no exception.
Featherweight Chauncey Silvestre (16-8-1) will attempt to reverse his fortunes when he takes on Michael Rodalgo (15-10) in the second fight. Silvestre, a loser in three of his last four fights, is a highly skilled striker who often keeps his opponents off balance with a steady diet of leg kicks and punches. Though he has shown glimpses of power at times in his career, the majority of his wins have come by way of decision. He has shown that he has the endurance to go the distance but he's going to have to be more active and land more significant strikes to win the favor of the judges. Rodalgo is a very solid boxer but his ground game may tip the scales in his favor against Silvestre. He is on a three fight losing skid and badly wants to find his way back into the win column. He'll need to get Silvestre on the ground and put his fantastic wrestling and black belt BJJ to work to secure the win.
The cage will be rocking when super heavyweights Lostma Braincells (16-10) and Semin Cuk (9-2) lock horns in our third fight. Braincells is an extremely versatile fighter who flashes tremendous boxing skills but also has a very formidable ground game. He has exhibited heavy hands in his career and also has some very nice submissions to his credit. Braincells looks to build on a recent first round TKO victory and start a nice win streak. Cuk has had mixed results in his brief time with The Syndicate and will be looking to establish some consistency. A tremendous striker, Cuk has no shortage of power but his ground game is somewhat lacking. The sooner Braincells can get Cuk off of his feet, the better his chances for victory will be. Cuk has a very respectable clinch game that could be trouble for Braincells if he can't stay out of it. The fans always enjoy seeing the super heavies do battle, and they will most certainly enjoy this one.
The second featherweight matchup of the night will see former Reach lightweight champion Ratrick Obeh (22-8-2) attempt to continue his success in The Syndicate's featherweight division when he faces another Syndicate newcomer, Luther Pope (25-12-2). Both fighters enter the cage with phenomenal striking skills and a history of leaving their opponents lying on the floor, dazed and confused. At 31 years old, many felt the Obeh was reaching the sunset of his career, but with a recent three fight win streak behind him, the surging veteran could be positioning himself to make one more run at the title. Pope is sure to do everything in his power to derail Obeh's rise back to the top and make him re-think his future. Pope has a two fight win streak after picking up a nice win in his debut with The Syndicate. Both fighters prefer to stand and bang, meaning this fight is very likely to be a crowd pleaser and a fight of the night candidate.
A pair of talented bantamweights will be on display when Garrett Bisley (16-9) meets Vinny Vegas (15-7). Bisley enters the fight having posted wins in two of his first three fights with The Syndicate. His most recent fight saw him come out of the short end of a unanimous decision. Bisley has phenomenal conditioning as his penchant for going the distance in fights proves it. 67% of his career fights have gone the distance and you can bet that he'll be looking to wear down Vegas and control the pace. Vegas is no stranger to long fights himself and will certainly prove to be a formidable foe for Bisley. With 85% of his career fights going the distance, Vegas will not be afraid to go into deep waters in this fight. On paper, Bisley shows superior ground skills and could look to get Vegas on his back and simply wear him down for three rounds. If Vegas can force Bisley to trade punches with him and stay on his feet his superior stand up skills could give him a distinct advantage.
The former Steel Penn lightweight champion, Arshad Singh (21-10) came into The Syndicate brimming with confidence and determined to quickly wear gold in his new organization. Things have not quite worked out as planned for Singh, as he has lost his first two contest since arriving. Singh is determined to prove that he belongs in The Syndicate and that he is the contender that the fans thought he could be. Singh is a lethal striker with the ability to finish an opponent with his hands or his feet. His ground game is somewhat underrated and should not be overlooked. Looking to continue Singh's current skid is Lincoln Hayes (18-9-1). Hayes has picked up three straight wins and is steadily rising in the lightweight division rankings. Hayes has a skill set almost identical to that of Singh. He too has shown heavy hands in the past and likes to stand up and slug it out. Both fighters are well conditioned and should no problems going all three rounds if necessary. This one is too close to predict and should be a great matchup.
The sixth fight on the card will be a heavyweight war between sluggers Alec Dimanche (16-9) and Anderson McGinley (5-1). Dimanche's approach to fights seems to be quite simple and straight forward: Knock Out or Be Knocked Out. Dimanche is a boxer first and foremost and he does not mind letting his hands to the work. His Muay Thai skills are tremendous and his BJJ black belt is just icing on the cake. Dimanche has struggled with consistently of late and has had a difficult time stringing together multiple meaningful wins. He is coming off of a loss and would love nothing more than to pick up his 17th win against McGinley. McGinley has been around the sport for quite some time but is somewhat short on cage experience. His skill set in tremendous and all he is really lacking is time in the cage. After a successful debut with The Syndicate back in late July, McGinley will be looking to build on that win and start on the long and winding road to title contention. McGinley's calling card is his punching power. Will Dimanche's experience prove to be the difference in this one, or will McGinley be able to find Dimanche's chin that has proven to be suspect at times?
One of the more well rounded fighters in the middleweight division will be featured in the seventh fight when The Syndicate veteran Ike Turner (16-4-1) steps in the cage to take on Joe Jordan (18-5). Turner is an exceptional all around talent that keeps his opponents off balance with his versatility. One minute he'll be standing in the center of the cage trading punches with his opponent and the next minute he'll have his opponent on the ground wrenching his arm for a submission. Turner was on the losing end of a unanimous decision in his last outing and he hopes to make Syndicate 131 the beginning of a new win streak. Jordan has suffered three straight decision losses and is desperate to get things turned around. The former Reach welterweight champion has quick and accurate hands to go along with along with a very respectable ground game. With nine of his last ten fights going the distance, we can expect to see Jordan try to methodically pick Turner apart and earn the favor of the judges.
EJ Resparzo (16-1) suffered the first loss of his career in a title bout back at BDU 127 and he is none too pleased about it. He has vowed to come back with a vengeance and wreak havoc on the welterweight division until he gets another crack at the title. Resparzo could be the most skilled and versatile fighter in the division. He tends to lean on his Muay Thai skills more than anything else, dishing out a steady stream of leg kicks to his opponents and absolutely wearing them down. He has also proven himself to be dangerous in the clinch and as a highly skilled wrestler and brown belt in BJJ, he is more than comfortable on the ground with most opponents. Nai Khanom Tom ( 20-6) would love nothing more to add to Resparzo's misery and add another loss to his record. Tom had won three straight fights in Reach but had a reversal of fortunes in his first fight under The Syndicate banner. The 31 year old veteran possesses outstanding Muay Thai skills with violent kicks in his arsenal. With thirteen of his wins coming by way of KO or TKO, Tom has proven that he doesn't mine going in for the kill. Will youth or experience prevail in this highly anticipated battle?
Fans are in for a treat in our co-main event when two of Brutal Deluxe's finest Max Steel (17-3) and Damon Pierce (18-9) enter The Syndicate cage for the first time. Steel became the Brutual Deluxe middleweight champion in his debut with the organization back in June. He since turned in a dominant performance in his first title defense, forcing his opponent to submit to strikes. Steel is a phenomenal boxer who loves nothing more than to stand up and assault his opponents. 71% of Steel's wins have come by KO or TKO and he will be surely looking to finish Pierce early. Pierce is a black belt in BJJ and has one thing in mind when he enters the cage, getting his opponents to the ground and making them tap. With 14 career submission wins to his credit, Pierce knows how to finish once the fight goes to the floor. The styles of these two fighters could not be more different. The keys to this fight are quite clear. If Steel can keep the fight standing, his chances of coming away with the win are astounding. However, if Pierce manages to drag Steel down, a tap out could be quickly forthcoming. These two fighters have the potential to steal the show with a great matchup.
With wins in nine of his last ten fights, Syndicate middleweight champion Matt Murdock (17-4) will be looking to keep a firm grasp on his belt and turn away challenger Tadamasa Yamada (25-8) for a second time in just over a month. Murdock took the title off of Yamada in impressive fashion back at BDU 122 in July, forcing Yamada to submit to strikes in the first round. Murdock is one of the most feared strikers in The Syndicate, with no perceivable weakness in his standup game. His boxing and Muay Thai are second to none and as Yamada found out in their last fight, his clinch work is incredibly solid. Murdock has no desire to take the fight to the ground, but if it goes there, he's more than capable of holding his own. Yamada is dead set on avenging his title loss to Murdock but has a long row to hoe to get his belt back. Yamada can likely match Murdock in terms of boxing skills, but his Muay Thai just doesn't compare. Yamada does posses tremendous power and he will likely just have to hope that he can land a kill shot on Murdock and end the fight with one blow. Yamada has a track record for winning big fights, so he can't be counted out. Will Murdock make Yamada his seventh straight victim or will Yamada ultimately earn his revenge?
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