Lightning Fight League - New York

[Chris2K]

The Lightning Fight League is a new fight organisation looking to bring in rookie fighters to give them the chance to shine.

 

Whilst our long term plan is to develop into a larger company for the time being we just want to make this a fun place to have your fighters with regular shows to keep the money rolling in!

 

Weight divisions are being kept between 155 and 265 for the time being, although if there's a lack of fighters that may drop and if I can get a solid number of Bantamweights and Featherweights then I'm happy to open those divisions up.

 

I have had experience running a Fight Org before, I ran a company called Stampede Fighting Championship in Montreal which ran over 100 shows. I'm hoping to do even better this time and I need all the support I can get!

 

If you're interested in joining please feel free to send me a message on the forums or in-game, I'm also looking for someone to do a logo/banner for some in-game money .

[Chris2K]

Check out the article about the Lightning Fight League in the Tycoon Times here:

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/tycoontimes/tycoontimesstory.php?SID=1506

 

The first card has been booked and a preview will be made soon, we're still actively seeking new fighters so feel free to get in touch

[Chris2K]

Welcome everyone to the preview of the very first Lightning Fight League show, entitled "LFL 1: Venn vs. Brooks", which will be taking place at the Micro Arena in New York on Saturday April 13th. We're going to run through every fight on the card to show you the array of talent that the LFL has managed to get hold of in one way or another.

 

The very first LFL fight will be in the Welterweight division between Tommy Goldman (7-6) and Andrew Trent (7-1). Goldman is one of the most experienced fighters in the organisation after fighting several times in Montreal for ACME, unfortunately his time there wasn't very successful as he amassed a 1-5 record before being released. Thankfully the QFC came to the rescue to give Goldman six wins and make him look better than he actually is. Andrew Trent has a very impressive record and is currently riding a six fight win streak. During that time he won the ECF Welterweight title in New York before the org closed, and has finished his last four fights in Rounds 1 or 2. These two fighters are very evenly matched so I'm expecting a boring decision.

 

In the Light Heavyweight division we will see LJ Warner (3-0) take on Jacob Alexander (7-2). This is another very even battle with the only real advantage going to Warner if the fight goes to the ground due to being better at BJJ. Warner lacks the experience of Alexander but also has a 100% record, two of the wins coming in the QFC and one in his brief stay at TTFC in New York which was a devastating 3 minute KO. Jacob Alexander is a ground and pound specialist, of his 7 wins 3 of them have been by TKO on the ground and 2 times he has forced his opponent to submit due to the power of his ground strikes. If this fight does go to the ground it will be very interesting to see who is able to come out on top.

 

The close battles continue into the Lightweight division when Robbie Hartford (2-1) takes on Edilberto Nestuta (9-4). Both of these fighters have a Muay Thai base and actually spent several years training together before they made their MMA debuts. Hartford has had less fights and didn't look very impressive in them, his victory was a close decision and his two other fights were TKO losses. Nestuta got off to a great start to his career thanks to his vicious knees and killer instinct, but began to suffer losses to fighters who were able to negate his clinch game. I think it's fair to say these two are likely to battle in the clinch for the majority of the fight.

 

Finally we come to a fight between fighters that don't belong to me. In the Lightweight division Alberto Rodriguez (0-0) takes on Jon Penn (1-0) in a match where both fighters are almost polar opposites. Rodriguez will come in with a significant striking and wrestling advantage whilst Penn is better at Muay Thai and BJJ. The only fight either of these two have had gives us a good indication of the strength of Penn's ground game, he was able to submit Valnor Perrea with a heel hook in Round 3. It will be interesting to see where the fight mainly takes place, the winner will depend on who is able to get the fight where they want it.

 

In the third Lightweight fight Bret Hill (18-13) takes on Lance Marcy (0-0) in what looks like a mis-match in experience terms. However Hill is coming out of retirement to take this fight and Marcy is a well-trained striker who will likely dominate if the fight stays on the feet. Hill is the most experienced fighter on the roster with 31 fights and 3 championships to his name in the SFC, ECF and UFF. However they were all at Featherweight and Hill is much lighter than his opponent. Marcy is a well-rounded fighter whose 0-0 record is misleading, significant training has made him a dangerous fighter wherever the fight takes place and as such is a heavy favourite.

 

Next up is another fighter making his professional debut as Edgar van der Houst enters the cage to take on Tank Goldman (0-1). Van der Houst is pretty much your one-dimensional kick boxer who has very ordinary skills in everything except striking. His biggest weakness is in the clinch where he seems to have absolutely no clue but he also isn't great off his back and his wrestling is just about good enough to defend himself if necessary. Tank Goldman may have lost his professional debut but he seems to have some potential, the 20 year old came across a fighter under the tutelage of veteran manager and master tactician Dave F (once a mentor to me before he saw sense) so the defeat could be expected. Goldman should have no problem winning this one.

 

In the Light Heavyweight division Blight Phears (0-1) will take on Lorenzo Fabricio (0-0) in the typical striker vs. grappler battle. Phears will have the advantage on the ground with some decent BJJ skills, however when the fight is standing it is Fabricio who is likely to outshine Phears significantly. In Phears' only fight he was grinded on for three rounds without ever being put in any danger of being finished, Phears did manage to secure three takedowns during the fight but may need to adjust his tactics a bit to be less one-dimensional.

 

Another fight in the 205lb division sees the strangely named Arm Bar (0-0) take on the equally weird Du Frukost (0-2). Again it's going to come down to Boxing vs. Jiu-Jitsu, Frukost has some impressive boxing skills which can also be utilised inside the clinch whereas Arm Bar, as you'd expect with a name like that, is more proficient on the ground and will be hoping to get the fight there as soon as possible. Frukost's losses have come at the hands of the vastly more experienced Bam Boon I and a very skilled ground fighter called Mike Westfield.

 

Finally we move on to the biggest two fights of the night, firstly in the co-main event we will see Kova Naama (2-3) take on Dalip Rana (0-0). On paper it seems that Naama is the more proficient fighter with strengths in boxing, Muay Thai and BJJ, however Rana does have the wrestling edge which could give him the opportunity to dictate where the fight takes place. Naama also struggles with inconsistency, whilst his record from his time in SPNY has two TKO victories it also has three losses, one by KO, one by submission and one decision. Rana definitely has the chance to score an upset here; the important thing for him is to make sure he is tactically astute.

 

Finally the very first LFL main event will be in the Heavyweight division as Hayden Venn (0-0) takes on CM Brooks (0-0) amazingly despite both of these fighters never having competed before their match is the one that has the biggest hype behind it. That may be mainly due to their former lives, Venn who is a former celebrity chef who has traded in his knives for hand-to-hand combat whilst CM Brooks is a local professional wrestler. Venn will have an advantage in both Muay Thai and Wrestling going into the fight but in a pre-match interview he stated he was going to go out there and trade punches despite Brooks having the edge in Boxing. If that's the case I would expect Brooks will be able to come out victorious.

 

That's the card so join us at the Micro Arena on April 13th for the first ever LFL show, it's a bargain price of $150 per ticket (seriously) and I'm sure you'll get your money's worth!

[Chris2K]

Welcome to the preview of the second Lighting Fight League show "LFL 2: James vs. Rich" scheduled to take place on Saturday 27th April at Wild Bob's Bar in New York. It's a significant rise in venue from the first show with an extra 350 seats available, the LFL have also lowered their ticket prices to ensure most, if not all of the seats will be filled. Three new champions will be crowned during the event with a title up for grabs in the final three matches of the night.

 

The first fight of the night will be in the Welterweight division between Boby Lee (23-14) and Chris Irvine (0-0). This quite horrendous mis-match came about thanks to a scheduling error, Lee was in fact meant to be facing another high ranking Welterweight but Irvine's name was selected by mistake. Lee has the advantage in every part of MMA so Irvine's chances of winning are slim, however it's thought Irvine is going to be financially compensated for the error. Lee is a former New Age Fighting and Ultimate Proving Grounds Welterweight champion. Irvine is not.

 

Two debutants square off in the Weltweight division when Lloyd Conan (0-0) takes on Jose Torres (0-0). In a stark contrast to the opening bout this fight couldn't be much closer, both fighters have their advantages but they balance each other out well. Conan has the advantage in Boxing and Wrestling, Torres has the advantage in Muay Thai and BJJ, so this fight is pretty much impossible to predict without knowing what gameplans are going to be executed.

 

In the Lightweight division Al Bundy (3-0) will take on Jon Penn (1-1) in a match that could also go either way. Bundy has a very strong wrestling game which will most likely allow him to dictate where the fight takes place, however Penn will likely be the stronger fighter both in striking and on the ground. This might not be the most entertaining of fights if Bundy is able to negate all of Penn's attacks. Penn fought on the first LFL card in a losing effort to Alberto Rodriguez, Bundy formerly fought in Armageddon Fight Promotions where he won his last fight with a first round TKO.

 

In another Lightweight contest Javier Vasquez (0-0) makes his professional debut against Clark Griswold (1-0). I'm told that Griswold is absolutely terrible at striking and much better on the ground so Vazquez's tactic will no doubt be to keep the fight standing at all costs. That said, Vazquez may be better at BJJ so Griswold will need to be careful if he is able to get Vazquez to the ground using his superior wrestling. The only fight either of these two have had belongs to Griswold who won via TKO thanks to ground and pound rather than stand-up striking.

 

Two experienced fighters collide looking to end losing streaks when Bret Hill (18-14) takes on Edilberto Nestuta (9-5) in another Lightweight match. I'm pretty sure the entire LFL Lightweight division is on this card. Hill is a three time champion in various Featherweight divisions so will have a weight disadvantage here, Nestuta is a feared striker with several KO victories, Hill is very strong on the ground and Nestuta is a beast in the clinch. I can't predict the winner here, but both need to win after losing at the first LFL show.

 

In the Light Heavyweight division we have the standard striker vs. grappler contest with Du Frukost (1-2) taking on Lucas Hill (0-0). Frukost is coming off a TKO victory over Arm Bar at the first LFL show so will be riding a wave of confidence, his striking is by far his strongest element so he will want to keep the fight standing. That may be difficult against Hill who is a very good wrestler with decent submission skills to use if he does get the fight to the ground. Once again this fight will come down to which fighter can implement the better gameplan.

 

Hayden Venn (0-1) is being sacrificed to THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR (8-4) in a Heavyweight division clash which may be very similar to Warrior's match against HHH at WrestleMania 12. Warrior holds an advantage over Venn in everything except Muay Thai so it's hard to think how Venn has any chance of winning. We're told that Venn's manager isn't very impressed with him, a stand-up fighter who gets knocked out in his first fight is never a good sign. WARRIOR has fought in several companies, Team Thomas Fight Club, SPFC and LA Combat to name the three of them.

 

The first champion to be crowned in the LFL will be the Middleweight champion when Ben Hutch (9-0) takes on Kova Naama (3-3) for the vacant strap. On paper Hutch looks like the favourite, he's undefeated and has an advantage in several areas, however Hutch has only fought once since November 2011 due to fighting a serious addiction to maple syrup. This addiction caused Hutch to isolate himself from the world only making occasional trips to Canada to get the product he required and his promising MMA career came to a sudden halt. Naama earned this title shot by defeating Dalip Rana in the fight of the night at LFL 1, he's a well-rounded fighter but will have a significant mental advantage going into this fight.

 

The co-main event will crown the first LFL Heavyweight champion when Barriston Selmy (7-3) takes on Dean Walker (7-2). This fight favours Selmy greatly due to him having a very big advantage in striking and also being better at Wrestling and BJJ for good measure. Walker's main chance of victory will be if he can get the fight into the clinch and batter Selmy from there. Selmy has mainly fought in Team Thomas Fight Club and Immortals New York prior to joining the LFL, Walker only fought in Empire QFC before moving up to the big leagues.

 

The Main Event will see two of LFL's top fighters square off for the Welterweight title as Jesse James (13-6) takes on Rick Rich (10-5). Both fighters are very popular in the New York area and are both on winning streaks coming into this fight. Again it's a striker vs. grappler, most of James' wins have come via TKO while most of Rich's wins have come by submission, however both fighters have enough talent to adequately defend themselves if they're in a situation that doesn't suit their styles. James comes to the LFL having spent most of his career in Helsinki for Black Hand Fight Club and in Amsterdam for xXx, Rich has only fought in Los Angeles before this for Epic FC and LA Combat.

 

That's the card so join us at Wild Bob's Bar (seriously, we need people to buy tickets) on April 27th for a night filled of action with titles on the line everywhere. Buy now and receive a complimentary "Wild Bob Onion Cocktail" on the night of the show.