shortfuse122829 Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1375270594evo7.png Evolution 7 “Narushima vs. Womba” Preview Randy: “Welcome to our countdown to Evolution 7 “Narushima vs. Womba” Preview! I’m your host, Randy Ortiz and this is our first edition of our new countdown previews. I’m joined here by special guest and top MMA manager, Sean McDonnell. Welcome to the show, good to see you again. You actually got me this gig, so I guess I have to say thank you for that as well.” Sean: “I remember how much you enjoyed your time in Helsinki from your days back in the EPL tournament so when Mega Jug and I talked about the position I thought who better than the most out-spoken man I know?” Randy: [laughs] “I can’t say that I am thrilled about being back here, but a job is a job and I have been out of fighting since you cut me from the team. [mumbles under breath] Before we get to the event, I wanted to just ask you a few questions while I have you here.” Sean: “I thought I was here for my expert opinion on all things MMA but sure, you’re the host after-all.” Randy: “What are your thoughts on Empire closing? Or should I say merging with IMMA? Also what do you think about the management at the org now named Evolution, and the future of your guys dealing with them?” Sean: “I’ll be perfectly honest, I was really sad when Empire went down and a bit skeptical about the merger with IMMA. I never dealt too much with Mega Jug, I always thought he was too close with a group of people I don’t have the greatest relationship with, and considered not taking my fighters there. Mega won’t be surprised by anything I’m saying here, as I was very frank with him about my feelings, but after a good conversation I decided to give to convince Danny Powers and Theo Fluery to make the move along with the other Empire fighters and I think Mega Jug has done a nice job so far.” Randy: “I knew you’d eventually get your guys to move there because you always challenged your fighters, me included to try to take on the best available competition. Let’s have a look at the first fight on our main-card.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9b1.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/13/13b10.jpg Moacyr Domingos De Matos (32-12) vs. Miguel Fernandez (19-6) A big fight in the light-heavyweight division kicks off our main-card as former 2-time IMMA LHW champion Moacyr Domingos De Matos takes on Evolution new-comer and former Empire fighter Miguel Fernandez. De Matos comes into this fight having won his last two fights by knockout and he’ll be looking to try to get himself back into title contention with another impressive victory in this fight. Fernandez also comes into this fight on a two fight win streak, and also managed to win both of his fights by stoppage due to strikes. I expect De Matos will use pressure fighting to try to overwhelm his opponent with strikes in an effort to get the knockout. He averages over 50 strikes thrown at distance in his fights and 68.8% of his wins are stoppages due to strikes. Miguel Fernandez isn’t nearly as active as his opponent only averaging about 16 strikes thrown at a distance per fight, but his 13 first round stoppages could skew that number a considerable amount. Fernandez has killer knock-out power and I expect him to go out and try to land heavy shots on his opponent in hopes to capture his 14th first round knockout. Either way this fight is sure to be filled with fireworks and someone is probably getting knocked out. It will be interesting to see if either fighter will look to take this fight to the ground. De Matos doesn’t typically look to use takedowns but he can hand himself if the fight hits the mat. Fernandez has been using his wrestling a fair amount lately, so don’t be surprised to see him mix things up. I think Fernandez will get the better of the grappling exchanges if the fight hits the mat. Ortiz: “Well, I’ve been in the cage with one of Opa’s monsters before and they’re deadly. I think the former champion De Matos uses his reach really effectively in this fight and gets a late 2nd round TKO stoppage.” De Matos by 2nd round TKO Sean: “Fernandez is a cocksmen and gets to train with the baddest fighters in the world on a daily basis. I think his ability to mix things up and get this fight to the ground gives him the early advantage, and I think his unbelievable knockout power is the deciding factor in this fight.” Fernandez by 1st round KO http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w18.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/42/42w39.jpg Prophet Mohammed (18-3-1) vs. Taisto Tappura (22-10-2) The next fight on our card will be contested in the heavyweight division as cold blooded killer member Prophet Mohammed takes on elite-kick boxer and Acme-St. Petersburg representative Taisto Tappura. The last time these two fighters squared off was at IMMA 148: King vs. Torturo and they fought to a majority draw in an extremely competitive fight. Prophet Mohammed is a former Olympic wrestler and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was able to land 4 of his 5 takedowns in the last fight and will likely try to get this fight to the ground once again in an effort to gain a dominant position and finish the fight with ground strikes or a submission. Taisto Tappura has great knockout power and was finding a lot of success on the feet in the last fight, his problem was keeping it there. Tappura had great success landing his combinations in the last fight, even opening a cut on his opponent right after the opening bell. If Tappura can do a better job keeping this fight on the feet he has a great chance at pulling this fight out this time around. Prophet Mohammed only has 1 fight under his new management so it will be interesting to see if his manager figured anything out last time around. Ortiz: “Being a big time wrestler myself, I have to lean towards the Prophet Mohammed in this fight. The ability to dictate where the fight takes place is such a huge thing in this sport and Mohammed proved that last time around by landing 80% of his takedowns and having more than half the fight take place on the ground.” Mohammed by decision Sean: “I gotta agree with you there. Tappura did nothing to show he could stop Mohammed from getting the fight to the ground when he wanted, and I think Prophet will do a better job on the feet this time to help him secure more rounds and the win in this fight.” Mohammed by decision 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/39/39b18.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/12/12w6.jpg Congo Ashantie (32-8-1) vs. Maverick Smokeleaf (19-4) The 3rd fight on our main-card is another fight in the heavyweight division as former IMMA HW champion Congo Ashantie enters the cage representing the current #1 manager in MMA Tycoon, Klatz Matz. His opponent in this fight is a dangerous muay-thai fighter who has a ton of knockout power and won 9 fights in a row before dropping his last fight to another former champion in Dustin Douglas. Both fighters suffered knockouts to Douglas the last time they fought him, but Ashantie’s happened in the 1st round while Smokeleaf’s happened in the 4th round. We all know MMA math doesn’t really add up though and I doubt that fight will have much weight in the out-come of this one. Ashantie is typically more aggressive than his opponent and really mixes up his punches and kicks well. He also has a devastating clinch game and will unleash devastating knees to the body and face in addition to a good dirty-box game. A devastating clinch is something he shares in common with his opponent as Maverick averages over 30 strikes thrown in the clinch, with the majority of those strikes being elbows and knees. Maverick Smokeleaf isn’t quite as active on the outside as his opponent and prefers to throw mostly kicks at range. He does possess a 16cm reach advantage in this fight and that could play a significant factor if the fight stays on the outside. Ortiz: “Smokeleaf has a real tight clinch game but Ashantie has been in the cage 41 times and only been stopped on 4 occasions. I think his durability is a big factor in this fight because he possesses some pretty heavy hands in his own right, and I think he’ll get a late finish.” Ashantie by 3rd round TKO Sean: “Klatz Matz is on top of his game right now so I have to agree with you on this one. If the fight goes to the clinch, I could see Smokeleaf pulling out a close decision victory but I think Ashantie out-works his opponent and wins this fight on points.” Ashantie by decision http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/39/39w1.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/17/17w4.jpg Pat McDermot (38-8-1) vs. Pentti Hirvonen (32-17) Next on the card is the co-main event of the evening as former top 10 p4p fighter Pat McDermot looks to rebound from his recent loss in his last title defense to now Evolution 185 champion Alexander Valentine. His opponent in this fight is BJJ red belt and former 2 time NFC 185 champion Pentti Hirvonen. Pentti has been on a good run since coming over after winning back his 185 championship in the last event held by NFC, winning all 3 of his fights in the org. A win over long time p4p great Pat McDermot would clearly be the biggest win of his career however and likely put him in contention for a shot at newly crowned champion Valentine. If he can get the fight to the ground early he has a great chance at victory with a total of 14 submission wins to his credit. Hirvonen lands on average 36% of his takedowns so look for him to get this fight to the ground early and often. Pat McDermot is an elite kick-boxer and should have a clear advantage in this fight if he can keep it standing. Look for him to wear his opponent down with kicks or close the distance and push his opponent against the cage in the clinch where it looks like he will also hold a significant advantage. McDermot is an elite power puncher but Hirvonen has only been stopped by strikes 1 time in close to 50 fights so I wouldn’t expect a knockout here. The winner here moves another step closer to a shot at the champion. Randy: “I know your pal JLP isn’t going to be happy with me here, but I am picking Hirvonen to get the upset here. He’s been on a roll lately only losing 2 close decisions in his last 12 fights and I just think with the recent changes to the game that it favors wrestling. I’m picking Hirvonen to get a 4th round submission win.” Sean: “You’re nuts! See this is one of the reasons I had to cut your ass Randy. You’re losing your mind. It’s probably best that your new management hasn’t gotten you any new fight offers. McDermot has elite takedown defense, and yea he struggled in his last fight against a wrestler but he’s fought Womba who is also an elite submission fighter to a draw. I think McDermot wins this fight by decision and gets revenge against Valentine.” 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/products/1334427472Smokudju_Womba_top.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/27/27w25.jpg Smokudju Womba (30-5-1) vs. Ryo Narushima (31-7) The last fight on our card is the main event of the evening and is for the Evolution LHW Championship of the world as Evolution LHW champion Ryo Narushima looks to defend his title against former Empire LHW Champion and EVO new-comer Smokudju Womba. The last time these two fought was on Empire 34: Marciano vs. Myton card and the two had a real close fight through 4 rounds splitting at 2 rounds apiece until Womba got a takedown into side-control in the 5th and immediately jumped for an arm-bar, giving up the position but then secured a tight guillotine choke to get the tapout victory. When Narushima was able to keep the fight on the feet he was clearly the more effective striker and that was despite early takedowns and ground fighting in the first 2 rounds. If he has more success keeping this fight standing this could be another really interesting fight between these two. I expect Narushima to push forward and look to land strikes-a-plenty as he averages over 30 leg kicks thrown per fight. Womba is obviously going to look to do what he did last time and land takedowns early in the round and be active on top and bottom on the ground to keep this fight in the area he’s the king of the jungle, on the ground. I’m picking this one for FOTN and I expect another 5 round war between these two great fighters. Randy: “What a main event, and what a great rematch this should be. Narushima is a great fighter and has great management in Dean Sutherland, who as you know, Sean is a good friend of mine from our time over in EPL. I know Dean isn’t gonna be happy with me here but I have to pick Womba to win in the rematch. He’s just been on a roll here lately and once again I have to favor the wrestler under the current game engine. I think Womba gets the job done in the 4th round this time with a triangle arm-bar submission.” Sean: “This is a really tough fight for me to pick because I tend to agree with you and favor the wrestler lately, and I respect the hell out of Womba’s management because Kelly is one of the best ground managers in the game right now, but I think I’m picking Narushima here. Womba got really lucky last time around with a takedown to side-control right at the opening bell and was able to keep the fight on the ground for most of the first two rounds. I think if Narushima can keep the fight standing for the first 3 minutes, the fight looks completely different and he runs away with the fight. I have Narushima by 49-46 Unanimous Decision.” Randy: “Let’s take a quick look at the fights on our under-card.” Riley McCollins (16-11) vs. Abe Goldman (31-16) Riley McCollins makes his EVO debut after a long career in SPFT. His opponent is long time IMMA fighter Abe Goldman. McCollins is 2-2 in his last 4, and Goldman is 1-3 in his last 4 so both fighters look to get back to winning consistently with a victory in this one. Dryden Mitchell (31-12-1) vs. Gary Washington (21-13) Dryden Mitchell makes his EVO debut here in just his 2nd fight under his new management. His opponent is Gary Washington who formerly challenged Egyptian for the title. He’s lost 4 of his last 5 fights and looks to rebound with a win against Mitchell. Dave Bower (30-13) vs. Jase Newson (32-11-2) Former Empire 170 Champion Dave Bower looks to rebound from a 2 fight skid as he takes on former Syndicate Champion and Empire fighter Jase Newson as he makes his Evolution debut here tonight. Both fighters look to climb back up the 170lb ladder with a big victory. Ignatius Riley (31-9-2) vs. Njord Freyr (21-8) Ignatius Riley is the Empire SHW Million Dollar Tournament winner but looks to rebound from a 2 fight skid when he makes his Evolution debut here tonight against the man who knocked out Afro Samurai in Njord Freyr. Maybe it was Samurai’s heavy hands that were Freyr’s undoing as he’s lost 3 straight since that fight. Someone will get back in the win column here however. Nahka Vitonen (24-13) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (31-19) Another fight in the HW division as heavy handed boxer Nahka Vitonen takes on former Olympic wrestler and BJJ black-belt Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor looks to make it 3 in a row with a win here but it’ll be a tough task as Vitonen has a significant reach advantage and devastating knockout power. Randy: “This should be a great card, and I want to thank you for joining me here today Sean for this countdown preview. This time it’s I who gets to relieve you of your duties however.” Sean: [laughs] “Feels good to be the one in control this time around doesn’t it? I’m glad to help you kick off this great show. I know you’re going to do a great job with it. I’d love to come back sometime, maybe for Evo 9 when Danny Power challenges for the featherweight title?” Randy: “Maybe. If I can’t find a guest for the next card, I might just have you back for EVO 8. We will see. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution Countdown Preview for Evolution 8. Signing off for now, and James Bomb still sucks. This is Randy Ortiz, Good night everbody.” 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j666 Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 excellent preview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soyster89 Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Awesome! Well done guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 I need guests for my show. Basically I will write the questions you have to answer and then you reply, and then just a brief blurp on each fight like I did in the last one. I have already reached out to some1 for the EVO 8 countdown show but am waiting on a reply, if he says yes then great otherwise I am taking any volunteers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1375962192evo8.png Evolution 8 "Scott vs. Randolph" Preview Randy: “Welcome back for another edition of Evolution’s countdown preview as we get ready for Evolution 8 “Scott vs. Randolph” which comes to you live from the LA Memorial Coliseum in downtown Los Angeles, California on Friday August 9th, 2013. I’m your host Randy Ortiz and despite no title fights on this card, it is still stacked with talent and both our co-main and main events of the evening will be 5 round contests. The little men take the stage in this event with 7 fights taking place in the featherweight division. I’m joined here by my guest Andy Mugler. Before we get to the event, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions? For the un-informed MMA fan, Mr. Mugler is currently ranked the #4 manager in the game with an impressive combined record of 109-17 and his top fighter Kyle Carlton is ranked #9 p4p after his big upset victory over former Empire HW Champion Don Marciano. What’s the secret to your success?” Mugler: "Thanks! I think it's a mix of patience, passion for the game and at the same time I've been listening to people who know a lot about it. I built up my fighters, trying to be careful about what they should learn, and following the plan for each fighter - to how i wanted them to be. It could be boring spamming a skill, week in, week out for example, but it'll pay off in the end. Lately since I've joined International Cocksmen I've had a lot of great talks with the guys and many of them have great knowledge and ways to see the game. It has helped a lot." Randy: “There have been some managers who have labeled you a ducker or a fight avoider due to the impressive record you hold as a manager, and due to having only 126 historic fights after 39.5 months of being a professional manager. What do you say to those critics?” Mugler: "I don't know if I'm supposed to care about that and I seriously don't get it. There could be many reasons that you don't have a lot of fights and that it only could be because of declining fights is a hillarious accusation. I like other managers have been taking breaks from the game, and I've always had many so called sparbots taking up fighter slots. At the same time, and like I said before, I've been patient, training my fighters for a long time untli I've signed contracts with organisations. In recent time I've never had so many active fighters fighting so I will probably catch up soon. At the same time there are so many haters out there that you just don't can't care. You play for yourself and to have fun. Avoiding tricky fights wouldn't be fun as you wouldn't get a challange and an exciting fight in the end. And then it wouldn't be a point of playing this game at all." Randy: “Do you think Kyle Carlton’s dominating performance over former #1 p4p great and one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport helped solidify your credibility as a top manager?” Mugler: "First, I don't see myself as a top manager really. I have tons of stuff to learn about this game and I know many managers that have much more knowledge then me, that is lower ranked then myself. And no I don't think Kyle's been giving me some kind of extra attention to be honest." Randy: “Speaking of Kyle Carlton, let’s take a quick look forward to the next event Evolution 9 where he’ll challenge the best HW in the world right now in Evolution HW Champion and #2 p4p fighter, Arnie Ironz. Give me your thoughts on his opponent and the up-coming match between these two heavy handed strikers? Mugler: "Oh, this is an exciting fight. Arnie is a great fighter and I see Kyle as the underdog in this fight aswell. It will most likely end in the first round, like almost every other fight Carlton been into. Someone will go down for sure." Randy: “Well good luck to you and your fighter in the upcoming title fight. Let’s move on and start to look at the fights on our main-card for this terrific event.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w20.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/17/17b24.jpg Keiji Hashimoto (34-14-4) vs. Li Xiaolong (23-11-1) A big fight in our 145 division kicks off the main-card as Keiji Hashimoto comes over from the Empire merger and makes his Evolution debut coming into this fight on a 7 fight un-beaten streak. His opponent in this fight is the former Syndicate and ONI 135 champion Li Xiaolong, who also represents the current #1 manager. Li Xiaolong will look to keep this fight standing and has excellent takedown defense, stuffing over 73% of his opponents attempts throughout his career. He will push a good pace and mix up his strikes well in an effort to close the distance and engage his opponent in the clinch, where he lands an astounding 8.5 elbows per fight. Hashimoto has showed no signs of slowing down going into the 53rd fight of his career and at 36 years of age. He is like fine wine and has only gotten better in the later portion of his career. A big win here tonight will have him knocking on the door of a title shot in a stacked division at 145. Hashimoto will look to use his punches to help set up his takedowns in an effort to get this fight where he has the advantage, and that’s clearly on the ground. He is an Olympic caliber wrestler with a black belt in BJJ and has 13 submission victories to his credit. This should be an excellent match-up between two skilled fighters who come from excellent fight camps. The winner of this one will likely find themselves in a number 1 contender’s match next. Randy: “Xiaolong is an excellent fighter and his camp has been on a roll lately but I like Hashimoto in this fight. Dr. Gonzo gave Xiaolong a lot of trouble in his last fight and he had a very difficult time getting the fight back to his feet when he was on his back. If he has that same problem in this fight Hashimoto will do enough to win a unanimous decision.” Mugler: "Two veterans, especially Hashimoto. Hashimoto will no doubt try to win this on the ground, and spending as much time as possible there. Xiaolong is really sharp standing but I believe Hashimoto will get this one. Most likely by decision. I think Xiaolong it'll be to hard to finish Hashi." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/14/14w13.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/43/43w18.jpg Dr. Gonzo (25-10-1) vs. Suren Nazarethyan (19-2) Another big fight in the featherweight division is next on our card as two former IMMA 145 champions face off in Dr. Gonzo and Suren Nazarethyan. After winning the IMMA 145 championship Dr. Gonzo moved up to 155 and gave the long time #1 kingpin Otso Jokinen all he could handle in a very close decision loss. He then moved back down to defend his title and after winning 3 of the first 4 rounds got caught in a guillotine late in the 5th losing his title to current champion Katsu Higashikuni. He then fought to a draw in his next fight, so he really is in desperate need of a victory here to get himself back on the path to regaining the title. After starting his career 15-0 and claiming the IMMA 145 championship, Suren Nazarethyan tasted defeat for the first time losing his title in his first defense to Mike Puska. He lost his next fight too but has since turned it around winning 4 fights in a row. A win over a former champion like Gonzo would do a great deal towards getting Suren back into title contention. Gonzo is obviously looking use his wrestling to get this fight to the ground where his opponent is only a BJJ purple belt and will be in danger of getting submitted by a lethal BJJ black belt like Gonzo. Suren has shown elite takedown defense in his career stuffing 87% of his opponent’s attempts. He typically likes to close the distance and work a brutal clinch game, where he averages over 40 strike attempts per fight. It will be interesting to see if he uses that strategy here with the threat of Gonzo pulling guard. Another great fight at 145 and the winner will be 1 step closer to regaining a shot at a title they’ve previously held. Randy: “This is a tougher fight then it looks on paper. Suren’s short frame makes him very difficult to get to the ground and that combined with his wrestling makes him really strong in the clinch. As much of a fan of wrestling as I am, I equally respect a good dirty-boxer so that makes this fight tough for me to call. I’m going to lean towards Gonzo I think just because he’s got a very active submission game from both top and bottom and I think he eventually catches Suren sleeping and puts him to sleep with a guillotine choke.” Mugler: "By the first look it seems like Gonzo should have a clear advantage due to age and experience. But Nazarethyan have been really strong lately and developing to a great contender. This one is hard to call, it's a good match up and I can't tell who will win. It will most likely go to decision as I see it." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/26/26b20.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/23/23b23.jpg Sam Hall (43-11-2) vs. Holden Gracie (23-7-1) The 3rd fight on our main-card is an important one in the 170lb division as former Empire 170 champion and former #1 p4p fighter Sam Hall takes on long time IMMA fighter Holden Gracie who comes into this fight having won 9 of his last 10 fights. Sam Hall didn’t have much luck during a few big super-fights against Otso Jokinen and Sinuhe Egyptian and then compounded the problem when he lost his title to Dave Bower. He’s won 3 straight fights since dropping the gold and is hoping a big win tonight puts him right back in the title picture. Hall will push forward mixing up his strikes well in an effort to close the distance and get the clinch position where he will unleash a furious attack of punches, elbows and knees. He averages close to 50 strikes attempted in the clinch during his career and really mixes them up well. His devastating clinch game has helped him on his way to two cut stoppages in his last 3 fights. Holden Gracie has a pretty respectable clinch game himself but nowhere near the level of Hall’s in both attempts and strikes landed. He’d be smart to avoid being stuck against the cage with his opponent and should instead look to use his reach advantage to pepper Hall in an effort to keep him at a distance and at kicking range. This is a really interesting fight considering the roll Holden Gracie has been on of late, and it’s tough to tell if Hall is slowing down entering his 57th fight as a professional. Randy: “This is a great match-up at 170lbs and one I think takes the FOTN. If Gracie can keep his opponent on the outside and in range of his kicks he could have a lot of success in this fight. If Hall closes the distance I expect him to completely maul Gracie in the clinch and that’s saying something because Gracie’s clinch game isn’t half bad. I expect Hall’s big-fight experience will pay off for him and I wouldn’t be shocked if he got his 3rd cut stoppage in his last 4 fights.” Mugler: "Hall is a big name in the game and it will be a tough nut to crack for Gracie. This looks like it'll be a standing fight and I think Hall will get the finish." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/31/31b30.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/37/37a3.jpg Theoran Fluery (13-3) vs. Mitchell Stehling (42-18) Our co-main event of the evening will be contested in our heavyweight division as Theoran Fluery makes his Evolution debut after an impressive knockout victory over former Empire HW champion Dos Equis Guy. It’s rumored that the loss to Fluery forced Dos Equis into retirement, let’s hope that’s not really the case. His opponent tonight is former NFC and IMMA HW champion Mitchell Stehling who was knocked out in the 2nd round by Dustin Douglas his last time out. Stehling is a heavy handed knockout artist who is very well rounded and can take this fight to the ground if he finds it necessary. He lands close to 40% of his takedown attempts and over 50% of his strikes while on the ground. I wouldn’t be shocked if he mixes it up and goes for the takedown in this fight because his opponent has a significant reach advantage and showed he knows exactly how to use it in his fight against Dos Equis Guy. Fluery landed 25 punches and 21 kicks in a little over a round and seemed to be able to land his strikes at will when fighting at a distance. Fluery doesn’t appear to have near the power that Stehling possesses and that could be the difference in this fight. Fluery has a few submission victories to his career so I don’t think he’ll be completely uncomfortable if his opponent decides to take this one to the mat. In the stacked heavyweight division it doesn’t appear either of these fighters will be challenging for the title next with a victory tonight but this is still a big fight in the division and could have the winner knocking on the door of a title shot at least. There are usually fireworks when these two fight-camps face off so this should be a good one. Randy: “I’m excited for this fight! I don’t know that much about Theo Fluery if I’m being completely honest. He wasn’t a member of the McDonnell team when I was there so I have never trained with the guy, but I admit he looks like a hell of a fighter. Knowing Sean as well as I do I expect that he’ll have his fighter in top shape and have an excellent game-plan for him in this fight. I’m picking Mitchell Stehling in this fight anyway. I’ve been on the opposite side of the cage as the guy and I can assure you he hits like a truck and I just don’t know if Fluery is going to be able to stand up to his punches. I know I couldn’t, and Sean had an excellent gameplan for me as well.” Mugler: "Yeah I agree, this is an exciting fight. Stehling is a big name that has been around for a long time. Fleury has a great chance to win this fight if he could keep it standing. Stehling on the other hand will probably mix it up, trying to get in to the ground. Either Fleaury will get the finish standing or Stehling will grind out another decision." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/22/22b12.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/26/26b1.jpg Barry Scott (26-10-1) vs. Sly Randolph (29-12-1) Up next is our main event of the evening as we have another great fight in the 145lb division when former Syndicate and Empire champion Barry Scott takes on another former Syndicate champion in Sly Randolph. Barry Scott had a chance at history in his last fight when he challenged Katsu Higashikuni for the Evolution 145 championship as a win would’ve given him titles in 3 top organizations. He came up a little short however and looks to rebound with a win over an opponent he’s beaten once before. The last time these two fought was at Empire 38 and Scott managed to win a close split decision. Randolph lost two fights later to Matt Miller as well and both were #1 contender’s matches for a shot at #1 p4p Danny Power who Randolph has called out on several occasions lately. With a victory over Scott he might just get that opportunity he’s been chasing if Danny manages to sneak by the FW champion Higashikuni. Randolph is a well-rounded fighter who has excellent knockout power and mixes in some kicks with his excellent boxing game. He’s also a pretty respectable wrestler landing 37% of his takedown attempts at distance. Scott used his wrestling on his way to the victory in the last fight and I’d expect a similar game-plan in this one as he’ll look to get this fight to the ground whether he’s countering or aggressive on the feet. Scott is getting down to the end of his career so this fight will be really interesting as his management has talked retirement quite a few times lately. Randy: “Scott is one of my favorite fighters and has been in the cage and beaten some of the best fighters at the lower weights such as Otso Jokinen and Waru Kazuri. He seems to be considering retirement though and it makes me question if his full focus and energy is going into this fight camp. I think Randolph is motivated right now, and his camp has been on an absolute roll as of late. I think seeing the success of his teammates and knowing he demolished the current #1 p4p fighter when they fought has him hungry and confident, and I predict him to win this fight impressively and get the winner of Katsu and Power.” Mugler: "I like Bary and can't say anything else then I want him to win. He will get his revenge after the recent loss against Higashikuni." Randy: “Let’s take a brief look at the fights on the under-card.” Freiherr Albrecht Alexander von Altburg (33-12) vs. Miguel Chavez (28-12) The card kicks off with one of many fights contested at the 145lb division when long-time Blitzkrieg NY and Empire fighter, and the guy with quite possibly the longest name in MMA von Altburg takes on former GSF 145 champion Miguel Chavez. Both these fighters look pretty even on the feet but Freiherr prefers a box heavy game-plan and mixes in good leg kicks, while his opponent mixes his strikes up more and likes to head hunt with high kicks. Look for Von Altburg to use his wrestling in this fight as it appears that’s where his greatest advantage will be. Mitch Heisenberg (27-8-1) vs. Steiner Sting (32-18) Another big fight in our featherweight division is up next when former Blitz NY 145 tournament runner-up Mitch Heisenberg takes on former Empire featherweight champion Steiner Sting. After a lot of success to close out 2012, this year hasn’t been as kind to either fighter with Heisenberg having dropped 4 of his last 6 fights, and his opponent has lost 3 in a row albeit to 3 guys who have all seen time in the top 3 of the weight class recently. Mitch Heisenberg will look to keep this fight standing and push a fast pace in an effort to get the win in this important match-up. Steiner Sting will look to get this fight to the ground and don’t be shocked if he’s able to do so with his great wrestling game. He lands 43% of his takedown attempts and close to 60% of his ground and pound while on top. Whoever can impose their will and dictate where the fight takes place will win here. Ron Burgundy (21-5-1) vs. Konrad Kurze (25-12) Next up is a fight at 145 when former BDX and Royal Combat featherweight champion Ron Burgundy looks to rebound from his recent loss as he takes on former IMMA 145 champion Konrad Kurze. Burgundy is an aggressive fighter who averages more than 60 strikes thrown at distance. He also likes to close the distance and engage his opponent in the clinch were he averages close to 30 strike attempts. His opponent will definitely be looking to secure a takedown and has had a lot of success with his wrestling in his career, landing over 43% of his takedown attempts and 55% of his ground strikes. Half of Kurze’s career wins have come by submission so don’t be surprised to see him very active from both top and bottom positions. Henry Black (20-7-1) vs. Nai Khanom Tom (27-9-1) The next fight on our card will be contested in the 170lb division when long-time IMMA fighter Henry Black takes on Nai Khanom Tom who competes in just his 3rd fight in the org after spending time in The Syndicate and Ascension. Both fighters are elite level kick-boxers with relatively decent power having finished over half their victories by TKO/KO. Black appears to be the more polished muay-thai fighter as he likes to mix in a fair amount of elbows and knees while in the clinch position. Neither fighter has much of a ground game despite having solid defense, so I would expect this fight to take place on the feet and against the cage. Both guys need a win here, so this should be an entertaining fight. Hector Cabrera (32-15) vs. Cormac Maguire (34-8) Our under-card closes with a fight in our 145 division as Hector Cabrera looks to build on an impressive submission victory in his last fight when he takes on former Empire 145 champion Cormac Maguire. Cabrera is one hell of a fighter and is equally as dangerous on the mat as he is on the feet with 12 KO victories and 11 coming by submission. He’ll look to get this fight to the ground and work his top game in an effort to pull out the victory. His opponent has been on quite a roll lately going 14-2 in his last 16 fights, only dropping a majority and split decision to the #1 p4p fighter in the world Danny Power. He pushes an extremely tough pace averaging over 70 strikes at distance in an effort to out-point his opponents. Randy: "I'd like to say thank you to my guest Andy Mugler for joining me here tonight, he had to step out and take an important phone call but I hope he'll join me again here sometime. Another great night of fights here at Evolution, so be sure to tune in on PPV. This is Randy Ortiz, signing off for now." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1376236473image.jpg Evolution "The Homecoming" Preview Randy: “Welcome to another edition of Evolution countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution “The Homecoming” which is going to be the biggest event in Tycoon history. This event is loaded from top to bottom with 4, that’s right I said 4 championships on the line. It takes place on Wednesday August 14th, 2013 in the LA Coliseum live from downtown Los Angeles. This event is brought to you by Conviction clothing store, and speaking of Convicted I am joined here by Evolution’s LHW Champion and Convicted fight team member Ryo Narushima. Before we get to the fight previews, I just want to say congratulations on successfully defending your title last week and my sincere apologies for doubting you in that fight.” Ryo: “Nice to be here Randy, Yabu sends his regards. Not many people thought that i would win. Never mind go out there and knock him out inside 3 minutes so i accept the apology but lets not have it happen again big chap.” Randy: “Now the last time you two faced off at Empire 34 it was a 5 round back and forth war that you lost by a late submission. What did you learn from the last fight and what was the plan to come out victorious this time around?” Ryo: “Not to talk to Crassus before the fight. He said go accuracy so i copied his old tactic, didn't work. This time my manager told me to go in there and take his fucking head off and send his jaw into row z. He's Scottish so that was a direct quote. The gameplan worked nicely.” Randy: “Were you at all surprised you were able to finish the fight so quickly against a guy who had been on such a roll coming into the fight?” Ryo: “Not really to be honest. I have knocked out granite chins in the past inside of a round and i know my power would get to him. Only thing that was surprising was it wasn't a body rock KO. It was a legit chin breaking KO.” Randy: “After the fight you grabbed the microphone and yelled out the name of 1 of your teammates and then you and some of the managers at Convicted fight team did a little dance over Womba’s unconscious body. Can I ask you what that was all about? What kinda dance was that you guys were doing?” Ryo: “The Danza Kuduro. We told Chris that if i won he would have to come into the cage and do the Danza with us. Its a fun dance, a happy dance. It was a relief to finally beat him after what happened with Diggs. So it was nice to get a bit of payback. Its a very classy Brazilian dance. Should look it up sometime. “ Randy: “After the fight you jumped into the top 5 p4p rankings and your next fight is against the Ascension LHW Champion Yance Sackett in 8 days on the Ascension: Desperado event. Give me your thoughts on your upcoming opponent and how you see this fight going down?” Ryo: “Yance is a living legend. It will be a great fight for the fans. I could see him trying to take me down and hug me a lil bit. Chances are with him getting on in age i could see it ending sometime in the 3rd or 4th round via KO. Could go either way with that since Yance hits like a truck. “ Randy: “Well good luck in the upcoming fight and bring the W home for team Evolution. Let’s move on and take a look at the match-ups on this great card that Evolution is bringing to the tycooniverse. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/5/5b6.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/20/20w1.jpg Matt Miller (25-6) vs. Rainer Varvaskoukku (17-9-2) Our night kicks off with a terrific fight in the 145lb division when the recent challenger for Empire’s 145lb championship Matt Miller makes his Evolution debut against an Olympic caliber wrestler and BJJ red belt Rainer Varvaskoukku. Matt Miller has been in the cage with some of the best guys in the 145lb division and actually holds a victory over our current champion and in his most recent fight lost a very close 48-47 unanimous decision to the #1 p4p fighter on the planet Danny Power. Ranier’s last fight out he dominated Mitch Heisenberg taking him down and fending off numerous submission attempts before getting to mount and pounding his opponent out in the first round. His only 2 losses in his last 9 fights are to the last two champions Katsu and Dr. Gonzo. Matt Miller usually likes to use his wrestling to carry him to victory landing over 40% of his takedown attempts and 55% of his ground strikes which includes averaging over 12 strikes on the ground per fight. Will he stick to his bread and butter in the wrestling game or try to win this fight on the feet against the BJJ red belt? Rainer only lands on average 3.4 strikes per fight on the feet so if he can’t get this fight to the ground it would appear that Miller would be the better striker. He has a lethal ground game though landing over 51% of his ground strikes and averaging close to 9 strikes landed on the ground per fight. A win here will move 1 of these guys further up the ladder in this shark pool of a featherweight division here at Evolution. Randy: “It’s amazing how stacked this division is if you ask me. Evolution currently has 9 of the top 25 featherweights currently on their roster and that doesn’t include names like former champions Dr. Gonzo, Cormac Maguire and Steiner Sting. I’m not sure how close either of these guys are to getting a title shot but both are in need of a win here if they want to stay in contention. This fight could really go either way if you ask me but I am going to pick Matt Miller just based on how good he looked in the fight against Danny Powers. I’ll take him by Unanimous decision.” Ryo: “It is a stacked division thats right. I'd go for Matt Miller. Not because of the Powers fight if i based it on that he will get his ass kicked on the ground from Rainer. I think Matt has the better skills even though Rainer has the red belt i expect Matt to do the damage standing and maybe secure a takedown when Rainer is gassed. Miller via TKO 3rd round. “ http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/1/1w2.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w16.jpg Theo Atla Son (26-7) vs. Jose Nabijos (37-8-1) The 2nd fight on our under-card will be contested in the light-heavyweight division as Theo Atla Son steps into the cage for the first time after losing his LHW championship to Ryo Narushima. He is an elite muay-thai fighter and likes to go and set the pace in his fights mixing up his punches and kicks well. Theo lands 9.2 leg kicks per fight and lands them at a 66% clip. He uses his kicks to slow down his opponents and get his fights into the clinch where he unleashes a brutal attack from the thai-plumb with punches, elbows and knees. His opponent in this fight is the CWFL LHW champion Jose Nabijos who joins us on this great card for a terrific super-fight between these two. Nabijos is a high level kick boxer who possesses terrific knockout power with 27 of his 37 career victories coming by stoppage due to strikes. Nabijos likes to wear his opponents down by attacking their legs and body and averages over 30 strikes thrown to those two areas. A terrific fight between two great strikers as Theo Atla Son tries to get back into title contention and protect his home turf against the invading Nabijos. Randy: “Theo is a terrific fighter and the guy that you took the title off of Ryo as I’m sure you know. His 5 knockout losses worry me against a power puncher like Jose especially knowing the way you guys at Convicted fight team are known for finishing fights. I’m taking Nabijos to come into hostile territory and get the knockout victory.” Ryo: : "Well Gundy ducked, dodged, dipped, dived and dodged his way from Jose and for a good reason too. Jose is a bad man who swings with bad intentions. Taking nothing away from Theo. He was a tough cookie but i think Jose might be a bit too much for him tonight i am taking Jose by TKO somewhere in the 3-4th rounds. Don't get me wrong though. Theo was champion. It will be a close one. “ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/37/37w41.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/23/23w1.jpg http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg Alexander Valentine (31-10) vs. John L. Sullivan IV (30-10-1) The next fight on our card is 5 rounds for Evolution’s Middleweight Championship of the world as Alexander Valentine looks to defend his title for the first time. His challenger tonight is “Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan IV who has won 6 of his last 7 fights only dropping a unanimous decision to Valentine the first time these two faced off at Empire 46. Valentine was able to use his counter wrestling to get the fight to the mat 4 times and used his top game to control Sullivan and grind out the decision victory. When Sullivan IV was able to keep the fight standing he was slightly getting the better of his opponent on the feet. If he wants to be victorious this time he definitely needs to do a better job at stopping the takedown. Sullivan IV has really solid ground defense and he didn’t take a ton of damage in their last fight but Valentine did a good job controlling him from the top position and was able to keep the fight on the ground long enough to win rounds. Sullivan IV has proven to be an elite knockout puncher throughout the course of his career with 23 of his 30 victories being stopped by strikes. Valentine has lost by stoppage 4 times in his career and 3 of his last 4 losses have come via stoppage due to strikes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boston’s strong boy look to come out swinging this time around and try to stop this fight inside the distance. I expect a similar game-plan from Valentine that we’ve seen the last several times out. As the old saying goes “if it’s not broke, don’t’ fix it” and Valentine has found a lot of success with his counter wrestling game in recent history. If he can get this fight to the ground early he has a good chance at winning the fight. Randy: “John Sullivan IV is a talented fighter but most of his losses have come against the elite of the elite and he’s definitely facing one of those guys here in Valentine. I know I say this a lot but it’s hard for me to pick against a good wrestler and Valentine has been man-handling some of the best fighters on the planet. I think he does that again here tonight and wins a 49-46 unanimous decision.” Ryo: : “He beat Danza. Danza was pissed about that one. I think John has the tools to do it. It will be dependant if he lands the big shots or not. I am gonna go for John in this one finishing him early in the second round. “ http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/3/3b13.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/10/10b6.jpg Merik Hunt (24-11) vs. Pluto Palhares (20-2) Up next on our card Evolution is invaded by CWFL 170lb champion Pluto Palhares who comes in on a 5 fight win streak and brings in an impressive overall record of 20-2 as he takes on Evolution’s 170lb champion Merik Hunt. Palhares won the CWFL 170lb championship by beating Thor Omega by unanimous decision his last time in the cage. He is a skilled striker and likes to mix up his punches and kicks favoring his muay-thai slightly in an effort to get his opponents down to the ground. Pluto also possesses Olympic caliber wrestling and is a BJJ black belt. He does have 3 submission victories to his credit but prefers to get on top and use his wrestling to control opponents and land big strikes on the ground where he averages close to 50% of his ground strikes. His opponent Merik Hunt was able to use his wrestling to earn a close decision victory over former champion Sinuhe Egyptian but when the fight was standing and in the clinch Hunt fared surprisingly well against an elite level kick-boxer such as Egyptian. Hunt’s bread and butter is the ground game and he’s landed almost 2 takedowns per fight at a 42% clip over the course of his career. He has a very active top game averaging 9.4 ground strikes landed at close to 60% and to top it all off he has shown a high level ability at passing the guard averaging a 52% success rate in his advance position attempts. Hunt also possesses good power in his hands finishing over 70% of his victories by stoppages due to strikes. Both of these fighters are currently ranked in the top 10 of their weight class and I’d expect the winner to crack the top 3. Randy: “A good match-up between two high caliber ground guys. Hunt did surprisingly well on the feet against Egyptian but that could also be due to his wrestling ability and spending a fair amount of time on top of his opponent. Palhares is obviously more equipped to handle himself on the ground then Egyptian was and I see him taking this one by a late stoppage.” Ryo: :" I had the unfortunate pleasure of rolling with Pluto afew weeks ago. He has a wicked ground game. One of the best i have come up against. I think Pluto will submit him since Hunt has shown a weakness to that. Pluto via Submission round 2. I'll go for a kimura since thats what the fucker put me in. “ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/25/25w4.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/39/39w15.jpg http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg Otso Jokinen (44-7) vs. Dick Dingleberry (25-8-2) Tonight’s under-card is rounded out with our 2nd title fight of the evening as Evolution 155lb champion and long-time #1 p4p fighter Otso Jokinen defends his title for the first time as he takes on a man who already holds 2 championships over in CWFL and looks to add another title to his collection in this fight. Dingleberry is a 2x former champion at 145lbs in Geezer’s Palace and brings a 5 fight win streak to the table capturing both the open-weight and 145lbs titles during that span. He is a well-rounded striker who uses his striking game to set up his takedown attempts. Dick has good wrestling ability averaging over 4.5 takedown attempts per fight. He’s also a BJJ black belt who has 6 submission victories to his credit. Otso Jokinen appears in the 52nd fight of his career tonight and has taken on many of the top fighters across several weight classes over the last 2 years. Otso went on a historic 19 fight win streak beating almost every top name in MMA before his streak was stopped by the current #1 p4p fighter in the world. Jokinen is an elite power puncher which is rare at this weight class but he has 25 knockout victories in his career. He averages over 53 strikes thrown on the feet in his career as well as 31 strikes attempted in the clinch. Otso is dangerous in both of those areas and will set up takedowns from distance and push his opponents against the cage in the clinch in order to get fights to the ground where he is also a BJJ black belt. He’s one of the greatest fighters to ever grace a tycoon cage and Dick Dingleberry will have his hands full in this championship fight. Randy: “Otso’s last two losses have been to guys who came into the fight lighter than him and possessed a speed advantage. Despite the fact that his opponent should hold that same advantage I just think Otso is too strong everywhere. I look for him to close the distance and man-handle Dingleberry against the cage for the victory.” Ryo: :"I don't agree with the weight thing. Otso came in with the wrong game plan in those two losses. He seems to have found his feet again and shed a few unwanted pounds off his mighty mouse figure. However i am going for the upset tonight. I think the disappointment will submit him and the place will go wild. If he doesn't get it in the first few rounds though. Otso will man handle and turn him into a punching bag. “ http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/2/2b5.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/30/30b28.jpg Dustin Douglas (29-8) vs. Josh Williams (25-13) After 5 terrific fights including 2 championship fights we finally get to the main-card portion of our evening when these two heavy handed heavyweights square off. Dustin Douglas comes into this fight having gone 2-1 in his last 3 after dropping his IMMA HW championship to Alistair Overeem. Douglas is an elite level boxer who likes to put his heavy hands on his opponent’s faces until they end up face first on the mat. He has 26 career knockouts out of 29 career victories finishing almost 90% of his victories by knockout. He has finished 22 of his opponents inside the first round just showing the elite level power this man possesses. Josh Williams is equally as dangerous on the feet as Douglas with his elite level kick-boxing skills and unbelievable knockout power. Williams actually has a higher finish rate then his opponent with 23 knockouts in his 25 wins finishing 92% of his victories by way of stoppage due to strikes. Unlike his opponent however, Wililams prefers to use a more heavy kick game-plan and lands an astounding 74% of his leg kicks, 71% of his body kicks and 51% of his head kicks throughout the course of his career. One thing is for sure and that’s somebody is getting knocked out in this fight! Randy: “Both of these guys look like scary mother fuckers and I am sure glad it’s been months since I’ve been hit by guys like this. Williams has won 9 of his last 10 fights and has been looking really good lately but hasn’t fought the same level of competition that Douglas has. Williams 13 career knockout losses looks like it’ll be the difference here as I think Douglas eats punches better. I’m taking him by 1st round KO.” Ryo: :"Big hitters are always fun to watch but not so fun to spar with. Williams hasn't fought the guys Douglas has but he does have the power to trouble Douglas chin. I think this one is closer than you might be giving it credit for Randy. I'll still go for Douglas to win via KO. It really depends what Douglas shows up though. “ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/8/8b2.jpg VS. http://i.imgur.com/e8n9TVL.jpg?1 Alistair Overeem (29-8) vs. Don Marciano (39-8-2) Up next is another fight in the heavyweight division in a rematch from IMMA 137 as Alistair Overeem takes on Don Marciano. The last time these two fighters faced off was for the IMMA HW championship and it was a 5 round war that finished with a new champion as Alistair Overeem reached the pinnacle of this sport and became the #1 p4p fighter after the victory over Marciano. Don got the better of Overeem on the feet in the 1st round last fight but Overeem used his clinch game to wear down his opponent and then started to find a bit more success on the outside with him. Don has lost to only 4 other men besides Overeem and each of them suffered knockout losses in the rematches. Overeem had won 8 fights in a row before dropping his Evolution HW championship to Arnie Ironz in a rematch his last fight out. He better hope that a knockout loss in a rematch isn’t something that happens to him tonight or he’ll fall further down the ladder in the heavyweight title picture. Overeem will look to use a kick heavy game-plan in an effort to close the distance and get Marciano against the cage in the clinch position where he will unleash a varied attack that will include punches, elbows and knees. Marciano has 34 career knock-out in his 39 wins and given his reputation for knocking out his foes in rematches I’d expect to see him come out and look to finish the fight inside the distance. Randy: “This is a terrific rematch and 1 of the fights that I most look forward too on this card. Marciano feels he’s established himself as the greatest heavyweight knock-out artist in the history of the sport and he hasn’t lost to one guy that he hasn’t knocked out the 2nd or 3rd time he faced them. I don’t see that trend breaking here as I am picking Marciano by 1st round KO.” Ryo: :"I'd have to agree. The Godfather is always more hungry after a loss. I just noticed thats 3 of Karters fighters on this card jeez. Also the recent claims of him fixing fights will give him extra motivation to go in there and knock him out cold. I think Don takes it in the first round via KO. Overeem could win it if he manages to get that nasty clinch of his but i think Don will go in to take his head off and do it quickly. “ http://i.imgur.com/Xr08cGt.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/6/6b4.jpg Kane Williams (22-3) vs. Art Vandalay (25-4) Once again the heavyweights do battle as former Versus HW champion Kane Williams makes his Evolution debut when he takes on elite muay-thai striker Art Vandalay. Kane Williiams avenged the first defeat of his career by knocking out Llewelyn Carter to win the Versus HW championship. He then defended that championship 9 times over 10 fights only losing a super-fight to Logan Harter by arm-bar. A loss he also avenged by defeating Harter by KO in the 2nd round earning him a championship fight against Don Marciano that he later lost. His opponent in this fight is Art Vandalay who comes into this fight on a 3 fight win streak, defeating William’s teammate Dustin Douglas in that span. Vandalay mixes up his punches and kicks well in an effort to close the distance and tackle his opponent into the clinch position where he unleashes an attack that includes punches, elbows and knees. Vandalay has finished 19 of his 25 wins for a 76% finish rate so he’s not quite the power puncher that Kane Williams is. Williams comes into this fight having finished 21 of his 22 career victories by knockout. An impressive victory in this fight could land 1 of these fighters in a possible title match. Randy: “This is a really tough fight to call as both of these guys are high level fighters. The rumor going around the MMA world is that Art Vandalay will be leaving the JLP camp after this fight win or lose. I think Williams has a little bit more power than Vandalay and that might be the difference if Williams can keep this fight on the outside. If Vandalay can tackle his opponent into the clinch it’ll be interesting to see how Williams deals with the varied attack of Vandalay. I’m gonna take Williams by knockout, not sure on the round.” Ryo: "Vandalay is a good fighter but his manager has little confidence in him. I'd say that is the difference. This seems to be the oddball from a roster going up against the pride of anothers. Soyster takes great care in Williams. I say Kane takes it and again in the first round. “ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/31/31w21.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/40/40w41.jpg http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg Katsu Higashikuni (22-8) vs. Danny Power (26-8-1) Our co-main event of the evening is for the Evolution 145lb championship as Katsu Higashikuni looks to defend his title for the 2nd time as he takes on the #1 p4p fighter in the world Danny Power. Higashikuni was a long-time ONI fighter before moving over to UMMA and winning the 135lb championship. He’s won 8 of his last 9 fights and won the IMMA 145 championship off Dr. Gonzo with a 5th round guillotine choke. He then defended his title in a 5 round fight against a top 10 p4p fighter in Barry Scott. Katsu is no slouch on the feet but he prefers to get fights to the ground and lands over 2 takedowns and 9.4 ground strikes landed per fight. He lands over 53% of his ground strikes and in addition to his ground striking he also possesses 9 submission victories in his career. Danny Power has won 13 of his last 14 fights winning the 145 championship in the top 2 organizations in the world at the time in Ascension and Empire. He’s beaten a who’s who at 145lbs and was the man to stop Otso Jokinen’s unbelievable 19 fight winning streak. His only loss during that time was a knockout loss to the man who just established himself as the next contender for the title in Sly Randolph. Power is strong everywhere and has never been afraid to go to the ground with high level grapplers like Higashikuni so I would expect a great fight that shows off all aspects of this great sport. Randy: “Danny Power has been on a roll lately and beaten some of the best fighters in the weight class but they’ve been dropping like flies over at the McDonnell camp. I expect Power to be the next victim for Sean this month as I am taking Katsu by 4th round submission.” Ryo: :"I have to agree. I think a lot of people have been fighting Power the wrong way and i know your former boss likes to take things to the ground. I think Katsu wins yeah but he wins via GNP in the first or second round. I don't think he will risk the sub unless he is in guard. On top i think he will dominate and shut down Powers ground game. With takedowns the way they are? I'd say he gets his one early." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/12/12w2.jpg VS. http://i.imgur.com/N53KsrW.jpg http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg Arnie Ironz (22-6) vs. Kyle Carlton (19-1) After 9 main event caliber fights on most cards we finally get to the main event of the evening and it’ll be a round 5 fight for the heavyweight championship as Arnie Ironz looks to defend his title for the 1st time against against Kyle Carlton. Arnie Ironz is a former NFC Heavyweight champion but he lost his title in his first defense against Alistair Overeem, the man he just took the Evolution title from. He then went on a run of 3 super-fights in different organizations before landing in Evolution and winning the rematch and the gold against Overeem. Ironz is an elite level kick-boxer and likes to throw a high number of head punches and leg kicks in his fights. Ironz is also a high level clinch fighter and has a well-rounded arsenal that includes punches, elbows and kicks. Arnie is a brutal finisher with 20 knockout wins out of his 22 career victories which amounts to a 91% finish rate. His opponent tonight is the last ever Empire HW champion and is also a very dangerous striker. Carlton prefers to put his heavy hands on his opponents averaging over 16 strikes thrown per fight compared to only 1.4 kicks. Carlton is also very equipped to handle himself in the clinch and likes to mix his strikes up with punches, elbows and knees but again relies heavily on his fists from that position. Kyle Carlton is also one of the best knockout punchers in the division having finished all 19 of his opponents by strikes. This fight is scheduled to go 5 rounds but there are 24 first round knockouts between these two guys, both having 12 apiece so I wouldn’t expect to see this fight hit the final bell. Randy: “Another great match-up between two heavyweight knockout artists. Once again it makes me glad I’m sitting here next to you Ryo and not still getting in there and mixing it up with guys like this. Ironz is one hell of a fighter but I think this is Kyle Carlton’s time. He’s going to finish this fight and do so impressively.” Ryo: :"I'd love a crack at one of these two to show them what real power is all about. Its the heavyweights. Whoever connects first wins. I think we will see Ironz do what he does best. Come out strong and beat up Kyle. Kyle will try something hes never done before and it will fail. That being said, as i said previously its the heavyweights its gonna be first one to hit wins. “ Randy: “This is the greatest event in the history of MMA Tycoon and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to sit here with you Ryo and do the preview for this great event. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Chuck W and all the Empire fighters who came over in the merger that allowed Evolution to put on such a terrific event. This event was dubbed the home-coming for you guys. I also want to thank you Ryo for joining me here tonight.” Ryo: :"It was fun. I think we will see the Empire champs come in and take the belts like i took mine and Danza lost his." Randy: “Be sure to give my regards to Dean and Vitali for me will ya?” Ryo: "Will do i think they will be in LA for me vs Sackett. Should show up i'll hook you up with tickets." Randy: “I might just do that Ryo, it’ll be a great fight. Once again good luck in the upcoming figth with Yance. Maybe we’ll get you back on here as a guest sometime.” Ryo: "Yeah man, thanks i am hoping i don't need luck but hes a tough SOB. I am sure i will be either that or i'll try get Dean to come on. Just remember folks Ryo vs Yance Ascension only on PPV. “ Randy: “That all for now folks. Join us next time for Evolution 10 “Womba vs. Grundy” this is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. Good night.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1376653968evo10.png Evolution 10 ‘Womba vs. Grundy’ Preview Randy: “Welcome to a brand new edition of Evolution’s Countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 10 ‘Womba vs. Grundy which comes to you live from downtown Los Angeles in the L.A. Memorial Collossuseum on Friday August 17th, 2013. There will be no titles on the line for this card but we have some great fights and our co-main event and main event of the evening will be 5 x 5 min rounds. I’m joined here by my guest this week ZydXyd. Thanks for joining me, I’d like to start by asking you a few questions, if you don’t mind? ZydXyd: “Uhhh... Who the fuck are you?” Randy: “You’re one of the more infamous managers in MMA Tycoon, I think that’s a statement you probably wouldn’t dispute. Many probably know you from chat, where you regularly harass the other members. Others probably know you from some of the exploits and shady activity you’ve participated in, why do you do all these crazy things that are often frowned upon?” ZydXyd: “What I do is normal. What everyone else does is crazy. Train forever to crush cans in ID orgs? Message owners requesting to only be matched up against strikers? That is worse then anything I've ever done.” Randy: “Now interestingly enough, despite your many shady activities yourself, you’re also probably known for the forum thread you created where you put everybody’s um….*shit* for lack of a better term out there. What was the reason behind the big exposure thread?” ZydXyd: “Hidden power, secrets, cover-ups, corruption. You think you know the whole story? Think again. I've been governor, a Navy SEAL, a fighter. I've heard things that will blow your mind. And now I think it's time that you get the whole story.” Randy: “I guess the more interesting question here is, how in the hell did you get all that information? Was it one or two sources who leaked this information? Or just an accumulation of shit over time?” ZydXyd: “Don't trust anyone on tycoon. Ever. Everyone has a price.” Randy: “I heard a rumor from my former manager and long-time friend Sean McDonnell that you called your Shady Island team in the Eminence 135 tournament the greatest team ever? Is that true?” ZydXyd: “It's not true. We were terrible. But we got the job done. Luckily the war was against some fuckin loser filled alliance.” Randy: “That team consisted of yourself, Joshua Donovan, Umberts and Nehi? What is about that team that you think made you guys so great? ZydXyd: “Like I said. All lies spread by people to ruin my great reputation.” Randy: “You’d say you guys were better than great teams such as The Four Horsemen? D-X? How about Convicted? I’d say having 12 alliance pyramid championships makes them a pretty strong team in tycoon history. You’d say that was a better team than Convicted?” ZydXyd: “lol convicted. You are funny. It's like comparing apples and oranges. They are a rotten maggot filled apple and we are a sweet juicy fresh orange. Convicted couldn't lace our boots for a day. Theres more talent in the Tycoon Alliance then that shit group.” Randy: “Just a few more questions because I know you’ll give honest answers, and I’m curious. Who’s the most overrated fighter in tycoon? Who do you think is the most overrated manager in tycoon?” ZydXyd: “Danny Power and Sean Mcdonalds.” Randy: “Let’s not discuss the history side because there have been so many great managers in the course of the history of this great game. Who’s the best manager in the game right now?” ZydXyd: “Moyses Mattos” **Phone rings and ZydXyd picks up and whispers something before quickly hanging up** ZydXyd: “I hate to cut this short but something has come up.” Randy: “Well that was an awkward interview. I think there might seriously be something wrong with that guy. Luckily we have Danny Power walking around somewhere here on set and he is going to step I to give us his expert opinion on some of the fights with me here tonight. Danny Power walks on set holding his Evolution 145lbs championship Randy: “I see you are proudly wearing the brand new title you won the other night. First of all congratulations on your victory and becoming the new featherweight champion.” Power: “I appreciate that Randy. Katsu was a tough opponent and I knew he’d want to get the fight to the ground so I worked really hard on my takedown defense and got the knockout I was hoping for.” Randy: “I’d love to talk to you more about the fight but maybe we’ll get to that here in a little bit. Let’s now take a look at the upcoming fights on the card this Saturday.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w12.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/15/15w19.jpg Karri Vahti (22-8-2) vs. Doc Chillum (28-10) Kicking off our main-card tonight is a fight in the 170lb weight class as high level striker Karri Vahti continues to try to find his footing in the pecking order in Evolution’s welterweight division going 3-4 since making the move from Fight Day FC. Vahti is a volume striker and likes to push a fast pace and force his opponents to back-pedal as he throws punches in bunches and likes to mix in a fair amount of leg kicks into his game-plan. His opponent is the last ever 170lb champion in NFC and makes his Evolution debut after an 0-2 stint in Empire Doc Chillum. Doc mixes up his punches and kicks well and also likes to close the distance and engage the clinch position where he will mix in elbows and knees to a heavy dirty-box game-plan. Both of these fighters come into this fight on a bit of a down streak with Chillum losing his last 2 and Vahti losing 3 of his last 4 fights. This fight could really go either way as both are talented strikers with decent power and neither has an un-touchable chin. I think this fight goes the distance though in a close decision. Randy: “This looks like a very even match-up between two talented strikers. Chillum has been fighting against a higher caliber opponent level spending a long time in NFC. I think he wins this fight by a late stoppage.” Power: “NFC is what we consider the highest level of opponents huh? That’s interesting. I didn’t expose that org by beating the only good fighter they had a few months ago? I see why ZydXyd found a reason to get the hell out of here. I’ll take Chillum in this fight I guess because I’ve actually heard of him.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/39/39w37.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/29/29w25.jpg Marko Torturo (33-13-2) vs. Jake Orange (32-13) The next fight on our card is a great fight between two high level strikers in the light-heavyweight division when former NFC Light-Heavyweight champion Marko Torturo continues his career with the Davies camp as he takes on Jake Orange in his Evolution debut. Orange comes into this fight on a 2 fight win streak while competing in Empire’s 205lb division. A win over a former NFC champion and what would be a 3rd win in a row would have Orange knocking on the door at a potential title shot so expect him to come prepared for this fight and look for him to use his reach advantage while striking at range as he tries to close the distance in an effort to get this fight in the clinch where he’ll utilize an effective dirty-box game but isn’t afraid to mix in a few elbows and knees into his game-plan. Marko Torturo went on a 4 fight win streak after dropping his title to Daniel Speed at NFC 187 but then was stopped by Grundy and had a draw last fight in a rematch with Mackenzie King. I expect he’ll push an aggressive pace to get inside his opponent’s reach and try to catch Orange’s chin since he’s been stopped 9 times in his career. Randy: “This should be a real entertaining fight as both of these guys are prominently strikers and I wouldn’t expect to see anybody shooting for a takedown in this fight. Orange does like to grapple a little bit and he can be very effective in the clinch, if he can get the fight there early he has a good chance in this fight. I think Torturo is going to win this fight in this 1st round though.” Power: “I’m gonna be honest I don’t know much about either of these guys. You know Sean’s history with the Finn Fighters and his rule banning his fighters from fighting in that organization or watching their crappy PPV’s, so while Torturo climbed as high as #11 p4p according to what I’ve read, I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about him. I guess I’ll pick him just because it looks like his chin holds up better in a slug-fest then his opponent’s.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/10/10b1.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/28/28w11.jpg Seppo Taalasmaa (45-22) vs. Vladimir Solovyev (32-8-2) Another big fight in the 155lb division as Vladimir Solovyev looks to rebound after dropping the belt to Otso Jokinen in his 3rd title defense last time out. Seppo Taalasmaa hasn’t worn gold since late 2012 but brings a streak of 7-2 over his last 9 fights into this contest. He shows no signs of slowing down despite being 34 yrs of age and competing in his 68th professional fight. He won a big fight by armbar over former Empire 155 champion Khanomtom in his last fight. Taalasmaa will be looking to get this fight to the ground and is pretty good at getting fights to the ground averaging 2 takedowns per fight over his career. Once he gets fights to the ground he’s fairly good at keeping them there because he’s a very active fighter. He lands 10.6 strikes on the ground per fight and lands them at over a 52% rate. Taalasmaa also has a very dangerous submission game with 16 submission wins to his career and lands an astounding 7% of his submission attempts. Soloyvev has never been submitted in his career but he’ll want to avoid being on the ground with Taalasmaa at all costs in this fight, and will push an aggressive pace mixing in plenty of leg kicks with his punches. Soloyvev stuffs over 72% of his opponent’s takedown attempts and that will probably be the most important statistic for him in this fight if he has any hope of winning a decision. Randy: “Normally I favor the wrestler, that’s no secret and Taalasmaa is 1 hell of a ground fighter. There is just something about this fight that’s not sitting right with me. Since joining NFC Soloyvev has gone 14-4. Three of those losses are to Otso Jokinen though, and he’s 1 of the best fighters on the planet. The other loss is to Gomi, a fight he later avenged in the rematch. I think he finds a way to win this fight and maybe makes a case for a title shot.” Power: “Soloyvev looks like a tough fighter but if you keep hyping up Otso Jokinen I’m going to reach across this table and bitch-slap you Randy, I don’t care how big you think you are. I think Solyoyvev takes his fight as well, but I don’t get the whole not being able to beat Otso thing. If he wants to come train at my gym, I’ll teach him a few tricks and maybe he can get the job done next time.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/1/1w24.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/23/23w27.jpg Renzo Machida (25-8) vs. Ivan Priebko (24-9-1) Up next on our card is a 5 round rematch at the heavyweight division as Ivan Priebko looks for revenge after suffering a first round knockout the last time these two fighters squared off. Renzo Machida came out very aggressive in their last fight and was able to land his strikes almost at will as he threw big bombs right from the opening bell. A jab opened a cut on his opponent in the opening minute of the fight and then an uppercut sent Priebko to the canvas right around the 1 minute mark. Machida showed great killer instinct and finished the fight with a devastating left hook 30 seconds later. Priebko will need to get this fight to the ground early to try to avoid some of the early power Machida possesses. If he can avoid eating too many shots early in this fight and land a takedown he may have a chance at getting the revenge he seeks. I expect Machida will come out with a similar plan to their last fight and try to land big shots early in hopes for another first round knockout. Randy: “Tough draw here for Priebko to have to make your Evolution debut against the guy you lost to in Empire the last time you were in the cage. Unfortunately I don’t think this fight is going to go much different for him. I normally go with the wrestlers but Machida will come out and land hard shots early in this fight and I don’t think Priebko’s chin can hold up to the power of ‘He-man’” Power: “Priebko barely got out of the opening minute of the fight last time, not sure what the match-maker was smoking when he scheduled this fight but I don’t give him much chance in the rematch. Machida knocks him out again, any bets on how fast?” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/23/23b7.jpg VS. http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/p651/shortfusenwo/29eaba93-e8b3-48e1-8f03-e0cc96639de7_zps13bb80ac.jpg?t=1376723175 Benjamin Grundy (23-9) vs. Smokudju Womba (30-6-1) The main event of the evening is a big fight in the 205lb division as Smokudju Womba looks to bounce back from his recent knockout loss where he failed to capture the Evolution LHW championship in his debut with the organization. His opponent is a heavy handed striker and former UPG LHW champion. Grundy took a super-fight in Syn where he came up short against Gristle Mcthornbody and then had an impressive knockout win in his Evolution debut over former NFC 205 champion Marko Torturo. Grundy is going to do everything he can to keep this fight standing as he’ll want no part of being on the ground with an elite ground fighter of the likes of Womba. Look for him to push an aggressive pace and look to land big power shots in an effort to finish the fight early. The longer this fight drags on the better Womba’s chances are of getting the fight to the ground and getting the victory so Grundy should look to use his heavy hands to his advantage early in this fight. Womba has been submitting high level fighters for a long time, and before losing in his fight was riding a 10 fight un-beaten streak against elite level competition. This should be a great main event and 1 of these fighters will move closer to getting a shot at Evolution LHW champion Ryo Narushima when he returns from a super-fight in Ascension. Randy: “This fight could really go either way in my opinion. If Grundy finds success on the feet early in this fight it has the potential to end quickly as he is 1 of the bigger hitters in the light-heavyweight division. There is obviously no doubt who will have the advantage if this fight hits the ground, and I think Womba will need to hope for an early takedown to win this fight. If he finds that early takedown, I think he wears Grundy down enough to survive his power early and he’ll continue to find success getting this fight to the ground where he’ll win by a late submission.” Power: “Womba is fun to watch if you ask me, I enjoy talented grapplers and they don’t come much better than this guy. Let me tell you something about this fight though, my boy Grundy is hungry. He’s going to remind everybody why he’s 1 of the biggest punchers in the division when he leaves Womba lying face down on the canvas. There isn’t gonna be any stupid dances after this fight because the Cocksmen have nothing but respect for the McGrady camp.” Randy: “No surprise that there are no titles on the line this card after having 4 on the line in the giant ‘Home-coming’ card but still there are some interesting fights on this card. A few of these fights could see the winners in either title eliminators or possibly even getting a shot at the title if they can win impressively. There are also a few interesting fights on the under-card, so let’s take a look at those now… Aiden Oreilly (37-15-1) vs. Jon Unbreakable (37-15-1) A big fight in the 155lb division kicks off the card as long-time IMMA and Empire fighter Aiden Oreilly brings his 5 fight win streak into this fight against former IMMA 155 champion Jon Unbreakable. Oreilly is a high level boxer and throws over 30 punches a fight during his career. He’ll also mix in a decent amount of leg kicks and takedown attempts in order to mix things up and confuse his opponent. Oreilly lands over 42% of his takedown attempts and stuffs over 82% of his opponent’s takedown attempts so he is great at dictating where the fight takes place. Unbreakable isn’t quite as successful with his wrestling as his opponent but once the fight hits the ground he is as dangerous as anybody. He lands over 41% of his attempts to advance position and 61% of his ground strikes. Unbreakable also has 10 submission victories in his career and has landed 9% of his submission attempts in his career. Jason Griffin (19-11-1) vs. Takanori Gomi (27-9-2) Jason Griffin returns to the lightweight division after a 14 fight stint at 145lbs that saw him become the Empire 145 champion by defeating Moe Lester at Empire 7, before dropping the title in his next fight to Angus Young. His opponent in this fight is long time NFC fighter and former NFC 155 champion Takanori Gomi who is probably most known for being the last man to defeat Otso Jokinen before his impressive 19 fight win streak. Gomi had a rough stretch of losing 4 of his last 5 fights in NFC, but hasn’t lost in 3 fights going 2-0-1 since coming making the move to Evolution. A win here moves 1 of these guys a little further up the ladder. Johann Joensen (33-23) vs. Paulus De Boskabouter (27-7) The third fight on our under-card will be contested in the 170lb division when two elite level muay-thai strikers square off. De Boskabouter had won titles in 3 different organizations but came up short in all 3 tries at NFC 170 gold. He’s 1-2 since making the move to Evolution and will hope to get a big win to prove he belongs in the division. He likes to push forward with lots of kicks and tackle his opponents into the clinch where he throws over 17 elbows per fight. Joensen has 26 fights in IMMA/Evolution and has competed for its org’s 170lb championship on 5 different occasions coming up short in all of them. He is a high level striker with good power in his hands and the perfect test for a fighter looking to see where he stands in the division. Sinuhe Egyptian (42-14-2) vs. Manfred von Richtofen (24-13-1) Another big fight at 170lbs on the under-card as former #1 p4p fighter and former IMMA/Evolution 170lb champion Sinuhe Egyptian looks to stop a 3 fight skid with a win here when he takes on former GFC champion and a fighter that competed in orgs such as Eminence and Ascension, Manfred von Richtofen. Egyptian lost two close fights to GAMMA 170lb champion and the #4 p4p fighter in the world Renan Justice, and then lost his title in another close fight to Merrik Hunt. Having only lost to some of the most elite fighters in the division Egyptian is still considered a tough fight for anybody, but he’ll definitely want to stop his 3 fight losing streak and try to get back in contention for his belt. Egyptian likes to use his kicks and he’ll use plenty in this fight and don’t be surprised to see him take this fight to the clinch as well. Von Richtofen has a tough task ahead of him but if he can get this fight to the ground he’ll have every chance of doing what the champion did last fight and out-wrestle this elite level striker. Kassidy Cullen (23-8-1) vs. Michael Patton (33-12-1) The next fight closes out our under-card and is between a high level grappler and a high level striker when Kassidy Cullen takes on Michael Patton in a lightweight contest. Both fighters most recent losses have come in title fights to former Evolution 155 champion Vladimir Solovyev. Michael Patton is a high volume striker who prefers to push a fast pace and the majority of his strikes over his career have been punches to the head and body. He possesses a black-belt in BJJ but he won’t want to spend much time on the ground with Cullen. Look for Patton to try to cause a lot of scrambles in an effort get the fight back to his feet where he should have the advantage over his opponent. Kassidy Cullen likes to use his muay-thai to set up his takedowns throwing a large amount of leg kicks in addition to his 6.1 takedown attempts per fight. Cullen is also an effective clinch fighter and will mix in elbows and knees with his punches. He is also more effective with his takedowns from clinch so don’t be surprised if Cullen closes the distance and pushes Patton against the cage in order to instigate grappling exchanges. Cullen is also a very effective ground fighter landing over 55% of his ground strikes and averaging 8.1 strikes on the Randy: “An exciting card that could see a few guys establish themselves as top guys in the weight class and work their way into potential title eliminators. If you still have some time I would like to get around to asking you a few questions Danny?” Power: “I guess that is going to depend how much more Otso ass-kissing you’re going to do in my presence because I’m trying to keep my dinner down from earlier.” Randy: “The guy is without a doubt 1 of the best fighters in tycoon history there is no getting around that but we’ll avoid that topic for the time being. Did anything surprise you about the fight against Katsu?” Power: “No not really. I’ve heard a lot of guys were surprised by his inability to get me to the ground for the most part. I wasn’t really surprised by that at all if I’m being honest. I have proven myself time and time again as one of the best wrestlers in the sport. I guess if anything surprised me it’s that he made it all the way to the 5th round.” Randy: “After the fight you seemed to be very emotional when you called out Sly Randolph. Why did you appear to be so amped up when you made the statement you did? Is this fight personal for you?” Power: “You’re damn right it’s personal. It may not be personal for Sean and I’m quite sure that it’s not as he’s talked to Gale on a few occasions and has a lot of respect for his ability as a manager and some of the fighters over at that camp. To me? It doesn’t get any more personal than this fight! The last time I faced this guy he made me look like a fool. I came out real high on myself after stopping Piper and Angus Young in back to back fights, and I got sloppy. He taught me a hard lesson that night and that’s everybody can be had on any given night and my hat is off to him because he got me on that night. This dude has been calling me out left and right for months and on August 24th he’s gonna get exactly what he asks for. I just hope he’s prepared for the Danny Power that shows up to fight on that night because this fight isn’t going to look anything like the last one.” Randy: “Rumor has it that after this fight you will be going to Ascension to defend your title against the winner of the 145lb tournament they’re holding in their organization. Is there any truth to that rumor?” Power: “Sean likes to give Mega a hard time that he’s sending me to Ascension because they didn’t give us the main-event slot next weekend (laughs). Ya that rumor is true, I been keeping my eye on that tournament and it looks like Meat Loaf takes on Waru Kuzuri on the 23rd, the night before I fight Randolph so after that fight I will be headed back to Ascension to defend my title.” Randy: “Any preference who wins that fight?” Power: “I wouldn’t call it a preference but I really wouldn’t mind getting in the cage with Kuzuri. That guy has always been on my radar because he was being dubbed the future ‘greatest feather-weight of all-time’ and I always felt like I could beat him. I’ve been working real hard over the last year to prove who the real best featherweight of all time is and I’ll continue taking on all-comers to prove why I’m the best fighter in the world.” Randy: “Well thank you for stepping in for this really odd episode of our count-down preview. Good luck in the rematch against Randolph and tell Sean to let me know when he wants to come back on as a guest. This is Randy Ortiz, I’ll see you for the Evolution 11 preview when Don Marciano joins us as our guest-host." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1376779752image.jpg Evolution 11 ‘McDermot vs. Glozman 2’ Preview Randy: “We’re back with a brand new edition of Evolution’s count-down previews as we get ready for Evolution 11 ‘McDermot vs. Glozman 2’ which comes to you live from the LA Memorial Colossuseum in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday August 21st, 2013. Pat McDermot pulled a Brett Favre on Evolution first exclaiming he was going to retire after his most recent loss to Pentti Hirvonen but later deciding to take this fight against Igor Glozman. I think Pat made the right decision choosing to continue his career because this analyst thinks that he has the ability to climb back up to the top of the 185lb mountain. Also on display are two heavyweight slugfests when Curtly Ambrose and Christopher Samba square off in a fight where both guys are making their debut in Evolution. Two knock-out artists also square off when J Breaker takes on James Bomb. Hashimoto and Miller step into the co-main event after that fight was scrapped when 1 opponent declined his fight. A rematch between William Mackenzie King and Public Enemy rounds out this terrific main-card. I’m joined here with former Empire HW champion and #1 p4p fighter Don Marciano. You rebounded from your recent loss to Kyle Carlton by knocking out Alistair Overeem in the rematch. Congratulations on the victory, what is it about you that you are able to viciously knockout guys who previously defeated you in the rematches?” Don Marciano: "There's something about a loss that eats me up inside. You gotta hate to lose more than you love to win. Losing has always been the fuel on the fire when it comes to motivation. There's nothin more motivational than a loss, because revenge is the sweetest joy next to gettin' pussy. So when I get that opportunity, I go out and make a physical and mental statement. I beat em so badly, I break em down. I mean it, I fucking break them. They're never the same again. These hands put the fear of God in em." Randy: “So you’re 32 yrs old now, you’ve been in 50 professional fights…do you ever give any thought to just hanging it up? You’ve been the #1 fighter in the world. You’ve held titles in several top organizations. What do you have left to fight for?” Marciano: "Those are two very good questions Randy." Randy: “How many fights do you think you have left in the tank? What are your plans for the future? Do you have any idea what’s next for you or if there is any plan on potentially fighting for Evolution’s 265lb championship? I’m sure you’d probably like a rematch with Carlton knowing your history in rematches.” Marciano: "It aint no secret that I'm getting older and there's no denying the impact that this career is having on my body - I'm just not the same fighter I was when I was 25 years old - but there's still plenty of bite left in this old dog. My management will beg to differ but I'll fight til I fall apart. I have every intention on reclaiming the title. I was offered a rematch against Calrton on EVO 14 but he declined, so it looks like Arnie Ironz is up next. I'm obviously salivating at the opportunity to fight Carlton again. The ref stopped that fight too early. I'm not saying that it would of changed the outcome if he let it continue, but I could of went out with honor, pride, and some self-respect." Randy: “Recently your manager Chris Karter has been in a feud with Johnny Lee Paris of the International Cocksmen alliance, and has called out the fighter in our main-event tonight Pat McDermot by offering him fights against your teammates Taj Al Din and Moses Diggs. I have a few questions regarding this actually, so let me start with the first and that would be your thoughts on McDermot’s decision to un-retire and fight Glozman in the main-event here tonight?” Marciano: "I'm glad McDermot's management pulled his head out of his ass. You really don't want to see a talented fighter like Pat retire because his manager is having a diva moment. I'm sure when the dust settled and JLP had his snickers bar, the red river ran dry and he threw away his crusty tampon." Randy: “What exactly started the beef between the two managers? Why do you think the Paris management as refused to fight Diggs or Al Din to this point?” Marciano: "Fear, jealousy, and more fear. JLP's fear caused him to make outrageous claims, his jealousy is why he slanders a legend like myself, and JLP's fear is the only reason he won't set up McDermont against any fighter from our camp. He claims that Moses and Taj ducked Pat and they're scared of him. The last time I checked, he's the one who won't accept. The fights aint happening cuz JLP feels like the mechanics of the universe favor his opponents and crippled his fighter. Who's scared of who? Who's ducking who? I think it's pretty clear who's really ducking the other one here. Let's not mention JLP would rather cut Hank Chinaski than face the wrath of Pluto Palhares, and Grundy flat out declining to fight Jose Nabijos. All evidence points to JLP being terrified of Chris Karter's BAMF Management ability, and he should be. When you're that inferior of specimen you shouldn't challenge an alpha dog like Chris Karter. Go back to the kennel JLP - you worthless runt." Randy: “Now in addition to the challenge thrown out there by your manager Chris Karter, there was also a challenge thrown at Karter where Samani and you would step into the cage. That seems to be a fight your management wants no part of, is there any specific reason for that?” Marciano: "Samani? Samani who? The nobody who just got knocked out? What kind of challenge is that? This guy doesn't deserve to smell my jock-strap and they know it. Who the hell is Samani? Has he ever been a top 10 ranked HW? No. Has he ever held a title in a top 10 org? No. Has the guy ever been a champion in his career? No! I'm not trying to brag but I'm one of the bigger names in the MMA industry. I sell PPV tickets. I put fans in the stands. Knocking out Samani doesn't do anything for my career. JLP issued a challenge that doesn't make any sense at all, and he only made the offer because it's a fight he knows we can't accept at the moment. I'm an old man with a busy schedule. I'm the #1 contender for the EVO title. I'm fighting the top ranked fighters in the HW division. I can't remember the last time I fought a guy that wasn't ranked in the top 100 P4P. This Samani guy is just another name on UPG's roster. JLP knows I would knock him out, and for 1 million dollars I'll knock him out after I'm done answering this question. But where does the fight with Samani fit in? The difference between Pat and myself, is that he is semi-retired and has no agenda. He can fight and sign with whoever he wants to. He's in total control. I'm under contract and obligated to fight whoever the EVO President offers, and I highly doubt he'd want to offer me some chump like Rostam Samani, much less waste money signing the can." Randy: “The Paris management will claim that you don’t want that fight because you’ve neglected your ground game for so long that you know a grappler of his caliber would school you by taking you to the mat, what is your response to that theory?” Marciano: "If Paris management thinks I neglect training a ground game, good. The less people know about my game the better. Don't think I can't hit a whizzer on you, slap on an armbar, and make you scream uncle. I've been described as an Olympic level wrestler. I'm pretty confident in my wrestling ability." Randy: “Johnny Lee Paris has gone as far as to call you the biggest joke of a #1 ranked p4p fighter in the history of tycoon and there have been millions of dollars put on the line in some of the fight offers being thrown around. This is a 2 part question. The first part would be what is your response to this claim by Paris and calling you a fraud? Marciano: "My record speaks for itself and history speaks for itself. I'm the greatest striker in the history of the Heavyweight division. I might be one of the greatest strikers in the history of MMA. I earned my position as the #1 P4P fighter on the planet by destroying some of the best fighters in the division. I'll make him put his money where his mouth is if he wants to throw millions on the line, I'll pad my KO record and fight Samani under a few circumstances: Pat fights both Taj and Diggs, and Garson DeBramalo fights me after I destroy this jihadi Samani and take JLP's money. But let's face the facts - Pat and JLP are terrified. JLP only offered Samani because he didn't want to seem like a bitch for declining the fights with Taj or Diggs, and he knew I couldn't accept due to my current situation and contender status with EVO. He only calls me a fraud out of jealousy that I've obtained that golden #1 P4P ranking, and Pat's fallen short every time he's had the opportunity." Randy: “The second part of my question is 1 that I just have to ask you and that is, do you really not believe that you have an advantage over every striker you face due to the fact that you have no need to train your takedown defense, your grapple defense, transition defense, escapes because you have a pre-arranged agreement with your organizations to only fight strikers while the strikers whom you do face find it necessary to train those skills in the chance they are matched against a wrestler? To me that seems like it would provide you a huge advantage against these strikers who have to potentially face elite level grapplers while you get to pick and choose which opponents you face, do you disagree?” Marciano: "I have an advantage over every striker I face because I'm one of the baddest mother fuckers on the planet. I break granite for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I strike fear into the hearts of men, and pleasure their women after I pummel their faces into the canvas. I am the greatest striker that's ever lived. I wanna ask you something, do you really believe that I don't train all aspects of MMA? Do you do your homework before you ask these types of questions? Randy - you're lucky you're retired or I'd have to take you out back and show you how good my sprawl n' brawl is. You see these hands? They put Maxim Dragunov into a coma. I'd stuff your desperate attempt at a takedown, and literally kill you with a two-piece. You were a decent enough fighter in your day but you might be better off flippin' burgers than conducting interviews with a legend of the sport." "You're not that bad of a guy, just misinformed by your International League of little boys, but I'm rooting for you so I'm going to do your job for you and help you get to the bottom of all these accusations and give you some insight on the situations that were at hand. Ever since the loss to Trey Marshall, I've contemplated my future in MMA. I was on the verge of retirement and in a really dark place at that point in my career. I avenged the loss, put together a winning streak, and I was on my way out the door. I wanted to fight the best of the best, and go out with a bang. After the one-sided beating I put on Afro Samurai - I was ranked the #2 HW in the world. DEG was ranked #1 HW. I really wanted that fight because DEG was on a 9 fight win streak and 4 of them were Convicted fighters. EMPIRE really wanted me to sign long term, they were throwing the bank at me, and Chris explained how I felt about my career and where I was at that point in time. I felt like I only had a few fights left in the tank, I wanted them to be exciting, and I didn't have any interest in fighting any leg humpers. Chuck understood. I never 'picked and chose' my opponents. I never declined a fight against any contender. I tried calling out the best fighters in the division on several occasions. When I won the EMPIRE title I defended it against every challenger they offered me. I fought the best in the division. All this crap about avoiding wrestlers is total nonsense, and there were several times where I was a fight away from fighting a wrestler, but they lost. Jobe Nkemakolam, Christopher Samba, and Logan Harter. Jobe lost to Budo Rei. Samba lost to Machida. Harter lost to my brother from another mother, Kane Williams. How do I get accused of avoiding these guys and picking and choosing my opponents? I fought everybody they offered me. How does something that came from a single conversation before I signed with EMPIRE turn into a demand with every other organization or reflect on my entire career? The entire foundation of these accusations are completely fabricated and over exaggerated. So Randy... long story short... I would disagree." Randy: “Well, thanks for answering some of those questions for me and good luck to you in whatever fight you find yourself in next. Let’s get to the main-card portion of our preview as we still have this terrific event to check out.” http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/13/13b17.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/25/25b25.jpg Curtly Ambrose (10-1-1) vs. Christopher Samba (26-9-2) First up on our main-card is a heavy-weight contest between the runner-up in the 6 million dollar Empire tournament Curtly Ambrose as he makes his Evolution debut in his 3rd fight since dropping down from 265+ against grappling specialist Christopher Samba. Ambrose made his name during Empire’s 6 million dollar tournament beating several quality fighters. The only two blemishes in his career are a draw and a knockout loss both in fights against Ignatius Reilly. Curtly Ambrose will be at a significant disadvantage in the experience department in this fight with only 12 professional fights in his career despite being 27 yrs old. Christopher Samba is fighting in his 38th professional fight and has gone 11-1-1 over his last 13 fights in organizations such as The Syndicate and Empire. Samba is a well-rounded striker but his best attribute is by far his ability to get fights to the mat as he has landed over 63% of his career takedown attempts. Look for Samba to get inside his opponent’s range and get this fight to the mat where he’ll look to beat Ambrose up from a dominant position on top. Curtly Ambrose has never been taken down in his career but has faced mostly strikers as his opponents only average .3 takedown attempts during his 12 fight career. Ambrose is a volume striker and prefers to mix in a lot of leg kicks with his elite boxing ability. If he can use his reach advantage to keep Samba at a distance he has a great chance of winning this fight. Randy: “Christopher Samba has been on quite the roll lately and his Olympic caliber wrestling ability is going to be a really tough obstacle for Ambrose to overcome. Samba has been finished 4 times in his career but he’s only ever been stopped by elite level knockout punchers and Ambrose hasn’t exactly proven to be of that caliber as far as his finishing ability goes. I think the longer this fight goes the more it favors Samba, and he’ll overcome the early success Ambrose will find on the feet and win a unanimous decision.” Marciano: "I can't argue with that. Ambrose is certainly a gym rat who has the talent to be an elite level fighter and made waves in the 6 million dollar tournament. It's a tough fight to pick on paper but I think Samba has the chin to withstand Ambrose's power and the tools to drag him to the mat and control the fight. If Samba can dictate where this fight takes place, he should win this one with little difficulty. Samba via decision." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/41/41a4.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w20.jpg Public Enemy (26-13) vs. William Mackenzie King (28-15-1) Former two –time Ascension LHW champion Public Enemy makes his Evolution debut when he takes on a former 205lb champion in both GAMMA and IMMA/Evolution in William Mackenzie King. Enemy joins us here at Evolution after a 19 fight stint in Ascension that saw him victorious over such names as Al Din, Sackett and Norton. Enemy defeated WMK by 1st round KO in the first fight back in June 2012 at Ascension 96. Public Enemy is primarily a kick-boxer average over 51 strike attempts while at distance. He will also instigate grappling exchanges by closing the distance and clinching or shooting in and taking his opponent down. Enemy averages over 12 strike attempts in the clinch but only 1.1 TD attempts and 1.9 ground strikes per fight so I wouldn’t expect to see him take this fight to the ground too often. Mackenzie King is probably best known for beating Jeremy Tonal for GAMMA’s LHW championship at GAMMA 236. He’s had an up and down career since that huge victory and comes into this fight going 1-2-1 in his last 4 fights. William came back to MMA after semi-retiring due to a horrific cut that almost cost him his left eye, 1 of the reasons he came back was for a chance at redemption and he can get that here tonight if he beats Public Enemy. That will be a tough task because Enemy has finished over 61% of his fights and after stopping WMK in their first fight should have all the confidence in the world he can do so again in this fight. Randy: “I don’t give William Mackenzie King much chance in this fight if I’m being honest. I know he trains with a good camp and he’ll come to this fight with a good game-plan but Enemy has gone the distance with some of the best guys in the weight class and having been stopped 10 times in his career I think King has a tough task lasting 3 rounds with this guy.” Marciano: "WMK is managed by elite level management and no stranger to incredible upsets - but having seen Public Enemy take a few beatings from Taj al Din - there's no doubt he's the tougher and more durable fighter here. WMK has the heart of a lion, but I can see this one ending badly for him. I think Public Enemy will win by TKO in the 2nd round." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/13/13b8.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/27/27w14.jpg J. Breaker (42-23-1) vs. James Bomb (52-21-7) The next fight on our main-card is a battle between two heavy handed knock-out artists in the heavyweight division as these two fighters have a combined 70 knockout wins between them. J Breaker is a former 3 time champion in HWP and defeated Jan Paulsen in a super-fight for the Syn 265+lbs championship, a title he still holds to this day. Breaker had a bit of a rough stretch in Ascension going just 2-3-1 in the organization where he had a draw and suffered two losses in rematches with Paulsen. He won his Evolution debut by first round knockout and will look to add the 30th knockout victory to his career when he takes on the 3 time runner-up in the Euro Premiere League tournament. Bomb is used to being the bridesmaid and never the bride as he came up just short in all 4 seasons of EPL and then came up short in both attempts at wearing gold in both NFC and IMMA. Bomb has devastating knockout power with 41 knockout victories to his credit which is close to a 79% finish rate. He’ll look to exploit his muay-thai advantage in this fight as Bomb typically prefers to kick while striking at distance. He also has a pretty significant reach advantage in this fight so look for him to throw a lot of body kicks to help keep his opponent at the end of his punches. Breaker’s chin has held up better in his career then that of his opponent, so don’t be surprised to see Breaker come out swinging with heavy blows in an effort to put this fight away early. Randy: “Always a big favorite while fighting in the EPL tournament which takes place in his home country of Finland, Bomb is 1 of the most over-hyped fighters in the history of the sport if you ask me. He was 1 of the odds on favorites to win EPL every season and every time he choked on the big stage. I can’t say that I’m surprised he’s been struggling lately because if you hit that man hard, he will crumble. The fact that he’s still going 81 fights in is a pretty amazing feat though, and because I have respect for that I’m going to call ahead and get him a nice gift while he recovers in the hospital. Breaker takes this by knockout.” Marciano: "These two veterans are true warriors of the sport. We have a pair of Iron Men going toe-to-toe and it's going to be a great fight to watch. Breaker has a much better chin, but James has a significant height advantage that I expect him to utilize in this fight. While Breaker is just one solid shot away from Bomb's chin to victory, and I know you'll disagree with this, but I think Bomb is going to outpoint him for a decision in a 3 round fight." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w20.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/5/5b6.jpg Keiji Hashimoto (35-14-4) vs. Matt Miller (25-7) Our co-main event of the evening is a great fight in the 145lb division as Keiji Hashimoto brings his 8 fight un-beaten streak to the table when he faces former Syndicate 145 and 155lb champion Matt Miller. Hashimoto was part of the Blitz Rio/NY organization for a long time including a brief run as it’s bantamweight champion. After making the move to 145lbs Keiji lost to Angus Young for the 145lb title and then later lost to Moe Lester two times, Waru Kuzuri and Jealous Jarvae. After losing the fight to Jarvae by arm-bar submission he later avenged that loss by defeating him during his current 8 fight unbeaten streak via rear-naked choke. Hashimoto is primarily a boxer who mixes in leg kicks in order to set up his takedown attempts. He averages about 2.5 takedowns landed per fight and he will certainly look to get Miller to the ground and get on top of him where he can work in some ground strikes to soften Miller up for the submission. Miller has had a tough stretch his last two fights first losing an ultra-close decision to Danny Power for the Empire 145lb championship and then losing by triangle choke in his Evolution debut to Varvaskoukku. Miller is an accurate striker landing close to 50% of his head punches, leg kicks and body kicks as he tries to drag his opponents down to the mat. Miller has landed 2.8 takedowns per fight throughout his career and is very active once getting his opponent to the ground. He averages over 22 strike attempts on the ground and lands 55% of those attempts by averaging over 12 strikes landed on the ground per fight. He has good finishing ability from the top position and has finished 15 of his 25 victories by stoppages due to strikes, even rocking #1 p4p fighter Danny Power from side-control in their epic battle. A win for 1 of these two featherweights will have them 1 step closer to getting a shot at the gold. Randy: “This is a really tough fight for me to call, both of these fighters are extremely well-rounded and capable of winning this fight both standing and on the ground. Hashimoto has been on such a roll lately and in a division as competitive as Empire’s was that’s pretty impressive. I think Miller really needs this victory though and somehow finds a way to win this fight.” Marciano: "As a betting man, on paper I'm torn between these two and lean towards Matt Miller. As a man of faith and loyalty, I expect Keiji "Father Time" Hashimoto to secure a submission before the fight is over. Hashimoto is riding an impressive winning streak and has the momentum behind his back. I'll predict Hashimoto by the 3rd round via armbar." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/39/39w1.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/5/5w9.jpg Pat McDermot (38-9-1) vs. Igor Glozman (43-18) Our main event of the evening is a rematch at 185lbs when former IMMA/Evolution 185lb champion takes on former Empire 185lb champion Pat McDermot who looks to bounce back from a 2 fight skid in this one. McDermot announced he would retire after losing his last fight to #1 contender Pentti Hirvonen but Pat decides to step into the cage at least one more time in a rematch against the heavy handed Glozman. The last time these two squared off McDermot put on a dominating performance knocking Glozman down in the opening moments of the fight before finishing him early in the 2nd round. McDermot might have finished the fight earlier had he not followed Glozman to the ground and ended up in Igor’s guard. Glozman has won the 185lb title in this organization on a few occasions and he’d love to get himself back in the title picture by getting revenge against Pat in this fight. Igor is a well-rounded striker and will mix up his punches and kicks well. He also likes to grapple with opponents by taking them into the clinch, or putting his opponent’s on their backs if necessary. The striking exchanges didn’t go well for him last time so I’d expect to see Igor try to close the distance and instigate the clinch early and often in this fight. McDermot has proven to be a durable fighter over his career, but Glozman has 37 career knockout victories out of 43 wins which is over 86% of his victories by way of stoppage. If he can survive the early power of McDermot and wear him down with some grappling exchanges, he may have a chance at a late stoppage. Randy: “Glozman’s a tough character and the guy has been around forever. He makes steps in the cage for the 62nd time in his career in this one and I have to think the damage he’s taken in his career is adding up. While Glozman is well known for his fight ending power, he has been stopped by strikes on 12 different occasions. Pat finishes 73% of his wins via strikes and he finished Igor last time, so I think I am picking Pat but by 1st round KO this time. He’ll learn his lesson from the last fight and not follow his opponent to the ground.” Marciano: "It's hard to pick against Pat McDermot when he's fighting a guy he knocked out cold only a few fights ago. Come to think of it, that's the last opponent Pat beat. If he was really as great as he thinks he is, he'd be fighting Moses Diggs or Taj al Din right now, but instead he's fighting Igor Glozman. Unfortunately Igor just doesn't have the chin to make this fight competitive, and I see Pat ending this one in fashion. Even though JLP is bitch made, Pat's a tough fighter who's looking to make a statement after back-to-back losses. 1st round KO and potential KOTN." Randy: “There are some fun fights on this card, I think the Breaker vs. Bomb fight will definitely be the most fun to watch because there is almost 0 chance that fight goes to a decision. I’m also very intrigued by the Ambrose vs. Samba fight. I think the winner of that fight could potentially be a guy finding his way into title contention in the near future. Let’s take a quick look at some of the fights on our under-card as well..” Knarles Grunt (26-18) vs. Sevent Seagull (20-13) A fight in the 155lb division kicks off our under-card when Knarles Grunt takes on Sevent Seagull. Grunt has fought all over the world and in organizations such as GSF, The Syndicate and most recently a 12 fight stint with us here at IMMA/Evolution. He has a respectable 7-5 record since joining the organization but needs a few victories starting tonight to get into title contention. Grunt is very dangerous on the ground and is a BJJ red belt who has 8 submission wins in his career. Seagull is mainly a kick-boxer who pushes forward and likes to mix in a lot of leg kicks with his punches. He has 76% takedown defense in his career and will need to keep this fight standing if he wants to win this fight. Angelito Barraquinha (36-15) vs. Ozuma Obata (12-8) The next fight on the under-card is a fight that will be competed in the 170lb division as former Blitz Rio/NY 185lb champion looks to make it 2 in a row since joining Evolution when he takes on a skilled kick-boxer in Ozuma Obata. Angelito hasn’t worn gold since dropping his title late in 2011 and recently moved down to 170lbs where he has gone just 4-4 since making the move. These two fighters look pretty evenly matched on the feet skills wise but Angelito has a significant edge in experience going into this fight and if he can close the distance and get his opponent in the clinch he could probably have a field day with Obata from that position. Obata isn’t the most durable fighter having lost via strikes on 7 different occasions in his short career but Angelito hasn’t proven to be much of a power puncher in his career so he might be ok in striking exchanges for this fight. Obata is just 1-4 since making the move to IMMA/Evolution so he really could use a big victory over a former champion like Barraquinha to turn his career around. Sabin Figaro (29-10) vs. Eli Bracha (20-10) Sabin Figaro makes his Evolution debut after a long career in the Russian Combat Development system where he twice won their 170lb championship and then most recently had a 10 fight stint in Empire where he went a respectable 6-4 in their welterweight division. He is a well-rounded striker who likes to use his wrestling to take fights to the mat where he lands over 50% of his strikes as well as 50% of his attempts to advance position. He’ll be met by 9 time IMMA fighter Eli Bracha who is a well-rounded striker who likes to take opponent’s to the clinch and unleash an assault that includes punches, elbows and knees. Bracha has 72% takedown defense in his career and if he can keep this fight standing and get it to the clinch he’ll have a good shot. Figaro should have a good plan as his manager’s fighters have won 12 of their last 13 fights at the time of this preview. Heston Gracie (18-10) vs. Noel Contemprato (25-12-3) Next on our card is a 155lbs match-up when grappling specialist Heston Gracie takes on the two-time GSF lightweight champion in Noel Contemprato. Heston Gracie has fought all over the world including organizations such as Blitz, CFC, Ascension, Rising Sun and most recently a 2-0 stop in Empire. He is an expert BJJ red belt and will look to get this fight to the ground as early as possible where he lands over 52% of his ground strikes and close to half of his attempts to pass guard. Gracie has 8 submission victories in his career and if he’s able to keep the kick-boxer Contemprato on the ground for an extended period could add number 9 to his belt. Noel is a high-level kick boxer and will mix in a decent amount of leg kicks with primarily head punches mixed into his plan. He has 79% takedown defense over the course of his career and he will need to win the wrestling battle in this fight to pull out a victory. Kaoklai Khanomtom (25-6-2) vs. Alexandre Nieto (21-5-1) A light-weight contest closes out our under-card as former Empire 155lbs champion Kaoklai Khanomtom looks to rebound from a 2 fight skid as he takes on the debuting BJJ black-belt Alexandre Nieto. Khanomtom has won titles all over the world including organizations such as REF, VFC and most recently in Empire. He joined Empire’s roster as the VFC 155lb champion and lost his debut to Happy Day in a title match. After rebounding with a win he got a rematch at Day for the title and the two fought to a draw. Kaoklai finally defeated Day in an immediate rematch and won the Empire 155lb championship. After defeating Ed Gein in a super fight he defended his title 1 time before dropping it to Barry Scott. Khanomtom came up short in his Evolution debut suffering a submission defeat to Seppo Taalasmaa. He’ll want to avoid the ground in this fight against another grappling specialist in Nieto. Khanomtom is a well-rounded kick-boxer and averages over 80 strike attempts a fight while at distance. He likes to wear his opponent’s down with a lot of kicks averaging 33 leg, 15 body and 5 head kicks per fight. Alexandre Nieto is at a definite disadvantage on the feet in this fight but will look to throw body punches and leg kicks in an effort to wear down his opponent to set up his takedowns. Nieto is a fairly decent wrestler landing over 35% of his takedown attempts compared to his opponent’s 76% success rate at stuffing his opponent’s takedowns. Whoever imposes their will and dictates where this fight takes place is the fighter most likely to win and climb up the 155lb ladder. Randy: “Another terrific event put on by Evolution and the crazy part is it’s their first of 3 giant events this week. Once again I’d like to thank Don Marciano for sitting here and putting up with some of the questions I asked you here tonight. Before we sign off for the night I just have a few other questions for you because I know your manager is a bit of a game historian. What do you think the biggest win of your career is?” Marciano: "It's hard to pick one. For me personally, any of the losses I avenged really meant a lot to me. But if we're talking about an outside perspective of my career, it'd have to be the fight with DEG or Maxim Dragunov. I'm leaning towards the fight with DEG because he was riding a 9 fight winning streak and looked unstoppable at the time. That and the fact that capturing the EMPIRE title kept my career alive, and beating Dragunov propelled me into a downward drug-and-hooker vinge spiral that almost ended my career." Randy: “Who do you consider the greatest heavyweight striker of all-time and why? Marciano: "You're talking to him. Hands down, the greatest heavyweight striker in the history of the game. My record speaks for itself. If you can name one better, go ahead. You can't. Nobody has ever faced as many elite level strikers as I have and finished them in the fashion that I've finished them. My highlight reel - win, lose, or draw - is one of the most popular hits on youtube, and one of the single most entertaining things on the internet that don't involve several naked women bumping uglies in a hot tub." Randy: “If you could step into the cage with any great heavyweight in the history of tycoon that you haven’t already faced, which fighter would it be and why? Marciano: "Golden Glory. Unfinished business. He dodged a fight with me back in my prime." Randy: “Well I appreciate your time here tonight and for answering all my questions, good luck in any upcoming matches in the future. You’ve had an impressive career and I’m sure when you decide to hang it up, you’ll go down as 1 of the best heavyweights of all-time.” Marciano: "Thanks Randy. Good luck with a career as a commentator or reporter, or whatever the hell it is you're doing now." Randy: “We’ve gone over all the fights for another great event put on by Evolution, this is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. I’ll be back later in the week with another countdown preview.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 reserved for EVO 12 preview where our guest host will be Pat Mcdermot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I guess Ck roleplayed Marciano as a pathological liar. Well done CK. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1377224063image.jpg Evolution 12 ‘Valentine vs. Hirvonen’ Preview Randy: “We’re back for the latest edition of Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 12 ‘Valentine vs. Hirvonen’ which is brought to you by Convicted clothing where you can get some bad ass threads for your entrance and post-fight sponsor gear. Evolution 12 comes to you live from the LA Memorial Colossuseum in downtown Los Angeles, CA on Friday August 24th, 2013 as we see 3 titles on the line when Alexandre Valentine, Danny Power and Iro Tolonen all look to defend their titles in big fights on this card. I’m joined here by my guest-host today, the former Empire 185lb champion and long-time staple in the top 10 p4p fighters Pat McDermot. Thanks for joining me here on the show today.” Pat McDermot: "Thanks for having me Randy, it's an honor to be here." Randy: “Before we get to the card I’d like to ask you a couple questions. Let me start with the announcement that you would retire following the Hirvonen loss in your Evolution debut. What drove you to the decision to retire?” McDermot: "It was an emotional decision Randy. I was very disappointed in my last two performances and the refereeing lately, especially against Hirvonen. The guy didn't do much other than hold me down the whole fight and he had a ref who was willing to allow it. I can't blame Hirvonen though, you do what it takes to win. It just really disappointed me that I lost to two guys who were average fighters before the pro-grappler crowd took over the Tycoon-verse." Randy: “Clearly we here at Evolution are thrilled that you chose not to retire and I am a bit curious what changed your mind? Were you just emotional after the loss and quick to hang it up? Was it time? Money?” McDermot: “Mega Jug called me and asked me to help him out because he was in a bind. He needed a headliner for a card and I thought getting in there with Igor again would be good old fashioned fun.” Randy: “That brings me to the recent fight against Igor Glozman where you once again handed him his ass. Did anything surprise you in the rematch?” McDermot: "No, not really. Igor is a legend and may be a little shopworn. He has really been in there with the best fighters for many years. Dude never turns down a fight and always puts his heart on full display to show the fans a good time. A true warrior, unlike some other fighters we know." Randy: “We covered this topic on our last show a little bit with Don Marciano, but there has been a lot of trash-talking and beef going on between you and Convicted manager Chris Karter. He claims that your manager JLP is ducking a fight offer where you fight fight either Taj Al Din or Moses Diggs, or potentially both on different occasions. There has been millions of dollars offered to make these fights happen so why the hesitation on your managements part to accept these fights? Is it fear as Marciano claims? Or is there another agenda going on here that people are not aware of? McDermot: "Yeah, I saw that interview Randy. It was pretty funny actually to anyone who knows the backstory of those two the extent Marciano lied to cover up for his manager. I guess poseurs tend to stick together. ChuckW94, the legendary former owner of Empire, asked me on two occasions if i was willing to take on Diggs in a super-fight. Of course I said yes twice and twice I was denied. Dinooo, the prolific wunderkind and former owner of Ascension asked me to come to LA and take on Al Din. As a true warrior, of course I agreed, but was once again denied. These guys come from a cowardly fight camp, their manager only lets them fight when he thinks they are overwhelming favorites.Just look at the timing Randy. They saw me get laid on and lose decisions in my last two fights and now they have finally grown some backbone?" Randy: “Recently when Marciano was a guest on the show he insinuated that he does indeed train all aspects of MMA which is a bit of a discrepancy from an email I was able to get my hands on between he and Sean McDonnell where his management readily admitted to neglecting certain aspects of his game during the allocation period and requesting to fight strikers only due to his impending retirement when signing with the Empire organization. What is your take on the back-tracking done by Marciano on the last show?” McDermot: "Marciano is a fraud. It's pretty appearant to anyone paying attention to the HW division. I read that email as well and frankly Randy, it's pretty damning. This guy should really be removed from the HOF. It's not surprising that Marciano is backtracking now, he realizes that his legacy is tarnished in the eyes of the tycoonverse. This guy is like the A-Rod of MMA, a total and outright fraud. This guy claims to be the best HW striker in the history of the game, but has lost against strikers who are forced to train a ground game he neglects in two of his last four fights. It's insane that this garbage is allowed to go down." Randy: “What are your thoughts about this supposed “back-door” deal that Marciano has with his organizations and how do you think the other fighters signed to Evolution should feel about this stipulation in his contract?” McDermot: " I've talked to a couple of HW's who aren't too happy about this Randy. At this point the truth is out and I can picture some of these younger guys taking advantage. It definitely puts a bit of a stink on the org that they would allow one manager to dictate terms to them like that. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Karter has all sorts of deals like this with many other orgs. It is well known that he cherry picks opponents all the time. JLP did call Jug and let him know that this revelation isn't going to make his org look good. We are all pretty confident Jug will clean up this mess in short order. Randy: “That’s enough on that issue for the time being. Now that you’ve gotten yourself back in the win column what’s next for you? Any plans on rematches with Hirvonen or Valentine? Are you going to capture the Evolution title or just take big fights for lots of cash for now?” McDermot: "Mr Africa from RCS has been after me to defend the belt there, I'd like to do that one more time before I call it quits. After the fight tonight I talked briefly with Jug and let him know that I'd like to get a re-match with whomever loses the MW title fight that is coming up. Fighting Diggs isn't out of the question either if Marciano fights my BJJ coach, Rastam Samani. We all know that isn't going to happen though." Randy: “Well I appreciate you answering some of my questions here tonight, let’s move on and take a look at the main-card portion of Evolution 12 ‘Valentine vs. Hirvonen.' http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/2/2w18.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/28/28w12.jpg Pat Barry (18-2) vs. Filipo Miragliani (14-8) Our main-card gets underway with a fight between two heavy handed kick-boxers in the middleweight division as Pat Barry makes his Evolution debut after transitioning back and forth between MMA and KT during his career. He’s met by former IMMA 185lb champion Filippo Miragliani who dropped his title to Igor Glozman at IMMA 135 and then dropped his last fight to current #1 contender Pentti Hirvonen. He is a heavy handed striker who has finished all but 1 of his 14 victories by way of knockout. Filippo will look to land heavy blows early in this fight in an effort to put Barry away with strikes. That will be a tough task as Barry has fought some talented strikers in the past and has never been stopped in his career. Barry is a vicious muay-thai striker who likes to back his opponents up by pushing a fast pace. He is very accurate with his strikes, landing 68% of his leg kick attempts and over 71% of his punches thrown to the head. Barry also likes to close the distance and push his opponents against the cage where he will unleash an attack that includes punches and knees to the body, and punches, knees and elbows to the face. Barry is extremely effective in the clinch position and lands 83% of his punch attempts to the face as well as 61% of his elbow strikes to the face. If he can close the distance in this fight he should have his way with the former champion. This should be an interesting fight that sees 1 of these two fighters climb further up the rankings. Randy: “Barry looks like a talented striker and I am curious to see how he does against the level of competition he’ll face here in Evolution. Miragliani has been in there against some tough guys and even stopped former champion Glozman. I think his experience against higher quality fighters will give him the edge in this fight.” McDermot: “I got to apologize here Randy, I never heard of either of these guys. Barry has an impressive record for sure and it looks like he can finish his opponent at a pretty good rate. Mirigliani has been in ther with the better competition, but he looks to be just as one dimensional as Barry and a little chinny besides that. I'm going to say Barry wins his EVO debut here, by KO.” 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/35/35b11.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/1/1w20.jpg Danza Kudoro (21-6-2) vs. Bruce Lee (31-16-1) Next up on our card former Evolution 185lb champion Danza Kudoro looks to rebound from his most recent fight where he lost his title by 50-45 unanimous decision to Alexandre Valentine who fights in our main event later in this card. Before dropping his title Kuduro was on an impressive 11 fight unbeaten streak which saw him accumulate 9 victories over fighters like Daniel Speed, Tadamasa Yamada and winning the Evolution belt by knocking out Igor Glozman. His other two fights were draws against Ignatius Reilly and Ronnie Riley both members of the International Cocksmen alliance. Danza is a talented kick-boxer who lands over 66% of his leg kicks and 61% of his head punches. He’s not afraid to mix strikes in to the body as well landing close to 50% of his body punches and kicks. Kuduro is most known for his heavy hands finishing 17 of his 21 victories via stoppage due to strikes. He’s not afraid to mix things up and shoot for a takedown though either landing 34% of his takedown attempts. He’s met here tonight by IMMA 155 ass beater semi-finalist Bruce Lee who makes his 22nd appearance in the organization in this fight but just his 8th fight in the division since moving up to 185lbs. Lee is an elite level boxer who mixes in leg kicks to his attack landing 58% of his kicks to the leg. He is a volume striker who likes to come out and push a fast pace mixing up his attack well and isn’t afraid to tackle his opponent’s into the cage where he works an effective dirty-box game. If he can avoid the early power by Danza and keep this fight off the mat, he might have a chance at winning this fight by decision. Randy: “I think Bruce Lee actually has a good style to beat wrestlers because he keeps an active enough pace that he keeps the wrestlers back-pedaling making it hard to land takedowns against him. It’s partially why he has close to 80% takedown defense in his career. On the off-chance he does get taken down he also scores enough points during the rest of the round to overcome occasionally being put on his back. I don’t think Danza’s wrestling is going to really come into play much in this fight because I believe he’ll look for the early knockout. He’s a proud power-puncher and he will be looking to make a statement after losing his belt the last time out. Danza by 1st round KO.” McDermot: "I fought Danza a long time ago when he was German, so I'm pretty familiar with him. Since he became Japanese he has been fighting at a way higher competition level and impressing with some nice wins over solid opponents. Bruce is a long time IMMA guy, so I'm not too familiar with him. Most likely he's beaten up a lot of Finns and then struggled against real competition. He probably would have went undefeated in NFC. I think Danza wins a fight that is a little closer than the experts would like to think. Danza by decision." http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/products/1332615556Iiro%20Y.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/11/11b3.jpg Iro Tolonen (41-17) vs. Neo Kable (12-0) http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg The next fight on our card is a 5 round contest for the Evolution 265+lb championship as undefeated muay-thai striker Neo Kable makes his Evolution debut in easily the biggest and toughest test of his young career as he takes on former Russian Combat and two-time NFC 265+lb champion and the man who added Evolution 265+lb gold to his already illustrious career in Iro Tolonen. Neo Kable brings a perfect 12-0 record into this fight and has finished all 12 of his opponents by strikes including 10 of them in the first round. He is a devastating muay-thai striker and has found ridiculous success landing his punches and kicks during his career. Kable also likes to take his opponents into the clinch where he will unleash a fury of strikes including punches and vicious knees. It’s hard to gauge what kind of strategy Kable will use in this fight as he’s knocked so many of his opponents out early in fights you don’t really get to see how he adjusts to trouble during fights. We will almost certainly answer that question tonight when he takes on 1 of the best if not the best 265+lbs fighter to ever grace an MMA cage. Tolonen is a giant of a man and uses his reach advantage very effectively in most fights. He’s also a big hitter finishing 32 of his 47 victories by way of knockout which is 71% of his victories and he’s been in there with some of the best 265+lb fighters so there is nothing illegitimate about his ability to knock guys unconscious. Tolonen is also an extremely effective wrestler with his mammoth size and strength and lands 45% of his takedown attempts from distance averaging at least 1 takedown per fight in his career. He is a BJJ black-belt but has never won by submission in his career so I doubt we’ll see him get his first submission win 63 fights into his career. If Kable can’t put this fight away early I think the experience and skills advantage could be his downfall in this fight. Randy: “A big step up in competition here for the young Neo Kable. He looks like he has a bright future ahead of him and I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he one day wears Evolution gold. I don’t think that is gonna happen for him in this fight though because Tolonen just has too many places he can win the fight and has been in there with some of the best guys in his 62 fight career. I just don’t think Kable is ready for this level of competition yet and comes up short in his first attempt to win a title on the big stage.” McDermot: " I was ringside at NFC 112 cornering Garson DeBramalo when Tolonen came back from the dead and beat my guy by cuts, more Finn trickery there. Tolonen is a tough guy and no one doubts his skills, but the guy is pretty shopworn at this point. He gets KO'ed if you slam a door in the room he is in these days. I never heard of Kable, HFC or any of the guys he beat but I'm going to pick him to knock Tolonen out here." http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/13765766139707.gif VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/26/26b1.jpg Danny Power (27-8-1) vs. Sly Randolph (30-12-1) http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg Our co-main event of the evening is a 5 round rematch but this time is for the Evolution 145lbs championship as brand new Evolution featherweight champion Danny Power gets a quick turnaround after beating Katsu Higashikuni for the title just 10 days before having to turn around and fight the only man who has defeated him in his last 15 fights in #1 contender Sly Randolph. Gale Hawthorne has been hounding Evolution management on Randolph’s behalf for the rematch with Power ever since he became the #1 p4p fighter on the planet. He finally gets his wish and will have the opportunity to prove he’s really the best fighter on the planet and their last meeting was no fluke when he was able to stop Power by strikes just 56 seconds into the first round. Randolph has been beaten by two wrestlers since that victory and Power’s ability to get fights to the mat might be his best chance in this fight. Randolph is primarily a boxer who mixes leg kicks with his attack. He has also shown the ability to get fights to the mat when needed landing 39% of his takedown attempts. Danny Power and his management have been aware of the fact that Randolph has been chasing him down for close to 2 months now but has not been able to squeeze him into his schedule after winning both Ascension and Empire 145lb championships. Randolph managed to establish himself as the #1 contender right before Danny won the title in his Evolution debut against Higashukuni. Power made an emotional call-out to Sly after his impressive 5th round stoppage to win the title. He asked for this fight on such short notice because he will have to go defend his Ascension title against the winner of their featherweight tournament. Power is a talented striker who mixes up his punches and kicks well and has shown the ability to finish even the most durable opponents like Angus Young and Roddy Piper who had a combined 2 tko losses between them before being stopped by Power. His best skill by far his ability to dictate where the fight takes place and proved that in his fight against Katsu by stuffing 16 of his opponent’s 18 takedown attempts while landing 1 of his 2 takedown attempts. If he can survive the early attack by Randolph and get this fight to the mat he has a good chance at winning this rematch. Randy: “This is a great fight and I cannot wait for this rematch. I picked against Power last time and he proved me wrong but I have to pick against him again in this one. The Hawthorne camp has been finding a ton of success lately and the fact that Randolph finished Danny in their last fight leads me to believe he’ll have all the confidence he can do so again in this one. I think Randolph looks to catch Power early for a 2nd time and lands a lucky head kick that sends Danny to the mat where he gets finished.” McDermot: " I got to disagree with you again Randy. Power has been unstoppable lately, he is a determined young man. Danny is out to prove the first fight is a fluke and I really think he is going to do that. I think Power scores TD's and wears Randolph out. I'm really curios to see if Danny can finish this in the championship rounds." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/37/37w41.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/17/17w4.jpg Alexandre Valentine (32-10) vs. Pentti Hirvonen (31-17) http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg The main event of the evening is a great match between two high-level grapplers when Alexandre Valentine looks to defend his Evolution 185lbs championship for the 2nd time here tonight when he takes on former NFC 185lb champion and the man who established himself by defeating our guest Pat McDermot in a big upset the last time he stepped into the Evolution cage. Hirvonen is a decent boxer but he is lethal on the ground and will look to use his wrestling early in this fight. Pentti has landed 36% of his takedown attempts in his career and throws around 13.2 strikes on average during his career landing 44% of his strikes while on the ground. Hirvonen is a dangerous BJJ practicioner and is 1 of the few red belts competing at such a high level in MMA. He has 14 submission victories in his career which amounts for over 42% of his victories. The champion is an extremely well-rounded fighter being an extremely skilled kick-boxer who mixes up his punches and kicks well at range. He averages over 50 strike attempts at distance and lands close to 50% or more of all type of his strike attempts to the head and body. Valentine is also a very good grappler landing over 46% of his takedown attempts and possesses a black-belt in BJJ and has never been finished via submission in his 42 fight career. As talented as Valentine is on the ground, I’m not sure he’s going to want to risk fighting with Hirvonen on the ground and will likely look to score points on the feet while using his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight on the feet. The winner in this one walks away with the strap and the loser has to get back in the long line of killer middle-weights in Evolution’s 185lbs division. Randy: “This is a tough fight to call in my opinion. Valentine has been using his wrestling to win his fights lately and comes into this fight 15-1 in his last 16 fights so I feel like a bit of a moron considering picking against him here, but I just have a feeling about Hirvonen in this fight. I think Valentine takes Hirvonen down and regrets the decision as he finds himself caught in a submission somewhere in the 4th or 5th round.” McDermot: "I'm going with the Finn here as well Randy. I don't see any way Valentine can keep this fight standing and he will be in the danger zone on the ground if he's not careful. I'm hoping to be very drunk by the time this fight starts because its likely going to be boring as fuck. I'm thinking master cuddler Hirvonen out snuggles Valentine to take home the belt." Nisse Blockson (16-5) vs. Pertti Ruata (34-23) The opening fight on our under-card sees the return of Nisse Blockson after a 5 yr lay-off (tycoon time) when his former manager Sork Sorkson suddenly disappeared from the MMA scene. He is under new management now in Evolution owner Mega himself. Blockson is a heavy handed knockout artist finishing 14 of his 16 wins by knock-out. He comes from a muay-thai background and enjoys clinching his opponent where his attack is very versatile. His opponent in his Evolution debut is against Pertti Ruata who is also a talented fighter with a muay-thai background. Ruata likes to clinch with his opponents and unleash knees and elbows in with his attack. Ruata has been finished 17 times in his career though and that could spell trouble against a heavy hitter like Blockson. Tomi Juntunen (16-11) vs. Angelo Smokeleaf (17-6-1) Up next is another battle between two muay-thai fighters when Tomi Juntunen takes on Angelo Smokeleaf in a 3 round bout in the light-heavyweight division. Juntunen brings a two fight win streak into this fight and likes to mix up his punches and kicks well while looking to close the distance and tackle his opponent’s into the clinch. He will mix elbows and knees in with his punches and has pretty good knock-out power finishing over 50% of his victories. Angelo Smokeleaf is an aggressive fighter who prefers a kick oriented game-plan and typically finds a lot of success landing his kicks to both the leg and body. Smokeleaf also has heavy hands finishing 13 of his 17 victories by knockout for a 76.5% rate of finish with 4 of those being head-kick knockouts. Neither of these guys are known for their durability so whoever lands the bigger shots early on in the fight probably wins this one. Leroy Leblanc (32-12) vs. Nemanja Prijovic (12-4) The third fight on our card is another great match-up between two heavy handed strikers in the light-heavyweight division when Leroy Leblanc looks to rebound from a 3 fight losing streak when he meets Nemanja Prijovic in just his 2nd fight with the organization since coming over from GAMMA. Prijovic is a precision striker who throws a lot of leg kicks and picks his spots well in search of getting the knock-out. He has finish 9 of his 12 victories by that fashion for a 75% finish rate. He came up short in his Evolution debut against De Matos losing via knockout early in the 2nd round. He has a tough task ahead of him here taking on the long-time UVT champion in Leblanc. Leroy comes into this fight on a bit of a skid but he’s only lost to some of the best 205’ers on the planet and is a proven killer in the cage with 26 career knockouts in his 32 victories for an 81% finish rate. 2 things you can expect to see in this fight, a great stand-up battle and someone going to sleep. Ares Constantindes (31-18-1) vs. Rocky Marciano (20-12) Next up is another fight in the light-heavyweight division as long-time Empire fighter Ares Constantindes represents the ‘Schmidt camp when he takes on 13 time IMMA competitor Rocky Marciano. Does anybody have more fighters in Evolution than Clever Hans Schmidt? I would guess know and it’s 1 of the reasons he has so many guys in contention in this organization because his fighters and their manager have a ton of experience against high-level competition. Constantindes hasn’t worn a title in close to 6 years since dropping the gold to Moses Diggs back at Blitzkrieg 96. If the ‘God of War’ can get this fight to the ground early he has a great chance at continuing a decent late career run. Marciano has shown he has some wrestling capabilities landing 14% of his takedowns but he doesn’t want any part of Ares on the ground in this fight. Marciano has some of the deadliest hands in the division knocking out his opponents in all 20 of his career victories. Look for him to go for the early knockout or push Ares against the cage and attack him with a varied attack including punches, elbows and knees. Chuck Liddell (18-6) vs. Daniel Ruanti (37-14-1) The under-card continues to showcase the light-heavyweight division when lethal muay-thai striker Chuck Liddell steps into the cage to take on the former IMMA/Evolution 205lb champion Daniel Ruanti. Liddell dropped a decision in his last fight and is on a bit of a rough stretch of late losing 4 of his last 6 fights. He is a talented muay-thai kick-boxer with plenty of power in his hands finishing 13 of his 18 career victories by way of strikes. Liddell likes to mix his strikes up well and pushes a fairly fast pace throwing lots of kicks to the leg and body. Ruanti is a talented kicker in his own right landing 8.6 leg kicks per fight at over 54% accuracy. Daniel likes to use his leg kicks to set up his takedowns and I would look for him to use a similar game-plan in this fight. Ruanti’s durability has been a bit of an issue for him during his career so look for him to try to get this fight to the ground early in rounds so he can wear his opponent down a little by dragging this fight into the later rounds. Randy: “Another terrific event put on here by Evolution and we’ll see 3 championships on the line. Valentine vs. Hirvonen should be a terrific match-up between 2 of the best grapplers in the sport. I know you’ll have your eye on that fight Pat.” McDermot: "Definitely will be interested in this fight Randy. These are the last two guys who laid on top of me for 5 rounds." Randy: “I’m also extremely excited for the rematch between #1 p4p fighter Danny Power when he takes on the only man to defeat him in his last 15 fights. Randolph really put it to Power last time it’ll be interesting to see what kinda game-plan Danny brings to this fight. Which fight are you most excited for on the card?” McDermot: "Tolonen vs Kable has really caught my eye. I'm always interested in seeing how the hotshot youngsters do when they step into the cage with a legend like Iiro." Randy: “Well once again I’d like to thank you for your time here tonight Pat and good luck in any upcoming fights. I hope we see you step in the cage with Al Din or Diggs one day and put an end to all the talk by knocking 1 of those two guys out.” McDermot: " Ha! That would be great Randy. A nice way to end a career for sure. Thanks for having me." Randy: “This is Randy Ortiz signing off, we’ll be back for Evolution 13 which happens the night after this terrific event.” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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