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Empire: XI was another card full of short fights. In that spirit, this will be a short recap. Vito Golami dominated Janiz Krylov. The “Sicilian Stalker” needed just 43 seconds to get the TKO, as “The Constrictor” was constricted to just boxing the whole match. Golami sounded confident in the interview after the match, and he should be. He looked back to his best. Abdul Koalev defeated Artis Freibergs by an armbar just 37 seconds into the second round. Koalev spent the whole match trying to take his opponent down, and he was successful in earning two in the first and the decisive one in the second. Freibergs had no chance. That strategy was less successful for Glenn Ruiz, who was stopped by Simon Slade in 24 seconds. Slade landed all four of his head punches and his lone body punch. That was all it took to defeat the then undefeated grappling specialist out of San Juan. Trevor Barnes defeated fellow 19 year old Khizri Aliyev by TKO 2:59 into the match. Aliyev kept furiously attacking the head of Barnes, while the Jamaican mixed it up. It worked. While Aliyev had mixed results, Barnes landed every one of his strikes and walked out the victor. Dude McWrestler got his first win in Empire with a ground and pound TKO on Freddie McDowe 3:44 into the first round. “The Outlaw King” landed a couple shots, but could not keep on his feet, as he was taken down by “El Duderino” McWrestler. Bo Garrett improved to 6-0-0 by taking it to Frankie Silva, scoring another ground and pound TKO at 3:59 into the fight. Garrett looked dominant, as he smacked Silva around on his feet and on the ground. Garrett looks like he could be a top contender at this weight class. Silva, on the other hand, may need to go back to the drawing board. Ryoto Takahashi of Japan won by armbar in the longest fight of the night, ending three seconds shy of the second round bell. Brady Jean Baptiste, a former undefeated boxer, failed to land a single punch on his feet and only landed two in the clinch. Takahashi was impressive, pummeling Jean Baptiste in the clinch and earning a submission. In the post-fight interview, he tried to gain followers on Twitter. He deserves some after that performance. Frank Morrison landed all six of his punches in 26 seconds and walked out the winner by submission on strikes. His opponent, the similarly highly touted Elam “Apprime” Armis, failed to attempt a single strike, takedown, clinch, or anything of note in the short fight. Morrison was the third straight undefeated prospect to come out on top in dominant fashion and similarly pointed fans to his Twitter after the fight. Armis, meanwhile, looked like a shell of himself. In the Grand Prix losers bracket, Myke Bonner was throttled by Ergun Cerrahoglu in a match which ended in 84 seconds with a ground and pound TKO. “All Stiff” was laying all stiff on the ground after getting the snot knocked out of him. The Turk, meanwhile, moves forward in the bracket in dominating fashion, thus backing up my assertion that the real title fight was his match with Morra Jr. in the semi-finals. He could get a Grand Finale rematch, but first, he’ll have to defeat Hukkleberry Flint. In the main event, the heavyweight title was on the line as Buster Gruff, under a new manager, produced the same result: a quick knockout punch, this time in 38 seconds. Cu Chulainn was pretty confident heading into this one, but “The Hound” from Ireland had to head back with his tail between his legs. “The Bully Goat” cemented his spot as the heavyweight champ and a possible challenger on the world stage, improving 9-1-0 in his career. The Aussie, now managed by Roger Jones, is the current king of Empire, and that may not change for a long time.

Empire Grand Prix has finally reached the finals, and wow, did it live up to the hype. It was a milestone for the organization, which has now gone from a complete laughing stock to a bad joke that does not quite hit the mark. Trust me, I know a lot about bad jokes that do not get laughs. Anyways, every match except the main event was finished in just one round. Even the main event lasted a mere 57 seconds into the second round, so none of the events lasted very long. And trust me, I know something about… never mind. Anyways, onto the fights. Chechen 170 Khabib Chimaev dominated the Finnish Eetu Hyypia, getting the win by TKO with four seconds left in the first round. Chimaev was awfully braggadocious in the post-fight interview, which, while irritating, was backed up by the ground-and-pound performance he put on in the fight. At 205, Hiski Grang won by KO over Dennis Wagner in just 10 seconds. For context, this sentence will likely take about 10 seconds for you to read. It was that fast. After the match, Grand called out Jerome Biggs. As a wise man once said, “Bold move, Cotton. We’ll see if it pays off for him.” Back to the 170 weight class, where Dublin native Jimmy Murphy defeated Android Seventeen by armbar 4:36 into the first match. Murphy landed strike after strike on the ground until submitting the American. After the win, Murphy mentioned his website in the post-fight interview. Hah, nerd! In the heavyweight division, Tavaris Fulton needed just four punch attempts to the head and 24 seconds to get the KO against Lucas Ardin. Ardin had no answers for Fulton’s attack, and found himself on the mat quickly. Fulton also praised the denizens of the internet after the fight. He is also a huge nerd. In an all African showdown at 170, Moroccan Hadr Bari got the KO on Nigerian Damian Mia in just 3:31. “Sparry” Mia got the takedown he needed early on in the match, but he inexplicably stood up, thus negating his advantage on the ground. He deserved to receive a face-full of fist for that decision alone. Queens native Jerome Biggs took Russian Petr Tchaikowski to town at 205, ending the match by KO in just 4:20. Tchaikowski attempted an astounding 13 takedowns in this one, but every single one ended up stuffed like a teddy bear at Build-a-Bear Workshop. Biggs showed why he is a top contender at 205. In the loser’s bracket, Myke Bonner continued the Irish run of wins with a head kick KO win over Danny Peterson. Peterson got wrecked by Bonner’s kicks, and he took just 1:55 to end it via KO. The crowd appreciated this one and the humble, yet determined attitude Bonner showed in his interview. In the other loser’s bracket showdown, Turkish fighter Ergun Cerrahoglu needed only 47 seconds to KO Akihiro Imanari. Cerrahoglu knocked the Tokyo native to the mat early on, and he did it again right after Imanari got back to his feet. Cerrahoglu looked much sharper than he did in the semi-finals. In the co-main event, 19 year old heavyweight contenders squared off, but it was another Irish fighter, Cu Chulainn, who came out with the KO in just 31 seconds over Estonian Arnold Kallas. This fight went quickly, with “The Hound” dominating. After the match, Chulainn asked for a title shot, one he will get at Empire XI on a short turnaround. In the Empire Grand Prix finals, Thai fighter and pre-tournament favorite Ricardo Morra Jr. dominated Hukkleberry Flint in a match that somehow went into the second round. The Belgian was cut early on in the clinch and never had a chance after that. Morra Jr. stuffed seven takedown attempts from the wrestling specialist Flint. Meanwhile, “Monkey Style” landed an astounding 34 punches to the head and 10 punches to the body, all of which in the clinch. The fact that Flint lasted that long is a testament to his chin, but Morra Jr. has all the makings of not only a future Empire champion, but a future top dog in the 145 division on the global stage.

Empire Grand Prix has finally reached the finals, and wow, did it live up to the hype. It was a milestone for the organization, which has now gone from a complete laughing stock to a bad joke that does not quite hit the mark. Trust me, I know a lot about bad jokes that do not get laughs. Anyways, every match except the main event was finished in just one round. Even the main event lasted a mere 57 seconds into the second round, so none of the events lasted very long. And trust me, I know something about… never mind. Anyways, onto the fights. Chechen 170 Khabib Chimaev dominated the Finnish Eetu Hyypia, getting the win by TKO with four seconds left in the first round. Chimaev was awfully braggadocious in the post-fight interview, which, while irritating, was backed up by the ground-and-pound performance he put on in the fight. At 205, Hiski Grang won by KO over Dennis Wagner in just 10 seconds. For context, this sentence will likely take about 10 seconds for you to read. It was that fast. After the match, Grand called out Jerome Biggs. As a wise man once said, “Bold move, Cotton. We’ll see if it pays off for him.” Back to the 170 weight class, where Dublin native Jimmy Murphy defeated Android Seventeen by armbar 4:36 into the first match. Murphy landed strike after strike on the ground until submitting the American. After the win, Murphy mentioned his website in the post-fight interview. Hah, nerd! In the heavyweight division, Tavaris Fulton needed just four punch attempts to the head and 24 seconds to get the KO against Lucas Ardin. Ardin had no answers for Fulton’s attack, and found himself on the mat quickly. Fulton also praised the denizens of the internet after the fight. He is also a huge nerd. In an all African showdown at 170, Moroccan Hadr Bari got the KO on Nigerian Damian Mia in just 3:31. “Sparry” Mia got the takedown he needed early on in the match, but he inexplicably stood up, thus negating his advantage on the ground. He deserved to receive a face-full of fist for that decision alone. Queens native Jerome Biggs took Russian Petr Tchaikowski to town at 205, ending the match by KO in just 4:20. Tchaikowski attempted an astounding 13 takedowns in this one, but every single one ended up stuffed like a teddy bear at Build-a-Bear Workshop. Biggs showed why he is a top contender at 205. In the loser’s bracket, Myke Bonner continued the Irish run of wins with a head kick KO win over Danny Peterson. Peterson got wrecked by Bonner’s kicks, and he took just 1:55 to end it via KO. The crowd appreciated this one and the humble, yet determined attitude Bonner showed in his interview. In the other loser’s bracket showdown, Turkish fighter Ergun Cerrahoglu needed only 47 seconds to KO Akihiro Imanari. Cerrahoglu knocked the Tokyo native to the mat early on, and he did it again right after Imanari got back to his feet. Cerrahoglu looked much sharper than he did in the semi-finals. In the co-main event, 19 year old heavyweight contenders squared off, but it was another Irish fighter, Cu Chulainn, who came out with the KO in just 31 seconds over Estonian Arnold Kallas. This fight went quickly, with “The Hound” dominating. After the match, Chulainn asked for a title shot, one he will get at Empire XI on a short turnaround. In the Empire Grand Prix finals, Thai fighter and pre-tournament favorite Ricardo Morra Jr. dominated Hukkleberry Flint in a match that somehow went into the second round. The Belgian was cut early on in the clinch and never had a chance after that. Morra Jr. stuffed seven takedown attempts from the wrestling specialist Flint. Meanwhile, “Monkey Style” landed an astounding 34 punches to the head and 10 punches to the body, all of which in the clinch. The fact that Flint lasted that long is a testament to his chin, but Morra Jr. has all the makings of not only a future Empire champion, but a future top dog in the 145 division on the global stage.

How are there 10 undefeated fighters at 145? Jeez, that class is a bloodbath.

Empire MMA Rankings: Record in parentheses is Empire MMA record 145 Rankings: Will be announced upon the completion of Empire Grand Prix. 170 Rankings: Miles © 6-1-0 (5-1-0) 1. Akechi 2-0-0 (2-0-0) +2 2. Howardson 5-3-0 (4-3-0) -1 3. Piskochini 2-1-0 (1-1-0) -1 4. Sanchez 3-0-0 (2-0-0) 5. Gonclaves 4-4-0 (2-3-0) 6. Chiddell 2-1-0 (2-1-0) +2 7. Machado 2-1-0 (2-1-0) -1 8. Mia 2-1-0 (1-1-0) -1 9. Bari 1-0-1 (1-0-1) 10. Barnes 1-1-1 (0-1-1) To watch: Frank Morrison, Bo Garrett, David Core Recap: At Empire: X, Ricardo Miles defended his belt against Vladimir Piskochini, while Jubei Akechi took down former champ Michael Howardson. The other result of note was Luck Chiddell’s win over Enrique Machado. 205 Rankings: Dinapoli © 4-0-0 (3-0-0) +1 1. Rebel 7-2-0 (2-2-0) -1 2. Broderick 5-0-0 (4-0-0) 3. Lanka 6-1-0 (1-1-0) 4. Payne 2-2-0 (2-2-0) 5. Biggs 4-2-0 (4-2-0) 6. Piiice 1-1-0 (1-1-0) 7. Kulvics 2-1-0 (1-0-0) +4 8. Abbot 1-2-0 (1-2-0) +1 9. Green 1-0-0 (1-0-0) +2 10. Lumumba 2-0-0 (0-0-0) +1 To watch: Abasi Amaike, Hinski Grang, Petr Tchaikowski Recap: Joe Dinapoli took over this division with a thunderous victory over Hatebreed Rebel at GP SF. He could face a tough challenger with Hunter Broderick improving to 4-0-0 in Empire, while Christian Kulvics, Herb Green, and Ravana Lanka also scored victories. 265 Rankings: Gruff © 8-1-0 (3-0-0) 1. Kallas 3-1-0 (3-1-0) 2. Chulainn 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 3. Do 1-1-0 (0-1-0) 4. Ruiz 2-0-0 (2-0-0) 5. Big Daddy 2-0-0 (2-0-0) 6. Slade 2-2-0 (0-2-0) 7. Pivo 2-2-0 (1-2-0) +1 8. Ardin 1-1-0 (0-1-0) +1 9. Rodriquez 1-1-0 (1-1-0) +1 10. King 1-0-0 (1-0-0) +1 To watch: Tavaris Fulton, Sokhan Gaki, Small Master Recap: Kallas and Chulainn will face off for the right to face Buster Gruff for the belt. The biggest news in this division was Deon Big Daddy’s win over Simon Slade at Empire: X, which could make the top of this division a little more interesting.

Empire X has been billed as one of the biggest cards in the history of Empire. Unfortunately, that is a lie. Every fight on the card features the same level of mediocre matchups without much in the way of excitement. The first fight is a 170 lbs bout between David Core and Riaan Pierce. Pierce is the stronger boxer, but he will have to keep Core’s Muay Thai and BJJ in Czech (pun intended). I like the Welshman by 1st round KO. In another one between two bad fighters, Steve Barnes faces Ryan Sampson at 145. Barnes is the better fighter and reportedly in better spirits, so I think he will take this one by 1st round TKO. At 265, we get a slightly better fight between Simon Slade and Deon Big Daddy. Slade is the better boxer, but Big Daddy is better at literally everything else. I see Slade losing his second in a row, this time by unanimous decision. Now back to where we started at 170, we see Luck Chiddell against Enrique Machado. Chiddell is better on his feet, so if he can stay on his feet, he will win. This will not go the distance, and it likely will not take more than one round. I like Chiddell by 1st round KO. Next up we have two fights from the losers bracket of the Grand Prix. Myke Bonner has “All Stuff” on his feet, but Jax Sigthorsson is a beast on the ground. This one also will not take long. I think the Icelander wins it by submission in the 1st round. The other matchup in the tournament sees Jung Ho Park face Akihiro Imanari. The Tokyo native Imanari is great on the ground, but “The Korean Wonderkid” is phenomenal everywhere. I like Park to win by 2nd round submission. After those two tourney fights, we go to 205 where Ravana Lanka fights Mauricio “Max” Payne. Payne is dangerous anywhere, but Lanka is lethal in the clinch. Lanka’s wrestling means he will control where the match will be fought, so I think he gets the TKO in the 2nd. Still at 205, we get a mildly more interesting one between possible future title fighter Hunter Broderick and fellow undefeated fighter Chod Piiice. Piiice has fought once and won once, while Broderick is 4-0-0. Broderick is a dominant boxer, and I do not think Piiice has any advantages in this one. I think Broderick cruises to a 2nd round KO. Now we go down to 170 for the last two fights of the night. Former champion Michael Howardson returns to the octagon to face Jubei Akechi. Howardson is seven years older, and he is an incredible fighter in the clinch, as he has shown numerous times on the Empire stage, but Akechi can fight anyone anywhere. I think Akechi gets the win in similar fashion to his victory over Luck Chiddell, by 2nd round submission. The main event sees the champion of this division, Ricardo Miles, make his first title defense against Valentino Piskochini. Piskochini is the challenger, but he is four years the champion’s senior. He is extremely one-dimensional and will look to take this fight to the ground. That being said, his one skill is pretty dang strong. I think he scores an upset and takes the belt by 2nd round submission.

The semi-finals are here! Alas the tournament resumes, and we get to see two intriguing matchups. The first of which sees Danny Peterson and Hukkelberry Flint face off for the right to get pummeled by the winner of the second semi-final. The 19 year old Belgian got here by defeating Ernesto Powers by ground and pound TKO less than three minutes into the match. As if that was not impressive enough, he needed just 49 seconds to land a guillotine on Jung Ho Park. While dominating is the right word to describe Flint’s journey, ugly might be the best way to describe Peterson’s time. Danny Peterson only had to win once, as he advanced in the first round when his opponent missed weight, but his one win was a comfortable unanimous decision over Tyson Abreu. Stylistically, this will be a battle of contrasts. Flint will want to bring the fight to the ground where his BJJ brown belt will serve him well, while Peterson is your standard sprawl and brawl fighter. Peterson may get the better of the early boxing exchanges, but I think Flint breaks through his takedown defense and gets a submission in the first round. The other semi-final is the de-facto final of the tournament. Ricardo Morra Jr. is 5-0-0 with first round TKO wins in both rounds, taking 3:31 to beat Akihiro Imanari and just 55 seconds against Jax Sigthorsson. Meanwhile, Ergun Cerrahoglu has dominated his two matches as well, winning by a lopsided unanimous decision over Rony Stark and scoring a first round TKO over Dario Balic. Both have looked fantastic in their first two fights, but only one can make the final. While “Monkey Style” Morra has the edge in the clinch and on the ground, the Turk will be the one deciding where this match is fought. If Cerrahoglu can keep this one as a boxing match, he has a shot, but I think Morra takes him to the woodshed in the clinch and walks out victorious through a second round TKO. The Grand Prix may be exciting, but the main event is the icing on the cake. Hatebreed Rebel is making his return to the octagon after his failed move up to the 265 lbs division against top challenger Joe “Levels” Dinapoli. Rebel may be short on confidence after his last match against Buster Gruff lasted just 30 seconds until he hit with a KO punch. Dinapoli, on the other hand, has breezed through his two fights in Empire thus far, scoring a stunning spinning backfist on Jaco Camden and a submission on strikes over Ravana Lanka, both in the first round. While Rebel is a submission specialist, Dinapoli has to be brimming with confidence, as all he needs to do is land one good punch and it may be all over. This fight may only last a few seconds before he does just that, and I will pick Dinapoli to win the belt by first round KO. Picks for the other matchups: Kulvics over Abbot Imanari over Abreu Park over Molina Bonner over Balic Sigthorsson over Hashima Izanagi over Tested Rodriquez over Frederick

The semi-finals are here! Alas the tournament resumes, and we get to see two intriguing matchups. The first of which sees Danny Peterson and Hukkelberry Flint face off for the right to get pummeled by the winner of the second semi-final. The 19 year old Belgian got here by defeating Ernesto Powers by ground and pound TKO less than three minutes into the match. As if that was not impressive enough, he needed just 49 seconds to land a guillotine on Jung Ho Park. While dominating is the right word to describe Flint’s journey, ugly might be the best way to describe Peterson’s time. Danny Peterson only had to win once, as he advanced in the first round when his opponent missed weight, but his one win was a comfortable unanimous decision over Tyson Abreu. Stylistically, this will be a battle of contrasts. Flint will want to bring the fight to the ground where his BJJ brown belt will serve him well, while Peterson is your standard sprawl and brawl fighter. Peterson may get the better of the early boxing exchanges, but I think Flint breaks through his takedown defense and gets a submission in the first round. The other semi-final is the de-facto final of the tournament. Ricardo Morra Jr. is 5-0-0 with first round TKO wins in both rounds, taking 3:31 to beat Akihiro Imanari and just 55 seconds against Jax Sigthorsson. Meanwhile, Ergun Cerrahoglu has dominated his two matches as well, winning by a lopsided unanimous decision over Rony Stark and scoring a first round TKO over Dario Balic. Both have looked fantastic in their first two fights, but only one can make the final. While “Monkey Style” Morra has the edge in the clinch and on the ground, the Turk will be the one deciding where this match is fought. If Cerrahoglu can keep this one as a boxing match, he has a shot, but I think Morra takes him to the woodshed in the clinch and walks out victorious through a second round TKO. The Grand Prix may be exciting, but the main event is the icing on the cake. Hatebreed Rebel is making his return to the octagon after his failed move up to the 265 lbs division against top challenger Joe “Levels” Dinapoli. Rebel may be short on confidence after his last match against Buster Gruff lasted just 30 seconds until he hit with a KO punch. Dinapoli, on the other hand, has breezed through his two fights in Empire thus far, scoring a stunning spinning backfist on Jaco Camden and a submission on strikes over Ravana Lanka, both in the first round. While Rebel is a submission specialist, Dinapoli has to be brimming with confidence, as all he needs to do is land one good punch and it may be all over. This fight may only last a few seconds before he does just that, and I will pick Dinapoli to win the belt by first round KO. Picks for the other matchups: Kulvics over Abbot Imanari over Abreu Park over Molina Bonner over Balic Sigthorsson over Hashima Izanagi over Tested Rodriquez over Frederick

Empire MMA Rankings: Record in parentheses is Empire MMA record 145 Rankings: Will be announced upon the completion of Empire Grand Prix. 170 Rankings: Miles © 5-1-0 (4-1-0) 1. Howardson 5-2-0 (4-2-0) 2. Piskochini 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 3. Sanchez 3-0-0 (2-0-0) 4. Gonclaves 4-4-0 (2-3-0) 5. Akechi 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 6. Machado 2-0-0 (2-0-0) 7. Mia 2-1-0 (1-1-0) 8. Chiddell 1-1-0 (1-1-0) 9. Bari 1-0-1 (1-0-1) 10. Barnes 1-1-1 (0-1-1) To watch: Elam Armis, Freddie McDowe, Jimmy Murphy Recap: #9 Hadr Bari won his rematch against #10 Trevor Barnes at the bottom of the rankings. At Empire: 9, Freddie McDowe, Jimmy Murphy, and Elam Armis each had big wins, but the story belonged to #3 Samuel Sanchez’s 23 second KO of #4 Pedro Gonclaves. He definitely has earned a big matchup in the future. Empire: X will be a big one for this division. Upcoming Fights: Empire X: © Miles vs. #2 Piskochini, #1 Howardson vs. #5 Akechi, #6 Machado vs. #8 Chiddell, Pierce vs. Core 205 Rankings: Rebel © 7-1-0 (2-1-0) 1. Dinapoli 3-0-0 (2-0-0) 2. Broderick 4-0-0 (3-0-0) 3. Lanka 5-1-0 (0-1-0) 4. Payne 2-1-0 (2-1-0) 5. Biggs 4-2-0 (4-2-0) 6. Piiice 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 7. Chico 1-2-0 (1-2-0) 8. Turner 2-1-0 (2-1-0) 9. Abbot 1-1-0 (1-1-0) 10. Mokoto 2-1-0 (2-1-0) To watch: Christian Kulvics, Maximillian Powers, Karl Van Horn Recap: No changes here, but GP SF will have a title fight, while Empire: X will have another massive fight for this division. Upcoming fights: Empire GP SF: © Rebel vs. #1 Dinapoli, #9 Abbot vs. Kulvics Empire X: #2 Broderick vs. #6 Piiice 265 Rankings: Gruff © 8-1-0 (3-0-0) 1. Kallas 3-1-0 (3-1-0) 2. Chulainn 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 3. Do 1-1-0 (0-1-0) 4. Ruiz 2-0-0 (2-0-0) 5. Big Daddy 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 6. Slade 2-1-0 (0-1-0) 7. Howard 3-2-0 (2-2-0) 8. Pivo 2-2-0 (1-2-0) 9. Ardin 1-2-0 (0-2-0) 10. Rodriquez 0-1-0 (0-1-0) To watch: Hinski Grang, Artis Freibergs, Jimmy King Recap: Jimmy King and Artis Freibergs each had exciting wins at Empire: 9. The biggest news out of this division was #4 Glenn Ruiz’s submission of #7 Michael Howard, but that hardly seems to qualify as news. Empire: X should be exciting though. Upcoming Fights: Empire X: #4 Ruiz vs. #7 Howard, Spong vs. Green, King vs. Barron

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.

Really great wrap up! Congrats and good luck to the other managers who made the semi-finals.

Great preview, Dave. Really excited to have my first fight in A&E. Good luck to all who are competing!

Glad you enjoyed my writing

Empire MMA Rankings 7/12/20: Record in parentheses is Empire MMA record 145 Rankings: Will be announced upon the completion of Empire Grand Prix. 170 Rankings: Miles © 5-1-0 (4-1-0) 1. Howardson 5-2-0 (4-2-0) 2. Piskochini 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 3. Gonclaves 4-3-0 (2-2-0) 4. Sanchez 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 5. Akechi 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 6. Machado 2-0-0 (2-0-0) 7. Mia 2-1-0 (1-1-0) 8. Chiddell 1-1-0 (1-1-0) 9. Barnes 1-0-1 (0-0-1) 10. Bari 0-0-1 (0-0-1) To watch: Dude McWrestler, Khizri Aliyev, Freddie McDowe Recap: Ricardo Miles is the new champion after a first round submission of Michael Howardson at Empire: 8. Piskochini gets the next title shot after winning a grappling battle against Damien Mia. Rising star Jubei Akechi won his last fight and looks the part of a future champion, while Luck Chiddell and Enrique Machado have each defeated Dude McWrestler. Upcoming Fights: Empire GP2: #9 Barnes vs. McWrestler Empire 9: #3 Gonclaves vs. #4 Sanchez, McDowe vs. Ruiz, Duran vs. Murphy 205 Rankings: Rebel © 7-1-0 (2-1-0) 1. Dinapoli 3-0-0 (2-0-0) 2. Broderick 4-0-0 (3-0-0) 3. Lanka 5-1-0 (0-1-0) 4. Payne 2-1-0 (2-1-0) 5. Biggs 4-2-0 (4-2-0) 6. Piiice 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 7. Chico 1-2-0 (1-2-0) 8. Turner 2-1-0 (2-1-0) 9. Abbot 1-1-0 (1-1-0) 10. Mokoto 2-1-0 (2-1-0) To watch: Christian Kulvics, Maximillian Powers, Karl Van Horn Recap: Hatebreed Rebel lost in his attempt to go up to 265+, but the 205 division looks stronger than ever with two undefeated challengers leading the way. At Empire: 8, Joe Dinapoli beat highly touted newcomer Ravana Lanka, while Hunter Broderick took care of Jerome Biggs. Dinapoli gets the first shot at the title, but Broderick is lurking behind him. Upcoming fights: Empire 9: Camden vs. Boxer Empire GP3: © Rebel vs. #1 Dinapoli, #8 Turner vs. Kulvics 265 Rankings: Gruff © 8-1-0 (3-0-0) 1. Kallas 3-1-0 (3-1-0) 2. Chulainn 2-0-0 (1-0-0) 3. Do 1-1-0 (0-1-0) 4. Ruiz 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 5. Big Daddy 1-0-0 (1-0-0) 6. Slade 2-1-0 (0-1-0) 7. Howard 3-2-0 (2-2-0) 8. Pivo 2-2-0 (1-2-0) 9. Ardin 1-1-0 (0-1-0) 10. Rondirquez 0-1-0 (0-1-0) To watch: Kason Rose, Hinski Grang, Artis Freibergs Recap: Buster Gruff is the undisputed king of this division, having beaten Hatebreed Rebel and Just Do by absurdly fast KOs. His nearest competitor is Arnold Kallas, who is coming off a big win over Simon Slade. Cu Chulainn, Deon Big Daddy, and Glenn Ruiz each won their first fight, so they could be challengers in the future. For now, it’s just Gruff at the top, though. Upcoming Fights: Empire 9: #4 Ruiz vs. #7 Howard, Spong vs. Green, King vs. Barron

Empire Grand Prix’s Super 8 round is on Saturday, and it should be an exciting card. The four matchups will not only decide who will move onto the Four Horseman stage, but they will also greatly impact the 145 lbs rankings, which are in flux following Corsair Light’s title being stripped due to inactivity and declining fights. Here are the four matchups. Danny Peterson vs. Tyson Abreu: This is the least exciting matchup on the card, and for good reason. Tyson Abreu is an incredibly one-dimensional fighter, as his only skill is wrestling. That being said, he was able to use his one skill to submit Rounin Hashima in the first round. He will face a tougher test in Danny Peterson, who is a much stronger wrestler than Hashima. Peterson had a NC in his first round fight because Darius Rucker missed weight. Peterson is the stronger fighter, but he is making his debut in this one. I think talent wins out and Peterson gets the first round TKO. Huckleberry Flint vs. Jung Ho Park: The Belgian Flint is a strong fighter on the ground, as he won his previous two fights by submission and ground and pound TKO. He is a big threat to win his side of the bracket, but Park is nicknamed “The Korean Wonderkid” for a reason, and he showed why in his domination of Myke Bonner in his first fight. He may not be as good on the ground, but if he takes the fight into the clinch, he will not take long to end it. If Flint cannot take down Park, who is no slouch of a wrestler, Flint might be in trouble. I think Park will win by second round TKO. Ergun Cerrahoglu vs. Dario Balic: Cerrahoglu is one of the most talented fighters in the field, but these fights are not fought on paper for a reason. The Turk is an exceptional wrestler, meaning that he will decide where the match is fought. He has enough boxing skill to bring the pain while standing and a BJJ blue belt to outmatch his opponent Dario “Dragi” Balic. Balic is a respectable muay thai fighter, but Cerrahoglu’s advantages in both wrestling and BJJ pretty much negate the Croatian's best attribute. Cerrahoglu should be able to cruise through this one to a second round submission. Ricardo Morra Jr. vs. Jax Sigthorsson: Ricardo “Monkey Style” Morra Jr., the pre-tournament favorite, improved to 4-0-0 with his first round TKO victory over Akihiro Imanari. The Finland native is not nearly as proficient of a boxer or muay thai fighter, but he presents a unique matchup for the Thai Morra Jr. Sigthorsson is almost solely a BJJ specialist, while Morra Jr.’s one weakness is on the ground. For that reason, I think Sigthorsson will be able to score a takedown and pull off the shocking upset in the same fashion as his first round matchup, by first round submission. Here are my predictions for the other matchups: Reuben Ruckus over Luke Maddox by first round TKO Trevor Barnes over Hadr Bari by majority decision Rounin Hashima over Sterling Draper by first round TKO Myke Bonner over Ernesto Powers by unanimous decision Rony Stark over Damian Molina by unanimous decision Jim Reefer over Akihiro Imanari by majority decision It should be a fun one here in New York!

Empire: 8 is soon, and it features a title fight at the 265+ weight level. First up is a pair of debuts between Deon Big Daddy and Hector Rodriquez. In what should essentially be a muay thai sparring match, I expect Deon to take it to his older opponent, winning by 2nd round TKO. Next up is a matchup between Leon Abbot and Chod Piiice. Chod will want to take this one to the mat, but Abbot is no slouch there, as seen against Saint George. I think it ends in a draw. The third fight sees 2-0-0 Canadian Steve Barnes against Vince Richardson. Richardson just lost to Vito Golamiby KO, but I think he bounces back and wins this one by KO in the 1st. Next is a fight between Dude McWrestler and Enrique Machado. Dude is coming off a loss, but Machado has no chance even coming off a big win. I got Dude by 1st round submission. The fifth fight has 1-0-0 fighters Cu Chulainn and Lucas Ardin. Ardin, the Canadian known as “The Aardvark”, is the better BJJ fighter, but I think he loses to “The Hound” by TKO in the 1st. Luck Chiddell features in the next fight against the debuting Jubei Akechi. “The Iceman” can box, but his Japanese opponent is too well-rounded and will take it by unanimous decision. Next up are a pair of BJJ specialists in Valentino Piskochini and Damian “Sparry” Mia. The winner of this one will likely face 170 lbs champ Ricardo Miles, so the stakes are high. That said, they’re essentially the same fighter. I’ll take Mia by unanimous decision in a toss up. Finally, we’re onto the big ones. Jerome Biggs is 4-1-0 in his light-heavyweight career, and he is coming off a nice win against Ken Mokoto, but he has not faced very tough competition thus far. That will all change when he faces Hunter Broderick. Broderick is 3-0-0 for his career, and has won all of his fights in dominating fashion. I do not expect this one to go the distance, and I think Broderick will win what will essentially be a boxing match by TKO in the 1st round. The next fight is another blockbuster at the 205 weight class, arguably the best Empire has to offer. Ravana Lanka is 5-0-0, but he is making his Empire debut against Joe “Levels” Dinapoli. Dinapoli is an exceptional boxer, but he is more than just that. In his last fight, he KOed Jaco Camden by spinning backfist in the 1st round. Both of these guys are standup fighters, but “The Demon King” may struggle to stay upright after taking enough of Dinapoli’s punches. I think Dinapoli will win this one by 1st round KO. The main event is the super-heavyweight title fight. Just Do is just 1-0-0 in his career, but his one win came by KO just 65 seconds into the match. He will need to bring similar power if he wants to have any shot against Aussie champion Buster Gruff, who is coming off KOing 205 lbs champion Hatebreed Rebel in just 30 seconds. Gruff and Do are pretty similar fighters. They both are wonderful boxers with enough skill to stay on their feet, but Gruff has much more experience. I think that will make the difference in a tight fight. I’ll take Gruff by 1st round KO.

The first round of the Empire Grand Prix is now in the books. I’ll briefly recap the fights here. In the opener, two 18 year olds duked it out, but it was Tyson Abreu who came up victorious. It did not look that way initially, as it was Rounin Hashima who dominated the early going, scoring a cut on Abreu early on, but Abreu scored takedown late in the 1st to stem the tide and another one early in the 2nd leading to a submission later in the round. The second scheduled fight was a no-contest since Darius Rucker missed weight. Danny Peterson will move on. I will spare you the Hootie and the Blowfish puns this time. The second actual fight was another matchup of youngsters, as Jung Ho Park dominated Irishman Myke Bonner. The “Korean Wonderkid” lived up to his billing in this one as he dominated from the very start. Bonner was only able to escape the clinch for a brief moment before Park took him right back in and ended it by TKO in the 1st. In the fourth fight scheduled, Huckleberry Flint destroyed Ernesto Powers. Powers scored the early takedown, but the Manhattan native was thoroughly outmatched by the Belgian who took Powers to the woodshed. Flint was unstoppable on the ground, and the referee rightfully stopped the match for a TKO in the 1st. In the next one, Croatian Dario Balic scored another win for the European contingent through a likely fight of the night winning performance over Damian Molina. “Dragi” looked like a contender for the championship when he took the Puerto Rican into the clinch early and landed all 13 of his punches leading to a TKO less than a minute into the fight. Following that electric performance, Ergun Cerrahoglu cruised past Aussie Rony Stark. The Turk won 30:26 on all three scorecards in a match which consisted of Stark hoping and praying for a submission while taking obscene amounts of punishment. Cerrahoglu looked like a top contender, unsurprising as he is one of the more experienced fighters in the field. The seventh fight on the card was a quick one, as Icelandic fighter Jax Sigthorsson defeated Jim Reefer. The Pittsburgh native was the more aggressive out of the gate, but “The Grim” Reefer was unable to do much before Sigthorsson scored a takedown and wrestled away control of the match, leading to a quick submission. The final match of the tournament’s first round featured pre-tournament favorite Ricardo Morra Jr., who did not disappoint making quick work of Akihiro Imanari. Imanari was unable to land a single attack on “Monkey Style” Morra, who landed an astounding 34/36 punches in the clinch in just 3:31 before the referee stopped the match for a TKO. The other two fights were also quite entertaining. First up, Arnold Kallas continued the trend of 1st round stoppages by beating the pulp out of Simon Slade en route to a TKO 1:57 into the match. In the main event, 170 lbs champion Michael Howardson was upset by 21 year old upstart Ricardo Miles. “The Butcher” tried to clinch repeatedly, but “The Soca Warrior” took Howardson down from the clinch and got a submission for the belt 2:41 into the match. It was an exciting night, as the first round of the tournament lived up to its billing, a new challenger emerged at the super-heavyweight division, and a new champion won the welterweight belt.

The first round of the Empire Grand Prix is now in the books. I’ll briefly recap the fights here. In the opener, two 18 year olds duked it out, but it was Tyson Abreu who came up victorious. It did not look that way initially, as it was Rounin Hashima who dominated the early going, scoring a cut on Abreu early on, but Abreu scored takedown late in the 1st to stem the tide and another one early in the 2nd leading to a submission later in the round. The second scheduled fight was a no-contest since Darius Rucker missed weight. Danny Peterson will move on. I will spare you the Hootie and the Blowfish puns this time. The second actual fight was another matchup of youngsters, as Jung Ho Park dominated Irishman Myke Bonner. The “Korean Wonderkid” lived up to his billing in this one as he dominated from the very start. Bonner was only able to escape the clinch for a brief moment before Park took him right back in and ended it by TKO in the 1st. In the fourth fight scheduled, Huckleberry Flint destroyed Ernesto Powers. Powers scored the early takedown, but the Manhattan native was thoroughly outmatched by the Belgian who took Powers to the woodshed. Flint was unstoppable on the ground, and the referee rightfully stopped the match for a TKO in the 1st. In the next one, Croatian Dario Balic scored another win for the European contingent through a likely fight of the night winning performance over Damian Molina. “Dragi” looked like a contender for the championship when he took the Puerto Rican into the clinch early and landed all 13 of his punches leading to a TKO less than a minute into the fight. Following that electric performance, Ergun Cerrahoglu cruised past Aussie Rony Stark. The Turk won 30:26 on all three scorecards in a match which consisted of Stark hoping and praying for a submission while taking obscene amounts of punishment. Cerrahoglu looked like a top contender, unsurprising as he is one of the more experienced fighters in the field. The seventh fight on the card was a quick one, as Icelandic fighter Jax Sigthorsson defeated Jim Reefer. The Pittsburgh native was the more aggressive out of the gate, but “The Grim” Reefer was unable to do much before Sigthorsson scored a takedown and wrestled away control of the match, leading to a quick submission. The final match of the tournament’s first round featured pre-tournament favorite Ricardo Morra Jr., who did not disappoint making quick work of Akihiro Imanari. Imanari was unable to land a single attack on “Monkey Style” Morra, who landed an astounding 34/36 punches in the clinch in just 3:31 before the referee stopped the match for a TKO. The other two fights were also quite entertaining. First up, Arnold Kallas continued the trend of 1st round stoppages by beating the pulp out of Simon Slade en route to a TKO 1:57 into the match. In the main event, 170 lbs champion Michael Howardson was upset by 21 year old upstart Ricardo Miles. “The Butcher” tried to clinch repeatedly, but “The Soca Warrior” took Howardson down from the clinch and got a submission for the belt 2:41 into the match. It was an exciting night, as the first round of the tournament lived up to its billing, a new challenger emerged at the super-heavyweight division, and a new champion won the welterweight belt.

After a long wait, the Empire Grand Prix is finally here. The bracket is full of entertaining fighters, so I will spend a short amount of time highlighting each matchup. In the tournament opener, Flilipino muay thai specialist Rounin Hashima faces off against Brazillian wrestler Tyson Abreu. Both are incredibly one-dimensional fighters, so it will depend on if Abreu can take “Darui” down enough to get the win on the scorecards, while avoiding a knockout in the clinch. I think Abreu will get just enough done to win an awful unanimous decision. After that, we see a matchup of nearly identical debuting fighters in Darius Rucker and Danny Peterson. Rucker, a strong boxer who shares a name with a singer, looks to avoid “Drowning” in his fight against a similarly strong boxer in Peterson. However, I think Peterson will end up saying “Goodbye Girl” when he leaves Rucker “Only Lonely” in the octagon with a face looking like a “Cracked Rear View” after a 3rd round TKO. Enough with the Hootie & the Blowfish puns, and onto the international matchup between teenagers Bonner and Park. The 19 year old Bonner is the much stronger boxer, but struggles massively on the ground. Meanwhile, Jung Ho Park out of Busan is a similarly strong muay thai fighter, but is not nearly as good of a boxer. I think the Irishman will take this one by 1st round KO. Next up is Manhattan native Ernesto “Lights Out” Powers facing off against the Belgian 19 year old Huckleberry Flint. Not much is known about Flint, as his hometown is listed as f, Belgium, but he is 1-0-0 with a submission victory. Powers is making his professional debut, and I think he will struggle on the ground, which is where this one will be fought. I think Flint will take this one by submission in the 2nd. The fifth fight of the evening is between Croat Dario Balic and Puerto Rican BJJ specialist Damian “The Devil” Molina. Molina is an incredible force on the ground, but that may not mean much against a proficient wrestler in “Dragi” who should be able to stuff takedowns. I expect the man from Split to take the fight into the clinch and dominate from there in a one-sided fight ending by TKO in the 2nd. In fight number six, we see the Turkish Ergun Cerrahoglu face off against Aussie Rony Stark. Stark will look to “Leave a Mark” on the ground as his nickname would suggest, but Cerrahoglu is the stronger fighter on their feet. While Cerrahoglu should be one of the tournament favorites on paper, he has struggled thus far in his grappling and MMA careers. I think Stark will score the upset in an ugly unanimous decision. In the penultimate first round matchup, Icelandic fighter Jax Sigthorsson faces Las Vegas native Jim “The Grim” Reefer. Sigthorsson, a 1-0-0 BJJ specialist hailing from the capital of Reykjavik, will look to win this one by submission on the ground, while Reefer is a 0-1-0 boxing and wrestling specialist who will look to stay on his feet. Despite this, I think Sigthorsson will be able to get the submission he needs in the 1st. In the final fight of the first round, we see the 3-0-0 Ricardo “Monkey Style” Morra Jr. face Tokyo native Akihiro Imanari. Morra Jr., arguably the tournament favorite, is a skilled muay thai specialist, which is unsurprising given he is from Thailand. While Imanari is the stronger fighter on the ground, Morra Jr. is just too well-rounded for Imanari to deal with, so I expect Morra Jr. to win by unanimous decision. In the two non-tournament fights of the night, I see Arnold Kallas defeating Simon Slade by submission in the 1st. Similarly, I expect Corsair Light to successfully defend his belt against Steve Barnes by submission in the 1st. It should be an exciting night, one that managers from all over are looking forward to.

After a long wait, the Empire Grand Prix is finally here. The bracket is full of entertaining fighters, so I will spend a short amount of time highlighting each matchup. In the tournament opener, Flilipino muay thai specialist Rounin Hashima faces off against Brazillian wrestler Tyson Abreu. Both are incredibly one-dimensional fighters, so it will depend on if Abreu can take “Darui” down enough to get the win on the scorecards, while avoiding a knockout in the clinch. I think Abreu will get just enough done to win an awful unanimous decision. After that, we see a matchup of nearly identical debuting fighters in Darius Rucker and Danny Peterson. Rucker, a strong boxer who shares a name with a singer, looks to avoid “Drowning” in his fight against a similarly strong boxer in Peterson. However, I think Peterson will end up saying “Goodbye Girl” when he leaves Rucker “Only Lonely” in the octagon with a face looking like a “Cracked Rear View” after a 3rd round TKO. Enough with the Hootie & the Blowfish puns, and onto the international matchup between teenagers Bonner and Park. The 19 year old Bonner is the much stronger boxer, but struggles massively on the ground. Meanwhile, Jung Ho Park out of Busan is a similarly strong muay thai fighter, but is not nearly as good of a boxer. I think the Irishman will take this one by 1st round KO. Next up is Manhattan native Ernesto “Lights Out” Powers facing off against the Belgian 19 year old Huckleberry Flint. Not much is known about Flint, as his hometown is listed as f, Belgium, but he is 1-0-0 with a submission victory. Powers is making his professional debut, and I think he will struggle on the ground, which is where this one will be fought. I think Flint will take this one by submission in the 2nd. The fifth fight of the evening is between Croat Dario Balic and Puerto Rican BJJ specialist Damian “The Devil” Molina. Molina is an incredible force on the ground, but that may not mean much against a proficient wrestler in “Dragi” who should be able to stuff takedowns. I expect the man from Split to take the fight into the clinch and dominate from there in a one-sided fight ending by TKO in the 2nd. In fight number six, we see the Turkish Ergun Cerrahoglu face off against Aussie Rony Stark. Stark will look to “Leave a Mark” on the ground as his nickname would suggest, but Cerrahoglu is the stronger fighter on their feet. While Cerrahoglu should be one of the tournament favorites on paper, he has struggled thus far in his grappling and MMA careers. I think Stark will score the upset in an ugly unanimous decision. In the penultimate first round matchup, Icelandic fighter Jax Sigthorsson faces Las Vegas native Jim “The Grim” Reefer. Sigthorsson, a 1-0-0 BJJ specialist hailing from the capital of Reykjavik, will look to win this one by submission on the ground, while Reefer is a 0-1-0 boxing and wrestling specialist who will look to stay on his feet. Despite this, I think Sigthorsson will be able to get the submission he needs in the 1st. In the final fight of the first round, we see the 3-0-0 Ricardo “Monkey Style” Morra Jr. face Tokyo native Akihiro Imanari. Morra Jr., arguably the tournament favorite, is a skilled muay thai specialist, which is unsurprising given he is from Thailand. While Imanari is the stronger fighter on the ground, Morra Jr. is just too well-rounded for Imanari to deal with, so I expect Morra Jr. to win by unanimous decision. In the two non-tournament fights of the night, I see Arnold Kallas defeating Simon Slade by submission in the 1st. Similarly, I expect Corsair Light to successfully defend his belt against Steve Barnes by submission in the 1st. It should be an exciting night, one that managers from all over are looking forward to.

Empire: 7 is rapidly approaching, and while the card features one main event, there are some other storylines worth watching, too. Most of the undercard sees debuting fighters, so I will briefly discuss those fights before focusing on the important ones. In an opening matchup between a pair of 18 year olds making their Empire debuts, I’ll take the overall stronger fighter, Jamaican Trevor Barnes, over the Moroccan Hadr Bari by unanimous decision. The next fight is another set of debuts, but this one is only one round. In a fight that will likely only last one of the five minutes planned, I’ll take Muay Thai specialist Aydan over Panamanian Machado by TKO in the 1st and only round. In the third straight set of debuts, two 18 year old Brits fighting out of London will battle it out. I’ll take another Muay Thai specialist in Saint George by TKO in the 1st round over his opponent Abbot. The fourth fight of the evening is a matchup of two Empire veterans. Michael Turner is 2-0-0, and I expect him to continue his winning streak by defeating the 1-2-0 Eddie Miles by unanimous decision. After a brief break, we see another pair of Empire debuts in match number five. Manny Duran is the second Panamanian on the card, and he is the second Panamanian I am picking to lose, this time to the Nigerian Mia by submission in the 2nd round. Yet another matchup of Empire debuts awaits in the sixth fight of the card, in which I expect 18 year old Costa Rican Samuel Sanchez to continue the trend of Central American losses when he loses to the older Scotsman Freddie McDowe by majority decision. Now onto the more exciting matchups, as 25 year olds Ken Mokoto and Jerome Biggs face off at 205 lbs. Mokoto is a very one-dimensional fighter, always looking for takedowns and submissions, but he will likely struggle against Biggs, who is a much superior wrestler and boxer. Biggs should win as long as he stays upright. I have him scoring a KO in the 3rd round. The next fight is a matchup of two debuts vying for the top challenger spot at 145 lbs. The Italian Golami is a marginally better boxer, which is how I expect this fight to be fought. If it goes to the ground, Golami should have an advantage there as well. I think Golami wins comfortably by unanimous decision. In another fight between potential title contenders, this time at 205, Max Payne faces Hunter Broderick. Payne may be a strong boxer, but will be outclassed on his feet by the younger Broderick, so his only hope may be to get a submission off a fighter who is a stronger wrestler than him. I think Broderick wins by TKO in the 2nd round in a cakewalk. Finally, the main event is the much-anticipated super-fight between super-heavyweight champion Buster Gruff and 205 lbs champion Hatebreed Rebel. Rebel, who is moving up to fight “The Bully Goat” after starting his career 7-0-0, faces a much tougher challenger than he has previously faced in his Empire career. Rebel’s two previous opponents, Eddie Miles and Max Powers, are each 1-2-0, which may not prepare him for the 6-1-0 Gruff. While Rebel has not exactly faced stellar competition, the same goes for Gruff as well, as his previous fight does not look as good following Danconia Jr.’s loss to Howard. Stylistically, the Australian Gruff is a strong boxer whose wins have all come by a knockout of some variety. However, his one loss came by submission, the method by which six out of Rebel’s seven wins have come. In this fight, Rebel is looking to become the undisputed King of Empire, securing the belt at the two heaviest weight classes while remaining undefeated at that. Meanwhile, Gruff is looking to continue as the champion at his division and stake his claim as Empire’s top dog. In what I believe will go down as a hard-fought match, I think Gruff’s experience in the super-heavyweight weight class will prevail in a tight majority decision.

Empire: 6 is Sunday night, which also happens to be Flag Day. At least I think it is Flag Day. Nobody ever knows when Flag Day is, what Flag Day is, or why Flag Day exists. How does one exactly celebrate Flag Day? Does not knowing anything about Flag Day make me less patriotic, even though no Americans actually know the answers? No one can really say! Pointless holidays aside, there are a pair of title fights on the card, I will mostly focus on those. The first fight is between a pair of poor fighters in Sucks and Fernandez. I’ll take the Mexican, as he is the superior boxer and wrestler, by TKO on strikes in the 2nd. The second fight is a pretty even matchup, but rumors have it that Danconia Jr. has been pretty disgruntled in the build up. That may be the difference in what may be an otherwise close fight. Therefore, I think Howard will win by unanimous decision. The third fight has 1-0-0 Joe Dinapoli facing 1-2-0 Jaco Camden. Dinapoli should take this one being the stronger boxer and wrestler. I’ll take him by TKO on strikes in the 2nd. Next up, in a 145 lbs fight between a pair of 25 year olds, Sampson should be the better fighter both standing and on the ground, so I think he will prevail by unanimous decision. The next fight is a super-heavyweight contrast in styles between a pair of fighters from the Caribbean. Pivo will look to knock Ruiz out before Ruiz takes him to the ground. I do not think he will be able to do so, leading Ruiz to win by submission in the 1st round. Up next is a 170 lbs fight between a pair of impressive 18 year olds. Chiddell is an incredible boxer, and he can pack a nasty punch, but McWrestler is better at everything else. I like the Indian by unanimous decision. After that exciting fight, we get another all Caribbean matchup between the 25 year old Ruiz and the 20 year old Miles. Ruiz has a decent shot if he can take Miles to the ground, but Miles is better on his feet. I think Ruiz pulls it off by submission in the 3rd. In the fight before the main events, we see another contrast between a standup fighter in Robshaw and the grappler Kallas. Robshaw won his last two fights by KO and TKO in the 1st. I see him winning this one by TKO in the 1st as well. The co-main event is the 145 lbs title fight between Rico Wilson and Corsair Light. The English champion is just 18 years old, but he is 3-0-0, having defended the belt twice already. Light is a submission specialist, having won all of his three professional fights in that manner. In the other corner will be Rico Wilson, a 20 year old Jamaican fighter. Although he is more well-rounded and older, he will be a massive underdog entering this fight. If Wilson can stay upright, he will have an advantage, but any slip ups and it will likely end in disaster. I think it is unlikely that Wilson has a perfect fight over 5 rounds. In fact, I think it will only take one round for Light to take Wilson to the ground and win by submission. In the other title fight of the night, Michael Howardson gets a chance to win back the belt against Pedro Gonclaves. Howardson is an incredibly strong and skillful Muay Thai fighter, but he may struggle in other areas of the fight. In their first meeting, Howardson was able to dominate in the clinch and avoid a submission on the ground. Gonclaves is a strong boxer, but he can also win a match on the ground as shown in their last fight. The Angolan champion won the belt by submission in their last meeting, and I do not expect things to go any differently this time around. I think Gonclaves will defend the belt by submission in the 2nd round.

Empire: 5 is tomorrow night, and it is an all light heavyweight card. This division has a number of young, inexperienced fighters with few matches on their resumes. With 8 matches including a title fight on tap, this card should illuminate who is the strongest in Empire’s deepest weight class. The opener is a matchup between a pair of strong boxers in Joe Boxer and Max Payne. The Sicilian Boxer is a strong fighter when standing upright, but Payne is his equal in that respect and can score a submission if the fight gets taken to the ground. I’ll take Payne by submission in the 2nd. The next fight is between Ken Mokoto and Max Powers, each of whom are represented by Joe Boxer’s manager, Don Tony. This is a fight between mirror images of each other, with two submission specialists who will want to fight on the ground. This one will be ugly and is nearly impossible to pick a winner, but I’ll take Mokoto by submission in the 1st. In another all Don Tony fight, Dominican Republic native Eladio Chu faces off against New Yorker Karl Van Horn. In this one, two nearly identical career 0-2-0 fighters may be fighting for their careers. It may come down to who is feeling more confident heading into the match, in which case I think Chu will win by majority decision. The fourth fight is a rematch from Empire: 3 between Jerome Biggs and Yonnis Chico. Biggs dominated the first fight between the two, scoring a cut on Chico and eventually scoring a submission. While Chico is a better BJJ fighter, it will mean nothing since he will have to absorb major damage from Biggs’s punches first. I expect this one to go similarly with Biggs winning by TKO on strikes in the 2nd. The fifth fight is also a rematch, but it has been a month and a half since their first bout at Rise of the Empire. This one sees Iraqi Mahdi Dirjal, who won the last matchup but is coming off a loss to Eddie Miles, and Polish fighter Januszov Goatov, who was last seen defeating Zivan Radosavjevic. Goatov came into their last match injured, so I expect to see a stronger version of him this time, but I do not see the result changing. I expect another unanimous decision win for Dirjal, but it will be much closer than the beatdown we saw last time. The next fight is between Hunter Broderick and Jaco Camden. Broderick should do major damage to Camden while upright, while Taco, as he’s more commonly known, should struggle to take Broderick to ground, as the Burbank native is the superior wrestler. I cannot see any other result than a Broderick win. I think he gets it done by a lopsided unanimous decision. The penultimate matchup sees Micheal Turner face Santiago Munez, who has missed weight for his last two fights. If he can make weight, I think Munez will take it due to his superior Muay Thai skills when upright, but I think it is much more likely that he misses weight again. Why Empire owner Psycho Serrano has not released Munez yet is beyond me. The main event is the title fight, the one everyone is looking forward to. 6-0-0 champion Hatebreed Rebel has been doing a lot of talking online, challenging anyone and everyone to take him on. He will have the chance to back up his talk when he squares up against Eddie Miles. With each fighter coming off a win in their first Empire fight, this should be a contrast in styles, as Miles is a strong boxer, while Rebel is a master on the ground. If Miles can stay upright the whole time, he should win, but that seems unlikely. I expect Rebel to defend the belt by submission in the 1st.

Empire: 4 was last night, and it was a wild one with upsets galore. The first match of the night saw featherweights Rico Wilson and Ryan Sampson square off in a 5 round fight. Usually, the long fights are reserved for the title bouts, but nobody expected this to go the distance. Naturally it did, and Wilson got the nod by a dominant unanimous decision, winning 50:43 on two cards and 50:44 on the other. Following the match, Wilson talked about himself for a while while nobody was listening. The next fight was the featherweight championship where Corsair Light aimed to defend his belt against Uri Romanov. The two fighters spent the whole match on the ground attempting to force each other into submission without much else going on. It took a while, but Light eventually got the triangle choke 3:48 into round 3. After the win, Light thanked his fans for staying through that ugly match. They deserved to be thanked, as the only way I would have stayed is if I was being paid to. The third fight saw 20 year old welterweights AJ Carter and Ricardo Miles duke it out. Miles launched takedown after takedown to negate Carter’s Muay Thai, and it worked as he dominated a match fought fully on the ground, taking it 30:26 on all three scorecards. Miles also thanked his fans after his win, and directed them to his website which nobody seemed to know existed. Following that one was the welterweight title bout between champion Michael Howardson and Pedro Gonclaves. Howardson was in control early, dealing out pain in the clinch, but Gonclaves turned it around and dominated the fight by taking Howardson to the canvas. Gonclaves kept with this strategy in the 2nd round, and he got the submission he was looking for 2:43 into the round. After winning the belt and revenge on Howardson, Gonclaves responded by thanking PEAK for their PEDs sponsorship, while Howardson remained humble after his loss. Next up was a super heavyweight showdown between a pair of terrible fighters in Arnold Kallas and Kostas Karelis. Karelis scored an early takedown, but Kallas was able to reverse and work some ground and pound, unloading on the Greek until he won by TKO on strikes 4:39 into the 1st round. Kallas also thanked PEAK for their “support in the buildup to the fight.” Karelis was subsequently released by his manager, who was no doubt disappointed in the result. After that quick one was a fight between Michael Howard and Martin Robshaw. Robshaw came out swinging, and he put on a magnificent display. Howard had no chance, as Robshaw connected on punch after punch, scoring a cut early on and a TKO shortly after that 1:55 into the match. After the match Howard had the exact statement Howardson had after his loss. I am guessing their shared manager scripted this response, making the message seem much less authentic. The main event was a title fight between Brazillian champion Francisco Danconia Jr. and Aussie challenger Buster Gruff. Danconia Jr. did not even score a single point, as Gruff just needed a couple of punches until it was lights out for the champ, winning by KO 48 seconds into the match. Gruff seemed awfully confident after the match, talking about his plans to conquer the world like a cartoon supervillain. The way he fought today, he looked much more like Superman than a supervillain.

Empire: 4 is on deck, and it is a pretty short card with only 7 fights up. The first of which is a 145 lbs fight between Rico Wilson and Ryan Sampson. Sampson and Wilson each are 1-1-0 in Empire events, with each of their wins coming over Mma Sucks. The younger Wilson will have his work cut out for him, as Sampson is better on the ground and on his feet. Sampson should win this one, the only question is how fast. I’m guessing he’ll take it by submission in the 2nd. The 145 lbs title is on the line as Corsair Light aims to defend his belt against Uri Romanov. Both fighters prefer to stay on the ground, but while Romanov excels at wrestling, Light is a submission master. This match should play into Light’s hands, as no matter what position Romanov takes him into, he should be able to submit his opponent. I think Light will finish it via submission in the 1st round. Next up is an exciting match at the 170 lbs level between AJ Carter and Ricardo Miles. Both fighters only have one loss in their short careers and are top challengers in the weight class. Carter is strong in the clinch, so Miles will want to take the fight to the ground, but I’m not sure he will be able to before Carter ends it in the 2nd by TKO on strikes. Both fighters’ losses came to the current champion, Michael Howardson, who looks to retain the belt vs. Pedro Gonclaves. The Angolan has lost to Howardson before, but he is much stronger now than before. That being said, it may not matter as Howardson is just so powerful. I have Howardson winning another match by TKO on strikes, but this one will take until the 2nd round. Now onto the super-heavyweights, where Arnold Kallas faces Kostas Karelis in the first of the three fights in the weight class. This will likely be the ugliest fight of the card, as both fighters have struggled in their careers. Kallas is a good wrestler, but Karelis is his equal in that matter and a much better boxer. Karelis should keep to his feet and win by KO on punches in the 2nd. The next fight sees the well-rounded Michael Howard square up against Englishman Martin Robshaw. Robshaw is exceptional when on his feet, but struggles mightily when on the ground. I expect Robshaw to stuff Howard’s takedown attempts and win by KO on punches in the 2nd. The main event is the super-heavyweight title bout between challenger Buster Gruff and champion Francisco Danconia Jr. Gruff has a fantastic 5-1-0 QFC record, and that may help him to game plan against a more well-rounded opponent in Danconia Jr. I think we end up with a new champion, as Gruff takes the belt by unanimous decision.