Evolution Countdown Previews

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Evolution 19 'Scott vs. Varvaskoukku' Preview

 

 

Randy: “We’re back for another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews as we get ready for Evolution 19 ‘Scott vs. Varvaskoukku’ which comes to you live from the LA Memorial Collossuseum in down-town Los Angeles on Wednesday September 11^th, 2013. It’s hard to believe it’s been 12 long years since that tragic day in New York and we at Evolution want to give a special thanks to all the military, police and fire departments who risk their lives on a daily basis so we can have the freedoms we do. We’d also like to send our thoughts and prayers to all the families who were affected on that fateful day. I’m joined here now by my guest tonight and the younger brother of my former manager Michael Patrick McDonnell. Thanks for coming on the show tonight Mikey, it’s been a long-time man.”

 

MPM: “It’s great to be here tonight but you’re really cramping my style man. I should be back in New York right now hitting the gym hard.”

 

Randy: “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about today. You’re going to be competing in a 32-man tournament later in the year called The Ultimate Manager. What got you and Sean interested in that tournament?”

 

MPM: “Well, this is actually the third such tournament that is being held though the first in this specific organization. The previous winners went from unknowns to eventual superstars in the business and I saw this as an opportunity to do the same.”

 

Randy: “I know that you’ve fought plenty as an amateur and obviously having an older brother who is a former professional boxer and now an MMA coach means that you’ve been in the gym and training for most of your life. Is there any plans on making a professional debut before the start of this tournament?”

 

MPM: “Sean and I discussed that possibility but we decided against it. A lot of these guys don’t know anything about me as a fighter. They’ve never seen my amateur fights and it won’t be an easy task for them to get any kinda film on me. Sean and I saw to it that most of the film was destroyed. We’re coming into this tournament as a complete question-mark and we’re going to take a lot of people by surprise.”

 

Randy: “You sound really confident in your chances of winning the tournament? Is that how you see this thing playing out? With Michael McDonnell being crowned the winner?”

 

MPM: “If there is any competitor in this tournament who doesn’t feel the exact same way? They might as well do themselves a favor and just stay the hell home. You’re damn right I think I’m going to win this thing. My name is going to go down in history and this will be the start of a great career for me.”

 

Randy: “Have you scoped out any of the competition? What are your thoughts on the other competitors in the tournament?”

 

MPM: “Absolutely we’ve checked out the competition. Before Sean and I decided on how we were going to train for this thing we took a nice look at the other guys in the tournament. It seemed like there were a ton of amateur wrestlers signing up for this thing. There were also a fair amount of muay-thai kick-boxers signing up for the tournament. Sean and I decided we’d work hard on my kick-boxing so that I am comfortable on my feet and since I didn’t grow up as a wrestler we thought it might be a tough task to get good enough as a wrestler to keep up with some of these guys who have done it for a life-time so we decided to work really hard on my BJJ so I can work my submission game off my back.”

 

Randy: “What can you tell me about your first round opponent?”

 

MPM: “Honestly I don’t know anything about him. Originally I was matched up against 1 of Rory Daly’s guys but then he was M.I.A. for a little while. Can’t say I really blame him, if I found out I drew me as a first round opponent I probably would’ve gone into hiding too. I know there was some talk about possibly using one of the replacements but I think Rory reared his ugly head again and decided he’d still use one of his guys. I can’t say that I’ve paid that much attention to it lately, I’ve been working really hard in the gym and my opponent is really irrelevant to me. The fight is going to end the same way and that’s with me victorious.”

 

Randy: “Is there any fighter or manager in the tournament that you’ll be playing extra close attention to?”

 

MPM: “I’m going to just train man. I know Sean will probably be paying real close attention to Ethan Downs guys. According to my brother this Ethan is like the master of tournaments and his guys are 6-0 against our team so I know that guy has him really worried. Me? I don’t worry about those types of things. I don’t think Sean would worry about them as much either if it were he who was able to step into the cage, but you can only do so much as a coach so he just gets nervous for his fighters.”

 

Randy: “Good luck in the tournament and in your professional career. You know I’ll be rooting for you kiddo. Let’s jump right into the breakdowns of this card.”

 

 

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Anabol Asteroid (39-17-4) vs. Richard Bennett (33-18-1)

 

Two veteran middle-weights kick things off on the main-card portion of the card when former Crashforce and NFC 185lbs champion Anabol Asteroid looks to make it 2 in a row when he takes on ‘the machete’ Richard Bennett. Asteroid has fought some of the best middle-weights in the world and actually holds a 1-1 record against the current champion Pentti Hirvonen. He’ll look to build on a decision victory over John Aman the last time he stepped into the cage as he continues to try to climb the ladder in the division and get a possible shot at a rubber-match with Hirvonen. Anabol is an elite boxer who likes to push a really hard pace working behind good jabs and straight right hands. Asteroid also has pretty effective leg kicks and mixes them into his game-plan well but definitely prefers to rely on his punches when getting into exchanges. Anabol Asteroid has also shown good finishing ability throughout his career finishing 24 of his 39 career victories by way of TKO or knock-out and that could be a factor in this fight as Bennett has been stopped by strikes 7 times in his career. Richard Bennett is a very skilled muay-thai striker and likes to mix his punches and kicks up well as he pushes his opponent’s backwards with his strikes and then tries to tackle them against the cage in the clinch position. Bennett likes to let loose with all available limbs while against the cage and has also shown the ability to finish fights by finishing close to 58% of his career victories by knock-out. Bennett has looked good under his new management knocking out John Aman in his last fight and only losing a split decision to Hirvonen before he became champion. This should be a very entertaining striking match with the winner climbing another rung up the ladder of this very deep middle-weight division.

 

Randy: “Can’t say that I know a whole lot about Anabol Asteroid though looking at some of the guys he’s fought and beat I’d say he’s probably a very good fighter. I’m going to lean towards Bennett here because I’ve been watching him fight for a very long time, first under the tutelage of Judoka and then the great Luke Daigle. I know he’s never really done enough to be considered 1 of the elite fighters in the division but he’s a gritty veteran who’s been in a lot of tough battles and I see him making a nice late career run under the Jimma Jam management.”

 

MPM: “Eh, you’re an idiot Randy. I completely understand why my brother sent your ass to the un-employment line. How are you going to pick a guy who’s never really gotten the job done at the top level? Bennett lost to Baddabing back at Blitz 105. Sure he won the title at CFC but really? How big of an accomplishment is that anymore? He went 5-5 in Synchrocity and then he lost in his lone title shot in this organization to Glozman. Asteroid has won world championships, he’s beaten the current champion Hirvonen. I’m taking Asteroid all the way in this one. This one will be easier than taking candy from a baby Randy.”

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Ares Constantinides (32-18-1) vs. Daniel Ruanti (38-14-1)

 

 

Next up on the card is a 3 round fight in the light-heavyweight division when the former Blitzkrieg NY 205lbs champion looks to even the score in this rematch when he takes on Daniel Ruanti. These two fighters first faced off in Constantinides Evolution debut at EVO 4 where he dropped a 30-27 Unanimous decision. Both fighters came out really conservative in that fight and ‘The God of War’ really just couldn’t get anything going in that fight. These two fighters look pretty evenly matched on the feet with Constantinides holding a slight edge in the boxing department where his opponent is probably the better muay-thai striker. It would appear on paper that Constantinides has an advantage in the grappling department but he failed to take advantage of it in the last fight preferring to trade blows with Ruanti against the cage and at distance. Ruanti came in with a really good strategy last time but he has to expect that Constantinides will come out more aggressive in this fight then the previous one so it’ll be interesting to see if Ruanti mixes things up at all. Daniel typically prefers a kick heavy game-plan and isn’t afraid to throw in some grappling by taking fights into the clinch or down to the ground. A win in this fight would make it 4 in a row for him and he’d likely find himself in the cage against 1 of the top contenders next.

 

Randy: “This is really one of those fights I’ve been waffling on the entire time. On paper it looks like Constantinides should be able to win this fight because he certainly has the wrestling pedigree to dictate where this fight takes place. He didn’t really use that in the last fight and if he does this time around I could definitely see him taking this fight. Ruanti beat him last time and has been on a bit of a run lately so I’m going to pick him to win another decision but a closer one this time.”

 

MPM: “I’m a big fan of Clever Hans Schmidt. I know he’s 1 of the Convicted guys that my brother has the most respect for too because he really challenges his guys with something like 8 dudes signed to Evolution. That’s just crazy man. He’s like the complete opposite of that other Convicted manager Templeton or something like that. That dudes too scared to even step into the Evolution cage man. I don’t care if you like the organizations owner or not, business is business. With that being said I’m backing Schmidt’s guy in this fight. He’s gonna take this mother-fucker down and pound him out from a dominant position.”

 

 

 

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Pat Barry (19-2) vs. Igor Glozman (43-20)

 

 

Pat Barry steps into the Evolution cage for just the 2^nd time as he takes on the former champion Igor Glozman. Barry is a high level striker with really good knockout power finishing 13 of his 19 career victories by TKO or knock-out. Barry likes to take the center of the cage and keep moving forward behind his punches and kicks. Barry likes to throw lots of kicks to the leg and body and is fairly accurate with both techniques. Barry also likes to throw a lot of head strikes with his hands and lands on 70% of his strike attempts to the head. Glozman has been knocked out 14 times in his long career so don’t be shocked if Barry comes out guns blazing right from the opening bell. Igor has a big experience advantage in this fight as he steps into the cage as a professional for the 64^th time and has 3x the amount of fights than his opponent. Igor’s skills seem to be declining a little bit with age but he is 1 of the best knock-out punchers the middle-weight division hash every seen with 37 of 43 career victories being stopped by strikes. Glozman is also a bit more well-rounded then his opponent and could mix things up and take this fight to the ground. Barry has very good takedown defense and therefore hasn’t spent much time on his back in his career. It’d be interesting to see how he’d handle himself on the ground with Glozman. This is the biggest fight in Barry’s career as Glozman is far and away the biggest name he has ever faced. A win in this fight could be a giant boost to Barry’s career and he knows the opportunities that could await him if he pulls this fight off so I expect both of these fighters to come out swinging and this one could be the fight of the night.

 

Randy: “I’m taking Barry in this fight. I think he’s gonna shock some guys in this fight and really establish himself as a contender in the division by putting Glozman away in the 1^st round. I just think Igor has taken too much punishment during his career and is probably pretty close to being done. Still he’s probably 1 of the best gate-keepers a division could hope for because he’s experienced, he’s well-rounded and win or lose this guy provides highlight-reel knock-outs.”

 

MPM: “I hate picking against you in every fight Randy but I just can’t back you on this one either. I do think Barry looks like he has the ‘potential’ to be a great fighter. I just can’t back a guy I really don’t know anything about. The guy took a lot of fights in KT and this is MMA Randy, and as a wrestler you should know better than anybody how important the ability to grapple can be in this sport. I look at his record and I don’t know anybody he’s fought or beaten for the most part. Igor has been in there with just about everybody dude and sure he’s taken a lot of beatings but most of the time when he gets beat it’s to an established fighter in the division. I guess what I’m saying is I’m from Missouri so you gotta show me. Glozman is more proven so I got him winning this fight by knock-out.”

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Congo Ashantie (33-9-1) vs. Christopher Samba (27-9-2)

 

 

Our co-main event of the evening is a 5 round contest in the heavyweight division as former IMMA 265lbs champion Congo Ashantie looks to make it two in a row and turn around a recent up-and-down stretch in the division when he takes on a man who is 12-1-1 in his last 14 fights Christopher Samba. Ashantie moved to 5-3-1 since dropping his title to Staal at IMMA 123 and looks to gain some momentum once again in the division by making it two in a row against a fighter who has been developing quite a reputation lately. Ashantie is a heavy handed striker who pushes a fast pace for a heavyweight and really mixes up his punches and kicks well while constantly moving forward and searching for the knock-out. Ashantie is also very adept in the clinch against the cage and unleashes brutal knees to the body and head. He also uses punches and elbows to the head well. His opponent tonight has been on quite the roll as mentioned earlier and a win over the former champion will only jump him further up the ladder and likely land him in a fight against a top 3 contender. Samba is a world class wrestler and lands an amazing 62% of his takedown attempts. Once on the ground Samba use his ground strikes to wear down his opponents and try to advance to dominant positions. Samba is also very skilled on the feet and is an elite boxer who mixes in a decent amount of leg-kicks into his game-plan. Ashantie does have 78% takedown defense in his career and he will really need to have success in that department in this fight if he has any hope of pulling out a victory.

 

Randy: “I really like this Christopher Samba guy. He’s a great grappler and is pretty durable for a heavy-weight. As much as I’d love to pick him to win this fight I just can’t do it. Dirk Copeland is a terrific manager when he wants to be but he has a lot of distractions going on in his life with the launch of a website and other things. I think Klatz and company are just hungrier right now and I see Ashantie winning this fight and taking all the hype that Samba has been building up these last few years.”

 

SPM: “I agree. Samba should fire Dirk Copeland and come train with my brother and I if he were a smart fighter. I really am rooting for Samba in this fight and hope that Dirk has been very involved in the training camp for this fight. I am not sure how much he’s been focusing on managing his fighters lately and I think Ashantie has the better game-plan and puts Samba away inside the distance.”

 

 

 

 

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Barry Scott (27-11-1) vs. Rainer Varvaskoukku (18-9-2)

 

 

Our main-event of the evening is a 5 round contest in the feather-weight division as two of the divisions best face off when Barry Scott meets Rainer Varvaskoukku. Both of these fighters are ranked in the top 10 world rankings in this weight class and a win in this fight will push them very close to getting a title shot. Barry Scott rebounded nicely by winning a decision over Van Altenburg at Evolution 16 after dropping his title to Katsu and then dropping a decision to current champion Sly Randolph. Scott recently declined a signing bonus in his contract because he’s not sure how many fights he has left in his career and for the time being is taking things on a fight to fight basis. With retirement possibly right around the corner you have to worry how dedicated he is in the gym right now because if he isn’t in shape for this fight it could be trouble. Scott is known for pushing a good pace on the feet as he tries to wear down his opponents and get the fight to the ground so it’s important that he’s prepared to go the full 5 rounds and keep the same pace from start to finish. His opponent in this fight is Rainer Vavaskoukku and he is coming off of a very impressive SOTN by getting a 28 second submission victory over Matt Miller. Varvaskoukku is one of the most dangerous BJJ practicioners in the business and is dangerous pretty much anywhere on the ground. Rainer is not quite as well-rounded on the feet as his opponent and usually looks to lay back and avoid taking damage while trying to get the fight to the mat. It will be interesting to see if Scott is willing to play in the guard of Varvaskoukku or if he’ll decide to try to take advantage of an appeared advantage on the feet and just out-strike the BJJ red belt. One of these guys could find themselves in a #1 contender match with a victory in this fight.

 

Randy: “This is going to sound a bit asinine after giving the reasons I gave to not pick Samba in the last fight but I am gonna lean towards Barry Scott in this fight. Scott is going to press forward in this fight and land more shots on the feet. I think he’ll avoid the submissions from Rainer and win a razor close decision victory.”

 

MPM: “I am going to take Varvaskoukku for the same reasons I gave in the last fight. I think Dirk is preoccupied with other shit and I think Scott takes this fight to the ground and gets caught in something slick. Did you see what happened to Matt Miller? That was just nasty dude. This Varvaskoukku is a serious danger to anybody on the ground, make no mistake about it.”

 

Randy: “This is a great card and a few guys could really find themselves close to title contention with big wins here on this card. We’ll be back later in the week with the preview for Evolution 20 ‘Narushima vs. Carlton.’

 

MPM: “I wish I could’ve been your guest on that show dude. There are some terrific fights on that card. The main-event between the LHW and HW champions is going to be a fucking slug-fest. If that fight makes it out of the first round I’ll be shocked. Then you back it up with Vandalay vs. Marciano? The 170lbs championship on the line? C’mon dude. That shit is just sick. There isn’t 1 other organization in the MMA universe that can put on these kinda cards. That’s not talking shit, that’s just being fucking real dude. I’ll be in attendance that night, you can bet your ass on that.”

 

Randy: “I completely agree with you on that point. Evolution just puts on great event after great event and there isn’t 1 organization out there that’s even close. If you and Sean do come into town for the event give me a call. Thanks again for coming on the show Mikey. This is Randy Ortiz, signing off for now.”

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Evolution 20 'Narushima vs. Carlton' Preview

 

 

 

Randy: “We’re back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews as we get ready for Evolution 20 ‘Narushima vs. Carlton’ which comes to you live from the Wombley Arena in London, England on Saturday September 14th, 2013. What a stacked card we have for you with 4 fights being scheduled to go 5 rounds including the 170lbs and 265lbs championships. Merik Hunt will defend his title first against the challenger in BJJ red belt Rufus Soderberg. We have two 5 round fights in the light-heavyweight division and heavyweight divisions respectively as Womba takes on A.J. Hearts and Don Marciano faces Art Vandalay in two terrific match-ups. Then we get to the main-event of the evening when light-heavyweight champion and #1 p4p fighter Ryo Narushima jumps up a weight-class and tries to add the heavyweight title when he takes on the champion and #4 p4p fighter Kyle Carlton. I’m joined here by my guest at this time the legendary Jeremy Tonal. First let me start by saying it’s a true honor to have you on the show. You are 1 of the true greats this sport has seen.”

 

 

Tonal: Thanks. It's an honor to be here. Looking forward to a great night of fights.

 

 

Randy: “It has been 5 long years (tycoon-time) since we’ve seen you in action way back at Ascension 101 when you dropped a majority decision to Sunny Disposition. How are you enjoying retirement?”

 

 

Tonal: It's been good. I miss the fighting at times but it's nice to not always have a fight to prepare for and it's great to have more time at home.

 

 

Randy: “Despite spending so much time on the shelf I have to say you look in terrific shape my friend. I know that you still like to hit the gym fairly often and work on your skills. Why do you still enjoy going to the gym and staying in such good shape? Is MMA just a way of life for you? Do you get bored at home with the wife and kids?”

 

 

Tonal: I still love the sport and I can't think of a better way to stay active. I also really enjoy sparring with all the new talent.

 

 

Randy: “You know where this is leading right? Are we ever going to be graced by your presence in an MMA cage ever again? What kinda fight would it take to get you to come out of retirement on put the gloves back on? Would you come back for a crack at Ryo Narushima?”

 

 

Tonal: At this point a comeback is unlikely. I'm not getting any younger and I don't really see any fights out there tempting enough. Maybe if there was another Kane or Glory around I would try but even then just to work my way into a position where I would deserve a shot would be a lot of work. Ryo is a great fighter and the fact that he has never been knocked out in a 13 year career extremely impressive so of the guys out there right now I can't think of many I would rather fight.

 

 

Randy: “When you finally decided to hang it up, you and the rest of the guys who were coached by Richard Davenport all kinda went out at the same time. Do you still keep up with Rich? How about Abayo Bokhari? What have those guys been up to lately?”

 

 

Tonal: Some of us retired but a lot of the younger guys kept fighting and several of them are doing really well. All four guys fighting for Lance are on great streaks and 3 of them have belts. It's great to see guys you helped learn the game years ago climbing their way to the top today. Of us older guys only Victor is still fighting and he's still a threat to anyone. Last I heard Abayo is enjoying retirement in Vegas.

 

 

Randy: “I have just one more question for you for now and then we’ll get to previewing some of these great fights here in a minute. I heard a rumor that Davenport was approached by J-Bomb and Sean McDonnell and offered a spot in Team Conquer should Rich ever return to the MMA scene. Is there any truth to this rumor? I heard that he turned them down for now but do you think he’ll ever get back to coaching fighters the way he once did?”

 

 

Tonal: I don't think he will, he's really disillusioned with the way the mma world is developing.

 

 

Randy: “Well thank you for being so honest with your answers. Let’s say we get to checking out some of these fights and then maybe if there is time we’ll sit here and shoot the shit about some of your past fights and opponents and maybe get your opinions on the MMA scene today.”

 

Tonal: Sounds good.

 

 

 

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Prophet Mohammed (20-3-1) vs. Dustin Douglas (30-9)

 

 

Prophet Mohammed looks to extend his un-beaten streak to 5 fights when he kicks off the main-card portion of our fight by taking on heavy-handed knock-out artist Dustin Douglas. Prophet Mohammed is a very well-rounded fighter and is a former Fight Day FC heavyweight champion. Mohammed got off to a great start in his career losing one fight very early in his career but then finding a lot of success under the Fight Day banner winning the organizations title and defending it on several occasions. Mohammed did lose in two separate fights to Emeka Shakur but has gone 3-0-1 since joining Evolution. Prophet mixes up his punches and kicks well on the feet but is looking for any opportunity to get the fight to the mat and lands 47% of his takedown attempts. If he can survive the early knock-out power from Dustin Douglas and get this fight to the ground he’ll have a great chance at coming out victorious. Douglas is an elite-level boxer and likes to push forward throwing a lot of punches but mixes in a fair amount of leg-kicks into his game-plan. Douglas is a former champion in the organization and is looking to rebound from a recent decision loss to Renzo Machida with a convincing victory here tonight. Douglas is most known for his heavy hands and has finished 27 of his 30 career wins by TKO or knock-out. Douglas will need to sprawl and brawl to have his best chance at victory in this fight and has shown the ability to do that in the past boasting a 70% success rate in takedown defense during his career. The winner of this fight will find themselves in the top 15 of the weight class and knocking on the door for a title shot in the near future.

 

 

Randy: “I like this Mohammed guy and I think one day he’ll really make a name for himself with his high-level grappling ability. I just don’t think his time is quite yet. Douglas has a 12cm reach advantage and he will come out the aggressor in this fight and wear Mohammed down with his power early. I think Prophet will struggle to get this fight to the ground in the later rounds and Dustin finishes him late in the 2nd round.”

 

 

Tonal: I think Mohammed has the upper hand in this one. He should be able to hold his own in the striking and eventually take it to the ground where he's far superior. He needs to be very vary of Douglas power though. One wrong move and the fight is over.

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Merik Hunt (25-12) vs. Rufus Soderberg (16-3)

 

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Next up on the card will be 5 rounds for the Evolution 170lbs championship as champion Merik Hunt looks to successfully defend his title for the 2nd time when he takes on dangerous BJJ expert Rufus Soderberg. Merik Hunt won the title by defeating Sinuhe Egyptian in a close 48-47 unanimous decision victory but then dropped a decision in a super-fight against Pluto Palhares. Hunt showed the heart of a champion and looked impressive coming off the loss when he successfully defended his title by stopping Karri Vahti with strikes on the ground. Hunt is a decent kick-boxer who mixes up his strikes well on the feet but it is no secret he’s looking for every opportunity to get the fight to the ground and averages over 4.5 takedown attempts per fight with a success rate of 43%. It will be interesting to see if he’s willing to play in the guard of a BJJ red-belt. Rufus Soderberg looked great in his Evolution debut by out-grappling Holden Gracie before securing the triangle submission mid-way through the 3rd round. Soderberg isn’t nearly as skilled a striker on the feet as his opponent but he is deadly on the ground and has finished 4 of his last 5 fights there. If Soderberg is able to get this fight to the ground early and wear down Hunt for the later rounds he has a really good chance at pulling off the upset and winning the title in just his 2nd appearance in an Evolution cage.

 

 

Randy: “I’m going to take Merrik Hunt in this fight. I think he’s better on the feet and while I don’t think he’ll complete neglect his wrestling game I do think he’ll try to keep this fight on the feet for most of the fight where he should have no problem out-landing his opponent. I think Hunt gets to the mount position later in the fight and pounds Soderberg out. We’ll say 4th round.”

 

 

Tonal: "If Hunt tries to strike I think it will be a slow fight. He's not that great of a striker and if he goes aggressive he will get punished with counter takedowns and lose the fight. If he plays passive whoever lands a td or two wins it. I think Rufus takes it by decision. I hope Hunt does go for the td though, it would be excting to see that aggressive gnp vs such a great sub game."

 

 

 

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Smokodju Womba (31-6-1) vs. A.J. Hearts (24-3)

 

 

Smokodju Womba was 9-0-1 in his last 10 fights before Ryo Narushima knocked him out in the 1st round defending his light-heavyweight championship and spoiling Womba’s Evolution debut. Womba rebounded nicely with a 1st round submission victory over Benjamin Grundy and looks to make it two fights in a row when he takes on A.J. Hearts in a super-fight. Womba desperately wants to get back in the cage with 205lbs champion Ryo Narushima and he could take a giant step toward achieving that goal by defeating another top 20 p4p fighter in Hearts. Womba comes forward behind his punches and kicks but is always looking to get fights to the ground averaging over 6 takedown attempts a fight in his career. Smokodju is very dangerous anywhere on the ground and is constantly throwing up submission attempts as he tries to gain the dominant position. Womba is extremely dangerous when on his back in guard and has 8 submissions from guard in his career. His opponent tonight brings an impressive streak into this fight going 15-1 in his last 16 fights twice winning the SPFT light-heavyweight championship and defending it on 7 occasions. Hearts is an Olympic caliber wrestler and holds a BJJ brown belt. Hearts is terrific at dictating where fights take place landing 2 takedowns per fight at a 42% success rate while also possessing 84% takedown defense. Hearts has good knock-out power and likes to gain dominant positions and land big blows from the top position. A win for either of these fighters will have them knocking on the door of cracking the top 10 p4p and land them a potential shot at Narushima in the future.

 

 

Randy: “I don’t know much about A.J. Hearts but he’s beaten some pretty good fighters and I know his manager is top-notch so I believe the kid is for real. I just have a really hard time picking anybody in a ground battle against Womba. That guy is dangerous from dominant positions and he’s maybe even more dangerous when opponents lay in his guard. I say Hearts lands the takedown and gets caught in a submission from the top position.”

 

 

Tonal: "I'm thinking along the same lines except I don't see Womba landing the sub. Hearts will spend more time on top and take the decision."

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/6/6b4.jpg VS. http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/p651/shortfusenwo/DonMarciano_zps0b1edbc7.jpg

 

 

Don Marciano (41-8-2) vs. Art Vandalay (26-4)

 

 

 

 

Our co-main event of the evening is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the heavyweight division when former Empire 265lbs champion Don Marciano looks to make it 3 in a row since joining the organization when he takes on elite-level muay-thai striker Art Vandalay. Marciano has looked impressive since coming over from Empire knocking out former champions Alistair Overeem and Arnie Ironz in the first round in back to back fights. There is no secret that Marciano would like a fight against Kyle Carlton should he be victorious in the main-event later on the card. Marciano comes out fast and furious from the opening bell and looks to land heavy blows early in fights and then swarm his opponents when he has them hurt or tired. Marciano leads mostly with punches to the head and body but also fires a lot of low kicks to the leg and body of his opponents as he tries to slow them down. Marciano is 1 of the best in the business at finish opponents when he sees blood in the water and has 36 knockout victories in his career. Vandalay is 7-2 since moving to heavyweight including a 4-1 record in Evolution winning the last 4 fights since dropping a decision in his debut with the organization. Vandalay equally mixes up his punches and kicks and likes to mix up his shots to the leg, body and head pretty equally. Vandalay also likes to tackle his opponents against the cage in the clinch position where he will unleash a fury of an attack that includes all limbs. Vandalay’s lowest success rate with any of his strikes in the clinch position is 62% so he is extremely effective against the cage and could find a lot of success if he can get Marciano there in this fight. One key factor in this fight is that it is Art’s first under his new management and this is an awfully giant task for any manager/fighter tandem to have to take on a legend like Marciano in their first fight.

 

 

Randy: “I’d love to see Christopher Samba get 1 more victory and then fight Marciano sometime in the near future so he can either dispel the rumor of his ground game or be proven as a fraud and a guy who belongs in K-1. Vandalay really surprised me by beating Kane Williams the way he did last fight but I think it takes Heisenberg more time to adjust to the way his fighter likes to fight and Marciano walks away with his 3rd straight 1st round KO since joining Evolution.”

 

 

Tonal: "I have a hard time seeing Marciano lose this one. The fight will be spent standing and he's the more dangerous striker. Everyone can get caught but I agree with your call of a first round ko for Don."

[shortfuse122829]

http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/p651/shortfusenwo/KyleCarlton_zps0ba9aecd.jpg VS. http://mmatycoon.com/gallery/27/27w25.jpg

 

 

Ryo Narushima (34-7) vs. Kyle Carlton (20-1)

 

http://mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg

 

 

 

Finally the moment we’ve all been waiting for as we get to experience this terrific super-fight put on by Evolution when its organizations light-heavyweight champion jumps up a weight-class and takes on the Evolution 265lbs champion Kyle Carlton in a 5 round fight for the heavyweight championship. Narushima is 10-1 in his last 11 fights with the sole loss coming by submission to Smokodju Womba, a loss he later avenged by defeating Womba by 1st round TKO. We haven’t seen Ryo’s title on the line since that fight but he has won 2 super-fights against former Ascension 205lbs champion Yance Sackett and CFC’s 205lbs champion Daniel Speed. He could make a big statement by stepping up in weight and defeating another top 5 p4p opponent in Kyle Carlton. Narushima is a dangerous kick-boxer who pushes an insane pace for the weight class and he is an extremely accurate striker. Narushima prefers to work behind lots of kicks averaging over 30 leg kick attempts per fight during his career. Ryo mixes it up by throwing his kicks to the body and head as well and lands over 5 head-kicks and close to 7 body kicks per fight. Narushima should have a significant speed advantage and if he can stay on the outside and land his strikes early he has a great chance at putting Carlton away inside the distance. Carlton is an impressive 20-1 in his career and avenged his only loss by knocking Anton Chigurh out in the 1st round in the rematch. Carlton prefers to work primarily behind his punches and is most known for his devastating knock-out power finishing all 20 of his career victories including 12 inside the first round. Kyle also likes to tackle his opponents against the cage in the clinch where he is extremely effective with his dirty-boxing and isn’t afraid to mix in the occasional knee. Carlton has the power to finish fights even from such a short distance while holding guys against the cage so I would look for him to slow down the quicker opponent by using his weight to lean on Ryo against the cage while landing knock-out blows. The winner of this fight will be Evolution HW champion and undoubtedly be ranked the #1 p4p in the world.

 

 

Randy: “Dean hasn’t answered my phone calls since the recent blow-out with my former manager Sean McDonnell but I might Ryo when he was a guest here on the show and he’s definitely the real deal in my opinion. If Ryo can keep this fight out of the clinch I think he’ll walk away victorious in impressive fashion. I am going to lean towards Carlton in this fight however because I think Ryo puts him in early trouble but he survives long enough to get Ryo against the cage and he’ll finish the fight from the clinch position much like he did to Ryo’s teammate Marciano.”

 

 

Tonal: "Fighters don't really get more dangerous than Kyle. I think he will come out guns blazing like always so for Ryo it will be all about surviving the early storm. I think experience wins it for Ryoafter surviving an early scare. 3rd round ko."

 

Randy: “Some gigantic fights later tonight, but before we get there we have some interesting match-ups on the under-card portion of the card as well so let’s have a brief look at those fights.”

 

 

Nisse Blockson (16-6) vs. Arthur Vengrio (27-13)

 

 

A heavyweight fight kicks off the main-card portion of the card when Nisse Blockson looks to rebound from a unanimous decision loss in his first fight back from a long retirement. Blockson should have some of the ring-rust behind him now and will look to use his kick-boxing to close the distance on the taller opponent and land a heavy shot that could finish the fight. Blockson is a big fan of the clinch and likes to mix in elbows and knees with his punches. Vengrio steps into the Evolution cage for the first time in this fight and is the current SPFT HW champion. Vengrio doesn’t appear to be as skilled as his opponent in the striking game but hits equally as hard if not harder with 26 of his 27 career victories coming by knock-out or TKO. This will be an entertaining striking battle which probably ends with a vicious knock-out.

 

 

 

Konrad Kurze (27-12) vs. Matt Miller (25-8)

 

 

Konrad Kurze looks to make it 4 in a row with a win tonight after an impressive submission victory over the former champion Dr. Gonzo in his last fight. Kurze is a decent kick-boxer but it’s no secret he is looking for any opportunity to get the fight to the mat where he possesses a BJJ black-belt and has 13 submission victories in his career. His opponent tonight is Matt Miller who has been fighting against the top guys in the division in his last several fights. Miller is a decent kick-boxer in his own right but usually uses his takedowns and top-control to gain dominant positions and beat his opponents up on the ground. Miller also possesses a BJJ black-belt but has lost his last two fights by submission so it will be interesting to see if he shy’s away from his wrestling in this fight. Miller is in desperate need of a win if he wants to stay relevant in the division and Kurze could take a big jump up in the division by beating a consistent contender like Miller.

 

 

Theo Atla Son (26-8) vs. Domingos De Matos (33-13)

 

 

Theo Atla Son looks to rebound from a recent two fight losing streak which included losing his title to Ryo and then dropping a super-fight to Jose Nabijos both by knock-out. Atla Son likes to mix his punches and kicks up well while at distance and occasionally tackles his opponents into the cage where he unleashes knees to the body and head. His opponent tonight also lost to Nabijos his last time in the cage but had won 3 straight fights by knock-out before that so he will be looking to regain some of the momentum he had before being derailed by Jose. De Matos is also a very skilled kick-boxer who pushes forward behind punches and kicks always in search of the big knock-out blow. Both of these light-heavyweights have good knock-out power and both have also been knocked out on multiple occasions so I’d expect to see this fight finished inside the distance. The winner of this fight should get back into the top 10 rankings in the weight class and start gaining momentum to getting in the title picture.

 

 

Sinuhe Egyptian (44-14-2) vs. Nai Khanom Tom (29-9-1)

 

 

Up next is one of our featured under-card fights and it’ll be 3 rounds in the welterweight division when former champion Sinuhe Egyptian looks to make it 3 in a row with a victory in this fight as he continues to climb the ladder back towards a shot at the title. Egyptian is a high level muay-thai kick-boxer and pushes a very past pace right from the opening bell throwing lots of punches and kicks. Egyptian throws a ton of low kicks averaging close to 30 leg kicks per fight and almost 10 body kicks. He uses his heavy low kicks to set up his high kicks and averages over 8 head-kick attempts per fight. Egyptian has a terrific chin and has complete faith in his ability to eat a shot so I’d look for him to come out aggressive once again in this fight. His opponent is another high level kick-boxer but doesn’t push near the pace of his opponent. If Khanom Tom isn’t able to keep up with the former champion he’s going to have a tough time in this fight due to Egyptian’s durability. Both of these fighters are also very capable in the clinch and I wouldn’t be surprised if Egyptian pushes the fight there on a few occasions. If Egyptian can win it’ll go a long way to getting him back in the cage with 1 of the top contenders right now and if Khanom Tom can pull off this upset it could boost him right into the top 5 of the division.

 

 

Richard Hickock (20-8-1) vs. Topi Tokala (23-6)

 

 

Our featured fight on the under-card is a 3 round battle in the middleweight division as Richard Hickock looks to make it 3 in a row with a victory tonight since joining Evolution. Hickock is an aggressive kick-boxer while at distance but enjoys closing the gap and pushing guys against the cage in the clinch position. Hickock likes to unleash knees and elbows mixed in with his dirty-boxing game-plan. Hickock has pretty good knock-out power and finishes around 2/3rds of his victories by TKO or knock-out. His opponent in this fight is another aggressive kick-boxer and will likely look to use his 16 cm reach advantage in this fight by throwing a lot of jabs. Tokala isn’t quite the knock-out artist his opponent is and because his opponent probably will be landing the harder strikes Tokala will want to push his opponent backwards and score more often. Taking the center of the cage will help Tokala avoid being tackled against the cage so look for him to stick and move and keep this fight on the outside. Both fighters could make it three wins in a row and find themselves against a top 10 contender again in their next fight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Randy: “What a terrific night of fights we have for MMA fans. The under-card has several interesting fights on it and then you add the two title fights and Don Marciano on the PPV portion? Wow. Anyway let’s get back to talking with our guest for a little bit before we run out of time. I hope that’s okay with you?

 

 

Tonal: "Go ahead."

 

Randy: “I just want to get your thoughts on some of the high-lights in your career. We’ll start with the Syn Millionaire’s tournament. You entered that tournament as a 10-4 fighter and were relatively unknown. What was it like to win that tournament and put yourself on the map?”

 

 

Tonal: "Going into that tournament I felt I was as talented as anyone out there but a couple of missteps had really set my career back. Winning it felt awesome as I finally got to show everyone what I could do. I have to admit I was not terribly proud of how I fought that tournament though. Too much was on the line and I fought to win rather than to finish, something I've never done before nor since."

 

 

Randy: “After winning the tournament you went back to GAMMA and won light-heavyweight championship. What was it like winning your first world title?”

 

 

Tonal: "I actually held that title briefly before the tournament too. Winning it again felt like fixing past mistakes."

 

 

Randy: “Immediately after winning the GAMMA world championship you went to CoV for a super-fight against the legendary Jigoro Kane which you lost but that started an impressive streak of 16 straight wins which included many legendary names and you reaching the pinnacle of the sport becoming the #1 p4p fighter in the world. Give me two of the victories you’re most proud of and why?”

 

 

Tonal: I have to say the wins vs Jerry Millen and Gristle McThornbody. Millen was talking so much crap and a lot of people were actually buying it. Going into it I knew he was going to brawl with me and I knew he had nothing for me in that kind of fight. Going into the Gristle fight he was on a win streak going back 8 years, and he kept winning for a couple of years after our fight too, and I put on what I felt was the best display of wrestling of my career.

 

 

Randy: “That streak was stopped when you dropped your title to William Mackenzie King by Unanimous decision. You then lost 2 of your next 4 fights after dropping your title before finally retiring. What do you think happened at the end of your career?”

 

 

Tonal: I just didn't have it anymore wasn't good enough to win those fights. Maybe my luck just ran out or I should have prepared differently.

 

 

Randy: “Well I want to thank you for your time and answering all these questions. I hope you enjoy retirement but secretly I’ll be wishing that you one day step back in the cage and lay a beating on somebody.”

 

 

 

Tonal: "Thanks for having me, I really look forward to the fights."

 

 

Randy: “This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews with Evolution 22 ‘Power vs. Otso 2’ as I’ll be away the rest of the weekend and not have time for the next show. Tune in as Chris Garcia will be my guest on that show.”

[Guest]

Nice read Sean. Keep them keeping.

[shortfuse122829]

Sorry they're late for the event guys. I am so used to them being in LA i thought I had time to put this up today

[Gutz]

Great stuff! Love these previews.

[JLP]

Kyle Carlton is a monster.

[soyster89]

Awesome write-ups. The best in the biz right now.

 

And I agree with JLP, Carlton is a beast.

[potter09]

Lets make Carlton vs Creel

[ludovik]

September 25th.

[shortfuse122829]

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1379432435image.jpg

 

Evolution 22 'Jokinen vs. Power 2' Preview

 

 

Randy: “We’re back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews as we get ready for Evolution 22 ‘Power vs. Otso 2’ which comes to you live on Wednesday September 18^th, 2013 from the LA Memorial Collosuseum. We didn’t get the chance to preview Evolution 21 but let’s briefly go over that card. The main-card kicked off a welter-weight fight between Guru Majja and Angelito Barraquinha and it was a good striking match. The fight stayed on the feet the entire 3 rounds with Barraquinha trying to clinch but Guru wasn’t having it. Guru walked away with the close 29-28 unanimous decision. Next up was Chuck Liddell against Marko Torturo in a fight in the 205lbs division and this was another terrific striking match but Liddell constantly got the better of the exchanges and won it 30-27. The 3^rd fight on the main-card was a fight in the light-weight division when Dick Dingleberry fought Vladimir Solovyev in a terrific back and forth battle. Solovyev was clearly the aggressor on the feet and was getting the better of Dingleberry standing, but Dingleberry landed 6 takedowns in the fight and that ultimately helped him win the split decision. The co-main event was a great match-up at 170lbs between two former Empire champions. Sensei made his debut in this fight after beating Remy Lebeau in a super-fight before falling to Renan St. Juste. This was an action-packed fight as Hall took it into the clinch early and landed a nice shot opening a cut on Sensei but Sativa got the better of the clinch for the rest of the round. In round 2 Hall again pushed into the clinch and Sensei rocked him and eventually knocked him out. The main event was a fight at 145lbs between Hector Cabrera and Keiji Hashimoto. Cabrera came out taking the fight to the ground and pouring on the ground and pound. Hashimoto landed the takedown in the 3^rd but found himself underneath of Cabrera again and got pounded out from mount. We apologize to the fighters on that card for not having the time to preview your great fights. Back to the event on Wednesday which is a stacked card from top to bottom and will see two titles on the line when Neo Kable defends his 265+lbs championship in the opening fight on the main-card against heavy-handed knock-out artist John Staal. Then in the main-event Otso Jokinen defends his lightweight title in the rematch against the man who ended his 19 fight winning streak Danny Power. I’m joined here by my guest for this evenings show Chris Garcia. Thanks for joining us to help break down this great match-ups.”

 

Garcia: "Thanks, it is really awesome, card is stacked and I'm really glad I could join you here tonight."

 

Randy: “So you were voted the best new manager in 2012 which is a great achievement. How honored were you to win the award over some of the other nominees?”

 

Garcia: "That was amazing accomplishment for me. There was a lot of new faces around, so to be voted best of them? That was something I'm really proud off."

 

Randy: “You’re currently ranked in the top 20 managers in the world rankings and you also run a top 20 ranked fighting organization. Why do you think you’ve been able to have so much success so early in your career and how do you manage running the org and keeping up on all the fighter related responsibilities?”

 

Garcia: "When I started I had the honor and privilege to work with Scott Campbell, he really showed me how to do this, how to run an org. He introduced me to some of the guys I still work with, showed me how to find new talents for VF...I really owe him much. Why I still doing this and why I pull it off? I think it's because I feel like this is right thing to do, continue to make VF bigger and bigger. VF was entrusted to me by Scott and I don't want let him down now."

 

Randy: “One of your fighters Pete Wentz recently took 1^st place in division 1 of the Tycoon World Grappling Championship. How big of an honor was it to win a gold in the first ever TWGC and why do you think Pete was able to find so much success in the tournament?”

 

Garcia: "For me, Pete and our team that was big. That was huge. TWGC was new thing around, not much people knew what to expect. Pete grappled for his entire life, so it was natural for him to try. Now he signed with Hells Balls Grapplers Gauntlet, which is grappling only promotion to continue his grappling career. Why was he able to win TWGC? That's tricky question. He is talented wrestler, I think his motivation was mainly fact that he wanted to prove that he still can compete. He fought black belts and red belt there, himself being a brown belt, so his heart and will to fight really pushed him forward and he was able to keep up with that pace."

 

Randy: “We mentioned your fighting organization earlier Vicious Fights which used to be an organization for young up and coming fighters but has recently dropped all the restrictions and will be accepting all talent in several weight classes. What brought about the change to the org?”

 

Garcia: "When I started I knew what I want to do. I knew that I want to create a platform for young kids to start and go on further with their MMA careers. We grew some really amazing talents here, but with time - you have to grow to be able to provide those chances. You need money to book new venues, pay new guys...it was something we pushed as long as we could, but finally we had to make a move. Our previous heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions were almost dead, not much guys signed, it was hard to sign new guys...similar thing happens to current featherweight division, that's why we announced the change and Featherweight Grand Prix."

 

Randy: “Obviously I am very familiar with the EPL tournament that you guys run being a competitor in two separate seasons. You just finished the 6^th season of EPL crowning the winner Domingo Perez. Give me your thoughts on season 6 as a whole and on the outcome of the season?”

 

Garcia: "Season 6...that was first season to be changed that much. It was Scott's child. EPL before was occupied by Heavyweights and Light Heavyweights and Scott wanted to give a fair shot to lighter guys too. I think it went really well, guys put on some amazing fights and proved that even smaller guys can deliver it. I was a little bit sceptical about it first, but when I saw that there is a lot of guys willing to do this I knew we will do well. And that's what happened. I'm really happy that I continued with Scott's idea."

 

Randy: “You’ve also just finished week 7 in the 5^th season which is for younger fighters. What changes did you have to make in order to run this tournament for younger guys? What are your thoughts on the season so far and who do you see as the favorite to win it all?”

 

Garcia: "Main reason for change was my concept about VF. I wanted to give a shot to as many young fighters as possible, to promote them and give them chance to introduce themselves to this sport. We had to give them a little bit lighter schedule, as they aren't as gamed as usual EPL fighters and they are younger. So we did group stage, now we are heading into playoffs, then quaterfinals, semis and finale. Who I think will win? Hard to tell. MMA is unpredictable, especially those young guys, they can turn things around with one punch, one kick or one takedown...but I think for now Karl Socha and Ian MacAiken are top two guys. But like I said, its really hard to predict outcome of this season"

 

Randy: “Do you have any plans on running an 8^th season or more? Or are we reaching the end of the line of the EPL tournament? What other long-term plans do you have for the Vicious organization?”

 

Garcia: "As far as next seasons go...I have a few ideas for Season 7, thou I want to end Season 5 first and sort out Featherweight Grand Prix. I always wanted to do Kickboxing season, but most likely we will go back to original, openweight season. That how this thing started and after Welterweight season and season for younger guys I think it would be good to go back to EPLs roots. Long-term plans...well, we broke into PPV buisness not so long ago, so I wish we can keep it up. I think breaking into Top 10 is next milestone for us. Getting there and keeping ourselves there for a while. I don't think we can get into serious fight with any of Top 10 organizations, but if we can at least keep ourselves there, it will be pretty big thing for us."

 

Randy: “I want to thank you for taking the time to join us today and answer some of these questions as well as help me break down some of these great fights. Speaking of the fights let’s get down to checking out some of these terrific match-ups.”

 

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w13.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/11/11b3.jpg

 

John Staal (31-8) vs. Neo Kable (14-0)

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg

 

A great match-up kicks off our main-card in a 5 round fight for the Evolution 265+lbs championship when champion Neo Kable looks to make his 2^nd title defense against former UVT and IMMA HW champion John Staal. Kable has put himself on everybody’s radar the last few months coming to Evolution after a perfect 12-0 record in Hypnotic FC and winning in 9 title fights in the organization. He made an impressive debut by knocking out Iro Tolonen to win the organizations 265+lbs championship and then turned around and defended it by knocking out Arvydas Sabonis in the first round. On paper Kable is going to be out-matched in most of his fights in the organization but he makes up what he lacks in skills with devastating knock-out power finishing all 14 of his victories by knock-out including 12 in the first round. Kable likes to come out fast and furious from the opening bell and overwhelm his opponent’s with devastating strikes and is one of the best in the business at putting guys away quickly when he smells blood in the water. Staal is on an impressive run winning 17 of his last 19 fights with his two losses coming to Dustin Douglas and James Bomb. Staal then took two fights in Ascension’s 265+lbs division but has returned to Evolution and looks to upset the champion and win the title tonight. Staal is a good kick-boxer who has excellent knock-out power in his own right finishing 26 of his 31 career victories by TKO or knock-out. He’s considerably lighter than Kable on fight night and should have a quickness advantage. Look for Staal to try to use that speed advantage by darting in and out of range while trying to force Kable to fight moving backwards. This fight is scheduled to go 5 rounds but it’s unlikely to go the distance with the power possessed by these two fighters.

 

Randy: “It’s hard for me to pick against Kable here after what he’s done since joining Evolution. The guy is clearly a killer once that cage door closes and I’m glad to be sitting here talking about his fights instead of in the cage mixing it up with him. I just have a gut feeling on this one that Staal finds a way to force Kable to move backwards and we’ll see if he’s equally as dangerous when he’s not pouring on the pressure. Staal wins this fight by TKO early in the 2^nd round.”

 

Garcia: "It’s hard to stay unbeaten at heavyweight these days, not to mention super heavyweight. Those guys swings ridiculously huge power in their hands and are able to take out every human being on our planet. Staal provides a new kind of challenge for Kable, that’s for sure. John will be way lighter coming into this fight, he did a lot of damage at Heavyweight, he is one of those guys that will keep coming at you as long as they can move. Can he fight bigger guys? Yeah, he proved that when he knocked out Congo Ashantie or NumbaOne Stunna. His punches are really accurate, as 70% of them finds their way to opponent’s chin. But big question is, can he do same thing to Kable? I don’t think so. Kable is known for his vicious, VICIOUS, power. He walked out of the first round twice, only to do way more damage and finish his opponents. More crazy thing is that Neo throws only around 14 strikes from distance per fight. But more crazy thing about him is that he is hit ONCE per fight on average. That shows how agile and how quick this giant has to be. That being said, I don’t think he is scared of being outworked or being the slower fighter in this one. I don’t think John will decide to grapple with him and I don’t believe he can become a serious threat on their feet – Way I see it, Kable will defend his title and extend his record to 15-0."

[shortfuse122829]

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/32/32b8.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/31/31w21.jpg

 

Lager Assassin (33-12-1) vs. Katsu Higashikuni (22-10)

 

 

 

Next on the card is a 5 round fight in the 145lbs division as Lager Assassin takes on Katsu Higashikuni. Assassin had been on a nice streak but lost in his debut in the organization getting stopped in the first round by a man who’s been rolling as of late Hector Cabrera. Lager is an elite level boxer who uses his wrestling and excellent submission game to finish fights. Lager has won 14 fights by TKO and 11 fights by submission so he is capable of finishing the fight pretty much anywhere and that makes him a very dangerous opponent for anybody. His opponent tonight is the former champion Katsu Higashikuni who is also looking to rebound from some recent losses dropping his title to Danny Power and then dropping a decision to Hashimoto. Higashikuni is a decent striker who throws mostly punches and leg-kicks as he tries to wear down opponents and take them to the ground. Katsu will mix things up on the feet by countering at times but other times he’s the aggressor and backs opponent up. One thing rarely changes and that’s the fact that he is looking for any opportunity to get the fight to the mat and averages over 7 takedown attempts per fight during his career. Katsu is equally dangerous whether on top of his opponents reigning ground and pound or in guard bottom throwing up submissions. Katsu has finished elite caliber ground guys with both his ground and pound and submission game and is capable of catching anybody on a given night. Expect this to be an entertaining back and forth battle that likely goes the full 5 rounds with 1 of these fighters winning a close decision and climbing back up the ladder.

 

 

Randy: “I dunno who to pick in this fight if I’m being honest. I think Assassin likely wins the striking exchanges but I don’t see him shy away from taking this fight to the ground and that could be a giant mistake if he’s not aware at all moments while lying in his opponents guard as fighters like Dr. Gonzo have found out. If this fight does go the distance I think Lager wins it but if it ends in a finish I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Katsu pulls a late submission out of his ass.”

 

Garcia: "Featherweight are always ultra-impressive. Thanks to being lighter they move around a lot, delivering a lot of action that can please viewers. In this one we have true veteran of this sport, Larger Assasin, taking on current UMMA Bantamweight Champion and former EVO Featherweight Champion, Katsu Higashikuni. For me this fight is one to watch, both guys throws some heavy leather only to close the distance and get fight to the ground, that’s what they do. First takedown will be crucial, because with their knowledge, skills and experience I don’t think they will give up the control from the top position. Both are very active when it comes to doing damage, with over 50% of strikes landed, which may not be the highest – but believe me, those 50% are worth of mentioning, because they know how to finish you and force ref to save you from a beating. Both are also high level black belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so expect really exciting ground fight. In my opinion Assasin’s experience will be the major factor which will led him to a win and he will do so by forcing referee to stop the fight to save Japanese fighter.

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/1/1b8.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/23/23b7.jpg

 

Bruno Rafael Batista da Silva (23-8) vs. Benjamin Grundy (23-10)

 

 

The next fight on our card is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the light-heavyweight division when Bruno Rafael Batista da Silva takes on Benjamin Grundy. Da Silva has been a long-time contender in the light-heavyweight division only losing fights to the elite of the elite like Narushima, Diggs, Reilly, Fett and Womba. Da Silva has been fighting the best of the best on a consistent basis for some time now and is a tough match-up for anybody with his elite kick-boxing skils and good knock-out power. Da Silva made his Evolution debut in his last fight and looked impressive defeating former Ascension 205lbs champion Public Enemy in the 1^st round showing off some newly acquired submission skills by securing the arm-bar and winning his first career fight by submission. Grundy is looking to rebound from a recent submission loss to Womba but he probably won’t have to worry about sub defense much in this fight as Da Silva has never really shown much ability to get fights to the ground. Grundy is also an elite level kick-boxer and has some of the best knock-out power in the division finishing 22 of his 23 career wins by TKO or knock-out. Da Silva typically pushes a much more aggressive pace than his opponent and really likes to throw a ton of low kicks to the leg and body to try to wear down his opponents and sap their knock-out power as well as their gas tanks. Da Silva should be cautious pushing such a fast pace against a power-puncher like Grundy because 1 shot from a guy like that could end this fight.

 

Randy: “This is a terrific striking match between two heavy hitters. Batista da Silva is a very aggressive fighter and throws caution to the wind as he comes out looking to land early and often and put guys away. His style makes him fun to watch but I think It’s going to be his down-fall in this fight because Grundy hits like a truck and da Silva is going to leave an opening that Grundy will pounce on.”

 

Garcia: "Bruno Da Silva understands that first impression is most important thing when you sign with new organization. And what is the better way to say “hi” to stacked Light Heavyweight division than finishing former two time Ascension Light Heavyweight Champion inside first round? That’s reallu promising debut for Brazilian. But when you look at his opponent, Benjamin Grundy – and realize that he started as Lightweight? Man, he is huge guy and he was a 155 pounder. Now, at his proper weight he knows thing or two about being champion as well, but since that time he went 1-1 in EVO and he needs a win to keep him in striking range with potential title fight in EVO. Will his motivation be enough to overcome ruthless aggression of the Brazilian? Grundy definitely is more technical with his striking, being more accurate with his strikes, but he still lands only half of what Bruno connects with his opponent’s face. They doesn’t use clinch that much to inflict damage, but you can be sure that they know how to do this, still I expect them to bang it out with striking range – and with that, Bruno Da Silva looks like a favorite to me. I think he will walk out with another stoppage victory."

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Michael Patton (35-12-1) vs. Seppo Taalasmaa (47-22)

 

Our co-main event of the evening is a terrific fight between two fighters ranked in the top 10 world rankings for their weight class in a 5 round contest in the lightweight division when Michael Patton takes on Seppo Taalasmaa. Patton has come short in both attempts at winning the IMMA lightweight title and is desperate for another crack but he needs to get through this fight if he wants to keep his hopes alive. Patton is an elite level boxer who likes to constantly come forward behind punches in bunches but also mixes in some leg kicks. Patton has shown pretty good wrestling defense in his career stopping 76% of his opponents takedown attempts in his career and that will be a key factor to his chances at winning this fight. Taalasmaa is a decent striker but certainly is at a disadvantage against Patton standing in this fight so I would expect him to stay true to form and come out looking create grappling exchanges and get this fight to the mat. These two fighters have fought on two occasions in the past and Patton came out the winner by decision both times so Taalasmaa has a little bit of revenge on his mind in this fight but I think more importantly a win here would make it 5 straight and definitely have him either fighting for the title or in an eliminator fight next. Seppo has finished 2 of his last 3 fights by arm-bar submission and he should look to throw plenty of sub attempts in this fight because finishing it would make a huge statement in the division going forward. If Jokinen defends his title and Patton wins this match I’m not sure what the future of the division holds so this is definitely a fight worth watching.

 

Randy: “Well I don’t know who to pick in this fight either honestly. I really want to lean towards Seppo because he’s looked terrific lately and finished two very skilled fighters by submission in the 1^st round so it seems like he’s really coming into his own lately. The fact that Patton has already beaten him twice though makes me feel a bit silly for making the pick but I will go with my gut and say Seppo takes another arm home with him at the end of this one.”

 

Garcia: "With Mike Patton we have another veteran, who saw it all and fought some of the best in the world at 155lbs. He started as Bantamweight, but Lightweight was really weight class he found himself. Going 24-7 at 155, he may be one of the best Lightweights to never hold a world title in major organization. And if you look closely, those 7 Lightweight losses? Those are all to former NFC or EVO World champions, so I don’t think it’s a reason to be ashamed. His history with Seppo goes back to IMMA 112 and 132, when they had classic scraps, both ended as wins for Patton. Both guys are really hard to hit and they won’t go down easily. Both are Top 10 Lightweights, so win for them may hand them another chance at gold, which both would love to get. Seppo proved that he can punch you on his feet and on the ground, so we may expect some takedowns attempts from him, if stand up part won’t go his way. It will yet another classic trilogy and in my opinion Patton will put a finishing touch on this one, making it 3-0 for him, scoring third decision win over former EVO Champ."

 

 

 

 

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Otso Jokinen (46-7) vs. Danny Power (27-10-1)

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg

 

Our main event of the evening is a terrific rematch between two former #1 p4p fighters when Otso Jokinen looks to defend his Evolution 155lbs championship and gain a little bit of revenge against former Empire, Ascension and Evolution 145lbs champion Danny Power. The last time these two fighters faced each other Jokinen was riding an impressive 19 fight winning streak defeating several world class fighters in that stretch and was widely considered the 155 and 170lbs champions of NFC, IMMA and Empire after defeating all the champions in super-fights at one time or another. He walked into that super-fight as the #1 p4p fighter and looking to make it an insane 20 wins in a row but Power put a halt to all of that in a very close fight that went the distance. Danny was a gigantic underdog going into that fight with few people giving him a chance but he shocked the world and Jokinen by out-wrestling him and pulling off the decision victory. I think Jokinen under-estimated Power a bit in that fight and you can be sure he will not make that mistake again in the rematch. Jokinen is a highly skilled fighter who has great kick-boxing skills and pushes forward behind lots of kicks and punches. Jokinen isn’t afraid to grapple with his opponents either often times closing the distance and clinching his opponents or taking them down and working his top game. Power is also a very skilled fighter who has great hands and is very accurate with his punches. Power also likes to mix in a lot of leg kicks as he tries to wear down opponents and get the fight to the mat where he looks to gain dominant positions and pound on his opponents. Power has impressive wrestling skills landing close to 50% of his takedown attempts and stuffing almost 80% of attempts by his opponents. This should be a terrific fight between two great camps with a bit of bad blood after the trash-talking down by Power and his manager after the last fight. I expect Jokinen will come out and try to put Power away inside the distance while Danny will look to take this fight to the mat and out-grapple his opponent in a great rematch between two top notch fighters.

 

Randy: “I love Danny Power but I think his struggles continue and he drops his 3^rd straight fight which I know will be devastating to my good friend Sean McDonnell. I thought Danny edged Kuzuri in his most recent fight but only 3 people’s opinions mattered on that night and they scored the fight for Waru so Danny really needs to rebound from the two losses with a big win over a legend like Jokinen to get his career back on track. I just think Otso is the better fighter and probably should’ve won the last fight but Power just had the perfect plan for him. I think Danny needs to have the perfect plan again to win this fight and nailing it perfectly two times against a guy like Jokinen is no easy task. Jokinen finds a way to finish this fight and get revenge for Power stopping his streak just shy of 20 wins.”

 

Garcia: "Another 2 top 10 Lightweights will go for it, when Main Event starts. Otso Jokinen is long-time #1 at this weight, beating not only the best Lightweights but conquering Featherweight and Welterweight divisions as well. A lot of fans wanted this and waited for this rematch for a while now. We all hope to see another 25 minutes of exciting action. First fight was an epic confrontation between those two, close decision went to Power back then, now Jokinen looks to not only redeem himself but to prove that he is better fighter. Fired up Otso isn’t the one I would like to fight, so Danny will have to be aware of that. Last time being aggressive paid off, but Otso learns from his mistakes and he will look to correct them in this fight. Really evenly matched, fighting in similar way – those guys are just perfect enemies. Danny is called “Dangerous” for a reason, he can put your lights out if you hesitate or commit one, tiny mistake, but Jokinen was in a lot of big fights and fought truly dangerous opponents, still came out victorious. It’s not easy to say who will win this time, fight will be probably close again…but Otso never lost twice to same man and I believe this fact will remain this way. I think Jokinen will walk out with W this time."

 

Randy: "I want to once again thank Chris Garcia for joining me here on the show but we've run out of time. We'll be back with another edition of Evolution's count-down previews for Evolution 23 "Womba vs. Narushima 3.' This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. Good night everybody."

[Guest]

Awesome write up Was fun do this with you, hope to do another one in the future!

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http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/posters/1379690897evo23.png

 

Evolution 23 'Narushima vs. Womba 3' Preview

 

 

 

Randy: “Welcome back for the latest edition of Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 23 ‘Narushima vs. Womba 3’ which comes to you live from the Wombley arena in London, England on Saturday September 21st, 2013. This is the rubber match between these two great fighters with Womba finishing the first fight with a guillotine choke in the 5th round in the first bout and Narushima coming out and putting Womba away with strikes in the very first round in the rematch. This epic battle is 5 rounds for Evolution’s light-heavyweight championship and it should be a very entertaining fight with this striker vs. grappler match-up and both fighters possessing the ability to finish the fight in their domain at any given time. It will have fight fans sitting on the edge of their seat for the entirety of this fight. That fight is the main event of the evening and not the only exciting fight for the fans on this card as our main-card also includes two terrific match-ups at heavyweight when Renzo Machida takes on Arnie Ironz in a 5 round fight in the co-main event slot and right before that on the card J. Breaker takes on Kane Williams in another heavyweight fight scheduled to go 5 rounds. Lex Logic against John L. Sullivan IV and WMK takes Laz Icarus to round out the rest of the main-card. I’m joined here by my guest tonight Sean McDonnell, thanks for coming back on the show Sean. With the amount of events in Evolution it’s not always easy to schedule guests in time so I want to thank you for bailing us out and joining us on the show once again. We do have some great guests scheduled for some upcoming shows including Alexi Zaitev and Sinuhe Egyptian among others but for tonight Sean joins us to help break down these great fights. Thanks for coming buddy.”

 

Sean: “No sweat Randy. You know I always come through for guys in a bind.”

 

Randy: “Let’s start with what happened on the last Evolution event when Otso Jokinen avenged his loss against Danny Power knocking him out in the 1st round. How devastating of a loss was that for you and Danny?”

 

Sean: “Um…it was a pretty tough loss to be honest. I can’t say it was completely unexpected because guys think they’ve exposed something in Danny and we knew full well going into the fight that Jokinen would try to put him away this time so the outcome isn’t a complete shock on one hand but on the other dropping 3 fights in a row after being the #1 p4p guy is a tough pill to swallow.”

 

Randy: “What was the game-plan going into the fight? Was Danny not following or implementing the game-plan or do you think maybe you guys didn’t have the fight game-plan for the fight?? I guess I’m trying to ask what you think went wrong?”

 

Sean: “Well going into the fight we figured Otso would try to counter a little bit and throw his strikes with bad intentions this time around. The last fight he tried to be the aggressor and just out-point us because it’d worked so well for him against some of the heavier guys he was fighting and he was a little bit predictable coming into the fight. The game-plan was to force him backwards and throw a little bit of pepper on our own strikes in order to slow him down a little bit and hopefully take away some of his knock-out power while setting up the takedowns. Danny implemented the plan really well honestly he came out landing a lot of his strikes early in the fight and just got clipped man. That kinda shit happens in this business. Whether the game-plan was the right one I’d have to say clearly it wasn’t since Otso won the fight but we felt that was our best chance going into the fight.”

 

Randy: “What’s next for Danny Power? Is he going to stay at lightweight or move back down and try to get his featherweight title?”

 

Sean: “We haven’t really made a decision on Danny’s future right now. I’m trying to talk him into retiring and enjoying himself in the Bahamas. He’s won world titles in Ascension, Empire and Evolution. He’s been the #1 p4p fighter on the planet. I’m not sure what else he has left to accomplish and as a friend it’s hard to watch him go out and take the shots he’s taken the last 3 fights. Danny is obviously fighting me tooth and nail on the situation but we don’t want to make any decisions this close to a loss. We’ll take a little bit of time off and assess the situation when deemed appropriate.”

 

Randy: “Retirement?? You’re joking right? That’d be a damn shame to see him hang it up when he still has so much left in the tank.”

 

Sean: “Sometimes going out to 3 legendary fighters like Randolph, Kuzuri and Jokinen is better than trying to hang on too long and ruining your legacy by trying to hang on for too long.”

 

Randy: “I sure hope you guys decide against that route but I wish Danny the best no matter what he decides. Let’s move on to another topic real quick. Season 3 of ITFL? That’s really gonna happen?”

 

Sean: “It looks that way. I wasn’t sure what kinda interest there would be so I threw the idea out and have received overwhelming interest. I have talked the great Dane Ford to come back and run the organization for me. Johnny Lee Paris will be going over to work with Dane and be the project manager. Good ole Whirling Dirvish has stepped up to the plate to do a little bit of the event coverage so it seems everything is coming together quickly. Expect sign-ups to begin in the next few days.”

 

Randy: “Season 3 will be for the old guys as you like to say. Why’d you decide to go with that decision for season 3 and are you ever surprised how popular ITFL has become?”

 

Sean: “It does amaze me a little bit honestly. I never expected it to get this big or become this popular when I first started it. The first season took a long time to fill and I needed to rely on former friend Dean Sutherland to throw in 4 of his own fighters on a team just to get the damn thing going. So when I was considering doing a season 2 I really didn’t expect it to even fill. I figured it’d probably end up being a 1 and done thing despite how much fun I personally was having with the first season. The 2nd season filled much easier than the first and with all the publicity season 2 has received with the media coverage and such I have had guys beating down my door to get in on the next season. I decided to do an old guys season for the 3rd one because as much fun as I had with season 1 the match-making could get a bit annoying at times for a guy as competitive and wanting to challenge himself as much as Luka Beck. I am not sure this tournament is best for fighters in their prime because it takes a significant commitment with how long the season lasts and the matches don’t always suit the desire to climb the rankings. Season 2 seems like such a perfect fit for some of these super talented young fighters who just haven’t been seen in the cage quite enough for received the hype/exposure. What a perfect platform to establish yourself and get put on the map. If you take the publicity the tournament is receiving and consider where these guys will be by seasons end? I think there are a lot of future p4p stars in this tournament. So I tried to think of another group that I could make this work for and guys in the twilight of their career looking for a way to stay active and have some fun before their careers end seemed like the perfect fit to me. It seems like the MMA community agrees.”

 

Randy: “Well good luck on with the rest of season 2 and I will be keeping my eyes peeled to see who signs up for season 3 for sure. You ready to get to some of these great fights?”

 

Sean: “Damn straight I am.”

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/1/1w2.jpg VS. http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/9/9w20.jpg

 

Laz Icarus (20-8) vs. William Mackenzie King (29-16-1)

 

 

 

Laz Icarus steps into the Evolution cage for the first time tonight when he takes on William Mackenzie King in a 3 round fight in the light-heavyweight division. On paper Icarus is the inferior fighter but his best chance at winning this fight is coming out behind his kicks and using his devastating knock-out power to his advantage to try stopping a man with double digit knock-out losses. Icarus will also want to tackle Mackenzie against the cage into the clinch where he can unleash knees to the body and face as well as an effective dirty-box game. Icarus has some offensive wrestling as well but I wouldn’t play in the guard of a BJJ black-belt if I were him. Keeping this fight standing and landing heavy shots is his best chance at walking away with a win in this fight. Mackenzie King is the more skilled striker but I doubt he’ll want to stand and trade with Icarus for very long. King should instead look to land early to help set up his takedowns and get this fight to the ground where he can wear down his opponent by making him carry his weight while he tries to work his ground strikes. If King can get to a dominant position he has the power to finish this fight so Icarus should look to keep his opponent in his guard when he finds himself on his back. A win in this fight will give 1 of these 2 fighters some momentum moving forward in the division.

 

 

Randy: “This should be an entertaining fight as both of these guys have really good knock-out power. I’m gonna take Mackenzie King in this fight because I really like his ability to get fights to the ground landing on 42% of his takedown attempts in his career. King will get this fight to the ground consistently and grind his way to a unanimous decision victory.”

 

Sean: “Gotta disagree with you on this one Randy. King is definitely the more skilled guy on paper and with the right game-plan I could see it playing out the way you predicted but we all know King’s chin is iffy at best and I think Icarus has the knock-out power to catch him early. Icarus puts King to sleep before he gets the chance to get his top-game going.”

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Lex Logic (15-1) vs. John L. Sullivan IV (31-11-1)

 

 

 

Lex Logic made an impressive debut in his last fight knocking out the former middleweight champion Igor Glozman early in the 3^rd round. He looks to take another giant step up the ladder in the middleweight division by beating recent title challenger “Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan IV. Logic is a talented muay-thai striker with good knock-out power finishing 10 of his 15 wins by TKO or knock-out. Logic leads with his hands but mixes in plenty of kicks into his game-plan as he tries to get his opponents against the cage and in his clinch. Lex likes to throw a lot of punches to the head and body but also mixes in plenty of knees to the body and head as well. Logic is 15-1 in his career and rides a 7 fight win streak including a 6-0 record as a professional MMA fighter. Sullivan IV lost a close decision victory in his recent attempt for the divisions title but rebounded by beating former champion Danza Kuduro by decision. Sullivan will be looking to stop Logic’s streak and try to string a few wins together to get back into title contention. This will be a great striking match between two decent knock-out artists and two guys with good chins.

 

 

Randy: “I’m going to go with Sullivan IV here. He had a great fight with the champion and lost a really close decision. I think his chin is tested over a much longer career against a higher level of competition and I think that experience pays off for him in this fight and he takes it by decision.”

 

Sean: “I agree with the winner but not the method. I see Sullivan IV taking this with a late stoppage somewhere in the 4^th round.”

 

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/13/13b8.jpg VS. http://i39.tinypic.com/s3ookn.jpg

 

J. Breaker (44-23-1) vs. Kane Williams (23-4)

 

 

 

The third fight on the main-card is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the heavyweight division as former HWP 265lbs and Syn 265+lbs champion J. Breaker takes on long time Versus 265lbs champion Kane Williams. Breaker is on a 4 fight winning streak including 3-0 since joining Evolution’s 265lbs division finishing all 3 of his opponents inside the distance. Breaker could make light-heavyweight but after fighting in HWP for so long he’s used to throwing down with bigger fighters and is never intimidated by bigger opponents. Breaker is a very aggressive striker who possesses devastating knock-out power in his hands finishing 31 of his 44 career victories by TKO or knock-out. If anybody out there has better knock-out power then J. Breaker it’d definitely be his opponent. Kane Williams is an elite kick-boxer who likes to throw a lot of low kicks to the leg and body mixed in with his strikes with his hands. Williams has knock-out power on pretty much everything he throws and has finished 22 of his 23 wins inside the distance. Williams ran into a bit of a hiccup in his Evolution debut against #1 contender Art Vandalay but rebounded with a big win against Maverick Smokeleaf last time out. A win for either of these fighters would have them right up on the list of top contenders and could lead to a potential title eliminator in their next fight.

 

 

 

Randy: “I’m going to go with Breaker in this fight. I think he’s going to be quicker than his opponent and he’ll come out and back Williams up and eventually wear down the big fella and knock him out somewhere in the middle rounds. Breaker has been rolling lately as you and Theo know all too well Sean.”

 

Sean: “Ya I’d rather not talk about that to be honest. I’m going to take Kane Williams in this fight because I really think he is an elite fighter who just has come up short a couple of times in big fights. Great fighters learn from those experiences and I think Williams time is coming really soon as he starts stringing together some wins by making it 2 in a row by knocking out Breaker.”

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Renzo Machida (27-8) vs. Arnie Ironz (22-8)

 

 

 

Our co-main event of the evening is another fight in the heavyweight division and is also scheduled to go 5 rounds when Renzo Machida looks to make it 3 in a row since joining Evolution when he takes on former Evolution 265lbs champion Arnie Ironz. Machida had a respectable 7-3 record during his time in Empire’s heavyweight division and took a brief detour to Ascension for a fight in which he lost before joining Evolution in the merger. Since coming over he’s defeated Priebko by 1^st round TKO and beat Dustin Douglas by unanimous decision. Machida could potentially earn himself a title shot with a big win over former champion Arnie Ironz or at least find himself in a #1 contender’s match. Ironz dropped his title to Kyle Carlton at EVO 9 and then also lost to Don Marciano by knock-out in his last fight at EVO 15. He really needs a big win here tonight to stop the downward trajectory of his career and try to climb back into the title hunt. Ironz is a heavy handed striker who mixes up his punches and kicks very well. He’s won 20 of his 22 career victories by stoppage via strikes and will look to land big shots early in this fight as he searches for the knock-out. Machida also has 22 knock-outs in his career and seems to take a punch better than Ironz so that could be a key factor in this fight.

 

 

Randy: “I like Machida in this fight. This one really could go either way because both of these fighters are very talented strikers with good knock-out power but I just have one of those feelings about this fight and Machida is going to win it with a head-kick knock-out.”

 

Sean: “I tend to agree with you on this one. Even down to the way Machida wins this fight. I see an early 1^st or 2^nd round stoppage via head-kick knock-out.”

 

 

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/27/27w25.jpg VS. http://i44.tinypic.com/345h206.jpg

 

Ryo Narushima (34-8) vs. Smokudju Womba (32-6-1)

 

http://www.mmatycoon.com/images/belt/20130810030204image.jpg

 

 

 

It’s time! The main event of the evening is scheduled to go 5 rounds for the Evolution light-heavyweight championship when Ryo Narushima looks to defend his title for the 2^nd time against Smokudju Womba in the rubber-match between these two fighters. The first time these two fighters squared off was at Empire 34 for Womba’s light-heavyweight championship after Womba twice defeated Ryo’s teammate Moses Diggs for the belt. Ryo put up a great fight but eventually succumbed to a guillotine choke in the 5^th round. The second meeting between these two fighters was in Womba’s Evolution debut and this time it was for Narushima’s light-heavyweight championship. Narushima came out like a bat outta hell and put a beating on Womba like he’s never had before finishing him in the first round. This fight will be about who can force the opponent to fight their fight. Ryo will look to keep this fight on the feet and throw heavy shots as he will try to put Womba away in the early rounds. Womba will look to survive the early onslaught by his opponent and get this fight to the ground where he can lay on top of his opponent and wear him down dragging this fight into the later rounds. Womba will need to do better than his career 30% success rate in landing takedowns in this fight as Ryo will likely try to put him away early knowing that he’ll be in more danger at getting caught in another submission if this fight sees the later rounds. The winner walks away with the Evolution light-heavyweight championship and likely a strong-hold on a spot in the top 10 p4p fighters.

 

Randy: “I think Womba survives early this time and gets this fight to the ground on several occasions early in this fight. Womba will be very aggressive once the fight hits the mat and will not be afraid to give up the position diving on submission attempts because he has proven in his career he is equally as dangerous from his guard as he is from any other position. I say Womba by 4^th round submission victory.”

 

Sean: “The champion has defended his title in the other two fights between these two guys and I think that trend stays the same as Ryo come out fast and lands big shots early in this fight and once again puts Womba away in the early rounds to retain his light-heavyweight championship and stake his claim on the best light-heavyweight in the business right now.”

 

Randy: “Another great night of action put on by those at Evolution as they continue to prove why they’re the best fight org in the business today. This card is completely stacked from top to bottom and we finish it off with the end to a great trilogy in the main-event. I want to thank you once again Sean for stepping up and helping us out for this count-down preview.”

 

Sean: “It’s my pleasure Randy, you know me. I can always sit and break-down film and fight match-ups. I live for this shit dude.”

 

Randy: “Good luck with the rest of season 2 of ITFL and good luck with the sign-ups for the new season. Who knows maybe you’ll even see me in the ITFL cage eh???”

 

Sean: “For your sake I hope Walt keeps you on the side lines and just brings you in to occasionally spar with the young guys. You’ve taken far too many shots to the head my friend but I still love ya.”

 

Randy: “Ya ya ya I hear you. Thanks again Sean. This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews for Evolution 24 ‘Wise vs. Hunt’ and our special guest will be Sinuhe Egyptian. Have a good one folks.”

[soyster89]

Awesome, as always!

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Evolution 24 'Wise vs. Hunt' Preview

 

 

Randy: “We’re back for another edition of Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 24 ‘Wise vs. Hunt’ which comes to you live from the LA Memorial Collossuseum on Thursday September 26th, 2013. A great night of fights as Evolution brings a 5 round contest for the 170lbs championship in its main event as Dennis Wise returns from the ITFL tournament and takes on the champion Merik Hunt. EPL Season 6 champion makes his debut tonight in the co-main event of the evening when he takes on BJJ red-belt and winner of 3 straight Rainer Varvaskoukku. Also fighting on the main-card at featherweight is Barry Scott when he takes on Jason Griffin to kick off the main-card portion of the evening. Sandwiched between those is a heavyweight fight between Josh Williams and Mitchell Stehling and a light-heavyweight fight between Theo Atlason and Jake Orange. I’m joined here by my guest tonight former IMMA 170lbs champion and a former #1 p4p fighter Sinuhe Egyptian. Thanks for coming on the show."

 

 

Egyptian: "Thanks Randy! Sweet to be here."

 

 

Randy: “Rumor has it this card is going to be bitter-sweet for the Gutz camp as win or lose Anton Chigurh plans on retiring. I was wondering if you could confirm that rumor being a teammate and close friend of Anton’s?”

 

 

Egyptian: "That is true. I personally feel little stunned. We have been training together at Gutz Gym for ever. I was so happy when he became p4p #1 and it made me better fighter too. You know.. I started to believe that its there for me too. I wouldnt won "Fighter Comeback of the Year 2012"-award without Anton."

 

 

Randy: “Has he talked to you all about his reasons for calling it quits? If so I was wondering if you could possibly elaborate on the decision?”

 

 

Egyptian: "He couldnt do that decision himself. Mr Gutz did it for him. Chigurgh is a warrior. He just goes hard very time even in training. So believe me we have had some grazy gym wars at Gutz Gym! Ninja Monk and Public Enemy are all so like that. But it just broke him eventually. He seems to be much slower and weaker now. And he has some kind of head trauma too.."

 

 

Randy: “Let’s talk about you a little bit here. You’re a former champion in the organization and had a bit of a rough stretch losing to close decisions to Renan St. Juste in super-fights between two orgs champions and then dropped a 3rd straight fight and your title to Merik Hunt. How frustrating was that time period for you?”

 

 

Egyptian: "They were all very close fights but at the end my hand was not raised. If you fight at the level where I fight you have to accept that difference in winning and loosing is sometimes marginal. They were all great fights vs great fighters."

 

 

Randy: “I know after a few of those losses you and your manager were very happy with a recent trend in MMA where guys are really using a lot of counter takedowns to their advantage and laying on their opponents. Why are you so unhappy about this trend?”

 

 

Egyptian: "I dont think thats something that fans want to see. It has been like that allways. If you watch my first lost to Jafar and my second to Nansen you get the idea. Jafar fight was classic but rating in Nansen fight was horrible."

 

 

Randy: “Now you didn’t have to worry about the takedown so much in your last fight against Khanom Tom but you were able to overcome it in the two wins prior to that. What kinda adjustments did you make in order to adapt to the recent trend?”

 

 

Egyptian: "Today I know what to expect when I face wrester. After that its easy."

 

 

Randy: “Obviously Mega Jug doesn’t keep me included in the match-making or anything but it looks like you’re right back in the title hunt with 3 wins in a row. Do you have any idea what’s next for you? What would it mean to you to get another shot at Merik Hunt for the title?”

 

 

Egyptian: "I dont think Merik will win Wise but if he does he is just another opponent. I know what to do if we fight again."

 

 

Randy: “Now I know this might seem like a strange question considering your career is still going so well but you’re 35 yrs old now, you have 61 professional fights, do you ever think about hanging it up ever? How many fights do you still have left in the tank?”

 

Egyptian: "Its hard to say. These days this fighting game is much harder and people seem to age faster playing it. I think I have one good run to that P4P #1 spot in me and after that its over."

 

 

Randy: “Well I wish you luck in whatever time you have left and good luck at getting your title back. Are you ready to move on and check out these great fights?”

 

Egyptian: "Lets roll."

 

 

 

 

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Jason Griffin (21-11-1) vs. Barry Scott (27-12-1)

 

 

 

Our main card kicks off with a great match-up between two fighters when Jason Griffin takes on Barry Scott in a featherweight contest. Griffin made his debut in Evolution by defeating Takanori Gomi in a light-weight fight before dropping to 145lbs and fighting former Empire featherweight champion and a guy formerly ranked the #1 featherweight on the planet in Cormac Maguire. He could add another formerly ranked #1 in the weight class to his victims list if he can beat Barry Scott in this fight. Griffin likes to throw a lot of kicks to the leg and body in order to set up his high kicks and his punches. He also likes to push forward and try to get his opponents back against the cage where he can work an effective clinch game against the cage. It’s no secret that Barry Scott is going to try to force his opponent backwards and land his punches and kicks to set up the takedown as the recipe for success in this fight will absolutely be putting Griffin on his back early and often. Scott has already been taking his contracts with the organization one fight at a time because he knows retirement is just around the corner. If he were to drop this fight and make it 4 losses in his last 5 fights I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a post-fight retirement speech from him. Griffin has shown the ability to keep fights standing in the past with a career 81% success rate stuffing his opponent’s takedowns so whoever wins that battle likely wins the fight.

 

Randy: I’m really pulling for Barry Scott in this fight because I always worry the next loss is going to lead to his retirement so he’s my sentimental favorite in this fight but I have to pick Jason Griffin. He’s shown the ability to sprawl and brawl against top wrestlers in the past and I think he’ll keep this standing enough to win striking and clinch game and take a close 29-28 unanimous decision victory.”

 

 

Egyptian: "If one thinks about retirement there is allways reason for it. I think Griffin will make it easy for Scott to do what ever he wants to do. If Scott wants to win this fight its there him to take. And I think he still wants it."

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Mitchell Stehling (44-19) vs. Josh Williams (25-15)

 

 

 

Next on the card is a heavyweight fight scheduled to go 3 rounds when former IMMA HW champion Mitchell Stehling looks to make it 2 in a row when he takes on Josh Williams who has dropped two straight fights after winning in his Evolution debut. Stehling has been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride over his last 10 fights trading wins and losses pretty close to every other fight. Mitchell is a very skilled kick-boxer who likes to use his heavy hands to set up his grappling exchanges. Stehling likes to tackle opponents against the cage where he can work an effective dirty-box game and work for the takedown. Mitchell also has excellent takedowns landing on 42% of his takedown attempts in his career. He’ll look to come out and get this fight to the mat where he should have a clear advantage over his opponent. Josh Williams is an extremely heavy-handed kick-boxer stopping 23 of his 25 career victories by TKO or knock-out. Williams likes to lead with his kicks to keep his opponents at the end of his punches where he can use his reach advantage to land big blows while not taking any shots in return. Both of these fighters have been knocked out 15+ times in their career so durability is a bit of an issue for both fighters. I’d like for both of these guys to come out hard and heavy in an attempt to be the first fighter to land a big shot as this fight is very likely to be finished in the early rounds.

 

 

Randy: “This fight is really a toss-up if you ask me. Stehling has more ways to win the fight and if he can work his takedowns early in this fight I think he’ll take the early lead and run with it to the end-zone and finish Williams inside the distance. On the other hand all these fights start standing and in a battle of 2 fighters with iffy chins I tend to lean towards the guy who has better knock-out power and I would give the edge to Williams in that department. If he can land heavy shots before Stehling is able to drag him to the mat it could be a short night. I’ll take Stehling just because he’s been at this level longer and I think his experience and grappling ability will carry him to victory.”

 

Egyptian: "To honour Anton Chigurgh I will actually flip a coin for this. Lets agree Stehling is heads. (Egyptian flips a coin) Well.. It looks like the most that Mitchell Stehling has ever lost on a coin toss is this fight. So William is your winner."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Theo Atla Son (27-8) vs. Jake Orange (34-13)

 

 

 

The next fight on the card is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the light-heavyweight division when former IMMA 205lbs champion Theo Atla Son looks to continue his upward climb in the division with a 2nd straight victory when he takes on the red-hot Jake Orange who is 11-2 in his last 13 fights which included a 7-1 record inside the Empire cage. Atla Son is a very talented muay-thai striker who likes to lead with his punches but mixes in a lot of leg kicks as he pushes forward and tries to tackle his opponents into his thai-plumb where he will throw lots of punches and knees to the head and body. Atla Son has fairly good knock-out power finishing over 70% of the victories in his career by TKO or knock-out. Jake Orange has been on quite a roll in his career of late and brings a 4 fight winning streak into this fight. A win over a former champion like Atla Son would be a significant boost to Orange’s title hopes. Orange is also a very talented muay-thai striker who throws a lot of leg kicks mixed in with his punches to the head and body. Orange is also very adept in the clinch and like most fighters from the River camp enjoys taking fights into that position. This fight should be a terrific back and forth striking battle and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these two spend significant time in the clinch position. The winner of this fight will take a giant step towards getting a title shot in the near future.

 

 

Randy: “This should be a very entertaining fight and is my pick for early FOTN honors. These two will stand and trade both planting and throwing heavy blows. It’ll be interesting to see which fighter will take the center of the cage as both enjoy pressing forward and leading in the striking game. If this fight gets to the clinch position I am going to favor Orange. I think Jake takes this fight and climbs into the top 3 in the world rankings at 185lbs. Expect to see this guy fighting for a title sometime in the near future.”

 

 

Egyptian: "I know this. Both of these would get murdered if they enter the gage with Public Enemy. But in this fight I see Superfoot beating Orange so bad that he doesnt know yellow from red."

 

 

 

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Rainer Varvaskoukku (19-9-2) vs. Domingo Perez (25-9-2)

 

 

 

Our co-main event is a featherweight fight scheduled to go 5x5 min rounds when BJJ red belt Rainer Varvaskoukku takes on winner of season 6 of EPL and a fighter making his Evolution debut tonight in Domingo Perez. Varvaskoukku has been on quite a roll lately winning 5 of his last 6 fights including 3 in a row and 2 of those fights were submission victories over former world champions. Rainer is a very high level wrestler and looks for any and every opportunity to get fights to the ground where he will work his ground strikes to set up his submissions. Varvaskoukku is also a BJJ red-belt and while he prefers to stay on top and work aggressively he’s proven in his last two fights by submitting two high level grapplers in Barry Scott and Matt Miller with a version of triangle chokes that he is equally as dangerous from the bottom with his submissions. Domingo Perez really turned his career around in the ITFL tournament only losing 2 out of his 15 fights in the tournament and after a bye in the 1st round of the playoff closed the deal winning his last two fights and taking home the prize and the cash. Perez is a little looser on the feet than his opponent typically and isn’t afraid to push forward behind his strikes to try to get fights to the ground. Perez is also a high level wrestler but has seemed to struggle stuffing takedown attempts in his career with only a 59% success rate. Perez will either keep this fight standing or look to get the takedown before his opponent does and get to a dominant position where he can neutralize the submission attempts from his opponent. The winner of this fight should move themselves right in with the top contenders and potentially find themselves fighting for a title in the near future.

 

 

Randy: “I am taking Varvaskoukku in this fight. He’s just looked terrific lately and his last 3 fight specifically have really impressed me. I think Perez will get the better of this fight on the feet but Rainer will eventually get him down and chip away with his ground and pound. Perez lands a sweep at some point and chooses to stay on top and regrets the decision when he finds himself tapping out."

 

 

Egyptian: "Varvaskoukku will have both hooks in and then go for toe-hold for submission. Thats the level his bjj. Its out of this world. (Varvas=toe koukku=hook in Finnish"

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Dennis Wise (32-9-1) vs. Merik Hunt

 

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The main event of the evening is a 5 round fight for the Evolution 170lbs championship when Dennis Wise makes his return to the organization after competing in the ITFL tournament. He challenges the champion Merik Hunt for the title in his first fight back and this fight should be a great match-up. Wise only loss in the ITFL came to current semi-finalist and a man on a 17 fight win streak in Tweedle Dee. Wise was part of the winning team in the tournament and had an impressive 11-1-1 record during his time in ITFL. Wise is an elite kick-boxer who pushes forward behind plenty of punches and kicks throwing his punches to the head and body but sticks to mostly low kicks to the leg and body. Wise also likes to tackles his opponents into the clinch position where he will throw strikes with all of his limbs and he is deadly accurate with all of them. Hunt has successfully defended his title twice since losing in a super-fight to Pluto Palhares. Hunt likes to mix in leg kicks with his punches but his bread and butter is his grappling game and with Olympic caliber wrestling he is great at dragging fights to the mat landing on 42% of his career takedown attempts. Hunt is very aggressive and very accurate with his ground strikes when he’s on top of you and is great at holding opponents down for long periods of time when he gets them to the ground. Hunt is also a BJJ black-belt but only has 1 submission victory in his career so I doubt he’ll be able to catch Wise sleeping. Whichever fighter can dictate where the fight takes place likely walks away the winner in this fight and will be taking home the gold while the loser will have to get back in line with the rest of the top contenders in the division.

 

Randy: “Tough fight to pick if you ask me. Typically I like to go with the wrestler because the ability to dictate where a fight takes place is absolutely huge in this business. Wise beat a few good wrestlers in ITFL like Veron, Beck, Voda and TWGC champion Pete Wentz so he’s shown that he can get the job done against good wrestlers before. None of those fighters are on par with Merik Hunt and Wise did lose a rumored gym session with Rodalgo to lose his spot in the individual tournament but who knows if that’s even true. I say Wise finds a way to win this fight and take home the belt.”

 

 

Egyptian: "My pick is all so Wise. He will go hard and Hunt doesnt have the chin to play that game."

 

 

Randy: “Another terrific night of fights put on by Evolution and it all concludes with the 170lbs championship on the line. I know that Mega must be thrilled that Dennis Wise is back in the fold. Since we still have a little time do you mind if I ask a few more questions Sinuhe?”

 

Egyptian: " Go."

 

 

Randy: "Obvoiusly you’ve beaten a lot of big names over the years. Bruce Lee, Pete Doherty, Gomer Pyle, Henry Lucas and Sam Hall just to name a few. Which is the biggest victory in your career?

 

 

Egyptian: "When Sam Hall and I fought we knew that winner was going to be ranked as #1 P4P.

 

 

Randy: “You’ve also been on the losing end of some of those big fights losing close decisions to Otso Jokinen and Renan St. Juste two times and also losing your title in a close decision to current champion Merik Hunt. Which of those losses stung the most and if you could fight any of those guys again which one would it be?

 

Egyptian: "I think loosing that final round in that second fight vs Otso felt bad. I came so very close in that second time. It was split decision. And for some reason I could not land leg kick to save my life. 5/22 was horrible for me. All so first lost vs Renan was interesting.. We payed lot of cash to get rematch but for some reason Gutz told me to pull guard in clinch. That was not smart at all.. If I could choose I would go for Renan one more time.

 

 

Randy: “I’d love to see any of those fights. I want to thank you again for spending some time us and answering my questions as well as previewing this great card with me. Come again sometime will ya?”

 

 

Egyptian: "I would love to come back."

 

 

Randy: “This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution’s countdown previews for Evolution 25 ‘Hirvonen vs. McDermot 2’ Good night everybody!”

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