Steel Penn - ICON

[Guest]

SPFT 130: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Greetings good folks, I hope all of you are well and you had a great weekend, especially if you watched the Steel Penn ICON SPFT 130 event! Wow, what a tremendous night of action once again that rocked Wombley Stadium from rooftop to foundation! The many rabid fans in attendance left the arena breathless, exhausted and happy, which kind of sounds like a very good romp, but that’s a different story! Without further ado, let’s get down to business!

 

When all the dust settled and the smoke cleared, here were the results: FIVE UNANIMOUS DECISIONS, THREE KNOCKOUTS, ONE TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT AND ONE…NO CONTEST!? People, how is it possible to not show up for a contracted, scheduled fight!? What’s going on with some of these management teams!? In this day and age, it’s basically impossible to miss an appointment of any kind unless it’s an emergency!

 

I’ll begin the review by focusing on the Lightweight Championship battle that took place between Virgil Cid (22-6) of Children of the Law of One and Hans Landa (22-13-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg! Cid utilized his height advantage very well throughout the entire fight, not only to prevent clinch attempts from Landa but to also keep him at the distance he wanted so he could effectively land punches and kicks. In the first round, both fighters tried to establish their strength and the technique they favor, displaying excellent defense as well as solid strikes! Cid was able to push Landa against the cage and land some heavy strikes, but Landa was able to weather the storm and gather himself!

 

Landa, after trying to figure out how to get past Cid’s punches and kicks, was able to take Cid to the mat around the two minute mark! However, Landa wasn’t able to take advantage, both due to Cid’s defense as well as great timing with a reversal that allowed Cid to control the ground game for the remainder of the round. Landa tried to slip in a submission but Cid was too prepared for it. In the second round, Landa came out with a lot of energy and aggression! However, Cid calmly moved around and used his defensive ability to avoid serious damage while being able to cause his own share of damage! There was a point where the fight turned into a kicking contest and both men took and gave hard kicks! Landa then decided to take the fight to the ground once again, looking to try and either ground-n-pound Cid or lock in a submission! The referee decided there wasn’t enough action, stood both men up, and they continued trading kicks until the bell rang!

 

Cid’s corner was very animated before the third round and they emphasized that Landa kept dropping his hands at certain points in the action. Cid took note of this and soon after the third round began, he measured Landa and unloaded a brutal right uppercut! Landa was wobbled but tried to regain his composure! Cid sensed he was struggling to gather himself so he unloaded on Landa’s legs with two thunderous low kicks that kept Landa off balance, then again unleashed a monstrous uppercut that leveled Landa, earning the KNOCKOUT VICTORY as well as FIGHT OF THE NIGHT HONORS!

 

This is the second time that Cid has defeated Landa, both victories by way of a Knockout, so Landa may just have to alter his approach, work his way back to a title shot and try a different plan! Cid EXTENDS HIS WIN STREAK TO SEVEN and his next fight is currently under offer. Landa has his TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED so he’ll have to go back to the drawing board in terms of getting back into the win column! Currently he has no fight scheduled.

 

The last Lightweight fight of the evening took place between Frank “Razor” Rizzo Jr. (20-12-1) of Tycoon World Order and “The Honorable” James Dooalot (16-8) of Legion of Doom! I thought Dooalot would be able to sway the fight in his favor by using his height and weight advantage, but Rizzo Jr.’s speed and know-how proved to be the difference maker. In the opening round, it took a little bit for both fighters to find their range against their opponent and some hard kicks were traded! After a brief clinch by Rizzo Jr., Dooalot pushed him away, wanting to keep his distance so he could use his punches and kicks at a better range. Rizzo Jr. pressed the action, however, and kept the fight in close quarters, allowing him to land some clean punches sporadically but consistently landing leg kicks!

 

Going into the second round, Rizzo Jr.’s corner told him to keep up the high energy and kicking attacks. Dooalot’s corner implored him to step up his level of aggression and let his hands fly, especially to Rizzo Jr.’s body. Both fighters traded solid shots but unfortunately, Rizzo Jr. moved into for an attack at the same time Dooalot threw a right knee, and that knee landed right in Rizzo Jr.’s special place! The referee stopped the action and gave Rizzo Jr. five minutes to recover. He gathered himself, Dooalot apologized for the unintentional low blow, they slapped hands, showing great sportsmanship, and the fight continued!

 

Dooalot nailed Rizzo Jr. with an unexpected spinning backfist that surprised everyone quite honestly, but Rizzo Jr. took it well and kept right on chopping away at Dooalot’s legs! Dooalot began to find a groove of his own, landing some effective shots but Rizzo Jr. landed a nice right hand then taunted Dooalot a bit, showing his confidence! Rizzo Jr. landed a spinning back kick shortly after that and that seemed to frustrate Dooalot a bit. Dooalot began to let his fists and legs loose a bit more and landed some decent shots that made Rizzo Jr. change his approach a couple of times, but Rizzo Jr. was determined to press the action. In the third round, after displaying excellent offensive and defensive capabilities, Dooalot again landed a low blow on Rizzo Jr., bringing the fight to a halt for a while. He recovered, they touched gloves again, and Rizzo Jr. kept on pressing the action, which earned him the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Rizzo Jr. has WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW, and I’m telling you folks, the very attractive, seventy-five percent nude young woman printed on Rizzo Jr.’s shirt was a distraction to Dooalot, I don’t care what anyone says! Rizzo Jr.’s next opponent is currently a fight under offer. Dooalot has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has no opponent scheduled to fight.

 

The first of two Featherweight fights on the card placed Mark “Man of Science” Spencer (21-15) and Collin Glorious (27-12-3) of The Broken Halo Pride in the cage across from one another! In the first round, Spencer looked to take advantage of his tremendous ground fighting skills and to also neutralize the height advantage that Glorious had in this fight! Due to his superior skills on the ground, Spencer was not only able to keep the fight on the ground and attempt multiple submissions, but most importantly, he frustrated Glorious quite a bit and it showed! Glorious tried valiantly to get Spencer off of him, or improve his own position, but he was able to do neither.

 

In the second round, Spencer landed some nice punches and that allowed him to get in close to Glorious again. However, Glorious, showing improved speed, was able to maneuver himself out of serious trouble, temporarily clinch Spencer and get himself back into a comfortable range. Glorious opted to go back into a clinch after a bit of trading strikes, but this proved to backfire as Spencer again took the fight to the mat! Spencer was like a possessed animal in trying for more submissions but Glorious was able to prevent that from happening! However, Spencer scored points with the judges as they saw his high level of energy output as positive.

 

Before the third round began, Glorious’ corner almost begged him to let his fists fly because he probably needed a knockout to secure the victory! Glorious was able to cut Spencer with a glancing left jab and his corner told him to try and open the cut even more. Spencer got a bit angry after that and basically walked straight forward at Glorious! Glorious landed some heavy shots but Spencer wasn’t deterred! Spencer pinned Glorious against the cage, dropped some bombs, then took the fight to the mat to finish the fight. He didn’t get the submission victory he wanted but he did earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Spencer has now WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has no opponent scheduled for his next fight. Glorious has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK HALTED and currently has a fight under offer.

 

The second Featherweight fight featured Tim “Hijack” Ernst (18-14-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg and Kelsey Curtis (12-11-1)! Ernst had the height and speed advantage in this fight, but Curtis definitely had the strength advantage, so this came down to which game plan could be executed the best without absorbing too much punishment from the opponent. Surprisingly in the first round, Ernst took Curtis to the mat despite Curtis having a red belt in BJJ! Ernst has solid wrestling but this was definitely a questionable approach. Fortunately for him, Curtis opted to conserve his strength and the referee stood both fighters up shortly after the takedown. Ernst rushed in, locked Curtis in a clinch, and again took him to the mat. The diligent work he put in on improving his wrestling definitely showed!

 

Curtis displayed excellent ground defense, however, and prevented any serious damage from being done. The referee again stood both men up and this time, it was Curtis who took the fight to the ground. Curtis tried for a quick submission but Ernst’s defense proved too strong, so Curtis decided to ground-n-pound, tagging Ernst with a brutal left elbow, along with a few others sporadically, but after that, the action slowed and again, the referee stood both men up. Curtis again took the fight to the mat but Ernst was able to position himself into better situations and maintain control of the fight on the ground, scoring points with the judges to end the first!

 

The second round began with some pretty sloppy technique by both fighters, an indication of fatigue, good defense and more training, which they’ll improve upon over time of course. Ernst was able to land some punches but Curtis took the fight to the ground to take advantage of his BJJ skills. Curtis tried to soften Ernst with ground-n-pound but Ernst had enough defensive ability to handle the attacks! Shortly afterward, the referee stood both men up yet again. Ernst was able to prevent a couple of takedowns and land some good counter punches in the process. This continued until the end of the round where Curtis was able to get Ernst to the ground but could not do any damage. The judges favored Ernst for his defense of the takedowns and crisp counter punching.

 

In the final round, both men looked for counter-attack opportunities so the pace slowed greatly. Curtis was able to once again position himself for the successful takedown but could not take advantage of the situation. Ernst even reversed the controlling position after Curtis missed with some ground-n-pound attempts. Ernst opted to control the action on the ground until the final bell, earning him the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Ernst SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has a fight under offer. Curtis has now LOST FOUR IN A ROW and judging by his apparel, perhaps it was he who was ultimately owned, unfortunately for him. He currently has no fight scheduled.

 

The first of two Welterweight fights took place between Bapit “The Cowboy” Pradchapet (29-18) of Legion of Pain and Manya “The Outlaw” Kizz (20-12)! I still trip on the fact that Pradchapet is a cowboy from Thailand! I have a couple of fighters from Thailand that I manage and they even act surprised by it, but hey, it’s all good because he’s happy with who he is and that’s the most important aspect. Kizz had the height and weight advantage in this fight, but Pradchapet wore the cooler Immortals outfit and look what it did for him! Right from the start, Kizz made it apparent that he wanted to take the fight to the ground but Pradchapet would not oblige him!

 

Pradchapet stuffed Kizz’s attempted takedowns and landed solid counter punches in the meanwhile. Pradchapet then caught Kizz off guard with a takedown of his own, the speed of Pradchapet surprising Kizz it seemed! Pradchapet attempted the ground-n-pound but Kizz’s defense was far too solid for any damage to be done. Pradchapet maintained a very high level of activity, a tribute to his conditioning, but Kizz was calm and maintained very solid striking defense from the bottom position. Pradchapet was able to land sporadic punches and elbows, but nothing major, but he scored points on the judges’ cards. Kizz began to become frustrated because he was being controlled and when he let his guard down momentarily, Pradchapet popped him with a solid right hand that made Kizz cover up very quickly! Pradchapet finished the round in the dominant position.

 

Going into the second round, Pradchapet’s corner asked him to slow down the ground-n-pound approach and try to be more accurate if he takes the fight to the ground. Kizz’s corner asked for more action overall. Pradchapet did exactly as advised, taking the fight to the ground again and this time, he was a bit more accurate with his punches. After working hard to get and maintain the takedown, Pradchapet was able to slowly work his way to full mount on Kizz. Once this happened, Kizz was in a very bad spot! He wore down, Pradchapet mixed in accuracy with power, and boom, Kizz was tagged with some crushing fists that were too much to take! The referee waited as long as he could but had to stop the fight, giving Pradchapet the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Pradchapet SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has no fight scheduled! Kizz has LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and his next fight is currently under offer! I’m telling you ladies and gentlemen, if Kizz and his management team decided to ditch the suit top and kilt look, and go with the Gladiator theme his avatar picture depicts, he would’ve been much more effective! The suit top and kilt combo is just…confusing.

 

The last Welterweight fight, well, it never took place! Knatte Grep (18-7) and “The Natural” Avon Barksdale (16-10-1) of Soul Supremacy Alliance were supposed to lock horns in the cage, but Barksdale apparently missed his flight to London, which is a damn shame! Grep currently has a fight under offer so the hope is that the next opponent is able to keep up with their travel plans and make it to the arena for the fight! I told you folks that Barksdale just doesn’t look right! Those eyes…something is just up with that guy! I hope his fellow alliance members are able to not only make sure he catches a flight to a fight next time, but maybe he should see a doctor about his intense gaze! He’s in Hilo so maybe he got lost with some attractive young island girl that made him lose track of time. Hey, it’s possible! He currently has a fight under offer as well so let’s hope he’s able to keep up with that one!

 

The only Middleweight fight of the night placed Mateus Gracie (20-10) of Tycoon World Order and Jack “Hammer” Fall (13-4) of The Corporation in the cage for battle! Gracie had the weight advantage in this fight and used it well. Gracie was able to use very solid low kicks to keep Fall off balance then take him to the ground in the first round. Gracie was able to use his weight to keep Fall from reversing position and Gracie also landed some solid ground-n-pound shots during those moments! Fall, to his credit, kept working despite taking some solid shots and positioned himself for a submission attempt! Gracie was ready for the attempt, however, and was able to keep himself out of trouble. Gracie controlled the action and scored the points on the cards.

 

In the second round, Fall decided to take the fight to the ground and both men did their best to make the other submit, proving to be a difficult and taxing task for both warriors! Gracie again opted to just control the action, score the points on the card, and move on to the third round, but not without landing a couple of very nasty, painful elbows! Fall wasn’t able to get himself into dominant positioning and that cost him points. In the third round, it was a submission attempt fest! Both men very much wanted to make the other submit but it simply wasn’t going to happen! Both fighters are too skilled at defense to allow a tapout to occur but Gracie again continued to dominate positioning and finished the fight well ahead on the score cards, earning the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Gracie has WON FIGHT FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled. I think that shirt is lucky for him so please, as a word of advice, keep wearing that shirt with that lovely young lady pictured on the front. It definitely helps me…appreciate the fights. Fall again has to work his way out of the loss column and looks to do so against Matt Freeman, his next opponent!

 

The sole Light Heavyweight fight of the night took place between Matt Santos (13-7) of Knights of the Round Table and Sean Ripgut (24-8-1)! Ripgut had the weight advantage in this fight, but many believe Santos’ speed and youth advantage were too much for the wily veteran to overcome. I’m not so sure about that because Ripgut is surprisingly fast for his size so that may not have been a factor at all. Soon after the bell rang for the first round, Ripgut went into a clinch then eventually took the fight to the ground. Ripgut was able to land a couple of hard shots while on the ground but Santos managed to get back on his feet. Ripgut then again immediately took the fight to the mat, showing Santos what kind of night he was potentially in for! However, in an unexpected turn, Ripgut stood up and allowed the action to go back to standing.

 

Santos wanted to keep the fight in close quarters but Ripgut didn’t want to go with that program. After trading a couple of strikes, Ripgut went into the clinch and had a knee to his head for his trouble which cut him above his right eye! Ripgut broke the clinch and tried for more, but he felt a stinging counter kick from Santos. After some back-and-forth jostling and defensive techniques, Santos got the takedown this time. However, he opted to stand back up shortly afterward, opting for points on the cards, although he ate a nice punching combination from Ripgut near the end of the round. The second round featured more of the same, clinching, takedowns, standups, but Santos was the one to be on the receiving end of a blow that cut him! Ripgut stifled Santos with a strong right uppercut that cut him on the bridge of his nose!

 

That seemed to awaken Santos because he stepped up his energy level and displayed plenty of fighting skill to score good points on the judges’ cards. Neither warrior was able to really land more than sporadic shots here and there so controlling the fight became the name of the game. In the third round, it was obvious that both fighters were tired and this made it even more difficult for either of them to land more than one strike in a row. Around the three minute mark, Santos dug deep, took a big breath, and unleashed a beautiful punching combination after cracking a strong leg kick on Ripgut! Ripgut definitely got rocked by that punching combination but he managed to hold on and not get knocked out! Santos maintained the footwork and leg kicks enough to earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Santos SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has no fight scheduled. I have no doubt he feels better about sitting at the round table, discussing chivalrous activities they’ve partaken in, or maybe they just play Poker and discuss various…conquests, they’ve enjoyed lately. Actually that doesn’t sound bad at all! Ripgut apparently pissed Santos off, and Santos’ shirt told him not to do that, so hey, there you have it. Ripgut has now LOST FOUR IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled. It has been a bit of a rough time for Ripgut since his return from retirement. Hopefully he maintains that fighting spirit and keeps at it!

 

Rounding out the night’s events were the heavy hitters, the mack trucks, the wrecking balls known as the Super Heavyweights! “The Engineer” Gor Keyman (26-11) and Shane Carwin (23-17) of Tycoon World Order were the first combatants in this division to step into the cage! Gorman had the weight advantage in this fight and he certainly figured out how to use to use it! However, in the first round, it was Carwin who had the early advantage with the fight being on the ground. Carwin decided to forgo that idea and keep the fight standing, and Keyman moved right into the clinch to press that weight advantage! Carwin did his best to stay busy in the clinch and he even nailed Keyman with a sweet left elbow that sliced Keyman above his right eye!

 

That seemed to wake Keyman up, however, as his increased his level of activity and began to land some very hard punches on Carwin’s body in particular! Carwin eventually broke out of the clinch but he took more punishing blows to the body when the fight was kept at a distance. Keyman began to land scoring strikes with counter attacks then again clamped Carwin into a clinch and pressed him against the cage. Both men struggled to land any solid hits in the clinch because both used great defensive techniques as well as stalling tactics. Carwin was able to score more points on the judges’ cards because of his control and activity level.

 

During the break between rounds, Keyman’s corner got in his ear and told him to be far more aggressive and use his weight advantage to put more power behind his punches! Keyman heard them loud and clear because the bell rang for the second, and Keyman unloaded a sturdy right cross that opened up Carwin above his left eye! Carwin came right back and blasted Keyman with a vicious overhand right that made a crunching sound, but Keyman took it like a champion! Keyman kept waiting for the right moment to strike, and after Carwin missed a big left hand hook to the body, Keyman struck! A vicious right hand counter punch dropped Carwin! Carwin scrambled to his feet quickly but he was definitely in trouble!

 

Keyman sized Carwin up, planted a crushing right hook right on Carwin’s left temple, and that was all she wrote! Keyman earned the KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Keyman not only engineered – you knew I was going to take it there! – the victory to END A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK, but he also earned KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT HONORS! Now, as I mentioned before, since he won a good chunk of money with this victory, he can use some of that to either research some hair replenishment formulas, or just hook up some Rogaine, because that hair is looking a bit too dilapidated! Currently he has no fight scheduled so he has some time on his hands. Carwin has to fight his way back into the win column after this loss and also does not currently have a fight scheduled. Maybe Carwin can tell Gorman to go with the smooth, bald look that Carwin sports.

 

Finally, the last fight of the night placed Matt “Metal Hands” Lisser (17-10) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – that’s right big baaabbbbaaayyy! – and “Papa Doc” Francois Duvalier (15-12) in the cage across from one another! Duvalier had the height and weight advantage in this fight but wasn’t able to use those advantages for the victory. In the opening round, Duvalier started off well, nailing Lisser with a solid left jab that cut Lisser below his right eye! Duvalier followed up a stuffed takedown attempt with a vicious right uppercut that absolutely rocked Lisser! Lisser crumpled to the mat but gathered himself very quickly and Duvalier allowed him to stand back up, perhaps making an error!

 

Lisser gathered his senses and took the fight to the mat, giving himself a chance to calm down, center himself, and keep on fighting. He managed to slow the action enough to make the referee stand the warriors up, but Lisser got out of that exactly what he intended. Duvalier continued to land solid, accurate punches on Lisser and keep him guessing with how to get in close to Duvalier. Duvalier opened up Lisser’s cut even more with a well-placed, very strong uppercut but Lisser was able to weather the storm! Lisser again took the fight to the ground and though he didn’t do any damage, he managed to hold on long enough to make it out of the round and get to his corner!

 

Lisser’s corner was livid, asking him what the hell he was doing! Lisser took a few deep breaths, stared his corner man in the face, and said he knew what to do. The corner man said he better know because he was going to get dropped if he didn’t! The bell rang, and Lisser looked like a slow motion movie, landing a picture perfect three-punch combination, the last punch a brutal uppercut that dropped Duvalier flat! Lisser, bleeding and happy, earned the KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Lisser SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and next fights against Joe Biggs! Lisser’s Pegasus was able to spread its wings and fly and you know he’s feeling good about that! Duvalier has now LOST THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and his next fight is currently under offer! Maybe it’s the money shirt that’s making Duvalier lose because it looks to attractive to him and it’s causing him to lose focus in the ring. I’m sure he’ll get things turned around soon enough.

 

Well folks, that’s the conclusion of yet another summary written by yours truly! Thank you, as always, for joining me and reading my review, I very much appreciate it. Please remember that Steel Penn ICON and The Steel Penn Alliance are proud to bring to you the utmost in products, services, and excitement! Take care, be well, and I’ll see you at the next fight!

[poraan]

nice event in dynasty KT. tantor vs laborina lim best kt fight i have ever seen, really exiting and awesome fight!

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing that Poraan. That fight is definitely a slobber knocker!!

[Guest]

SPFT 131: Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello devoted and crazy fight fans, I hope all of you are well and you have gotten over your candy-induced comas from Halloween sugar consumage! Consumage isn’t a word, I know, but just roll with it all right!? This is your man on the scene in London, Furious Styles, once again reviewing another exciting upcoming event hosted by Steel Penn ICON at the Wombley Stadium, where ninety-three thousand plus fans will be going absolutely nuts over the intense battles that are sure to happen!

 

Steel Penn has put together a fantastic lineup so without further ado…let’s get down to business! Speaking of business, if I may, I recently acquired a gym in London that is now named Steel Penn’s Furious Styles! You like that? I dig it of course! It’s a fledgling project and my first foray into the business world of MMATycoon.com, so from time to time you’ll probably read about my progress, or lack thereof, with my new little gym.

 

I will definitely scour the fighters in MMATycoon and will be sending out invites to fighters who express mutual interest in potentially joining my gym. I’m still trying to figure out a few business aspects with staff, nutrition and clothing partners, but I’m always open to suggestions, ideas, recommendations, and of course, any financial assistance is GREATLY welcome! I would be remiss if I didn’t thank EzekelRAGE for being a great benefactor with the BOOM fund, granting me and my tiny business a $50,000 scholarship! Thank you so very much EzekelRAGE, I very much appreciate it, and that money will go towards making Steel Penn’s Furious Styles the best gym I can possibly make it!

 

If there are any new or established clothing or nutrition companies that may want to partner with me in my tiny endeavor, please feel free to drop me a line and I’ll respond as soon as possible! All right, now that the shameless plugging has been completed – hey, it’s a benefit of being a writer for an outstanding alliance! – the focus moves on to Steel Penn SPFT 131! Here is what’s in store: TWO FEATHERWEIGHT, TWO LIGHTWEIGHT, ONE WELTERWEIGHT, TWO MIDDLEWEIGHT, ONE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT, WHICH IS FOR THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP, AND TWO SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTS!

 

Since there’s a title on the line, I’ll begin with that match! The man himself, “The Tasmanian Devil” Taj al Din (42-7) of Convicted Inc. puts his title on the line against the upstart “Gods Spear” Ansgar Axelsson (19-4-1) of The Legion of Pain! Taj al Din and A J Hearts recently had one hell of a fight where al Din was able to overcome the excellence of Hearts to capture the Steel Penn Light Heavyweight Championship! Al Din steps into this fight on an EIGHT FIGHT WIN STREAK, and I don’t think his confidence ever wanes so that’s only that much more difficult for Axellson to overcome! However, Axelsson has proven to be a weapon, indeed, and if anyone can give al Din trouble, it’s him! Axelsson steps into this battle with a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK, and no doubt he will be champing at the bit for this tremendous opportunity!

 

Axelsson has a small weight advantage in this fight, but honestly folks, this is basically just two physically even men doing battle for the honor of being called a champion! Now I will say that Axelsson has a very good number of wins by way of Knockout and Technical Knockout, so his hands and feet are very well educated and can be very effective! Taj al Din obviously has tremendous skill in numerous facets of fighting and is always a threat, no matter the situation! Axelsson’s management will have spent hours upon hours devising a fight plan they feel will be most effective, but al Din is, pardon the pun, a different animal! His fight experience alone gives him an advantage that not very many fighters will ever have! When the dust clears, will the “Tasmanian Devil” maintain his hold on the title and go home and celebrate by rollin’ and puffin’ a fat one, or will “God’s Spear” be able to smite a mighty opponent and capture gold!?

 

Moving to the Featherweight division, the first of two fights on hand takes place between Carlton “Razor” Robinson (26-14-1) of Evolution Fight Clan and “The Farmboy” Mateus Allen (21-6) of, oh now look at this! THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE IS ROCKIN’ THE HOUUUUUSE! Robinson will look to turn things around after a recent UNANIMOUS DECISION LOSS to Tad Ghostal! A word of advice, if I may: Maybe putting on a shirt that doesn’t look like a billboard reading “CUSTOM” will help you feel better. I’m just sayin’! Allen will look to begin a new win streak after having AN ELEVEN FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED by Manny Mannetosen! To say Allen will be intense after that loss is an understatement! Eleven wins in a row is nothing to sneeze at folks, and I can only imagine how Allen feels about that!

 

Robinson has a large height advantage and slight weight advantage, so I would assume he’ll want to keep this fight standing and at a distance so he can best utilize his excellent boxing ability. However, Allen has fought against other fighters who were taller and heavier and has obviously had a lot of success. I think Allen will try to keep in close to Robinson and make him uncomfortable. If Allen is able to take this fight to the ground, the height advantage Robinson has may turn in a big disadvantage in a hurry!

 

The second and final Featherweight fight takes place between “The Reaper” Grimly Fiendish (20-12) and “Redz” Romano Schoots (26-19)! Fiendish recently SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK with a Technical Knockout victory over Marty Laguna! His money shirt is very…interesting, but the Wang’s shorts are rather…unique, as well. Schoots enters this fight with a RECENT KNOCKOUT VICTORY over Haiki Masatupo and looks to build on that momentum as well! Schoots has quite a height and weight advantage in this fight so he may very well look to keep this fight standing and at a distance. Fiendish has enough fight experience to get in close to Schoots, which may very well be the best approach, but Fiendish is quite skilled in the ground game as well. This may end up being a battle of conditioning when all is said and done!

 

Focusing on the Lightweights, the first battle is between “Flash” Gordon Lefleaur (25-8) of The Exiled and Master “of Sinanju” Chuin (21-18-1)! Lefleaur didn’t quite have enough flash in his last fight and it cost him, a Unanimous Decision Loss to Mitsuyo Maeda! He will obviously look to get back in the win column so look for him to potentially be aggressive from the start in this fight! Sinanju, ladies and gentlemen, is a fictional martial art that exists in a paperback series, “The Destroyer”, that is considered a cult classic. Yeah…that should tell you the mental state of Chuin , but hey, in this business, you need to be a little off and it has earned him victories so I can’t knock him for that! Chuin brings with him a SIX FIGHT WIN STREAK, so whatever he’s doing lately is definitely working very well for him!

 

One thing I do notice with both fighters: their choice of wardrobe is…intriguing. Lefleaur is wearing a shirt that basically doesn’t even look like a shirt, and it promotes a one million dollar daily cap, whatever that refers to. Chuin, though very successful recently, still hasn’t been convinced by his management team to put the MMATycoon standard whites in the cleaners and buy some fresh gear. A fighter should be feeling damn good about winning six in a row Master Chuin. Again, I’m just sayin’! Lefleaur has a height and weight advantage in this fight and will probably look to keep this fight standing. Chuin will quite likely look to take this fight to the ground as his BJJ is renowned for its excellence, a nod towards the numerous submission victories he has earned! Who will win the battle of positioning!? Only time will tell!

 

The final Lightweight fight on the card pits Gustav Graves (38-18-1) of THE ILLIMUNATI and Mahandry Andriamboavonjy (15-14) in the cage across from one another! Graves is currently on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and will be looking to change the course of recent events! At SPFT 123, these two warriors fought and Graves was victorious in that battle, earning the Technical Knockout victory in the first round! I’m sure Mahandry – I’ll just use his first name because writing that last name makes me feel like I’m taking a GE test, and I definitely don’t want to revisit that time of my life! – won’t need any extra motivation, but this has to definitely be a factor in his mind! Mahandry recently suffered a KNOCKOUT LOSS to Frank Rizzo Jr. so very much like Graves, he wants to get back in the win column as soon as possible!

 

Graves is slightly taller and Mahandry is slightly heavier, so I don’t think the physical aspects of this fight will mean that much. Also, a note of observation: Graves is from Iceland but currently looks like a Japanese tourist in America with the cool Japanese flag shirt and Bushido shorts. I just find it great that MMA fights combine so many different cultures and such. Mahandry is twelve years younger than Graves so he may look to use his energetic youth to make an advantage for himself in this fight. Graves is a wise veteran of many battles so Mahandry better not be overzealous, or he may find himself in serious trouble!

 

The sole Welterweight fight of the evening places “Indio” Simeon Malaya (21-8) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – whooooop whooooop! – against Robin Padilla (17-11)! Malaya enters combat with a recent NO CONTEST against Don Wilson so he’s definitely wanting to fight badly and test what he acquired with his hard training! Padilla is on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and definitely has a lot of confidence going into this fight, along with a cool skull theme on his shirt and shorts, though Halloween was yesterday. Still, a skull is always in fashion, just ask “Stone Cold” Steve Austin!

 

Malaya has the height and weight advantage in this fight and may opt to keep this fight standing at a distance, but Padilla has worked very hard to obtain a very high skill level in Boxing and Muay Thai, so his hands and feet are well educated and could overcome the height and weight disadvantage he faces! Malaya may opt to take this fight to the ground to prevent serious damage in the standup and use his very solid ground skills to lean his weight on Padilla while looking to submit or ground-n-pound him! We’ll see if Padilla’s quickness and strength can overcome his physical disadvantages!

 

The first of two Welterweight fights takes place between “Cunha” Jorge Junior (18-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – yaaaaaayyyyeeeeeyy yaaaaaaaayyyyeeeeey! – and Luca “Scrapatutti” Turilli (17-8-1)! Junior steps into this battle with a RECENT SUBMISSION VICTORY over Holden James and will look to extend that streak! Turilli brings with him a RECENT UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY over Chicken Beef and likewise, looks to build on the momentum of that success! Turilli is wearing some shorts that display what appears to be a hybrid lion with ram horns. I don’t know what to say about that, but hey, to each their own!

 

“Scrapatutti” – is that some kind of form of hip-hop and Italian slang? – has the height and weight advantage in this fight, so a standup affair will probably suit him just fine. I’m sure Junior’s fight plan will be to get the taller Turilli on the ground and unleash that tremendous BJJ skill level upon him! Turilli may have to be more aggressive than he’s used to in hopes of keeping Junior at a distance, but Junior is like a rabid dog once he figures a way to get close, so keep your eyes on this fight folks!

 

The final Welterweight fight places the two warriors known as “The Diety” Angelos Bellanova (3-1) of Children of the Law of One and “Insane” Barry Manilow (13-7)in the cage across from one another! “The Diety”!? Now either that young man takes extreme pride in his food intake on a daily basis, or he didn’t perform a spell check on his own nickname and misspelled “The Deity”! I really, really hope that he’s just very proud of his diet because if he meant deity…ouch, that’s quite a difference! I wonder if any Greek brotha’s and sista’s have called him to help him out with that!?

 

Bellanova steps into battle with a RECENT SNAPPING OF A THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK at the hands of Pierre Gautier by Unanimous Decision Loss! I admit that I like the picture of the guy getting nailed with a punch on Bellanova’s shorts though. Nice! Manilow steps into battle on a FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK, so he’ll be looking to get out of that muck and mire and find his way back to the winning path! The last time I saw Manilow, he didn’t look to excited about fighting and I have to say that continues to be the case! Manilow’s management has to get him excited about fighting! Buy him some new clothes, take him out on the town, and get that man pumped up! Maybe show him Rocky I, II or III! Something!

 

Bellanova has a slight height advantage but I don’t think that will come into play. I honestly think the major factor of this fight will be attitude! Bellanova does have tremendous Muay Thai skill and will definitely look to use that to his advantage, but Manilow is no pushover! However, if Manilow isn’t primed and ready for this fight, he’s going to be in trouble and may very well end up adding to that losing streak!

 

Concluding the night’s events are the beef eaters, the heavy hitters, the battleships with legs known as the Super Heavyweights! Thiago “Flote” Tavares (10-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – that’s right big baaaaabbbaaaaayyy! – and Sergei “Bam-Bam” (25-16) of Tycoon Alliance are the first large and in charge warriors to battle it out! Tavares is on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and has moved past recent struggles! Bautin is likewise on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK so one of these men will unfortunately have to start all over after gaining recent momentum!

 

Bautin has a very large height and weight advantage in this fight and I fully expect him to keep this fight at a distance to begin with, using his excellent boxing skills, then moving in close to lean his weight on Tavares so wear him down! Tavares will definitely have to rely on his speed advantage in this fight because if he allows Bautin to lean that additional fifty pounds on him, he’ll wear down far faster than he wants to and that will definitely spell trouble! If Tavares can stick-and-move throughout the fight, he has a good chance of keeping himself out of serious trouble! I’m not sure if Tavares will want to risk trying to take Bautin to the ground but he may very well catch the bigger man off guard with that approach!

 

And the concluding battle of the night is between Piru Parka (25-19) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – Steel Penn is all over the place tonight and they’ve got it goin’ on! – and Spencer “Migty” Fisher (22-14)! The “Purple Haired Warrior”, as I call Parka, steps into this battle on a FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK! Believe me when I say folks, he is one determined warrior to get off the snide and get that winning feeling again! His Brock Lesnar shirt has him pumped up for this one I’m sure! Now hold on just a second here! “Migty” Fisher!? Is this a similar situation that we have with Bellanova!? Can someone please do two things: 1) Make sure each fighter has a working GPS so they can get their butt to their fights so No Contest situations happen?; and 2) Can someone please get these young men a Spell Check app on their phone or for their computers!?

 

Come on people, in this day and age, “Deity” and “Mighty” are too difficult to spell!? Work with me here! You’re killin’ me! As a journalist, we see various misspellings and such, so that’s an accepted part of the job, but come on man, this is your name! Fisher steps into battle with a RECENT UNANIMOUS DECISION LOSS to Arnold Vegh so he is looking to right the ship and obtain that winning feeling again also! Parka has a height and a major fifty-six pound weight advantage! Needless to say, I expect Parka to keep this fight in close quarters and lean that major weight advantage on the shorter, lighter Fisher to wear him down! Fisher may very well opt to keep moving in and out of Parka’s range if he can and score points on the judges’ cards with well-placed, accurate strikes, but I don’t think trying to take Parka to the ground will be an option!

 

Well there you have it folks, yet another Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by yours truly. Furious Styles. Thank you very much for joining me and like yourself, I’ll be paying close attention to what unfolds at this event! Remember: Steel Penn ICON works diligently to improve its business interests, event hosting, fighter recruitment, nutritional products and gym facilities. Don’t forget, look me up if you have any interest in joining or partnering with Steel Penn’s Furious Styles gym. I’ll stop the shameless plugs and will see you at the fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 131: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello ladies and gents, boys and girls, fighters, warriors, such and so forth! It’s your man on the fight scene once again, Furious Styles, live in London at the Wembley Stadium where we just witnessed another epic night of mixed martial arts action! We had the privilege of seeing twenty trained and intense warriors step into the cage and unleash their individual versions of hell! After the raucous fans finally filed out after a very eventful evening, here is what resulted: THREE SUBMISSION VICTORIES, FOUR TECHNICAL KNOCKOUTS, AND THREE UNANIMOUS DECISIONS! Without further ado, let’s get down to business!

 

Beginning with the Light Heavyweight Championship battle, we saw the man, the myth, the legend…the man-beast known as “The Tasmanian Devil” Taj al Din (43-7) of Convicted Inc. take on the upstart challenge of “God’s Spear” Ansgar Axelsson (19-5-1) of The Legion of Pain! The anticipation of this match was electric and very palpable in the arena! Every single fan I saw was completely focused on this match while yelling and screaming their support and appreciation of what they were privileged to witness first hand! Both warriors stepped into the cage with looks of complete focus upon their faces, an indication of how intense a match was about to unfurl!

 

As soon as the bell rang, Axelsson wanted to get a feel for al Din’s power and immediately went into a clinch to try and physically impose his will! He was able to push al Din against the cage but failed to connect on a body punch and felt that was enough, electing to break the clinch and start again at a distance. This proved to be very smart and effective as Axelsson surprised some of the audience members with his tremendous boxing ability! He was able to stick-and-move very effectively and landed a combination of both medium and heavy power shots! There were even a couple of head kicks that landed but al Din kept coming forward! However, al Din was also able to counter some of Axelsson’s techniques with brutal leg kicks as well as solid body punches primarily. On the score cards, it appeared that the first round went solidly to Axelsson.

 

In the second round, it was al Din who displayed excellent punching ability and a solid, quick left jab opened a cut above Axelsson’s right eye! After this, the posturing continued, each man landing some solid shots on the other but mainly, a chess match of positioning is what unfolded. Around the two minute mark, Axelsson decided he’d had enough and moved himself into a clinch. Unfortunately for Axelsson, this turned out to be the turning point of the battle! Taj al Din was able to work his way into pulling guard and from there, Axelsson appeared to become a bit too relaxed, which was very unfortunate! After showing very good defensive skills by avoiding a couple of submission attempts, the pace lulled him into a very brief moment of a false sense of security, and like that, al Din was locking Axelsson’s right arm into an armbar!

 

Axelsson did his best to roll with the momentum and escape but al Din had the armlock in far too deeply and Axelsson had no choice but to tap out! Taj al Din won this battle by way of SUBMISSION VICTORY and the frustration on Axelsson’s face was quite evident! Both men have a great deal of respect for one another and they shook hands prior to the official announcement, a show of two warriors who carry themselves very well. Taj al Din has now WON NINE FIGHTS IN A ROW and his next opponent is the ever-dangerous “African Assassin” Smokudju Womba! Talk about another tremendously awesome championship match!! Axelsson has a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and currently has no scheduled opponent!

 

The first of two Featherweight fights took place between “The Farmboy” Mateus Allen (22-6) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can I get a what, what!? – and Carlton “Razor” Robinson 26-15-1) of the Evolution Fight Clan! It was obvious from the moment the bell rang that Robinson wanted to keep this fight standing, but Allen was too determined to get the fight on the ground! Robinson wanted to establish punches to Allen’s body but Allen used that aggression to counter his punches and got the takedown. Robinson took the intelligent approach of not laying around, rather opting to keep himself moving and trying to improve his position while preventing Allen from having an easy time controlling him.

 

Allen was able to soften Robinson up a bit with ground-and-pound tactics, but Robinson was able to avoid any serious damage with his defensive abilities, so credit goes to him. Near the end of the first, Allen tried a quick arm triangle but Robinson was too prepared for that to be effective. However, Allen controlled the action on the ground and scored the vital points on the judges’ cards. The second round was very similar to the first, with the exception that a lull in the action forced the referee to step in and make the fighters stand. This occurred around the two minute mark. Afterwards, Allen took the fight to the mat about two minutes later and again, to close out the round, Allen this time went for an Americana but again, Robinson’s defense proved effective at preventing the submission.

 

In the last round, you guessed it! After a bit of back-and-forth between these two fighters when standing, Allen was again able to take Robinson to the mat, control the action and he opted to just control the fight until the bell sounded for the end of the fight. Everyone in attendance knew the judges gave the nod to Allen, earning him the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! This victory puts Allen back into the win column and his next opponent is Adam Gracie! Robinson has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and his next opponent is currently under offer.

 

The other Featherweight fight placed “Redz” Romano Schoots (27-19) and “The Reaper” Grimly Fiendish (20-13)! Prior to the match, I against gave a kind suggestion about having Fiendish change clothes to help him feel better about himself, but that fell on deaf ears. So be it but that won’t stop me from making suggestions I feel that may be helpful. I’m not a championship manager but I do know that funky-smelling clothes doesn’t help anyone feel better about themselves! I’m just sayin’! Fiendish made it apparent he wanted to take this fight to the ground and keep it there! As soon as the bell rang, Schoots launched himself at Fiendish like a rabid dog and took him to the ground!

 

To his credit, Fiendish immediately countered with attempts to submit Schoots from the bottom position, but that wasn’t successful! The action slowed oddly and the referee had seen enough, standing both men to their feet. Both men traded solid punches but in general, they struggled to land any clean shots. Schoots moved himself into position to lock Fiendish into a clinch and did so, effectively landing a brutal left knee to Fiendish’s face and opening a cut on the bridge of his nose! Fiendish broke the clinch and it was obvious he felt the sting of the cut, but he kept on fighting. After missing strikes between them with sporadic leg kicks, it was Fiendish who moved into position and locked Schoots into a clinch.

 

Both men struggled to land any solid punches as well as land any takedowns and eventually, Fiendish broke the clinch. However, a few moments later, Fiendish went for a clinch again and got it, but he chose to try and control the clinch until the bell sounded. The judges gave the first round to Schoots for landing more effective strikes. In the second round, Schoots again took Fiendish to the ground but it seemed the referee had grown a bit impatient from the first round. Shortly after the takedown, the referee made both men stand and continue the fight from there. Both men tried to establish their standup game and were able to land some strikes, but overall it was more of a battle for positioning as well as an attempt to catch some breaths and conserve energy. Schoots got another takedown near the end of the round but the referee again stood both men up quickly.

 

In the final round, strikes and counter-strikes started the action off but both men were a bit sloppy with their techniques, an indication of both good defense and fatigue on both parts. Fiendish was the one who decided to take the fight to the ground this time but wasn’t able to be very effective. The referee again stood both men up and both men elected to fight it out on their feet. Schoots locked Fiendish into a clinch near the end of the round to look for a possible knockout, but Fiendish did enough to avoid any serious trouble. Schoots was awarded the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and Schoots has now WON TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and next faces Tony Kazarian! Fiendish returns to the loss column but will look to turn things around against an opponent who is currently under offer!

 

The first of two Lightweight fights occurred between Master “of Sinanju” Chuin (22-18-1) and “Flash” Gordon Lefleaur (25-9) of The Exiled! This fight seemed to end in a flash all right, but unfortunately for Lefleaur, it was he who did not flash and it was Master Chuin who did! Perhaps there’s something to this Sinanju after all! I wonder if Chuin had to train in the dark, hopping amongst different height and sized poles in the dark. Lefleaur tried to establish his tremendous boxing ability but to no avail! Lefleaur began well by stuffing a takedown attempt, landing a solid punch and moving well. Howeve, he chose to clinch with Chuin and that was costly!

 

Master Chuin baited Lefleaur into relaxing just a bit too much and in the blink of an eye, he took Lefleaur to the ground! Lefleaur elected to keep his body close to Chuin’s and Chuin, the sharp fighter that he is, saw an opening and sprung! He locked Lefleaur into a Guillotine and by the time Lefleaur had time to react, he had no choice but to tap out, giving Master Chuin the SUBMISSION VICTORY! Chuin has won SEVEN FIGHTS IN A ROW and next battles Gustav Graves! Lefleaur has lost TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and next faces an opponent who is currently under offer!

 

The last Lightweight fight on the card placed Gustav Graves (39-18-1) of THE ILLIMUNATI and Mahandry Andriamboavonjy (15-15) in the cage across from one another! After the bell rang, Mahandry wanted to take the fight to the ground where he has superior BJJ skills! However, Graves was very well prepared for this and denied the takedown! Graves then moved into a clinch to see what he could do with his solid muay thai and boxing skills. Both men traded solid strikes but like other fights, this became a battle of positioning and after what appeared to be pretty much an even struggle, Mahandry was able to eventually get Graves to the ground!

 

Mahandry tried to land some strong ground-and-pound but Graves’ defense was just too solid for that to be entirely effective! Mahandry was able to land a few hard shots, don’t get it wrong, but in general he wasn’t able to land anything seriously hurtful! In the second round, both warriors opted to keep the fight standing, trading punches, kicks, defensive techniques and offensive maneuvering. Both corners told their respective fighters to look for counter-strike opportunities but even that became a struggle. Near the end of the round, Mahandry was able to take Graves to the ground with a beautiful Judo throw but overall, the judges deemed Graves to be the more effective standup fighter in that round.

 

In the final round, we were treated to more standup fighting with both men trading and absorbing kicks and punches! Mahandry’s corner told him to take Graves down and make him tap out because that was how he was going to win this fight! Mahandry obliged, took Graves to the ground, and tried to lock in a submission, but Graves’ defense proved to be too solid, even after the amount of energy exerted in this fight! The referee eventually stood both men up due to lack of attacking and after further trading of strikes, Graves locked Mahandry into a clinch to finish out the round. Graves earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and he ENDS A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK, next facing Master Chuin in the cage! Mahandry has LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and next faces an opponent who is currently under offer!

 

“Indio” Simeon Malaya (22-8) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – bringin’ the raucous and the roughest! – and Robin Padilla (17-12) brought us the only Welterweight fight on the card, but they definitely did not disappoint with the hard-hitting action! Padilla began the fight using his tremendous boxing skills but Malaya was game as well, electing to use his height advantage! There were quick exchanges but Malaya caught Padilla off guard with a snapping left head kick that cut Padilla above his right eye! This didn’t seem to slow him at all and he even landed some solid leg kicks, as did Malaya! Many in attendance thought they may very well see one of these combatants break the others legs! Unfortunately for Malaya, a low kick from Padilla missed the original leg…but nailed the far more sensitive leg!

 

Malaya gathered himself, made sure his equipment down South was still connected and functional, then the fight continued after a quick apology and a touch of the gloves! The action was fast and furious – without the neon lights – but there apparently was some NOS in each fighter’s hands and feet, because there were thunderous shots exchanged! Padilla brought Malaya into the “Bleeding Club” by landing a brutal one-two punch combo that cut Malaya above his left eye! As the fight continued, it was Padilla who was landing the more effective kicks and punches, and Malaya even looked a bit hobbled by Padilla’s low kicks as the round came to a close! In the second round, we saw more beautiful techniques on both the offensive and defensive side of the standup fight game, as both men landed vicious strikes, showed tremendous footwork, and made the crowd ooh and aah with the power of various clean-landing shots!

 

Between the second and third round, Malaya’s corner pleaded with him to step up the pace and start throwing his thunder because he needed a knockout to win! Malaya listened intently, took a few deep breaths, and knew what had to be done. The third round began and we continued to see beautiful abilities displayed by both warriors! Malaya took a lot of punishment when positioning himself for the one shot he needed to turn the tide, but he was able to weather the storm and he did indeed land his shot! A nasty right head kick landed on the left side of Padilla’s neck and he stumbled to the mat! He tried to gather himself but Malaya was on him like a rabid dog and rained down heavy blows until the referee had no choice but to stop the fight!

 

Padilla was very disappointed as he knew if he held on for the last forty-five seconds of the final round, he very well could have won! Malaya earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and fought his way back into the win column with this victory, facing Don Wilson next! Padilla has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and currently is not scheduled for another fight!

 

The first of two Middleweight fights took place between Luca “Scrapatutti” Turilli (18-8-1) and “Cunha” Jorge Junior (18-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – you know what time it is! Someone must have urinated in Turilli’s bowl of Cheerios or something that morning, because he came out a house of fire! Almost immediately after the bell rang, he darted in, landed a solid right jab that cut Junior over his left eye, then darted back out before Junior had time to react! Turilli then moved back in, established a clinch, and landed a knee to the head of Junior, then went to work with knees to his body! Junior managed to break the clinch then showed punching prowess of his own, causing a cut above Turilli’s right eye with a stiff left jab!

 

Turilli responded with a resounding right hook to Junior’s left temple that floored him! However, Junior showed a bit of confidence, as well as some craziness, by smiling at Turilli who obviously contemplated following Junior to the mat! Turilli thought the better of that and allowed Junior to stand. Junior was on shaky legs and missed a lot of strikes in a short period of time. Turilli waited patiently then unloaded a vicious uppercut that dropped Junior once again! Turilli again motioned for Junior to stand but dropped him again, for the last time, a few moments later! The referee had seen enough and awarded the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Turilli! He is now on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and currently is not scheduled to fight as of yet!

 

The final Middleweight fight on the card took place between “The Deity” Angelos Bellanova (4-1) of Children of the Law of One and “Insane” Barry Manilow (13-8)! Now folks, I have to say I feel honored by this fight, because my man Bellanova read my Pre Pay-Per-View Summary of this fight, noticed the spelling error of his nickname, and he corrected it! Not only does he now spell “Deity” correctly, but he also earned a victory! All right Angelos, I see you and thank you for the attention to detail.

 

I’m not surprised by the outcome of this fight folks, to be truthful, but I am surprised this fight lasted two rounds! Manilow just looked depressed going into this fight, and that’s always very bad news for any fighter on any level! In the first round, both me looked to establish their strengths and we were treated to tactical maneuvering by both men. Some in attendance were surprised by Manilow’s strength but Bellanova was well prepared and was able to absorb some solid shots and return the favor! Manilow opted to keep the fight in close quarters and locked in a clinch, looking to land various types of strikes. Bellanova attempted numerous knees and was able to score some of them to Manilow’s body, but Manilow likewise was able to land some heavy, sporadic punches.

 

Each man jostled for position until the clinch was broken, but shortly afterward, Manilow moved back in for another clinch and more defense and sporadic effective offense took place until the bell sounded. In the second round, it was more of the same jockeying for position by both fighters while trying to land effective strikes. Manilow once again moved in and locked in a clinch, but this was the beginning of the end! Bellanova positioned Manilow perfectly for a crunching right knee to the face that definitely hurt Manilow while cutting the bridge of his nose in the process! Manilow was in trouble, Bellanova sensed it, and after a couple more hard shots, Bellanova locked in a clinch and unleashed a furious – no pun intended because that’s my first name – right knee again to the face and that was it!

Bellanova rushed in, dropped a couple of hammer fists and the referee had seen enough!

 

Bellanova earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and earns a return to the win column and next faces an opponent who is currently under offer! Manilow is now on a FIVE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and honestly Manilow, it may be time to consider being a Las Vegas strip singer in one of the many nightclubs they have there! I know that’s your hometown so you may be more happy doing that, but that’s up to you. By the way, I’ve been told by reliable sources that you’re still in Los Angeles, but you’re based in London. Someone’s management team needs to help a certain someone out with some issues they’re currently having. I’m just sayin’! Manilow’s next opponent is currently under offer.

 

And finally, onto the Super Heavyweight division to close out the summary. Thiago “Flote” Tavares (11-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – representin’ and in the house! – and Sergei “Bam-Bam” Bautin (25-17) of the Tycoon Alliance were the first mammoths to clash in the cage and boy did they provide some fantastic action! Now I’ll be honest, I really though Bautin’s large height and larger weight advantage would make this a very difficult fight for Tavares, but the Brazilian Bomber must have had some extra spicy sauce in his food that day or something, because he came out on fire – and no, not like Hunger Games fire. Come on people!

 

Tavares drew first blood with a snapping one-two punch combo that cut Bautin below his left eye! That seemed to urge Tavares on even more and he became a leg-launching dancer in the cage! Bautin was able to avoid and block the flurry of kicks but it was obvious that Tavares’ confidence was brimming! Tavares was able to defend quite well and land a couple of stiff kicks that kept Tavares thinking, but Bautin’s conditioning waned very quickly and as he got tired, Tavares stepped up the pace! Tavares went back to chopping away at Bautin’s legs, setting him up for a brutal right uppercut that snapped Bautin’s head back nastily!

 

Tavares leapt onto him like a cheetah running down a rabbit! He unloaded numerous strikes that forced the referee to stop the action, rewarding Tavares with the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Tavares has now WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and his next opponent is Gor Keyman! Bautin has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and next faces an opponent under offer!

 

Last but not least, Piru Parka (26-19) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – the fighter I called the Purple Haired Warrior – and Spencer “Migty” Fisher (22-15) – who I really think wants to spell his name “Mighty”, but he didn’t pay attention like Bellanova did – wrapped up the big boy fights of the night! With Parka having such a weight advantage, I thought for certain he would look to clinch and lay his weight on Fisher to wear him down, but hey, he handled business the way he saw fit! Fisher was the one to go into the clinch game early in the fight but he wasn’t able to do a lot of damage really. He landed some nice shots, no doubt, but he wasn’t as effective as he wanted to be and it was very obvious.

 

Fisher was very stubborn in wanting to take the fight to the mat, and after Parka rejected him time and again, he finally got him to the mat but used a lot of energy doing so! Parka clocked Fisher on the side of the face with a nice left hook that opened a cut above Fisher’s right eye, but this didn’t seem to deter Fisher! Fisher did his best to land damaging blows from the ground-and-pound game he has worked on, but Parka was able to defend the vast majority and only took a few heavy shots. However, Fisher controlled the action on the ground and scored points with the judges. In the second round, Fisher again opted to go with the ground game, using his excellent mat skills to control the action while preventing Parka from doing any counter-damage to his ground attacks! Fisher attempted to lock in a submission attempt but Parka was able to defend himself well from that as well as further ground-and-pound attempts.

 

Between the second and third round, Parka’s corner was very animated and told him flat out that he needed to end the fight before the bell sounded because he was going to lose! Parka’s face was one of pure determination, and he came out in the third round with renewed vigor! Fisher again went into the clinch, looking to continue his dominance from that position to the takedowns he was able to land, but not this time! Parka let his legs loose and landed solid leg strikes. Fisher changed his course of action and went to throwing more punches, and he landed some clean, efficient shots on Parka. Parka sensed a slight lapse in focus and boom, he tagged Fisher with a nasty right head kick that rocked Fisher’s world and opened up his cut even further! Parka then pressed his weight on Fisher and that prevented Fisher from getting back to his feet. Eventually Parka got back to his feet and both men looked to score more points on the cards.

 

Fisher decided to again try and win the match by controlling the action on the mat with ground-and-pound, but Parka continued to defend beautifully! Parka’s corner yelled that he had one minute left to get this done and Parka looked for the submission of his back! His first attempt failed, but Fisher left himself open just enough for another sub attempt! Parka grabbed Fisher’s left arm, wrenched it and locked in an armbar! Fisher clenched his jaw and fought as best as he could as his corner and the audience counted down the remaining seconds, but Fisher just couldn’t hold out any further! He had to tap out with three seconds left in the fight! He slammed the mat with obvious disgust and frustration, but was professional enough to congratulate Parka, a sign of excellent sportsmanship.

 

Parka earned the SUBMISSION VICTORY and also SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK! He is currently not scheduled to fight anyone as of yet! Fisher is on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and also has no fight currently scheduled! A side word of advice: Maybe wearing some other clothes besides the standard clothes given to all fighters in the game may help you feel better about yourself. Just an observation, that’s all.

 

Well there you have it ladies and gents, yet another post pay-per-view written by yours truly, Furious Styles. Thank you for joining me in reliving these exciting fights, it means a lot to me. Also, Steel Penn ICON not only strives to be the best in all we do, but we’re expanding! That’s right folks, the KT division of Steel Penn has opened the organization named EXTREME K1 COMBAT! If you’re interested in having a fighter or fighters try their luck at Kickboxing, take a look at Extreme K1 Combat and if interested, please feel free to contact Aaron ThaiGuy (87996)! Also, if you hear from me about this organization, don’t be surprised! I’m a man that wears many hats! Take care, be well and I’ll see you at the next fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 132: Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

What’s happenin’ cool kids? I hope all of you are well. This is your man on the scene at Wombley Stadium in London where another packed house of mixed martial arts crazies are filing in for SPFT 132! The electricity in the air is palpable and I hear a lot of fans making their predictions on who will win their respective fights tonight. Without further ado, let’s get down to business!

 

Steel Penn ICON brings to you the following lineup: TWO FEATHERWEIGHT, FOUR WELTERWEIGHT, WITH ONE OF THOSE FIGHTS FOR THE WELTERWEIGHT TITLE, TWO MIDDLEWEIGHT, ONE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT AND ONE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT!

 

Beginning with the Welterweight Title match, we have “The Barracuda” Dirk Zeldenthuis (33-10) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – you know what time it is! – versus Aaron Davidson (27-11-1)…also of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE! Hmm, now everyone knows how I feel about Alliance mates battling one another in the cage, especially when there’s a title on the line! However, both of these warriors are very professional and I know that once the final bell has rung, they’ll return to helping one another as best as possible as Alliance members should do!

 

This is a return match, by the way, because these two battled at SPFT 127 where Zeldenthuis was victorious. Zeldenthuis steps into the cage on a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK so you know he’s feeling good about himself! Davidson had a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED by Zeldenthuis so you know he’ll be extra motivated in this championship battle! Can Zeldenthuis achieve yet another victory and retain the belt!? We shall see soon enough!

 

The second Welterweight battle pits “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-a” Don Key (27-7-2) of The Broken Halo Pride in the cage against “1 8 1” Kenji Okabe (31-15) of The Consortium! Key enters this fight on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and is also wearing a very interesting outfit that shows an attractive young lady suggestively positioned and looking back, while Key and a donkey look forward. I really don’t know what to say about that except I somehow expect that a YouTube video will be appearing that shows the three of them engaging in…questionable…activities. I’m just sayin’! Okabe brings with him a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK so he is also brimming with confidence! Key has the height advantage, Okabe the weight advantage, and both men have numerous fights under their belts, so this one may simply be a battle of attrition!

 

The third Welterweight contest gives us Luke “The Jedi Knight” Skywalker (25-10) battling Vincent “The Wolf” Volkov (33-19-1) of Hellraiser Inc! Skywalker’s use of the force hasn’t been too smooth as of late because he is currently on a THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK! To exacerbate the situation – I know you like that college word right there! – I saw Skywalker at the Vegas airport and no, I won’t say what I was doing in Vegas because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! – and he looked like a zombie from the Walking Dead! He doesn’t look like he wants to fight!

 

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he missed his flight to London! I don’t know how a fighter can’t get pumped up about fighting in front of so many people, but there you have it! What’s worse!? I also closely watched Volkov when he came to the arena to check things out and he looked just as disinterested as Skywalker! What is up with these two!? I think it’s a blessing that there isn’t a company willing to take bets on these two! That’s all I’m going to say about that!

 

The final Welterweight fight of the night features Mark Two (17-10) and Julio Driggs (22-14) of illumiNaughty! Two is on a THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK, and quite honestly I think I know why! No fighter should be wearing an old pair of pink bikini shorts, no matter how kinky he is! Come on man, you’re a fighter, not a late night tramp walking the boulevard! What is it about you Vegas guys!? At least put on some new clothes to feel better about yourself! Driggs recently suffered a KNOCKOUT LOSS at the fist of Robin Padilla so you know he’s anxious to get back into the win column! Driggs definitely looks like the more ready of the two so I’d have to say he’s favored to win as I see it! At least he has class and is wearing an awesome Bruce Lee shirt. Who can not like an awesome Bruce Lee shirt!?

 

Detailing the Featherweight division, the first of two battles is between Haiki Masatupo (26027) and Will “The Beast” Banks (27-19-1) of The Legion of Pain! Masatupo is on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and seemingly, his management team can’t find a pair of clothes that he likes, so he’s still wearing the standard issue MMATycoon.com shirt and shorts! People, come on now, he has enough fights to have some money in the bank! Take that man shopping at least so he can feel better about himself! Banks looks primed, ready and has trained for this fight, I can tell! I have the feeling he’ll SNAP HIS RECENT UNANIMOUS DECISION LOSS to Genki Dama! Plus, he has the wardrobe advantage because that young lady’s picture on his shirt is something else! I think Banks wins this one folks!

 

The last Featherweight fight on the card places Marty Laguna (27-15) of The Black Hand and “The Wizard” Xavier Cid (24-10) of Children of the Law of One! Laguna has DROPPED THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and I think it’s time for him to change his Batman outfit and try something else! Cid will be looking to move on past his RECENT UNANIMOUS DECISION LOSS TO ZICA BRAVA, one of the recent additions to my management team! Brava has a world of respect for Cid as he gave him a tremendous fight and seeing what I did, I think Cid will be the victor of this battle! Besides, he’s wearing a Brute shirt that gives me the impression that he wants to be exactly that against Laguna; brutal!

 

On to the Middleweights, the first of two battles in that division takes place between “The Steamroller” Nero Aurelius (21-7-1) of The Legion of Doom and Keith Green (20-5) of DILLIGAF! Aurelius is on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and is also a title holder, so he knows how to get the job done and is confident in doing so! He’s also wearing a very interesting gangster-ghost type outfit that I think looks pretty freakin’ cool! Green is on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and judging by his outfit, he’ll want to Liver Kick his way to victory over Aurelius! Both of these men are accomplished veterans so they know what to do! These two fought previously some time ago, but they’re both different fighters so I don’t think that will be a factor. Physically these two match up very well, so game planning and determination may very well be the deciding factors in this one!

 

The last Middleweight fight of the night places “Domino” Dominick Rivaldi (24-11-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – rockin’ the hooouuuuuuse! – and Chicken “And” Beef (27-16)! Rivaldi’s last fight ended in a DRAW so I have the impression he’ll be looking to end this fight so there’s no possibility of a draw or decision! Plus, how can you not root for a guy who wears an outfit depicting himself! Come on, now that’s confidence! Beef had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED at the hands of Luca Turilli by way of Unanimous Decision, so he’ll likewise want to end this fight early to avoid leaving it in the hands of the judges!

 

This is another fight that’s filled with plenty of fighting experience and although Beef has a height and weight advantage, I don’t think that will have much effect in this fight! Both of these warriors have won battles by various methods of victory so again, a battle of attrition may very well be seen in this fight as well!

 

The lone Light Heavyweight fight of the night brings us Nathan “Carnage” Corbett (18-9-1) and Somore “Tasty” Fudge (17-13-1) of Evolution Fight Clan! Corbett steps into battle with a recent TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY over Anthony Joseph and will be looking to extend that win streak to two! Fudge RECENTLY LOST to Ansgar Axelsson so he’ll want to get off the snide as soon as possible! He may want to consider changing clothes because one, that outfit doesn’t match and two, I can tell that it’s been on his body for a while so he can’t be feeling all that great. It’s just an observation but I’ve seen enough to have a pretty good feel about these things! Fudge has a bit of a weight advantage in this fight – probably because of his fudge diet – but overall I think Corbett is the better prepared fighter!

 

Closing out the night of action, the Super Heavyweights step into the cage! “The Torpedo” Tore Rebo (26-14) of Polish Eagles’ Nest and French Toast (18-7) of Valhalla will bring out the heavy artillery and we’ll see who survives for the victory! Rebo RECENTLY LOST BY UNANIMOUS DECISION to Jefferson Davis Hogg so he wants to get that winning feeling back! Besides, he’s wearing an outfit that highlights himself so again, how can you go against that!? Toast is on a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK so he has a good bit of momentum coming into this fight! The bottom line of this fight is I expect someone to be knocked the hell out! That’s it, plain and simple folks!

 

That concludes another Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by yours truly and as always, I thank you for your time. Remember, Steel Penn ICON strives to bring you the very best in all of its endeavors! Take care and see you at the fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 132: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Good day ladies and gentlemen, I hope all of you are well and you have adjusted to the Time Zone changes. I know it’s always the first two days after the time zone adjustments that are always hardest for me because I wake up and it’s light outside when I go to work. I finish work, and it’s dark outside. Oh well, that’s just the way it is.

 

SPFT 132 was a bit unique in the sense that, due to the time zone changes, some of the private jet flight times were altered, thus a couple of the matches scheduled did not occur as planned. However, everyone’s on track with the changes, accommodations have been arranged and we’re ready to rock and roll! So, without further ado…let’s get down to business!

 

There were two Featherweight fights that brought the pain, both short term and long term! The first of these battles took place between Will “The Beast” Banks (28-19-1) of Legion of Pain and Haiki Masatupo (26-28). I don’t know what Banks’ corner told him before this fight, but he looked like he was ready to rip anyone in that cage apart and ask for seconds! Intense, focused…angry, that was Banks and Masatupo felt his wrath! “The Beast” was absolutely unleashed in the cage as soon as the bell rang! Banks established his World Class boxing abilities and Masatupo simply had no answer.

 

However, to the surprise of many, Banks opted to take the fight to the ground early on, but Masatupo is definitely comfortable on the ground, relying upon his outstanding BJJ to get him through any situation he faces. Both men struggled to establish any sort of dominance on the ground despite working diligently to better their positions to attempt submissions. Once the bell rang to finish the opening round, Banks corner asked him why he was wasting time wrestling around?

 

Banks got the message, the bell for the second round rang, and boom, he went to work…after a failed takedown attempt, which his corner wasn’t happy about! Banks faked a body shot, caused Masatupo to drop his hands, then he got dropped by a left hook to the temple! Bang, that’s all she wrote for the KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

This victory puts Banks back in the win column and his next opponent will be “The Casablanca Clouter” Marcel Cerdan and I have a strong suspicion he’ll wear another outfit with that seductive young woman pictured on the shirt, because that may have been the reason he was so brutal in the ring! He wanted to find that girl but wasn’t able to. Yeah, I’ll roll with that. Masatupo has now lost THREE IN A ROW so it may be back to the drawing board for him in terms of a new strategy. Maybe some new clothes would help too?

 

The remaining Featherweight fight was between “The Wizard” Xavier Cid (25-10) of Children of the Law of One and Marty Laguna (27-16) of The Black Hand! Cid carried a thirteen pound advantage into this fight and used it to press against Laguna for the majority of the first round. Laguna’s defensive abilities prevented him from absorbing serious damage, but Cid’s aggression and control of the fight in the opening round scored the necessary points on the score cards to secure the round. Cid’s corner told him that he did a great job but they wanted to see more punches thrown.

 

Moving into the second round, Cid did exactly as asked, rocking Laguna with a quick, hard left jab that hurt him more than many expected, as was evident on fans’ faces. Laguna was able to collect himself and avoid serious damage, but he definitely took some clean shots from Cid that hurt him. Laguna was able to land some strikes on Cid, but the majority of them were fast, pawing strikes that didn’t cause Cid to slow his attacks at all. After the bell, Cid’s corner was very happy with his progress while Laguna’s corner told him, point blank, he needed a knockout or a tapout to win!

 

The final round saw similar action to the second with Cid getting the better of Laguna in the standup game, then Cid locked Laguna in a clinch to gather himself and finish strong. Laguna attempted to equal Cid’s energy and aggression to close out the round, but it was too little, too late, and the judges gave the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY to Xavier Cid! Cid turns things around after his recent loss to Zica Brava and next faces Carlton “Razor” Robinson. That is now FOUR LOSSES IN A ROW for Laguna and I don’t care how confident you are as a fighter, that’s going to hurt! Maybe he should ditch the whole Batman look because something fresh and new, both in clothing and game planning, may very well be what’s needed to get Laguna out of his fight funk!

 

Moving into the trio of Welterweight battles, the opening salvoes came between “The Barracuda” Dirk Zeldenthuis (34-10) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – holdin’ it down in the town! – and Aaron Davidson (27-12-1), also of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE, for the Welterweight Championship Belt! Since both of these men are very familiar with one another, along with being Alliance members, obviously, this fight was destined to be a struggle and it certainly fit the bill.

 

Zeldenthuis made it apparent that he wanted to try and make Davidson submit, perhaps as a pride factor or he simply felt his ground skills were superior. Both warriors showed very sound wrestling techniques as their defense and transition ability were on display. Both fighters grew a little frustrated at the lack of ability to completely control the action on the ground and eventually, the referee stood both men up. The best strike of that round came from a spinning right backfist from Zeldenthuis that cracked Davidson’s jaw, but he took it well, but the crowd really appreciated the fancy move!

 

Between rounds, both corners discussed the advantage and disadvantage of keeping the fight on the ground. Both corners seemed to agree that battling it out on the ground was the better option, so after the bell rang, Zeldenthuis took the fight to the ground again after thwarting a clinch attempt by Davidson. Zeldenthuis wasn’t able to land much ground-and-pound, but he did enough controlling of the action to score the necessary points in the round. Even after the referee stood both fighters up, Zeldenthuis continued to get the better of Davidson, but Davidson did land one solid left jab that made Zeldenthuis stop momentarily.

 

The third and fourth rounds were very similar, in that Zeldenthuis controlled the vast majority of the action, especially when the fight went back to the ground game. Davidson tried valiantly to land some heavy, clean strikes and sporadically did so, but the inconsistency of those strikes didn’t convince the judges to give him either of those rounds. Davidson and his corner appeared very frustrated moving into the final round and Cid and his corner could sense their frustration. Cid’s corner told him to prepare for desperate measures from Davidson and not be surprised by his aggression.

 

After trying to land accurate strikes, Davidson managed to lock Zeldenthuis into a clinch after he stopped an attempted takedown. While in the clinch, Davidson was able to land both light and strong punches. Many in attendance felt that if he had taken that approach earlier, especially the level of aggression in the clinch, this fight may have resulted in a victory for him. However, on this night, it was Xavier Cid who did enough in the judges eyes to take the fight by way of UNANIMOUS DECISION!

 

Zeldenthuis pushes his WIN STREAK TO FIVE IN A ROW and battles “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-A” Don Key! This is now TWO LOSSES IN A ROW to Zeldenthuis, so it remains to be seen if Davidson tries to fight his way back to earn another shot at him, or if he’ll pursue a different avenue towards the championship, depending if Zeldenthuis is still the champion at that time, of course!

 

The next Welterweight fight occurred between “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-A” Don Key (28-7-2) of Broken Halo Pride and “1 8 1” Kenji Okabe (31-16) of The Consortium! Both of these fighters are known for their tremendous boxing skills so it was no surprise that the majority of this fight was spent standing. However, after testing one another’s boxing ability in the early part of the opening round, Okabe opted to take the fight to the ground, no doubt wanting to use his weight advantage there to make Key work harder to keep him at bay while he attempted to position himself for ground-and-pound attacks.

 

After failing to land anything truly damaging, Okabe decided to save some of his energy and force the referee to stand the two up, which is what transpired. Again, both warriors traded world class boxing ability and defense, landing and avoiding beautifully thrown punches. Okabe again decided to try his luck on the ground and took Key down for further ground-and-pound. However, Key was able to again avoid any damage from those attacks but it seemed that Okabe was the one to score the points in that round.

 

Between rounds, both corners told their fighters to try and be more effective using their boxing ability because the ground fighting wasn’t really getting the job done, especially for Key. Both fighters obliged, much to the delight of the crowd, and we saw crisp, solid punches land from both men, but it was Key who also incorporated excellent kicks with his punches, and that not only swayed the judges in his favor in the second round, but it also made Okabe think more about his game plan and approach to the final round. In particular, Key was extremely effective when he locked Okabe in the clinch, using his Muay Thai skills to land knees to the body and head of Okabe.

Heading into the third, Key’s corner told him to do the exact same thing; use the clinch to soften Okabe up and score those vital points!

 

Okabe’s corner told him he had to end this fight and had no other options, period! Once the action began, Key locked Okabe into a clinch again and looked like a dancer because he unloaded with numerous knees to the body and head of Okabe. The majority of those knees landed and they obviously slowed Okabe, who was very frustrated by the knees, the punches to the body, plus his inability to break Key’s clinch and take the fight to the ground. Once all was said and done, the judges gave the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY to Key!

 

Key has now won THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW, and as mentioned earlier, will face off against Zeldenthuis for a shot at the Welterweight championship! I wonder if he’ll bring both the girl and the donkey from the picture on his shirt? Maybe they’re both for good luck. Okabe’s THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK IS SNAPPED and he’ll try to have that winning feeling again against Vincent Volkov!

 

The last Welterweight fight on the card placed Mark Two (18-10) and Julio Driggs (22-15) in the cage across from one another! Driggs was perhaps a bit inebriated – drunk for those who don’t know what that means – because right after the bell rang, he kicked Two right in his two! Mark took some time to shake it off, of course, but he was able to gather himself and the fight continued. After that mishap, we were treated to excellent Boxing and Muay Thai skills where both men connected on some sharp strikes as well as avoiding some in the process.

 

Two’s corner told him to take the fight to the ground to try and take advantage there and he did as told. Two wasn’t able to unleash much damage, however, and Driggs managed to free himself just enough to get back to his feet! Driggs looked incensed from being taken to the ground and began to unload powerful kicks that hurt Two! In fact, he was dropped to the ground with a very brutal right head kick but Driggs opted not to follow Two to the ground and this proved to be an error. Two managed to gather his senses but Driggs was really effectively landing knees and crunching low kicks. Two was obviously tired when he went to his corner between rounds and his corner team was all over his case!

 

Driggs’ corner was very happy with that round and begged him to continue the same into the second round. Two was still on shaky legs like a partier at 3:00 AM walking the Vegas strip, bumbling about and running into people! However, a solid left jab quickly turned the tide as Driggs was absolutely not expecting that. It was Driggs who was now stumbling about like an inebriated fool and Two was the one gathering his senses! Driggs, to his credit, was still able to slip punches thrown by Two, but he left himself open and Two locked his arms around his waist, hoisted him in the air, and drove him to the mat with an explosive body slam!

 

Driggs did not land right at all, had the wind completely knocked out of him, and lay limp on the ground! That was all she wrote as Two earned the KNOCKOUT VICTORY! This victory for Driggs SNAPS A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and maybe, just maybe, will inspire him to wear different clothing, in particular his pink bikini bottoms because damn, there’s just something awkward about seeing a fighter wear pink bikini bottoms! I’ve been told by a reliable source that Driggs and his management team agreed to part ways, so he is now a free agent.

 

I’m sure someone will sign him because he has excellent Muay Thai skills, plus he’s financially comfortable. That sounded like an advertisement for a dating site, didn’t it? Apparently his former manager also sent out a Tweet stating, “has the absolute worst chin in tycoon land, do not pick up unless you want him to be a spar bot”. Ouch, that definitely hurts!

 

A pair of Middleweight fights were the next division to fight, and the first round of action took place between Keith Green (21-5) of DILLIGAF and “The Steamroller” Nero Aurelius (21-8-1)! These fighters were nearly identical in their physical attributes, as well as skills, and they even have the same sponsor. For the sake of time, because the information I’ve included in the next paragraph is, as I see it, is shocking and insightful, I’ll just say this: All five rounds of this fight featured a lot of kicks, punches and defensive techniques that were traded in and out of many clinches. The only truly damaging blow was suffered by Aurelius in the fourth round where he was cut, but other than that, Green was just the better standup fighter and was awarded the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Green SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK while Aurelius technically has a SIX FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED! I say technically because there was a No Contest amongst the six victories. Apparently Gritty Smitty, Aurelius’ former manager, is having a fire sale because he has released every single fighter he trained! Ladies and gents, some of these fighters are very good and they have very strong financial backing as well! What is Gritty Smitty doing!? For all you managers out there with a lot of hype, it may very well be worth it to scour the Free Agents and try to pick up one of these great fighters!

 

The last Middleweight fight between “Domino” Dominick Rivaldi (25-11-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE and Chicken “And” Beef (27-17) was very similar to the other Middleweight fight! Both fighters, who have excellent standup fighting ability, chose to test one another’s skills in those areas and the battle was hard-hitting and brutal! Rivaldi cut Beef in the first round with a vicious left cross that hurt Beef, but he was able to weather the storm and continue fighting! In the second round, Beef had his revenge when he planted a solid right knee into Rivaldi’s skull, causing his forehead to split enough to bleed! The crowd was a bit shocked by this but Rivaldi didn’t let it bother him at all!

 

Rivaldi continued to press the action and proved to be the more effective fighter in the clinch, landing strikes that sounded like thuds against Beef’s body that definitely hurt him! Back and forth, knees and punches, and battle of wills is what everyone in attendance was treated to, but in the end it was Rivaldi who emerged victorious by way of UNANIMOUS DECISION! Rivaldi returns to the win column after recent struggles so you know he’s feeling good about himself. Beef has now LOST TWO IN A ROW but has an opportunity to right the ship when he faces “The Deity” Angelos Bellanova. That’s my man who actually read one of my summaries and corrected the spelling of his name. I still get a kick out of that.

 

“The Torpedo” Tore Rebo (27-14) of The Polish Eagles’ Nest and French Toast (18-8) of Valhallo, our sole Super Heavyweight fight of the night, closed the night out with a bang! It only took Rebo one minute and seventeen seconds to unleash is world class boxing skills and drop Toast with a Street Fighter-type right uppercut that knocked him out cold! Rebo returns to the win column with this KNOCKOUT victory while Toast had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED!

 

All right ladies and gents, that’s my time. As always, I thank you for tuning and joining me on another Pay-Per-View Summary. Stay tuned for the SPFT 133 Pre Pay-Per-View Summary coming soon! Take care, be well, train hard, and I’ll see you at the next fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 133: Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello good people, it is I yet again, your man on the scene, Furious Styles! It has been a while since I have been in Los Angeles, but it sure feels good out here! The days have been very warm, the sun nice and bright, and the scantily clad young ladies who want to show their skin before the sun goes down and the night cools off is very much appreciated!

 

Steel Penn ICON is once again going to bring the raucous to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where ninety-three plus thousand mixed martial arts fans will jam pack the arena for standing room only, as they behold another outstanding event that features ten great fighters! The event: SPFT 133! Without further ado…let’s get down to business!

 

THREE FEATHERWEIGHT, ONE LIGHTWEIGHT, ONE WELTERWEIGHT, ONE MIDDLEWEIGHT, ONE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT AND THREE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTS are scheduled for this event and the fans will definitely enjoy each and every battle! The main event of the evening is Adam Gracie versus Mateus Allen, so let’s start there!

 

The Featherweight Title will be defended on this night as Adam Gracie (21-9-1) of The Legion of Pain and “The Farmboy” Mateus Allen (22-6) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – Steel is once again in the house! – lock horns! Gracie has been a fighting champion, successfully defending the title in his last two bouts, the most recent victory being a first round Submission Victory over Tad Ghostal. Gracie’s submission game has been very effective for him and that may very well be the approach he takes in this defense as well.

 

He has shown the world why he has earned the BJJ red belt he proudly wears during his training sessions, and I have no doubt Allen is very much aware of those world class BJJ skills! Allen brings an Olympic Class wrestling ability to this fight, so being on the ground won’t be uncomfortable for him. However, he’s not as well versed in BJJ as Gracie, so he may opt to try and keep this fight standing, where he can rely on his tremendous boxing ability. Gracie is very adept at the standup game as well so either way, this will be an intense fight for the title, as it should be!

 

Allen has demonstrated the ability to end fights with his fists and I’m certain Gracie’s camp will have him as ready for that as possible. Gracie may elect to use his height advantage in establishing his accurate jab and sharp cross, but Allen, having the weight advantage, may choose to try and take this fight to the ground and rely upon the wrestling I alluded to earlier. I expect both men to leave it all in the cage and the fans can expect nothing short of a tremendous championship battle!

 

Featherweight battle number two pits “The Undisputed” Yuri Boyka (29-11-2) of Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Genki Dama (27-13) of ACME – St. Petersburg in the cage against one another! Stepping into this battle with a recent Technical Knockout victory over Marcel Cerdan, Boyka has shown a propensity of knocking out his opponents! Genki, which has many different meanings in Japanese, but the most common being “Energetic”, will definitely have his work cut out for him! Perhaps he’ll rely upon his tremendous conditioning to try and extend this fight to try and win by way of Unanimous Decision, which he did recently against Will Banks.

 

Dama may seek to take this fight to the ground and allow his vast BJJ skills be his advantage over the hard-hitting Boyka. He does have the weight advantage in this fight so he may try to lean that extra weight on Boyka and make him expend some of his own energy trying to keep Dama physically off of him. Boyka’s slight height advantage probably won’t be much of a factor here, so don’t be surprised if this becomes a battle of attrition. I highly expect Boyka to be very aggressive in trying to drop Dama with a thunderous punch!

 

The last Featherweight fight of the evening is one that I’ll be watching very intently, and nervously as always, because a fighter I manage, “13” Zica Brava (22-9-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE, and Kim Figueroa (26-6) will wage a battle in the cage! Zica is working very diligently to continue the momentum of his Unanimous Decision victory over Xavier Cid, a very good fighter who really pushed Zica in their fight. In general, these warriors are quite evenly matched, though Zica does have a slight height and weight advantage, which is something that doesn’t occur often for him. Recently, Kaiser Nutrition contacted Zica and offered him a sponsorship, of which he is very proud, and that seemed to provide just a bit more motivation for him to train diligently in preparation for this fight.

 

Figueroa recently lost to Marcel Cerdan by way of Technical Knockout, and honestly, overall, he has struggled during his last five fights. I’m not sure what’s going on with him and what type of training he’s doing at Convicted Top Team gym, but something is amiss in my opinion. Maybe he’s just encountering a bit of a cold spell in executing his fight plans? Maybe his “Posters” shirt and “I’m With Stupid” shorts with a depiction of George Bush, which would probably mess up a lot of people quite honestly, is a source of the trouble? When I was scouting him out, he just didn’t look like he was into the training, and that’s too bad because he’s a very skilled fighter. Still, Zica knows better than to take anyone lightly, even if they don’t appear to be into training for a fight, because anything can happen in that cage. I know he will fight Figueroa to the best of his abilities and of course, I hope that will be enough of a factor for him to earn a victory.

 

The lone Lightweight battle on the card takes place between El Guapo (17-15) of Legion of Doom and Rocco Kailea (7-4-1) of The Black Hand! Guapo has been struggling as of late, having LOST HIS LAST THREE FIGHTS, each by Unanimous Decision! His shirt says “Just Bleed” so maybe this will be his goal when he fight Kailea, to make him bleed in an effort to turn around his latest difficulties. For the majority of his career, Guapo has been involved in numerous decision fights, so don’t be surprised if he attempts a different approach and tries to end the fight early.

 

Kailea, who has a distinct disadvantage in this fight in terms of actual fighting experience, has demonstrated some knockout power and ability, so aggression and power strikes may be the approach he takes to this fight! He is currently on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK, so that may inspire his aggression to be at a high level. Guapo has a slight height advantage, and Kailea a slight weight advantage, so I see those factors basically cancelling one another. Kailea is said to have very solid ground fighting skills also so should Guapo decide to go for a submission or ground-and-pound victory, he may be in for a bit of a struggle.

 

The Welterweight battle on the card will go down between “The Natural” Avon Barksdale (16-10-1) of Soul Supremacy Alliance, and Nathan “Cable” Summers (21-12-1) of GRABTHE.INFO! To this day and always, I will argue that there’s nothing all “natural” about Barksdale! Come on people, look at the crazed look in his eyes! His right eye is slightly focused on something lower than his left, and he just looks like a man whose elevator doesn’t reach the top floor, if you catch my meaning! Nothing against him because all fighters in my opinion have mental issues, but damn, this dude pushes those issues a bit further than most. His last fight resulted in a No Contest because someone didn’t know how to use their GPS, MapQuest, Yahoo Maps or whatever, so he’s had time to train without injury or fatigue interruption. This may be a key factor in this fight for him.

 

Summers has been in a bit of a rut lately, having LOST HIS LAST THREE FIGHTS, so I have no doubt he will want to turn things around as quickly as possible, and that may translate to him pushing for an early finish to this fight! The bad news for Summers is he has been losing fights by both being knocked out and having to tap out, so he may have to use more caution than he’d like to against Barksdale. Summers may test Barksdale’s ground fighting ability, if he can get him to the ground of course, because he may be more comfortable there than Barksdale.

 

The sole Middleweight battle of the night places Dennis “Ares” Oppelaar (16-12-1) of VC-13 and Abel “Amazin’” Speed (17-8-1) of The Exiled in the cage against one another! Oppelaar is definitely in a funk, having LOST THE LAST FIVE OF SIX FIGHTS, so he’s trying to figure out the formula necessary to stop the struggles and feel good about fighting again! His latest Technical Knockout loss to Matt Freeman definitely did some physical damage so his ability to recover from that fight, mentally, will be key in this fight. Speed has also been struggling mightily, having LOST THE LAST SIX OF SEVEN FIGHTS! Very much like Oppelaar, he very badly wants to get off the snide and back into the win column!

 

Oppelaar has the height advantage, Speed the weight advantage, so we’ll see if either of them tries to use said advantage. Both fighters are comfortable in the standup game, but it’s possible that Speed is the more comfortable and capable on the ground, and that’s where his weight advantage would be best used as I see it. Should he choose to take the fight to the ground if possible, using that weight to make Oppelaar work harder to prevent being damaged on the ground may sap his energy faster. A tired fighter is one that is easier to deal with, so that may very well be the hope in this fight.

 

The only Light Heavyweight fight features “Sweet” Puppy Love (25-14) of Fat Camp – wow, that’s a brutal name for an Alliance – and Jamie “Takedown” Gillis (23-14) of Legion of Doom! Leonard Washington recently SNAPPED LOVE’S SIX FIGHT WIN STREAK and he may use that loss for extra desire to prove he can overcome a situation like that quickly. Gillis has been in a fighting rut, having LOST THE LAST FOUR OF FIVE FIGHTS! As his nickname indicates, he favors the desire to outwrestle his opponent. In this case, that may be a mistake because Love has worked very diligently on his ground game and has Olympic Class wrestling, the same as Gillis, plus Love has earned a black belt in BJJ, just like Gillis.

 

If both men choose to fight standing up, that may prove to be just as much of a struggle as the ground game would presume to be, because neither fighter has a particular height or weight advantage that would be a major swinging point in their favor during this fight. Ultimately this may prove to be a battle of wills with game plans integrated between the desire to win. This could be a dangerous fight for both men because they may try too hard to achieve victory, leave themselves open for a particular attack, and pay the price for it.

 

Rounding out the night, no pun intended, are the Super Heavyweights! The Mack trucks with legs always bring a certain excitement into each fight, and I expect nothing less out of the three battles in this weight division! Our first fight takes place between Cael Sanderson Bot (19-8-1) of The Black Hand and Christiano “The Divine Huevo Destruct” Smokeleaf 17-5)! Bot brings a recent Technical Knockout victory over Joe Biggs into this fight, and over the past five fights, he has won the majority of them. For a man renowned for his black belt BJJ and Olympic level wrestling, he has shown surprising punching power and has earned victories by way of knockout.

 

Smokeleaf is on a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK and has won the past five of six fights, so he’s on a roll and has confidence and momentum going into this contest! Smokeleaf may very well have the better standup fighting skills, but that doesn’t mean he can relax and not be wary of Bot’s power. Like Bot, Smokeleaf has proven he’s rather comfortable fighting on the ground as well, but I’m not sure he wants to potentially have Bot’s massive forty-five pound weight advantage be used against him on the ground! Smokeleaf has a nine inch height advantage and may very well choose to throw numerous punches at a distance, making it difficult for Bot to get in close!

 

Jefferson Davis “Boss” Hogg (21-11) of The Legion of Pain and “The Tyrant” Tony Mendez (43-23) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – that’s right, show some love! – are the second heavy hitters to be on a collision course! Willy Stoppers STOPPED HOGG’S THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK and Hogg will want to get right back on track as soon as possible! Mendez has been experiencing troubles recently, having LOST HIS LAST FOUR OF FIVE FIGHTS. Prior to that, he was on a major winning streak so that has to be a concern for him and his training team! Also, I’m not so sure wearing a shirt that has a picture of money being held in a toilet seat is exactly reassuring, but whatever.

 

In terms of fight experience, I don’t think anyone in MMATycoon has more than Mendez! Good lord man, do you wake up and go to sleep fighting!? I’m surprised his body hasn’t just quit on him by this point in time, and that alone is very impressive. Hogg is a very large man and he definitely has a weight advantage in this fight! Mendez may try to take this fight to the ground to neutralize the weight disadvantage he faces because standing and banging, as the industry calls it, may prove to be a painful path to choose. As I see it, whoever is able to enforce their will first and maintain it will be the one to walk out of this potentially punishing event as the victor.

 

And finally, wrapping up the exciting night of fights, Teijo Tarzan (24-15) of VC-13 and “Panthera Once” Joaozinho Gurgel (9-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can I get a whoop whoooop!? – are the final bulls to butt heads! Tarzan has LOST THE LAST THREE OF FOUR FIGHTS, and that may psychologically play on him for this fight! What’s going on Tarzan, are the animals in the jungle unhappy? Is Jane stressing you out with various demands? Whatever it is, he had better get on the right track and quickly, because if he doesn’t then he’ll be in trouble against Gurgel. Joaozinho...wow, now that’s definitely a name pulled from the SAT test! His name sounds like a futuristic mouth wash or a newly found asteroid!

 

I know he’s an Alliance member, and that’s all good, but holy crap man, what a name! Gurgel recently SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK so he’ll want to build on that victory in this fight. Tarzan has a tremendous fighting experience advantage, along with a massive sixty-four pound weight advantage, so I would expect him to utilize both in this fight. Gurgel will definitely have to rely upon his speed advantage because should Tarzan get a good hold of him, that could be the beginning of the end! Gurgel does have the height advantage and may rely upon very good boxing and Muay Thai skills to try and keep Tarzan at bay, and this fight standing up, at all costs.

 

Well good people, that’s my time and the end of this summary. As always I thank you for joining me in a review of another exciting Steel Penn ICON event, and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I will! Remember: Steel Penn stands for devotion to excellence, superior quality, and the desire to provide the utmost in fight events. Take care, be well, and I’ll see you at the fights.

[Guest]

SPFT 133: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’re well and you enjoyed a great weekend of mixed martial arts action! The rowdy and vociferous – that’s the college word for the day – fans that jam packed the Los Angeles Coliseum definitely let it be known that they enjoyed what they witnessed in the cage at SPFT 133!

 

Whenever I have a fighter involved in a major event, I pace the arena like an expectant father and it’s very difficult for me to watch, even if the fighter I manage happens to win his battle! I’ll go more into that shortly, but for now, as always…let’s get down to business!

 

We witnessed an excellent battle for the Featherweight Championship between “The Farmboy” Mateus Allen (23-6 (or 24-5 according to his bio!)) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – let me hear ya’ give some love! – and Adam Gracie (21-10-1) of Legion of Pain! As most everyone expected, due to his world class ability in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Gracie would look to take this fight to the ground and look for the submission victory. Allen is obviously very comfortable fighting on the ground because of his Olympic class wrestling skills, but still, he knew Gracie’s tremendous submission ability was something to be very wary of. In the first round, Gracie definitely tried to end the fight quickly with numerous submission attempts, but Allen was able to defend against them solidly and even attempted one of his own near the end of the round. Both fighters gave one another a nod of respect when the bell rang to end the round.

 

In the second round, it was much of the same, but Gracie attempted to slow down and soften up Allen with various ground-and-pound attacks, but overall, Allen was able to avoid any major damage and, in turn, avoid any submissions from being locked in. However, it was evident during the second round that Allen’s corner was getting a bit concerned because they felt the judges had Gracie ahead on the score cards as the round came to a close. Before the start of the third round, Allen’s corner told him that he needed to step up the energy and look to end the fight because they didn’t want the judges deciding the conclusion of this battle!

 

The bell rang for the third and Gracie could sense Allen’s desire to get in close and increase his aggression. Gracie wisely used his height advantage and excellent boxing ability, keeping his distance and landing some hurtful shots. Allen fought through the pain and managed to finally get close to Gracie to lock in a clinch. Once this happened, the momentum shifted greatly! Allen gained confidence from a failed takedown by Gracie, and though Gracie managed to move out of the clinch and continually land punches, Allen would keep up the pressure. Gracie definitely tested Allen’s chin with various stiff punches, but Allen kept on coming. Allen finally landed a head-and-body combination that really hurt Gracie! Allen used what he had left to drop Gracie with a right cross-left hook combination that knocked Gracie out cold!

 

Allen wins this intense fight by KNOCKOUT VICTORY and not only has Allen now WON TWO IN A ROW, but he has his first title defense in a return battle against the man he won the title from, Adam Gracie! Gracie has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED but does have a coveted return Championship Title Match against Mateus Allen! Do you know who the real winner of this fight was? CEC Nutrition, because they sponsor both tremendous talents. Smart marketing gentlemen!

 

The last Featherweight fight placed “The Natural Weapon” Kim Figueroa (27-6) and “13” Zica Brava (22-10-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – always in the house! – in the cage for battle! Needless to say, this was a very difficult battle for me to watch because Zica is still a new member of the stable of fighters my management team works with, plus I knew that Figueroa would be a dangerous opponent. I truly blame myself for this loss because I told Zica that Kim just didn’t look like he wanted to fight, and I didn’t even think he trained properly to face Zica. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover!

 

Despite not looking like he really wanted to fight, Figueroa came out very aggressively and landed some powerful kicks on Zica, each one of them making me cringe! Zica opted to lock Figueroa in various clinches and that proved to be ineffective. I should have spoken with Zica and kept him more mobile, but that’s a lesson learned for us both. Zica told me not only that I shouldn’t worry, but he promises that his next fight will be far different.

 

Much credit goes to Figueroa and his fighting ability, because he landed a very clean and brutal left hook that was the beginning of the end! Zica tried to gather himself but Figueroa leapt on him and kept punching until the referee stopped the fight, giving Figueroa the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY. Though disappointed, I know Zica is a man of his word so I look forward to his next fight! Figueroa is back in the win column with this victory and currently has no opponent scheduled to fight. Zica has to fight his way back into the win column after this loss, and currently awaits his next opponent.

 

The lone Lightweight battle on this card took place between El Guapo (18-15) of Legion of Doom and Rocco Kailea (7-5-1) of The Black Hand! On paper, both of these fighters were quite evenly matched but Guapo had far more fighting experience, and that definitely came into play for this fight. Guapo had an egregious – that’s the college word of the day – start to this match, catching a low kick from Kailea directly in the beanbag! Guapo was able to shake off the strike and got back into fight mode after a couple of minutes. It seems being kicked in the gonads angered him because he had a look of fury in his eyes and he went to work on Kailea, but not after Kailea tested his chin with a vicious right uppercut!

 

Guapo took that like a champion and landed his own crushing uppercut that opened a cut on Kailea’s nose! Kailea kept right on fighting and landed a beautiful three-punch combination that aggravated Guapo a bit, and he decided to go for some kicks. Kailea was able to land some solid kicks of his own, however, and even dropped Guapo to one knee with a fast-snapping right cross! Guapo gathered himself then shortly afterward, landed a very nice counter right-cross on Kailea. After having a push kick swatted away, Kailea left his hands down and paid the price for it, allowing Guapo to drop him brutally with a thundering right hook! Guapo jumped on him, rained down punches, and the referee stopped the fight, awarding the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Guapo!

 

Guapo SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK, so you know he’s feeling good about himself! Maybe for Thanksgiving, he’ll get a haircut, maybe shave that scraggly beard, get some new clothes and do the town. His next opponent is Raul Portugis. Kailea has now LOST THREE IN A ROW, so he and his team may need to rethink their fight approach. He currently has no opponent waiting so there’s time to train in an effort to turn things around. Maybe he can hit the strip in Vegas during Thanksgiving and have some fun so he’ll feel a bit better about things in general.

 

The sole Lightweight fight of the evening placed Nathan “Cable” Summers (22-12-1) and “The Natural” Avon Barksdale (16-11-1) of Soul Supremacy Alliance in the cage for battle! Since both fighters brought a high level of Muay Thai skill, no one was surprised that this turned out to be a standup war! After both warriors tested one another with strong kicks and punches, and eventually it was Summers who landed the first very impactful strike! After taking Barksdale to the ground, Summers was able to land a strong head shot with his left hand that hurt Barksdale. Barksdale defensive ability kept him from absorbing too much more damage and he managed to stand up and recover.

 

In the second round, both fighters again traded brutal kicks and punches on each other, and it was Barksdale that drew first blood! A slicing right elbow in the clinch landed flush on Summers’ left eyebrow and that was all she wrote. Summers shook that off, eventually took Barskdale to the ground again, and did enough there, along with the standup despite the cut, to take the round on the judges’ cards. In the third round, Barksdale came out quite aggressively and Summers waited for the right moment to strike.

 

After landing a great one-two punching combination, Barksdale went for a power shot right hook that Summers ducked under. He immediately launched a turbo injected right uppercut that caught Barksdale clean under the chin! The referee stopped the fight before things got worse, giving the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Summers!

 

Summers SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and I’ve been informed that, despite the win, Summers and his management team decided to go their separate ways. It seems to me they had a good run together and now as a Free Agent, I have a feeling Summers will be carefully considered by some managers in MMATycoon.com for potential signing.

 

Barksdale falls back into the loss column after his last fight was a No Contest, so he’ll be looking to get back on the other side of that column. He currently has no opponent scheduled so he has time to right the ship quickly. Maybe Barksdale can find a cool party to go to in New York so he can put on a nice outfit and maybe meet a nice young lady who can help him with his glare, because I think he needs some kind of help.

 

Rounding out the night’s events, the Super Heavyweights, the boys who tip the scales with large numbers, brought the pain and raucous reactions! Christiano “The Divine Huevo Destruct” Smokeleaf (18-5) and Cael Sanderson Bot (19-9-1) of The Black Hand were the first massive men to lock horns, with Bot being the more massive! Despite the forty-five pound disadvantage, it was Smokeleaf who was the more effective fighter when all was said and done. In the first round, Bot wasn’t able to connect on any of his heavy strikes because Smokeleaf was very mobile and active, ultimately taking away Bot’s weight advantage and tiring him out faster by making him put forth a lot of energy on the ground!

 

The referee eventually stood the men up because the action slowed, but the game plan was evident and its effectiveness obvious. Bot wasn’t able to land much of anything for the remainder of the round and was frustrated. Early in the second round, Bot was more successful with his punches, but wound up being cut above the right eye by a swift left cross from Smokeleaf. Soon afterwards, Smokeleaf moved in, locked Bot in a clinch, and stepped up his energy level, further taxing the reserves that Bot had. Smokeleaf distanced himself on the judge’s score cards with his control in the clinch, as well as his ability to land more effective strikes while doing so.

 

The final round was spent on the ground for basically the entire round, except for a few seconds at the beginning. Smokeleaf efficiently controlled the action and despite not being able to force Bot to tap out, he easily scored the necessary points on the cards to earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Smokeleaf has now WON FOUR FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled, so he can enjoy some of that great deep fried turkey on Thanksgiving! Bot finds himself back in the loss column but he has a chance to get on the flip side, depending if the current Fight Under Offer is accepted!

 

The second Super Heavyweight bout saw Jefferson Davis “Boss” Hogg (22-11) of The Legion of Pain and “The Tyrant” Tony Mendez (43-24) – one of the most busy fighters I have ever seen! – of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE duke it out! Hogg, as in most, if not all of his fights, brought quite a weight advantage in this fight; fifty-nine pounds to be exact! These combatants began the fight by trying to dig one another’s shins into the opponents’ legs. Thudding, painful kicks were delivered and absorbed by both, and Mendez decided he had enough of that, so he worked to take the fight to the ground and was able to do so.

 

Mendez did his best to lock Hogg into a submission but the big man’s ground skills are sound and he was able to prevent that from taking place. The pace slowed too much, the referee stood them up, and Hogg took advantage by locking Mendez in a clinch and leaned that heavy frame against Mendez while going to work on him with various knee strikes, but Mendez gets credit for defending very well against the vast majority of those strikes. In the second round, Hogg felt he could once again use that weight advantage to slow Mendez and make him use precious energy just holding his weight up.

 

Hogg locked in a clinch and went to work once again but didn’t hold on too long, instead opting to stand and fight at a distance. Hogg became very aggressive with leg kicks that landed repeatedly, slowing Mendez and frustrating him in the process. Mendez was able to land some punches, but they didn’t carry the same impact they normally do. Hogg then decided to take the fight to the ground, but that didn’t last long due to a referee standup. However, the fight again went to the ground and Hogg tried a submission, but Mendez was ready for it and prevented himself from being trapped by the massive Hogg. In the third round, Hogg unleashed an unexpected and rather nasty head kick that dropped Mendez in his tracks! Much to his credit, Mendez was able to gather himself and keep right on fighting.

 

Hogg locked in a clinch and kept the remainder of the fight there to play it safe and take the points on the cards. In doing so, he earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Hogg is back in the W column with this victory and next steps into the cage against Rai Leonardo for the first time! Mendez now has TWO LOSSES IN A ROW and currently awaits an opponent who has the Fight Under Offer!

 

The final Super Heavyweight war to be waged was done so between “Panthero Onca” Joaozinho Gurgel (10-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – represent, represent! – and Teijo Tarzan (24-16) of VC-13! I’m not sure what happened exactly, but I’ll say that once Gurgel tasted his own blood, he literally went into a different zone and that turned out to be great for him, but not so great for Tarzan! Tarzan’s stiff left jab opened a cut above Gurgel’s right eye and that was the beginning of the end. Gurgel landed some vicious body shots on Tarzan and just sapped the wind right out of his sails!

 

Both fighters were throwing a lot of heavy strikes and at the rate they were fighting, it was bound that one of them would slow down. Gurgel began looking like a chorus line dancer with the number of kicks he began to unleash on Tarzan, but Tarzan got in a few good kicks of his own. One of Gurgel’s kicks got through Tarzan’s defenses, hit him on the left side of his head, and his forehead was cut open. Gurgel saw the blood and was like a shark in the water! He went for it, expending a lot of energy but also landing a lot of strikes, particularly on Tarzan’s tenderized torso! Tarzan got even more worn out, dropped his hands…then got dropped by a very nasty and impressive Axe Kick, earning Gurgel the KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Gurgel, the man with the name of a Brazilian action figure of some sort, has now WON TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and steps into the cage next against Tore Rebo! Tarzan has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW, and I’m sure Jane will not be very happy about that! See what I did there? Oh just roll with it. Tarzan will have time to appease Jane because he has no fight scheduled so he can work on smoothing things over with her.

 

Well there you have it ladies and gents, another Pay-Per-View Summary written by yours truly. It is a pleasure to bring you the latest on-goings of Steel Penn ICON and I hope you stay tuned for the next Pre Pay-Per-View Summary for SPFT 134. Steel Penn ICON strives to bring you the best fights, the hardest-hitting action, and the most brutal knockouts! Steel Penn, the organization, works very diligently to provide the utmost in business, fighting, nutrition and training opportunities. Take care, have a great day, and I’ll see you at the fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 134: Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello MMA fans, I hope all of you are well and thank you for joining me today. This is your man Furious Styles live once again at the Los Angeles Coliseum where there will be another sellout crowd of ninety-three thousand plus rabid, loud, and wild fans! Steel Penn ICON brings yet another action packed night of fights that feature some of the very best mixed martial artists in MMATycoon!

 

Tonight we will all be treated to two title fights: The Super Heavyweight Title and the Middleweight Title! The remaining fights will carry a high degree of intensity and skill so no one will be disappointed. Now that the particulars have been covered...let's get down to business!

 

Since the first title being defended tonight is for the Super Heavyweight Title, I'll cover the Super Heavyweight Division first and work my way down to the Featherweights. “The Power” Willy Stoppers (30-11) of Children of the Law of One and Ernesto Oliveira (32-10) of The Goonies are the two bulls who'll lock horns for the Super Heavyweight Title! Stoppers defends his title on a FIVE FIGHT WINNING STREAK and the last time these two did battle, Stoppers emerged victorious. Oliveria steps into this battle with a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and will obviously be very motivated to win this match to not only overcome Stoppers, but also wear the Super Heavyweight Title!

 

If the result of this fight is anything but a knockout, I think everyone in attendance will be very surprised. Both fighters like to, and have proven, that they like to finish fights early and overwhelmingly! A first round knockout is not out of the question in this fight. Oliveira has the height and weight advantage, a situation that Stoppers doesn't face too often in his fights. The in-cage experience is basically even so preparation, defense against the bombs that each of these men can drop, and the sharper fighter will emerge victorious. This will be a great title fight!

 

The next Super Heavyweight fight scheduled to go down takes place between Matt “Metal Hands” Lisser (17-10) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – Steel in the house! - and “Brutal” Joe Biggs (10-3) of Children of the Law of One! Lisser recently SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK with a second round Knockout of Francois Duvalier! Biggs had a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED by Cael Sanderson Bot! Biggs has a tremendous height advantage and I have no doubt he'll throw explosive fists from a distance. Lisser will have to rely on speed, smarts and mobility to get in close to give himself a chance to land some thunderous shots of his own. However, don't be surprised if Biggs tries to take this fight to the ground and look for a submission.

 

French Toast (18-8) of Valhalla and Piru Parka (26-19) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – represent the crew! - round up the action in the Super Heavyweight Division! Toast had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED so he'll be looking to gain momentum by getting back in the win column! “The Purple Haired Warrior” recently SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK and he'll want to keep moving in that winning direction against a tough opponent! Parka has the height and weight advantage in this battle, but don't count out Toast because of it! Toast is highly skilled on the ground and if he can manage to get Parka to the ground, that may very well be his best approach to trying to clinch the victory! Both warriors have given and received knockouts and that may very well be the case here.

 

Shifting to the Middleweight Division, “The Steamroller” Nero Aurelius (21-8-1) of GRABTHE.INFO and Mateus Gracie (20-10) of Tycoon World Order! Aurelius had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and will work to begin another winning streak as he has had recently! Gracie brings a FIVE FIGHT WIN STREAK into this battle so his confidence is high! Aurelius may try to keep this fight on the feet as he has demonstrated a tremendous boxing and Muay Thai ability. Gracie may look to take this fight to the ground where has has shown excellent ground fight techniques. This will definitely be a chess game in terms of one fighter looking to bait the other into fighting his preferred style for this match. With basically even experience and physical statures, the game planning will be crucial.

 

Rounding out the Middleweight action are Jack “Hammer” Fall (13-4) of The Corporation and Matt Freeman (14-8)! Fall RECENTLY LOST to Mateus Gracie so he'll want to get off the snide and take hold of that winning feeling again! Freeman recently SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK, so he carries in a bit of momentum entering this battle! Freeman has a ten pound advantage and may try to utilize that extra weight in the stand up game, perhaps looking to lock in a clinch and press his weight against Fall. Fall may very well try to take this fight to the ground where his BJJ skills are tremendous. Should the fight go the ground, look for Fall to become very aggressive in looking for a submission. Either way, this will be a very close battle that may boil down to attrition.

 

A quadruple deluxe of Lightweight fights are slated and the fighters will be ready! “The Honorable” James Dooalot (16-8) of The Legion of Pain and Hans Landa (22-13-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg begin the four-way play. Dooalot is currently ON A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK so he will want to take hold of a victory to start winning again. Landa had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and wants to stop that as soon as possible! The last time these two crossed paths, Dooalot took the victory by Technical Knockout in the second round. Due to the familiarity between these two combatants, I think sheer will gives the victory to whoever has more. Dooalot has a bit of a height advantage and may try to fight at a distance to use his reach advantage. Landa may try to take this fight to the ground where he may have a bit of an advantage with the ground game and look for a submission. Either way, this will be another chapter between two fighters with a history.

 

The second Lightweight battle takes place between Severi Turpaansaaja (26-12) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can I get a hollaaaa'!? - and Zophiel Furfur (19-9) of Evolution Fight Clan! This is yet another fight that will be difficult for me to watch because this will only be the second fight he will have under my management team, and we obviously want the best for him. I'll be as nervous as a turkey on Thanksgiving, but Severi has a lot of fighting experience so I think in that regard, he'll be just fine. He recently SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and will work diligently to maintain momentum from that win. Furfur likewise SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK so he knows how Severi is feeling! Furfur has a height advantage, Severi an in-cage advantage, and the winner of this fight, as I see it, is the warrior who is able to press the action early. Both men have demonstrated solid all-around fighting skills so I expect a difficult battle either way.

 

The third Lightweight fight of the evening places Mahandry Andriamboavonjy (15-15) – the man whose last name would make a scientist get excited and want a glass of wine! - and “Flash” Gordon Lefleur (25-9) of The Exiled! Mahandry is currently on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK so he wants to reverse his recent misfortunes and fast! “Flash” also has been struggling as of late as he too is on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK! Both men may be a bit more aggressive in this fight because of that desire to win again, and this may lead to taking further risks of being countered or even submitted. Lefleur has a height advantage and may fight at a distance to use that reach advantage, and the presumably speed advantage as well, judging from his nickname. There are some who believe that Mahandry is the more skilled fighter and despite his even record, he is capable of snatching victory from the jaws of any opponent he faces.

 

The final Lightweight fight on the card takes place between Elias Vertanen (25-12-2) of Team Outkast and Guy Kopec (13-11) of Public Enemy! Virtanen has really been struggling lately, having LOST FOUR FIGHTS IN A ROW and his last fight ended in a Draw! Kopec RECENTLY LOST to Master Chuin by way of Submission in the second round, so like many of the fighters tonight, he'll be looking to turn things around as fast as he can! Kopec has been involved in a lot of fights resulting in a knockout, be it himself or his opponent, and he may try to make this fight a Pier 6 brawl. Virtanen recently has been on the wrong side of more knockouts than not, so he may very well opt try and take this fight to the ground where he has shown a high degree of comfort and ability.

 

Last but not least, the lone Featherweight battle of this event occurs between Collin Glorious (27-12-3) of The Broken Halo Pride and Tim “Hijack” Ernst (18-14-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg! Glorious had a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED by Mark Spencer via Unanimous Decision, and Glorious wants to get out of the rut in this fight. Ernst SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and is feeling good heading into this contest. Physically these fighters match up very well and the fighting experience is quite similar as well. I think the fighter that wants it more, and feels better about the fight, will be the one to earn the victory. The “x” factor in this fight may be striking precision and the better game plan.

 

Well there you have it folks, and I thank you for your time. I promise to try and remain calm during Severi's fight but that will be difficult to do, to say the least. I hope all of you enjoy the fights and please remember, Steel Penn ICON strives to provide products, events and business ventures that are the standard by which all others are compared. Take care, be well and I'll see you soon!

[Guest]

SPFT 134: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Greetings and salutations ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the SPFT 134 Post Pay-Per-View Report presented by your action reporter on the scene, Furious Styles! Ninety-three thousand plus fans witnessed another epic Steel Penn ICON event and were asking for more! The Coliseum was rockin’, bodies were droppin’, and hearts were stoppin’!

 

On a quick side note, it truly is difficult as a reporter to have to witness a fighter you manage go to war in the cage because you naturally want the best for said fighter, and it’s always tough, even if and when they’re victorious, to watch because the brutality in the cage is unlike any other. However, everyone involved in mixed martial arts is aware of this and when they sign contracts, they know what potentially can happen.

 

Overall, we witnessed the following results: FIVE KNOCKOUT VICTORIES, BE THEY STANDARD OR TECHNICAL, ONE SUBMISSION VICTORY, AND FOUR UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORIES. As always, without further ado…let’s get down to business!

 

Kicking off the night of action was the Super Heavyweight Championship battle between Ernesto Oliveira (33-10) of The Goonies and “The Power” Willy Stoppers (30-12) of Children of the Law of One! Both fighters brought a great deal of hype, popularity, success and excitement because either man could deliver a knockout blow at any given time, and the crowd anticipated a high-energy, high impact war!

 

Stoppers began the match like he was a Broadway show performer, throwing numerous kicks. Most of them landed and kept Oliveira at a distance. However, as the round progressed, Oliveira was able to get in closer and land some punches, though they weren’t the most technically sound. After absorbing more punishing kicks to his thigh, Oliveira began to settle into his punches a bit more but they initially didn’t seem to bother Stoppers in the very least. Stoppers planed a very clean right uppercut on Oliveira that opened a cut on the bridge of his nose and that seemed to wake Oliveira up.

 

Oliveira returned the bleeding favor with a very nice right cross that opened a cut above Stoppers’ right eye a short time afterward. Oliveira moved into a clinch towards the end of the round and proved to be the more effective fighter, landing various punches while defending well. Stoppers didn’t absorb a lot of damage but did not score the critical points on the cards. As soon as the bell rang for the second round, Oliveira threw an overhand right, seemingly from downtown LA, and it dropped Stoppers in his tracks! Much to his credit, Stoppers took the punch well and was able to prevent further damage by controlling Oliveira on the ground until a referee standup.

 

Stoppers composed himself and landed some effective strikes once he did so. Oliveira went back to his bread and butter in this fight, the clinch, and he was once again the more effective fighter and earned the points on the score cards. Going into the third round, Oliveira’s corner told him to keep clinching and throwing strikes, so that’s exactly what he did. Once he was able to lock in the clinch, Oliveira went to work and eventually baited Stoppers into letting his guard down. Once that occurred, Oliveira nailed Stoppers with a sharp left shoulder strike that hurt Stoppers! Stoppers tried to defend himself, but eventually Oliveira was able to land two brutal uppercuts in succession, the second one being the one that counted the most! He leapt on Stoppers and dropped bombs until the referee had to step in, giving the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Oliveira!

 

Oliveira gains retribution for losing to Stoppers some time before and stretches his WIN STREAK TO THREE, and his next title defense will be against Ethelbart Takahashi on December 13, live at the Los Angeles Coliseum! Stoppers has his FIVE WIN STREAK SNAPPED and must again look to begin anew. He next battles Daniel Silva this Friday. Fighting a day after Thanksgiving? Wow, that’s rough because you know they can’t grub on Thanksgiving dinner like they want to, but that’s a necessary sacrifice.

 

The second Super Heavyweight battle on the card took place between “Brutal” Joe Biggs (11-3) of Children of the Law of One and Matt “Metal Hands” Lisser (17-11) – who is now formerly of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE! Biggs had a very large height advantage in this fight and Lisser decided to keep the fight in close quarters to try and take advantage of his faster hands in the clinch. Much of the first round began in the clinch with both men jockeying for position while testing one another’s defensive abilities and the ability to take a punch. Biggs tried to land some elbows but Lisser was well prepared for them, and he even caught Biggs off guard and took the big man down to the ground, nullifying his height advantage. Biggs attempted numerous submissions but to no avail. However, due to his activity, the judges gave him the round.

 

In the second round, it was Biggs who initiated the takedown on Lisser but the referee stood the fighters up after a short period of time. Lisser locked in a clinch once again but after struggling to land any damaging strikes, he opted to break the clinch and try another approach. The approach was to once again take Biggs to the ground. Lisser tried to land some heavy ground-and-pound strikes, but Biggs’ defense was too sharp and he avoided serious damage. In the final round, Lisser again tried to end it on the ground, but Biggs proved too difficult to hit and control, and the referee again stood the warriors up. Biggs felt that he just had to control Lisser in the clinch and he could take the fight on points, which is exactly what transpired.

 

Biggs earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and had enough brutality to win the fight and BEGIN A NEW WIN STREAK! He currently has no opponent scheduled to fight, so he can go home and throw down on the turkey for Thanksgiving! Lisser finds himself BACK IN THE LOSS COLUMN and he and his now former management team decided to part ways. At twenty-nine years old and skilled, I am certain another manager will take his chances with the burly brawler!

 

The final Super Heavyweight contest of the evening brought us Piru Parka (27-19) – or as I call him, the “Purple Haired Warrior” of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE and French Toast (18-9) of Valhalla! I don’t know if French Toast trashed talked Parka before their match began, or if Parka’s corner team told him that someone said his mom was ugly, because Parka was on a mission during this fight! Early on it was Toast who took control of the match, bringing Parka to the ground and controlling him decently while doing so. However, due to a lack of action, the referee stood both men up and this was the beginning of the end. Toast looked like he was trying to imitate Edge from WWE with numerous failed takedowns that looked like flubbed spears.

 

Parka waited for the right moment and he knew Toast was getting tired after that succession of failed takedowns. Parka cut toast with a lovely counter right cross, then a strong body shot took the rest of Toast’s wind out of his sails and opened his guard up. Parka leveled Toast with two beautiful sets of combinations in a row and his accurate, powerful fists earned him the KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Parka extends his WIN STREAK TO TWO IN A ROW and can enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend as he has no fight scheduled! Toast has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW so his next opponent, currently Under Offer, better be prepared because Toast may be very aggressive in hopes of ending his skid!

 

With a last name like that, I would personally avoid having Thanksgiving dinner with anyone I didn’t know or trust, because there are crazy people out there who may think he’s actually a piece of French Toast and try to consume him. Hey, you hear the strange news reports just like I do, and don’t pretend you don’t!

 

The Middleweight Championship Fight was also an excellent one that showed a lot of determination and skill between the two warriors! “The Steamroller” Nero Aurelius (22-8-1) of GRABTHE.INFO, his new Alliance since being picked up by a new management team, and Mateus Gracie (20-11) of Tycoon World Order were the two fighters to put on a great show that the crowd appreciated. To sum this up easily and accurately, the first three rounds were spent dueling for position on the ground to either attempt ground-and-pound or for a submission finish.

 

Both of these fighters are greatly skilled on the ground, and the fans in attendance were privileged to witness two of the very best at what they do have a tremendous back-and-forth struggle in the wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aspect of combat! Excellent defensive technique, positioning, and a bit of a mental chess game were all on display as both fighters had their moments. However, Aurelius had more moments than Gracie going into the fourth round. Gracie’s corner told him that he had to step up the level of aggression and try to take advantage of his standup skills to either go for a knockout or wear Aurelius down for better success on the ground.

 

Aurelius was willing to oblige Gracie in the fourth round as both men shifted gears to their standup fighting skills and still, neither man was able to really do any serious damage, initially that is. Around the one minute mark, Aurelius landed a head kick that was partially blocked, but he threw it with such force that it still hurt Gracie! Gracie got his legs under him quickly, but that head kick definitely slowed him down and allowed Aurelius to go to work on his body, sapping his energy and frustrating him in the process. After trading strong kicks to each other’s legs, Gracie decided to once again take the fight to the ground. He tried to finish with a submission but Aurelius still had too much left to let that happen.

 

Going into the final round, Nero’s corner told him that he should keep the fight standing and finish out for the decision because they felt he was ahead on the cards. With the exception of the final minute of the round, that’s exactly what happened. Nero and Gracie again showed fantastic standup technique but neither man was able to best the other greatly. However, Aurelius did enough to score the more critical points before Gracie took the fight to the ground and looked for a last-minute submission. Nero defended, the bell rang, and Aurelius earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Aurelius gives his new management team their first victory and defending the Middleweight Title successfully is a great way to start a new business relationship. Aurelius puts himself back in the win column with this victory and he next faces Noah Puckerman on December 3 to see if he can extend his win streak and once again defend his title! Gracie’s FIVE FIGHT WIN STREAK IS SNAPPED and he has to earn his way back into the title picture. He currently has no fight scheduled so despite a tough loss, he’ll be able to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend and begin formulating a plan to get another shot at the championship!

 

The remaining Middleweight fight took place between Jack “Hammer” Fall (14-4) of The Corporation and Matt Freeman! Enter this fight, Fall definitely wanted to use his world class BJJ skills on Freeman, and Freeman, despite having Olympic wrestling skills, didn’t want to test his mettle on the ground. The battle of wills took place but didn’t take as long as some assumed it would! Fall took the fight to the ground within seconds and Freeman tried to sneak in a quick submission victory, hoping to catch Fall off guard, but to no avail.

 

Fall methodically worked his way into full mount and once that happened, he began to drop heavy bombs in the ground-and-pound game, and those hurt Freeman badly! Fall then looked to lock in a submission. To his credit, despite being dazed, Freeman was able to fight off the first attempt. However, Fall was relentless and Freeman was just too hurt. The second attempt from Fall was the one that did it and Freeman had no choice but to tap, giving the SUBMISSION VICTORY to Fall!

 

Fall swings his results back into the positive after this victory and currently has no opponent on the schedule, so he too may savor the flavor of victory along with some good cooking wherever he has his Thanksgiving dinner! Freeman finds himself back in the loss column and will look to turn things around as quickly as possible! However, since he has no fight scheduled, he can eat, relax and then prepare for his next opponent whenever one is signed.

 

The Lightweight division centered around four great fights and the first of those placed “The Honorable” James Dooalot (17-6) of The Legion of Pain and Hans Landa (22-14-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg in the cage across from one another! Dooalot had a very determined look on his face when going into this fight, and the confidence was palpable from his corner team, that’s for certain! Landa is highly skilled on the ground and it was apparent that Dooalot wanted to keep this fight in standup mode as much as possible. However, I’m not sure many expected this fight to end as quickly as it did. Dooalot began the round by letting his hands go and they were quite effective. He also combined solid leg kicks that kept Landa at bay and made his attempted takedowns that much more difficult.

 

Landa responded in kind with solid leg kicks of his own, but he went to the well a bit too often in terms of the takedown attempts, and this gave Dooalot the opening he needed! Timing everything just so, Landa shook off his hands and looked like he was going to try yet another takedown, but Dooalot beat him to the punch, literally, first jabbing Landa then dropping a nasty right uppercut that floored Landa! Dooalot was all over him like white on rice and the referee had to step in, giving Dooalot the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Dooalot, working with a new management team, HALTS HIS TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and is scheduled to battle Gordon Lefleaur on December 7! Landa has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and his next fight is under offer, so time will tell what occurs next for the skilled German!

 

Lightweight battle number two featured Zophiel Furfur (20-9) of Evolution Fight Clan and Severi Turpaansaaji (26-13) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE! In the first round of the fight, Severi was very energetic, both on the ground and in the clinch, and was able to establish a fast pace that kept Furfur busy. Furfur is obviously a highly skilled fighter and he was able to defend himself well, land some solid shots, and prevent a lot of damage to himself, but Severi did enough work to earn the points on the judges’ cards. Going into the second round, Furfur’s corner discussed a few tweaks, and he came out and executed them well.

 

Furfur became a kicking machine and he chopped away at Severi’s legs, slowing him down and frustrating him in the process because he wasn’t able to take Furfur to the ground nor clinch with him easily. Furfur also began to throw accurate punches and the combination of punches and kicks did their work, slowing Severi down and opening up his defenses. Furfur landed some solid body shots with both his punches and kicks, and they really slowed Severi down. Even when Severi managed to take Furfur to the ground, he wasn’t able to keep him there because of the fatigue level.

 

In the final round, it was more of the same with Furfur landing leg kicks and body shots while Severi persisted in trying to clinch and take the fight to the ground. Furfur had too much energy and skill, preventing Severi from doing anything very effectively and scored the critical points on the cards to finish out the fight and earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Furfur has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK and will battle Patrick Tiernan on December 13! Severi is very familiar with Mr. Tiernan so this will be an interesting fight to watch.

 

Again, as a manager, it’s difficult for me to watch any of my fighter’s in combat, especially when I’m in the arena reporting on the events. I’m very proud of Severi, no doubt about that, but the disappointment can’t be falsified. However, he’s recuperating from this very strenuous battle and will prepare himself for his next fight, which is currently under offer. Severi definitely wants to turn things around after falling back into the loss column! Furfur’s manager approached me and shook my hand, wishing me the best and thanking me for preparing Severi so well. That was very kind of him and I returned his handshake, thanking him for the opportunity to fight such a great fighter and I wished him the best.

 

“Flash” Gordon Lefleaur (26-9) of The Exiled and Mahandry Andriamboavonjy (15-16) brought us the third Lightweight war! Both of these fighters looked very amped for this fight so the crowd knew to expect a lot of action, which is always a welcome sight. These two had the energy of two high school kids in their first fight and trying to impress everyone watching, especially the girls. Strikes were thrown, defenses thwarted or didn’t do their job, and the action was fast and heavy. There were solid techniques displayed and some effective shots landed sporadically, but nothing really damaging until after the one minute mark.

 

Lefleaur watched Mahandry’s movements like a hawk watching a field mouse scamper away, and when the time was right, he unleashed a crunching three-punch combination that made Mahandry’s head go side to side like he was riding a roller coaster! Mahandry took it like a champion but it was apparent that Lefleaur was feeling his groove. Mahandry tried to fight him off but his strikes were just a bit off target and slower than normal, allowing Lefleaur to step in and drop Mahandry with a snapping left hook! Lefleaur dropped more punches until the referee stopped the fight, rewarding Lefleaur with the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Lefleaur SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and steps into battle against “The Honorable” James Dooalot next on December 7! Lefleaur may want to catch a flight from Los Angeles back to New York so he can train for his fight against Dooalot. Just an observation. Mahandry has LOST THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and will next fight Rocco Kailea, so he has an opportunity to halt his negative streak on December twenty-eighth!

 

The final Lightweight battle of the evening placed Elias Virtanen (26-12-2) and Guy Kopec (13-12) of Public Enemy in the cage to do battle! The vast majority of the first round was spent in the standup game where both fighters struggled a bit to take any major advantage over their opponent. There were some solid strikes traded and the judges saw that Virtanen was the more consistent fighter in terms of energy level and accurate striking. The second round definitely saw an increase in activity from both warriors, so they settled in and tested one another’s abilities even more.

 

A clinch war took place and this allowed Virtanen to open a cut on Kopec’s forehead with a well-placed left elbow! That cut seemed to slow Kopec just a bit as he wasn’t able to land punches that he normally lands. Kopec was able to land some accurate punches but overall, it was Virtanen who was again the more effective striker and busier fighter, taking the points on the judges’ cards in that round as well. Moving into the final round, both corners urged their respective fighter to step it up and finish strong because the fight may be too close to call.

 

Virtanen was the fighter who responded best by digging deep and finding that reserve of energy to finish strong! Both fighters took and landed a few big shots that made the crowd react, but neither man dropped. That very well could have been the result of fatigue sapping their strength, along with the fighter just being able to take a good punch. Virtanen was awarded the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and looked exhausted!

 

Despite this victory, Virtanen and his management team had a mutual parting of ways and he is now a Free Agent. At thirty-three years old, he may very well have many more fights left in his tank and there’s a possibility that another management team will sign him and work with him. Having just SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK, this may be a good time for another team to take over and try to continue building that momentum. Kopec has NOW LOST TWO IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled, so he can take some time off to regroup, maybe play some video games or find some boats and ho’s or something, then come back with a fresh mind and new approach!

 

Last but not least, the final battle of the night featured Collin Glorious (28-12-3) of The Broken Halo Pride and Tim “Hijack” Ernst (18-15-1) of ACME – St. Petersburg in a Featherweight confrontation! Glorious is very highly skilled in the standup game and definitely wanted to keep the fight standing so he could use his skills to his best advantage. That’s exactly what he did! Around the one minute mark, after both men jostled for position and tested the other fighter’s defensive ability, Glorious stifled Ernst with a beautiful one-two punch combination that cut Ernst above his left eyebrow. Glorious was like a shark in the water once he saw the blood, and his energy level increased.

 

He went into a clinch and began to throw various punches that Ernst did his best to defend, but there were too many to stop. Ernst caught Glorious off guard with a very nice right knee right down the pipe that cut Glorious on the bridge of his nose! Ernst found opportunity with his knees and stuck to throwing them in succession, with some of them landing to Glorious’ body. Glorious had enough of that action and again began throwing his educated hands.

 

They found their mark on Ernst’s head and body, slowing him down just enough to set up the right uppercut that rocked Ernst! Ernst tried to weather the storm and aggressively attacked, but he was too out of it and Glorious dropped him with a brutal right cross! Glorious leapt on Ernst and punched until the referee stepped in, giving Glorious the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Glorious fights his way back into the win column with this victory and gets a chance to relax and enjoy Turkey Day as he has no fight scheduled at the moment!

 

Ernst falls back into the loss column and apparently is still in Los Angeles. I guess he doesn’t want to fly back to Rio de Janeiro quite yet. Maybe he wants to pick up some honey baked ham while in Los Angeles? It could happen you know.

 

All right ladies and gentlemen, that’s my time and that’s the end of this summary. Thank you very much for joining me as always, and I hope you enjoyed the fights. I want to wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving! Please travel safely, be thankful for family and friends, and if you have a PlayStation 4 or an XBOX One, play those games until your eyes fall out of your heads! And if you don’t have a PlayStation 4 or an XBOX One but are going to get one, be sure to log into MMATycoon.com and order one through the Amazon link on the site! Take care, be well, and I’ll see you at the fights!

[Guest]

SPFT 135: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I hope all of you are well and you each had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I don’t know about you good folks, but I’m still recovering from the mass food intake! I definitely had a food coma and still managed to watch excellent mixed martial arts fights and college basketball and football games. Maybe I should apply for a Frequent Flyers program or something, but seeing that I was extremely lucky and won a private jet, there are more options available to me. However, I digress, as this is not about me or what transpired in my life recently. This is about SPFT 135!

 

The rabid fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum nearly brought the house down with all the yelling and screaming they were doing! However, that’s the way every fight should be so no one thought twice about it and everyone enjoyed the action that Steel Penn ICON brought to the forefront. So, as always…let’s get down to business!

 

No time was wasted on this night as the very first fight on the card was for the Welterweight Title! “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-A Don Key (29-7-2) of The Broken Halo Pride and “The Barracuda” Dirk Zeldenthuis (34-11) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – always loud and proud baby! – stepped into the cage, gave one another respect, then proceeded to beat each other down! However, before Dirk even stepped foot in the cage, some lunatic fan actually attacked him as he walked down the aisle! What the hell is wrong with people, and why wasn’t security on top of that faster!? I have no doubt his management team is quite upset about that situation.

 

Once the fight itself began, Key made it apparent that he wanted to get in close, clinch, and utilize his outstanding Muay Thai skills to turn the fight towards his liking. Dirk opted to utilize his tremendous boxing skills and keep the fight mobile. For a moment, Dirk took the fight to the ground, but nothing really happened there and the referee stood them up soon afterward. Both fighters looked to slow the opponent: Key favoring leg kicks and Dirk favoring punches to the body. Both fighters mixed in different strikes of course, but they primarily favored one over the other. The first round was very close and that made it difficult to score the fight.

 

In the second round, Key was a bit more aggressive with his attacks but Dirk’s solid defense prevented him from taking a lot of damage…for a while. After trading strikes, Dirk once again took the fight to the ground and was able to land occasional ground-and-pound on Key. Key, in turn, attempted a submission that didn’t do what Key hoped, but it did give Dirk just a bit of pause. That pause allowed Key to land some strikes from the bottom position. This caused Dirk to focus on advancing his position, and in turn he gave up his position! Key moved into full mount in the blink of an eye and dropped punches and elbows until Dirk just couldn’t take it! Unfortunately for Dirk, had he just held on for literally one more second, he would have survived the round. Key won the title by TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT and was obviously very elated. He was also awarded the KO Of The NIGHT.

 

The new Champion is now on a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK and I have the sneaky suspicion that he’ll continue to bring his donkey, and that lovely young woman, to the ring with him as they proved to be very good luck for him against Dirk! The champ has time to enjoy his new title as currently, he has no fight scheduled. Zeldenthuis has a FIVE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED with the loss of his title, but on December 21 will face Mateus Gracie (20-11) of Tycoon World Order to try and begin a new win streak!

 

Shifting focus to the Featherweight division, two fights were on the card and both provided a lot of action that made the title picture a bit clearer! The first combatants to step into the cage were “Redz” Romano Schoots (28-19) and “Wild Guy” Tony Kazarian (26-10-1) of Team Outkast! When the fight began, Schoots looked to let his educated hands be his go to so he could establish his desired distance, but Kazarian looked to take the fight to the ground. Kazarian absorbed a few solid punches but kept right on going and eventually got the takedown he sought. Neither fighter was able to establish much on the ground in terms of damage, but Kazarian controlled the action a bit more but still, the referee stood both men up after a brief while. After jostling for position, it was Kazarian who once again took the fight to the ground to end the round.

 

In the second round, Schoots looked to take the fight into the clinch so he could use his highly effective short punches, but Kazarian’s defensive skills are very good and Kazarian again managed to take the fight to the ground. This time Kazarian tried to lock in a submission, but Schoots was well prepared and thwarted the submission. The referee again stood the fighters up, and Schoots got the better of the standup exchange, though he did absorb some strong strikes from Kazarian. The third round was another battle for position and Kazarian yet again took the fight to the ground, but Schoots was able to land some effective strikes prior to that happening and scored the vital points on the scorecard.

 

Some of the fans in attendance thought Kazarian would win due to the number of takedowns he scored during the course of the fight, but the judges ruled that Schoots landed the more effective strikes, which for them, swayed their scoring in his favor. With this victory, Schoots EXTENDS HIS WIN STREAK TO THREE! He currently has no fight scheduled so he can take time to regain his energy and maybe catch a couple of movies he has been meaning to see. Kazarian falls back into the loss column after this defeat and likewise has no fight currently scheduled. He can chill out and play PlayStation 4 or XBOX One to help ease the pain of this loss. Just a suggestion.

 

The final Featherweight battle unfurled between Tad Ghostal (30-12) of Tycoon World Order and Mark “Man of Science” Spencer 21-16)! When the bell rang for the first round, Ghostal came out swinging and moving like he had a near lethal injection of five hour energy! He was very aggressive with his excellent boxing skills, though the announcers made it a point to emphasize how thin he is. He has great skill and ability, no one doubts that, but a good meal plan for about two months would definitely fill in his rather thin frame if he chose to do so.

 

Spencer was able to land occasional well-placed strikes that made an impact on Ghostal, but they didn’t slow him. Spencer tried slowing him by taking the fight to the ground, but this proved ineffective, Ghostal reversed the situation and landed ground-and-pound from full mount, and eventually the referee stood both men up after a brief while. Ghostal again expended a lot of energy while throwing a lot of strikes, but not without absorbing some selective, strong shots from Spencer. Spencer then again managed to take the fight to the ground, but he was again slowed by Ghostal’s defensive capabilities and that ended the round. In the second, it was Spencer who came out with more energy and aggression, but it cost him as he got too anxious, allowed an opening, and Ghostal cracked him with a stiff right hand that cut Spencer under his left eye.

 

Being cut took a toll on Spencer because his sharpness wasn’t quite what it was to begin the fight, and gave Ghostal more confidence to let his hands go, landing effective counter punches that stunned Spencer. Spencer definitely got worn down and a jab that didn’t look too strong hurt him momentarily, a sign that Spencer was fatigued and he had to do something to change the course of the fight and do so quickly! He was able to survive more solid strikes from Ghostal and he took the fight to the ground to try and gather himself and score points as well. However, he wasn’t able to effectively take advantage of the situation and Ghostal took the points on the cards for that round.

 

The final round was primarily a standup battle, and Ghostal was the faster and more aggressive fighter once again, a tribute to his outstanding conditioning. Spencer eventually brought the fight to the mat, but it was too little too late, and Ghostal earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Ghostal fights his way back into the win column and will fight Ahiga Otaktay (38-11) of The Broken Halo Pride this Saturday night! Spencer has a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and currently has no fight scheduled. He’ll now have time to rest, recover, and continue his research and analysis to work on a formula to once again find himself back in the win column. See what I did there with the science and the formula deal? Just work with me people!

 

The lone Lightweight battle occurred between Karl “The Hurricane” De Groot (43-16) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – give me a hell yeah! – and Virgil Cid (22-7-1) of Children of the Law of One! Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a reason this was the fight of the night! To make this easy, I’ll just say this: The first three rounds of this fight were some of the best, closest, most intense, hard-hitting, and awe-inspiring displays of attacking and defending that many have ever seen! A standup war, back-and-forth, giving and taking damage was exactly what transpired between these two outstanding warriors! The action was like the entire time, and the first sign of a change in momentum occurred in the fourth round!

 

Near the end of the round, De Groot got into a tremendous attacking groove and was able to land a hard punch and even more nasty right knee to Cid’s head! It was that brutal knee that opened up a cut on the bridge of Cid’s nose and, at the time, seemed to sway the fight in De Groot’s favor. Much to his credit, Cid was able to shake off the effects and went right back to fighting at a high level. Both fighters left everything in the ring during the last round, and once the bell rang, the entire arena stood and cheered both men for their tremendous efforts! Cid and De Groot shook hands and raised one another’s arms, much to the adulation of the crowd! However, once the judges scores were read, there were a smattering of boos amongst the crowd and honestly, the fight could have gone either way.

 

De Groot EXTENDS HIS WIN STREAK TO TWO WINS and currently has no fight scheduled! Seeing how many fights he has had and is still relatively young, the time off will definitely do him some good because good lord, that’s a lot of fighting! Cid, although this fight is written in the record books as a loss, maintains hold of the Lightweight title and defends it against Frank “Razor” Rizzo Jr. on December 18! I’m certain the champion is relieved that the title wasn’t on the line but I’m also certain he wanted to win the fight outright.

 

The Middleweight division had two fights that evening, and the first was between “Ragin’” Cajun Xander (32-8-1) of GRABTHE.INFO and Luca “Scrapatutti” Tirilli (18-9-1)! I still need to find out exactly what “Scrapatutti” means, unless it’s just an Italian slang word that’s supposed to mean he likes to fight and it rhymes with his name. Hmm, I may have just answered my own question.

 

Be honest though folks, doesn’t it sound like something a young mother or a grandmother would say to a young child in an attempt to be cute and make the child laugh? Ragin’ Cajun is a restaurant and food truck out in Los Angeles that has outstanding Cajun food! Oh man, just thinking about the Gumbalaya, Po’ Boy Shrimp, and that awesome cheesecake is making my mouth water! However, that’s for another time. When this fight began, both fighters were quite aggressively looking to land strikes on his opponent! Xander looked to take out Turilli’s legs with strong leg kicks, and Turilli looked to land a hard head kick to try and end the fight early.

 

Xander connected with a long-range left cross that cut Turilli above his right eye and dazed him momentarily. He gathered himself and was able to land some effective strikes, but Xander seemed ahead of the game just a bit. He tried to take the fight to the ground, but Turilli was having none of it, so he went right back to the standup game. Xander then locked Turilli into a clinch, and both men exchanged offense and defense with nothing major happening in terms of damage, until Xander was able to sneak a quick right hand inside of Turilli’s hands and further opened the cut above his right eye. When the round finished, Xander’s corner told him to keep the pressure on and try to open that cut even more. As the third round progressed, that’s exactly what Xander did.

 

Xander came out aggressively, and after avoiding some heavy strikes from Turilli, he managed to lock him in a clinch again and he went to work. Turilli was able to protect himself pretty well, but it wasn’t enough to keep Xander away from that cut. Xander landed a solid left hook right on the cut and the blood really began to pour! Turilli pressed forward because he knew he needed to end the fight as soon as possible because the cut was bad, but he was a bit too aggressive and left himself open. After taking a couple of punches, Turilli spread his hands apart too far and Xander made him pay by landing a savage right uppercut!

 

Turilli tried to keep Xander at bay with a wild knee strike, but he was far too off balance and that opened his defenses for even more damage. Xander dropped him with a solid right hook then jumped all over him, forcing the referee to stop the match and give the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Xander! He has now WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and will step into battle against Jack Fall (14-4) on December 21! Turilli has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and will next face Latka Gravas (29-16-1) in the cage on December 21!

 

The final Middleweight battle of the evening transpired between “Mean Mugging” John Malham (24-17) of FinnFighters and Quinton “The Mercenary” Evans (24-20-3), formerly of GRABTHE.INFO! Notice I said formerly because as of the conclusion of this event, Evans and the management team decided to mutually dissolve the business association. As if Evans didn’t have enough to deal with, he too was attacked by some lunatic fan on the way to the cage! I may need to send a letter to the Steel Penn Security Company or something, because these random attacks are just ridiculous! If one of the fighters I manage were attached before they even got the cage, I would be highly upset!

 

This fight began on its feet but the assumption that it would go to the ground pretty quickly, and neither fighter let anyone down. Malham was the first to do so off a counter movie, and Evans quickly reversed the situation with a beautiful display of BJJ skills. He then landed some ground-and-pound techniques that did some damage, but overall, Evans was able to withstand the attack due to solid defense. Malham seized an opportunity to attempt a submission, but Evans was able to defend against it well and in turn, that setup a submission attempt of his own. Malham defended well against the attempted triangle then went to work and eventually tried yet another submission. Evans stopped the Kimura attempt but Malham kept working aggressively on the ground and tried to lock in another Kimura, but wasn’t able to. That concluded the first round.

 

The second round was much more of the same with neither fighter able to really take advantage of positioning to lock in a submission. The second round ended and both corners implored their respective fighter to step up the level of aggression and take hold of the fight, especially Evans’ corner! Evans followed suit and definitely stepped up his energy level and aggression, but it was too little, too late, and he even allowed Malham to once again take the fight to the ground to end the fight. Evans attempted a submission from the bottom but to no avail.

 

Malham earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY, EXTENDED HIS WIN STREAK TO TWO and next fights Dominick Rivaldi (25-11-3) on December 18! Evans has a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED but I have a feeling that he’ll be picked up in Free Agency. If that occurs, he’s still under contract with Steel Penn so the new management team will have to decide if they want to honor said contract.

 

The first of two Light Heavyweight battles placed “The Bulldozer” Frank Martin (25-16) of Legion of Doom and “Deadly” Fullsize Mirror (24-14) of Fat Camp – an alliance name which I still think doesn’t do much for the members’ self esteem, but that’s my opinion – in the cage across from one another! Fullsize Mirror…nah, he doesn’t have any identity issues whatsoever!

 

It seems Martin didn’t like what he saw in Mirror, you like that play on words? I say that because Martin was determined to shatter the mirror – there I go again with the play on words – because as soon as the bell rang, he came out firing! To his credit, Mirror was able to avoid most of the early strikes thrown from Martin, but that wouldn’t last long. After Mirror tagged Martin with a hard right hand that cut him above the left eye, Martin went into hyper energy mode! I just made that sound like Dragon Ball Z or something.

 

Martin hit Mirror with a couple of probing punches then dropped him with a quick and hard-hitting one-two combo! He returned the favor of being cut and opened a cut above the left of Mirror as well. Martin jumped and tried to submit Mirror, but he had enough wherewithal to avoid it. However, he was still dazed and Martin positioned himself to drop painful hammerfists repeatedly! The referee had no choice but to stop the fight and Martin earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Martin SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and next battles Rodrick Skiter on December 18! Mirror finds himself back on the losing side of things and will look to turn that around on December 18 when he battles Anthony Joseph!

 

The final Light Heavyweight battle took place between Jinhai Yoshida (3-2) of Children of the Law of One and Lucas Emelianenko (16-17)! It turns out that this battle was the Submission Of The Night, and yes, it did help that this was the only battle that ended in a submission, but still, it was a great fight! Both fighters took their time to try and feel the other one out, especially Yoshida, since he doesn’t have a lot of in-cage battle experience. Lucas was able to maneuver himself and clinch Yoshida, and both fighters struggled to really land any solid strikes until Lucas began to slow down.

 

Yoshida saw his opening, blasted Lucas with a brutal left knee to the head that dazed Lucas, then pulled guard, and after failing the first submission attempt, he cinched in a sweet armbar that made Lucas tap out with quickness! Yoshida earned the SUBMISSION VICTORY and he puts himself back in the winning side of the column with this victory and his next opponent is currently Under Offer. Lucas has now LOST FOUR IN A ROW so he definitely needs help turning things around, and quickly!

 

Wrapping up the night’s events, the Super Heavyweights, the big tankers, the Mack trucks, stepped into the cage of battle! Thiago “Fiote” Tavares (12-3) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – represent, represent! – and “The Engineer” Key Gorman (26-12), were the first to unleash hell upon one another and there were some brutal strikes! Keyman had a considerable weight advantage in this fight and many assumed he would try to use that weight to literally keep the pressure on Tavares. Tavares countered the weight disadvantage with quickness and mobility, landing some stiff strikes while avoiding some from Keyman.

 

When Keyman was able to hit Tavares, the result was definitely obvious. Keyman didn’t fully connect on a right cross but it hit Tavares enough to cut him on his forehead. Tavares went to his kicks, which were landing solidly, and Keyman did his best to counter those kicks with strong punches. Tavares threw a kick at the same time Keyman tried to land a cross, and Tavares’ foot hit Keyman where the sun doesn’t shine! All the men in the crowd cringed and Keyman definitely felt that, but he was able to gather himself and continue after a brief rest.

 

Tavares sensed Keyman slowing and he took full advantage, picking up his pace of strikes and he eventually knocked Keyman down with a crunching right hook to the temple! Keyman was able to gather himself quickly and caused Tavares to think twice about following him to the mat, so Tavares let Keyman stand and they were back at it. Tavares finished the round strong and in his corner between rounds, they told him to put even more effort forth because Keyman couldn’t take it. The cornermen were right because Tavares came out very aggressively, landed a very strong right head kick that floored Keyman and cut him above his left eye in the process, then tagged Keyman with yet another heavy right head kick that finished the fight really, but the referee had to jump in to stop Tavares from doing any further damage!

 

Tavares earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and STRETCHED HIS WIN STREAK TO FOUR and his next opponent is currently Under Offer! Keyman not only found himself back in the loss column, but he and his management team decided to head their different ways, thus he is a Free Agent. It’s quite possible another management team will sign him and see what he is capable of doing in the cage of battle.

 

And the final battle of the evening took place between Chung Quela (20-10) of Knights of the Round Table and Shane Carwin (23-18) of Tycoon World Order! Both fighters wanted to aggressively establish their standup game and that’s exactly what transpired. Both men displayed very sound techniques, both in attacking and defending, but it was Quela to penetrate the defenses of Carwin with a snapping left jab that caused Carwin’s nose to bleed! Carwin tried to land a brutal head kick, but he missed and that, along with his obvious fatigue, left him wide open for a massive right uppercut from Quela that dropped him quickly and nastily!

 

Quela waved Carwin back to his feet, but it was obvious that Carwin was in big trouble. Carwin missed with a switch kick and again, left himself wide open. Quela blasted Carwin with another thunderous right uppercut then jumped on Carwin this time. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight, giving Quela the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Quela SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has no fight scheduled so he can enjoy the victory with his fellow Knights! Carwin has LOST TWO IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled, so he can review what happened and work on correcting things!

 

Well there you have it ladies and gents, the conclusion of another exciting fight night conclusion by your man on the scene, Furious Styles. As always, I very much appreciate you taking the time to review the most recent events with me and I sincerely hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Steel Penn ICON thanks you for allowing us to bring you top-notch fights, products and services by giving us your tremendous support. Take care, be well, and I’ll see you…at the next night of fights.

[Guest]

SPFT 136: Pre Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Greetings once again MMA fight fans, I hope all of you are well. This is Furious Styles and I’m at the Los Angeles Coliseum once again – I may as well have an assigned seat here at ringside – to bring you another Steel Penn ICON event review. Very soon the Coliseum will once again be packed with over ninety-thousand wild and crazy MMA fans who will be very energetically watching another tremendous night of fights that Steel Penn has put together!

 

The Friday night fights will not disappoint, I can guarantee that folks! There are two championships on the line: The Super Heavyweight Title as well as the Light Heavyweight Title, which is the headlining fight on the card! That’s right folks, it’s Round 2 between the two incredible fighters, Taj al Din and A J Hearts! Don’t get it twisted folks, Ernesto Oliveira and Ethelbart Takahashi are excellent fighters as well, and the other warriors who will battle are all very solid and skilled fighters! So, without further ado…let’s get down to business!

 

Since this great night of MMA action is kicked off with the Super Heavyweight Title, I’ll focus on that division first. As mentioned previously, Ernesto Oliveira (33-10) of The Goonies and Ethelbart Takahashi (24-6) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – let me hear you make some noise! – will be the first mammoths, the initial collision between two trucks, the heavy sides of beef to crash into one another, and there will surely be some memorable moments as well as some painful punishment unleashed!

 

Oliveira defends his title on a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK, and he’s a fighter that doesn’t really need momentum or motivation as his great record proves! His history is simple: He wants to knock you out, bottom line. He doesn’t like to go the distance but obviously has that capability. His most recent victory was a Technical Knockout and he may very well be bringing that hard-hitting ability to the forefront in this fight! Takahashi steps into this Championship opportunity with a SIX FIGHT WIN STREAK, so there’s no doubt that his confidence level is extremely high! Very much like Oliveira, he likes to drop his opponents like fourth period French so I expect nothing short of someone kissing canvas.

 

The second Super Heavyweight battle pits Sean Ripgut (24-8-1) of Team Conquer and Trevor Price (16-6) in the cage across from one another! Ripgut, whose last name was meant to be for a mixed martial artist, is on a FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK and has had a bit of a rough time since coming out of retirement! He still has tremendous Muay Thai ability and maintains a strong work ethic, so he’s still capable of defeating anyone who stands across from him. Price is nine years younger and is also highly skilled in Muay Thai, while being solid all-around as well. Price may lean on his youthful energy to try and outwork the elder statesman in this fight.

 

Price recently had a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED, so he’ll definitely look to try and earn that “W” again against the sage Ripgut! Very much like Ripgut, Price prefers to end fights quickly by knockout so this may very well be the case for one of these fighters.

 

The final Super Heavyweight battle of the evening takes place between “Panthera Onca” Joaozinho Gurgel (10-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – speak it loud and proud! – and “The Torpedo” Tore Rebo (27-14) of Polish Eagles’ Nest! Gurgel brings a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK into this match so he has been fighting well as of late. Joaozinho…I wonder how long it took him to learn how to spell his name correctly. Honestly his name sounds like some new type of special mouthwash, but the dude can handle business so no disrespect. Rebo recently defeated French Toast by Technical Knockout in the first, so he may try to jump on Gurgel quickly in this fight!

 

Rebo has quite an advantage in terms of in-cage combat so he may be able to rely upon that experience at various times in this battle if the need arises. Rebo does have a large height advantage and weight advantage, so Gurgel will have to rely on speed and agility to keep himself out of trouble. Rebo has demonstrated top notch boxing and wrestling ability, so this will definitely be an arduous test for Gurgel.

 

The sole Light Heavyweight battle is also the remaining co-Main Event! This is Round 2 between two outstanding fighters in “The Tasmanian Devil” Taj al Din (44-8) – the man himself of Convicted Inc., and the fantastic A J Hearts (27-5) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – represent, represent! Neither of these men needs an introduction as they have earned their substantial reputations and respect through hard work, perseverance and downright brutality!

 

After losing one of the most epic battles anyone has seen against “The African Assassin” Smokudju Womba, al Din turned things around against Antonio Manoel with a first round Technical Knockout. After losing to al Din on October 19, Hearts has turned things around as well by WINNING HIS PAST TWO FIGHTS by Technical Knockout and Knockout!

 

It’s not often MMA fans are treated to a title shot of this magnitude with a history of excellence between two fighters of this caliber, so I know numerous fight fans, myself included, will be watching this rematch very carefully! I have a suspicion that this fight, like the first, will end with a knockout of some sort. Time will tell!

 

The lone Middleweight battle of the night will take place between Chicken “And” Beef (27-17) of Legion of Doom and “The Deity” Angelos Bellanova (4-1) of Children of the Law of One! Beef is on a TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and he will definitely want to slow that as quickly as possible! Bellanova steps into battle with a recent Technical Knockout victory over Barry Manilow – no, not THAT Manilow – and will look to extend that streak. However, he has a difficult task at hand as the fighting experience factor is heavily in favor of Beef.

 

Bellanova has shown very good standup fighting ability and he may very well try to use his height advantage in keeping this fight at a distance. However, Beef has battled against taller opponents and has been able to get in close range to take them to the ground. If he’s able to take this fight to the ground, Bellanova’s height advantage actually becomes a disadvantage because Beef’s BJJ skills would enable him to potentially lock in various submission holds. Either one of these fighters could land a quick, strong strike to either turn the tide of the fight or just end it right then and there, so this will be a calculating contest as I see it.

 

The first of two Lightweight battles on the night will take place between Zophiel Furfur (20-9) of Evolution Fight Clan, a man I’m very familiar with since his last battle was against Severi Turpaansaaja, one of the fighters I manage, and Patrick Tiernan (28-11), yet another man I’m familiar with due to his battle with Severi recently. This fight will be of great interest to me because I want to see how the conflicting styles, as well as physical statures, match up. Tiernan is only slightly taller and both warriors are highly skilled in Muay Thai, so I wonder if either of these combatants will try to take this fight to the ground, or if they’ll test one another’s standup ability.

 

Both fighters have had numerous Unanimous Decision victories as of late so this may very well become a battle of attrition because they are both very skilled all-around and the fighting experience is also solid, though Tiernan has been involved in more battles. If this fight doesn’t go the distance, I’ll be a bit surprised but anything is possible with either man.

 

The other Lightweight battle on the card pits El Guapo (18-15) of Legion of Doom and Raul Portugis (19-10-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – baaalllliiiinnn’ – in the cage! Guapo recently SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK with a Technical Knockout victory over Rocco Kailea, so there’s no doubt he’ll want to continue building on the win. Portugis is on a THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and will want to get over the hump in this fight! Portugis has the height advantage and may choose to rely on his excellent boxing ability.

 

Both fighters have been involved in Unanimous Decision victories recently, though Portugis does have more recent victories by Technical Knockout, so he still has the ability to land a flurry of strikes if the opportunity is there. Guapo may rely on his solid Muay Thai ability should the fight stay standing. This may be a struggle for both fighters and the game planning of their respective management teams will probably be the difference maker.

 

Last but not least, the Featherweight division is represented by Haiki Masatupo (26-28) and Marty Laguna (27-16) of The Black Hand! Masatupo is on a THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK, so he has an opportunity to push himself closer to the .500 mark! Masatupo has the height and weight advantage in this fight so it remains to be seen if he tries to keep this fight in close quarters and weigh that extra weight on Laguna, or if he opts to try and keep the fight at a distance and punch from the outside. Laguna is on a FOUR RIGHT LOSING STREAK and I see that, unfortunately, his management team didn’t take my advice of changing him out of that Batman suit, but hey, that’s their decision.

 

Laguna has proven that he has World Class boxing capabilities and he may not mind if Masatupo tries to strike from a distance, but the height advantage may be difficult to overcome. In addition, though they both have a lot of in-cage fighting experience, Masatupo does have the edge there. If the fight goes to the ground, one would assume that Masatupo would have a major edge there due to his very sound BJJ skills. I think this fight concludes with a Unanimous Decision victory.

 

All right good folks, that’s my time and that’s the conclusion of this summary. Thank you as always for joining me for another pre pay-per-view look at the upcoming Steel Penn ICON event. Steel Penn ICON is proud to work diligently to bring you the very best quality in all of its endeavors and is always looking to expand upon its solid foundation. Take care, be well…and I’ll see you at the fights!

[Guest]

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STEEL PENN ICON - LAS VEGAS OPENS ITS DOORS ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT

 

 

Starting this Christmas the gloves are on as ICON-LV opens its doors to fresh faced contenders and crafty old veterans alike and you are cordially invited to join the party. For young fighters especially this is an opportunity like no other. Whether you want to make a name for yourself or just make money ICON-LV is the place to be.


How does 5k Of The Night bonuses, competitive contracts and the chance to tear it up in Sin City sound? Well if that wasn't enough Jacob What, of world famous Meet The Future (4026) will be throwing money at fighters who bring it! That's right Jacob What will be putting his hand in his pocket not only to sponsor all contracted fighters but also to make whoever he deems the Performer of the Night 5,000 dollars richer. That's after every single event, on top of the standard Fight, Submission and KO of the Night awards! One punch could make you $15,000 dollars richer!


The journey starts here, it's going to be a bumpy ride but hard work pays off and with regular fight cards (starting 25/12/13 with Christmas Collision at the Underground in Las Vegas), competitive matchmaking and an emphasis on exciting fights come join us. If you've got the guts, we've the glory, if you've got the nuts, come write your story.

Written by Halam Walker

[Guest]

SPFT 136: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello fight fans, I hope all of you are well! This is your man on the scene, Furious Styles, and what an event that went down in Los Angeles! Ninety three thousand, six hundred-and-seven wild, noisy, rabid MMA fans witnessed a serious night of action, especially the two title fights! One point of emphasis: Every single fight of two hundred pounds or more lasted only one round! People were getting dropped like a cheating reality TV trick!

 

Kicking off the night of action was two of the very best in the business as “The Tasmanian Devil” Taj al Din 44-9) of Convicted Inc., the man who needs no introduction, and A J Hearts (28-5) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – representin’ loud and proud! – who likewise is very well known and respected, clashed in the cage! Talk about one hell of a way to kick off the night! It looked to me that Hearts remembered full well the previous battle these two outstanding warriors had on October 19 because, to be cliché, he had the eye of the tiger! Taj al Din knew exactly what was at hand and he’s the consummate professional, and Hearts knew what was at hand also.

 

Someone must have lit a serious fire under Hearts’ ass or something because he came out like a hurtling comet as soon as the bell rang! First he landed a solid leg kick that caused al Din to lose his balance briefly, and before al Din knew it, Hearts had him on the mat! The skill level between these two is tremendous so neither of them would be uncomfortable in any situation, but Hearts was simply the man who wanted it more on this night! Hearts was absolutely relentless with his ground-and-pound attack despite the excellent defense al Din showed through the majority of the attack.

 

Hearts was very persistent with his wrestling and was able to pass al Din’s guard and position himself to do some damage. His side control in particular allowed him to really land some brutal shots on al Din who surprisingly struggled to maintain control of Hearts. Taj decided to try and change the pace of the fight by locking in a guillotine but Hearts was able to slip out of trouble quickly and maintain the pressure. Hearts’ balanced attack to the head and body created the opening he needed and he quickly slipped into the full mount.

 

Once he had al Din in full mount, it was the beginning of the end! Taj looked very calm and tried to improve his position but Hearts was in too good a position and he was able to prevent al Din from escaping the full mount while landing some damaging strikes and elbows. Eventually a massive right elbow to al Din’s head was the blow that softened him up enough for Hearts to just unload a barrage of strikes until the referee had no choice but to stop the match, giving the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Hearts! He reclaims the Light Heavyweight Championship and it is very well deserved.

 

Hearts and al Din embraced with tremendous respect for one another, shook the hands of the opposing corner men, and al Din was extremely gracious in his loss, a show of true class. Hearts has now WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and is obviously very elated to once again be the Light Heavyweight Champion! Taj al Din will once again have to begin a new winning streak, but this highly revered and decorated warrior obviously has the capability to do that very thing and much more. Ernie Els is al Din’s next opponent on Christmas Day, so one of these men will be having a tremendous gift for the one that wins.

 

Staying in the Light Heavyweight division, the other battle scheduled on the card took place between Cristiano Nascimento (20-11) of The Goonies and “Sweet” Puppy Love (26-15) of Fat Camp! I can’t help but wonder if Nascimento watched the al Din vs. Hearts fight and found that energetic inspiration, because like Hearts, he came out a house of fire! Who knows, maybe Love stole some cake from Nascimento and Nascimento beat him like a kid who loves cake and had it stolen! Nascimento landed some strong strikes to begin the fight but Love was able to withstand that initially and land a solid right cross to Nascimento’s nose that caused it to bleed.

 

After that, Love appeared to gain a little confidence and was able to land more effective strikes, and Nascimento decided to counter them with solid leg kicks. Love tried to counter the kicks by taking the fight to the ground, but Nascimento wasn’t cooperating with that plan at all. Both men slowed just a bit and their defensive abilities took over as both men avoided taking any hits for a good stretch of time. Love tried to take the fight to the ground from the clinch, but Nascimento’s boxing ability and strength stopped that short, so Love listened to his corner, let go of the clinch…and paid for it.

 

A nasty left cross landed flush on Love’s chin, dropping him to the mat, and Nascimento was all over him like a Vegas stripper who saw a client with a wad of one dollar bills! The referee had no choice but to stop the match and reward the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY to Nascimento! He extended his WIN STREAK TO TWO and next battles Jensen Saint on January 4. Love will have to go back to the drawing board once his next opponent is named so he can figure out how to earn that sought after win.

 

The remaining title fight on the card took place in the Super Heavyweight division between Ethelbart Takahashi (25-6) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can I get a whaaaaaat!? – and Ernesto Oliveira (33-11) of The Goonies! There must have been something in the air on this night because Takahashi looked like he caught the fighting fever from the al Din vs. Hearts battle!

 

He would not be denied on this night as he set his sights on the Super Heavyweight Championship! Oliveira woke Takahashi up with a crunching right uppercut that dropped him like a brick and cut his chin! Oliveira jumped on Takahashi and tried to finish him with a flurry of punches, but Takahashi managed to clear the cobwebs and prevent himself from taking any further damage at that point. Takahashi was able to slow the match down and cause the referee to stand the men up, which gave Takahashi a moment more to gather himself. Both fighters traded very strong kicks on one another and once again, Oliveira rocked Takahashi’s world, this time with a thunderous left hook that dropped Takahashi!

 

Again Oliveira tried to finish the fight on the ground, but Takahashi was able to get himself together and Oliveira opted to stand and try his luck again. Both men then traded misses as each of them tried to establish their strikes then boom, once again Oliveira dropped Takahashi to the mat! Takahashi ducked right into a vicious right uppercut and found himself kissing canvas yet again! Had this been a standard boxing match, this would have been the final strike. However, this is MMA and Takahashi still had hope left. Oliveira just wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunities and the referee stood both fighters again, causing visible frustration on Oliveira’s face.

 

Takahashi locked onto Oliveira’s body and began landing solid strikes there, causing Oliveira to lose more oxygen than he already spent with the attempts to finish the fight. A right hook from Takahashi cut Oliveira above his left eye and that seemed to change the momentum of the fight quickly. After more body strikes, Takahashi surprised and leveled Oliveira with a stunning left hook! Oliveira got to his feet quickly but was still dazed. Takahashi then again dropped Oliveira, this time with a very nasty right hook, then leapt on Oliveira and punched away until the referee stepped in. Takahashi earned a very hard fought TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and won the Super Heavyweight Title!

 

Takahashi has now WON SEVEN FIGHTS IN A ROW and next faces Carl Creel on Christmas Day! With the momentum Takahashi brings to this fight, it may not be such a fun Christmas for Creel is he’s not careful. Oliveira has a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED but has a chance to rebound back into the win column as his next opponent is Tore Rebo! That fight will take place on January 4.

 

“The Torpedo” Tore Rebo (28-14) of The Polish Eagles’ Nest and “Panthera Onca” Joaozinho Gurgel (10-5) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – make some noise! – were the next very large warriors to do battle in the cage! Rebo looked to use his distinct height and weight advantage in this fight, and he was able to do just that. Rebo landed some very hard kicks to Gurgel’s body that quite literally caused him to gurgle air when they hit, and that sapped the wind out of his sails much more quickly than expected. Rebo, like everyone in attendance, could see Gurgel slow down and he landed a solid left cross that cut Gurgel above his right eye.

 

Rebo found his range after that and just landed strike after strike, and a massive right uppercut dropped Gurgel to the mat! The cut above his right eye opened up even more after that and Rebo allowed him to get back to his feet. Gurgel slapped the mat in frustration, stood up and kept on fighting. Rebo moved in and pressed his weight against Gurgel in a clinch, tiring him even more. He then cracked Gurgel with a brutal left uppercut that opened the cut even more! Rebo then broke the clinch, sized Gurgel up and unloaded a tremendous right cross that finished the job!

 

Rebo wins by way of KNOCKOUT VICTORY, extends his FIGHT WIN STREAK TO TWO and his next battle will be against Ernesto Oliveira on January 4! Gurgel has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and his opportunity get back on the winning track will be on January 4 against Elroy Kleinschmidt!

 

The Super Heavyweight action of the night concluded with Sean Ripgut (25-8-1) of Team Conquer and Trevor Price (18-7) locking horns! The theme of first round knockouts continued in this fight as Ripgut – an appropriate name for a fighter if there ever was one – went to work on Price. Price was a bit overzealous with his desire to have the fight stay in the clinch, and Ripgut decided to punish him for it. Ripgut sliced Price’s left eyebrow with a sharp right elbow that stung Price. Price tried to return the favor but missed and Ripgut seemed to gain confidence just from that little exchange. Ripgut defended many strikes from Price in the clinch and landed his own effective strikes, mainly to the body, and Price began to slow due to the damage to his body.

 

Ripgut was definitely the more aggressive fighter and though Price was able to defend himself pretty well, Ripgut still managed to land strikes that both did damage and scored points on the scorecards. Price again was set on clinching and continued to absorb damage while trying to lock it in, then Ripgut turned the tables and he locked in a clinch. Ripgut continued his high volume of output and was able to land some knees sporadically but they were enough to get the job done.

 

Ripgut unfortunately let his right knee strike slip a bit too low and he planted it right in Price’s family jewels! Ripgut was obviously sorry and apologized profusely as Price recovered. After Price gathered himself, he soon found himself back on the mat, but this time it was due to a snapping right cross that dropped him! Price got back to his feet quickly but never fully recovered. A stiff left jab opened up his cut a bit more then boom, a flurry of punches and knees from Ripgut leveled Price and he asked the fight to be stopped!

 

Ripgut earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK and next battles Luke Daigle on January 8 to try and continue his winning ways. Price has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and will next battle Francois Duvalier on January 8!

The lone Middleweight fight on the card placed “The Deity” Angelos Bellanova (5-1) of Children of the Law of One and Chicken “And” Beef (27-18) of Legion of Doom in the cage across from one another! It was apparent from the beginning that Bellanova was going to put as much energy and effort as he could into this fight because he initiated a lot of the action. Early in the first round from a solid clinch,

 

Bellanova was able to land a brutal right knee to Beef’s jaw which cut his lip and obviously stung Beef! That particular sequence seemed to set the tone for the remainder of the fight for Bellanova. Beef was able to land some strikes and showed solid defense, but Bellanova’s energy was the difference.

 

In the second round, Beef returned the “bleeding favor” by cracking Bellanova with a stiff right hook that cut Bellanova above his left eye! Both fighters chose to keep the action in close quarters, and Bellanova was the more effective fighter in the clinch. Heading into the third round, Beef’s corner told him to stay away from the clinch and try to knock Bellanova out because that’s what he needs. However, as the third round unfolded, Beef oddly chose to clinch once again, despite his inability to land a lot of damaging strikes from there, and both men traded strikes and defensive techniques, but it was Bellanova who was once again the more effective fighter from the clinch.

 

When all was said and done, Bellanova was given the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and stretched his FIGHT WIN STREAK TO TWO and has some time to focus on particular aspects of his training while he awaits his next opponent! Beef has now LOST THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW but has a chance to halt the losing streak against Abel Speed on December 21!

 

Three Lightweight fights were featured on the card and the first was Gustav Graves (41-18-1) of THE ILLIMUNATI versus Ash “Evildead” Campbell (28-18-1) of The Broken Halo Pride! I still don’t there are many fighters in MMATycoon who have fought as much as Graves! Fifty-nine fights and just now at the age of forty is a lot of fighting! Forty-six fights at thirty-five years old is nothing to sneeze at either, so both of these fighters have definitely seen in it all in the ring, making for a very interesting battle. A part of me wondered if Campbell would wear a chainsaw on one of his hands since he obviously considers the “Evil Dead” movie series to be entertaining.

 

Graves set the tone early in this fight with his punching ability, specifically a left hook-right uppercut combination that cut Campbell beneath his right eye! After some back and forth positioning and clinching, Graves dropped Campbell around the two minute mark with a monster left cross and immediately went into mount! Much to his credit, Campbell was able to survive the onslaught and make it out of the round without absorbing a lot more damage.

 

In the second round, both fighters played a bit of tit-for-tat by landing similar kicks and punches, testing one another’s ability to take a strong hit. Campbell decided this was going nowhere and took the fight to the ground, but he wasn’t able to capitalize like he had planned and in fact, Graves wound up taking the more dominant position. Though neither man hurt the other, it was Graves who scored the precious points on the judges’ score cards.

 

Prior to the final round, Campbell’s corner told him that he needed to finish the fight because he was losing! Campbell did his best to do just that and made an attempt to submit Graves. However, Graves had too much energy, defensive ability and determination to be submitted and he finished the round strong, making it very easy for the judges to award him the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Graves has WON THREE IN A ROW and next battles Virgil Cid for the Lightweight Championship on January 4! Campbell has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and next battles Master Chuin on January 10!

 

The second Lightweight battle occurred between Zophiel Furfur (21-9) of Evolution Fight Clan and Patrick Tiernan (28-12) of xXx! This fight was of particular interest for me since Furfur defeated Severi by way of Unanimous Decision, and Severi defeated Tiernan by the same result. This fight was very hard to score, in my opinion, and the audience also reflected that by their mixed reaction when the results were announced. Overall, this fight was a pure standup challenge and it was a very good one!

 

Both of these fighters exhibited outstanding boxing, Muay Thai and defensive skills and abilities, and the tremendous back-and-forth action was proof of that. The crowd really got into this fight as both men landed some hard strikes, causing one another to wince in pain and show obvious signs of struggle and fatigue. The difference maker in this fight occurred in the second round. Furfur was able to position Tiernan in the clinch at just the right moment to unload a short, quick, hard-hitting right hook that caught Tiernan completely off guard and dazed him! Tiernan was able to gather his senses quickly, but that single punch swayed the judges enough and in the end, that was all that was needed.

 

Furfur was awared the MAJORITY DECISION VICTORY and has now WON THREE IN A ROW. He will face James Dooalot on January 4! Tiernan faces the task of beginning a win streak anew after this loss and currently isn’t scheduled to fight anyone, so he has time to focus his training on areas he wants to improve upon.

 

The final Lightweight fight of the night placed Raul Portugis (20-10-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – booooyyaaaa baaabbbeeeeyyyy! – and El Guapo (18-16) of Legion of Doom in the cage of battle! In a general summary of this battle, we witnessed a great standup fight between two very skilled standup fighters who chose to go mano-a-mano, and I didn’t put that in there just because El Guapo is one of the fighters! Both fighters had their moments where they seized the momentum of the fight by landing accurate, painful strikes and using excellent defense to protect themselves.

 

The judges informed me that they gave the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY to Portugis because his overall effort and energy were just a bit better than El Guapo’s, plus they felt he seized more control of the fight than El Guapo did. El Guapo gave a valiant effort, and no one can deny that, but on this night it was Portugis who wanted the victory just a bit more, plus he was more accurate in the clinch that took place for the majority of the second round.

 

Portugis SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has a Fight under Offer! El Guapo has to work to get back into the win column and has his chance on December 21 versus Gordon Lefleaur!

 

Rounding out the night’s events, Marty Laguna (28-16) of The Black Hand and Haiki Masatupo (26-29) let it all hang out in their fight! Laguna looked like an inspired fighter in this battle as his strikes were strong, sharp and fast, but it did take him a while to find his range. Perhaps he was nervous at the beginning of the fight because he was telegraphing his punches so much, he could have sent a Tweet about what he was about to do and Masatupo would’ve had time to read it before it happened.

 

The fight was a bit sloppy and Masatupo decided to try his luck with the ground game. Masatupo was very aggressive with trying to lock Laguna into a submission, but Laguna’s defense, plus his large amount of energy and strength, kept Masatupo at bay and he avoided any major damage to finish the round.

 

Laguna’s corner urged him to be far more aggressive in the second round and to just let his hands go. The bell rang and we saw that Laguna listened to his corner very well. Again, both fighters struggled to land any strikes and it seemed that they were throwing too many power shots, which allowed the opponent to see what they were doing far before it could hit. Laguna finally decided to slow things down just a little, gauge his distance, then he unleashed a punishing right cross that really hurt him! Laguna leapt on his opportunity, rained down punches, and the referee was forced to step in!

 

Laguna earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and SNAPPED A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK, but I see my man still is wearing those old, beat up Batman pajama-looking clothes. Come on Laguna’s management team, after this victory I think he deserves some new threads. I guarantee you he’ll feel a lot better about himself and his most recent victory.

 

Masatupo continues to struggle and has now LOST FOUR FIGHTS IN A ROW! My advice is similar to Laguna’s. It’s amazing what some new and different clothes can do for your fighter, so Masatupo’s management team, if you’re reading this, hook that man up with some new threads! However, at the age of thirty nine, he may be leaning more towards retirement at which it really won’t matter all that much to be honest.

 

All right good folks, that’s my time so I’ll wrap this up and get out of here so I can get ready for the next event. SPFT 137 will rock Los Angles on December 21 so prepare for that night of intense action. The Welterweight Championship is on the line between Don Key and Aaron Davidson so be sure to watch that clash! Steel Penn ICON thanks you for your support and we look forward to treating you to more excellent fights before Christmas Day. Take care, be well…and I’ll see you at the fights!

[Guest]

STEEL PENN ICON:LV 1 - CHRISTMAS COLLISION EVENT PREVIEW

 

 

What do fight fans really want for Christmas? How about a sackful of great fights from the newest name in quality combat. This Christmas Steel Penn ICON: Las Vegas is bringing you a fight card big on quality and short on good will to all men. Brought to you by Meet the Future it's going down this Christmas at The Underground. You lucky boys and girls, we spoil you!



Light Heavyweight: Bud 'King of Beers' Weiser (1-0) vs Agnar 'The Viking' Gorm (5-0)
Maybe it's not surprising that a man from Iceland is as cool as a polar bear in shades when the cage door closes. Agnar Gorm has cultivated a reputation in his young career for being cold and calculated, choosing to bide his time before unleashing hell on his opponents. Gorm looks for the takedown early and often but once he has it don't be surprised to see him sit in guard and hold position for as long as possible. Make no mistake he is no lay and pray artist though because the moment his quarry gets comfortable is the moment he drops bombs. When the light goes green Gorm gets mean and has left a trail of destruction that he plans to continue against Weiser. What little we know of Weiser though is that he is both comfortable and active off his back and Gorm might find that his steam roller runs into quicksand.
Prediction: Don't be fooled, Weiser has the tools to upset Gorm here but the wiser money is on the bigger and more experienced Viking. Gorm by TKO late in round 2.




Welterweight: Herb 'Sticky' Green (5-4) vs Rock 'Taijutsu' Lee (1-0)
Herb Green is a real throwback to the early days of MMA where you brought your particular discipline to the fight and not much more. A sensational BJJ artist with experience against much bigger fighters than himself Green feels that now is the time to make a move and lose his journeyman tag. In Lee he meets an aggressive striker who loves to throw punches in bunches, but more importantly has excellent takedown defence. The Alburquerque native stuffed 6 first round takedown attempts against Tony Blank and barely broke a sweat in doing so. He lit up the Botswana native with wild combinations and dangerous power shots and Green will need to fair much better if he is to take a victory here.
Prediction: Lee has all the tools in his locker as long as he can keeps this standing. If this hits the mat he is way out of his depth and in all sorts of trouble. That said all fights start on the feet and Lee can take the wind out of Green's sails early on. Lee by decision or late TKO.



Middlweight: Tito 'Island Killer' Jackson (3-1) vs Corner 'Alley Cat' Bum (1-0)
Tito Jackson enters the ICON:LV battlefield as one of the most promising prospects in any division. His lone defeat came from a momentary lapse in concentration against unbeaten submission artist Bruce Redban, but that defeat will serve him well and he will not make the same mistake again. That loss aside he has been nothing short of dominant, feeding his opponents a painful diet of powerful takedowns, heavy ground and pound and dangerous submissions. Corner Bum looked sharp in his wrestling if less effective in his work on the mat. Neither has been forced to put their wrestling in reverse yet and that could be the deciding factor here. Alley Cat has the better striking and if he can use that to score before they tie up he can upset Jackson here.
Prediction: Corner Bum needs to let his striking set the tone here, if he can control distance he can take this, that said Jackson's wrestling has looked unstoppable and I don't think Bum can slow him down enough to stop him taking him down and putting him away late in round 2.



Middleweight: Tonitsu 'Wizard' Jiujitsu (1-0) vs Dario 'The Killer' Silva (1-0)
Well rounded Finn Tonitsu Jiujitsu throws down with Brazilian Muay Thai stand out Dario Silva in a middleweight showdown of fighters in their 'sophomore' MMA outings. Wizard stayed busy in his debut throwing punches in bunches and backing up his opponent, it was messy but effective as the cleanest strikes he landed ended the fight. In Silva he meets a Muay Thai specialist who put on a clinch clinic for a round a half before gassing hard. The Killer threw some beautiful knees to the head and body in his debut and he will doubtless be looking to clinch with Jiujitsu in this one. Jiujitsu's messy brawling style might land him in trouble in this one as he could walk straight onto a knee or three here.
Prediction: With a noticeable height advantage and hopefully improved cardio Silva looks a slight favourite. Expect a strong start, a steady middle and a weak finish as he sneaks the decision.


Bantamweight: Coors 'Silver Bullet' Light (1-0) vs Joe 'The Pitch' Castro (1-0)
Light and Castro showed similar qualities in their previous fights; happy to take a punch to land a punch, comfortable fighting in all areas but in need of tuning in some key areas. Coors Light walked down his quarry and bullied him to the mat before securing the armbar victory where as Castro came out on top of a stop start affair that saw him stick rigidly to a gameplan ill suited to his opponent. That said they both won and both showed enough to suggest that the raw material is there to build with. This looks set to be a scrappy but eventful fight that will be hotly contested in all areas.
Prediction: If Castro is smart he will use his sizeable reach advantage to hurt Light, who demonstrated footwork like a drunk one legged zombie last time, and control distance. His comfort in pulling guard will serve him well if Silver Bullet manages to cross the minefield. Castro by one sided decision.





Featherweight: Lee 'Big' Bang (0-0-1) vs Vaclav Sverkos (0-1)
Lee Bang made a very respectable start to his career in overcoming a big size and experience disadvantage against Ethan Harris. He looked a little unfinished swinging for the fences but the aggressive intent was there and his wrestling looked like it could be a very useful weapon against more evenly matched opponents. Czech import Vaclav Sverkos was also outmatched in his last outing but will enjoy a size and speed advantage over bang and his physical attributes could be a difference maker here as he looks to secure the takedowns that eluded him in his debut. Bang is the better wrestler but don't underestimate the difference Sverkos athleticism can make here. Once it hits the ground the Czech is just about the better submission artist and will look to impose his will.
Prediction: Bang made a lot of fans in his plucky first outing and that heart and better matched opponent should get him the victory here. Look for something nasty to land late in the fight.



Middleweight: Dmitry Belov (10-3) vs Dante 'Inferno' Mishima (1-0)
Belov is one to watch in the middlewight division, his timing on his takedowns is as good as anyone in ICON:LV and his ground and pound is straight from the drawer marked 'brutal'. Once in top position he peppers his victim with shots from all angles until unleashing the kind of fight ending blows that have seen him pick up 9 of his 10 victories by knockout. So how does the vastly less experienced Mishima defeat the talented Russian? Well he has to watch the tape and see what others have perceived as Belov's weaknesses. The Russian can be prone to starting slowly and not utilising his footwork enough. If Mishima can come out with the wild flurry's of punches he likes to throw he can put Belov on the back foot and test his chin, Belov having been knocked out twice in his three defeats and has a tendency to leave the cage bloodied at best.
Prediction: Mishima has a huge size and strength advantage and if he connects cleanly he is certainly capable of turning out the lights on Belov. But those wild charges will seem him on the end of the takedown and from their its all Belov. The Russian by submission in round 1.


Welterweight: Oscralo 'Granalo' De Santiuya (3-2) vs Vedran Milosevic (0-0)
The man with the most exotic name in Iceland arrives in Vegas to face the unknown Croatian, Vedran Milosevic, in what is already shaping up to be one of ICON-LV's most competitive divisions. De Santiuya is a grappling specialist known for his relentless pursuit of the submission, a pursuit that as yet has proved fruitless but seen him pick up 3 victories in 5 outings. The word coming out of his camp is that Milosevic is a very good wrestler with with excellent hands and will be looking to use that wrestling in reverse to keep this one standing.
Prediction: It's virtually impossible to make a prediction on a fighter you have never seen before. Milosevic sounds like a good fighter but we know Granalo is a capable fighter. De Santiuya by decision.


Featherweight: Isaiah 'The Prototype' Martinez (0-1) vs Craig 'The Warrior' Wardlaw (0-1)
Isaiah Martinez is fooling himself he if he thinks he can continue at featherweight. Height is good, reach is good, to a point. Off his back his ridiculously lanky limbs could be a threat to Wardlaw and he had better hope they will be because he is going to get planted on his back without a doubt in this one. His balance and his cardio must surely suffer from that bodyshape and the Aussie is too good of a wrestler not to take him down. He may want to just score the points and tire Martinez before closing the distance and corking him with some heavy hands. The longer this goes on the worse it will get for Martinez and Wardlaw will be a big favourite here.
Prediction: Having just listed all the ways Martinez will lose expect him to prove me wrong with some freakshow knee from nowhere or a triangle he doesn't deserve. Anything can happen in the cage, the smart money is on Wardlaw, but I've never been very smart


Light Heavyweight: Andrew 'Animal' Todd (0-1) vs Kurt 'Swift' Zukaryian (0-1)
Andrew Todd can count himself very unfortunate to have lost in his first outing as a professional. Animal demonstrated an arsenal of pulverising slams and brutal ground and pound to throw about his victim for two and bit rounds before one sweep changed everything and his defensive grappling was exposed. Whilst Todd was perhaps unlucky, Zukaryian was less so, and perhaps the victim of a schizophrenic gameplan. After noticeable success dirty boxing and hanging heavy in the clinch he seemed to then decide on a takedown heavy approach with relentless submission hunting from top position, before in the final round pulling guard. So exactly what his strengths are is a bit of a mystery. He looked most effective in the clinch but against Todd who has shown that if he connects his hands around your back you are going for a ride. This could be a long night for Zukaryian.
Prediction: Despite similar skills sets Todd definitely showed more in his debut. Todd by decision.

Event preview written by Halam Walker

[Guest]

SPFT 137: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello good people, I hope all of you are well and thank you for joining me for another post Pay-Per-View Summary for Steel Penn Fighting Temple! This is Furious Styles live in Los Angeles, and I have been perusing the crowd of more than ninety-three thousand MMA fans and they are definitely ready for the action tonight! I’ve seen numerous types of apparel advertising various fan favorites, so let’s get down to business.

 

Opening the night with some serious salvo, the Welterweight Championship showdown between “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-a” Don Key (30-7-2) of The Broken Halo and Aaron Davidson (28-13-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – in the house! This fight was very much anticipated between these two proven warriors and they did not disappoint. Much to the pleasure of the fans, this fight was a standup war and the fans loved every bit of it! As expected from two high caliber fighters, some excellent striking and defense were on display, and also as expected, some heavy, nasty shots were both given and taken! No, I’m not talking about those type of body shots people. Pay attention!

 

Both men tested the other man’s fighting ability with solid technique and sharp punches and kicks. After trading strikes and misses, Key was able to maneuver himself into a clinch, and once he did, he unleashed a few well-timed, well-placed knees to Davidson’s body that did their damage, and one brutal right knee in particular cut Davidson on the bridge of his nose! He battled through it but it was apparent that the knees both hurt him and slowed him down, and Key and his corner detected this as well. Davidson was able to eventually break the clinch and land some solid counter punches, but the damage was done and Key earned the judges points as well.

 

In the second round, interestingly enough, Davidson decided to try his luck at clinching and that, unfortunately for Davidson, proved to be quite the error. Key was able to defend well and again land some stiff knees to Davidson that did their damage. Davidson was able to land some punches sporadically, but he was too winded to really put a lot of strength behind them. Davidson broke the clinch after seeing it just wasn’t happening, and Key shortly afterward landed a thudding overhand right that nailed Davidson behind is left ear.

 

That one really hurt and sent Davidson to the mat! Key jumped on him like a prostitute stealing money from a sleeping client’s wallet – not that I would know anything about that! – and the referee had no choice but to stop the fight. Key earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and pushed his WIN STREAK TO FIVE. He will next battle Jorge Junior on December 28 for another title defense! Davidson is back in the loss column but has a chance to get right back into the win column when he battles Mateus Gracie on January 10!

 

The second Welterweight fight transpired between “The Barracuda” Dirk Zeldenthuis (35-11) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – big baaaabbbaaaayyy! – and Mateus Gracie (20-12) of The Tycoon World Order! I don’t know if someone pissed Zeldenthuis off before this fight or he was anxious to get the fight finished so he could go home and have some special holiday food and fun, because after the bell rang, he let the fists fly! However, he did so by way of ground-and-pound, which took some by surprise, because Gracie is well known for his ground fighting ability. I, for one, assumed Dirk would opt to use his very good boxing skills, but hey, he and his management team knew what they were doing!

 

It didn’t take Dirk long to get this fight to the ground, and Gracie was happy to comply, no doubt. What Gracie didn’t want to comply with was his ability to control enough of the fight on the ground to position himself to finish it. Both fighters displayed excellent ground technique, both in defense as well as offense, specifically the ability to get out of danger then quickly put themselves in a dominant position. However, around the three minute mark, Dirk locked Gracie in the full mount position, pinning his arms to his sides, and landed some heavy, hurtful elbows! Dirk then unloaded punches until Gracie had no choice but to tap out!

 

Zeldenthuis earned the SUBMISSION VICTORY and is back in the win column with this victory. He can enjoy the holiday season a bit more as he currently has no fight scheduled! Gracie has now LOST TWO IN A ROW but has a chance to break the losing streak when he battles Aaron Davidson on January 10!

 

The final Welterweight fight of the night placed “The Natural” Avon Barksdale (17-11-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can the man with the intense eyes get a yaaaay yaaaaaayyyyeeee!? – and Knatte Grep (18-8) in the cage of battle! In the first round, Barksdale really demonstrated his standup ability, especially once he locked Grep into a clinch. Barksdale was extremely active and energetic in the first round, initiating a great deal of the action and scoring vital points on the judges’ cards. In the second round, Grep decided to try his luck at the ground game, taking Barksdale to the mat about a minute into the round. Grep struggled to use the ground game to his advantage, and Barksdale was able to defend well, in turn earning the points on the judges’ cards again.

 

It was obvious that Grep was frustrated and his corner told him he had to finish the fight to win. Grep again tried his hand at the ground game and looked for a submission, but Barksdale was too prepared and had too much energy. The referee stood the fighters up a couple of times in the round then Barksdale, sensing victory, locked Grep in a clinch and kept the fight there until the end. Barksdale earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK and will next battle Samuraimo Rassi on January 26! Grep has DROPPED TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has time to address his fighting troubles, as he currently has no fight scheduled!

 

The lone Featherweight battle on the card took place between “The Soul Snatcher” Alfredo Torres (18-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – that’s right baby, make some noise! – and “The Reaper” Grimly Fiendish (20-14)! Torres made it obvious that he wanted to keep this fight a standup affair, and through the first two rounds, that’s exactly what he was able to do. Around the middle of the round, it seemed both fighters were trying to dance rather than fight. There was a takedown, then a standup. A short time after that, another takedown, then another standup. However, the bottom line of the first round was Torres was the man able to impose his will the best and thus, he earned the points on the cards.

 

Round 2 began with a great deal of action as both men were rather aggressive in their standup attacks! Both warriors displayed solid schooling in punching and kicking techniques, landing various strikes while blocking others. Neither man really landed any vitally punishing blows on the opponent, so Torres changed it up a bit and took the fight to the ground, then quickly decided that he wanted to stay in the standup, stood up and the round finished there. Again, it was Torres who established himself in the round and Fiendish’s corner knew it. They told him that he needed to end the fight, bottom line.

 

Torres continued his energetic focus on keeping the fight on its feet, and for basically half the round, he did exactly that. However, Torres surprised Fiendish when he picked his moment and took the fight to the ground. Even more surprising was Torres tried to end the fight by locking in a submission, but Fiendish was able to avoid that fate. However, Torres took the points on the cards and earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Torres SNAPPED A THREE FIGHT LOSING STREAK and currently has a Fight under Offer! Fiendish has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and currently has no scheduled fight, so has time to contemplate what needs to be done to get on the good foot!

 

The sole Lightweight fight on the card placed “Flash” Gordon LeFleur (27-10) of The Exiled and El Guapo (18-17) across from one another in the cage! I guess someone in the back put some seriously hot chili sauce in LeFleur’s protein drink or spiked his water with caffeine pills, because he was a house of fire in the ring! He was definitely a flash for this fight, moving right in on a, quite honestly, weary looking El Guapo, locking him in a clinch, land a punishing right cross that dazed El Guapo, then landed a few more punches to setup a crunching left uppercut that dropped El Guapo! LeFleur was on him like, well, a flash of light, and the referee had to stop the fight!

 

LeFleur earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and moved himself back into the win column with this victory and can savor it a while because he currently has no fight scheduled! El Guapo has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and like LeFleur, has some time to relax, analyze and figure out what he wants to do for his next fight!

 

The first of three Middleweight fights featured “Ragin’” Cajun Xander (33-8-1) of GRABTHE.INFO and Jack “Hammer” Fall (14-5) of The Corporation! The first round of this fight was strictly standup as both men tested their opponent’s ability to land and defend or avoid strikes. Xander chose to test Fall in a clinch that lasted basically the entire first round. Xander was definitely the more aggressive and effective fighter in the clinch, and going into the second round, Fall’s corner told him to change the tone of the fight. He did exactly that by taking the fight to the ground. Once there, Fall tried to land a lot of punches from the ground-and-pound game but wasn’t able to, and eventually Xander was able to wiggle his way out of Fall’s grasp and get back to his feet.

 

Once Xander was back to his feet, he again let his fists fly and he cut Fall above his right eye with the second part of a two-punch combination. Fall felt the sting of that cut and again took the fight to the ground, looking to submit Xander, but Xander’s defense was too solid. In turn, Xander positioned himself for a submission attempt, but Fall was ready for it and Xander wasn’t able to lock in the submission. Both men attempted one more submission and both failed, but Fall definitely fared better on the ground. Xander’s corner told him to go back to the first round’s gameplan, so Xander locked Fall in the clinch, lit him up with various types of strikes, and eventually Xander wore Fall down enough to land a brutal right uppercut that dazed Fall!

 

Xander set Fall up for another uppercut and nailed it, dropping fall to the ground. Xander let the fists fly until the referee had to step in, rewarding Xander with the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY! Xander has now WON FOUR FIGHTS IN A ROW and next battles Latka Gravas on January 8! Fall must get himself out of the loss column whenever he next has a fight. For now, he can fine tune what he wants to work on with his management team!

 

The second Middleweight clash went down between Latka “ver 2.0” Gravas (30-16-1) of Tycoon World Order and Luca “scrapatutti” Turilli (18-10-1)! Turilli began this fight on a serious roll, dropping Gravas with a quick and nasty three-punch combo that also cut Gravas above his right eye! He looked like lighting hit him, but Turilli wanted him to get back to his feet so he could knock him out, and this proved to be an issue. Gravas has a lot of heart and he got back up, gathered himself, then proceeded to cut Turilli above his right eye with a vicious left uppercut! Turilli locked in a clinch and the round finished out that way.

 

Both fighters’ corners worked on their cuts and told them to use better defense or this will be over quickly! Gravas was the more aggressive warrior in the second round, and despite Turilli locking in a tight clinch, Gravas was able to avoid any damaging strikes from Turilli. Gravas then broke the clinch and won out the round. Turilli’s corner told him that he needed to end the fight or he would lose! Turilli did his best and he was rather aggressive with his techniques, but Gravas was able to be efficient while avoiding any damage.

Turilli locked Gravas in a clinch, looking to do enough damage to drop him to the mat, but it was Gravas who got the better of the clinch, stunning Turilli with a left hook that blasted Turilli’s right temple! Gravas finished strong and earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Gravas EXTENDS HIS WINNING STREAK TO SIX and next battles Cajun Xander on January 8, as mentioned above. Turilli has now LOST TWO IN A ROW and next battles Dominick Rivaldi on January 8!

 

The final Middleweight confrontation brought us Abel “Amazin’” Speed (19-8-1) of The Exiled versus Chicken “And” Beef (27-19) of LEGION OF DOOM! The crowd and viewing audience were treated to a standup war, which surprised some because Beef is renowned for having a hard chin, but Speed took his chances and they paid off! Both men were very energetic and aggressive, making for a very entertaining fight. Beef drew first blood with a slicing left elbow above Speed’s right eye, but Speed returned the favor with a quick, snapping right uppercut that opened a cut on the bridge of Beef’s nose!

 

No more blood would be shed by each man, but they sure did pummel one another with various strikes in the clinch, which occurred for the majority of the fight. Speed utilized his namesake and was able to land the faster, more accurate strikes that scored the vital points on the judges’ cards. Beef definitely gave Speed a run for his money but just didn’t land enough strikes or power shots to sway the judges’ opinions.

 

Beef wasn’t able to land any effective kicks and I think that threw him off his game just a bit. Speed earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and picks up his SECOND WIN IN A ROW and currently has no fight scheduled! Beef has now LOST FOUR FIGHTS IN A ROW and will try to stop that streak against Angelos Bellanova on January 26!

 

Another Middleweight battle was scheduled between Josh Matson and Ronaldo Silva, but apparently Matson’s travel plans were snarled, probably due to bad weather flying out of Amsterdam, and thus, this fight had to unfortunately be called a No Contest.

 

Closing out the night of action-packed fights were the tanks on legs, the consumers of mass quantities…the Super Heavyweights! “The Tyrant” Tony Mendez (44-24), one of the most busy fighter’s in the organization, and French Toast (18-10) of Valhalla– and by the looks of things, he ate plenty of French Toast to prepare for this battle – got down and dirty in the cage! Toast has tremendous BJJ skills and many thought he would take this fight to the ground and make Mendez submit, but that was not the case!

 

The first round definitely went Toast’s way as he was able to get the heavier man down to the mat and control the action on the ground. He chose to soften Mendez up with some ground-and-pound, and he did have some success landing effective strikes, no doubt, but he never attempted a submission and that proved to be an error. Mendez’s corner implored him to keep the fight standing and let his fists fly! He listened and early in the second round, he landed a quick but surprisingly effective left jab that cut Toast above his right eye. Mendez knew he made Toast wary of his fists so he let his kicks fly and boom, he landed a brutal right head kick that floored Toast!

 

Mendez jumped on Toast – I know that sounds a little odd – and tried to pound him out, but Toast was able to recover enough to defend the ground-and-pound attack. The referee saw enough, stood both men up and Mendez again surprised Toast with a thunderous right head kick and this time, the referee saw that Toast was in serious trouble and he leapt on Mendez to prevent any further damage! Mendez earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK but decided to part ways with his management team, making him a Free Agent.

 

I have no doubt someone will pick up this capable and wily veteran of many cage wars and see if they can help him finish his career on a strong note! Toast has now LOST THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and has no fight currently scheduled. He’ll probably hit the gym and work out while playing some of Eazy E’s greatest hits!

 

All right good people, that’s my time. As always, thank you very much for spending time to review these events with me, I do truly appreciate it, and please keep up with the Steel Penn ICON action as I bring yet another Pay-Per-View Summary, SPFT 138, to you very soon! Take care, be well, Happy Holidays…and I’ll see you at the fights!

[Guest]

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STEEL PENN ICON:LV 1 - CHRISTMAS COLLISION EVENT REVIEW

 

Christmas may have not come early but boy it was well worth waiting for. Steel Penn ICON-Las Vegas held there very first event. Christmas Collision had a little something for everyone. We witnessed bone breaking submissions, jaw smashing knock outs, grueling knuckle dragging decisions, and we also got treated to a controversial draw. Now that the fights are in the past and bonuses have been dished out its time to dig a little deeper to see exactly what transpired. So let’s dive right on in!



The opening bout featured superb wrestler Kurt “Swift” Zukaryian up against Andrew “Animal” Todd. Todd is a wonderful wrestler, so you know this fight was going to be grinded out on the ground. The shocking moment of this fight was seen very early when the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu white belt (Zukaryian) went for a submission from the bottom less than a minute into the fight. The triangle was successful as Andrew Todd submitted in just forty eight seconds of the very first round. Zukaryian picked up his first win and brought his record up to 1-1. On the wrong side of the fight Andrew Todd dropped to 0-2, losing both of his fights by submission. For Zukaryian the future is looking brighter, while the future of Todd seems to be full of submission defense and defensive grappling training.



Moving onto the second fight of the night, we will see the Featherweight division highlighted. Isaiah “The Prototype” Martinez had to assume he was going to have an easy fight on his hands. Martinez was the bigger older fighter in this match up, and with superb boxing skills he is easily the better stand up fighter. Craig “Warrior” Wardlaw has the better ground skills and wanted to prove it early. Wardlaw opened with a takedown attempt that was stuffed, but then countered a clinch attempt with a beautiful double leg takedown. At first Martinez looked ok on the ground with some nice wrist control and dodging some ground and pound from Wardlaw. Wardlaw faints a big right and drops a devastating elbow near the first minute of the fight. Martinez being rocked was still able to throw up a sloppy triangle attempt, and then was able to control from the bottom for a while. Wardlaw was able to keep scoring with some elbows and body shots. Wardlaw decides to use the same tactics of distracting with the right and dropping a big left elbow. Wardlaw then was able to stand up above Martinez and drop down to the mat with a huge left and after throwing a few more shots it was time for the ref to stop the fight. Two minutes and forty three seconds into the bout Wardlaw picks up the win by TKO. What’s next for these guys, well time will tell for “The Prototype” but Craig “Warrior” Wardlaw will be facing Lee Bang at New Moon Rising on January 11th 2014.



Next up on our agenda was an amazing war by two up and coming welterweights. Oscralo “Granalo” De Santiuya faced off against Vedran Milosevic. “Granalo” gets cut with a big cross from Milosevic just seconds into the fight, and it looked as though it could have been over that quick. De Santiuya looked panicked for a moment as he wieldy missed a flurry of punches. He did though quickly recover and easily took down Milosevic. “Granalo” lets his opponent up just to take him back down seconds later. That’s is just about the point De Santiuya’s offence stopped, as Milosevic was able to get up around the one minute mark. In the next four minutes Milosevic scored with two take downs of his own, and was able to pull De Santiuya into a clinch several times. Although Milosevic did not do much in the clinch or on the ground the big cut he opened up on De Santiuya more than likely won him the round.



De Santiuya got some great work from his corner on the cut in-between rounds. The second round was a very strange sight to see. Milosevic should have been working on the cut of his opponent but instead just looked to clinch in the beginning. He got two clinches and broke one himself early on, as De Santiuya was able to escape the second with ease. De Santiuya then gets a good take down and stands up from it, goes immediately for another and gets it. De Santiuya did try to capitalize with a submission attempt, but Milosevic defended well and was able to get back to his feet. The rest of round two was filled with take downs and instant stand ups, clinches and quick breaks, a lot of grappling for position in the standup game. Both fighters looked to work the body and Milosevic started to appear gassed near the end. Even though Milosevic was very tired he did keep looking to score with takedowns but in the last few seconds of the round all of them where stuffed. I gave round two to De Santiuya and my card is showing 19-19 heading for the final round.



As mentioned before this was a war, and again De Santiuya needed a little cut work before the third and final round. The bell rings and Milosevic comes flying out with a quick and big takedown. It seems as though Milosevic thinks he has to have a finish as he looks more aggressive in this third round. Milosevic stands up at the feet of De Santiuya and lines him up for a big superman style punch. From the standing position Milosevic dives in and catches nothing but mat, and De Santiuya puts on a loose triangle. Milosevic defends well pulling his head threw but De Santiuya is able to transition into an amazing arm bar. That arm bar is tight and Milosevic has to tap. Personally I did not see a submission coming out of this fight, but De Santiuya surprised me and the world by taking home the bonus for submission of the night.



We have had some incredible action already, and we are still on the preliminary fights. We are going to move to the middleweight division with the sensational wrestler Dmitry Belov facing off against fellow, but much less experienced, wrestler Dante “inferno” Mishima. This looked like a miss match right from the fight offer. Belov is older, more experienced, shorter, and better wrestler which is both of their specialties. This ended up being just as big of a mismatch as it looked. “Inferno” comes out strong but gets extinguished early. Belov quickly puts his opposition on his back and starts hitting Mishima with some strikes. Belov easily moves into a full mount position, and starts looking for a submission. Mishima defends well so Belov goes right back to the ground and pound. Belov continues looking for submission with some great ground and pound mixed in. Belov is just doing what he does best mixing up the submissions with ground and pound. Around the four minute mark Belov lands a huge elbow that may have been a 12-6, but the ref says it’s not but gives out a warning. Unfortunately for Mishima that was pretty much the end as Belov starts laying into him with punches and elbows and finishes with a TKO in the last couple of seconds of the first round.



In our last fight of the preliminary bouts we got a classic wrestler versus striker bout. Lee “Big” Bang is a remarkable wrestler but is also very proficient with his boxing. Standing across from him was the respectable Muay Thai striker Vaclav Sverkos. Vaclav seemed doomed from the beginning needing to take the extra two hours to make weight. Obviously that will some major effects on his energy levels for this fight, and also points to some possible training issues. “Big” Bang comes out swinging and connecting, Sverkos only answer is a failed takedown attempt. Bang lands a huge uppercut dropping Sverkos, but does not follow him to the ground. Bang waves Sverkos to his feet as he is clearly on wobbly legs. Trying to recover Sverkos pushes bang up against the cage, but Bang lands a phenomenal spinning back fist. Sverkos throws some kicks and attempts some takedowns to no avail. Bang starts landing some more shots as he taunts Sverkos. Bang then lands another huge uppercut sending the much winded Sverkos to the mat. Once again Bang waves Sverkos to his feet, just to knock him out with a third massive uppercut. Bang bangs his way to a first round knockout and a big fat bonus check for knockout of the night. Any future opponent is going to want to stay away from the uppercut of Bang. As mentioned earlier Bang will face Wardlaw at New Moon Rising, and I am sure nobody is going to want to miss that.



The first fight on the main card ended controversially, and for those who did not see it, I will not spoil it until the end. Coors “Silver Bullet” Light is a well-rounded fighter testing his skills against the strong Muay Thai fighter Joe “The Pitch” Castro. Light comes out and gets a takedown attempt stuffed, but comes right back with a double leg and a slam. Very interesting first minute as Castro rolls with a punch and takes top control. Light answers right back with a sweep of his own, and then start working some ground and pound. Castro was moving around a bit and Light was trying to get into a better guard and we have a referee stand up, which I did not understand. Light gets another takedown and misses with some elbows. Castro keeps Light on his toes by wiggling around and then attempts a failed sweep and once again another questionable stand up by the referee. Light takes down Castro one more time and the action dulls out. I was expecting a quicker stand up this time by the ref, but he tells them to work and waits a few more seconds. Castro looks very tired already and Light gets another takedown as the round comes to an end. Personally I feel if Light would have done any damage at all this would be a 10-8 round, but I have “Silver Bullet” up 10-9.



In the first minute of the second round Castro was able to stuff four takedown attempts from Light. With both fighters gassing out there was little to no action in the first minute or so. A few more stuffed takedowns by Castro and Light stuffs a few himself. Light is finally able to get there and as he pulls Castro down with a double leg. Once again Castro looks comfortable from his back defending well and looking to improve the position. Light stops a sweep attempt and stands up as he wants to bang. Castro gets up and clinches up against the cage. Castro works in some strikes and stops a few takedowns from light. The clinch is broke and then reapplied away from the cage. Castro pulls guard and Light tries to control. Castro is doing some nice work from the bottom as the round comes to an end. Castro clearly wins this round with so many takedown stops and his awesome work from his back. My score card is showing 19-19 at the end of two.



In the third round each fighter should be feeling win the round win the fight. In the opening seconds of the third round Castro is able to stuff several takedown attempts and then gets a clinch. From the clinch Castro pulls guard, and why not he has looked great from his back so far tonight. As both fighters are tired and pressed up against the cage there is a bit of a sprawl and Castro ends up on top of Light in guard position. As Castro is missing shots from the top it allows for Light to gain butterfly guard and sweep with ease. Light stops a sweep and then gains half guard. Light lands a huge elbow and that’s the most damage we have seen in this fight. Light keeps working the ground and pound unsuccessfully missing a lot of shots. After a lot of controlling and no referee stand ups Light decides to drop back and grab a leg. Castro is able to defend the submission attempt and gets himself back to full guard. The buzzer sounds and the fight is over. Light in my opinion easily won the third round as I have it scored 29-28 in favor of Light. Stewart Dunkirk scores it 29-28 in favor of Castro. Tiny Johnson scores it 29-28 in favor of Light. Frank Dennis scores it 29-29 and this fight is ruled a draw. Grueling bout and I feel Light got ripped off a little bit but that is why you never leave a fight in the hands of the judges. These two will meet again at New Moon Rising, an event you must attend.



We will follow up the very even and controversial fight with two stand up fighters. Tonitsu “Wizard” Jijutsu will bring his strong boxing skills up against a wonderful Muay Thai striker Dario “The Killer” Silva. Not much to say about the first round accept there was a lot of feeling each other out mixed with a lot of missed strikes. Silva did manage to get a clinch around the two minute mark, and was able to get a knee to the head as well as a few elbows past Tonitsu defense. Silva did an exceptional job creating space to throw some shots, and then go right back to the clinch. Surprisingly Silva dictated the pace of the entire first round, but seemed a bit more tired than Tonitsu at the close of the first round. My card reflects a 10-9 round for Silva.



Jijutsu comes out firing to open the second and is able to open up a cut with a nice two punch combo. The first half of the round we seen Jijutsu avoid several clinch attempts as he went to work with some nice strikes. Some one twos to the head, fakes into body shots, all while circling to stop the clinch. Silva does eventually get the clinch and tries to work over Jijutsu but Jijutsu blocks most of it. Even though Silva was able to maintain the clinch for the rest of the round, he was unable to do any damage at all. With Silva bleeding all over the place you absolutely have to give the round to Jijutsu, 10-9 round so at the end of two I scored it 19-19.



Silva gets his cut cleaned up as much as it can be, and we start round three. Silva looks for an early clinch and Jijutsu lands a nice counter combo. Outside of the clinch Jijutsu looks to be the better fighter. Once again though Silva is able to grab a clinch and push Jijutsu all the way up against the cage. For the first minute to minute and half of the clinch Silva landed some nice knees to the body and a big one to the head. Jijutsu spent the entire rest of the fight battling for position and trying to break the clinch. Silva did land a huge elbow and I thought it was going to be the curtain call, but Jijutsu recovered nicely from it. The third round comes to an end with some more position battling. Silva did just enough to squeak out the third round, as I gave it a 10-9 in favor of Silva. My score card shows 29-28 for Dario Silva. The same score was presented on the judge’s card for a unanimous decision for “The Killer”.



Tito “Island Killer” Jackson was looking to show off his superb wrestling skills against Corner “Ally Cat” Bum. Tito has the experience but it appears Bum did not get the memo. Bum comes rushing out of the corner guns a blazing and lands a great combo rocking Jackson. Tito recovers quickly with a clinch but Bum breaks it right away. Tito then goes in for a double leg which is stopped but Bum was forced up against the cage. Bum continually stuffed takedown attempt after takedown attempt, to the point Jackson attempted to pull guard. Jackson tries a sloppy single leg and Bum sends him to the mat and dives on into guard. Jackson goes for a quick guillotine to no avail. After the failed submission attempt Jackson starts looking to get back to his feet as Bum just want to control, so we get a referee stand up. Jackson dives right in with a double leg shoot and is able to scoop up Bum and slam him down. Jackson stands up and dives in with a devastating shot to the head. Jacksons ground and pound may not be doing damage, but it is scoring big time points with the judges. Jackson fails with a few more submission attempts all the while working shots to the body and head. The buzzer sounds and we have a close first round that I will give to Tito Jackson.



Bum starts out the second round aggressively looking for a clinch but Jackson answers with a quick takedown. Jackson starts working the ground and pound and once again it’s scoring points but not really damaging Bum at all. Jackson attempts a strange looking top position guillotine for the second time in this fight. Jackson needs some serious work in the submission department. Jackson continued to ground and pound on Bum for the rest of the round. He did get in a few nice shots, but mostly it was for the judges and not for the win. Jackson easily wins round two in my book, he is now up 20-28.



Bum is going to need a finish to win this fight, and starts the round off stuffing a takedown attempt. Jackson all though gets the clinch and eventually gets the takedown by pulling guard. Bum does the right thing, knowing he has to finish the fight, he controls until there is a referee stand up. Now back to standing Jackson closes the distance and clinches back up. A body shot to Bum and a takedown by Jackson and we are right back to Tito’s bread and butter. Tito attempts a kimura but doesn’t get it. After some control Jackson is able to slide into full mount and it’s not looking good for Bum. Jackson connects with shots better in this third round than any other, but he is not looking to finish. Tito takes several breaks from the dominate position and is content with riding this out to a decision win. We hear the final buzzer and all three judges score the fight the same as I do. 30-27 in favor of Tito “Island Killer” Jackson



The submission master and red belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist “Sticky” Herb Green will be taking on the Wonderful wrestler Rock “Taijutsu” Lee in a very interesting welterweight bout. Lee has all the wrestling skills needed to be a top fighter, but does anyone really want to go to the ground with a red belt? The opening minute of the fight proved Lee wanted no part of the ground game with such a respected BJJ practitioner as he opened up with some combo attempts. Both fighters show some nice foot work coming in and out throwing some blows, but Green does get a takedown and Lee looks like he is in trouble. Green goes from one submission attempt to another, trying to grab a leg an arm, or just anything. Green proved he has the much better ground skills in the first round winning it 10-9.



Green scores a nice trip takedown to open up the second round. Once on the ground it is much of the same, with submission attempt after submission attempt. Everyone is going to give Lee a for effort with all of this submission defense. I was extremely surprised that Green was unable to submit Lee, but Green did completely dominate round two.



Lee knows he has to finish and the only way that will happen is if he can keep this fight standing. For the first minute and half Lee was successful in doing so. Lee was the more aggressive fighter during this duration but most of his shots missed. Green did end up getting this fight to the ground though and everyone figured this fight was over accept for Lee. Lee managed to get to his feet and started being aggressive once again. An incidental low blow from Green stopped the fight while Lee got a chance to recover. Once recovered Lee checked a lot of leg kicks and threw some wild shots only landing a few to the body. Green got the fight back to the ground and looked to control knowing this was wrapped up. The buzzer sounds and everyone knows this is a win for “Sticky” Green. The judges all scored the fight 30-26 giving Lee an eight point round in the second.



It is now time for our main event of the evening. Three rounds in the Light Heavyweight division. Bud “The King of Beers” Weiser against “The Viking” Agnar Gorm. Gorm was the heavy favorite in this fight, having more experience and a great wrestling pedigree. Weiser broke down Gorm with some beautiful stand up in the beginning of this fight. Landing some combos and a flush cross to the jaw of Gorm. Gorm insisted on moving forward and took a nice head kick delivered by Weiser. Weiser continued to assaulted “The Viking” while looking to clinch. Gorm managed to stay out of the clinch mostly but was just taking everything Weiser could land. At one point you could see Gorm asking Weiser if that’s all he had. Weiser just kept pushing forward landing shots and combos, but near the end of the first Gorm was able to get a takedown. Weiser did not look comfortable at all on the ground with the wrestler on top of him. Gorm attempted some submissions and then passed to full mount right as the round came to an end.



If Gorm would have had a few more seconds you would have to think he would have finished from full mount. Let’s see if he looks for the quick takedown instead of letting punches and kicks bounce off his head. As the round opens Bud clinches right up, but Gorm looks for a takedown and Weiser has to break the clinch. Weiser then continued to put on a show with the standup game. Bud landed some nice shots, worked in a few combinations, and stuffed several takedown attempts. Gorm storms in with a combo missing everything and Weiser capitalizes with a big combo sending Gorm to the ground. Without any hesitation Weiser waves the rocked Gorm back to his feet, and lands another combo. Weiser keeps throwing punches and Gorm gets dropped again, and it’s time for the ref to step and stop this one. Weiser gets the huge upset with a TKO at 2:36 of the second round.



What a great event, and anyone who had tickets to this enjoyed Christmas for sure. Gorm and Weiser earned fight of the night awards to close out the show. We will be putting on another great show in just one week so please join us on the first day of 2014 for New Year Nightmares.

 

 

 

Review written by Tony Rossi

[Guest]

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Steel Penn ICON-LV 2 - New Year Nightmares Event Preview

 

 

If your New Year's resolution was to watch more exciting all action MMA battles then you have come to the right place. After the fantastic success of Steel Penn ICON:LV's Christmas debut we bring your more thrills and spills to bring in the new year. The year of ICON:LV starts now!




Welterweight: Rock 'Taijutsu' Lee (1-1) vs Kevin 'GroundnPound' Coonaments (3-2)



Rock Lee will be looking to return to winning ways against Kevin Coonaments after being on the end of a frustrating decision loss to Herb Green on Christmas Day. Lee is a dangerous headhunter who mixes up power shots with combinations well and has defensive grappling that belies his White Belt status. In Kevin Coonaments he meets a dangerous ground and pound fighter desperate to avoid a third straight defeat. Despite his name and skills the Bennington native has found most of his success off his back or when on the defensive. The problem for him here however is that Lee has no intention of putting him on his back unless it's in an unconscious state.




Prediction: With size and style advantages in his hands look for Lee to frustrate Coonaments for 15 minutes, chipping away with his full striking arsenal.







Featherweight: Adam McGrath (2-0) vs Graeme 'Stank' Campbell (4-1)




When fighters started signing on the dotted line here at ICON:LV there was one fight in the featherweight division that everyone wanted to see, and this was it. A battle of two ruthless submission artists with a taste for first round stoppages. On paper Campbell is the better grappler but when the cage door shuts and the fists start flying the colour of your belt can often count for very little. McGrath has better hands not that he will want to showcase them, as this is a battle of ego as much as battle of BJJ.




Prediction: This has all the makings of a great contest but Campbell's counter grappling style should see him through here as a he catches McGrath coming with a choke late in round 1.




Light Heavyweight: Nissan 'Gtr' Fairtex (1-0) vs Freddy Lee (1-0)




17 year old Black Belts are a rare breed but Freddy Lee is one such fighter. Lee is patient in top position and decisive when the opportunity arises. His stand up and more importantly his chin are yet to be tested and doing so must be Fairtex first goal in this one. Put fist to face and see how calm Lee is then. Fairtex showed his takedown defence was well tuned and that allowed him to display his violent striking abilities. As powerful as he is technical with his punches, Fairtex looks like the kind of destructive and aggressive fighter that fans love and that spells bad news for Freddy Lee.




Prediction: Fairtex takedown defence is perhaps slightly better than Lee's takedowns. With that in mind Fairtex will make this a short and painful night for Lee, winning by KO in round 1.




Bantamweight: Bruce Lee (1-0) vs Gabriel 'DaBeast' Douglas (1-1)




It's difficult to gauge a fighter accurately after a single fight, there just aren't enough numbers to crunch, but these are the three significant ones we know about Bruce Lee; 1,2 and 5. Lee has had 1 fight, thrown 2 punches and fought for only 5 seconds. So what do we know? He is accurate and technical and a must see fighter after only 1 fight. The improvements in Douglas between his first and second fight were phenomenal. He was a stationary target who got kicked to pieces in his debut, when he did close the distance he was landing single shots without much sting. Fast forward to fight two and his punches game in combinations and his movement made him look like a different fighter. His accuracy was sensational and this Douglas needs to turn up if he is to defeat Lee. Accuracy and footwork are his best weapons here because if he gets caught on his heels Lee will turn out the lights early again.




Prediction: We know Douglas can go 3 rounds so he needs to drag this one out, slow down the pace and control distance, if he doesn't he may find himself separated from consciousness brutally. This is a coin flip, Lee by TKO late in round 1.

 

Lightweight: Viet 'Maokhamphiou' Lights Out (1-0) vs Key 'Always Smooth' Stone (0-1)





Everyone loves a rematch and Key Stone will feel he has something to prove after submitting to strikes last time they met. Maokhamphiou executed his gameplan perfectly against Stone, playing matador for the first couple of minutes, darting out of the way of tie ups and stuffing takedowns before letting his hands go and busting open the tiring Stone. When round 2 began he went back to lighting up Stone and it became a question of when the end came rather than how. When stone ate a big left that put him on the cage there was no coming back and the crisp strikes kept on coming. As the more well rounded fighter it will be fascinating to see what changes Stone makes. Utilising legs kicks to keep Maokhamphiou at bay and then countering his combinations with better timed takedowns seem his best bet. You could see his takedowns coming from space last time and he needs to hide his level changes better.




Prediction: Stone has not had enough time to add the necessary strings to his bow. Lights Out by striking finish in round 2 again.





Welterweight: Darko 'The Creazy Wolf' Markovic (1-0) vs Nilz 'Achtung' Artzing (1-0)


Darko Markovic was more of a Lazy Wolf in his last fight employing text book lay and pray. I hope that was nerves in his first outing against a 4 fight veteran because a man who lands 5 strikes a fight is not exactly a must see fighter. In Artzing he faces off with another fighter with a lot to do to improve his reputation as a fighter to see. Artzing was perhaps a little fortunate to pick up the victory in his first fight, employing an equally dull lay and pray style. This fight is the one to skip to make your sandwich.

 

Prediction: Markovic for all his faults was the more active fighter last time out believe it or not. He was also more effective in his takedowns. Markovic by decision.





Middleweight: Jonathan 'Beast' Vinyard (1-1) vs Deco 'Glass Knee' Early (0-0)




This fight is a nightmare to break down. What we know about Vinyard is that he has looked unstoppable against an inferior grappler and awful against a superior one. So which Vinyard will turn up here against a complete unknown quantity in Early. What we know about Early is that he is Scottish.....that's it. The word out of his camp is that he likes to grapple as well but in jiujitsu top trumps Brown beats Blue and thus it would be wise to control distance and chip away at Vinyard on the feet. If it turns into a striking contest it could well be a messy and untidy affair that could go either way.





Prediction: We know Vinyard can grapple and that's more than we know about Early. Vinyard by submission in round 2, but only because I have to make a prediction.



Featherweight: Jack 'The Tank' Harris (2-1) vs Bruce Shashia (2-1)



QFC Tournament semi-finalists clash in the fight they both wish had been the final. These two fighters are near mirror images of each other; same age, same style, same record. Where they differ is in size. Jack Harris is a ludicrously tall featherweight, he would be a freakish heavyweight and this has to affect his skillset and his cardio. With Shashia's wrestling and Harris' balance Bruce should find it easier to enact his takedown heavy gameplan, once down he can put the American through the grinder.

 

Prediction: Harris will be dangerous off his back but Shashia should have enough about him to avoid the danger and bully 'The Tank' to a unanimous decision.




Light Heavyweight: Investitor Gradnje (2-0) vs Randy 'Speedy' Gonzales (2-2)




Undefeated Serbian submission specialist Investitor Gradnje looks to make waves in the Light Heavyweight division that looks ripe for the taking in the wake of Agnar Gorm's shock defeat at ICON:LV 1. At just 18 and with 2 impressive victories to his name Granje may be the dark horse in a deep division. Randy Gonzales will not be taking him lightly as he looks to kick on from a patchy start to his career by taking that 'zero' from next to the Serbs name. Gradnje has looked to avoid stand up situations at all costs thus far and this favours the superior wrestler Gonzales. Although the smaller man he should be able to dictate if and when this hits the mat, in top position he is a capable and dangerous submission hunter and a real threat to Gradnje's unblemished record.

 

Prediction: We have seen virtually no striking from the Serb who might be running into a brick wall in the stockier Gonzales. Look for Gonzales to take a second round submission of the tiring Serbian.






Featherweight: Janusz Bomba (0-1) vs Brian 'Cold Blooded' Fury (1-1)

 

Janusz Bomba looked pretty slick against Graeme Campbell before finding himself fending off the jiujitsu ace on the mat. His hands were quick and he showed he can land a leg kick or two should the mood take him. Both of these things he will want to show a lot more of when he takes on the Belgian Fury. Fury got beaten in the clinch in his debut and then won with the clinch in his second outing and he will look to fight this battle in the clinch. We know that Fury can keep his output up for 3 rounds but we have seen the slicker striking from Bomba so look for Fury to turn this into a brawl, the messier the better for the Belgian who knows how to stick to a gameplan.




Prediction: Bomba can hurt Fury but the Belgian is durable and relentless and should steal a narrow victory.

 

Preview written by Halam Walker

[Guest]

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STEEL PENN ICON-LV 2 NEW YEAR NIGHTMARES EVENT REVIEW

 

Well it's official, Steel Penn ICON: Las Vegas is here to stay. With two great events down and more to come the future is looking bright and violent. A sell out crowd saw New Years Nightmares go down and not one person left disappointed with what they saw. But if you couldn't make it, here is what you missed.....



Brian Fury and Janusz Bomba kicked this off with a spirited war of attrition that saw both men scrap all over every inch of the cage. Bomba took the Belgian down early but couldn't find the submission as both traded position and demonstrated some beautiful sweeps. As the fight went on it became clear that Bomba had no answer for the clinch of Fury who bullied him with uppercuts and over hands to the head of the Pole, growing in confidence as the fight went on. It was an important decision win for Fury who showed character and resolve to overturn a first round deficit and still take a comfortable decision.



This intriguingly poised match up of light heavyweight grapplers Gradnje and Gonzales was the joy to watch that many had hoped for. Both fighters threatened with takedowns, a plethora of submission attempts and superb counter grappling for as long as this one lasted. Both men looked equally dangerous and vulnerable over the first two rounds before purple belt Gradnje caught brown belt Gonzales in the fight ending guillotine early in the third. The pain of defeat for Gonzales may be softened slightly by his Fight of the Night award and rise in his stock with fans following this exciting battle.



In the cut throat ICON:LV featherweight division every win is priceless and Jack Harris will be as delighted as any winning fighter on the card after being rocked in the first round by a beautiful combination from Bruce Shashia only to battle back for a hard fought but thoroughly deserved decision victory. Shashia has no answer for the wrestling of Harris who was relentless once his wits had returned and used his enormous frame to trap and control Shashia who will head home thinking about what could have been after that first round where Harris was so badly hurt.



Deco Early had a debut to remember as he obliterated Jonathan Vinyard, picking up the Knockout of the Night award in the process. It looked like it might go horribly wrong for the Scotsman who found himself on his back and fending off a kneebar in the opening seconds. Escaping and scrambling to take top position Early never looked back as he controlled Vinyard and landed a few good shots to his grounded opponent. Despite clearly taking the first frame on the judges scorecard Deco came out like a man possessed and needed only 5 seconds to KO the American. Punishing him for a sloppy takedown attempt with a crisp one-two he has time to measure a brutal right hand that turned out the lights and gave him a perfect start to his career.



The welterweight scrap between Darko Markovic and Nilz Artzing had snoozefest written all over it, so a first round stoppage came as a very welcome surprise. Markovic took Artzing down and looked far more active than we have seen before, pursuing submissions and landing heavy ground and pound that his opponent had no answer for. The end looked near as Artzing got cracked with two short but heavy shots that saw him clinging on for dear life before another Markovic barrage turned out the lights.



Some fighters play the long game in the clinch, hanging heavy and puncturing opponents gas tanks with body shots, Viet Lights Out is not one of those fighters. He throws heavy leather with every shot. Key Stone looked shell shocked as he was busted open early and brutalised in the clinch by Lights Out who sent a message to the lightweight division that he has enough power in short shots to separate any man from his senses at 155lbs. It was a strong showing in his first ICON:LV outing that left Key Stone licking his wounds and with work to do before he returns to the cage.



Gabriel Douglas gave us all a lesson in not believing the hype. Bruce Lee looked sensational in his 5 second debut but he had no answer for the boxing of Da Beast who was quickest to the punch and mixed up his strikes to perfection. Punches in bunches, power shots, fakes, heavy jab use, he utilised it all to stifle the striking of Lee. Bruce Lee seemingly had his heart set on the highlight reel finish as he threw head kick after head kick, going to the well so many times that it must be dry by now. The importance of mixing up your strikes was perfectly on display as head hunting Lee was out struck and out foxed by the gritty and determined Douglas who has really upset the apple cart at 135lbs and built himself a perfect platform on which to build divisional dominance.



Many feared the gulf in jiujitsu experience between Freddy Lee and Nissan Fairtex would lead to a one sided affair, they were right. Fairtex cut open young Lee with a crisp jab that seemed to wake up the Steel City native who ducked under the next punch for a takedown and from then on it was just a case of how long could Fairtex last. He gave a solid account of himself but the BJJ prowess of Freddy Lee was just overwhelming and when he cranked the kimura at 1:25 it already looked overdue. Lee clearly has work to do on his stand up but that Black Belt around his waist is not just to hold his trousers up.



The co-main event at ICON:LV 2 looked for all the world like a Fight of the Night contender and it did not disappoint, probably only failing to scoop the award because they didn't last as long as actual winners Investitor Gradnje and Randy Gonzales. Adam McGrath and Graeme Campbell put on a show to wow those in attendance with a beautiful display of how a great ground battle is every bit as riveting as any stand up brawl. McGrath won the race to the takedown, and despite his initial shot being stuffed he would not be denied and powered through to get top position. From then on it was cat and mouse with a momentum swings galore as McGrath and Campbell traded position. It was Campbell who took the round though, utilising superior ground and pound when the opportunities arose to move ahead on the score cards. When round two began Campbell came out hard planting McGrath on the mat but Campbell was in no mood to play games any more, locking up a triangle choke with only seconds gone to secure a huge victory.



In the evenings main event Rock Lee evened out his ICON:LV record by knocking out Kevin Coonaments in the second round . Rock Lee looked every part the master of counter striking as he busted open Coonaments early as the latter made his desire to see this fight go to the mat obvious. Coonaments got his wish not long later and relentlessly searched for the submission but Rock Lee kept his cool in defending chains of submission attempts to make it to the second round. When the second frame got under way Rock Lee was clearly the fresher fighter, fending off Coonaments takedowns with ease and making him pay for them. Rock Lee caught Coonaments coming in and sent him to the mat, clearly in trouble he invited him back to his feet where the wounded Coonaments swung his fists in an attempt to fool Lee but there was already blood in the water and Lee countered the flurry with a single perfect shot to the chin, turning out the lights less than a minute into round number two.

 

 

Review written by Halam Walker

[Guest]

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STEEL PENN ICON-LV 3 NEW MOON RISING EVENT PREVIEW

 

 

Given up on your resolutions? Got the January Blues? Need cheering up? Then you are in the right place. Steel Penn ICON Las Vegas brings it's 3rd show and its full from top to bottom with fascinating and finely poised duels between some of the toughest sons of guns around. Brought to you as always by the good people at Meet the Future – Saturday night, fight night!





Light Heavyweight: Tim Tupy (0-0) vs Cullen Bohannen (0-0)



Kicking things off is a good old fashioned mystery fight between two men about to step into the cage for the very first time. Tim Tupy's camp are making a lot of noise about this guy, who at 19 looks set for a bright future in MMA. They say he has excellent hands, solid grappling and near limitless potential. Standing opposite him will be Cullen Bohannen and he is no lamb to the slaughter. Impressive on the pads and with a strong wrestling pedigree he is only short of seasoning. This one all comes down to game planning, and wisdom is supposed to come with age so is Bohannen the man to pick?



Prediction: There are too many unknowns to make an even reasoned guess here so Bohannen by flying gogoplata (is that even possible?) in the dying seconds of round 3. Or not.







Middleweight: Corner 'Alley Cat' Bum (1-1, 1-0 ICON) vs Dkflhdfirhd Kdjfldierhshdf (0-1)



The scourge of ring announcers everywhere, Dkflhdfirhd Kdjfldierhshdf, makes his ICON:LV debut against returning brawler Corner Bum. This one has brawl written all over it as two fighters throwdown hungry to show they are better than their last performance suggested. Neither will be happy with their last fights as they were second to every punch and were controlled all too easily. Both likes to stand and bang and we should get a rock'em sock'em robots impression from both guys until the gas tanks run dry and who ever has the larger one can stumble across the finish line first.



Prediction: This is another coin flip of a fight between two guys eager to impress. That said as a writer I cannot forgive any man named Dkflhdfirhd Kdjfldierhshdf. Corner Bum to pick up his first ICON:LV win by decision.







Middleweight: Dante 'Inferno' Mishima (1-1, 0-1 ICON) vs Tonitsu ' Wizard' Jiujitsu (1-1, 0-1 ICON)



Dante Mishima earned a lot of plaudits when he stood up to take on the vastly more experienced Dmitry Belov on Christmas day, but the Russian was just too experienced and took a comfortable victory. Now Mishima returns to show he has more than bravery. Dante is a hulk of a middleweight and would love to connect with a clean punch and show off his huge power. His stand up is rudimentary but with a little tightening up he could be a real threat to anyone in ICON:LV's middleweight division. Looking to avoid the power shots and pick up a first promotional victory of his own is Tonitsu Jiujitsu who has better hands but less power than Mishima.. Jiujitsu is a volume striker who mixes up shots to the head and and body well. He will need this punches in bunches style to keep Inferno back pedalling and avoid being separated from his senses by an aggressive Mishima.



Prediction: The raw power that he posses means that Dante Mishima has to land less to end this one but if Jiujitsu is smart he can keep Inferno on the back foot and outscore his foe. Tonitsu Jiujitsu by decision.





Light Heavyweight: Reginald Leslie (2-1) vs Dave 'D' Davisdon (3-4)



Proud Irishman Reginald Leslie utilises his height and limb length so well in the clinch and Davisdon must make sure his shoot takedowns are perfect because he does not want to get wrapped up in a clinch battle. Leslie can pulverise opponents with nasty knees to the body and head but can be frustrated when opponents won't play his game. As careful as Davisdon needs to be coming in Leslie must be equally cautious when looking to tie D up, as he will be vulnerable to the counter takedown and submission stylings of his foe. Davisdon has been something of an arm collector so far in his career and the long limbs of Leslie will look like a T-Bone to a junkyard dog.



Prediction: One of the hallmarks of ICON:LV so far has been close fights and this one is balanced on a knife edge too. Both will be confident going into this one but Leslie's armoury contains the more devastating weaponry, look for him to set the tone in round one and finish the job in round two with those brutal knee strikes.





Bantamweight: Joe' The Pitch' Castro (1-0-1, 0-0-1 ICON) vs Coors 'Silver Bullet' Light (1-0-1, 0-0-1 ICON)



When these two first met I predicted a close affair but no one could have predicted just how tight it would be, as both men left the cage disappointed with the draw. I had Light as the winner on my scorecard, for as little as it is worth, based purely on takedown maths. It was inactivity that cost both men though as the opportunities to put to fist to face were there but neither seemed inclined to take them. So unimpressive was Light in top control that Castro was happy to pull guard repeatedly and more action may well be enough to convince the judges this time around that Light deserves the nod. Both fighters had areas to work on and now it comes down to who put in more time in the gym.



Prediction: Please Lord give us more action. Light cost himself with periods of inactivity last time, change that and he takes the win. Only an unlikely Castro submission off his back can deny Light this time around.








Featherweight: Lee 'Big' Bang (1-0-1, 1-0 ICON) vs Craig 'Warrior' Wardlaw (1-1, 1-0 ICON)



Lee Bang is one of the stand out talents in a deep division, and someone earmarked for great things. He possesses one of the single most dangerous weapons in all of ICON:LV in his Sagat-esque uppercuts. If you lose focus for a second you will find his fist rising towards your face in no time and then the canvas rising to meet your face not long after that. But Craig Wardlaw is not called Warrior for no reason, and he will give Bang a real rest if he can close the distance. Isaiah Martinez will vouch for how little you want to be on the receiving end of Wardlaws ground and pound and if he gets top position on Bang the upset becomes more and more likely.



Prediction: These two are both dangerous men in the featherweight division but all fights start standing and Bang will have an uppercut primed and ready for the first imperfect takedown from Wardlaw. It might not turn out the lights but it will mark the beginning of the end. Bang by TKO late in round 1.







Bantamweight: Chierehdk Cknlaskhr (4-0) vs Ethan 'Captain Insaneo' Harris (5-2-1)



This fight has all the makings of a classic as arguably the two best prospects in the 135lbs division look to continue their rise to the top. QFC tournament winner Cknlaskhr has finished every man to step in front of him so far in his career displaying impressive diversity with arm, head and leg submissions and a picture perfect TKO win in his 4 outings. Harris has looked equally promising, utilising his height to slash opponents to ribbons with elbows in the clinch. Where he has looked vulnerable however is on the canvas where his grappling inexperience has been exposed. Whenever Cknlaskhr does find himself in the clinch he will look to pull guard immediately as every moment locked in the clinch is a moment he could be busted open in. Whether he has the wrestling chops to plant Harris on his back remains to be seen in this fascinatingly poised duel.



Prediction: This fight should be magic! Cknlaskhr has proven he only needs one opportunity to end a fight but will Harris give him it? The longer this goes on the harder it will be for Cknlaskhr, if it makes it out of round one then Harris can put on another clinch clinic and KO a tiring Cknlaskhr.







Middleweight: Tito 'Island Killer' Jackson (4-1, 1-0 ICON) vs Homer Jaysimpson (4-4)



Homer Jaysimpson is at a crossroads in his career, at 4-4 he can either push on from here and impose himself here in ICON:LV or he continue hovering at the .500 mark and find himself consigned to a gatekeeper role. He undeniably has the tools to make an impact in the division but Tito Jackson will not be in a generous mood. Island Killer is a constricting ground and pounder who expertly softens up his quarry before moving in for the kill. His style is the mirror image of Jaysimpson but his rewards thus far have been greater. The first fighter to score the takedown will pick up all the momentum and both have the tools to stay in control.



Prediction: Just like every other fight on this card, this fight is finely poised but it's impossible to ignore the 4 losses on Homer's record, 2 TKO's and 2 subs show he can be victim to smart fighters who know how to beat him, fighters like Tito Jackson. Jackson by ground and pound in round two.







Light Heavyweight: Diego Russell (7-4) vs Bud 'King of Beers' Weiser (2-0, 1-0 ICON)



Bud Weiser entered the main event of ICON:LV's debut event as a huge underdog, turns out that Weiser isn't much of a believer in such labels. His second round TKO of Agnar Gorm sent shockwaves around Las Vegas and put a target on his back. Entering the 205lber shark tank for the first time will be 11 fight veteran Diego Russell, a powerful wrestler who is by no means some lay and pray blanket, with all but one of his 7 victories coming by way of the finish. On paper he seems like the second coming of Agnar Gorm and we all know how that ended last time.



Prediction: Russell is dangerous and experienced, with all the tools to win this one comfortably, but I know better than to write off Weiser a second time. King of Beers by decision or late TKO.







Middleweight: 'The Crippler' Fancy Mcghee (14-11) vs Alex Jones (12-10)



Here at ICON:LV we are blessed with divisions stacked full of potential superstars but the dog eat dog prospects filled cards can only get you so far, sooner rather than later you will need two battle forged veterans to throwdown and give the young guns something to aspire too. Step forward Jones and Mcghee. These guys have seen it all in their long careers and will be relishing this opportunity for different reasons. Dangerous kickboxer Alex Jones is on a tear right now, searching for a 4th win on the bounce against a desperate Mcghee who wants to halt a two fight skid and prove he still has what it takes to compete at the top. This is going to be a stand up battle pure and simple for as long as it lasts and a joy to watch.



Prediction: Mcghee just has too many miles on the clock and momentum matters. These two will trade leather until The Crippler drops his hands just enough for Jones to strike with his patented explosive headkicks in round two.


Preview written by Halam Walker

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[Guest]

SPFT 140: Post Pay-Per-View Summary written by Furious Styles

 

Hello good people, it’s Furious Styles back at the scene of another tremendous post Pay-Per-View summary of a Steel Penn Fighting Temple event! I know it has been a bit of time since you’ve last heard from me and I do apologize for that. As all of you know, various life events can absorb quite a bit of time unexpectedly, but that never stops Steel Penn from holding events that are historical, thrilling and make the fans want more each time!

 

The Los Angeles Coliseum had yet another small earthquake caused by the raucous mixed martial arts fans that attended the most recent Steel Penn event! I know many football fans speak about the noise that Seahawks fans can cause, or Richard Sherman all by himself, but they’ve got nothing of the great fans that attend these Pay-Per-Views!

SPFT 140 brought us one Featherweight, two Lightweight, two Welterweight, two Middleweight, two Light Heavyweight and one Super Heavyweight battle that will not be soon forgotten. So, as always, let’s bypass the formalities…and let’s get down to business!

 

The night’s events began with the big boys, the Mack trucks, the bulls known as the Super Heavyweights! “The Power” Willy Stoppers (33-13) of Children of the Law of One and Thiago “Fiote” Tavares (13-4) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – The Alliance in the house! Stoppers had basically a sixty pound advantage over Tavares in this fight and as I see it, the extra weight came in handy, especially for his already powerful punches. Tavares had the right approach in my opinion, trying to chop down the larger man with strong leg kicks, which Tavares was able to land effectively. The first two minutes of this fight saw Tavares landing accurate punches and a couple of kicks, but Stoppers landed more punches then worked his own kicks into his attacks and that seemed to throw Tavares off just a bit.

 

Tavares blocked a head kick from Stoppers but the power of the kick still managed to cut Tavares, and it seemed to me that this bothered Tavares more than he lead on. He continued to be aggressive in his standup game but his accuracy suffered a bit. In addition, Stoppers was reported to have improved his striking defense and that assisted him, no doubt. Tavares was able to land some solid counter strikes as well, but overall it was Stoppers who landed the more effective and damaging strikes. Tavares stepped up his energy output and level of aggression in the second round, and he was able to land some damaging leg kicks. However, he became a bit sloppy with one kick in particular and nailed Stoppers right in the beanbag! The crowd groaned in understanding pain but Stoppers was able to shake it off after a few minutes and the fight continued.

 

The low blow seemed to motivate Stoppers and he increased his aggression, landing some hard shots, especially kicks that slowed Tavares. Once Tavares slowed, Stoppers measured him and dropped him with a very fast and strong two-punch combo! Tavares got back to his feet but was on rubbery legs for certain. Stoppers measured him again, and after a failed attempt to get closer to Stoppers to possibly clinch and try to gather himself, Stoppers made Tavares eat a jab and followed it with a vicious jaw-cracking right knee that put Tavares on his back and turned out the lights, giving Stoppers the KNOCKOUT VICTORY!

 

Stoppers’ knockout victory earned Fight of the Night honors and he’s proud of that. Stoppers fights his way back into the win column after a recent defeat by Neo Kable on Christmas Day so he kicks off his New Year in a very good way. Tavares has a FIVE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPPED but will look to begin a new win streak when he battles Chung Quela!

 

Moving from heaviest to lightest, the next two fights were Light Heavyweight battles that began with Jamie “Takedown” Gillis (24-15) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – make some noise for the Alliance baby! –and “Deadly” Fullsize Mirror (25-15) of Fat Camp! Now I know that there are some special individuals who become mixed martial artists because let’s be honest, it’s not everyone who can step into a ring or cage with someone else who’s trying to do them harm. However, there are some who seem to exhibit rather odd mental approaches to fighting, and to have a name like Fullsize Mirror? Well, it seems to me that he fits this unusual classification, but hey, to each their own.

 

Both fighters were pretty evenly matched physically and in terms of fight experience, so the better prepared man was going to win this battle. Mirror nailed Gillis with a stinging right hook that opened up a cut above Gillis’ left eye. Gillis was able to land a few punches of his own in the clinch but decided to take the fight to the ground where he felt he had a distinct advantage. Mirror definitely didn’t want to stay on the ground and he did his best to end the fight quickly with multiple submission attempts. However, Gillis was too skilled and prepared for those attempts and controlled the action to score the necessary points on the judges’ cards.

 

Gillis began the second round far better than he did in the first, finding his punching and kicking range much faster and hitting Mirror with scoring strikes. He didn’t do any major damage but he was setting up Mirror for another takedown, which he managed a little after a minute into the round. Mirror again attempted a submission ending but to no avail and Gillis controlled the action again to finish the round and score the points. In the third round, it was more of the same action with Gillis getting the takedown, but surprisingly he opted to slow the action and made the referee stand both men up. Gillis elected to finish the fight standing toe-to-toe with Mirror instead of taking him down, but he did enough to win the fight by UNANIMOUS DECISION!

Gillis SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK so his New Year is also off to a very good start. Mirror finds himself back in the L column and will surely look to get out of that as soon as possible.

 

The other Light Heavyweight battle unfolded between Jinhai Yoshida (5-2) of Children of the Law of One and Matt Santos (13-9) of The Unholy Outlaws! I don’t know if Santos insulted Yoshida’s mother or something of that nature, but both of these men were quite aggressive and Yoshida went into a bloodlust! A nasty left cross from Yoshida opened up a cut above Santos’ right eye and that was just the beginning! Both men gave and took solid punches and kicks, and Santos returned the blood favor by tagging Yoshida with a slicing right elbow that opened a cut above Yoshida’s left eye!

 

Yoshida seriously got pissed off after that elbow and you could see the determination in his face! After a battle of who could take more than the other man with elbows, knees, and punches being thudded into each other’s bodies, Yoshida shifted the momentum to his favor with a head-snapping right hook that definitely dazed Santos! After mixing it up a bit more, Yoshida returned the slicing elbow favor and planted a brutal left elbow right on the cut above Santos’ right eye and opened it up even more. Yoshida’s eyes got wide when he saw the blood flow and he focused directly on that cut. Yoshida managed to slip a stiff left hook right on the cut that caused the blood to flow steadily and also made Santos wince in pain!

 

Yoshida basically stared right at the cut and despite Santos’ best efforts, he wasn’t able to keep Yoshida from punching the cut again and causing it to turn his face into a crimson mask! Santos was in serious trouble at this point and Yoshida knew it. He measured Santos and unleashed a brain-rattling right uppercut that dropped Santos to one knee! Santos was able to keep himself from falling but that proved to not help much at all, because Yoshida measured him again and blasted him with a left uppercut that loosened some of Santos’ teeth! Santos hit the mat, Yoshida leapt on him and the referee had no choice but to step in, giving the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT victory to Yoshida!

 

Yoshida EXTENDS HIS WIN STREAK TO THREE and currently awaits a fight offer to be accepted! Santos has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW so he will want to get off the snide as soon as possible!

 

The first Middleweight battle went down between Jack “Hammer” Fall (15-5) of The Corporation and Ronaldo “The Masquerade” Silva (24-12) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – can I get a what what!? Though both men have standup skill, the assumption was this was going to be a ground battle and for those who guessed that, they were absolutely correct. After trading standup techniques, Fall took the fight to the ground and very aggressively looked to end the fight by way of submission! Silva kept calm and avoided allowing himself to be caught in any submission holds and controlled the action to end the round. The second round was more of the same with Fall scoring the takedown. However, Silva was able to slow the action enough to force the referee to stand both men up, and not long after that occurred, Silva was able to open up a cut over Fall’s left eye by using a very stiff right jab that caught Fall off guard.

 

However, Fall stuck with his approach to the fight and again took the action to the ground. It seemed the judges favored Silva in that round due to his effective striking and ability to avoid damage on the ground. In the final round, Fall knew he had to finish the fight or he could very well lose by decision, and his corner also told him to end the fight to make sure there were no possibilities of losing by decision. Silva aggressively took the fight to the ground but it was Fall who used that aggression against Silva! Once on the ground, Fall played a bit of possum and allowed Silva to overcommit to trying to gain better positioning.

 

Fall suddenly locked in a Guillotine that was cinched in tightly and quickly! Silva knew he was in trouble and did his best to escape, but it was too little too late and he was forced to tap out! Fall earned the SUBMISSION VICTORY and Fight of the Night honors as well! He is back in the win column. Silva falls – no pun intended – back into the loss column after this fight but will no doubt work diligently to overcome that.

 

The final Middleweight fight placed Glenn Carson (24-13-1) of LEGION OF DOOM and “Mean Mugging” John Malham (24-19) of FinnFighters in the cage across from one another! The first round was a standup war that the crowd very much appreciated and enjoyed! Both men landed some hard shots and kept asking for more. Carson was able to get the better of the standup once he was able to lock Malham into a very tight and effective clinch, though Malham’s defense kept him from taking serious damage. The second round began with the clinch dance that began in the first and again, Carson was a bit more effective here than Malham was.

 

Malham finally got out of the clinch near the end of the round and shook Carson’s spine with a strong right head kick that cut Carson above his left eye and shook him just a bit! Malham opted to go back into the clinch after the snapping head kick, which was a bit odd, but he took no damage so it wasn’t bad. Going into the final round, one would assume that Malham would do his best to keep the fight at striking distance, but he allowed Malham to get into a clinch again and this proved costly. Carson was able to score effective strikes and gather his senses, and both of those factors worked against Malham. After some time, Malham was able to break the clinch but at that point, Carson had the energy and confidence he needed to go toe-to-toe with Malham and get the better of him. Right before the bell rang, Carson rocked Malham with a two-punch combination that dazed Malham and scored the final necessary points that helped

Carson earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION!

 

Carson SNAPPED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK so he’s feeling good about himself after recent struggles! Malham has now LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and I’m sure his management team will do their best to help him turn his recent struggles around!

 

Moving into the Welterweight division fights on the card, the action began by pitting Mateus Gracie (22-12) of International Cocksmen and “Donkey Style AKA Badonk-a” Don Key (30-9-2) of The Broken Halo Pride in the cage! Key was a punching machine early in this fight, punishing Gracie with a painful flurry of punches, specifically uppercuts and crosses that really sent a message and let Gracie know that punching with Key was going to be hell! Gracie got the message loud and clear and went to work on Key’s legs with fast, accurate and strong kicks, which allowed Gracie to gather himself from the earlier onslaught. Once Gracie settled in, he began to land some punches of his own and it became obvious that he was comfortable, his fighting experience taking over quickly.

 

After both warriors traded offensive and defensive techniques, Gracie changed the course of the round by taking Key to the ground and attempting to make him submit! Key was able to avoid tapping out but Gracie controlled the action on the ground and getting the nod from the judges on their scorecards. The second round began as another standup war which neither combatant really had an advantage in as I saw it, so Gracie again took the fight to the ground. This time Key was able to slow things down enough to where the referee stood the fighters up, but shortly afterward, Key wasn’t able to keep Gracie from taking the fight to the ground again. Key was able to once again force another referee standup, but Gracie again took Key to the ground and finished the round there, scoring the vital points on the scorecards. Key’s corner told him that he had to finish the fight to win because it was too close to call.

 

Gracie was able to land some body shots, and in culmination with the multiple take downs, it seemed Key ran out of energy. Once fatigued, Key was able to be taken to the mat again and Gracie, sensing Key’s energy drain, went for the submission finish! It took him three attempts because Key had enough in his tank to fight Gracie off, but Gracie was just too relentless and finally locked in a Triangle! Key knew he was in trouble but he simply ran out of steam and had to tap out, giving Gracie the SUBMISSION VICTORY as well as Submission of the Night honors!

 

Gracie WON HIS SECOND FIGHT IN A ROW and may very well win a third if he wears that very distracting shirt with that partially nude young lady on the front. Wow! Don Key has NOW LOST TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and is no doubt anxious to get his fortunes turned around quickly!

 

The final Welterweight battle of the evening transpired between “Kaunto Sento” Mitsuyo Maeda (15-8-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – we represent even in the Far East baby! – and “Indio” Simeon Malaya (24-9), also of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE! Again, the inter-Alliance battles are cool with us because we’re a family-oriented alliance, but I know Maeda will be giving Malaya grief at the next BBQ get together we have, that’s for sure. Maeda was extremely aggressive from the get-go, wanting to establish the tone and himself in this fight. Malaya was able to land an occasional punch or kick, but for the most part, the strikes came from Maeda. After he felt he slowed Malaya just enough, Maeda took the fight to the ground.

Malaya was able to avoid any serious damage plus control Maeda enough to force the referee to stand them up, but shortly afterward, Maeda took the fight right back down to the ground.

 

Malaya attempted to catch Maeda off guard with a last-second Triangle but Maeda was ready for it and the time for the round ran out. In the second round, Maeda took the fight to the ground and kept it there. He wasn’t able to punish Malaya the way he wanted to, but he controlled the fight enough to gain the advantage on the scorecards, which was definitely enough for that round. Malaya’s corner told him that he had to stop Maeda to win this fight, plain and simple. Maeda’s corner told him to keep doing what he was doing and he’s got the fight in the bag.

Maeda took the fight to the ground again early, but after some struggling for position by both men, Malaya managed to get back to his feet and dared Maeda to stand and bang! Maeda followed suit, which his corner really didn’t like too much, but he held his own despite Malaya trying to drop him. Maeda finished the fight appropriately by taking it to the ground one last time to finish it out and earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Maeda has now WON TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and is currently awaiting an offer to be accepted for his next fight! Malaya has a THREE FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED so he’ll have to hear about that for a while as well. He can take it though so I’m sure he’s not worried about it.

 

Next up were the Lightweights, beginning with Zophiel Furfur (22-9) of Evolution Fight Clan and Kirill “anaconda” Petrov (28-19) of The Exiled! Many fans in attendance expected a standup war and that’s what they were treated to, at least in the first round! Good striking and defense were shown by both men and it was apparent that Petrov wanted to take this fight into the clinch. What did he get for his efforts? An errant knee to the groin that Furfur apologized profusely about but nonetheless, it took some wind out of Petrov for certain! Petrov gathered himself and kept up his efforts, finally locking in a clinch. However, Furfur was the more aggressive and effective fighter in the clinch so that plan backfired on Petrov.

 

In the second round, Petrov decided to take his chances by taking the fight to the ground, but not after trying his luck in the clinch again. After realizing that the clinch just wasn’t happening for him, he eventually got Furfur to the ground and tried his best to make him tap out, but Furfur was able to defend himself very well and finished the round ahead on the score cards. Petrov’s corner told him that he needed to finish the fight to win and there was no other way. Petrov did his best to finish the fight on the ground, but Furfur was able to not only avoid the submission but also slowed the action down a great deal by controlling Petrov. The crowd even began to boo a bit because of the slowdown, but it enabled Furfur to finish the fight and earn

the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Furfur STRETCHED HIS WIN STREAK TO FOUR and continues to position himself for a possible title shot. Petrov has now DROPPED TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and next battles Ash Campbell!

 

The last Lightweight fight occurred between Raul Portugis (21-10-1) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – loud and proud baby! – and Guy Kopec (13-13) of Public Enemy! The first two rounds of this fight were nearly identical with both warriors choosing to stand and throw hands and feet! Kopec has shown the ability to take a solid shot and keep right on going, and that was on display here as he took some strong punches from Portugis. Kopec was able to land some solid pops of his own but it wasn’t enough to win over the judges. Near the end of the round, Kopec changed his approach and took the fight to the mat, but Portugis had enough skill and energy to avoid any major damage and finish the round.

 

The second round wound up going to the ground around the four minute mark, but again, Portugis had too much energy and defensive ability to allow himself to be caught in a submission. Kopec’s corner told him that he needed to knock Portugis out or he would lose the fight! Kopec got what he wanted because Portugis was willing to trade toe-to-toe but Kopec wasn’t able to take advantage, and in fact, it was Portugis who got the better of that exchange to finish out the round and the fight. Portugis earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY and has now WON TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW and will have some time to savor this victory. Kopec has now DROPPED THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and currently has a fight under offer!

 

Last but not least, Tad Ghostal (32-13) of Tycoon World Order and The Farmboy” Mateus Allen 23-8) of THE STEEL PENN ALLIANCE – you know what time it is! Ghostal wanted to keep this fight standing and Allen felt he could be more effective on the ground where he had the weight advantage. During the standup portion of the first round, Ghostal was the more accurate striker and jumped ahead on the score cards. Allen was able to eventually get the fight to the ground, but he wasn’t able to take advantage of the situation and fell behind on the score.

 

The second round was spent in both the stand up and the clinch. In both situations, Ghostal continued to be the more effective fighter and Allen became frustrated by his inability to land stronger, more damaging shots on Ghostal. When the round ended, Allen’s corner told him to take the fight to the ground and try to make Ghostal tap because in the standup, it just wasn’t happening. Allen took the fight to the ground but Ghostal tried to surprise Allen with a quick submission attempt. Allen was too determined to let Ghostal make him tap, but that took time out of the fight and Allen simply didn’t have the time to try more submissions and thus, Ghostal went on to earn the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY!

 

Ghostal fought his way back into the winning side of life and is enjoying it! Allen has now DROPPED TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW so he has his work cut out for him when he next fights!

Well ladies and gentlemen, there you have it and I thank you very much for joining me for another Steel Penn Fighting Temple event summary. I hope you enjoyed the fights and will be in attendance for the next SPFT event coming up soon! As always, Steel Penn strives to bring you the top quality in fights, products, and high quality gyms that enable you to improve as a fighter. Take care, be well…and I’ll see you at the next fights!

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[Guest]

STEEL PENN ICON-LV 5 HOSTILE TAKEOVER PREVIEW

(FINAL EVENT UNDER STEEL PENN BANNER)

 

 

It is part of the circle of life, your kid’s age and mature and then move on and out. That is exactly what is about to happen in Steel Penn ICON- Las Vegas. ICON LV 5 Hostile Takeover will mark the end of a short lived era, in which this organization flew the Steel Penn banner. On February 1st the official changeover will be complete with a new name and a champion becoming crowned at Honor 1 Renaissance. The birth of Honor Fighting Championship is the dawning of a new era for owner Dan Monk and all of Las Vegas. This conversation all though is for another time as we have 10 big fights to breakdown for the last event under the Steel Penn name.

Preliminary Bout Number 1- Middleweight Fight

Gustavo Gracie (3-2) {0-0} versus Carlos “The Rattlesnake” Jimenez (2-2) {0-0}

Gracie got off to a terrible start to his young career with two straight losses. As it started to turn around he was dropped by his manager. Sean Doyle picked up the fighter and made sure he stayed on the winning side of things. Now Gracie has won three fights in a row and the brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is looking to keep things heading up. Across from “The Rattlesnake” has just turned his luck around, coming off two losses he is now on a two win fight streak. Jimenez has the advantage in the striking department, but clearly the winner of three straight fights by submission has the ground game control in this one. Jimenez better look to stay off the ground, but I do not think he will be able to. I am going to pick Gustavo Gracie to pick up the win by submission in the first round.

Preliminary Bout Number 2- Featherweight Fight

Bruce Shashia (2-2) {0-1} versus Janusz Bomba (0-2) {0-1}

Both of these fighters lost their debut fight in ICON- LV and now it’s time for one of them to get a win. Shashia is a wrestler and boxer who does not mind to stand and bang or look for the takedown. Once on the ground Bruce enjoys the ground and pound. Shashia has had three of his fights go the distance so we know there are no conditioning issues with him. Bomba has also gone the distance so this fights could easily go to the judges. With Bomba yet to taste victory he should come out and get aggressive. He will want to change up his style and try and get the ball rolling in the right direction. Honestly this is a very tough fight to predict, but I am going to give it to the twenty four year old and say Shashia wins by decision.

Preliminary Bout Number 3- Light Heavyweight Fight

Investitor Gradnje (3-0) {1-0} versus Kurt “Swift” Zukaryian (1-1) {1-0}

Gradnje is a Muay Thai striker as well as a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He clearly prefers the ground game winning all three of his fights by submission, including an impressive third round guillotine choke which won him his first fight in ICON-LV. In all of his fights we have not seen much of the Muay Thai so it is safe to assume he will be looking for the takedown nice and early. Zukaryian is a boxer and wrestler who looks for the takedown. He will try and win by any means necessary as he won with a bottom submission in his last fight. I am not sure if he will want to go to the ground with the purple belt in this one though. I would look for Kurt to be a bit more aggressive with his punches, as he looks to stuff the takedowns. I think either Kurt will not take my advice or Investitor will get this fight to the ground some other way and pick up a fourth submission victory and he will do it in the first round.

Preliminary Bout Number 4- Featherweight Fight

Jack “The Tank” Harris (3-1) {1-0} versus Brian “Cold Bloded” Fury (2-1) {1-0}

Harris is a superb wrestler that has a semi-aggressive lay and pray strategy about him. He stays pretty active on the ground, but has yet to finish a fight in his three wins. He will be looking to do a lot of lay and pray in this bout as he is over matched in the striking department. Fury is a respectable Muay Thai striker, but both of his wins have come by decision. It may be that he does not possess the knockout ability or it could be that he is just inaccurate in the clinch. His basic game plan has been to clinch and throw power shots to the head. He does do very well controlling in the clinch, and he might want to lay off the power and look to more accurately land to add damage that way. I think Harris will be able to get the takedown from the clinch, and I will be picking him to win by decision.

Preliminary Bout Number 5- Middleweight Fight

Anderson “Shogun” Christopher (1-1) {0-0} versus “The Wasp” Wade West (0-0) {0-0}

Christopher is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he showed us his skills in a tournament winning his first fight by submission in the first round. Christopher does not have a wrestling back round so that could cause a lot of problems getting the fight to the ground. He will want to try just about anything to get his opponent to the ground including pulling guard or even allowing a takedown. Standing across from him is Wade West who is a wonderful Muay Thai striker that will be making his debut. West will want to keep the fight standing so he might want to avoid the clinch game. Leg kicks to keep the distance and head kicks to knock out his opponent should be what he is looking for in this one. I have heard Anderson Christopher is on a ridiculous training regimen and if that is true he could gas out early, because of that I am picking West to win by knockout in the first round.

Main Card Bout Number 1- Lightweight Fight

Julius Caesar (2-0) {0-0} versus Marek Contofalsky (2-4) {0-0}

Caesar is putting his undefeated record on the line in this bout, and will look to defend it with his strong boxing. He likes to strike from a distance with accuracy shots, and he mixes his strikes and combos up well. He will need to keep mixing up his strikes to keep the better striker off his game in this one. Marek is a 22 year old 6 fight veteran who should be looking to take an advantage in the clinch. He has thrown knees and elbows from the clinch in his past and he should look to do that instead of striking from range with the boxer. This is a hard matchup to break down as Marek has more losses than Caesar has fights. I am going to pick Caesar to win a very close one, and I think he will do it with a second round TKO.

Main Card Bout Number 2- Middleweight Fight

Donovan “Ronin” Robertson (3-0) {0-0} versus Deco “Glass Knee” Early (1-0) {1-0}

In three fights Robertson has spent less than seven minutes in the cage winning all of his bouts in the first round by submission. The purple belt will be looking for much of the same in this one, as he will want to get Deco down early and look to take control on the ground. Early got put on his back in his only fight, but looked amazing defending a submission and then sprawling to come out on top. From there Deco looked to improve his position while throwing strikes instead of just getting up. In the second round Early laid his opponent out with punches to get himself a Knockout of the Night Award. Early will not want to let Robertson get him to the ground though, and his wrestling just might be good enough. He will need to stuff every takedown attempt and make Robertson pay for even thinking about it. I am going to pick Robertson to win in this bout of the undefeated via 2nd round submission.

Main Card Bout Number 3- Light Heavyweight Fight

“The Viking” Agnar Gorm (5-1) {0-1} versus Lotas Mauras (1-0) {1-0}

Gorm lost his debuting bout in the ICON- LV to Bud Weiser by TKO via strikes. Gorm will want to avoid the strikes and use wonderful wrestling to get Mauras off his feet. Once on the ground Gorm can strike or look for the submission and even though he only holds a blue belt in BJJ he does have two wins by submission. Mauras is a striker through and through. A wonderful boxer and respectable Muay Thai striker with little to no ground game. In his only fight he got a knockout victory with a head kick just 26 seconds into the fight. Mauras will clearly want to stay away from the ground, but he should be more than comfortable anywhere on his feet. Speaking of feet Mauras should look to use a lot of kicks as we have already seen there destructive nature. I am going to pick the striker in this bout and say Lotas Mauras to win by knockout in the first round.

Main Card Bout Number 4- Bantamweight Fight

Austin “Hollywood” Worner (16-16) {0-0} versus Gabriel “DaBeast” Douglas (2-1) {1-0}

Worner has 32 fights under his belt and will be looking to stay on his current win streak. He is on a 4 fight winning streak and has won 8 of his last 11. Worner likes to use his BJJ skills as 12 of his 16 wins have come by submission. He will want to try and get this fight to the ground and put those skills to work. Worner all though is no slouch in the striking department as he is strong in boxing. The underdog Gabriel Douglas will want to strike with Worner since he has the better striking. Also DaBeast is a better wrestler so he should be able to keep this fight standing. Douglas will need to show the world that he does possess knockout power since both of his wins have come by decision. The longer this fight goes on the more chance Worner has to getting the fight to the ground. I am going to go way out on a limb and pick Douglas to win the fight, and get lucky enough to survive throughout three rounds. Gabriel will take this home with a decision victory.

Main Event, Main Card Bout Number 5- Lightweight Fight

Arshnoor “THE BURTALIZER” Singh (4-1) {0-0} versus Viet “Maokhamphiou” Lights Out (2-0) {1-0}

Singh will be making his ICON-LV/ Honor FC debut, but he is certainly not a new to all of this. Singh lost his first bout, but is currently on a 4 fight win streak. In his last three fight he took home Knockout of the Night Awards with vicious head kicks. He should be looking to keep at this pattern of success and look to strike from range. Lights Out has taken different approaches to both of his fights with the same results. Two knockouts one from range and one from the clinch so he is up for a striking challenge. It will certainly be difficult to pick a winner in this one, but it is clear that somebody is going to get knocked out. Lights Out is the shorter and heavier fighter so he will be at a pretty big disadvantage in this one. Because of the size difference I am going to pick Singh to win by knockout in the first round.

Ten big fights set up to conclude the Steel Penn banner. The next time you will hear from me with a preview it will be Honor Fighting Championship. This event will be a special one since it is the changing of the guard and these fights should not disappoint. Please make sure to pick up all of your clothing needs at Meet the Future as they will have booths located in and around the arena. Honor Fighting Championship has a great partner in Meet the Future and everyone is excited to start the new era. If you agree, disagree, or just want to comment about anything in this article please drop a line on the Smack Talk Forums and let us know what you think.

This article has been written by Tony Rossi and the views and opinions are his, and may not reflect those of ICON- LV/ Honor Fight Club. All writings are owned by ICON-LV/ Honor FC and may not be reused or re-transmitted without written expressed consent from ICON-LV/ Honor FC.