Guest Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1305570863poster66.jpg WB66: Khanomtom vs. Hammersmith - Preview http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=698050 If everything goes to plan, WB66 looks set to be one of the biggest events in this org's history. We have a Lightweight contest between two rising stars Kaoklai Khanomtom and Vaughn Hammersmith scheduled as the main event, and four huge "Unremarkable Tournament" bouts on the main card. No doubt about it, Saturday the 21st May 2011 could be a massive night for Warbringers... although at the moment it looks like the card could be thrown into turmoil due to a fighter not getting on a flight. Read on for the full preview and more about the fight that may not happen. Fight One: Tuomas "Bullfighter" Uusierkki vs. Thiago "Chihuahua" Almer @ 170lbs. When Thiago Almer (4-4) knocked out Kim Haven of Mist in his Warbringers debut, we were all extremely impressed. We thought that maybe we had uncovered a hidden gem, and couldn't wait to see how he did in his follow up fight against Astolfo de Mello. Unfortunately, in that follow up fight, Almer was taken down repeatedly and ultimately lost a close judges decision. Since then, Almer has had some time to get back in the gym and patch the holes in his game, and he now has another crack at getting his second Warbringers win against veteran Tuomas Uusierkki (6-6-1). It is almost a year to the day that Uuserikki signed with Warbringers, and in his twelve months here he has given us some very decent fights and collected some big wins. Sadly though, his last few performances have been lacklustre, meaning that Uusierkki now finds himself in a do-or-die situation where he needs a win if he is to be offered a contract extension. For Uusierkki to win this fight, he is going to have to do it in ugly fashion by following the gameplan that Astolfo de Mello used against Almer - that being avoiding Almer's striking game, then looking for constant takedowns, and once on the mat maintaining dominant positions and remaining active enough not to be stood up by the referee. This fight probably won't be pretty, but it is hugely important for both involved. Fight Two: Dimas Russo vs. Bryan Vessey @ 155lbs. The last time we saw Dimas Russo (5-5) in the cage, he eked out a decision against Justin James to collect his first Warbringers win. To make it two in a row, he must defeat muay-thai fighter Bryan Vessey (1-3). With his record at only 1-3, you could be forgiven for thinking that Vessey doesn't pose any threat to Russo in this fight, but that isn't true in the slightest. Anyone that has watched Vessey's four career fights will know that from close range he can cause plenty of problems with his sharp elbows and powerful muay-thai knees. Russo is no slouch in the clinch himself, but if he is to play this fight sensibly he should look to go to the ground as he has many times in the past, where he will hold a significant advantage over white belt Vessey in the grappling department. In order for Vessey to be able to implement his own gameplan and work his muay-thai, he is going to need to avoid the barrage of takedown attempts that Russo usually throws. Vessey is known as a very quick fighter, who has good movement and a very impressive takedown defense rate (over 97%), and so if he can continue that and keep this fight with Russo on the feet, then he could definitely pull off an upset. Fight Three: Dan "Tangy" Svensson vs. "El Chuchu" Esteban Cambiasso @ 170lbs. We have been eagerly anticipating the debut of Esteban Cambiasso (11-9) for quite some time now, but in the third fight of the night that wait finally comes to an end when he takes on the constantly evolving Dan Svensson (8-4). Throughout his Warbringers career, we always considered Svensson a ground fighter, but when he was matched up against jiu-jitsu black belts in consecutive fights, Svensson decided to show us how good his striking game was too as he beat up both Timo Kotipelto and Giovani Gomes en-route to decision victories. As well as this, Svensson picked up his first knockout in his most recent fight against Cody Harlow, proving that he is much more than a one-dimensional grappler. Esteban Cambiasso is also a well-rounded fighter, but his area of expertise is jiu-jitsu. Of his eleven mixed martial arts wins, seven have come by submission, while the other four have been by decisions in which he outgrappled the opponent but was unable to finish him. Needless to say, Cambiasso will find his best chance to win this fight on the ground, whereas Dan Svensson could potentially do quite well both standing and on the ground. It will be interesting to see whether Svensson opts to go to the ground, or whether he will stay standing and show us the continued improvement in his boxing. Fight Four: Edwin "Baby Face" Murray vs. Dino Adams @ Openweight. Fight number four on this card is the first Truly Unremarkable Tournament quarter final of the night. In the opening round back in April, Edwin Murray (8-5) won a close decision over John Brown in what was a clinch war. For three rounds, Murray and Brown went back and forth, trading punches, elbows and knees from close range and at the end of a grueling fifteen minutes the judges decided that Murray would be advancing. On the same night, Dino Adams (9-6-1) defeated Kenneth Noisewater in what was a far less exciting, but far more lopsided decision. In that one, there wasn't too much action, but Adams came out on top because of his superior grappling over the course of the fight. Looking at both the Murray vs. Brown and Adams vs. Noisewater fights, you would have to put Murray as the clear favourite to win this one. His striking looked versatile, sharp and crisp, and the size difference between Murray and Adams should mean that Adams won't be able to grind out a decision on the ground as he did against Noisewater. Adams has an excellent chin and can absorb some big punches from fighters his own size, but if a solid knee lands from his 275lb opponent, it is hard to imagine him being able to stay on his feet. In order to advance to the next round and face the winner of Leonov vs. Keyman, Adams is going to have to pull something special out of the bag. Fight Five: "Kirk Sucks" Khan Singh vs. Moe "Josef Fritzl" Lester @ 155lbs. On any other Warbringers card, a fight between two exciting guys like Khan Singh (9-6) and Moe Lester (10-4) would be on the main card for sure, but on this stacked card, Singh vs. Lester only manages to make fight five. Leading up to Moe Lester's Warbringers debut last month, there was a lot of hype surrounding him. He was coming in on the back of a Big Bang FC Lightweight title win, and we thought that his muay-thai skills could potentially give a lot of our 155lb division problems. In his first fight against Nate Springs, he was shockingly submitted in the opening round, and now Lester simply must bounce back, and impressively, if he is to retain the hype that he had before coming to Warbringers. Doing that against a fighter of Khan Singh's quality is never easy, though. In the buildup to this fight, Singh has been working extremely hard on improving his ground game, and was recently awarded his brown-belt in jiu-jitsu. That could be an early indication to the gameplan that Singh is going to come in with. We all saw that Lester struggled when put on his back against Springs, and if Singh can do the same thing then he could get the win on Saturday. Lester will hold an advantage while this one is standing, but Singh looks like he has been training and preparing very wisely for this fight, meaning that on the night, it could go either way. Fight Six: Vadim "Soyouz" Leonov vs. "The Engineer" Gor Keyman @ Openweight. Two of the most impressive fighters from the Truly Unremarkable Tournament opening round were Vadim Leonov (13-15) and Gor Keyman (7-0). They now meet in this quarter final in a fight that should produce fireworks. In the first round, Vadim Leonov took on David Brent, and beat him up pretty badly. Leonov landed big punches, kicks, knees, takedowns and ground and pound, but it was how he mixed all of his offense up that was most impressive. Brent simply couldn't cope with the versatility. In Gor Keyman's opening round bout, he took on undefeated Danny Meehan and roughed him up with ground and pound for the entire first round, before connecting with a beautiful straight right at the start of the second stanza, which knocked Meehan out cold. The win took Keyman up to seven wins in a row, and meant that his undefeated streak stayed intact. When Leonov and Keyman face off at WB66 it should be an excellent, evenly contested battle. If it stays as a striking match, then Keyman's raw power may see him to victory, but if Leonov can use his obvious experience advantage and combine strikes with takedowns and ground and pound as he did against Brent, then he could stop Keyman from getting into his stride and maybe earn himself a decision. A place in the tournament semi-finals is up for grabs here, so we can expect both of these fighters to be at their best, and give us a war. Fight Seven: Gabriel Emerson vs. Sasha "The Mascot Hitman" Lakovic @ 170lbs. Fight number seven on this card sees two men coming off the best performances of their careers go head to head to see who will move one step closer to a Welterweight title shot. Gabriel Emerson (10-6-2) has come a long way since his loss to Pablo Ja back in January. After that defeat, he took an extended break to get some quality training, and he has come back looking like a completely different fighter. Consecutive wins over former champion Ricardo Diaz and veteran grappler Tony Danza have moved him up the rankings considerably, and with every win from now on he will be edging closer and closer to a title fight. Standing in Emerson's way is another former champion, Sasha Lakovic (14-7). Lakovic ruled the Welterweight division from August to December of 2010, but arguably his most impressive win to date was in his last fight when he beat world class striker Otto Graf in dominant fashion. The well-rounded Lakovic has shown us that he can win fights on the ground, and he can win fights on the feet, but against Gabriel Emerson he will find his best route to victory in the striking department. Emerson's striking isn't bad, as we saw against Tony Danza, but his grappling is certainly his strongest area. So in essence, this fight is going to be striker vs. grappler, and the winner moving even closer to a title shot. It should be a good one. Fight Eight: "Beastmaster" Bestigor Tazar vs. Mike "Iron" Zambidis @ Openweight. Moving on to the eighth fight of the night, we have the third Unremarkable Tournament quarter final, between the undefeated Bestigor Tazar (7-0) and opening round fight of the night winner Mike Zambidis (4-1). If I had to make a prediction about how this fight would go, I would say that one way or another it will be ending by knockout. Bestigor Tazar is well known for his ruthless, animalistic fighting style whereby he puts everything he has into every single strike, and this has usually (six out of seven times) resulted in a knockout. In his previous fight he continued this trend by separating Ryan Brandt from consciousness with a well timed knee strike. Now, Tazar meets Mike Zambidis, a fighter who is very similar to himself in the respect that each and every punch and kick that he throws is intended to kill. In Zambidis' first round fight, he finished Matthew Swoop with a brutal head kick, which earned him fight of the night honours, and when the cage door closes and Zambidis and Tazar are unleashed on each other, we think the chance of another fight of the night occurring are pretty high. You can expect these two monsters to only have one thing on their mind on Saturday night; taking the other man out quickly and emphatically to advance in the tournament. Fight Nine: "Supercan" Alekai Petrovich vs. Peewee Herman @ Openweight. Just days before the first round of the Unremarkable Tournament was scheduled to take place, we had to find a replacement for a fighter that pulled out. In stepped Alekai Petrovich (20-7). Not only did he show balls to take a fight on two days notice, but he also managed to impressively knock out the tough Banana Fly in little over a minute. On the same night, Peewee Herman (15-2) booked his place in the quarters by winning a grueling and bloody war with Chuck Liddell which ended by third round cut stoppage. The most interesting aspect of this fight is going to be the physical differences between the competitors. This tournament is being fought at Openweight, and that means a size mismatch was always likely to come along, but the difference between Petrovich and Herman on the night will be significant. Petrovich regularly weighs in at over 250lbs while Herman is a natural Lightweight. Add to this that Petrovich will hold a height advantage of over a foot and have a much bigger reach and that makes this a really tough ask for Herman. Having looked back over both of these fighters careers, I would say that Herman is a much more technically sound fighter than Petrovich with fewer rough edges, but technique can sometimes be nullified by sheer size, strength and power, which Petrovich has in abundance. Main Event: Kaoklai Khanomtom vs. Vaughn "The Natural" Hammersmith @ 155lbs. If this main event fight takes place on Saturday, it should be a quality battle between two rising stars, but as it stands right now it looks like this one might end up as a no contest. When scouring the market for a possible opponent for Kaoklai Khanomtom (6-1) last month, we noticed that NYFE Lightweight champion Vaughn Hammersmith (8-1) was looking for a fight. Khanomtom vs. Hammersmith sounded like an awesome fight to make, so we put the wheels in motion, came to an agreement with Hammersmith and signed the fight. Unfortunately, though, it now looks like Hammersmith is going to be staying in New York instead of making the trip down to Rio. It's disappointing for us as an org, because when you pay good money to a fighter, give him extra money to cover his flight, and send him reminders about getting to the right city, you expect him to turn up. Not only does this suck for us as an org, it also sucks for Khanomtom who has been training hard in preparation for this bout. We are doing our best to resolve this problem and get Hammersmith on a last minute flight, but there is a very real chance that this fight isn't going to go ahead. Assuming that we do manage to pull some strings and get everything sorted out in time, it actually has the potential to be a fantastic fight. Khanomtom has breezed through the lower end of our Lightweight division with his excellent muay-thai and heavy hands, and Hammersmith is a definite step up in competition which is exactly what Khanomtom needs. The danger for Khanomtom in this fight is if it ends up on the ground. Grappling is Hammersmith's bread and butter, and even a small slip from Khanomtom could result in him getting submitted. As an org owner I am supposed to be impartial, but I won't lie, I hope this fight happens and I hope that Khanomtom wins it. Unfortunately though, right now it looks like it might not even be going ahead and that could potentially ruin this entire show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1306175048poster67.jpg WB67: Sosa vs. Black - Preview http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=699714 Our previous event WB66 was a huge success, breaking both our event rating record and ticket revenue record, and propelling us up towards the top 50 ranked orgs worldwide. We are following that massive show up with a slightly more low key affair, but regardless it should be an entertaining night of fights. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Chen "Dong" Chong vs. Alexander "The Experiment" Karelin @ 205lbs. To get us started at WB67 we have a wrestler vs. striker fight. Chen Chong (10-9) is the aforementioned striker, who despite losing his last fight against Peter La Fleur gained an arena full of new fans as he showed incredible heart and spirit to pick himself up off of the canvas twice in the first round and proceed to take La Fleur to a decision. Even though he lost on the scorecards, Chong didn't give in and kept on swinging until the final bell, showing what a true warrior he is and proving that he belongs in this org. In order for Chong to get back to winning ways, he must come out victorious over the Russian wrestler and grappler Alexander Karelin (3-5). Since Karelin's last fight in a Warbringers cage, he has been awarded his jiu-jitsu brown belt. While previously we thought of him as more of a ground and pounder, his shiny new belt implies that he has been working on implementing more submissions into his game, which now makes him a scary prospect for possible opponents. We have seen before that Chong can be susceptible to takedowns and submissions, and that is exactly what Karelin now brings to the table. This might be our first look at Karelin 2.0, or if Chong is able to stuff the takedowns consistently, we may get to see one of his trademark highlight reel finishes. Fight Two: Barbados Slim vs. Mario Almeida @ 205lbs. In the second fight of the night, Light Heavyweight grappler Barbados Slim (4-1) has a tricky decision to make. His usual area of expertise is his ground game, but when he goes up against Mario Almeida (9-8) on Sunday, for once Slim will be the second best submission artist in the cage. This will mean that Barbados Slim has to think really carefully about his gameplan, because if he fights in his usual style he is going to end up in the guard of a world class jiu-jitsu artist who has the skills to submit anybody in Warbringers. The safest way for Slim to win this fight is to keep it standing because although we don't get to see him throw down very often, in a pure striking match between the pair, Slim would defeat Almeida every time. If Slim indeed decides that he is going to try to remain on his feet for this fight, we will get to see a rare glimpse of his takedown defense. Usually it is Slim that tries to take a fight to the ground, so we don't really know how good he will be at staying upright. It is crucial for Almeida to get this fight on the mat if he wants to avoid losing his third in a row. It doesn't matter whether he does it by shooting in, pulling guard, or rushing Slim aggressively and forcing him to revert back to his wrestling and jiu-jitsu habits, what matters is that Almeida avoids a striking contest at all costs. Fight Three: Alejandro "Oh Yeah" de le Fe vs. "The Hitman" Sam Hitz @ 185lbs. Up next, a fight between a Warbringers debutant and a man making his final appearance in this org. The debutant, Alejandro de le Fe (8-4), comes from the same camp as renowned Warbringers fighters Mike van Rijn, Giovani Gomes and Welterweight champion Rafael Loureiro. With such a strong camp behind him, and a top class manager, the future certainly looks bright for de le Fe. He will get his chance to make a good first impression when he takes on Sam Hitz (12-9). In his three fights with us, Sam Hitz has put together a record of 2-1, but has decided not to renew his contract and continue his climb up the Middleweight rankings. We understand and respect Hitz's decision, and would like to wish him all the best in his future endeavours. For Hitz's final fight, he has been given quite a tough opponent in de le Fe. What usually makes Hitz such a dangerous opponent is his well-rounded skillset, and his ability to mix up all aspects of the game and keep his opponents guessing, but de le Fe is a much better wrestler than anyone Hitz has faced before in Warbringers, and he won't be pushed around or taken down easily. This should be a really entertaining scrap, but will it be the newcomer de le Fe, or the departing Sam Hitz that collects the victory? Fight Four: Glenn "The Gatling" Gunn vs. Tyler "Human Weapon" Harwood @ 155lbs. With a whopping twenty-three combined Warbringers fights, this truly is a battle of the old-guard. Not many people may remember but Glenn Gunn (10-6) and Tyler Harwood (7-5-1) have actually faced each other in the past, a long time ago at WB11. In that fight, Glenn Gunn showed world class takedown defense and very crisp striking on the way to a unanimous decision victory, but that was over a year ago, and both fighters have improved in leaps and bounds since then. Despite how far these men have come in the last twelve months, they each now find themselves on poor runs of form. Glenn Gunn has lost three of his last five, while Tyler Harwood has failed to win in his last three attempts, and as a result, the second meeting between the pair is now much more than a simple rematch between two fan favourites - this is a fight that both competitors quite simply need to win. You can expect the gameplans of the Gunn and Harwood to be identical to the ones that were used in the first meeting. Tyler Harwood is now a black belt in jiu-jitsu, and will want to get Gunn to the ground and look for submissions, and Gunn will be trying to use his wrestling ability to stay standing and pick Harwood apart. One year ago, Gunn made it look easy. This time around, I think it's going to be one of the toughest fights that Gunn has ever been in. Fight Five: Sverker Olofsson vs. Jason "Torch" Horton @ 185lbs. After WB64, the Tycoon World Cup Group H was left with three fighters on equal points. Grimaldo Canella, Jason Horton (1-2) and Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Marie Gustaaf Of Belgium were all tied, and so to decide who moved on to the round of 16 in the tournament we had to look at who had finished the most fights. That honour went to Jason Horton, who collected his only win by submission, meaning that now, bizarrely, a fighter that lost more of his first three fights than he won has made it through to the final sixteen. Taking on Horton is a man that progressed to the knockout stages much more easily, with wins over everybody else in Group G, Sverker Olofsson (3-0). Even though Jason Horton lost two of his group fights, I don't think that Olofsson should be overlooking him, because stylistically Horton has a good chance of progressing here. As we saw at WB57, WB60 and WB64, Olofsson loves to stand and bang. He knocked out both Rakkauden Ammattilainen and Jean Claude Ronaldo to get here, and so we can expect him to be trying to do the same against Horton. The only problem is, Jason Horton is the most technically proficient striker that Olofsson has come up against so far. We have seen that Olofsson can KO wrestlers with rudimentary striking, but we don't know how he will fare when he comes up against someone with a decent striking background. Fight Six: Harri Leinonen vs. Alex Carbone @ 185lbs. To kick off the main card of WB67 we have the second Tycoon World Cup Tournament fight of the night. This one is between Group H winner Harri Leinonen (3-0) and Group G runner-up Alex Carbone (2-1). Despite Leinonen having a brown-belt in jiu-jitsu, it was his muay-thai skills that impressed us the most in the group stages. Once Leinonen gets a hold of an opponent in the thai plum, he throws constant barrages of knees that simply overwhelm his foes. When you add to that the fact that Leinonen also has a well versed grappling game, it makes you wonder who will be able to defeat him in this tournament. The fighter that is going to do his best to defeat Leinonen on Sunday is Alex Carbone, who is primarily a wrestler and ground and pounder. There is no question that Alex Carbone will be able to take Harri Leinonen down in this fight if he wants to, but realistically, taking this one to the ground might not be the most sensible idea. Carbone has never before competed against a grappler with Leinonen's credentials, and you would have to think that if he tries to tangle on the ground here, he will end up as a submission victim. On paper, this almost looks like an impossible task for Carbone - if he is to advance to the last eight in the tournament, he is going to have to pull something special out of his hat. Fight Seven: "K-9" Buakaw Pramuk vs. Dave "Pyton" Yoma @ 185lbs. Of all the fights on tonights show, this is one of the ones I am most excited about. We have an undefated newcomer, Buakaw Pramuk (4-0), taking on a man that win or lose, always gives the fans an excited fight, Dave Yoma (6-5). The thing with Yoma is that he is much better than his 6-5 record suggests. During his time in Full Mount Fighting Championship, Yoma faced some really high level opposition and went on a losing streak as a result, but don't be fooled, Yoma is far superior to most of the other 6-5 fighters out there. We fully expect Yoma to present a difficult challenge to Buakaw Pramuk in his Warbringers debut with his excellent kickboxing, heavy handed ground and pound, and jiu-jitsu brown belt. So, what can I tell you about Middleweight new kid on the block Buakaw Pramuk? Firstly, his kickboxing is world class. We have seen him fight four times, and in three of those he stopped his opponent by head kick. As well as some nasty high kicks, Pramuk also likes to try and chop his opponents down with repeated leg kicks. Another area where Pramuk excels is from in the clinch. In his fight against Seamus McFight, we saw Pramuk unload with furious dirty boxing from close range, which helped him on his way to a dominant decision victory. Pramuk's ground game might not be up to the same standard as his striking, but for Yoma to take Pramuk down and exploit that possible hole, he is first going to have to get past the brutal kicks of "K-9". Fight Eight: Jose "Katipunero" Alcano vs. "The Keyboard Warrior" Arshad Singh @ 155lbs. When Jose Alcano (17-8) burst onto the scene at WB37 and destroyed John Seaver, we envisaged him going on to great things. But then, Alcano was given three fights in a row against the absolute best fighters in the Lightweight division, and unfortunately failed to win any of them. He was matched up against Al Wentworth next, and we knew that this is where we would get to see what Alcano was truly made of. We would get to see him either bounce back and end his losing streak, or falter. On the night, Alcano came out strong and managed to submit Wentworth in the first round. After that, Alcano took on Glenn Gunn and managed to win a razor thin decision over the former champion. Now, Alcano is right back where we feel he deserves to be; amongst the best at Lightweight, and he gets the chance to edge closer to a title shot when he faces Arshad Singh (11-5). In the event preview before Singh's fight against Tyler Harwood at WB61, we said that for him to defeat Harwood, he was going to have to go back to the Arshad Singh of old, who was aggressive and always went in search of knockouts. It turns out that is exactly what Singh did, and he came away from WB61 with yet another big knockout on his record. You can expect Singh to go in search of more KOs against Alcano, in what is certainly the biggest fight of his Warbringers career so far. Alcano may feel that he can hang on the feet with Singh, but he also might try to take it to the ground and use his superior grappling game. Whoever wins this fight will edge one step closer to a title fight in the stacked 155lb division. Expect fireworks. Fight Nine: Murilo "Kruger" Ruas vs. Peter "Pay" Czech @ 205lbs. On January 7th 2011, an undefeated young grappler called Murilo Ruas (6-2) made his Warbringers debut against Peter Czech (5-3). Czech knocked out Ruas in the first round. Since then, Ruas has put together another winning streak and is now back to avenge his earlier loss. Since the first Ruas vs. Czech fight, these fighters' careers have gone off on two completely different paths. Czech, who won the first meeting, has only managed one win in three attempts since, while Ruas has bounced back and won his latest four fights all by submission. Going in to this rematch, it is actually Murilo Ruas that has all the momentum, and Czech that urgently needs this victory to get his career back on track. The important thing for Ruas is that he must get Czech to the ground before Czech connects with a power punch. Last time they fought, Czech rocked Ruas in the very early going, and although Ruas then got the takedown, he was still dazed and really just holding on trying to survive. This led to a referee standup and eventually a knockout loss. This time, if Ruas can take Czech down without getting clocked in the process, then he stands every chance of avenging his previous loss. Ruas' grappling game is solid and his submission arsenal is vast, and as we have seen in the past, Czech can sometimes struggle against grapplers with good top control. The last time these two met, it was an awesome fight. We hope they can produce something similar here. Main Event: Alejandro "2000 kg" Sosa vs. Page Black @ 185lbs. We were really excited about Page Black (7-0) before his debut at WB61, and after his solid victory over Vincent Castillo in the main event of that card, we are now even more excited about his future in our organisation. Vincent Castillo was one of the most well rounded and experienced fighters that Black had faced in his young career, but Black never looked in danger as he won a unanimous decision, showing in the process that he is one of the best Middleweights on our roster. After his impressive debut, Page Black's name has been bounced around as a possible next Middleweight title challenger, but before that can happen, he needs to beat Alejandro Sosa (16-5), who is without a doubt the most talented fighter that Black has come up against to date. Not only does Sosa have an excellent striking game, but he is also a fantastic wrestler and jiu-jitsu brown belt. We have seen Black defeat brown belts before, but never a fighter that has both top class wrestling and a BJJ brown belt. In Alejandro Sosa's twenty-one fight career, he has come up against many very good opponents, but Page Black may just be a better striker than any of them. The problem for Black is that Sosa's chin is made of concrete and it would take something special to put him in trouble on the feet, but the longer this fight goes on the more chance Sosa has of taking Black down, scoring points and grinding out the rounds on the judges scorecards. To win this fight, Black needs to first and foremost stay on his feet. Then, once he gets comfortable with avoiding Sosa's takedowns, he needs to start turning up the heat and looking to land bigger punches and kicks. If Black does succumb to a takedown attempt, it is vital that he gets straight back up and doesn't allow himself to be get tied up on the ground for long periods of time. Whichever man walks out of WB67 with a victory will most likely be next in line for a shot at the championship, and considering how tough both of these individuals are, they will have well and truly earned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1306875003poster68.jpg WB68: Toons vs. Soplamocos - Preview http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=700409 He shocked the world by winning the Warbringers Middleweight championship from Bill Annunaki at WB58, but now Tommy Toons gets the chance to show that his title win was no fluke as he makes his first attempted title defense against Kid Soplamocos in the main event. As well as this, we have two big Light Heavyweight fights on the main card, and a whole host of newcomers looking to make their mark. It should be an exciting card from top to bottom, so read on for the preview! Fight One: Jean Charles Skarbowsky vs. "The Doctor" David Tennant @ 185lbs. In our opening fight of the night we get to see our first debutant of the evening, Jean Charles Skarbowsky (0-1). Very little is known about Skarbowsky due to the fact that he is relatively new to the world of MMA, but he has had one fight before, which was a submission loss to Tom Tihuana back in November of 2010. Skarbowsky showed lots of promise in that fight, beating Tihuana up and even dropping him with a big headkick, but unfortunately he got caught in a submission late in the final round. Skarbowsky hasn't been seen since that loss. He has been training non-stop and is now ready to get back in the cage and have a second go at getting his first win. The only thing in between Skarbowsky and that win is David Tennant (8-9). Tennant went on a really good run between November 2010 and March 2011, winning four consecutive fights, but after dropping back to back decisions to Vincent Castillo and Mark Dai, Tennant now finds himself right back where he began, needing wins to move up in the Middleweight pecking order. There is very little footage of Skarbowsky out there for Tennant to use in formulating a gameplan, and he has most likely improved leaps and bounds from his MMA debut, but surely Tennant's best chance of winning this fight will be to try and take Skarbowsky down and look for a submission. Fight Two: Gegard Zaromskis vs. "The Decider" Al Wentworth @ 155lbs. After struggling to find an opponent for Gegard Zaromskis' (4-0) Warbringers debut, we eventually found Paul Paulson, who we flew in from Tokyo especially for the fight as we felt he could represent a challenge to Zaromskis. He was no challenge for Zaromskis. It was a three round destruction in which Gegard was first to the punch, first to the kick and quite simply superior in all areas. In order for Zaromskis to continue his undefeated streak, he must now beat a man known for his kickboxing and muay-thai skills, Al Wentworth (11-8). A lot of people struggle against Wentworth due to his ability to stifle his opponents offense in the clinch. It will be interesting to see how Zaromskis will react if he finds himself in the same situation. If this fight doesn't play out in the clinch, then it is most likely going to end in victory for Zaromskis because he simply has a more well rounded skillset and more ways to win. His jiu-jitsu is excellent, his pure boxing is very impressive and his wrestling is also of a very high standard. If Wentworth is to be victorious here against Zaromskis, he needs to turn it into an ugly and boring fight. He needs to press Zaromskis into the cage, hold him there, try to score points, and make sure that he controls the position. The fans may not appreciate that, but if it leads Wentworth to victory, I don't think he will care! Fight Three: "The Truth" Michael Vera vs. Ric "Rude" Slobberknocker @ 205lbs. Next, we move to the Light Heavyweight division to welcome another newcomer, Michael Vera (6-1). Vera compiled his impressive six and one MMA record in the Big Bang Fight Club, where he put together a brutal highlight reel and also won the BFC Light Heavyweight championship. Now that BFC has closed, Vera has come to Warbringers looking for more championship gold. He starts that journey against fellow striker Ric Slobberknocker (4-2). At the start of Slobberknocker's career, he went 4-0 with three awesome knockouts. Unfortunately, Slobberknocker then lost a couple of fights in a row, but his fight on Monday is a fantastic opportunity to get back to winning ways. It doesn't take a genius to work out how this fight is going to play out. Both Vera and Slobberknocker are strikers through and through, who will meet in the centre of the cage and go to war. The difference in striking styles here should make for an exciting and unpredictable fight; Vera has a lot of flashy kicks and combinations in his arsenal, while Slobberknocker is more of a straight up boxer and power puncher. Both men have knockout power and so it could only take one big shot from either fighter to end the contest. Considering how aggressive both fighters are it could be over really quickly... blink and you may miss it. Fight Four: Akaboshi "Ibarakilla" Aida vs. Cobra Kai @ 170lbs. Since losing to Guilherme Duarte at the turn of the year, Akaboshi Aida (5-3) has turned things around and is now steadily climbing up in the rankings. His combination of good wrestling, solid grappling, granite chin and excellent submission knowledge makes him a tricky opponent and a very exciting prospect. To continue his winning streak, he needs to defeat Cobra Kai (1-1), a well-rounded fighter who may just be the most talented that Aida has come up against to date. Although Kai lost in his Warbringers debut to Ricardo Diaz, we saw how much potential he has in his previous win over Thiago Almer. Against Almer, Kai mixed up his offense extremely well, moving from striking range, to the clinch, to the ground and delivering damage in every area. Diaz was a huge step up for Kai, and he didn't quite manage it, but this fight against Aida will be an excellent indicator as to the level that he is on. Stylistically, Kai probably has the advantage in this fight. His wrestling is very good and his striking is better than Aida's. If he decides to employ a sprawl and brawl gameplan he might find some success. On the other hand, if Aida manages to secure a takedown and this fight goes to the ground, it suddenly becomes advantage Aida. This fight could go either way, but on the night it will probably be the wrestling battle that determines the victor. Fight Five: "Killer Clown" John Gacy vs. Mike "The Hammer" van Rijn @ 205lbs. At present, the Warbringers Light Heavyweight division is extremely deep and packed with talent, but when we saw an out-of-contract fighter that we thought had the skills to make it to the top, we simply had to put a contract offer on the table. Luckily for us, John Gacy (8-3) signed on the dotted line, and is now looking to show off his skills in the Warbringers cage. For his debut, he has been matched up with muay-thai machine Mike van Rijn (11-6), who tasted defeat in his own Warbringers debut last month, but has now undergone a managerial change and is ready to get back in there and start a fresh. Before coming to Warbringers, John Gacy was on the cards of AFC for nearly a year in which time he won five and lost three. In those eight appearances, Gacy showed that he has excellent striking, and that he can also beat people up on the mat with heavy ground and pound. One place that Mike van Rijn certainly doesn't want to be in this fight is on his back defending against Gacy's ground and pound. Instead, van Rijn has a much better chance of winning if he can keep the fight standing, where his heavy hands, muay-thai knees and razor sharp elbows could all potentially give Gacy trouble. If this fight goes to the ground, Gacy will probably collect the win. If this fight stays standing, it is a much more even contest. Fight Six: "Crafty Dog" Abe Frohman vs. Tony Danza @ 170lbs. At one time, Abe Frohman was a fighter with all the potential in the world but who seemed to always fail to deliver when push came to shove. Then, at the start of 2011, things changed. Frohman started to live up to the potential that we knew he had. First, he defeated former champion Ricardo Pozzi in only thirty seconds, then he outpointed the very well rounded Ming Ong, and more recently he won a unanimous decision over jiu-jitsu black belt Pera Vihtahousu. These three big wins in a row have confirmed what we knew all along; Abe Frohman is the dark horse in the Welterweight division. However, to keep his winning streak alive, Frohman must beat former top contender Tony Danza (11-7). Danza himself has had a succession of great wins in Warbringers, including a TKO over Richard Riddick and a shutout decision over Juan Dee. Danza was slowly working his way towards a title shot before his upset loss to Gabriel Emerson, but if he can get back on track here against Frohman then he will once again find himself only another win away from the division's elite. When Danza slipped up against Gabriel Emerson, it was primarily due to his inability to secure a takedown. We are hoping that he has been brushing up his wrestling and takedowns in the gym because he will face the same test against Frohman in this fight. If he cannot take Frohman down, this could end up looking an awful lot like the Emerson fight, although Frohman hits much harder. Fight Seven: Bill "Last Chance" Annunaki vs. Vlad The Impaler @ 185lbs. After losing his Warbringers Middleweight championship at WB58, Bill Annunaki (12-5) came back and put a beatdown on top contender Rodrigo Reis. We were unsure of how Annunaki would react to his shock title loss, but he came back with a fire and determination that we hadn't seen from him before and put on a dirty boxing clinic. In our seventh fight of the night, Annunaki welcomes Vlad The Impaler (4-1) to Warbringers, in what should be a really competitive striking contest. Annunaki has much more experience than Vlad, having fought a total of seventeen times in his career to Vlad's five, and technically he is very gifted, but Vlad is quite simply a brute. He has a granite chin and an insane amount of knockout power. Out of his last three wins, the longest fight lasted just over two minutes. When Vlad connects cleanly, opponents end up unconscious, and so even though Annunaki might be the technically superior fighter, he could quite easily end up on the wrong end of a knockout if he isn't careful. The chances of this fight hitting the ground are slim. Neither Annunaki or Vlad ever really look to take fights down to the mat, instead preferring to stand up, strike, and give the fans a show. The question is, will it be the young Warbringers newcomer, or the thirty year old veteran and former champion that walks away with the win? Fight Eight: Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson vs. Tyreke Evans @ 205lbs. Having won three fights in a row in our Light Heavyweight division, we were beginning to get very excited about Slade Wilson's (5-1) future. We thought that if he kept winning fights then eventually he would position himself for a shot at the gold, but then surprisingly, Wilson decided not to renew his contract and continue fighting in Warbringers. This therefore means that Wilson's scheduled fight against Tyreke Evans (8-3) will be his last in the org. We would like to thank Slade Wilson and his manager and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. As well as this being Wilson's last fight with Warbringers, it is also Tyreke Evans' debut with us. Evans has fought in some of the top orgs all over Rio, such as RHOE, AFC and MFC, and picked up wins in all of them. He will now be hoping that he can continue his winning ways in the Warbringers cage. Most of Evans' career victories have come by submission, but this jiu-jitsu brown-belt also has decent striking and a couple of knockouts to his name. Coming up against Wilson, Evans will feel that he can do well both on the feet and on the ground, and although he would probably prefer to turn this into a grappling match, he won't shy away from the striking game if it comes to that. As we have seen in the past, taking Slade Wilson down is an extremely difficult job, and so instead of tiring himself out by throwing takedown attempt after takedown attempt, striking with Wilson and attempting the occasional takedown would be the much smarter gameplan for him and could lead him to a successful debut. Fight Nine: "The Dutch Oven" Jonas Wenkel vs. "Reckless" Mark Watson @ 205lbs. Apart from current champion Carlito Montoya, the most impressive member of the Warbringers Light Heavyweight roster over the last eight months has been without a shadow of a doubt Jonas Wenkel (8-3). In Wenkel's last eight fights he has gone 7-1, with his only loss coming to Montoya, and in this time Wenkel has improved in leaps and bounds to the extent where he is now considered one of the most talented fighters in the entire company. In the co-main event of the evening, Wenkel goes up against former champion Mark Watson (7-3) who recently broke his losing streak with a comfortable decision victory over Peter Czech. We know that Jonas Wenkel is a very talented submission artist, as evidenced by his tapout wins over Jr Seau and Franklin Dexteria, but we don't know how well he will do when he has a wrestler and ground and pound machine like Watson on top and dropping bombs. In the past, Wenkel's takedown defense has been one of his weakest areas. He was taken down a lot by Padre del Panther, and Jr Seau managed to get him on the ground rather easily too. If Wenkel hasn't improved this area of his game, then Watson will happily exploit it and work his ground and pound from top position which we have seen in the past is very difficult for opponents to survive. This is a huge fight for both parties, as the winner will put himself right in the mix for a Light Heavyweight title shot. This is going to be a battle of very different styles, and either man could walk out of WB68 as the winner. Main Event: Tommy "Tinkerbell" Toons vs. "The Heavenly Fist" Kid Soplamocos for the Warbringers Middleweight Championship. Everybody loves an underdog story, and the story of Tommy Toons (6-0) is exactly that. He came to Warbringers as a 4-0 rookie after just winning the Legends of Ironfist Middleweight title. In his Warbringers debut he knocked out Gale Tempest in impressive fashion, and was then given a title shot straight afterwards. Many people thought it was too soon for a young fighter like Toons to be fighting for the gold, but we went ahead with the fight anyway. Then, at WB58, Tommy Toons shocked the world by defeating champion Bill Annunaki in absolutely dominating fashion in a fight where he was considered a big underdog. Now, Toons is still undefeated, and the kingpin in our Middleweight division. In our main event of the evening, Toons gets the chance to defend his strap for the first time, and show that his championship win was no fluke in the process. The opponent for Toons' first defense is Kid Soplamocos (10-2), who similarly to Toons has been awarded a title shot after just one prior fight in the company. Soplamocos debuted at WB64, where he knocked out the undefeated Kosey Okafor in the first round. So impressed were we with Soplamocos in that fight that we felt that he deserved the shot at Toons here tonight. Stylistically, this is going to be a really intriguing fight. Toons is an out and out striker, who has won all of his fights due to his excellent hands and thudding kicks. Soplamocos is also a great striker, but he has some other aspects to his game as well as his striking. For example, in Soplamocos' last win before coming to Warbringers, he showed high level wrestling and ground control to score a decision over Illy Niccolo in BFC. This gives Soplamocos some options coming into this fight. If he is confident in his own striking game, he may decide to go blow for blow against Toons, or if he feels that Toons is most vulnerable on the canvas, he could try to take him down and grapple his way to title victory. The gameplans that these fighters come in with, and how well they execute them on the night will determine who walks away as the Warbringers Middleweight champion. Will Soplamocos add to his belt collection, or will Tommy Toons defy the odds yet again and retain his championship gold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Been a while since I've checked this page out Simply amazing, and I truly appreciate this work that deserves more attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felagund Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 I'd like to say that I like these previews a lot too, can't wait for the next one featuring the Unremarkable Tournament Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1307474645poster69.jpg WB69: Montoya vs. Kloss - Preview http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=700411 Without a shadow of a doubt, WB69 is going to be the biggest show in Warbringers history. Not only does it feature a huge Light Heavyweight championship bout between the seemingly unstoppable Carlito Montoya and top contender Nolan Kloss in the main event, but it also has the semi-finals of the Truly Unremarkable Tournament, and a main card full of amazing fights that wouldn't be out of place as co-main events in their own right. From top to bottom, this is a stacked card and should be an awesome show. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Wakanda "Magic" Akecheta vs. Mad Child @ 155lbs. To start us off on this epic night we have the best muay-thai fighter that has ever graced our cage taking on one of the top prospects in our Lightweight division. Wakanda Akecheta (3-1) may not be the most well rounded fighter out there, but his muay-thai skills are second to none. He was an undefeated 3-0 when he joined Warbringers, but in his debut things didn't quite go to plan as he got caught by a big combo and has his lights turned out at the hands of Kaoklai Khanomtom. We know that Akecheta has the potential to do well in our 155lb division, and so we have thrown him right back in at the deep end against the undefeated Mad Child (5-0). Since Child's managerial change a couple of months ago, Mad Child has continued his unbeaten ways with a destruction of Andrei Andreev, and is now looking to go 6-0 with a victory over Akecheta. To get this win, Child must avoid the clinch game at all costs. Once Akecheta gets an opponent in the thai plum, they rarely manage to get out of it and usually eat a whole barrage of knees in attempting to do so. It happened to Thiago Crul, it happened to Rennon Silva, it happened to Adriano Beto, and if Mad Child wants to avoid it happening to himself, he must keep his distance and try to pick apart Akecheta, or try to take the fight to the ground. Fight Two: Vincent Castillo vs. Gabriel Finalizador @ 185lbs. In fight number two, we finally get to welcome Gabriel Finalizador (7-3) to Warbringers. Finalizador is a fighter that has been on our radar ever since the demise of the Superfights org many months ago. In May, we noticed that Finalizador had finished his stint with RHOE Contenders, and was once again looking for a contract, and so we didn't hesitate to sign him up. For his debut, Finalizador takes on former Middleweight title challenger Vincent Castillo (13-7), who has gone 1-1 since his title shot. It was at WB51 when Vincent Castillo faced Bill Annunaki for the Middleweight crown, but since losing a decision that night, Castillo has beaten David Tennant and lost to Page Black, both by decision. Unfortunately this inconsistency has plagued Castillo throughout his career. When he performs to his full potential, he can beat anyone put in front of him, but Castillo doesn't seem to always live up to the potential that he has. A win here over Finalizador would be a great way for him to get back to winning ways and maybe start to string together some victories, but it won't be an easy task as Finalizador is both a good wrestler and grappler, and Castillo's takedown defense has been breached relatively easily in the past. If it stays standing, Castillo should be able to outpoint Finalizador, but on the ground Finalizador will definitely hold the advantage. Fight Three: Algernon "Great White Hunter" Mustard vs. Rogerio Cafu @ 155lbs. Before Algernon Mustard's (9-2) Warbringers debut, we hyped him up a lot. We said that he had the potential to go all the way to the top of our Lightweight division, and that we couldn't see anyone stopping him... but then Ken Yoshida submit him in the first round. Maybe we put too much pressure on Mustard, or maybe he just had an off-night at WB64. Whatever the reason for the defeat, he can set the record straight on Monday when he goes up against Rogerio Cafu (10-8). Interestingly, Cafu is a fighter in exactly the same mold as the man that defeated Mustard just a month ago. He is always looking for takedowns, has excellent grappling and a lot of submission wins in his career. This is going to be a great chance for us to see if Mustard's previous loss was a fluke, or whether he really does have a problem against high level submission artists. They say that styles make fights, and the styles involved here mean that we are almost guaranteed an exciting bout. Mustard will have no problem getting Cafu down to the ground, and from there we are either going to see Cafu lock in a submission, or Mustard rearrange his opponent's facial features with some donkey-kong punches. Whatever happens, I think this could be a potential fight of the night candidate. Fight Four: Chris "The Inverse Midas" Herzog vs. "The Asian Sensation" Ban Ki Kim @ 170lbs. Our fourth fight of the night is a battle of the awesome nicknames. Chris "The Inverse Midas" Herzog (12-5) has had a rough time in the last few months. First, he lost his Welterweight belt in an upset to Tim Conner, and then in his comeback fight he was defeated by Sean Price in a very close decision. Regardless of how close his fight with Price was, Herzog has still got two L's in a row on his record, and so emerging victorious in this fight is now of the utmost importance for him. His opponent, Ban Ki Kim (4-2), has also lost two fights on the trot and is still yet to record his first win in this organization, so this is an important fight for him too. Before Kim came to Warbringers, he made a name for himself in the Playboys Playground org with his clinchwork and brutal elbows which led to a series of TKO wins. We have yet to see this from him in Warbringers, but if Kim is to beat Herzog he is going to need to close the distance and land his face slicing elbow strikes. For Herzog, going to the ground with Kim will present him with his best chance at breaking his losing streak. Herzog has good hands, but on the ground he is an absolute beast, and Kim has shown signs of weakness when it comes to grappling in the past. Both of these men desperately need to win this fight, but unfortunately only one can. Fight Five: Mark "Milfhunter" Dai vs. "Paco" Alberto Lin @ 185lbs. A debutant that we are very excited about on this card is Alberto Lin (11-3-1). The reason that we are looking forward to his debut so much is because he is an extraordinarily talented kickboxer. Throughout his career, he has beaten some quality opposition and put together a highlight reel of head kick knockouts. We feel that whether he wins at WB69 or not, Lin has a bright future ahead of him in Warbringers. He has been thrown a potential stumbling block in his first fight, though, as he takes on the ground and pound machine Mark Dai (4-1). Dai is the very definition of a no-nonsense fighter. He simply puts opponents on their backs, moves into dominant positions and unloads with strikes until either the referee pulls him off or until time expires. If this was a pure striking match, it wouldn't be competitive as Lin is levels above Dai in the standup. However, this isn't a pure striking match, it is an MMA fight, and Dai will be doing everything in his power to stop Lin from getting into his stride and being able to throw his decapitating kicks. You can expect Dai to be shooting for takedowns almost constantly, and then holding him down for extended periods of time whilst dropping bombs. The real question is, will Alberto Lin be able to avoid these takedowns? If he can't, then his chances of winning this fight are slim. Fight Six: Ricardo "Widow-maker" Diaz vs. Tim Conner @ 170lbs. It is testament to what a truly amazing card WB69 is that a fight like this one only just manages to make it onto the main card. We have two former Welterweight champions in Ricardo Diaz (10-4) and Tim Conner (9-1), who love nothing more than entertaining the fans and having a good scrap, and they are going to be going head to head and throwing punches until one man goes down. We have seen it a lot in the past that losing a championship can sometimes cause a downturn in a fighters career. It looked like the same might be happening to Diaz when he lost to Gabriel Emerson in what was supposed to be his big comeback, but in his most recent outing we saw the real Ricardo Diaz again, as he knocked Cobra Kai out cold with a brutal left/right combo. The win over Kai could now serve as the perfect platform for Diaz to work his way back towards the championship, but getting through Tim Conner will be a big assignment for him. In his young career, Conner already has some massive wins, including decisions over Richard Riddick and Chris Herzog, and a TKO of Otto Graf. What makes Conner special is how versatile his standup is. Sometimes he will stay at range and land crisp punch combinations, sometimes he will reel off leg kicks, sometimes he will clinch up and work his dirty boxing and sometimes he throws hail-mary head kicks. Diaz vs. Conner is going to be a battle between two of the best strikers at Welterweight. There is a good chance that one of them will taste their first ever knockout loss, but predicting which one is almost an impossible task. Fight Seven: Giovani "Fadinha" Gomes vs. "The Polish Pillow" Jan Dudek @ 170lbs. The seventh fight of the night is again in the Welterweight division and features a newcomer with some serious potential. From Krakow, Poland, Jan Dudek (4-0) is a world class boxer and kickboxer. He comes to Warbringers undefeated, with all of his wins coming by dominant decision. What makes Dudek different from the other world class strikers out there is that he very rarely throws power punches. Instead, he is always throwing accurate range finding jabs and pitter-patter punches which don't necessarily do much damage to opponents, but always rack him up the points on the judges scorecards. Without question, if Giovani Gomes (9-5) is going to get a win over The Polish Pillow, he is going to need to do something that nobody has been able to do to Dudek yet; take him down. Gomes is a black-belt in jiu-jitsu who after a rocky start in Warbringers is now on a submission streak, having won his last three fights against Boba Fettucini, Boris Garcia and Ban Ki Kim all by tapout in the first or second round. Very few fighters are able to hang with Gomes once it hits the mat, but sometimes the man from Varginha does struggle to land his takedowns. For example, against Dan Svensson, Gomes attempted twenty-seven takedowns and only completed two. Unless he has been working very hard on improving his takedown offense, Giovani Gomes is going to end up on the receiving end of Dudek's relentless striking. Fight Eight: "The Engineer" Gor Keyman vs. Edwin "Baby Face" Murray @ Openweight. The first of our two Truly Unremarkable Tournament bouts on the WB69 card is Gor Keyman (8-0) vs. Edwin Murray (9-5). In the quarter finals, Gor Keyman showed us a side of his game that we never knew he had. Until his fight at WB66, we thought that Keyman was simply an out and out striker, but against Vadim Leonov he showed that he also has a submission game. In that fight, Keyman was taken down by Leonov, but hit a lovely sweep to end up in side control, where he secured a arm triangle and choked Leonov unconscious. This was Keyman's first career submission win, and it was an extremely impressive one. Edwin Murray was also very impressive in his quarter final, in which he took only thirty-four seconds to land a crunching head kick and turn Dino Adams' lights out. Despite Keyman showing that he is capable on the ground, we still fully expect him to stand up and strike with Murray, and that means that we are going to get to see some fireworks. Both Keyman and Murray have knockout power in all four limbs, some big kicks in their arsenal, and an aggressive style that the fans love. When these two beasts get locked in the cage together, it will only be a matter of time before one of them gets separated from consciousness. Fight Nine: Peewee Herman vs. "Beastmaster" Bestigor Tazar @ Openweight. When the participants for the Truly Unremarkable Tournament were decided, there were two fighters that we initially thought of as front-runners who may end up meeting in the final. Those two fighters were Peewee Herman (16-2) and Bestigor Tazar (8-0), but the luck of the draw means that these two men are now meeting in the second semi-final, where only one will be able to advance. Bestigor Tazar has looked incredible so far in the tournament, running through both Ryan Brandt and Mike Zambidis and finishing them both. Tazar's striking ability and raw power, coupled with his high octane fighting style means that he is a handful for anyone that he comes up against. When he takes on Peewee Herman in the ninth fight of the evening, it will be the biggest fight of his career, and it will be against one of the trickiest opponents that he has ever come up against. Herman is not know for being a big finisher. In fact, of his sixteen career wins, only two have been by knockout or submission. Herman doesn't throw huge bombs intended to knock opponents out, instead he fires off quick and accurate punches and kicks that keep the opponents guessing and rack up the points on the judges scorecards. Tazar usually comes out like a caged animal and overwhelms his opponents with brutal and powerful strikes, but if Herman can weather the initial storm and then start working his own gameplan, there is no telling whether Tazar will have an answer. Main Event: "I cum inside hookers" Carlito Montoya vs. Nolan "Suck Out" Kloss for the Warbringers Light Heavyweight Championship. At WB60, Carlito Montoya (17-3) tied Glenn Gunn's record for the most Warbringers title defenses when he made his third successful defense of his 205lb strap. Now, Montoya gets the chance to make that record his own when he takes on the number one contender, Nolan Kloss (9-4) in the main event of the evening. I find myself running out of superlatives to describe Carlito Montoya and the success that he has had in Warbringers. He came to the org in January 2011 already carrying a six-fight winning streak, and has since beaten everyone put in his path and extended his streak to an incredible eleven in a row. In that time he has catapulted up the pound-for-pound world rankings and become the highest ranked fighter in the history of this org. Everybody that we put in front of him, he seems to blow through with relative ease. So, trying to find an opponent that could give Montoya a fight was not easy, but we believe that Nolan Kloss is that man. Kloss is currently on a four fight winning streak of his own, and lately has come into his own and shown that he has a world class ground game. He out-grappled jiu-jitsu black belt Daniele Vantaggiato, then submit former champion Peter La Fleur with a kimura, then pounded out Mike Ditka on the ground and in his most recent fight submitted Mike van Rijn. The last time that Montoya lost a round of a fight was the first round of his fight against Rullo Gracie, in which he was taken down, kept on his back and outworked. That is why we believe that Kloss could possibly win this fight; he has the skills to be able to put Montoya on his back and keep him there. It might not be the prettiest, but if Nolan Kloss can use that gameplan to win championship gold, I don't think he will care how aesthetically pleasing his victory was. The danger for Kloss is that if he cannot take Montoya down straight away, or cannot keep him down for the entire five rounds, then he is going to have to try to stand with Montoya and avoid the big bombs that have given so many of his past opponents concussions. Realistically, Montoya will be the betting favourite for this fight, but as we have learned in the past, you should never rule Nolan Kloss out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1307988842poster70.jpg WB70: Loureiro vs. Price - Preview http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=700412 From top to bottom, the seventieth Warbringers card has loads of great fights, including a trifecta of main events. Topping the billing is a Welterweight Championship fight between top dog Rafael Loureiro and the number one contender Sean Price, and underneath that we have two huge fights that will help to decide the future of the Light Heavyweight and Lightweight title pictures. Read on for the full preview. Fight One: Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs. Carlton Silva @ 185lbs. WB65 on the 14th May was a night to remember for Carlton Silva (12-10-1). Before that, he had failed to win in seven of his previous eight appearances. It was crucial that he turned things around and put in a big performance against Gordon Ramyay, and that is exactly what he did as he dominated from bell to bell to finally end his horrific run of form. Having now ended his losing streak, Carlton Silva can finally begin to look upwards and focus on putting wins together, and moving up in the Warbringers rankings. To do that, he must first defeat Wanderlei Silva (14-11) who was knocked out by Alejandro Sosa the last time he was in the cage. We know that Wanderlei's submission game is very good. In fact, before his loss to Sosa, he had won two fights in a row by submission, but unfortunately Wanderlei's standup game has never quite been at the same level as his ground game. Carlton Silva, on the other hand, is more of a standup-oriented fighter who prefers to stay away from the ground. Normally, in fights where one man wants it on the ground and one wants to keep it standing, it is the wrestling battle that determines the victor. If that rings true here, then it will most likely be Carlton Silva that gets his hand raised at the end of it. Fight Two: Javito "Jj" Juarez vs. Thiago "Chihuahua" Almer @ 170lbs. It has been over two months since Javito Juarez (4-4) last fought in Warbringers. In his last fight, he was knocked out by Astolfo de Mello to extend his losing streak to three. Now, after having a nice long training break to attempt to plug some of the holes in his game, Juarez returns and faces Thiago Almer (5-4). Almer made a really promising start in Warbringers by knocking out Kim Haven of Mist in thirty seconds at WB54. Although Almer was then laid and prayed to a decision loss in his next outing, he returned with a bang at WB66, knocking out Tuomas Uusierkki in the second round to take his Warbringers record to 2-1 with two knockouts. Getting another KO against Javito Juarez certainly isn't out of the question for Almer, either, when you consider that Juarez has been knocked out two times in his last three fights, and that there is perhaps a slight question mark over his chin and ability to take a punch. We are likely to see Juarez try to take this fight to the ground where he will hold an advantage in the jiu-jitsu department, but unless Juarez has been using his extra time off to brush up on his wrestling and takedowns, he might not be able to get it there and may instead end up getting his chin tested once again. Fight Three: "Bola de neve" Kim Haven of Mist vs. Danilo "AntiVida" Santos @ 170lbs. When Kim Haven of Mist (6-6) came up against Javito Juarez at WB60, he was fighting to stay in the company as he had lost his previous four bouts. The pressure was really on, but Mist rose to the occasion and reminded us why he can be such a dangerous opponent, with a brutal superman punch knockout victory in only eleven seconds. It was Mist's first win since October of 2010, but the question now is can he do it again? Taking on Mist in our third fight of the night is Danilo Santos (3-2), a fighter that came to Warbringers undefeated, but has lost both of his fights here so far, and so is in desperate need of his first win in this company. The problem for Santos is that he looks like a fighter devoid of confidence. His loss to McLucas Silva seems to have depleted his morale and he hasn't been able to recover from that. Stylistically, this fight is going to be a big ask for Santos because Mist is far more experienced, better on the ground, and has knockout power in both his fists. Technically, Santos could be considered the superior striker, but as we have seen from Mist time and time again, he only needs to land one decent strike to send an opponent to sleep. The longer this fight goes on, the less chance Santos has of winning, so he needs to go in there finish the job as early as possible. If he can't, then he might find himself a permanent fixture on the Kim Haven of Mist highlight reel. Fight Four: Solomon Venris vs. Thiago "Duke" Sousa @ 155lbs. In our fourth fight of the night we meet the first newcomer on this card, dirty boxer and muay-thai fighter Solomon Venris (3-3), who brings with him an interesting and bloody fighting style. Venris loves to clinch up with opponents, push them against the cage, fire knees into the body and land elbow strikes to their head. It is a tactic that allows him to cut open the majority of his opposition, and in his most recent fight it even resulted in a doctor stoppage. For Venris' debut, he goes up against a striker that prefers to stay at range; kickboxer Thiago Sousa (3-2). Sousa burst onto the scene with an upset victory over Kelly Ganon that put the Warbringers veteran into retirement, and although he hasn't continued to impress to the same extent, he looked great against Carlos da Silva at WB58. Sousa has dropped a couple of decisions lately, but this fight against Venris is one that he could definitely win, which would allow him to get back into the win column once more. The key to victory for Sousa is that he stays away from Venris' clinch and elbows. If he finds himself getting tied up against the cage, he either needs to circle and break free, or take it to the ground to escape. If he can stop Venris from getting too close, Sousa should then be able to work his own striking, and possibly land one of the big kicks or fight-ending overhand rights that he has become known for, but if he can't then we may see another cut stoppage from Venris. Fight Five: Czar "Imperial" Jack vs. Gustav "The Meatpacker" Swift @ 205lbs. In early 2011, Czar Jack (7-1) came out of nowhere to burst onto the Warbringers Light Heavyweight scene and win two fights in a row as a heavy underdog. First, he beat up Mark Watson in his debut at a time where Watson was thought to be one of the best in the division, and then he won a shutout decision over rising star Peter Czech to prove that he belonged amongst the best at 205. In his third Warbringers fight, he was again a big underdog, but this time against Jonas Wenkel he was constantly grounded and given a lesson in high level grappling. Immediately after the loss, Jack took a long training break, but two months later he is now back to attempt another underdog victory against Gustav Swift (8-3). With his brown-belt in jiu-jitsu and solid striking game, Swift is a very dangerous opponent wherever a fight goes. In his last Warbringers appearance, though, Slade Wilson managed to stuff all of Swift's takedown attempts and outwork him on the feet to win a decision. This Saturday, Swift shouldn't have as much trouble getting the takedown, because Czar Jack's wrestling is nowhere near the level of Slade Wilson's, and as we saw against Wenkel, his takedown defense needs a bit of work. Having said that, we have learned that you should never write Czar Jack out of a fight. He thrives and puts on his best performances when he is the underdog, and we could quite easily see him upset the odds again at WB70. Fight Six: Rudell Crim vs. "Boom" Bala Bala @ 185lbs. The one fighter that has stood out above all overs recently in the Warbringers Middleweight division is Rudell Crim (5-0). This wrestler from Memphis, Tennessee was given a huge test in his debut last month when he was put up against Blade Brown, but Crim showed us that he means business by smashing Brown and winning by TKO in the first round. This win put the rest of the division on notice, and I know that quite a few of them will be watching this fight with a keen interest. Going up against Crim in our sixth fight of the night is a submission fighter called Bala Bala (12-7) who you may recognise from having fought in one of the top organisations in the world, Synchronicity. If you look back over some of Bala's past fights, you can see that although his official belt level is brown, in reality he is actually closer to a black belt. He has ten finishes by submission in his twelve career victories, and in general is just a beast on the ground. That is why we believe the fight against Rudell Crim is going to be an interesting one. It should tell us whether the hype starting to surround Crim is deserved or not. Crim will be looking to take Bala down and punch his face through the canvas in his usual brutal fashion, but Bala is the best submission artist that Crim has faced to date, bar none, and will present a very stern test for him. Fight Seven: Toby Le Rone vs. Vinicius "dale grêmio" Ramos @ 205lbs. In fight number seven, Vinicius Ramos (4-0) returns after his successful Warbringers debut to take on fellow undefeated prospect Toby Le Rone (2-0) in the Light Heavyweight division. Ramos made a great first impression at WB61, by beating up the very tough Kazuma Yoshiro, to the point where Yoshiro tapped out due to strikes. Ramos is now looking to follow up that dominating performance against another unbeaten fighter, muay-thai man Toby Le Rone. Having started his tenure in Warbringers as an 0-0 rookie, Le Rone quickly established himself as a truly talented fighter by winning back to back fights by doctor stoppage. In his previous fights, Le Rone has tended to overwhelm opponents in the clinch by combining dirty boxing, elbow strikes and big knees. In order for him to be able to do this to Vinicius Ramos, he is going to have to avoid the constant barrage of takedowns that Ramos usually attempts. None of Ramos' previous opponents have been able to resist his powerful takedowns and ground and pound, but Le Rone is an excellent wrestler in his own right and could be the man to do it. Both of these fighters no doubt have bright futures ahead of them in this organisation, but only one man will be able to continue their rise to stardom this Saturday. Fight Eight: "Natural" Nate Springs vs. Ken Yoshida @ 155lbs. The first of our three main events at WB70 is in the Lighweight division, and matches up Nate Springs (10-4-1), who just broke his seven fight unbeaten streak in a title fight against Jin Shotokahn, with Ken Yoshida (14-11), a jiu-jitsu master who has impressed in the last couple of months with two high profile submission wins in a row. Before Nate Springs last appearance in a Warbringers cage, he hadn't lost since July 2010. His excellent run of form was enough to earn him a shot at Jin Shotokahn's Lightweight championship, but in his big title fight at WB65, he came off second best and now must start his ascent back to the top. The first fighter standing in Springs' way on his quest back to the 155lb summit is BJJ brown belt and experienced veteran Ken Yoshida. While Yoshida's record may not be hugely impressive, when you consider that he has had a long and storied career in RHOE where he was facing world class opponents consistently, the fact that he has more wins than losses speaks volumes about how talented he truly is. Now after winning two fights in a row by submission, against fellow brown belt Brian Lobe and Olympic wrestler Algernon Mustard, Yoshida is edging closer and closer to a title shot of his own. Both of these men are extremely well rounded and we are expecting to see a grueling and hard-fought contest here. Whoever wins is probably going to put themselves in pole position for the next title shot, so there is everything to fight for. Fight Nine: Ares "God Of War" Constantinides vs. Fred "Headstone" Hanks @ 205lbs. The second of our three main events is a highly intriguing matchup in the 205lb division. One one side of the cage will be Ares Constantinides (14-8-1), a fighter who seems to have it all. He can stand and strike, he is great in the clinch, he has world class wrestling, heavy ground and pound and a decent submission game too. It may be early days in his Warbringers career, but already he is looking like the total package, and a fighter that could possibly work his way up to the top of the division and be challenging for the belt one day. On the other side of the cage in fight nine will stand Fred Hanks (11-5), the heaviest hitter in Warbringers. Calling Hanks the biggest hitter in this company is a very bold statement, but if you look over his career it really is hard to argue with. Hanks has eleven wins, and ten of these have been by crushing knockout in the first or second round. It seems that when Hank connects clean, opponents get knocked out, and that is why he will present a tough challenge to Constantinides. On paper, Constantinides is the more technically skilled fighter of the pair, but technique doesn't (especially in fights featuring Hanks) necessarily ensure victory. All it will take is one haymaker, one right hook or one knee to crumple Constantinides to the canvas and give Hanks the upset. Of all the fights on the card, this is the one that stands out as a potential fight of the night candidate, so make sure you don't miss it! Main Event: Rafael "Seda" Loureiro vs. Sean "The Right" Price for the Warbringers Welterweight Championship. Topping the billing at WB70 is a Welterweight title fight between the current champion Rafael Loureiro (12-5) and the number one contender Sean Price (13-5). In the year and a half that Warbringers have been running, we have never had a fighter as successful as Rafael Loureiro. He currently holds records for the most wins in the org, the most submission wins in the org, and is the only fighter to have ever held title belts in more than one weight class. As well as this, Loureiro always has entertaining fights and as a result has become a fan favourite. This will be his first ever attempted defense of the Welterweight crown, and his opponent for it is the very well rounded Sean Price. It is a little known fact that Sean Price actually fought in Warbringers before Loureiro first did. Loureiro made his debut at WB5, but just over one month previous, Sean Price was headlining the WB2 card. After his win that night, Price moved on and had a highly successful career in Kings of Rio but in early 2011 he re-signed with Warbringers to make a run for the title here. In the months that followed, Price breezed past Dan Svensson and Sasha Lakovic before being scheduled in a number one contender fight against Chris Herzog. Despite the controversy surrounding the outcome of that very close fight, Price was officially declared the winner and therefore has earned his shot at Loureiro's gold. For Price, avoiding Loureiro's ground game will be crucial to success. It is well documented that Loureiro is the most dangerous ground fighter in this organisation's history, and so Price will not want to get into a grappling competition with him. Instead, Price will be hoping to stay standing utilise his combination of pure boxing and leg kicks that have allowed him to rack up the wins since returning to Warbringers. This should be a fantastic main event, but only one of these fighters can walk away as the champion. Will it be Rafael Loureiro continuing his success story, or will Sean Price remain undefeated in Warbringers? Find out this Saturday at Hayashi's Lounge in Rio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1308592924poster71.jpg WB71: Shotokahn vs. Rypien 2 http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=702423 The Warbringers Lightweight title picture is in a very interesting state at the moment. Rick Rypien defeated Jin Shotokahn to win the belt in the main event back at WB50, but contractual disputes meant that Rypien left the org and had his championship stripped. When Rypien changed management, he agreed a deal to come back to Warbringers, but in the meantime Jin Shotokahn had worked his way back up to the top and won the title that Rypien had vacated. Now, the two fight again at WB71 to determine who is the rightful champion. Read on for the full preview. Fight One: Blade Brown vs. Jean Charles Skarbowsky @ 185lbs. I have to be honest, it was very difficult to find an opponent for Blade Brown (4-2-1) for this fight. Especially so when you consider that it was not only a fight against Blade Brown, but a fight against an angry, pissed off Blade Brown who will be looking to bounce back from his defeat to Rudell Crim by murdering somebody. A call to arms was put out, and one man stepped up to the plate - Jean Charles Skarbowsky (1-1), fresh off of his destruction of David Tennant only a couple of weeks ago. That fight was his Warbringers debut, and Skarbowsky certainly impressed, landing a staggering 197 strikes over the course of the fifteen minutes. It was a performance from Skarbowsky that confirmed that he can fight at a much higher level, and so this fight against Blade Brown will be the perfect way to gauge where on the ladder he is. Skarbowsky will have to be wary of Brown's jiu-jitsu brown belt - as we saw in his professional debut, his grappling ability isn't quite up to the same level as his kickboxing and muay-thai. It is crucial for Blade Brown that he puts in a good showing after the underwhelming performance that we saw from him against Crim, but Skarbowsky will be doing everything in his power to seize the opportunity that he has been given and pull off his second win in as many weeks. Fight Two: Boba "Stretch" Fettucini vs. Dan "Tangy" Svensson @ 170lbs. Some of you reading this may be thinking "where has that guy been?!" in reference to Boba Fettucini (7-6-1). It's been over three months since he last had a fight in Warbringers, due to the fact that I am an incompetent matchmaker and very forgetful. Nevertheless, he is here now, and ready to end the run of poor form that has meant that he hasn't won a fight since WB37. Since that event, Fettucini has gone 0-3-1, and although all of those fights were against a very high level of competition, nobody likes to have a run of losses on their record. To get back to winning ways, Fettucini must defeat the well rounded yet inconsistent Dan Svensson (8-5), who was surprisingly defeated by Esteban Cambiasso at WB66. Unfortunately, the inconsistency has been a real problem for Dan Svensson throughout his career. Against most opponents, he performs at a high level, but then occasionally - such as in his fight against Cambiasso - he doesn't turn up and loses unexpectedly. I have been saying it for a while, and I still stand by it now, Dan Svensson has what it takes to be a big player in the Welterweight division, but he needs to cut the slip ups and mistakes out of his game. Indeed, if he makes just one error against a fighter of Fettucini's quality, he will be punished for it. Fight Three: Ricardo Galocinza vs. Bryan Vessey @ 155lbs. Annoyingly, Bryan Vessey (1-4) keeps getting knocked out. In both of his two Warbringers bouts, he has been separated from consciousness in the first round, and hasn't really been able to show the muay-thai skills that led us to sign him in the first place. In what could possibly be Vessey's final fight with us, he takes on another skilled striker, from Encruzilhada do Sul, Brazil; Ricardo Galocinza (2-1). At WB61, Galocinza made his Warbringers debut against Andrei Andreev and won a comfortable three round decision in which he showed crisp boxing, and good top control and ground and pound. Galocinza always looked like winning that fight, but against Vessey we are really hoping that he turns it up a notch and goes for a knockout. We know that Vessey is capable of being finished, as it has happened in his last two fights, and so this is a great chance for Galocinza to start his highlight reel and put the rest of the division on notice at the same time. I don't want to give the impression that this fight is a gimme for Galocinza, because Vessey's muay-thai is good and anything can happen in mixed martial arts, but realistically this is a fight that Galocinza should be winning, and emphatically. Fight Four: "Kirk Sucks" Khan Singh vs. Brian "Frontal" Lobe @ 155lbs. On a night where a big rematch headlines the show, we have another rematch on the undercard, between Khan Singh (9-7) and Brian Lobe (9-8). These guys first met at WB43 in what was Brian Lobe's debut. In that fight, Khan Singh won a fairly close 29-28 decision. Since then, both Lobe and Singh have had rough runs. Singh went on to collect one more win after defeating Lobe, but then lost his next three, while Lobe went on to defeat Andreas Lumpia but then lost his next two. Now, both of these fighters are in a similar position where they need a win to avoid extending their losing streak, and therefore a rematch seemed like the most logical thing to do. The first fight between them was quite exciting, and Khan Singh has become well known for appearing in fight of the nights, and so we are expecting this one to be just as good. The first time around, Lobe didn't have any trouble getting Singh to the ground, but once he secured the takedowns he couldn't really do anything with them. Singh was simply too good at tieing him up, stopping him from passing and defending submissions, and in the periods when the fight was on the feet, he landed some decent strikes of his own which allowed him to just edge the decision. It will be interesting to see what tactical changes these men make from the first meeting, and whether it will have any effect on the outcome. Fight Five: Daniele Vantaggiato vs. "Average Joe" Peter La Fleur @ 205lbs. There was a time when Peter La Fleur (11-9) looked unbeatable. He sat atop the Light Heavyweight division, defending his title and knocking out opponents left, right and centre. It is hard to believe how badly he has now fallen from grace. In La Fleur's last five fights, he has gone 1-4, and was most recently dominated by Fred Hanks. The main area that La Fleur has experienced problems is on the ground, more specifically from off of his back. This is where Mark Watson defeated him, where Rullo Gracie defeated him, where Nolan Kloss defeated and where Daniele Vantaggiato (9-8) will be trying to defeat him. TKO loss to Ares Constantinides aside, Vantaggiato has looked excellent recently. At WB53, he GnP'd out Guy LeDouche and then at WB58 he caught Burt Angle in a triangle choke and forced the tap. The way he can combine submission attempts with brutal ground and pound means that being on the canvas with Vantaggiato is something that everyone in the 205lb division should fear, especially fighters who have been outgrappled in the past. To win this fight, La Fleur is going to have to show his aggressive side. He needs to be aware that the longer this fight goes, the more chance Vantaggiato has of taking him down and locking in a submission, and therefore he needs to try to land that knockout punch very early on. Fight Six: Sasha "The Mascot Hitman" Lakovic vs. "El Chuchu" Esteban Cambiasso @ 170lbs. Powerful takedowns and great ground control led Esteban Cambiasso (12-9) to a successful Warbringers debut over Dan Svensson, but now we get to see if he can climb up to the next level and defeat a former champion in Sasha Lakovic (14-8). When Cambiasso stepped into a Warbringers cage to take on Svensson at WB66, he was actually considered the underdog, but he had no problem working over Svensson on the ground on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Doing the same to former Welterweight champion Sasha Lakovic will be a much bigger ask for Cambiasso, but if he somehow manages to win his second fight in a row as an underdog, then we have shown that he truly belongs amongst the best 170lbers in the org. Much like in his fight against Svensson, Cambiasso will need to turn this into a ground battle if he is to stand any chance, because he will be no match for Lakovic on the feet. The reason that we have put Cambiasso as an underdog and Lakovic as the favourite here is because there is such a vast difference in wrestling ability between the two. Cambiasso needs to get this fight to the ground, but his overall wrestling is at such a low level in comparison to Lakovic's that he may not be able to do it. If he does indeed struggle to complete his takedowns, then he simply will not be able to win this fight. Fight Seven: Peter "The Headhunter" Alb vs. Pera Vihtahousu @ 170lbs. Imagine a fighter with such good kickboxing ability that every fight he has ever been in has ended by head kick knockout. A fighter whose average fight length is under three minutes. A fighter who is ruthless and aggressive, and will take your head off if he is given half a chance. A fighter with a kickass purple Mohawk. That man is Peter Alb (5-0) and we are extremely pleased to welcome him to Warbringers. It came as quite a surprise when we scouted Alb that he had flown under the radar of so many other orgs. Up until this point in his career, he has only fought on the Hilo QFC scene, but after watching a few of his fights we just knew that he was a man with heaps of potential and we simply had to have him. Luckily for us, Alb signed on the dotted line, and is now ready to make his non-QFC debut in Warbringers. For an opponent, Alb has been given jiu-jitsu black belt Pera Vihtahousu (13-10) in what will be the biggest test of his career. Vihtahousu is an awesome grappler who has ten submission wins on his resume. He is the best jiu-jitsu fighter in our Welterweight division, and without question he will be trying to get this fight to the ground as soon as possible where he should then be able to pick up a victory. If Vihtahousu stands in front of Alb, then it is just a matter of time before he becomes the next head kick victim, but if he can get it to the ground then he could definitely spoil Alb's debut. Fight Eight: Gabriel Emerson vs. McLucas Silva @ 170lbs. In the eighth fight of the evening we have a potentially very exciting contest between a young up-and-comer, and an established veteran, both of whom are on winning streaks. Twenty-year old McLucas Silva (5-1) has won his last four fights and was seen most recently delivering a brutal beatdown to Astolfo de Mello at WB65. In that fight, Silva made de Mello look like an amateur by stuffing every single takedown attempt his opponent could throw over three rounds, and landing more than two-hundred punches in the process. It was really only de Mello's granite chin that stopped Silva from getting a knockout, but regardless, it was an incredible performance from the young man and as a reward he has been given a step up here against a title contender in Gabriel Emerson (11-6-2). Like Silva, Emerson is currently on a winning streak and riding a wave of momentum. Since February of this year, he has defeated former champion Ricardo Diaz, Tony Danza and former champion Sasha Lakovic. The quality of these three opponents and the ease in which he defeated them has meant that Emerson's stock has risen dramatically in the last few months. Another win on Sunday may even see him move into pole position for a title shot, but Emerson must make sure he doesn't look past McLucas Silva. He may be young and inexperienced, but Silva is also hungry and determined to work his way up to the top. We know that Silva has world class takedown defense, and if he can stop Emerson from getting him to the mat, he could well pull off a shock win. Fight Nine: Kaoklai Khanomtom vs. Moe "Josef Fritzl" Lester @ 155lbs. In our co-main event of the evening, we get to find out who will be next in line for a shot at the Lightweight championship. The two men squaring off in the hope of becoming the number one contender are Kaoklai Khanomtom (7-1) and Moe Lester (11-4). Since he came to Warbringers in February of 2011, Kaoklai Khanomtom has had four fights, and knocked out his opponent in each and every one of them. As a result of his destructive streak, he has risen right up to the top of the rankings and is now only one more win away from getting a shot at the gold. The only thing standing in Khanomtom's way is a man by the name of Moe Lester, who just happens to be the best striker that Khanomtom has ever faced, and by quite a distance. Most of the opponents that Khanomtom has fought so far have been grapplers and ground based fighters, so it will be interesting to see how he does against a man that will go blow for blow with him. As Khan Singh found out at WB66, being in the clinch with Lester is a very dangerous place to be. Lester's last two wins have both been by doctor stoppage after having landed a barrage of vicious elbows and knees from close range. Khanomtom does have some nice dirty boxing of his own in clinch situations, but he is also a really talented technical boxer, and therefore he might be better served keeping this fight at range and avoiding Lester's main weapon. This fight has the potential to be an all-out striking war, and whoever comes away victorious will have certainly earned their title shot. Main Event: Jin Shotokahn vs. Rick "The Ripper" Rypien in a rematch for the Warbringers Lightweight Championship. As I touched upon at the start of this preview, the Warbringers Lightweight title scene right now is fascinating. We find ourselves in a situation where a former champion who never lost his title is returning to the org after having his belt stripped, where he finds a fighter that he has already beaten wearing what he believes should still be his championship. Rick Rypien (11-3) originally won the title from Jin Shotokahn (12-4-1) all the way back at WB50 in what was at the time the single biggest fight in Warbringers history. In truth, the fight was actually pretty one sided, with Rypien landing all of the power punches and eventually connecting with a fight-ending right hand near the end of the second round. Shortly after his win, Rypien left the org and as a result had his title vacated. In the absence of a champion, Jin Shotokahn was given a shot at the strap against Ference Gabor and at WB59, he knocked out Gabor to win the Lightweight belt for the second time. Around this time, Rypien rejoined Warbringers under new management with his sights set on reclaiming the title, and after he defeated Rogerio Cafu in his comeback fight, and Shotokahn defended against Nate Springs about a month later, all the pieces fell into place for this rematch. All eyes will be on Jin Shotokahn in this fight because the onus is on him to perform better than he did in the last meeting. Shotokahn is a striker, pure and simple. Yet, he was beaten up and knocked out by Rypien at WB50. What will Shotokahn do differently this time? How will he ensure that this fight has a different ending to the first one? Has he made any changes to his training in preparation for this fight, and will he be using a different strategy on Sunday night? There are lots of questions, and the only way to get answers will be to watch WB71: Shotokahn vs. Rypien 2, at Hard Knocks, Rio on June 26th! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1309199443poster72.jpg WB72: Keyman vs. Tazar http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=703160 Just over two months ago, Warbringers started a tournament called "A Truly Unremarkable Tournament" that featured fighters whose primary skills were all under "Remarkable". Fourteen of the initial sixteen entrants have fallen, and we are now left with Gor Keyman and Bestigor Tazar in the final, fighting for a $100,000 prize and 1 year of VIP for their manager. As well as this awesome main event, we have a huge co-main event in which Kid Soplamocos looks to defend his newly won Middleweight championship against veteran Alejandro Sosa. Not satisfied with two big headline fights, there is also a stacked main card featuring some of the most exciting fighters in the org. Read on for the full preview. Fight One: Burt "Right" Angle vs. Alexander "The Experiment" Karelin @ 205lbs. In all my time as the owner of Warbringers, I cannot remember ever booking a fight between two truly world class wrestlers. But, in our first fight of the evening that is exactly what we have. Burt Angle (10-8) and Alexander Karelin (3-6) are two of the most decorated wrestlers in the entire organisation, and yet, they both find themselves on losing streaks. Burt Angle has lost his last two fights to Daniele Vantaggiato and Guy LeDouche, and Alexander Karelin has lost three in a row against Slade Wilson, Barbados Slim and Chen Chong. So, to kick off WB72, we have matched these two fighters against each other so that one losing streak must end. As well as their olympic calibre wrestling, Angle and Karelin both have high level jiu-jitsu skills. In any other fight, there is no question that these guys would be looking for takedowns, ground and pound and submissions, but against each other, the likelihood is that their wrestling ability will cancel the other out and therefore the fight may end up becoming a striking contest. If that happens here, then Angle would have to be considered the favourite as his technical striking is on a much higher level than Karelin's, and we have seen in Karelin's last few fights that his chin cannot stand up to the big power punches that some of these big men can throw. Fight Two: Kosey "Lion" Okafor vs. "The Doctor" David Tennant @ 185lbs. Rwandan kickboxer Kosey Okafor (6-1) made a great start to his mixed martial arts career, winning his first six contests and picking up three knockouts along the way. In his seventh fight, he was given a step up in competition to see if he could hang with the division's elite, but unfortunately Okafor couldn't quite make the step against Kid Soplamocos and lost by knockout. His fight here at WB72 against David Tennant (8-10) marks Okafor's first venture back into the cage since that loss, and he will want to put it behind him and get straight back into the win column. The problem for Okafor is that defeating David Tennant isn't an easy task. Even though Tennant has lost a few in a row, he is so experienced, so wily and so difficult to finish that he always needs to be taken extremely seriously. A great example of this is the fight between Tennant and Donnie Jeremy. Jeremy went into that fight extremely confident of beating Tennant, almost looking past him, but in the cage Tennant completely battered Jeremy with huge knees in the clinch, and ultimately put Jeremy into retirement. Okafor must respect Tennant's ability, and make sure he brings his A game. If both men fight to their full potential, I think Okafor will walk out as the winner, but David Tennant should never be written off. Fight Three: Chen "Dong" Chong vs. Michael "The Truth" Vera @ 205lbs. Everybody loves a slugfest, and in the third fight of the night we have two fighters that love to stand centre cage and trade strikes. Chen Chong (11-9) is a Warbringers fan favourite because of his never say die attitude and the highlight reel of finishes that he has put together here. In his last outing, he defeated Alexander Karelin by TKO in under ninety seconds, and picked up a fight of the night cheque in the process. Every time Chong steps into the cage, you just know you are going to see an exciting fight and it is a safe bet that he will be in another exciting fight on Sunday. Chong's opponent is Michael Vera (7-1), who was really impressive in his Warbringers debut at WB68 when he knocked out Ric Slobberknocker with a brutal head kick. With both men being such talented strikers, neither of them will have any interest in going to the ground in this fight. Instead, Chong will be trying to land his powerful punch combinations, and Vera will be firing away with leg, body and head kicks. Don't expect either fighter to hold anything back or keep anything in reserve, because these guys leave it all in the cage every time they fight. This is the kind of matchup that we wish we could make more often here in Warbringers; two high octane strikers with knockout power, who will exchange punches and kicks until one or the other gets knocked out. Fight Four: Dave "Pyton" Yoma vs. Alejandro "Oh Yeah" de le Fe @ 185lbs. Against Buakaw Pramuk at WB67, Dave Yoma's (6-6) inability to land strikes and takedowns was his undoing. He was too aggressive, too wild and too inaccurate, and ultimately this led to Pramuk being able to counter and pick Yoma apart on his way to a third round cut stoppage. If Yoma had been able to take that fight to the ground, we may have seen a totally different outcome, but it was not to be. In his comeback fight after that defeat, Yoma goes up a fighter whose style is very similar to Pramuk's, Alejandro de le Fe (9-4). Like Yoma's last opponent, de le Fe has good technical boxing and very accurate punches. He will be trying to use his high level wrestling to keep the fight standing and then tee off with strikes. If this fight is to end differently to the Yoma/Pramuk fight, then Yoma is going to really change up his gameplan. Instead of wading in with haymakers and shooting for takedowns from distance, he needs to be more unpredictable and try to mix takedowns with precision striking. If Yoma is able to get de le Fe to the mat, then he will feel that victory is within his grasp. Yoma has always been known as an excellent submission artist, and he will be confident that he can grapple circles around de le Fe. The question is, will Yoma be able to put de le Fe on his back, and if so, will he be able to keep him there? Fight Five: "Reckless" Mark Watson vs. "Killer Clown" John Gacy @ 205lbs. He used to be one of the most feared fighters in the Light Heavyweight division, but since the turn of the year Mark Watson (7-4) has been on a slippery slope. Having only notched up one win in his last five attempts, he now finds himself sitting in mid-roster obscurity, which is not a place that he wants to be. It is important that Watson starts to pick up the wins again like he did in his initial run to the championship when he first joined the org, but standing in his way is the ultra-talented John Gacy (8-4). At the start of Gacy's MMA career, he went on a great run. In his first nine fights he put together a record of 8-1, but two consecutive losses in the AFC and another loss in his Warbringers debut have halted his rise to prominence and Gacy now finds himself in a situation similar to Watson, where he needs a win at all costs. Stylistically, this is a really even fight. In a pure striking match, Gacy would win. Watson's striking isn't bad, but Gacy is just crisper and sharper with his hands. On the ground, though, Watson will be at an advantage due to his excellent top control and ferocious ground and pound, which has finished off so many opponents in the past. A knockout is certainly on the cards in this fight, but whether it is Gacy knocking out Watson standing, or Watson knocking out Gacy on the ground remains to be seen. Fight Six: Page Black vs. "K-9" Buakaw Pramuk @ 185lbs. This absolutely stacked main card starts off with a fight that on any other show could fill the co-main event slot. We have two extremely skilled young fighters, who are both considered among the best strikers in the Middleweight division. Page Black (7-1) started off great in his Warbringers debut with a dominating decision over Vincent Castillo, but in his second fight in the org he was pipped to a decision by the much more experienced Alejandro Sosa. Now 1-1 in Warbringers, Black can start his climb back towards title contention if he can hand Buakaw Pramuk (5-0) his first ever professional MMA loss. The five wins that Pramuk has put together since he burst onto the mixed martial arts scene in late 2010 have all been extremely impressive. Four of them have been by TKO, and in his only non-knockout victory he completely demolished then-unbeaten superstar Seamus McFight over three rounds. In his debut with this org, Pramuk looked world class as he beat Dave Yoma to the punch and to the kick for two and a half rounds before the doctor was forced to stop the fight due to excessive bloodshed. As mentioned before, Black and Pramuk are two of the best strikers at 185, and if they both decide to keep this standing and try to prove their striking superiority, we should be in for one hell of a fight. Fight Seven: "The Rising" Sen Nguyen vs. Marco "Matador" Milani @ 185lbs. In the seventh fight of the night, we get to witness the long awaited Warbringers debut of grappling sensation Sen Nguyen (9-5). A couple of months back, our talent scouts were scouring the world for fighters with potential that could come into our Middleweight division and make an impression. They found Sen Nguyen on the Tokyo MMA scene, and put a contract offer on the table for him to come over to Rio and fight for Warbringers. Nguyen accepted the offer, and has now relocated to Brazil to begin a new chapter in his career. Despite only being twenty-two years old, Nguyen already has seven submission wins to his name. As well as his jiu-jitsu ability, he also has very good ground control and demonstrates the kind of patience and discipline that is rare in a fighter so young. For his debut, he faces Marco Milani (8-4), a well-rounded fighter who is always improving, and was recently awarded his brown belt in jiu-jitsu. It seems that every time we see Marco Milani fight, he gets better. Against Sam Hitz, he showed us how dangerous his clinch game is, and then against Dave Yoma he recovered from a first round knockdown to eventually triumph via submission. Nguyen will have his hands full with Milani both on the feet and on the ground, but a win over a fighter of Milani's ability would be a great way to introduce himself at Middleweight. Fight Eight: Tyreke Evans vs. Peter "Pay" Czech @ 205lbs. As org owner, I am supposed to remain impartial. But when Tyreke Evans (9-3) fought Slade Wilson at WB68, I was really hoping that Evans would come out on top. The reason being that it was Slade Wilson's last fight with Warbringers, and we were hoping that he wouldn't defeat one of our promising up and coming Light Heavyweights on his way out. Luckily for us, Evans showed that he was a level above Slade Wilson with a first round submission win that he made look easy. It took a few attempts to get the takedown, but once the fight reached the ground it was over in a matter of seconds, and that is what Tyreke Evans is all about. He may not have the best wrestling in the division, but once he takes it to the ground he doesn't hang around. He is always looking to either improve his position, drop bombs, or work for submissions and as a result he is a truly exciting fighter to watch. Evans' opponent as he looks to win his third consecutive bout is Peter Czech (6-3), who bounced back from having lost two in a row with a seamless beatdown of Murilo Ruas at WB67. Czech is known for overwhelming his opponents with a seemingly never ending supply of punches, but he does struggle when put on his back. Evans, on the other hand, is a decent striker but his area of expertise is most definitely on the ground. Both men love to push the pace, and that always makes for great fights. Whoever wins this one will climb even closer to the summit of the Light Heavyweight division. Fight Nine: "The Heavenly Fist" Kid Soplamocos vs. Alejandro "2000 kg" Sosa for the Warbringers Middleweight Championship. Our co-main event slot at WB72 features Kid Soplamocos (11-2) in his first attempted title defense after he won the Middleweight strap from Tommy Toons in an incredible fight at WB68. In that one, then-champion Toons dominated the first two rounds before Soplamocos made a complete turn around and won the final three rounds comfortably. Many other fighters would have crumbled after getting beaten for the first ten minutes of a title fight, but Soplamocos showed great heart and determination to not give up, get back in the fight and win the unanimous decision. The opponent for Soplamocos' first defense is the highly experienced Alejandro Sosa (17-5). This title shot has been a long time coming for Sosa. He has been fighting in the Warbringers Middleweight division since early 2011 and has yet to lose here. He has worked his way up from mid-roster to the top, by defeating the likes of Carlton Silva, Rodrigo Reis, Wanderlei Silva and Page Black. After his impressive victory over Page Black, who many considered to be a champion in-waiting, there was only one possible candidate for this title fight. If Sosa is to continue his Warbringers undefeated streak, he must use every ounce of experience that he has try to ground Kid Soplamocos. Sosa does have very good striking ability, but if he stands and bangs with Soplamocos there is a chance that he will get put to sleep. The sensible approach for Sosa would be to take this fight where Soplamocos is weaker. He should try to take Soplamocos' legs away and proceed to control him from top position, mixing in strikes and submission attempts but more importantly scoring points with the judges. If Soplamocos can keep this fight standing, then he can retain his belt. However, Sosa is the most experienced man that Soplamocos has ever faced, and this will not be an easy fight for him. Main Event: "The Engineer" Gor Keyman vs. "Beastmaster" Bestigor Tazar @ Openweight. On the 6th of April this year, Warbringers announced "A Truly Unremarkable Tournament" - a sixteen man knockout contest for fighters whose primary skills were all under remarkable. Out of the sixteen fighters that signed up, only two remain; Gor Keyman (9-0) and Bestigor Tazar (9-0) who now meet to determine not only the tournament champion, but to see which one of them will increase their record to a perfect 10-0. Interestingly, Gor Keyman has been here and done this before. He was an entrant in the 2010 Warbringers Openweight Project Fighter Tournament alongside fifteen others, and was eventually crowned the winner at WB45 with a TKO win over Brendan Weber. In order to win his second Warbringers tournament, Keyman must defeat a fighter that so far has looked undefeatable. The way that Bestigor Tazar has breezed through the competition en route to this final is hugely impressive. In the opening round he knocked out Ryan Brandt with a knee, in the quarter finals he knocked out Mike Zambidis with a straight right hand and in the semis he knocked out Peewee Herman with an uppercut reminiscent of something out of Street Fighter. Tazar has this hyper-aggressive, animalistic fighting style that nobody has found an answer for as of yet. It is literally like watching a caged animal being unleashed. That obviously raises the question of how Keyman plans to beat Tazar, and I think the answer might involve the ground game. Tazar has blasted through everyone put in front of him thus far, and so we have never really seen his grappling ability. In Keyman's quarter final tournament fight he showed us that he is very capable on the ground with a submission win over Vadim Leonov, and I feel that his gameplan against Tazar will centre around putting him on the canvas and testing his ability there. I cannot wait to see how this main event unfolds, and which fighter will leave WB72 with 1 year of VIP, $100,000 dollars and the title of 2011 Unremarkable Tournament Champion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felagund Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 The result of Unremarkable Tournament's final fight is a foregone conclusion - Bestigors are just much better than Gors Some even say that "Gors are mighty, and the mightiest of gors are bestigors.". Clearly, by virtue of name alone the stars favour Tazar to defeat Keyman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man5616 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 "Keyman" has created a virus that mutates humans into monstrous creatures called "Engineers" that sprout bizarre weapons from any injury. This im afraid, is why your feral animal will be tamed.....he will be released back into the wild though..to lick his wounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felagund Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Just as I said, my client, Mr. Tazar, showed that bestigors are just that much better than gors. Also, if anyone wonders why Mr. Tazar was unavailable during the post-event press conference: he was still bursting with energy after the fight and went to celebrate his victory and satisfy his wild nature on the famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro. I hear that Mr. Tazar enjoys the company of fine Brazilian women, if you catch my drift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man5616 Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 well shit....guess your right..congrats man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felagund Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 well shit....guess your right..congrats man thanks and thanks for the fight. I wasn't confident in Tazar's victory at all (trash talking was just for fun ) and watching the play by play was the most exciting moment in my MMATycoon 'career'. Also, thanks again to the Warbringers org, it's awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1309952299pVA8D.jpg WB73: Montoya vs. Ares http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=703161 WB73 has been entitled Montoya vs. Ares, because "WB73: Montoya vs. Constantinides" didn't fit in the box. This near catastrophe aside, it should be a great event. In the main event we have our longest reigning champion ever, Carlito Montoya, looking to defend his title for the fifth time against the most talented fighter he has faced yet in Ares Constantinides. On the main card we have a couple of big Lightweight fights and Tommy Toons' first appearance since losing his Middleweight championship. On the undercard we have some exciting new talents and a fighter making his return to Warbringers after a six month hiatus. Read on for the full preview! Fight One: Gegard Zaromskis vs. Al "The Decider" Wentworth @ 155lbs. Our opening fight of the night is a rematch of the WB68 contest in which Gegard Zaromskis (4-0-1) and Al Wentworth (11-8-1) fought to a decision. Going into that fight, Wentworth was considered a big underdog and so it was all the more impressive how he took Zaromskis to the final bell and held his own for long periods of time. When the fight was on the feet, Wentworth landed lots of nice kicks and although he was dominated on the ground in the third round, the 10-point must system came to his rescue and due to his strong performance in the first round and how even he made the second round, the fight was ruled a draw. So, determined to find out who is the better fighter of the pair, we have set up this rematch. Similar to the first bout, I feel that Zaromskis needs to be considered the favourite for this one, mainly due to how easily he took down and controlled Wentworth on the mat in the third round last time. If only Zaromskis had gone with this tactic from the start of that fight, we may have ended up with a completely different outcome. In this fight, I feel that Zaromskis is going to try to get it to the ground from the start, and that may lead to a much more one sided affair. Of course, if Wentworth is able to stuff more of Zaromskis' takedowns this time around, he could end up surprising us yet again. Fight Two: Caio Fernandes vs. Ric "Rude" Slobberknocker @ 205lbs. Up next is a fight between two guys at the lower end of the Light Heavyweight ladder. Caio Fernandes (3-4) is a well-rounded Jack-of-all-trades fighter who is currently 1-1 in Warbringers. His debut for us was an impressive submission victory that put his opponent The Kracken into permanent retirement, and although he lost his next fight to Toby Le Rone, he will feel that he can bounce back and defeat Ric Slobberknocker (4-3) on Sunday night. We signed Ric Slobberknocker under the impression that win or lose, he would provide hugely entertaining fights for the Warbringers fans, and to that end we have not been disappointed with him so far. Despite losing his first two fights for us, they have both been great and exciting fights, and we hope he will continue to provide more of the same. That said, it isn't great for a fighter's morale to be on a losing streak, and so a win would really benefit Slobberknocker in this fight. In order to get that win, he simply needs to do what he does best; throw down. If Slobberknocker can turn this into a brawl, avoid Fernandes' takedowns and connect with his power punches, then he will be well on his way to collecting his first Warbringers win. Fight Three: Arcturus "Godhands" Balfour vs. Dimas Russo @ 155lbs. Who remembers Arcturus Balfour (6-2)? For those of you that don't, allow me to refresh your memory. Back in the latter stages of 2010, Ference Gabor was the Lightweight champion, and looking unstoppable. Balfour was a young undefeated fighter just beginning to make his name in the company, and his potential was there for all to see. It looked extremely likely that Balfour would work his way up and become the man to dethrone Gabor, but a shock knockout loss to Rick Rypien and a subsequent managerial issue meant that his time with Warbringers was cut short. Now, Balfour is under new management, and is returning to Warbringers looking to work his way back to the top of the division. The first hurdle that he must overcome is the impressive Dimas Russo (6-5), who is currently riding a two fight winning streak. Other than his loss to Mad Child, Russo has done very well in Warbringers. He defeated Justin James by decision at WB55 and more recently showed that he has been working on his top game and ground and pound by knocking out Bryan Vessey. His best shot at getting past Balfour in this fight is to once again use his grappling and top control and try to land heavy strikes from above. Balfour has been given the nickname Godhands for a reason, and unless Russo gets this to the ground, he will find out the reason first hand. Fight Four: Jose "Katipunero" Alcano vs. Scott "Razorback" Hode @ 155lbs. I don't think that Jose Alcano (17-9) gets enough credit. He always seems to be fighting a very high level of opponent, and more often than not he puts in a really good performance. It is therefore no surprise that it was Alcano that stepped up to take on highly rated debutant Scott Hode (10-3). Success seems to follow Scott Hode wherever he goes. He started his MMA career in Fury Fight Brazil's Featherweight Division, where he picked up a couple of submission wins before being selected as a participant in the LFC Lightweight Grand Prix in London. He walked through the competition and was crowned the winner in early 2010. After this, he went back to FFB in Rio and captured their Lightweight championship before taking a nine month break from fighting. When he decided to get back in the cage in early 2011 he won a couple more QFC fights before signing up with Warbringers. The thing is, Hode is now approaching thirty years old, and so there will be some questions as to whether he still has it in him, or if he is starting to reach the tail-end of his fighting career. In the past he has been extremely successful, but what we want to know is if he is going to be able to continue that success in Warbringers, or is he past his prime? A fight against a super-tough guy like Jose Alcano will certainly answer that for us. Fight Five: Akaboshi "Ibarakilla" Aida vs. Joel Savage @ 170lbs. Only winning one fight in your first four attempts isn't the greatest start to a mixed martial arts career, but Joel Savage (5-3) didn't give up. He put in the hours in the gym, improved as a fighter and eventually things began to change for him - he started to put together a winning streak. After four consecutive wins, all by TKO, Savage signed with Warbringers and now faces the very solid Akaboshi Aida (5-4) in his debut. Since we last saw Aida in the cage, he has been working on all aspects of his game, but especially his jiu-jitsu skills. In fact, he was recently awarded his BJJ Brown Belt. That brown belt should come in handy against Savage, because given even half a chance he will take Aida down, posture up and start dropping bombs. That is how Savage has TKO'd his previous four opponents, and that is how he will be looking to get by Aida. He will be hoping to neutralise Aida's technical jiu-jitsu skills by punching him square in the face, repeatedly. In order for Aida to emerge triumphant from this contest, he needs to use his defensive grappling ability to tie up Savage and stop the wild ground and pound. If he can stifle Savage's offense, he can then start to look for submission holds. But, if he makes the mistake of working for submissions from the get-go, without controlling Savage's posture and tying him up, then he may end up on the receiving end of a savage beating. Fight Six: Glenn "The Gatling" Gunn vs. "The Keyboard Warrior" Arshad Singh @ 155lbs. Since Glenn Gunn (11-6) lost his Lightweight championship belt, he has failed to win two fights in a row. He has shown us that he still has all the talent in the world, as is evidenced by his excellent win over Tyler Harwood at WB67, but it almost seems to be a mental thing for Gunn. But, he can break the run of inconsistency and get his second win in a row if he beats Arshad Singh (12-5). I personally think that Singh is one of the more underrated fighters in Warbringers. Even though he had a couple of losses early on in his time with us, he has shown lately that he is improving a lot, and that he has a vicious side. With back to back knockout wins over Tyler Harwood and Jose Alcano, I think he is the one to watch at 155lbs. Taking all of that into account, I think this fight is going to be a great one. Gunn is technically very strong in all areas, but he doesn't seem to have the aggression, power and explosiveness to finish opponents. If Gunn wins this fight, it will more than likely be a three round domination in which he shuts out all of Singh's offense, but if Singh wins it will be by him catching Gunn with a power punch and knocking him clean out. Fight Seven: "The Dutch Oven" Jonas Wenkel vs. Mike "The Hammer" van Rijn @ 205lbs. I have said many times before that I feel that other than champion Carlito Montoya, Jonas Wenkel (9-3) is one of the most talented Light Heavyweight on the roster, and time and time again he proves me right. Since losing to Montoya, Wenkel has gone 2-0. First, he became the only fighter to ever defeat Czar Jack, and he then beat Mark Watson in an awesome fight where he recovered from being dropped in round one to win the final two rounds and earn a close decision. If Wenkel keeps winning fights at this rate, he may soon be offered a second shot at Montoya's belt. Until then, though, Wenkel must not overlook his next opponent and must remain focused on the task in hand. The task for him in our seventh fight of the night is to fight beat Mike van Rijn (12-6). At WB68, van Rijn looked like the star that we know he has the potential to become. Over the course of three rounds, he battered John Gacy with a series of powerful kicks. He combined leg kicks, body kicks and head kicks to keep Gacy guessing and eventually win a comfortable decision which also earned him a fight of the night award. If van Rijn can keep this fight against Wenkel standing, he may he able to do the same. However, Jonas Wenkel is an absolute monster and it will take some considerable takedown and submission defense for van Rijn to avoid getting tapped out. Fight Eight: Vlad The Impaler vs. Tommy "Tinkerbell" Toons @ 185lbs. Vlad The Impaler (5-1) and Tommy Toons (6-1) have one thing in common. They have both faced Bill Annunaki in Warbringers, and defeated him. Tommy Toons dominated Annunaki in a title fight when he was considered a big underdog, while Vlad's victory over him was much more emphatic; a first round knockout at WB68. Now, with Toons coming off of his title loss to Kid Soplamocos, and Vlad impressing everybody with the short work he made of Annunaki, this fight makes a lot of sense. I think it is a great matchup, and believe that it will provide fireworks. It is no secret that both of these fighters love to stand and strike. They are also each very technically adept, and both have knockout power in their fists, and so we are expecting that this fight might not last very long. The question is, will Tommy Toons continue his trend of upset victories, or will Vlad show that his first round knockout of Bill Annunaki wasn't a fluke with a repeat performance here? With the recent emergence of fighters such as Bala Bala, Oleg Osbourne, Buakaw Pramuk and Sen Nguyen in our Middleweight division, the top of the rankings is looking very crowded. A big win here for Toons or Vlad would put their name right up there in the mix and mean that maybe a number one contender fight would be on their horizon. Fight Nine: Rogerio Cafu vs. Mad Child @ 155lbs. In our co-main event of the evening, two of the better Lightweights on our roster have the chance to stake their claim for a title shot. The 155lb title scene at the moment is wide open - there are several great fighters at the top end of the rankings who could all be in consideration for a shot - but with a good performance in the co-main event on Sunday, either Mad Child (6-0) or Rogerio Cafu (11-8) could edge into pole position. The last time that Cafu fought in a Warbringers cage, he was making light work of Olympic calibre wrestler Algernon Mustard, catching him in an armbar and forcing him to tap out in the second round of their WB69 bout. That victory emphasised what we already knew; Rogerio Cafu is a fighter not to be messed with on the ground. Mustard thought he could take him down and ground and pound him without getting caught, and he was wrong. Mad Child should take note of this, and try to keep the fight on Sunday standing, where he will feel that his superior boxing ability should be able to lead him to victory and keep his undefeated record intact. Mad Child is currently 6-0 in his career, and hasn't really ever looked like losing. Having said that, Rogerio Cafu is definitely a huge step up in opposition for the young man from Vancouver, Canada; and we simply do not know if he is ready for a challenge like this. Main Event: "I cum inside hookers" Carlito Montoya vs. Ares "God Of War" Constantinides for the Warbringers Light Heavyweight Championship. Is Carlito Montoya's (18-3) time as the king of the Light Heavyweights finally going to come to an end? He has defeated every challenger that we have put in front of him to date, but in Ares Constantinides (15-8-1), Montoya is facing a different kind of animal. Constantinides not only has the grappling and submission ability to cause Montoya problems on the ground, but he also has incredible striking and will be probably the first challenger that Montoya has faced that will be able to hold his own in the standup. The last time that Carlito Montoya lost an MMA fight was in the February of 2010 - that is seventeen months since he last tasted defeat. In that time, he has put together a streak of 12 wins in a row, won the Warbringers Light Heavyweight belt, and defended it a record 4 times. But finally, we think we may have found the opponent to end the streak and take the belt. Constantinides started his career on the Tokyo scene, where he built a record of 9-4-1 before being recruited by the formidable Blitzkrieg FC in Hilo. In BFC, Constantinides went 4-4 against some of the best fighters in the world, before deciding to relocate himself to Rio to start a new chapter in his career. That new chapter brought him to Warbringers where he made an immediate impact with knockout of jiu-jitsu black belt Daniele Vantaggiato, followed by a submission over fearsome striker Fred Hanks. With two fights and two finishes over two of the toughest fighters in the division, Constantinides was given a shot at Montoya and we are confident that this fight is going to be a defining moment in our Light Heavyweight division. Either Carlito Montoya defends his belt again, confirms his status as the greatest champion we have ever seen, and leaves us wondering who on earth will ever be able to stop him, or Ares Constantinides gets the win, and we enter a new and exciting era in the Light Heavyweight division. Whatever happens, this will be a fight that you do not want to miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1310381331poster74.jpg WB74: Price vs. Conner http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=705461 The WB74 card has exciting fighters and fan favourites from top to bottom and in all weight classes. We also welcome some new fighters to the org, and welcome back a fighter that hasn't fought for us in six months. Topping the billing on this card is a Welterweight title clash between current champion Sean Price, and former champion Tim Conner in what should be a war. Read on for the preview. Fight One: William "No Nickname" Costa vs. Carlton Silva @ 185lbs. To kick us off at WB74 is a fight between two Brazilians, both looking to move one step further up the Middleweight ladder. Since losing his two-fight series with Blade Brown, Carlton Silva (13-10-1) has really upped his game. He dominated Gordon Ramyay at WB65 and then dominated Wanderlei Silva at WB70 in what was ruled fight of the night. To make it three wins in a row, Silva must defeat a Warbringers newcomer, William Costa (6-1). It is still early in Costa's career, but already he has shown some glimpses of excellence. What makes Costa a dangerous opponent for Silva is that he has some very powerful takedowns and really solid ground and pound. He will be trying to put Silva on his back and keep him there while unloading with shots from top position. Silva's best work usually comes when he can stand and bang with an opponent, but when forced to fight off his back he is nowhere near as effective. I am unsure whether he will be able to stop the explosive takedowns of Costa, and if he can't, there is a danger that Costa will simply remain in a dominant position and pick his shots until the final bell. To avoid losing a decision in this manner, Silva is going to have to really go to work whenever the fight is on the feet and look for the knockout. Fight Two: Antonio "Pitbull" Nunes vs. Algernon "Great White Hunter" Mustard @ 155lbs. It is a real shame that Algernon Mustard (9-3) failed to immediately live up to the hype that was surrounding him when he first came to the org. Originally, Mustard came to Warbringers on a nine-fight winning streak, seven of which were ground and pound induced stoppages, but in his first two fights with us he was caught in submissions and forced to tap out. Now though, Mustard takes on his first non submission specialist and may finally get to display his true skills, and deliver the kind of brutal ground assault that he had become known for prior to joining Warbringers. The man that will be hoping to avoid the ground game of Mustard is the returning Antonio Nunes (11-1). Back in January of this year, Nunes made his first and only Warbringers appearance before managerial problems meant that he ended up being released. Now, after a change of management he is back to continue his ascent up the rankings. One of the most underrated aspects of Nunes' game is his standup striking. We saw in his fight against Hugo Zanella that he has great boxing technique and some knockout power in his fists. It's going to be crucial that Nunes lands one of his KO shots before Mustard gets him to the ground, because when you have an Olympic wrestler on top of you dropping bombs, there is usually no escape. Fight Three: Tony Danza vs. Ricardo "Widow-maker" Diaz @ 170lbs. Just when you think that Tony Danza (12-7) is maybe only one win away from a title opportunity, he slips up and ends up dropping back down in the Welterweight pecking order. In his original Warbringers run, Danza beat Guilherme Duarte and Boba Fettucini before losing a title eliminator to Chris Herzog. He then picked himself back up and started working his way up again with big wins over Juan Dee and Richard Riddick, but he then dropped an upset decision to Gabriel Emerson. Now, once again, Danza is looking to rise up through the rankings. After losing to Emerson, he returned with a hard-earned decision over Abe Frohman and now faces a former champion in Ricardo Diaz (10-5). This is going to be a tricky fight for Danza, because we all know what Diaz brings to the table; boxing ability, aggression and knockout power. As we saw in Diaz's last win over Cobra Kai, his punching technique is very impressive and if he connects cleanly then his opponent is going down. Diaz's weakness has always been the ground game. He has definitely improved in that area over time, but generally speaking, when Diaz loses it is because he gets outgrappled. There has been a lot of trash talking in the build up to this fight, with Danza quoted as saying "Diaz, I am going to retire you from this sport. After this fight you will be irrelevant.", to which Diaz has replied "You're going to retire me? Good luck doing anything that doesn't involve laying in a hospital bed after this fight". All trash talking aside, both Diaz and Danza need a win in this fight if they are to start a surge back towards the title, but only one man is going to be able to come out of WB74 with his hand raised. Fight Four: Giovani "Fadinha" Gomes vs. "Sir Cansbane" Nick East @ 170lbs. Currently, Giovani Gomes (9-6) is in the process of shedding weight to get down to the Lightweight division, but before he does compete at 155, he has a final Welterweight fight. He has been tasked with welcoming Nick East (13-7) to Warbringers for what will be his first fight on South American soil. Before this, East has fought all over the USA, from New York to Las Vegas to Hilo, but I honestly do not think in his well-travelled career that he has ever come up against a jiu-jitsu artist on the same level as Giovani Gomes. In Gomes' six Warbringers fights, he has won three and lost three. The three fights that he has won have all been by slick submission, but in the three fights where he has been unable to keep his opponent grounded, he has come out on the losing end. This is key for East. Gomes' striking is nowhere near the level of his grappling, and so East needs to stay at range, circle, avoid takedowns and then either look to pick apart Gomes with his superior striking technique, or try to land a knockout punch. Normally, East likes to combine both striking at range with clinchwork and dirty boxing. This tactic may not be advised in this fight though, because Gomes is not averse to pulling guard to move a fight into his realm. Tactically, East is going to have to get this spot on. One slip up against a fighter like Gomes could result in a submission defeat, and that is not how he will want to start his Warbringers career. Fight Five: Bill "Last Chance" Annunaki vs. "Paco" Alberto Lin @ 185lbs. The former formidable Middleweight champion Bill Annunaki (12-6), now thirty years of age, has lost two of his last three fights. We are unsure if it is because he has been facing some of the hottest stars in Warbringers today, or if he is showing early signs that he is reaching the end of his MMA career. We all remember how good Annunaki was in his hay day, knocking out Andre Galvao and Andrew Storm, and being the man to finally take the belt from Rafael Loureiro, but whether or not he will ever be able to reach those heights again remains to be seen. If he is to get back to the top of the mountain, he will need to start off with a win over Alberto Lin (11-4-1) on Monday. We have had some very good muay-thai kickboxers in this org in the past, but Alberto Lin is certainly up there with the best of them. He is a really dangerous opponent, who combines stinging leg kicks with decapitating high kicks. Throughout his career, he has amassed a series of highlight reel knockouts and been in some epic battles, but his Warbringers debut didn't go as he would have hoped as he was taken down and ground and pounded for three rounds by Mark Dai. Lin will be looking to come back strong and collect his first Warbringers win in style, but Bill Annunaki is an extremely tough fighter and he will make this a difficult fight for Lin. Fight Six: "The Asian Sensation" Ban Ki Kim vs. Chris "The Inverse Midas" Herzog @ 170lbs. Chris Herzog (12-6) does not like judges. He feels that in his last two fights, he has been on the wrong end of dodgy decisions. In his most recent fight against Ban Ki Kim (5-2), Herzog dominated the first round but the second and third rounds were very close indeed. When it went to the judges, they gave both the second and third round to Kim, ultimately meaning that Herzog lost a unanimous decision. If that fight had been judged using the whole fight scoring system, we may have seen a different outcome, but in the 10-point must system, it was Ban Ki Kim that got the win. After his defeat, Herzog requested an immediate rematch, and when Kim's management agreed, we set the fight up at the earliest possible date. The question is, what is Chris Herzog going to differently this time around? In the first fight, once Kim had settled in and gotten into his stride, he was edging it in the striking, and was able to prevent Herzog from taking him down. Unless Herzog has been working his ass off in the gym, and unless he comes into this one with a really good gameplan, I don't see how this fight will end any differently to the first one. When you factor in Herzog's track record of being on the losing end of judges decisions, this fight becomes even harder for him. To win, he most likely needs to finish Kim, and that has only ever happened once before. Fight Seven: Czar "Imperial" Jack vs. Toby Le Rone @ 205lbs. Perennial underdog Czar Jack (8-1) bounced back from his first ever defeat at the hands of Jonas Wenkel by once again winning a fight that many people had ruled him out of. At WB70, Jack took on grappling ace Gustav Swift and put on a striking masterclass to show that he truly does belong amongst the best Light Heavyweights in Warbringers. In our seventh fight of the night, Czar Jack takes on another up and coming superstar, the currently undefeated Toby Le Rone (3-0). Le Rone joined Warbringers as an 0-0 rookie in early 2011, and has put together three impressive wins in that time. He started off by defeating both Fernando Fernandes and Caio Fernandes by doctor stoppage, and then was matched up against fellow unbeaten prospect Vinicius Ramos. In his fight against Ramos, Le Rone dominated from bell to bell by using clinchwork, dirty boxing, and short elbows to increase his streak to three. Normally when Czar Jack fights, he is the one that is considered the underdog. However, in this fight, for the first time ever, Czar Jack is the more experienced fighter and will probably be considered the favourite going in. With the added pressure of being the bookies favourite, will Jack shine, or crumble? Similarly, this fight is a huge step up for Le Rone, and we do not know how he will handle facing an opponent on Jack's level at this stage of his career. Either way, this is going to be an exciting fight, and it will be a big feather in the cap for whoever wins. Fight Eight: Fred "Headstone" Hanks vs. Nolan "Suck Out" Kloss @ 205lbs. In fight number eight on this card, two of the top Light Heavyweights, and two of the biggest fan favourites in the org face off. On one side of the cage will be Fred Hanks (11-6), a fighter whose style consists of hitting people in the face, really hard, and watching their unconscious bodies drop to the canvas. Unsurprisingly, this fighting style has gained Hanks a big fanbase, and he will be looking to deliver another highlight reel finish for them against Nolan Kloss (9-5). Another fan favourite, but for entirely different reasons, Kloss has shown a huge improvement since he joined Warbringers in the very early days of our Light Heavyweight division. He started out as a decent striker and a decent grappler, but over the last few months has started improving all areas of his game and now has great striking, and a highly dangerous jiu-jitsu game. As well as the improvement in his skillset, Kloss has also collected some big wins such as his submissions over Peter La Fleur and Mike van Rijn, and his knockout victory over Mike Ditka. Even though Kloss' striking is now very good, he will not want to risk standing with Fred Hanks. Hanks is a fighter that has so much power in his punches that even a glancing blow can put opponents on wobbly legs. Kloss will want to take Hanks to the ground, and try to add another submission win to his resume, but Hanks has his sights firmly set on a knockout of the night award. It should be an explosive fight. Fight Nine: Mark "Milfhunter" Dai vs. Gabriel Finalizador @ 185lbs. In our co-main event of the evening we have two fighters that are both in the process of making the step up to the top end of the Middleweight division. Mark Dai (5-1) really put his name out there with his shutout decision win over muay-thai expert Alberto Lin at WB69. Going into the fight many believed Dai would be steamrolled by the striking prowess of Lin, but in actuality it was Dai's takedowns and ground and pound that was the most impressive thing about the fight. He went through Lin with relative ease, and now has his sights set on climbing one step further up the Middleweight ladder into the division's elite. The only thing in his way is new-boy Gabriel Finalizador (8-3). Finalizador debuted at WB69 and defeated Vincent Castillo in the second round by triangle choke submission, earning a sub of the night bonus in the process. Against Dai, Finalizador will be extremely confident because Dai's game usually consists of taking opponents down and working from top position, and Finalizador is very strong off of his back. If Dai gets too wild with his ground and pound, or if he has a momentary concentration lapse, Finalizador will latch on to his arm and try to take it home with him. Dai needs to keep his limbs protected, and also needs to make sure he connects with his ground and pound. If he can bounce Finalizador's head off the canvas a couple of times and make him start hurting; make Finalizador think about defending rather than submission offense, then he could survive through to a decision. This isn't going to be a pretty fight, but at the end of it, one man will find themselves among the best 185lbers in the organisation. Main Event: Sean "The Right" Price vs. Tim Conner for the Warbringers Welterweight Championship. Sean Price (14-5) has had two spells in Warbringers. He started out by having a one-fight deal with us back at WB2, and then one year later signed long-term as he attempted to rise up our Welterweight rankings and claim championship gold. During his second spell here, he had no problems breezing through the competition and becoming Welterweight champ, but now he must make his first title defense. In total, Price has fought five times for this org, and he been victorious in every one of those. The man hoping to hand Price his first Warbringers loss, and take away his title belt is former champion Tim Conner (10-1), who shot to prominence in the early part of 2011 with three huge wins in his first three fights, the latter of which was for the belt. After Conner defeated Chris Herzog to become champion, many believed that he would stay at the top for quite some time, but unfortunately for Conner in his first attempted defense, Rafael Loureiro got the better of him and won a unanimous decision. Even after his undefeated streak ended at the hands of Loureiro, we still recognised that Conner was one of the best in the division, and so after he defeated Ricardo Diaz at WB69, he was rewarded with a chance to regain his title. So, the fight was set. Sean Price vs. Tim Conner, and it should be an amazing fight. Sean Price is the current champion, has never been beaten in Warbringers, and is a really well-rounded fighter. Price hung on the ground with Rafael Loureiro, hung on the feet with Chris Herzog, and never looked in trouble against either of them. Conner, on the other hand, struggled on the ground with Loureiro, but has beaten up everyone else he has ever faced on the feet, and done so comprehensively. We would have to assume that Price won't be wanting to test his striking against a monster like Conner and will instead be trying to keep him grounded and grapple with him as Loureiro did with much success. The Warbringers Welterweight championship has not been successfully defended since Ricardo Diaz did so all the way back at WB45. Will Price be able to buck that trend and defend the belt, or will Tim Conner become a two-time champion on Monday night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1311025656poster75.jpg WB75: Bala Bala vs. Osbourne http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=705462 Even though WB75 is not headlined with a title fight, it is still a great card with a fantastic main event in which Synchronicity veteran Bala Bala takes on newcomer Oleg Osbourne in the Middleweight division. Also on the main card we have head kick master Peter Alb, top Welterweight contender Gabriel Emerson, submission machine Murilo Ruas and knockout artist Thiago Almer. Add to this an undercard packed with exciting fighters and a sprinkling of new talent, and WB75 is looking set to be an excellent night of fights. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Wakanda "Magic" Akecheta vs. Thiago "Duke" Sousa @ 155lbs. With a nickname like "Magic" and with one of the best muay-thai kickboxing pedigrees that we have ever had, you may have expected Wakanda Akecheta (3-2) to do well in Warbringers. Yet, in his first two fights under our banner, he has amassed a record of 0-2, and not really shown us anything to get excited about. For his third, and possibly final contracted fight, Akecheta has been matched up against another kickboxer that has been on a poor run of form as of late, Thiago Sousa (3-3). After his knockout of Carlos da Silva a few months ago, we predicted big things to come from Sousa, but consecutive decision losses, although very close losses, have moved him back down towards the bottom of the rankings and means that he has to start his ascent towards the top once again. There is no doubt that the area in which Sousa is strongest is kickboxing. However, kickboxing is all that Akecheta knows. If Sousa takes a risk and tries to stand and strike with Akecheta, he may not come out on top. Instead, Sousa should use the fact that he is much more well-rounded than Akecheta to his advantage by trying to take him down and pick up a submission. It might not be as exciting as a head kick knockout, but Sousa cannot risk losing his third fight in a row. Jeff's Prediction: Thiago Sousa by Decision Fight Two: Roberto Banero vs. Willy "Zika" Bauer @ 185lbs. Originally, Light Heavyweight fighter Vinicius Ramos was slated to be on this card. But, after sitting and looking at a fight offer for seemingly ages, he decided to decline with only a couple of weeks to go until the event. This left us scrambling for any fight to fill the card, and we were very lucky to find two fighters who were game, and had the balls to take a fight on short notice. These two men are both Middleweights, and are both new to the org. Roberto Banero (1-1) has only been fighting in mixed-martial arts for a month, but he has already had two fights. In his debut, he made very light work of Tyiuzaun F A as he ground and pounded him out in just forty-one seconds. In Banero's next fight, he had a big step up in opposition against a top wrestler called Kair Drogo, and although he lost the first two rounds of the fight, Banero came back in the third round and put on a GnP clinic. In the end, he was unfortunate to lose by decision. His opponent on Monday will be another relative MMA newcomer, Willy Bauer (0-1). Bauer is a more well-rounded fighter than Banero, and holds a purple belt in BJJ. Stylistically, this is a fight that might suit Bauer. He has the better jiu-jitsu of the pair, and if Banero sits in his guard trying to land ground and pound, Bauer could end up taking a limb home with him. It must be said that we are very grateful to both of these men for stepping up and helping us to complete the card. A big thankyou from Warbringers management, and best of luck in the fight! Jeff's Prediction: Willy Bauer by Submission Fight Three: "Crafty Dog" Abe Frohman vs. "El Chuchu" Esteban Cambiasso @ 170lbs. As he was steadily building up his winning streak and moving up the rankings in the early part of 2011, Abe Frohman (8-7) was being placed against tougher and tougher competition. His most recent fight against Tony Danza was his biggest challenge to date, and although he performed very well, the judges decision went against him. Most observers thought that he should have won that fight, but alas, his winning streak was broken. With that loss, Frohman's stock didn't drop too much, and so he can pick up where he left off if he can defeat submission man Esteban Cambiasso (12-10) here. We have touched upon before the fact that Cambiasso is a bit of an inconsistent fighter. In fact, he hasn't strung together two wins in over a year. He had the chance to, though, when he faced Sasha Lakovic at WB71, but on the night his inability to escape from Lakovic's clinch and his inability to take Lakovic down was his undoing. Getting the takedown is going to be key for El Chuchu against Frohman, because when this fight is standing, Frohman will have a big advantage. He may not have finished many opponents through his career, but there is no doubting how good Frohman's striking technique is. If Cambiasso comes into this fight at his best, then he could pose problems on the ground for Frohman, but it is always a bit of a lottery as to which version of Cambiasso shows up. Jeff's Prediction: Abe Frohman by Knockout Fight Four: Astolfo "The Punisher" de Mello vs. "Bola de neve" Kim Haven of Mist @ 170lbs. One of the biggest tests in the mixed-martial arts game is rebounding from your first professional defeat. Astolfo de Mello (4-1) was a young unbeaten prospect with his sights set on glory, but at WB65 he met a man named McLucas Silva who dominated him with world class takedown defense and high level boxing. On that night, de Mello found every single one of his takedown attempts stuffed, and didn't land a single strike through the whole fifteen minutes. So, how will de Mello bounce back from this? Will he change up his gameplan and start to mix up his takedown attempts with strikes, or will he carry on as he did before and hope that Kim Haven of Mist (6-7) doesn't have takedown defense on the same level as Silva? One thing that is for sure is that if Mist does manage to avoid getting taken down, he will not let the fight go to the judges. He is a dangerous striker, who has a series of highlight reel knockouts to his name, and he is always looking to add to it. Despite not having an amazing professional record, Mist isn't a pushover. He can knock an opponent out in any number of ways, and if de Mello hasn't fully prepared for this fight, he could find himself on the wrong end of a big upset. Jeff's Prediction: Astolfo de Mello by Decision Fight Five: Ken Yoshida vs. Tyler "Human Weapon" Harwood @ 155lbs. Just because we can, we thought we would match up the two best jiu-jitsu artists in the Lightweight division. They are Tyler Harwood (7-6-1) and Ken Yoshida (14-12). Harwood is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has five submission wins in Warbringers, but has failed to win a fight since new years day. In his last four fights, he has gone 0-3-1, and dropped from title contender all the way down to gatekeeper. For Harwood to start moving back up in the rankings, he needs to win on Monday. Ken Yoshida may not have as high level jiu-jitsu credentials as Harwood, but Yoshida has certainly been enjoying more success in an MMA cage as of late. In Yoshida's last three fights, he has gone 2-1 with both wins coming by way of submission, and his only loss being to the legendary Glenn Gunn. With these two fighters being so far apart in the rankings, some people may wonder why they have been matched up here in our fifth fight of the night. The answer is, sometimes as a matchmaker you simply have to forget all about rankings and make fights that will interest the fans, and we believe that putting the two best grapplers in the division against each other will make for a highly exciting fight. Jeff's Prediction: Ken Yoshida by Decision Fight Six: Thiago "Chihuahua" Almer vs. Danilo "AntiVida" Santos @ 170lbs. Early in 2011, we brought a whole batch of new Welterweights in to Warbringers to freshen up the division a little bit, and I would say that Thiago Almer (6-4) has been far and away the most impressive of the lot. Apart from his lay-and-pray loss to Astolfo de Mello, Almer has collected three knockouts against three very solid opponents, and has now started to gain a little bit of hype and build up a small fanbase. Even though Almer doesn't possess the best striking technique in the world, his aggressive style and raw power mean that he has been able to pick up knockouts against technically better opponents. Going up against Almer in this fight will be Danilo Santos (4-2), who is coming into this one fresh off of his brutal head kick knockout of Kim Haven of Mist at WB70. Santos never shies away from throwing big kicks, and so Almer will have to be extremely cautious when wading in with his normal brawling style. Almer's chin is excellent, but I am not sure that even he could withstand a full blooded head kick from a man like Santos. Of all the fights at WB75, this is the one that in my opinion is most likely to provide a knockout, but which fighter will be delivering the knockout is anyone's guess. Jeff's Prediction: Thiago Almer by Knockout Fight Seven: Murilo "Kruger" Ruas vs. Don "Zanzibar" Wilson @ 205lbs. Don Wilson (4-3) is an inspiration. Even though he suffers from hypertrichosis (that's hairy face syndrome in layman's terms!), it hasn't stopped him from having a good crack at a mixed martial arts career, and he has actually been rather successful. Wilson started off his career in Rio Fighting Club, where a three fight winning streak, all of which won "of the night" awards, earned him a call up to the UCF. Wilson found it much harder in the UCF, losing two in a row before being released, but Warbringers were quick to sign Wilson up, knowing the potential that this man possesses. Wilson's main strength is his kickboxing ability, but he is also very capable on the ground and doesn't shy away from a grappling contest. Having said that, exchanging submission attempts with Murilo Ruas (6-3) would be a very very bad idea. Ruas is a high level purple belt in jiu-jitsu, and other than his pair of losses to Peter Czech, he has done exceptionally well since joining us in January. Prior to his WB67 loss to Czech, Ruas was on a four-fight submission streak and was slowly creeping up into title contention, and a win over a solid opponent like Wilson would put Ruas' name right back into the mix. Jeff's Prediction: Murilo Ruas by Submission Fight Eight: Rodolpho "Daedalus" Vasquel vs. Gabriel Emerson @ 170lbs. Our eighth fight of the night is a Weltweight contest between a man who is currently surging up in the 170lb rankings, Gabriel Emerson (12-6-2), and Warbringers newcomer Rodolpho Vasquel (8-7-1). We last saw Emerson in the cage at WB71 where he extended his winning streak to four by defeating up and coming prospect McLucas Silva. Emerson was the favourite going into the fight, and many thought that he might even be able to finish Silva. Unfortunately, Emerson was unable to win the fight within the distance, but regardless it is still an impressive feat to get four wins in a row in such a competitive division. Emerson is certainly up there amongst the best at Welterweight, and if he can win a fifth straight fight then he could well get offered a title shot. To get that fifth victory in a row, Emerson must defeat a man making his Warbringers debut; Rodolpho Vasquel. Vasquel is a really well rounded fighter that simply doesn't let fights go to decisions. He has eight wins in his career, all of which have been by knockout or submission, but in Emerson he is facing an opponent with a granite chin and incredible defensive grappling. Emerson is an opponent that is nearly impossible to finish. If Vasquel does manage to beat Emerson, though, it would be a fantastic way to introduce himself and would instantly put him up amongst the highest ranked Weltwerweights in our org. Vasquel has had success in most of the orgs that he has been with, but will he be able to continue that in Warbringers? Jeff's Prediction: Gabriel Emerson by Decision Fight Nine: Sasha "The Mascot Hitman" Lakovic vs. Peter "The Headhunter" Alb @ 170lbs. We were first introduced to head kick machine Peter Alb (6-0) at WB71, where he took on jiu-jitsu black belt Pera Vihtahousu and delivered a three round beatdown. Alb didn't manage to continue his run of five straight head kick knockouts, but he did show us just how dangerous his feet are. Over the course of that fight, Alb landed a stunning twenty-two high kicks, and never looked like losing. It was only really Vihtahousu's chin that stopped that fight from ending early. Now, Alb takes a step up and is set to fight a former Warbringers Welterweight champion. Sasha Lakovic (15-8) held the title belt from August of 2010 until December of 2010, but since losing his belt he has been a bit hit-and-miss. He has had some great performances, such as his knockout of Boris Garcia and his shutout decision of then highly rated Otto Graf, but he has also been disappointing in fights against Sean Price and Gabriel Emerson. In Lakovic's latest fight though, he took on Esteban Cambiasso and dominated from start to finish, showing us that he still has the ability that led him to championship glory in 2010. If he can replicate that level of performance against Alb, then he could take this fight, but from what we have seen of Alb so far, he is an absolute savage and will be an extremely tough challenge for anybody. Jeff's Prediction: Peter Alb by Knockout Main Event: "Boom" Bala Bala vs. "The Ox" Oleg Osbourne @ 185lbs. When Bala Bala (13-7) took on undefeated ground and pounder Rudell Crim at WB70, we were not prepared for what was about to happen. We assumed that Bala Bala would only be able to beat Crim with a submission off of his back, but what actually happened was quite incredible. No more than a minute into the first round, Bala Bala landed a beautiful counter right hand that put Crim on wobbly legs, and then he proceeded to scoop him up and deliver a thunderous slam that knocked Crim out cold. It was quite the spectacular debut, and earned Bala Bala a knockout of the night award. It is going to be very hard for Bala Bala to be equally impressive in his second fight, but if he can win against Oleg Osbourne (19-8-2), then he would almost certainly be next in line to fight for Kid Soplamocos' Middleweight title. Beating Osbourne will not be straight-forward though. Like Bala Bala, Osbourne has excellent grappling credentials, and is a really experienced fighter. Osbourne has competed in Delta Extreme Fighting, London Fighting Championships, Elite Ultimate Fighting Championship and Ultimate Cage Wars so far in his twenty-nine fight career, and he will be looking to make a name for himself with a big debut win here in Warbringers. Looking at this fight on paper, you would think that it would most likely turn into a grappling battle, considering that these competitors both hold brown-belts in jiu-jitsu, and have twenty-two submission wins between them. However, as we saw from Bala Bala against Rudell Crim, there is much more to his game than just grappling, and Oleg Osbourne won a knockout of the night award in his most recent fight in UCW. Whether this fight unfolds on the ground or on the feet, it is sure to be a really exciting contest between two top quality mixed martial artists, and a very worthy main event. Jeff's Prediction: Oleg Osbourne by Decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1311615512poster76.jpg WB76: Rypien vs. Khanomtom http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=705463 After finally managing to win back the title that he never lost, Lightweight Champion Rick Rypien must now defend his belt for the first time. In our main event he takes on Kaoklai Khanomtom, who at only twenty years old could possibly become one of the youngest champions in our history. Also on the card we have methodical ground master Sen Nguyen and world class striker Buakaw Pramuk going head to head in the Middleweight division, the return of Jean Charles Skarbowsky, and a selection of potentially very exciting newcomers. Overall, we think this is a great card from top to bottom. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Racka Lamb vs. Dimas Russo @ 155lbs. Kicking us off at WB76 is Racka Lamb (16-13) against Dimas Russo (6-6). Lamb is a newcomer to the org, but has been on the Rio MMA scene for a long time. He started his career in Fury Fight Brazil, and remained there for seventeen fights, winning the FFB Welterweight championship in the process. After finishing with FFB, he moved on to Rio Sambo Carnival, where he fought a further ten times before moving over to Warbringers. Lamb's main strength is his striking; he has shown throughout his career that his technique is solid and that he has lots of knockout power. There is no doubt that Lamb will be, by some considerable margin, the most experienced fighter that Dimas Russo has ever faced. At WB73, Russo had his two-fight winning streak broken when he was bested by Arcturus Balfour, and now, he will be looking to bounce back in style. The problem for Russo is that Lamb is just so experienced and so well-rounded - it is going to take a masterful performance from him in order to win this fight. It isn't impossible for him by any means; Lamb's chin has failed him on many occasions in the past, but I just don't know if Russo has enough to defeat a grizzled, battle-worn veteran like Lamb. Jeff's Prediction: Racka Lamb by Knockout Fight Two: Gustav "The Meatpacker" Swift vs. "Average Joe" Peter La Fleur @ 205lbs. At WB71, Peter La Fleur (11-10) was unable to end his poor run of form, as he once again succumbed to a submission, this time at the hands of Daniele Vantaggiato. This means that La Fleur has won only one fight in his previous six attempts, and now that he is coming to the end of his contract he really needs to start impressing. Will he be able to turn the tide and get back to winning ways in our second fight of the night? La Fleur will be taking on Gustav Swift (8-4), who is returning after his loss to Czar Jack at WB70. In that fight, and in Swift's fight before that, his inability to secure a takedown cost him big time. We know that if he can take La Fleur to the ground, then he will most likely be able to submit him, but Swift has shown in his last couple of fights that he sometimes struggles to put opponents on their backs. In the standup portion of this fight, La Fleur will be heavily favoured. It's been a while since we've seen him get a knockout, but he certainly has all the striking tools to do so. If La Fleur can just regain the confidence that he seems to have lost lately, and if he can stop a couple of early takedown attempts from Swift, then this is a fight that he can win. Jeff's Prediction: Gustav Swift by Submission Fight Three: Brian "Frontal" Lobe vs. "The Animal" Stanislaus Kasava @ 155lbs. In our third fight of the night, we welcome former Big Bang Fight Club Featherweight champion Stanislaus Kasava (10-7) to our shores, and we are really looking forward to seeing this guy in action. Kasava is a sprawl and brawler. He uses his considerable wrestling ability to keep fights away from the ground and then he throws bombs. He is very quick, very powerful, and has explosive knockout power, and on Tuesday, he is coming for Brian Lobe (9-9). Even though Lobe is currently on a losing streak, he is always a dangerous opponent. He has an impressive grappling pedigree, and in all nine of his career wins, he has finished his opponent by submission. Therefore, Kasava will need to bring his A-game, as one single slip-up in this fight could result in him getting tapped out. Lobe has been known in the past to be a little bit "chinny", meaning that if Kasava can land a clean shot with one of his big cinder block hands, he is probably going to walk out of WB76 with a knockout. Something that is interesting to note is that Kasava is actually a natural Featherweight, and that this will be the first time that he has ever competed at 155lbs. It will be interesting to see if him fighting at a higher weight class will affect the hand and foot speed that has made him such a formidable fighter in the past. Jeff's Prediction: Stanislaus Kasava by Knockout Fight Four: Vincent Castillo vs. Dave "Pyton" Yoma @ 185lbs. When Dave Yoma (6-7) first burst onto the scene with an impressive submission win at WB72, we thought that the sky would be the limit for him and that he would be up amongst the best Middleweights in this org in no time. That isn't quite how it worked out though. Yoma went on to lose his next three bouts, including his most recent fight against Alejandro de le Fe. It could be said that Yoma is now at a career crossroads. He has so much talent, but time and time again seems to come up short. If the same thing happens here against Vincent Castillo (13-8), it would mark his fourth consecutive loss and unfortunately relegate him to long-term undercard-filler status. In order for Yoma to beat Castillo, he must avoid the fast hands and feet of the kickboxer from Belem, and try to get this fight to the canvas. If he cannot get it there and this turns into a striking contest, then Castillo will get his chance to shine. The word is that since we last saw Castillo, his striking has improved by leaps and bounds. Considering that he was already a very solid striker, that is quite a statement. Even though standing at 5'2" he is very small for this weight-class, he still packs quite a lot of power in his strikes. The question is though, has Castillo been focusing too much on his striking for this fight, and not enough on his wrestling and takedown defense? Jeff's Prediction: Dave Yoma by Submission Fight Five: Ricardo Galocinza vs. Solomon Venris @ 155lbs. We were hoping that when Ricardo Galocinza (4-1) took on Bryan Vessey at WB71 that it would be his coming out party. It was the ideal opportunity for him to step up his game a notch, finish the fight and put the division on notice. Unfortunately, on the night Galocinza seemed hesitant and unwilling to take any risks, and as a result the fight was a bit boring, and certainly very underwhelming. It was a comfortable victory for him, but not an impressive one. Galocinza can make up for it, though, with a good performance against Solomon Venris (4-3). Interestingly, style-wise, Venris is pretty much the polar opposite of Galocinza. Galocinza is an excellent technical boxer and jiu-jitsu artist, while Venris' areas of expertise are wrestling, and muay-thai. Usually, you will see Venris rushing in against opponents and pressing them up against the cage, then proceeding to smother them and land huge quantities of elbows, knees and dirty boxing. This style of fighting could be described as ugly, but Venris has shown in his last couple of fights that even though it may be ugly, it is definitely effective. The weakest areas of Galocinza's game are his wrestling and muay-thai, and therefore I feel that Venris is the perfect opponent for him. It should be an excellent fight and a really interesting styles-clash. Jeff's Prediction: Ricardo Galocinza by Decision Fight Six: Jean Charles Skarbowsky vs. Marco "Matador" Milani @ 185lbs. After he collected two wins in his first two Warbringers fights, we felt that it was time to step Jean Charles Skarbowsky (2-1) up, and give him the opportunity to really start rising up the rankings. That is why he has been matched up against the toughest test of his career so far, Marco Milani (8-5). In Skarbowsky's debut, he took on David Tennant in a fight that resembled a common assault, as he dominated from bell to bell, really putting a nasty beating on his opponent. Less than three weeks after this, Skarbowsky was back in action again, this time against Blade Brown. It took Skarbowsky only three and a half minutes to pull off the upset and stop Brown with knees from the clinch. Now, with these two big wins under his belt, Skarbowsky is making his first appearance on a Warbringers main card where he will meet Marco Milani. Before Milani's WB72 defeat at the hands of Sen Nguyen, he was only one big victory away from being considered for a title shot. We were all very impressed with how he handled Sam Hitz and Dave Yoma, and if he did defeat Nguyen, he could have been next in line to fight for the gold, but with the defeat, he finds himself having to work his way back up once more. Milani will realise that to stand any chance against the expert striker Skarbowsky, he has to somehow get to the ground and use his jiu-jitsu. The problem is that Skarbowsky can knock you out with all eight points of contact, meaning that Milani will have to be very careful when getting in close or shooting in for takedowns. Jeff's Prediction: Jean Charles Skarbowsky by Knockout Fight Seven: Page Black vs. "The Polish Pillow" Jan Dudek @ 185lbs. Here, we have a fight that will have fans of good striking frothing at the mouth. Page Black's (7-2) striking ability is obvious for all to see. He has put together a highlight reel of brutal finishes and won numerous fight of the night and knockout of the night awards throughout his career. In the seventh fight of the night, Black is going up against a man that many consider to be the most talented boxer currently contracted to this organisation, Jan Dudek (5-0). Dudek was given the nickname "The Polish Pillow" due to the fact that in his first four mixed martial arts bouts, he completely out-struck his opponents, but failed to get any knockdowns and failed to finish any of the fights. In his Warbringers debut, however, Dudek stepped up his game and really started to put some power behind his shots. His knockout victim in that fight, Giovani Gomes, will probably vouch that Dudek's nickname is quite inaccurate. When Dudek steps into the cage with Page Black on Tuesday night, it is going to be interesting to see how the different striking styles of Black and Dudek match up. On one hand we have Page Black, who uses kicks, punches and knees to damage opponents in a multitude of ways, and on the other hand we have Dudek, a patient and technical striker with the best pure boxing ability we have ever witnessed. Unfortunately, the word coming out of Dudek's camp is that he might be struggling to make weight for this fight. It would be a terrible shame if such a mouth-watering matchup doesn't go ahead because of a weight-cutting issue! Jeff's Prediction: Page Black by Decision - if the fight goes ahead Fight Eight: Nate "Natural" Springs vs. Hudson "Left-Eye" Levine @ 155lbs. Moving on now to the Lightweight division, we have the final remaining newcomer on the card, Hudson Levine (10-6) attempting to make a successful start to his Warbringers tenure. Levine was picked up following a successful spells in both the Rio Home O' Eroticism and the Amazon Fighting Championships, and we think that he will be a perfect fit to our 155lb division. What makes Levine such a successful fighter and difficult opponent is his leg kicks. If anyone stands in the pocket against him, their legs will take an absolute battering, to the point where they can stand no more. This gives opponents of Levine two choices; close the distance and try to fight him in the clinch, or take him down - and both of those options are easier said than done considering Levine has very high level wrestling. The man taking on and trying to solve the conundrum of Levine is Nate Springs (11-4-1), fresh off of his unanimous decision victory over Ken Yoshida at WB70 one month ago. In that fight, Springs put on a masterclass, showing both solid ground skills and excellent dirty boxing. He will be hoping that he can show off these aspects of his game again come fight night. Other than Springs' title defeat to Jin Shotokahn, he hasn't lost a fight in over a year. Both of these guys are highly talented fighters, and will lay it all on the line seeking victory. It should be a cracking fight! Jeff's Prediction: Hudson Levine by Decision Fight Nine: "The Rising" Sen Nguyen vs. "K-9" Buakaw Pramuk @ 185lbs. The co-main event on this card is going to help us to determine who will be the next fighter in line for a shot at Kid Soplamocos' Middleweight championship. The first competitor in this number one contender matchup is Sen Nguyen (10-5), a meticulous submission fighter who debuted at WB72 in a shutout decision win over fellow high level grappler Marco Milani. In that fight, Nguyen did exactly what he said he was going to do; be patient and control the fight on the ground... and this led to quite a one sided contest. So impressed were we by Nguyen's first Warbringers fight, that he has been rewarded with this number one contenders bout. We feel it was definitely deserved. His opponent in the fight also well and truly earned their shot at becoming the number one contender. Buakaw Pramuk (6-0) took on Page Black in his previous fight in what was described at the time as a huge step up in opposition for him. He had never before fought a man with the sheer striking ability of Black, but Pramuk simply ran through him in a jaw-dropping performance. It took him only two minutes and twelve seconds to get the brutal knockout win. Before Pramuk's fight with Black, it was Black that was considered the best striker in our Middleweight division, but after the show that Pramuk put on, he has certainly earned the title of best Middleweight striker for himself. He will want to continue to show us his kickboxing skills with a good performance against Nguyen here, but this will be the trickiest fight he has had yet in his career. Nguyen holds a big experience advantage over his young opponent, and he will be trying to use every bit of that experience to take Pramuk down and stifle any offense. In Pramuk's six fights so far, we haven't really seen much of his ground game, and I don't know whether he will have an answer for Nguyen's control-based grappling style. Jeff's Prediction: Sen Nguyen by Decision Main Event: Rick "The Ripper" Rypien vs. Kaoklai Khanomtom for the Warbringers Lightweight Championship. Rick Rypien (12-3) recently won back the title that he never lost from Jin Shotokahn after contractual issues meant that the belt had to be vacated, and now he is looking to make his first ever title defense against one of the hottest prospects in the entire company, Kaoklai Khanomtom (8-1). Khanomtom's rise to prominence has been very well documented. He was signed to Warbringers as a 3-1 rookie, but quickly made a name for himself as a brutal striker with two knockout of the night awards in the space of a month. He then went on to face the best muay-thai fighter in Warbringers history in Wakanda Akecheta, and took less than three minutes to finish him off. After that, Khanomtom took on Vaughn Hammersmith and smashed him into the ground within two rounds. The win over Hammersmith was followed up with a three round domination of Moe Lester, after which Khanomtom was given a shot at the champ. I get the feeling that win or lose against Rypien, Khanomtom is going to be one of those fighters that we are hearing about for a long time to come. There is something quite special about this young man, and I believe that one day he is destined to become the Warbringers Lightweight champion. Whether or not his destiny is fulfilled against Rypien on Tuesday night remains to be seen. Rypien is highly experienced, extremely well rounded and will push Khanomtom harder than he has been pushed in a fight before. We've seen time and time again that Rypien's striking is seriously underrated. He knocked out Jin Shotokahn twice, knocked out Arcturus Balfour, and easily beat up Rogerio Cafu. Not many people can compare to Rypien in the standup department, but Khanomtom will be giving it his best shot. The question is, will Khanomtom be up to the challenge, or is this title shot a little bit too much too soon for him? Find out at WB76, live from Hayashi's Lounge on August 2nd! Jeff's Prediction: Kaoklai Khanomtom by Decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1312568449generic-poster.jpg WB77: Constantinides vs. Wenkel http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=705464 Since our last event, WB76, I have announced that I will be closing down Warbringers after WB80. There is no need to be sad, however. I have a couple of interesting ideas lined up, and you will be hearing a lot more from me in the future. It does mean, though, that all twenty fighters on this card will be making their last appearances with the org, and therefore they will all be trying to put on great showings to attract the interest of potential future employers. We hope that's going to make it an exciting show from top to bottom. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Ivan "The Backpacker Killer" Milat vs. Dan "Tangy" Svensson @ 170lbs. The real problem with the QFC's in MMA Tycoon is that the matchmaking is done at random and as a result you can get some tremendous mismatches. Ivan Milat (0-1) was a promising young rookie who was unfortunate enough to get drawn in one of those QFC mismatches for his MMA debut, against then-unbeaten Matthew Mara. Since their fight, Mara went on to win the No Exit FC Welterweight title, while Milat has been back in the gym, preparing for his next attempt at getting off the mark. This fight should be a lot fairer that his last, as Milat has been matched up against Dan Svensson (8-6). I have said it before, and I will say it again; Dan Svensson is skilled enough to belong much higher up in the rankings than he currently is, but inconsistency and his failure to perform to his full potential has hampered him considerably. If Svensson did perform to the best of his ability each and every time he stepped into the cage, I believe he could be challenging for titles. His grappling is seriously underrated and he has decent standup to go along with it. Ivan Milat, on the other hand, specialises in striking, and will be trying to keep this one on the feet and go for a knockout. It should be a great way to kick off the night. Jeff's Prediction: Ivan Milat by Knockout Fight Two: Alexander "The Experiment" Karelin vs. "Killer Clown" John Gacy @ 205lbs. You would think that a world class wrestler with a brown-belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu would do very well in mixed martial arts, but for Alexander Karelin (3-7) it simply hasn't happened. The thing is, Karelin's style is very predictable. He attempts takedowns, then attempts takedowns, then attempts some more takedowns. Even for a wrestler as good as him, it is hard to get an opponent to the ground when they are expecting the takedown one hundred percent of the time. If only Karelin adapted his gameplan and tried to mix up striking and takedown attempts, he would probably have much more luck. Against John Gacy (8-5), it is important that he is the one securing the takedowns, because if the fight stays standing, or John Gacy gets top position, then Karelin is going to be in for a world of hurt. Very few fighters in Warbringers combine standup striking and ground and pound like John Gacy does. Whether you are on the feet against him, or on the ground, Gacy possesses the ability to knock you out. That makes him both a highly dangerous opponent to face, and a highly exciting fighter to watch. His time in Warbringers so far hasn't gone too well, but we absolutely know what he is capable of, and so we cannot wait to see this fight unfold. Jeff's Prediction: John Gacy by Knockout Fight Three: Scott "Razorback" Hode vs. Gegard Zaromskis @ 155lbs. We then move into the Lightweight division, for a fight between two of more exciting members of the roster. Gegard Zaromskis (5-0-1) is still unbeaten in his MMA career after he won the rematch with Al Wentworth at WB73. If the first fight between Zaromskis and Wentworth was close enough for it to be called a draw, the same thing cannot be said for the rematch, in which Zaromskis utterly dominated with a combination of standing kicks and ground and pound. After such a top notch performance, Zaromskis is now moving up the rankings and the future looks very bright for him. At WB77, he will take another step up in competition when he fights Scott Hode (11-3). In the buildup to Hode's last fight at WB73, we questioned whether his best years of fighting were now behind him, but Hode showed us that despite being thirty years old, he hasn't lost a step. He took on Jose Alcano and managed to beat him up on the feet, and then take him down and lock in a submission, all in the first round. That will teach us for doubting him. I'm not sure that Hode will be able to tool Zaromskis in the same manner, but he will present a very tough test for him. Never before has Zaromskis faced someone with as much talent and experience as Hode. If Zaromskis can defeat Hode here, I imagine that some of the top orgs in the world will begin chasing him. Jeff's Prediction: Gegard Zaromskis by Decision Fight Four: Mike "The Hammer" Van Rijn vs. "The Truth" Michael Vera @ 205lbs. Light Heavyweight kickboxer Michael Vera's (8-1) streak is becoming prolific. Since July 2010, he has stopped all five of the opponents that he has faced, and none of them have managed to last longer than six minutes against him. Since joining Warbringers Vera has gone 2-0, and his most recent victory at WB72 was one of the most impressive of his entire career. He took on Chen Chong, and took the fight to him. Anyone who follows Warbringers closely will tell you that Chong is known for having bucket loads of knockout power and a chin made of concrete, but Vera managed to turn out his lights in only twenty-four seconds of the very first round. It was the kind of performance that makes people sit up and take notice, and if Vera delivers a similar performance against Mike Van Rijn (12-7) on Sunday, he will have absolutely no problem finding a new home after Warbringers closes. The last time we saw Van Rijn in the cage, he was getting tapped out by Jonas Wenkel at WB73. We have seen a couple of times now that Van Rijn's ground game is probably his weakest area, but he won't have to worry about it being exploited in this fight, because Vera will have no intention of taking it to the ground. Instead, this is going to be a standup war, and in all likelihood, it is going to end with a knockout. Jeff's Prediction: Michael Vera by Knockout Fight Five: Glenn "The Gatling" Gunn vs. Arcturus "Godhands" Balfour @ 155lbs. I think it's quite fitting that one of the most well-known Warbringers fighters, and one of the guys that helped us to get to where we are today, is now fighting on one of our final shows. Glenn Gunn (11-7) fought on the WB1 card all the way back in early 2010, and has been ever present since then. In his time with Warbringers, he has put together huge winning streaks, won the Lightweight title, defended it three times, picked up four "of the night" awards, and generally just been in fantastic fights. He was recently inducted into the Warbringers hall of fame as recognition of his achievements, but because this is the last time I will be writing an event preview with Glenn Gunn in it, I wanted to take one last opportunity to say thank you Glenn Gunn. It's been an absolute pleasure having you in the org. Now, onto his fight at WB77. Gunn takes on a fighter that has been around for quite a while himself. Arcturus Balfour (7-2) first fought at WB31, and recently rejoined the org after a long hiatus. As his nickname would imply, Balfour is a tremendous striker. His technique is near faultless, and he has a lot of knockout power. Gunn is also a very good striker, but if this fight stays standing, you would have to think Balfour stands the best chance of winning. The thing is though, Gunn has such good wrestling, such good takedowns, such good ground control and such good jiu-jitsu, that I don't see this fight ending with anything other than a win for him. Jeff's Prediction: Glenn Gunn by Submission Fight Six: Alejandro "Oh Yeah" de le Fe vs. Alejandro "2000 kg" Sosa @ 185lbs. For me, one of the most shocking results of the last few months was when Alejandro Sosa (17-6) was defeated by Kid Soplamocos. Most people thought that it was going to be a relatively even fight, but personally I thought Sosa was going to run through Soplamocos and win the Middleweight belt with ease. It didn't turn out like that though, and now Sosa is looking to get straight back into the win column with a victory over Alejandro de le Fe (10-4). De le Fe has done well since he joined Warbringers in April, winning both of his fights and collecting a fight of the night bonus to boot, but in Alejandro Sosa, he now has an opponent that will truly push him and give him a very stern test. Both times that we have seen de le Fe in the cage, he has picked up the win due to his striking ability. The only time that we have seen him on the ground was when Sam Hitz took him down in the second round of their WB67 bout, and while on the ground, de le Fe did not look comfortable at all. When it comes to grappling, Sosa is a clear level above anyone that de le Fe has faced yet in Warbringers, and so unless de le Fe has been working hard on fighting from his back, this fight may end up very one sided. Jeff's Prediction: Alejandro Sosa by Knockout Fight Seven: Bruce "Smashface" Couture vs. "The Engineer" Gor Keyman @ Super Heavyweight. After his defeat in the final of the Truly Unremarkable Tournament, we put an offer on the table for Gor Keyman (9-1) to remain in Warbringers. We felt that he had accomplished so much here, and that he had fought so much here, that he now belongs here. We wanted to keep him around for as long as possible, and luckily for us Keyman felt the same way and signed on the dotted line. The only problem was that Keyman signed to a division with no other fighters in it, and so we had to go out hunting other fighters that were willing to come to Warbringers, bulk up to Super Heavyweight and take on "The Engineer". Our hunt took us to Montreal, where we found a fighter by the name of Bruce Couture (6-7). Despite Couture's less-than-stellar record, he is actually quite a highly ranked fighter who since April of this year has gone 3-1. In Couture's latest outing, he captured the Montreal Combat Championship Middleweight title with a first round submission win over Drederik Tatum. The threat that Couture will pose for Keyman is two-fold. He has very heavy and accurate ground and pound, and also is very adept at jiu-jitsu. If this fight goes to the ground, Keyman is going to have to be wary of both submissions, and the big bombs that Couture can drop. On the feet, Keyman will stand much more chance of winning, but that's not to say that Couture has no striking ability; his boxing is solid. All in all, it's really quite tricky to pick who may win this fight, but I am confident that either way, it is going to be an entertaining scrap. Jeff's Prediction: Gor Keyman by Decision Fight Eight: Sten Kil vs Peter "Pay" Czech @ 205lbs. The main reason that we decided to sign Sten Kil (7-2) to Warbringers was because of his amazing highlight reel. He has won seven fights, and six of them have ended in spectacular knockout. He guarantees excitement when he fights, and that is why we wanted to fly him in from Las Vegas to entertain our fans. Choosing an opponent for Kil was actually very easy. There was one fighter available who was also a great striker, and who also delivers entertaining fights every time, and that man was Peter Czech (7-3), who is coming into this fight on the back of two straight knockout wins over Renan Ruas and Tyreke Evans, respectively. You can expect to see fists and feet flying when the cage door closes on Sunday night, but who will win is anyone's guess. On paper, Kil is probably the slightly more technically sound and efficient striker, but Czech will have a significant height and reach advantage. There is every chance that Czech will try something a bit different tactically in this fight; normally he loves to stand and bang, but against Kil, the most sensible tactic for him would be to try and exploit the holes in his game, which is his wrestling and grappling ability. Czech is a smart fighter, and you should not be surprised to see him putting Kil on his back, and unloading with shots from above. Jeff's Prediction: Peter Czech by Decision Fight Nine: "I cum inside hookers" Carlito Montoya vs. Daniele Vantaggiato @ 205lbs. At WB73, Carlito Montoya (18-4) put his Warbringers Light Heavyweight championship, and his twelve fight winning streak on the line against Ares Constantinides. It was billed as a clash of the titans; two fighters that were seemingly unstoppable colliding. On the night, Constantinides came out as the victor and in the process showed us that Montoya may actually have a weakness - his ground game. In our co-main event of the evening, we are going to get to see whether Montoya does have some cracks when a fight goes to the mat, or if the result against Constantinides was a bit of a fluke. Montoya will be taking on jiu-jitsu black belt Daniele Vantaggiato (10-8), who is coming into this fresh off of a submission win over former champion Peter La Fleur. For such a long time, we thought that Carlito Montoya was untouchable as he sat on top of our 205lb division, but now the feeling is that against truly great ground fighters he may struggle. This is therefore a colossal opportunity for Vantaggiato. A win over a fighter like Montoya would make him shoot right up in the P4P rankings, but let us not forget the reason that Montoya was the Light Heavyweight kingpin for so long... his striking is immense. Every second that this fight remains standing, Montoya is only one swing away from adding to his twelve career knockouts. Vantaggiato isn't a bad striker, but realistically he isn't on Montoya's level, and will desperately need to get this fight to the ground. I think that one way or another, we are going to see a finish in this fight. Jeff's Prediction: Carlito Montoya by Knockout Main Event: Ares "God Of War" Constantinides vs. "The Dutch Oven" Jonas Wenkel for the Warbringers Light Heavyweight championship. In the main event of the evening, one of my personal favourite fighters in Warbringers, Jonas Wenkel (10-3), gets his second shot at the 205lb title. The first time he fought for the belt, he was bested by Carlito Montoya, but since then he has put together a three fight winning streak, and now that the belt has changed hands to Ares Constantinides (16-8-1), we felt that Wenkel was the only real option for the next title shot. Unfortunately, on paper it looks like it might be quite a one-sided fight in Constantinides' favour, but one thing we have learned over the course of Wenkel's time with Warbringers is that he should never be written off. Back when Wenkel first joined us, we thought that maybe he would be a decent mid card fighter, winning some and losing some. We never envisioned him climbing to the summit of our Light Heavyweight ranks, but that is exactly what he did. When we thought that maybe an opponent was too tough for him, he won. When we thought that he wouldn't climb any higher, he won again. Wenkel just seems to be one of those fighters that will find ways to emerge victorious. Having said that, Constantinides is without a doubt the most formidable opponent of Wenkel's career. He is highly skilled in every single area of the game, and is capable of finishing fights in a number of ways. If he is to stand any chance, Wenkel is going to have to get his gameplan spot on in this fight. On Sunday night, the final ever Warbringers Light Heavyweight champion will be determined. Who will go down in history? Jeff's Prediction: Ares Constantinides by Decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1312568449generic-poster.jpg WB78: Soplamocos vs. Osbourne http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=707088 As we move one step closer to the end of the org, we hold WB78: Soplamocos vs. Osbourne, to determine the final ever Warbringers Middleweight Champion. As well as this, some of the biggest names from the orgs past are making an appearance, as well as some of the most exciting fighters on our roster, and even a few newcomers. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Rudell Crim vs. Drederick "King" Tatum @ 185lbs. Finding an opponent for Rudell Crim (5-1) has proven incredibly difficult. After his knockout loss to Bala Bala, his ranking plummeted. The thing is though, he is still a very talented fighter, and so finding an opponent on roughly the same skill level and on roughly the same rankings has been tough. We did find someone, however. He is Drederick Tatum (11-10) and he likes punching people in the face with considerable force. Of Tatum's eleven career wins, all eleven have come by way of knockout and nine of those have ended in the first round. Despite the fact that Tatum has now lost four fights in a row, he still has the ability and the knockout power to finish off anybody in a standup contest. Therein lies the key for Crim. It is important for him not to get into wild exchanges with Tatum on the feet. He needs to stay focused, stay disciplined, choose a sensible gameplan and try to follow through with it. That will most likely involve Crim looking to take Tatum down to the ground and smash his face into the canvas. The main question is whether Crim will be able to secure a takedown on Tatum before Tatum connects with one of his huge power shots. Jeff's Prediction: Rudell Crim by Knockout Fight Two: Ricardo "Widow-maker" Diaz vs. "Sir Cansbane" Nick East @ 170lbs. In the second fight of the night, we get to witness the final appearance of Warbringers legend and former Welterweight Champion Ricardo Diaz (10-6). Diaz first entered the org all the way back at WB6: Influx, when we originally introduced the 170lb division, and quickly established himself as one of the top guys in that weight class. It wasn't long before Diaz had notched up six wins and was awarded a title shot. Diaz grabbed his chance at gold with both hands and defeated then-champ Lakovic to become the Welterweight kingpin. In recent times, Diaz has found himself on a bit of a losing streak, but we still think of him as one of the Warbringers greats. It would be awesome if Diaz managed to end his time with Warbringers by breaking the losing streak and going out on a high note. To do that, he must defeat Nick East (13-8), a well-rounded kickboxer who although was unsuccessful in his debut last month against Giovani Gomes, showed some signs of promise. In the Gomes fight, and especially in the second round, East showed glimpses of brilliance. He unloaded with explosive leg kicks and body kicks which seemed to really hurt Gomes. If only his takedown defense was a bit better in that fight, it may have been a totally different outcome. In this fight, East probably won't have any takedown defense worries, because the chances of it going to the ground are slim. Instead, it will be a standup fight, which either man is capable of winning. Jeff's Prediction: Ricardo Diaz by Knockout Fight Three: "Suga" Kevin Phillips Bong vs. "The Doctor" David Tennant @ 185lbs. Our attention was first drawn to Kevin Phillips Bong (5-2) during his time in the Rio Home O' Erotisism's Contenders League. In his three fights with that org, he claimed three victories, two of which came by impressive first round knockout. When his time came to move up to the big leagues and join the main RHOE org he didn't fare as well, going 0-2, but because of the talent that he demonstrated previously, we were quick to put a contract offer on the table. Now a member of the Warbringers roster, Bong faces "The Doctor" David Tennant (9-10) in his debut. Since Tennant last fought for us, he has been in the gym working hard on his jiu-jitsu game. He was recently awarded a brown belt, and will be desperate to try and show it off in this fight by taking Bong down and working for subs. Offensively, Bong's wrestling and jiu-jitsu is nothing to write home about, but defensively he is sound. He has never been in any trouble on the ground, rarely gets taken down and has never tasted defeat by submission. This means that Tennant, despite having a newly awarded brown belt, is going to have his work cut out for him if he is going to get anything from this fight. Jeff's Prediction: Kevin Phillips Bong by Knockout Fight Four: Blade Brown vs. "Paco" Alberto Lin @ 185lbs. It seems that Blade Brown (4-3-1) has become a victim of the recently introduced MMA Tycoon skill degradation system. Just a few months back he was really skilled in all areas, but since his last fight his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills have both taken big hits. The same cannot be said about his opponent on Friday, Alberto Lin (11-5-1), whose muay-thai and kickboxing skills are looking as impressive as ever. Lin is without question the most technically gifted muay-thai kickboxer that has ever graced our Middleweight division, but somehow he has yet to record a win in two attempts. In his debut, he was ground and pounded to a decision loss against Mark Dai, and then a month later dropped another decision against Bill Annunaki. Lin will be hoping that the third time is a charm when he steps back into a Warbringers cage against Brown, but this is a fight that will not be easy for him. Brown is the very definition of a well-rounded fighter, and even though his skills have declined lately, he is still a fighter that should not be underestimated. Anywhere that this fight goes, Brown will ask questions of Lin, and to be perfectly honest I am not sure if Lin will have the answers. Jeff's Prediction: Blade Brown by Decision Fight Five: Tony Danza vs. Rafael "Seda" Loureiro @ 170lbs. In the final undercard fight of the night, we say thankyou and goodbye to yet another Warbringers legend in Rafael Loureiro (12-6). Loureiro first fought in Warbringers back in March 2010 on the WB3 card, and went on to become the most dominant Middleweight, and successful submission fighter in the org's history. In Loureiro's fourteen Warbringers bouts, he has notched up seven submission victories, five submission of the night awards, one fight of the night award, won the Middleweight championship twice, and successfully moved down to Welterweight and won the 170lb belt too. Success seems to follow Loureiro around, and he has been a huge part of this org. We are very grateful to him. In his fifteenth and final fight for the org, Loureiro takes on Tony Danza (13-7), a fighter that has put together some impressive wins in his time in Warbringers, but has unfortunately just fallen short every single time he has been in a big title eliminator. Danza is an all-around very talented guy. In the standup, he is solid. On the ground, he is solid. Add to this his physical skills, his toughness and his vast experience, and you get a really impressive fighter. He will give Loureiro one hell of a fight, but I get the feeling that the submission wizardry of Loureiro may be too much for him. Jeff's Prediction: Rafael Loureiro by Submission Fight Six: Antonio "Pitbull" Nunes vs. Ference "The Reaper" Gabor @ 155lbs. In his long tenure with Warbringers, Ference Gabor's (11-2) fighting style may not have won him too many fans, but nevertheless we still need to respect his accomplishments. Gabor is a former Lightweight champion, and has beaten some big names such as James Corcoran, Mikhael Yuri de Guzman and even Glenn Gunn. Some describe him as a layer and prayer, but regardless, Warbringers would not have been the same without Ference Gabor. This is actually Gabor's first fight since he changed management and resigned with Warbringers, and we are interested to see if the new manager will send him in with a new gameplan that may get the fans excited and give us a fight to look forward to. I have no doubt in my mind that Gabor has the ability to be finishing opponents... but we are just have to wait and see if he does. In his fight on Friday, he goes up against Antonio Nunes (12-1), a man that on the surface may not seem like a world beater, but once you look through his record and past achievements, you will see that this guy is for real. He has beaten Olympic calibre wrestler Algernon Mustard, submission artist Marcelo Garcia, well rounded striker Hugo Zanella, and many more. In fact, his only career loss was to now world ranked Jed Masilungan. Skill-wise, this may look like a one-sided fight, but in actuality, I think it is going to be a really close one. It would certainly be a huge mistake for Gabor to take Nunes lightly. Jeff's Prediction: Ference Gabor by Decision Fight Seven: "The Asian Sensation" Ban Ki Kim vs. Sean "The Right" Price @ 170lbs. In the months of June and July this year, Ban Ki Kim (6-3) took part in a two-fight series with former Welterweight champion Chris Herzog. In the initial encounter, Kim came away with the win, but it was a very close decision that some felt could have gone the other way. In the rematch, Kim left no doubts as he won far more comfortably with his combination of takedown defense and stinging kicks. After Kim's shaky start in Warbringers, he now appears to have found his feet and is performing to a much higher standard. To continue his winning streak, he must beat another former champion, Sean "The Right" Price (14-6). This is the first time that Price has stepped into a Warbringers cage since he lost his championship gold. Before his defeat to Tim Conner at WB74, Price had fought five times for us, dating back to WB2 in February of 2010, and he had won every single time. Price may not have a vast arsenal of flashy kicks and exciting submission manoeuvres, but what makes him a very good fighter is that he is well-rounded, tough as nails and has lots of big fight experience. He is very similar in that respect to Kim's last opponent Chris Herzog, and as we saw at WB69 and WB74, Kim had his number. Will Kim be able to produce a repeat performance and defeat a former 170lb champion for the third fight running? Or will Price prove too much for the young kickboxer from Korea? Jeff's Prediction: Sean Price by Decision Fight Eight: "Free Wrestling Monster" Dagestan Opasevich vs. Joel Savage @ 170lbs. In the eighth fight of the evening, we will finally get to see the long awaited debut of the "Free Wrestling Monster" from Armenia, Dagestan Opasevich (7-2). We signed Opasevich quite a while ago, but had had to sit on the sidelines until an opponent became available. Now, we get to see him take on another great wrestler, Joel Savage (5-4). This is going to be a really interesting matchup, because both competitors are near mirror images of each other. They are both primarily wrestlers, both have decent striking and jiu-jitsu, both have incredibly vicious ground and pound, and both even have similar short and stocky physiques. There are lots of similarities between these fighters, but the big differences all centre around their MMA records. Opasevich's record stands at a very credible seven wins and two losses, while Savage has struggled a bit more throughout his career, only managing to go five and four. As well as this, Opasevich is coming into this contest on the back of a four-fight winning streak, while Savage is coming off of a loss to Akaboshi Aida. Out of all the fights on the card, this one is probably the most unpredictable, based purely on the fact that when two high level wrestlers collide, they tend to cancel each other out. It really is a toss-up between the two, but I feel that the wave of momentum that Opasevich is riding into this fight might see him to victory. Jeff's Prediction: Dagestan Opasevich by Decision Fight Nine: Jin Shotokahn vs. Rogerio Cafu @ 155lbs. In the co-main event of the evening, two of our premier Lightweights will square off in what will surely play out as a striker vs. grappler matchup. Jin Shotokahn (12-5-1) is a former two-time Warbringers Lightweight champion that has extremely heavy hands, and knows how to throw them. Of his twelve mixed martial arts victories, ten have ended by knockout. It seems that if you stand in front of Shotokahn, then it is just a matter of time before he puts you away. In this fight, though, the opponent will be doing everything he can to avoid standing with a knockout artist. Rogerio Cafu (12-8) loves to go to the ground and use his jiu-jitsu skills. In fact, every fight that he has won has been by submission. Cafu has a very intriguing fighting style whereby all he does it attempt takedowns. It doesn't matter whether Cafu is standing at range or up close in the clinch, he has a tendency to avoid throwing strikes altogether and simply try to get the fight down to the mat over and over. A lot of the time this unique style pays off, and Cafu walks out with a submission win, but then whenever he comes up against somebody with good takedown defense, he seriously struggles. A good example of this would be his fight against Rick Rypien at WB62. In that fight, Cafu only managed to get one takedown, and for the other two and a half rounds of the fight which didn't unfold on the ground, he was left to eat punches in bunches on his way to a very lopsided decision. This outcome of this fight against Shotokahn is going to come down purely to whether Shotokahn can stay on his feet or not. If he can, then a knockout will be on the cards. If he can't, Cafu may well notch up submission win number thirteen. Jeff's Prediction: Jin Shotokahn by Knockout Main Event: "The Heavenly Fist" Kid Soplamocos vs. "The Ox" Oleg Osbourne for the Warbringers Middleweight Championship. Topping the billing at WB78 is a fight to determine our last ever Middleweight Champion, and I think it is going to be a phenomenal fight. On one side of the cage we have the challenger, a former member of the rosters of Delta Extreme Fighting, London Fighting Championships, Elite Ultimate Fighting Championship and Ultimate Cage Wars, and an experienced thirty fight veteran of the fight game from Liverpool, England; Oleg Osbourne (20-8-2). Opposite him will stand the champion, Kid Soplamocos (12-2), who at only twenty-three years of age is already showing signs that he is capable of moving on and becoming one of the best Middleweights in the world. In Soplamocos' last outing, he was attempting to defend his belt for the very first time against another veteran, Alejandro Sosa. At the time, I personally thought that it was one test too much for him and that Sosa was going to come out with the win fairly easily. I've never been more pleased to have been proven wrong. Over five rounds, Soplamocos completely battered Sosa from pillar to post. He brutalised his legs with kicks, rearranged his facial features with elbow strikes, and showed without question that he deserved to be ruling the 185lb division. Now, he has to do the same thing again. He is once again coming up against an opponent with tons more experience than himself, who is well rounded and solid in every area of the game, and if he is to win, he is going to have to once again show off his varied and versatile striking. In theory, Osbourne should be able to use his superior wrestling and jiu-jitsu to take Soplamocos down and grind out a decision over him, but in theory that is what Sosa should have been able to do too. Osbourne must not underestimate this kid. Soplamocos may not be as well rounded and may not have had as many MMA fights, but he is young, hungry and determined to defend his belt for the second time. I can't wait for this one. Jeff's Prediction: Kid Soplamocos by Decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Kid Soplamocos... Michael Bisping is calling you out!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1312568449generic-poster.jpg WB79: Clanger vs. Gracie http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=707089 The penultimate Warbringers event is absolutely stacked. From top to bottom we have quality fights, and topping the billing is a double main event. First, Tim Conner defends his Welterweight Championship to head kick machine Peter Alb, and then we have a Bantamweight special attraction between two world ranked fighters in Yonsil Clanger and Renato Gracie. Read on for the full preview. Fight One: Thiago "Duke" Sousa vs. Algernon "Great White Hunter" Mustard @ 155lbs. In his last three fights, Algernon Mustard (9-4) has lost three times by armbar. Worryingly, in his most recent fight, it wasn't even against an opponent known for his submission skills. Quite simply, Mustard must get back to winning ways before his losing streak spirals out of control. Before joining Warbringers, he was piling up the wins by using his Olympic level wrestling and brutal ground and pound, and he needs to start doing that again. He is facing kickboxer Thiago Sousa (4-3), who is coming into this fight on the back of his first career submission win. That win happened at WB75, and although his opponent had little wrestling and jiu-jitsu experience, it did show us that Sousa has been working on that area of his game. He is going to need to pull off a submission again here if he is to win the fight, because I do not see him being able to remain standing against a world class wrestler like Mustard. The all-important question is, what will happen first? Will Mustard land some big bombs from top position and force the referee to step in, or will Sousa exploit the weakness in Mustard's submission defense and make it two submission wins in two fights for himself? Jeff's Prediction: Algernon Mustard by Knockout Fight Two: Don "Zanzibar" Wilson vs. Ric "Rude" Slobberknocker @ 205lbs. Hairy-faced Don Wilson (4-4) obviously wanted to stand and strike in his last fight, but Renan Ruas wouldn't allow it. Ruas held Wilson down and grinded out a decision in what was ultimately a very frustrating debut for him. Wilson now gets the chance to atone for the underwhelming debut when he takes on a fighter that will happily oblige him in a slugfest, Ric Slobberknocker (5-3). We were overjoyed when Slobberknocker picked up his first Warbringers win at WB73, because based on the performances he had put in up until that fight, he deserved it. Not only did he get the win, but he also got awarded knockout of the night honours and a $2000 bonus, and we are hoping that Slobberknocker will put on another show on Friday. With both Slobberknocker and Wilson looking to stand and strike in this fight, we should be in for a treat. It will be Wilson's kickboxing and dangerous headkicks against Slobberknocker's pure boxing and cinder block fists, but only one man can walk out as the winner. I think everybody will be able to predict what method this fight will finish by, but predicting which fighter will have his hand raised and which fighter will be staring up at the lights is very tricky. Jeff's Prediction: Don Wilson by Knockout Fight Three: Racka Lamb vs. Solomon Venris @ 155lbs. Since Racka Lamb's (17-13) previous fight, he has announced his retirement from the sport of MMA. He has had a long and successful career, and we only wish that he had joined Warbringers much earlier so that he had a chance to reach the top here. For his send-off, he fights Solomon Venris (4-4) who is a baby in comparison. Venris is ten years younger than Lamb, has twenty-two fights fewer than Lamb, but will feel that he has the ability to spoil Lamb's retirement party. Throughout Lamb's career, there has always been questions raised about the strength of his chin. Of his thirteen losses, eleven have come by knockout, and so he is definitely beatable if you can get past his striking defense. Venris will be looking to do just that - using his clinchwork, elbow strikes and muay-thai knees to try and put Lamb to sleep. The beauty of Venris' game is that he lands so many elbow strikes that even if they don't lead directly to a knockout, they can cause nasty cuts which may eventually lead to doctor stoppages. As you would expect from someone that has been around the fight game since 2009, Lamb is a really well-rounded and really smart fighter. Don't be surprised to see him mix things up a bit and take Venris down to work some ground and pound. I think this is going to be a close fight, but I also feel that Lamb's experience advantage is going to be too much for Venris to overcome. Jeff's Prediction: Racka Lamb by Decision Fight Four: Fred "Headstone" Hanks vs. Gabi PauNeles @ 205lbs. One thing that is guaranteed when Fred Hanks (11-7) fights is excitement. He always comes forward, is always aggressive, never slows down and hits like a truck. If Hanks connects with somebody's chin, that person is going to lose consciousness. The only thing worse than having to fight Fred Hanks is having to fight a Fred Hanks who hast lost three of his last four fights and is on a mission to destroy somebody. The fighter unlucky enough to be in Hanks' crosshair at WB79 is Warbringers newcomer Gabi PauNeles (6-2). PauNeles signed to Warbringers after a decent spell in the Theatre of Dragons org, and is a fighter at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Hanks. While Hanks is an rampant striker, PauNeles is a methodical grappler. Hanks will explode on you with strikes, while PauNeles will take you down and patiently work for position before peppering with ground and pound and searching for submissions. So far in PauNeles' career he has managed to collect six wins, five of which have been by submission, but in Fred Hanks, PauNeles has the toughest opponent that he has faced to date. He has never come up against somebody with the one punch knockout power and explosiveness that Hanks possesses, and it will be interesting to see if he can handle the step up in competition. Jeff's Prediction: Fred Hanks by Knockout Fight Five: Thiago "Chihuahua" Almer vs. Akaboshi "Ibarakilla" Aida @ 170lbs. Out of the entire batch of young new Welterweights that Warbringers hired in late 2010 and early 2011, the two that saw the most success in the org were Thiago Almer (7-4) and Akaboshi Aida (6-4). Oddly enough, these are also the only two fighters out of the bunch that have yet to fight against each other. Since joining us, Almer has impressed immensely with his striking ability and raw power. He has knocked out Kim Haven of Mist, Tuomas Uusierkki and Javito Juarez, and the last time he fought he was awarded a fight of the night bonus. Aida has also been impressive, but for completely different reasons. On the ground, Aida looks better every single time he fights. His last three victories have all come by way of tapout, most recently over vicious ground and pounder Joel Savage. It seems pretty obvious that Almer vs. Aida is going to be a striker vs. grappler fight, with Aida shooting for takedowns frequently and trying to move the fight into his world, while Almer will be trying to stuff anything that Aida throws and looking to land with his big right hand that has put many past opponents to sleep. An interesting stat for this fight is that Almer has never before been submitted, and Aida has never before been knocked out. Are we going to get to see a first? Jeff's Prediction: Akaboshi Aida by Submission Fight Six: Nate "Natural" Springs vs. "The Animal" Stanislaus Kasava @ 155lbs. In Stanislaus Kasava's (11-7) debut at WB76, he lived up to his nickname with an explosive and almost animalistic destruction of Brian Lobe. We had never seen Lobe handled in that manner before in Warbringers, and it really made the Lightweight roster sit up and take notice. After how good Kasava looked in that fight, we felt he had earned a shot at one of the big boys in the division, former title challenger Nate Springs (11-5-1). The worry for Kasava in this fight will be that Springs has never been stopped before. Kasava's gameplans usually revolve around overwhelming his opponents and finishing them with violent striking flurries, but Springs is an experienced fighter with excellent striking defence and a granite chin; it will take something truly special to beat him by any method other than a judges decision. The problem is that if Kasava attempts too many wild exchanges and fails to put Springs away, he is going to find himself exhausted in the latter stages of the fight, and that is when Springs will turn it up a notch. Springs has fantastic clinchwork and dirty boxing, and likes to get up close and personal, push opponents up against the cage, wear them down, and land lots of short strikes from in the clinch. Kasava needs to really think through how he is going to approach this fight, because it would be very easy for him to slip up here. Jeff's Prediction: Nate Springs by Decision Fight Seven: Renan "Kruger" Ruas vs. Will "Anaconda" Jackman @ 205lbs. In the seventh fight of the night, recently renamed Light Heavyweight Renan Ruas (7-3) will be taking on Warbringers newcomer Will Jackman (6-3) in what is going to be a great stylistic matchup. My personal favourite clash of styles in mixed martial arts is when a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter takes on a ground and pounder, and that is what we have here. Ruas is a BJJ purple belt who for a long time now has shown us that he is really fighting at more of a brown belt level. He has five submission wins to his name, and specialises in joint manipulation holds like Armbars, Americanas and Kimuras. Will Jackman, on the other hand, is much less about technique and much more about brutality. He is really good at dumping opponents on their backsides, gaining dominant positions and then unleashing furious ground assaults. Nobody has ever really tried to take Ruas down to the ground before, so I can't comment on how good his takedown defense is, but I imagine that it will be Jackman in top position for the majority of this fight. What we really need to look out for is how well Ruas can defend strikes and work his submission game while fighting off of his back. He has never had to before, but in this fight it will be imperative that he does. Jeff's Prediction: Will Jackman by Knockout Fight Eight: Giovani "Fadinha" Gomes vs. Max Nobriga @ 170lbs. We could find only one fighter brave enough to take on Giovani Gomes (10-6) at WB79, and that man was Warbringers newcomer Max Nobriga (9-5). So why are so many people unwilling to fight Gomes? Most likely it's because of his world class grappling credentials and the fact that if a fight against him goes to the ground even briefly, that's all he needs to get the win. Against Gomes, takedown defense is always the key to victory, because quite simply it's near impossible to defeat him in a ground battle. Despite Gomes being so talented on the ground, he has always struggled in striking contests. His boxing is rudimentary at best, and even though he is always working to improve it, he still won't be anywhere near the level of Max Nobriga come fight time. Nobriga's style is good old fashioned sprawl and brawling. Against lesser-skilled ground opponents he also likes to mix in some takedowns and ground and pound, but against Gomes here it will be all standup from him. Nobriga has a very traditional boxing style, which consists of fast footwork, good head movement and plenty of punch combinations. To win this fight, he will have to use every bit of his boxing knowledge and try to put Gomes away before he gets taken to the ground. Jeff's Prediction: Giovani Gomes by Submission Fight Nine: Tim Conner vs. Peter "The Headhunter" Alb for the Warbringers Welterweight Championship. I have no doubt in my mind that the two competitors in our co-main event of the evening are going to go on to have hugely successful MMA careers. Current champion Tim Conner (11-1) has held the Warbringers Welterweight Championship twice now, but is yet to defend it. First time around, he defeated Chris Herzog to win the belt, but then lost it to Rafael Loureiro the month after. Conner's comeback fight after his title loss was a dominating decision win over Ricardo Diaz, and then he immediately went on to recapture the belt by beating Sean Price. For his next attempt at defending, Conner has been matched up with an unbeaten head kick machine, Peter Alb (7-0). When Alb was 5-0 and fighting on the Hilo QFC scene, Warbringers scouted him out and offered him a contract. He took us up on the offer, and immediately went 2-0 in Warbringers with wins over Pera Vihtahousu and Sasha Lakovic. In his five fights before joining Warbringers, Alb collected five head kick knockouts, and in his two fights since signing with us he has continued to show just how devastating his kicks are by delivering two brutal beatdowns in which he landed over twenty-five head kicks. He has yet to get a knockout in Warbringers, but he is still a fighter that you do not want to stand in front of. Conner is also a standup specialist, but rather than kicks, he throws heavy handed punches. The reason I think this is going to be such an interesting fight is because if the champion fights his usual fight and tries to trade strikes, he will be playing right into Peter Alb's game and leaving himself open for the big head kicks. I think that there is a very real chance that instead of staying at striking range, Conner will look to move inside, press Alb up against the cage and use dirty boxing to retain his championship. Jeff's Prediction: Tim Conner by Decision Main Event: Yonsil "Tonsil" Clanger vs. Renato Gracie @ 135lbs. The main event of the penultimate Warbringers show will feature two of the best Bantamweights in world MMA. Renato Gracie (17-6) is ranked at number forty-nine in the worldwide 135lb rankings, and his opponent Yonsil Clanger (14-3) is ranked at number seven. Whichever fighter emerges triumphant from this contest will surely see themselves move up into a top five spot. So what can I tell you about these fighters? Interestingly, both of them are stylistically extremely similar. They each have high quality ground games and love to mix heavy top control with ground and pound and submission attempts, which makes them both "total packages" on the canvas. As well as this, both Clanger and Gracie have some good striking technique, but Gracie is the only one of the two that has ever gained a standing knockout finish. I feel that wherever this fight goes, these two guys are going to go strike for strike, blow for blow and hold for hold, and that is going to make it a very exciting contest for spectators. In MMA, you don't always have to have two brainless brawlers slugging it out in order to have a great fight, and I believe that Clanger and Gracie are going to prove it. What we have here is two world class MMA stars, both fighting to move one step closer to becoming the number one Bantamweight in the world, and we are honoured to have this fight happening under the Warbringers banner. Jeff's Prediction: Renato Gracie by Decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 1, 2011 Report Share Posted September 1, 2011 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1312568539generic-poster.jpg WB80: Emerson vs. Lakovic 2 http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgupcomingeventpublic.php?EvID=707090 This is it. After eighteen months and seventy-nine cards, Warbringers is finally coming to a close. It's been an absolute blast running this thing, and I want to say thanks to everyone that has been a part of the org. This isn't the end of Jeff W though, so keep an eye out for some of my future projects :-) For the final ever Warbringers show, we have some great fights, including a double main event. First, former number one ranked P4P fighter Phillip Dale takes on former Honour FC Superheavyweight Champion Cole Michaels, and then Gabriel Emerson and Sasha Lakovic meet for the second time in a rematch of their WB66 bout. Read on for the preview. Fight One: Jose "Katipunero" Alcano vs. Tyler "Human Weapon" Harwood @ 155lbs. We were absolutely delighted to see Tyler Harwood (8-6-1) break his losing streak at WB75. After all of the great fights and performances he had put in for Warbringers, dating all the way back to WB4, we felt that he definitely did not deserve to lose four fights on the trot. It would be fantastic for Harwood to finish his time with Warbringers with another victory, but to do so he must defeat toughman Jose Alcano (17-10). Alcano's record is actually quite deceiving. Even though he has ten losses to his name, they were all against top tier competition and he gave a lot of them a really tough fight. Tyler Harwood is definitely not going to breeze through Alcano, and I actually think that there may be an upset on the cards. Harwood is the superior grappler in this fight, but Alcano has a decent submission game of his own and is a really good striker too. He has knockout power in his hands, and he has the technique that will allow him to land his big bombs. Harwood is going to have to evade the power shots, try to catch Alcano flat-footed or off balance, take him down to the ground and then use all of his jiu-jitsu expertise to work his way to a decision, or to catch Alcano in a submission. The problem is, if just one of Alcano's shots lands, Harwood could be in a world of trouble. Jeff's Prediction: Jose Alcano by Knockout Fight Two: Chris "The Inverse Midas" Herzog vs. "Crafty Dog" Abe Frohman @ 170lbs. Up second is a Welterweight contest between former champion Chris Herzog (12-7) and the impressive Abe Frohman (9-7). Originally when Frohman signed with Warbringers, he went on a bit of a losing streak. In his first four fights, three ended unsuccessfully for him. However, since the start of 2011 things have changed radically for him. Since the turn of the year, Frohman has started to live up to the potential that we knew he had, and has gone 4-1. His only defeat was a very controversial decision loss to Tony Danza, and he has picked up wins over former champion Ricardo Pozzi, grappling sensations Ming Ong and Pera Vihtahousu and fellow up-and-comer Esteban Cambiasso. Of those four wins, two have won him knockout of the night awards. Frohman is definitely on the up in his career, but when he comes up against Chris Herzog, he is going to be facing his toughest test to date. Herzog has won championships everywhere he has fought. He is a former ECA Welterweight Champion, a former UCF Welterweight Champion and a former Warbringers Welterweight Champion. Lately though, he has been on a bit of a slide having lost his last four fights. This is a crucial crossroads in Herzog's career. If he loses again, it may signal that his best days are behind him as a mixed martial artist, but we sincerely hope that this isn't the case. Jeff's Prediction: Chris Herzog by Decision Fight Three: Czar "Imperial" Jack vs. Chuck Walker @ 205lbs. In our third fight of the night, perennial underdog Czar Jack (8-2) returns to the Warbringers cage to welcome an exciting newcomer to the Light Heavyweight division. Every time Jack fights, he seems to be the underdog. Yet, time after time he emerges victorious. Some of his most impressive victories have been over Mark Watson, Peter Czech and Gustav Swift, and now he gets the chance to add to that, with a win over Chuck Walker (6-1). Jack is once again going to be the underdog in this fight, mainly due to the excellent striking ability of his opponent. The most dangerous thing about Chuck Walker is his stinging leg kicks and muay-thai knees. If you stand at range with him, your legs will be punished, but if you get in close you will end up eating barrages of knees. Not an awful lot is known about Walker's ground game, as we haven't seen it very much in his career, but I don't believe that it is on the same level as his standup game, and so that is a possible avenue that Czar Jack could use to win this fight. The thing is though, Czar Jack's ground game isn't his strongest area either, and so it's going to be difficult for him to come out with the win here. Jeff's Prediction: Chuck Walker by Knockout Fight Four: Carlton Silva vs. Vlad The Impaler @ 185lbs. There is no doubt in my mind that if Warbringers wasn't coming to a close, Vlad The Impaler (6-1) would one day be challenging for, and quite possibly winning, the Warbringers Middleweight Championship. In his short time with us so far, he has already picked up TKOs over two former champions in Bill Annunaki and Tommy Toons, and done so with surprising ease. If he continued in that manner, it would have surely only been a matter of time before he was awarded a shot at the gold. Instead, for his last fight in the org, Vlad is going to be taking on Carlton Silva (14-10-1), who himself is on a very solid run of form. Since May of 2011, Silva has picked up three decision wins, had zero defeats and been awarded a fight of the night bonus for his domination of Wanderlei Silva at WB70. He is the perfect opponent to test what Vlad is made of, because he has more fights and more experience than anyone that Vlad has faced before. On top of that, Silva doesn't really have any weaknesses. His striking defense is good, he has a granite chin, his wrestling and defensive grappling are very good, and he is as tough as nails. Wherever this fight goes, Silva will test Vlad and push him hard. I think this is going to be a very close one. Jeff's Prediction: Vlad The Impaler by Decision Fight Five: "The Keyboard Warrior" Arshad Singh vs. Ken Yoshida @ 155lbs. The final undercard fight on WB80 is a Lightweight duel between the well rounded Arshad Singh (13-5), and grappling specialist Ken Yoshida (14-13). In Arshad Singh's last outing, he picked up his biggest win to date; a unanimous decision victory over Glenn Gunn. That win took Singh's streak to three in a row, and showed us that he was truly amongst the best Lightweights in the org. So why after defeating a former champion and Warbringers legend in Glenn Gunn has Singh been given an opponent who is currently on a losing streak? The answer is because we believe that stylistically, this fight is going to be a highly exciting one. You just have to look at Singh's fights against Tyler Harwood and Glenn Gunn to see that whenever he faces grapplers, he seems performs to the best of his ability and produce fireworks - and we hope that the same is going to happen here against Yoshida. There is no question that if Yoshida can ground Singh, he has every chance of collecting the eleventh submission win of his career, but getting Singh down to the ground without getting knocked out is going to be a tough task for him. I truly believe that this is going to be an explosive fights, and one that will not go the distance. Jeff's Prediction: Arshad Singh by Knockout Fight Six: Bill "Last Chance" Annunaki vs. "Boom" Bala Bala @ 185lbs. It is important that we dont understate how important Bill Annunaki (13-6) has been to Warbringers, because he really has been one of the greats in this org. Along with Rafael Loureiro, he is one of the best Middleweights to ever fight here, and he now gets the chance to go out with a bang when he takes on Bala Bala (13-8). Bala Bala's time in Warbringers has been short, but very eventful. In his debut he wowed us with a huge slam knockout of top prospect Rudell Crim, and was immediately put into a big main event against Oleg Osbourne, in which he unfortunately came out second best. Now for his third and final fight with us, he gets to take on one of the biggest legends that we have ever produced. Do not let Bala Bala's slam knockout fool you; he is still primarily a grappler and submission artist, and against a fighter like Annunaki who has really good kickboxing, we fully expect him to try to take this to the ground. Annunaki is solid on the ground, and should be able to handle himself for the most part against Bala Bala, but if he cannot get back up to his feet and start landing strikes, then he may find himself on the wrong end of the judges decision. I believe, however, that Annunaki's takedown defense will be good enough to allow him to stay standing long enough to get some good shots in. Jeff's Prediction: Bill Annunaki by Decision Fight Seven: Tommy "Tinkerbell" Toons vs. Mark "Milfhunter" Dai @ 185lbs. The rise of Tommy Toons (6-2) and his subsequent capture of the Warbringers Middleweight Championship was the stuff of legend. Nobody thought he would be able to do it, but he proved the world wrong when he defeated Bill Annunaki for the belt at WB58. Since winning the belt, though, things have gone drastically downhill for him. In his first attempted title defense, Toons made a strong start to the fight, before Kid Soplamocos eventually turned things around and picked up a unanimous decision, taking Toons' championship belt in the process. In Toons first fight back after losing the gold, he was put against Vlad The Impaler, and suffered a TKO loss in the second round. Toons went from being on top of the division to being on a losing streak within the space of a month, and so now it is vital that he gets back to winning ways. Mark Dai (5-2) will be Toons' opponent for this crucial contest, and Dai will see this as the perfect opportunity to bump himself up in the P4P rankings. In Warbringers, Dai has gone 2-2. Both of his losses have been to jiu-jitsu brown belts, and in both of his victories he has put on ground and pound clinics. Toons isn't a BJJ brown belt, and isn't known for his submission game, and I think that he may struggle with the pure wrestling ability of Dai. Jeff's Prediction: Mark Dai by Decision Fight Eight: Giorgio Jacques vs. Rodolpho "Daedalus" Vasquez @ 170lbs. In fight number eight, we get to see two fighters both making their Warbringers debuts. Even though they are both new fighters to the org, their managers are actually very well known to us. Giorgio Jacques (12-4) is managed by Finrod Felagund, who also managed Bestigor Tazar to glory in the Truly Unremarkable Tournament. Rodolpho Vasquez (9-7-1) is managed by Tim Ernst, who has Warbringers veterans Franklin Dexteria and Arcturus Balfour on his books. So we have two new fighters, with two experienced managers who both know how to pick up wins in Warbringers, going head to head. Stylistically, I think this is Jacques' fight to lose. He has much superior wrestling ability to Vasquez, and he has a very impressive grappling pedigree. On the ground, Jacques is methodical, has excellent control and is incredibly strong. Vasquez will find it very hard to get back to his feet once taken down. This means that Vasquez is either going to have to stop every one of Jacques' takedowns, or knock him out early on in the fight. When you take into consideration how strong Jacques chin is though, you realise that this is going to be one hell of a challenge for Vasquez. Jeff's Prediction: Giorgio Jacques by Submission Fight Nine: Phillip "The Duck" Dale vs. "The Vitruvian Man" Cole Michaels @ Superheavyweight. When the Bellum FC org surprisingly closed it's doors, the Phillip Dale (33-9) World Tour was left with a gaping hole. Warbringers were happy to step up to the plate and arrange a fight for Dale, and the opponent that we have selected is Cole Michaels (14-3). For those of you that don't know much about Phillip Dale, allow me to give a brief overview. He started off his career in Bunerangue Rio, where he quickly went 3-0. After this, he bounced around between a few orgs such as Bloodlust, SAFA, SA Fight and RHOE, collecting more wins and more knockouts. From here, he joined UVT and stormed through the org, eventually picking up the UVT Heavyweight Championship. At this point in his career, Dale was 13-1, and looked like one of the hottest prospects in world MMA. After a big move to the AFC, Dale lost a couple of fights against world class opposition such as Bubba KillsInWater, which temporarily halted his rise. Not to be held back for too long though, Dale flew over to Las Vegas where he absolutely cleared out the Heavyweight Prizefighting org. Since then, Dale has gone back to UVT, defended the belt a couple of times, and started his world tour which up until the last leg he was undefeated on. His record now stands at thirty-three wins and nine losses, which puts Dale in 4th on the list of fighters with the most wins. He is also in joint first place for the most knockout wins of any fighter in the world. To say we are honoured to have Dale here in Warbringers would be an understatement. We are also very privileged to have Cole Michaels fighting under our banner, too. He may not have had the same level of success as Phillip Dale *yet*, but Michaels is certainly a very talented fighter with a bright future ahead of him. In Michaels first nine career fights, he went 9-0 with nine knockout wins. He has fought in Blitzkreig, Honour FC, Vendetta, Synchronicity and Sauna Fights, and everywhere he has gone, he has impressed. I think this is going to be a very exciting and very even fight, and I believe that win or lose here against Dale, we will be hearing about Cole Michaels for a long time to come. Jeff's Prediction: Phillip Dale by Decision Main Event: Sasha "The Mascot Hitman" Lakovic vs. Gabriel Emerson @ 170lbs. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "Why is a fight like this being placed higher in the billing than a fight like Dale vs. Michaels?". The answer to this question is that on our final ever card, we wanted to reward a fighter and manager that we feel deserve to be in a main event. Gabriel Emerson (12-7-2) has been with Warbringers for a long time now, and has been desperately working towards being a main eventer and working towards a title shot. With the news that Warbringers closed, Emerson's manager was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his goal of main eventing a Warbringers show, and so we decided... what the hell. Let's put Emerson in the main event! His opponent for the final ever fight in Warbringers is a fighter that he knows all too well, Sasha Lakovic (15-9). Lakovic is a former Welterweight champion, and has actually come up against Gabriel Emerson before. The previous meeting happened at WB66, and it ended in a very close judges decision in the favour of Emerson. Lakovic now has the chance to not only end his time with Warbringers with a win, but also set the record straight and avenge one of his previous losses. These two fighters may not be the highest ranked or most hyped on the card, but they deserve to main event the final Warbringers card, and I hope they will put on a great fight for us. Jeff's Prediction: Gabriel Emerson by Decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Apologies to anyone who thinks that I closed the org before the last event ran. This is not the case. You can see the results here: http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgeventpublic.php?EvID=707090 There just appears to have been an error where these fights didn't get added to fighter profiles. I've posted an error report about it, and hopefully it will be resolved soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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