Cobra7 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 IFC MW15 - Preview by Eric Leoanrd (14 January 18 - King Theatre, Los Angeles) This event looks to be yet another exciting show for us all to witness together. As a spectator I will be on the edge of my seat with the rest of you and I expect to see a night full of ups, downs, and everything in between. As a person new to the organization I was very interested in the fact this organization was originally open weight and had only recently switched into having three separate weight classes and one newcomers open class. Being the curious cat that I am I had to ask the owner why he decided on this three class division and if he would ever consider going to the more normal delineation of weight classes. His answer was Originally it just made sense to me after seeing new orgs struggle and fall trying to spread themselves too thin. Divisions with three or four fighters in it seemed pointless and so I decided to just go with a one division open weight gimmick and to be honest, if was a dream to run that way. I decided to split it into three as I was getting the impression that the majority of those signed here enjoyed it in spite of the gimmick and not because of it. That and I think it was discouraging a lot of the lighter weight fighters from joining and the org was getting a bit top heavy so to speak. Splitting into three divisions has already made matchmaking more difficult so I can't see myself splitting it further to be honest. Not anytime soon at least. Great answer, anyone planning to run a new organization ought to pay attention as an organization that has made it this far and is ranked second in Los Angeles speaks for itself in how effective this management style is. Prelims Fight 1 - Heavyweight Division (3-3, 186 lbs) Paul Tapout Walker VS (2-1, 205 lbs) Jammu Seta Walker as a fighter has always gone into the octagon with the sole purpose of utilizing his jiu jitsu skills to come away with a submission victory. The problem is that he has very poor skills in other areas making it difficult for him to get the fight onto the ground unless his opponent wants the same thing. In his losses his weak stand up gets abused by fighters, and in every one of his victories his opponent took him down and was then finished by submission while Walker was on his back. Walker has a disappointing 1-3 record in the IFC and will hope to improve his track record within the IFC and hopefully start to rise within the rankings. Seta debuted as an MMA fighter in the QFC with submission victory, but then participated in the TWGC world championship qualifiers where he was knocked out of the tournament in the second qualifier round by the fighter who would go on to win the whole tournament. After the two fight stint in the TWGC Seta came back to the MMA world won yet another QFC fight and then signed with the IFC. In his IFC debut he had a poor showing and lost via knockout in the first round. He will look to redeem himself against a fellow grappler in this one. Prediction: This fight will seem almost like a TWGC showdown with both these fighters having poor stand up, but really strong grappling. Seta definitely has the wrestling advantage and should be able to get the fight to the ground on his terms. However, Walker has the Jiu Jitsu to go toe to toe with Seta once the fight gets to the ground. Its anyones guess as to who will win, but one only has to look as far as their records to know this one wont go to decision. In the nine fights these two fighters are involved in, only one ended in a decision. Winner: Paul Tapout Walker Walker has never lost to an opponent on the ground. It is hard to vote against a guy when he is undefeated in a fight that has any grappling against an opponent who relies on grappling for his victories. Fight 2 - Heavyweight Division (7-8-1, 245 lbs) Maddox Hitman Wood VS (2-1, 255 lbs) Vinnie Sixx Wood has been put through the ringer participating in 16 fights in 5 different organizations throughout his career. He has taken a lot of beatings throughout his career having lost by (T)KO 7 times and even in his victories he took some abuse of which his fight against Matej Batinic is a clear example as within that victory he submitted his opponent while rocked! You can never count this Muay Thai Jiu Jitsu out of any fight, because you never know what he can do. Matching up against the wily vet we have Vinnie Sixx. He is also participating in the IFC for the first time coming from two fight stint in the TRFC. He has the unfortunate (especially for a boxer) quality of cutting easily, but his boxing technique more than makes up for it. He is a textbook boxer who uses his Sensational boxing technique to punish opponents from a distance while trying to take a minimum of hits from his opponents. Prediction: This fight is yet another example of Muay Thai versus boxing in the ages old rivalry between the two premier forms of stand up combat in the MMA world. Wood has five times as many fights as his opponent and will look to use this experience to earn the victory against his younger opponent. Sixx on the other hand will have to avoid closing with his opponent and letting him try to use elbows or knees to attack his weakness to cutting strikes. Winner: Vinnie Sixx Sixx is an extremely strong boxer and his opponent Wood has lost to worse boxers than Sixx thus I see it as a victory for Sixx maybe even within the first round. Undercard Fight 3 - Heavyweight Division (7-6, 210 lbs) Chong The Star Fish Tay VS (1-4, 210 lbs) Joe The Alternate Average Tay has been around the IFC since the early days having taken part in IFC 2 for his MMA debut. He has fallen into the win one lose one over and over again repetition struggling to string together two wins in a row. He has lost in a number of ways, but all of his wins have been via (T)KO. Generally he likes to strike from range, but his ability to fight within the clinch is no joke either making him a very tricky opponent to try and fight on your feet. Average hasnt even lived up to his namesake as he has been well below average in his fights resulting in a 1-4 record. He is a jack of all trades and master of none trying to focus on his opponents weaknesses, but having very little success at it in large part it seems due to his inability to take a punch. Losing by (T)KO 4 times in 5 fights is not something to boast of and he will hope to try and get a fresh start in this fight and right the ship that may be sinking. Prediction: Average will need to abuse Tays weak point which appears to be his ground game using a combination of wrestling and Jiu Jitsu he just may be able to find an advantage in this fight. Tay on the other hand will look to do just what he always tries to do and keep this fight standing and punishing his opponent when he fails with takedown attempts. Winner: Chong The Star Fish Tay Its hard to have any confidence in Average with his record in the past, but he has a very real chance of coming away with a victory in this one through his wrestling game. However, I give the advantage to Tay and look for him to string together 2 victories in a row for the second time in his career. Fight 4 - Heavyweight Division (6-5, 300 lbs) Blitz 88 Krieg VS (5-9, 238 lbs) En Metal Priest Esch Krieg is an exceptional boxer with nothing else to speak of in terms of skill. It worked well for him in his QFC fights, but when fighting in an organization he hosts only a 1-3 record as people have managed to abuse his lack of anything other than boxing. However, if this guy can stay away from his opposition beware, because his boxing is so potent that if it was a contest of only boxing he would be contesting for a title. Esch is another one of those fighters who has spent his entire career in the IFC organization, making his debut in IFC 3. His fights tend to last into the third round and he has participated in 6 fights that came down to decision. He is hoping to turn around a tough 4 fight loss streak, within which he has still managed to maintain strong moral with his firm belief in himself. Like his opponent in this one he prefers to keep the fight on his feet, but he prefers to fight within the clinch instead of from a distance and therein lies the big contest of this fight. Prediction: This fight will almost for sure end up being a fight spent entirely standing as neither fighter has a strong showing on the ground. If this fight stays at a distance expect Krieg to absolutely demolish Esch, but if Esch can close Krieg will have a very poor showing of himself. Winner: En Metal Priest Esch Krieg has had trouble maintaining distance against opponents looking to close and Esch will be trying very strongly to close this fight into the clinch. This fight could easily go either way, but I give Esch the edge in this one. Fight 5 - Middleweight Division (7-7, 210 lbs) Chara Zaad VS (1-0, 185 lbs) Wrecking Ball I talked about an extremely skilled boxer previously in this card, but Zaad is even more impressive on his feet. This guy has the boxing to take out even those with the toughest of chins down in the first round as evidenced by his last fight against The Requis. Zaad has extremely precise boxing combined with very strong cardio which he uses to gradually whittle his opponents down until he sees an opening to finish them. However, as with most boxers he has proven somewhat susceptible to those looking to grapple with him. Ball, although only one fight into his career seems to have skills well beyond his experience. He uses an interesting combination of using his boxing skills to get an advantage which he then uses to get into the clinch, from which he takes his opponents down to the ground where he can use his wrestling to its fullest. This will be his first IFC fight and a victory here would go far in proving that he is here to stay. Prediction: While Zaad has proven poorly against grapplers, Wrecking Ball hasnt proven anything at all other than that he can win a QFC fight. This should make for an interesting fight as the veteran takes on the newcomer in a no holds barred fight to the finish. Winner: Wrecking Ball I give the advantage due to the aforementioned weakness to grappling that Zaad has shown in the past. Although Ball comes in untested his manager is not and I find it doubtful that he would accept a fight his fighter wasnt prepared for. Oh and by the way.....HE CAME IN LIKE A WREEEECKING BAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Fight 6 - Lightweight Division (4-3, 152 lbs) #15 Sirimongkol Niyotrong VS (8-6, 153 lbs) Crack Head Roks Niyotrong is a stellar example of a fighter who has turned his career around. He started out in the IFC with three straight losses, but has since turned it around achieving four straight victories via decision. He appears to be extremely strong, but little of this strength finds its way into his actual knockout power. However, due to his own shortcomings he learned from those three defeats and has since evolved into a very controlling fighter who may not knock you out, but will render all your efforts useless by controlling you from the clinch and leaving you little opening to capitalize on. Head is the opposite of his opponent as he started out his career in the IFC with three straight victories and has since slipped into a three fight losing streak all via (T)KO. He is a very dangerous fighter on the ground having earned himself sub of the night honors three times in his career utilizing his purple belt in BJJ. While he wins most of his fights via submission he is more of an all-round fighter as all of his skill sets are around the same quality. He has definitely seemed to have troubles taking shots in his recent fights and either needs to get better at ducking blows or at least using his knockout power to trade back in spectacular form. Prediction: One of these fighters is looking to cement his place in the lightweight rankings while the other is trying to make his way back into them. Niyotrong will need to keep this fight standing to come away with the victory while Head will look to bring it to the ground so he can bring his superior Jiu Jitsu to bear. Winner: Sirimongkol Niyotrong Normally I would give the advantage to the BJJ fighter in a fight against the clinch as he can pull guard. However, in this one I give the advantage to Niyotrong as I believe he wont even need to use the clinch just as he showed in his fight against Zoran Sablic in the past, the clinch is a mean to an ends if he thinks boxing gives him a better chance at victory he will use it to dominate a fight and get the decision victory in that way. Main Card Fight 7 - Heavyweight Division (8-8, 281 lbs) The Red Ribbon Armys Android Seventeen VS (4-3, 266 lbs) The Big Daddy Requis Seventeen has had a lot of quick finishes and has also been on the receiving end of some quick finishes. One of which was in his last fight where he knocked out En Esch in 28 seconds and received knockout of the night honors for the second time in his career. Between the day of that fight and now he dropped from 15th in the rankings and will be looking to take that spot back with an impressive showing here. Requis may have found himself on those rankings himself if he had not lost his debut fight in the IFC to Chara Zaad who fights earlier on this card. He looked very impressive in his tenure with the TRFC and will hope to show that his skills within that organization transfer over to the IFC. His Superb wrestling is overshadowed only by his exceptional boxing making him a fighter who is both difficult to takedown and frightening to clinch with as you have to watch out for his ability to take you down from the clinch if necessary. Prediction: Both fighters have very good boxing and are looking to put on a show in order to hopefully make it into the lightweight top 15 rankings. Winner: The Big Daddy Requis Requis has the advantage in boxing and wrestling going into this one and after losing to an even boxer in Zaad he gets to fight a worse boxer in Seventeen and hope to redeem himself. Fight 8 - Lightweight Division (8-7, 150 lbs) #13 Daniel The Unsanitary Sainty VS (4-1, 135 lbs) #14 Gosha Lopez Sainty has shown himself to be a solid fighter, but since he got into the higher rankings and has fought tougher opponents he has been winning one and losing one unable to rise in the rankings further. This will be only his second fight since switching into the 3 division format and he will hope to show that his first fight since the switch was merely a blip and he still belongs in the rankings for the division. Lopez is coming off of his first ever loss and we will see how badly that loss affected him in this one. He has never failed to finish an opponent managing 3 submission victories and 1 (T)KO. His loss came about, because he failed takedown after takedown and just couldnt seem to find his bearing in the octagon eventually losing consciousness to an uppercut late in the third round. He has strong skills in all aspects, but has shown exceptional boxing skills and a brown belt make for a very strong combination. Prediction: Both of these fighters have earned their place within the rankings, but Sainty has struggled to rise while Lopez being relatively new to the IFC hopes to show that his hiccup in his last fight was nothing, but a speed bump on his way to the top in the rankings. Winner: Gosha Lopez Lopez has proven himself, in a relatively short time period, as a very good fighter on the ground and he is superior to his opponent in every aspect of the game other than Jiu Jitsu of which is even with him. Its hard to see Sainty pulling off a victory against this, but you never know in the world of MMA. Co-Main Event - Middleweight Division (5-0, 192 lbs) #11 Ispa Murhaa VS (9-7, 180 lbs) Alexander Porto Murhaa burst into the IFC scene in November and has amassed 4 straight victories since, starting off with a couple decision victories and then finishing his next two opponents. His last fight especially stood out, because he finished it with a flying knee something you dont see often. He is a true blue striker with remarkable boxing and muay thai even matching these with exceptional wrestling. Dont expect to stand toe to toe with this guy and walk away from it. Porto started his career on the island where he lost in the second round of the tournament. Since then he has fought twice in the IFC achieving one victory and one loss. He tries to spend a majority of all of his fights in the clinch controlling his opponents and punishing them with dirty boxing until either getting the knock out, which he has done in 8 of his 9 victories. When this fighter is involved you can expect a finish whether he loses or wins he has only gone to the judges scorecards once in 16 career fights. Prediction: Murhaa looks to continue his rise in the IFC as he makes his first fight since the open weight was turned into three separate divisions. Porto on the other hand wants to show that an island fighter come back to the mainland is just as impressive as those raised on the main land. Winner: Ispa Murhaa This guy is undefeated for a reason and I expect him to continue his winning streak against a fighter weaker in just about every way. However, if this fight goes into the clinch you cant completely count Porto out of it. Main Event - Middleweight Division Title (21-2, 220 lbs) Champion Light Son Of Heavyweight VS (8-0, 198 lbs) #2 Roman The Pain Train Divac And now for the moment you have all been waiting for! This is the first event Ive written for in which a belt may or may not change hands and Im excited for it! Coming into this event I decided to ask the organizer his thoughts on this match as we have an undefeated fighter making his IFC debut in Divac versus the man who finally dethroned Mew Choo in Heavyweight. I also asked why he decided to give Divac a title shot in his debut fight with the organization. He had this to say I gave Divac the shot at the title as it made the most sense at the time and still does currently. He's undefeated and on an eight fight win streak plus a former champion at 185 elsewhere and relatively well hyped. As to whether Heavyweight can win I think absolutely yes! He's the champ and his manager is ranked in the Top 10 so obviously knows a thing or two about the game. It's anybodys fight though and I'd hate to have to make a prediction. Now lets get onto the fighters themselves. Heavyweight in his 23 fight career has only lost twice once in a title fight on the island and for a second time in his IFC debut after leaving the island. Ultimately in the end this man was the best fighter at the 205 weight class from the island and as such can not be underestimated. You cant help, but respect a man with an insane 21 (T)KO victories in 23 fights. He has only lost via submission showing that if you can get him to the ground you may have a shot at beating him, but getting him to the ground through his Wonderful wrestling is a difficult prospect. On the other side we have Divac making his IFC debut as an undefeated fighter having fought in the TRFC and holding a belt in the Sydney FC. He has also won all of his fights via (T)KO, however he prefers to do so from the clinch unlike his opponent. Although he seems to take quite a few shots he always gives as good as he gets and his ability to take a punch is almost Rocky Balboa level and going against a fighter managed by Ivan Drago this may prove necessary to achieve the victory. Prediction: Just as Winterbottom said in his interview this is one of those fights that no matter who you pick people would find it hard to argue against that man winning. Both are powerful fighters who look to duke it out on their feet, and both have extremely impressive records and obviously belong in a title fight. Who will win is in the air and It will be an exciting fight that if you blink you may miss the finish as both of these men could end it in a flash. Winner: Light Son of Heavyweight Ive got to give the edge to Heavyweight in this one, because he has shown that despite his abysmal muay thai he can still fight from the clinch with the best of them and his opponent relies on the clinch heavily for his wins. These fights speak for themselves there is nothing more I can say to hype this event any more than the men fighting do by sheer mettle. Once again thanks to Winterbottom for giving me the opportunity to write for this amazing organization and thanks to all of you for reading my preview. Good luck to those participating and enjoy the show! -Eric Leoanrd Android with the win just as I knew would happen. He was in a storm of losses but has not weathered the storm and is on a 2W streak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club XXXVIII - Event Preview (17th February 2018 – King Theatre, Los Angeles) Main Card Main Event – Lightweight Division (#5) Mister Island (9-5, 145lbs) vs. (#2) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-1, 165lbs) Our main event of the evening will serve as a lightweight title eliminator of sorts with Tzwrtzos Peidis very likely to be given the nod should he be triumphant tonight against recent signing Mister Island. Tzwrtzos Peidis hasn’t been in the IFC very long but after a successful debut against Wolfgang Lee Roth in which he knocked out the IFC veteran in a little over a minute, he has emerged as a bonafide contender to the new crowned lightweight title. With a record of 6-1 and all six by TKO or knockout, Peidis has earned himself a reputation as a heavy hitter. Combined with his rock of a chin and you have yourself a fighter that looks very tough to beat. Attempting to spoil the party for Peidis and get off to a big start himself is former Island fighter and champion Mister Island who comes to the IFC with a winning record of 9-5. During his time on the Island, Mister Island managed to capture the Island Fight Club bantamweight title and successfully defend it on one occasion before dropping it during his second defence. Though he would claw his way back into contention again on two occasions he was never able to regain his belt. None the less, Mister Island had a respectable showing in the end of season tournament making it to the third round before being eliminated and finished the season with a very decent record of 9-4. Since that time he has fought once on the main land but found himself matched against a much more experienced fighter and lost by a fourth round submission. This fight looks very much like a classic striker versus grappler match up with Peidis’ boxing going against Island’s BJJ brown belt and strong wrestling. Both are extremely competent in their respected fields and both have very high percentages of finishes. Peidis will be the bigger man and will weigh some twenty pounds more on the day and this will no doubt put some extra power behind those already dangerous fists of his. On form alone Peidis looks like a solid bet but with wrestling ability slightly below that of Mister Island’s this fight could end up being a very difficult one for him. If this fight hits the ground there is absolutely no question that Island will get the submission finish sooner rather than later but with a potential title shot riding on the result of this fight we expect Peidis to be fully motivated and at his best. Co-Main Event – Middleweight Division “Corpse Making Cowboy” Don Joe (8-5, 190lbs) vs. (#10) Terry Bogard (6-4, 179lbs) Our Co-Main event of the evening could be a potential fight of the night as two warriors known for their stand up skills go head to head. Don Joe has struggled badly of late and his recent poor run of three straight losses has seen him fall outside the Top 15 for the first time since entering any IFC rankings. For his first fight in the new middleweight division he faced up and coming Schmorgen Biscuit and though he managed to survive into the second round it was a one sided beating that he will want to quickly forget. Tonight he takes on young striker Terry Bogard and will likely feel more at home as the fight is not expected to hit the ground. Terry Bogard has been a little up and down over the past few fights having alternated wins and losses for his last four. In his last fight he was once again caught out by his lack of grappling and submission defence as he dropped a first round loss to Jon Ubereem. His fourth loss overall and something of a major concern as an otherwise talented prospect, Bogard is unlikely to ever truly challenge for the title until he addresses this glaring weakness. Though Bogard isn’t in the greatest form he has still not dropped as low as Don Joe and due to that will be considered the heavy favourite going into this fight. Joe has taken out some very good fighters during his time here but that little run was over three months ago and this is a different time. Fight 8 – Heavyweight Division (#12) Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes (9-7, 264lbs) vs. (#15) Randall “Natural” Couture (8-3, 233lbs) Competition in the heavyweight division next and two ranked fighters looking to move up into the power rankings. IFC Hall of Famer and first ever IFC champion Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes makes his return to the cage after suffering his seventh career loss during his last outing. It was a big opportunity to take out a higher ranked fighter in Vincent Lemieux but, unfortunately for Hughes, he was caught with a massive right hand that ended the fight early in the first. With the loss, Hughes dropped to #12 and will now face a do or die test against #15 ranked Randall Couture. With a loss surely meaning eviction from the heavyweight rankings, Hughes will be under pressure to perform. Taking on the former champion is Randall Couture who made a successful debut against experienced boxer Vedran Stefanovic in his last fight. The win was Coutures eighth of his career and with it, a spot in the IFC Top 15 heavyweight rankings. Hughes matches up well against Couture on paper and technically is the better fighter everywhere except wrestling. Couture likes to fight in all ranges and Hughes should be able to hold his own should the fight hit the ground. Hughes too is capable in most area’s and has displayed a willingness to change tactics to suit different opponents but none of this matter’s if Hughes is unable to stop himself getting hit. Gone are the days that Hughes installed fear into the hearts of his opponents by the mere mention of his name as it’s become evident that his chin isn’t what it used to be and now that he is surrounded by fighters of similar size and stature that fact is going to be prayed upon mercilessly. There is no doubting the power that Hughes possess but unless he is the one dishing out the punishment he will struggle against Couture like he did in his last fight. Can the former champion turn it around or is this “Big Tex” final stand? Fight 7- New Blood Division (#10) Gyukosho “Fujizilla” Fujimoto (2-0, 250lbs) vs. Hank “Hill” Jones (3-2, 212lbs) Next up, a big fight for undefeated New Blood fighter Gyukosho Fujimoto who takes on an older Hank Jones who is coming to the end of his time in the division. Fujimoto makes his second appearance for the IFC after a successful debut in which he finished fellow newcomer Matthew De Barros by TKO late in the first round. With an early perfect record Fujimoto has moved into the New Blood Top 10 and could be on his way to building a solid title challenge. Hank Jones has progressed nicely since making professional debut in the IFC developmental New Blood division and his record currently stands at 3-2 overall. Jones has managed to look very good when winning though he has dropped a couple of fights to tough competition and this has ultimately kept him short of any title challenges. A competitive match up on paper with a Fujimoto seemingly holding the advantage in the stand up. Jones’ ground game has developed well and he holds a purple belt in BJJ which could be the key to any success in this fight if he can manage to bring the fight to the mat. Fujimoto will be the bookies favourite going into this with Jones’ form having blown a little hot and cold as of late. Undercard Fight 6 – Middleweight Division Pacer “The Turnip” Dalton (2-0, 220lbs) vs. Yoshihiro Sexyama (3-5, 190lbs) Next up one of my favourite fighters at this current time Pacer “The Turnip” Dalton taking on Japanese submission wrestler Yoshihiro Sexyama. Pacer Dalton, the wrestler out of Amish country, is definitely an acquired taste. With his wrestling skills falling just short of olympic levels and nothing much else except for a blue belt in BJJ, Dalton has so far managed to blanket his way to a 2-0 record and start making his way up the middleweight rankings and towards the more established fighters in the division. Tonight he’ll be facing a tricky match up in Sexyama who may well not be too worried about fighting off of his back. Yoshihiro Sexyama makes a quick return to the cage as he looks to keep active in the division and seek opportunities to climb the ladder. Coming into this fight off the back of a submission loss to terrifying prospect Yuri Bezmenov, Sexyama faces, for the second time in a row, a truly sensational level wrestler and will need to get things very right if he is to improve on his one win out of his last five. On paper Sexyama has all the tools to make this fight a difficult one for Dalton. He has a decent advantage in the stand up and possesses a good level of grappling himself. Dalton has so far managed to dominate his opponents with a combination of unstoppable takedown offence and a very control oriented top game once on the ground. This has worked well for him so far but it will be interesting to see how he will handle being in the guard of a superior jiu-jitsu fighter tonight. A difficult fight to predict. The head says that Sexyama will be threat off of his back but the heart says Dalton is going to ride the old school wrestling wave to another decisive unanimous decision win. Fight 5 – New Blood Division Duc Minh “Ram” Pham (5-2, 175lbs) vs. “The Unbreakable” Gideon Navarro (2-1, 182lbs) Our next fight features established New Blood fighter Duc Minh Pham taking on youngster Gideon Navarro who is will be making his second appearance for the org. Duc Minh Ram has so far performed well in the New Blood Division with a record of 4-1 but unfortunately to guarantee a shot at the title things have to go perfectly and a blip on the record of Ram suffered a couple of fights ago means that he is unlikely to have the time to make up for lost ground before turning twenty. Instead he might just have to make do with fighting for pride and making the best of the experienced gained during his remaining fights. Facing him tonight is youngster Gideon Navarro. Navarro came to the IFC with a record of 1-1 and made a successful debut last time out beating Jammu Seta by TKO in the first. He has now racked up two KO’s in two and looks to have made solid improvements in his training that will no doubt stand him in very good stead. Though it doesn’t always mean as much as it seems, Navarro’s improvements in his skills have seemingly overtaken that of Pham’s and so this looks like a very tough match up for the Vietnamese fighter. Pham does have experience on his side however and isn’t far behind Navarro in the stand up with his record of KO’s suggesting that he is more than capable of finishing fights. Overall however Navarro looks to be a solid bet going into this and with time on his side might feel extra motivated by the incentive of possible title glory Fight 4 – Lightweight Division Leon “Hands of Stone” Lentz (2-1, 161lbs) vs. Andy Bogard (5-7-1, 150lbs) A lightweight bout up next with Leon “Hands of Stone” Lentz taking on IFC veteran Andy Bogard. In his IFC debut, Leon Lentz made an aggressive showing against experienced youngster Soul Shadow but unfortunately suffered a TKO loss late in round 1. It was his first professional loss on record and tonight we get to see how well he has recovered from it. Facing him will be the experienced veteran Andy Bogard who is making his first appearance in the recently formed lightweight division. This drop to the new division will no doubt be a much welcomed change for Bogard as the natural flyweight has struggled badly against the bigger boys of the org and currently finds himself on a five fight losing streak and all by first round TKO’s. He won’t find any reprieve in terms of quality of opponent tonight but he will in terms of quantity. Lentz matches up favourably against Bogard in the stand up though Bogard is known to engage on his feet and has seemingly made some improvements with his Muay Thai. Bogard’s strength is in his jiu-jitsu but without the wrestling to aid him in getting the fight to the floor he might struggle in taking Lentz there. Lentz will have a little weight on Bogard which will only add to the impact of anything landed and coupled with Bogard’s atrociuous record of KO losses lately it’s absolutely essential that Bogard not get caught flat footed on his feet. Despite Bogard’s experience here, Lentz will go in as the solid favourite and, so long as he is able to stay away from the ground, is likely to pick up his third career finish. Fight 3 – Lightweight Division Ted “Tiger” Williams (3-0, 168lbs) vs. Bright “Quest” Heather (5-3, 139lbs) Next up, two fighters making their IFC debuts in the lightweight division with undefeated Ted “Tiger” Williams taking on Bright “Quest” Heather So far in Ted Williams’ short career he has managed to do everything perfectly. Jumping straight into professional org fighting, he battered his first opponent in Iron Fist Fighting League by KO in the first round and then moving over to the Tokyo Rage Fight Club in Tokyo wracked up another two victims both within the first minute of the first round. Now a perfect undefeated 3-0, Williams has arrived in the IFC and will most definitely have a few eyes upon him as he makes his debut. His first opponent is another IFC debutant Bright Heather. Heather has spent half of his time in the well regarded Global Coliseum org out of Las Vegas and managed to go a decent 2-2. Coupled with a 3-1 record in the QFC system Heather’s overall record stands at a winning 5-3. In terms of match up this looks to be another grappler versus striker bout with Ted Williams bringing the archetypal sprawl and brawl skill set that is so popular in MMA these days and Heather learning more towards the submission wrestling side of things. Heather has been around a little while now and does have some time in the game over Williams. Whether or not this will have any baring on the result only time will tell. Williams is a big lightweight and will be cutting quite a bit of weight to make the 155lb limit while Heather is not far off of being a natural bantamweight. Like most of these types of match ups it will simply come down to who gets in first. If Williams is given too much time and space in front of Heather it will be a short night whereas if Heather is able to get a quick take down he is unlikely to need much time getting past Williams ground defences. Overall, Williams is likely to be the favourite but it is not close to being a guarantee and Heather is very much in with a good chance here tonight Prelims Fight 2 – Middleweight Division Ophelius “Krampus” Ragnar (0-0, 222lbs) vs. Taivon “Mack-10” Arsett (1-2, 200lbs) Into the middleweight division we have two more newcomers to the IFC ranks. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Opehlius Ragnar will take on boxer Taivon Arsett. Ophelius Ragnar is a very interesting character. Having chosen to hole himself up in his camps gym for quite some time, Ragnar has now deemed himself ready to emerge and tonight makes his very first professional appearance in the cage. He looks to have a solid grasp of the striking fundamentals but it’s his submission skills that really sets him apart and unless I am mistaken, happens to be the very first black belt ever to have graced the IFC arena. With this in mind Ragnar is definitely bringing with him an air of excitement with many fans anticipating some very high level jiu-jitsu to come. On the other side of the cage will be Taivon Arsett who makes his debut in the IFC with a record of 1-2. Arsett made a huge splash for his very first bout when he took out his opponent with a slam KO. Seeing his potential he was signed to Front Street Fights in London but sadly after losing a three round decision the org closed and Arsett found himself without a home. Taking one last fight in the QFC, Arsett suffered a first round TKO loss before signing to the IFC and now will look to get back to the winning ways that started his career. Though Ragnar is possibly better in terms of overall skills this is still a very tricky fight for him as Arsett has a very solid sprawl and brawl base. A prediction is also made even more difficult by the fact that Ragnar has yet to make an appearance in the cage. Can he keep up with Arsett on the feet? Does he possess the means to get the fight to the floor? These are all questions that will need an answer and hopefully we will get them here tonight. Fight 1 – Middleweight Division Raheem “The Dream” Nazir (6-15, 210lbs) vs. Hanny “The Fist” Sledgehammer (0-2, 192lbs) Keeping in the Middleweight division and once more, two new fighters making their IFC debuts with us tonight. Rahaam “The Dream” Nazir takes on Hanny “The Fist” Sledgehammer. The IFC is home to all sorts of fighters with all sorts of differing motivations. Some are striving to reach their competitive potential whilst some take part purely for the love of the sport and recent signing Rahaam Nazir could most likely be categorised as one of the latter. Coming to the IFC with a wealth of experience in the cage, Nazir will be making his twenty-second professional fight and will look to pick up his seventh win overall. He has spent much of his career in the QFC but lately has been plying his trade with more established organisations. His opponent tonight is Hanny Sledgehammer who, though still looking for his first professional win after two bouts, is a young fighter with his career still ahead of himself. Sledgehammer is very much an all rounder and this has perhaps kneecapped his initial progress which is reflected in his two losses which have been by both KO and submission. This should be a very competitive fight with both fighters in with a very good chance of victory. Sledgehammer with the slight edge in striking, Nazir with the better wrestling. Both currently blue belts in BJJ. Will the young fighter from Denmark pick up his first win or will journeyman Nazir put another in the win column? Tonight we will find out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club - Official Rankings (18th February 2018) Lightweight (155lbs and under) #Champ (1) - Klaus Chugman (12-2, W,W,W,W,W, 130lbs #1 (5) Mister Island (10-5, W,L,L,W,W, 145lbs) #2 (NE) Uri Geller (20-5, L,L,W,W,W, 158lbs) #3 (1) Luiz Correia Azevedo (12-5, L,W,W,W,W, 148lbs) #4 (3) Bruce Mafaking (15-4, L,L,L,W,W, 164lbs) #5 (4) Mike Van Rijn (11-5, L,W,W,L,W, 163lbs) #6 (6) Brock Sampson (6-3, W,L,L,W,W, 168lbs) #7 (2) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-2, L,W,W,L,W, 165lbs) #8 (7) Maximilian Kirby (4-0, W,W,W,W, 165lbs) #9 (8) Soul Shadow (5-3, W,W,L,W,L, 162lbs) #10 (13) Daniel Sainty (9-7,W,L,W,L,W, 150lbs) #11 (9) Wolfgang Lee Roth (7-5, L,W,L,L,W, 154lbs) #12 (10) Evgeni Lomachenko (8-7,W,L,L,W,L, 152lbs) #13 (11) Cj McGergor (5-1, W,W,L,W,W, 156lbs) #14 (12) Simon Jensen (9-4, L,W,W,W,W, 162lbs) #15 (15) Sirimongkol Niyotrong (5-3, W,W,W,W,W, 152lbs) Middleweight (155lbs to 205lbs) #Champ (2) Roman Divac (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 198lbs) #1 (Ch) - Light Heavyweight (21-3, L,W,L,W,W, 220lbs) #2 (1) Mew Choo (11-1, L,W,W,W,W, 191lbs) #3 (3) Brooklyn Brawler (10-3, W,W,L,W,W, 190lbs) #4 (4) Luca Brasa lii (8-3, W,L,W,W,W, 205lbs) #5 (5) Big Murha (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 215lbs) #6 (6) Jon Ubereem (13-6, W,L,W,L,W, 218lbs) #7 (10) Terry Bogard (7-4, W,L,W,L,W, 179lbs) #8 (11) Ispa Murhaa (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 192lbs) #9 (8) Ribociclib Kisqali (8-1, L,W,W,W,W, 220lbs) #10 (7) Fay Gott (6-1, W,W,W,W,W, 190lbs) #11 (9) Steven Kennedy (9-8, L,W,L,W,L, 178lbs) #12 (12) Jaxson Wilder (7-3, W,L,L,W,L, 205lbs) #13 (13) Bea Mason (8-4, W,W,W,W,L, 175lbs) #14 (NE) Damien OQuinn (9-3, W,W,W,W,L, 216lbs) #15 (NE) Yuri Bezmenov (4-0, W,W,W,W, 207lbs) New Blood (for 18-19 year olds, Open Weight under 265lbs) #Champion - Vacant #1 (1) Tan Han Tuong (5-1, W,W,W,W,L, 271lbs) #2 (2) Micky Kirby (4-1, W,L,W,W,W, 230lbs) #3 (10) Gyukosho Fujimoto (3-0, W,W,W, 250lbs) #4 (4) Terry Crew (4-2, W,L,W,W,L, 200lbs) #5 (5) Matteo Boretti (3-0, W,W,W, 205lbs) #6 (3) Kenny Tcusuk (3-4, W,L,W,W,L, 265lbs) #7 (6) Xing Pugberg (4-2, L,W,W,L,W, 130lbs) #8 (7) Armel Vidal (3-0, W,W,W, 146lbs) #9 (8) Dai Zexi (3-0, W,W,W, 220lbs) #10 (9) Anton Touchard (5-1, W,L,W,W,W, 168lbs) Heavyweight (205lbs and over) #Champ (Ch) Iain Tower (8-0, W,W,W,W,W, 275lbs) #1 (1) Japa Koniu (7-1, W,W,W,W,L, 235lbs) #2 (2) Steve Butabi (8-1, W,W,L,W,W, 290lbs) #3 (3) Super Heavyweight (17-3, L,W,W,W,W, 280lbs) #4 (4) Grigori Rasputin (16-2, L,W,W,W,W, 241lbs) #5 (5) Vincent Lemieux (10-5, W,L,W,W,W, 270lbs) #6 (6) Vinicio Serpico (6-2, W,L,W,L,W, 260lbs) #7 (7) Schmorgen Biscuit (9-4, W,L,W,W,W, 222lbs) #8 (8) Jack Dawson (6-2, W,W,L,W,L, 270lbs) #9 (9) Hamish McTavish (6-3, W,L,W,W,W, 292lbs) #10 (10) Vladimir Impaler (7-2, W,W,W,W,L, 270lbs) #11 (RE) Android Seventeen (9-8, W,W,L,L,L, 280lbs) #12 (15) Randall Couture (9-3, W,W,L,W,L, 233lbs) #13 (13) Naiki Nekele (8-4, W,L,W,W,L, 268lbs) #14 (14) Greg Bell (7-9, L,W,W,L,L, 300lbs) #15 (12) Ricky Hughes (9-8, L,L,W,L,L, 264lbs) **Rankings are determined by hype/pop, p4p rank, win/loss record and a few company internal criteria. Rankings can and will change frequently after each event** 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club – Mid Week 16 - Preview 21st February 2018 – King Theatre, Los Angeles Main Card Main Event – Heavyweight Division (#2) “Big” Steve Butabi (8-1, 290lbs) vs. (#3) Super “Dominator” Heavyweight (17-3, 280lbs) Headlining tonight we have a big fight in the Heavyweight division with former #1 contenders in “Big” Steve Butabi and Super “Dominator” Heavyweight going head to head. Steve Butabi returns to the IFC cage after showcasing his devastating KO power against granite chinned Greg “The Gronk” Bell in his last fight. In that fight Butabi, was able to shrug off Bell’s takedown attempts and absolutely hammered the grappler with deadly accurate shots to the head and body and ended the fight early just after the first minute of the first round. It was Butabi’s second win in a row after losing his hard earned title shot against Mew Choo and it has gone to show just how much it means to Butabi to get another crack at it with his recent impressive form. Another win tonight would all but guarantee that desire but first he must get past the man who has made his name beating up on big strong fighters like Butabi on the Island. Super Heavyweight returns to the IFC after unsuccessfully competing for the Heavyweight title against undefeated Iain Tower. Though it wasn’t in anyway a good fight for S.Heavyweight it did go a very long way to show just how tough of a fighter he is as he took the heavyweight phenom Tower longer than his usual one round to get the job done. Previous to that fight, S.Heavyweight had terrorised the Island super-heavyweight scene and picked up his first win on mainland sole with a solid KO victory over Don Joe in his IFC debut. This is a fight that you dare not miss. Both fighters have exceptionally frightening records for finishes and both generally tend to get the job done quickly. Butabi does his best work on the outside and though is capable in the clinch either chooses to stay at range or simply just hasn’t had the time to showcase what he is truly capable of in that area. S.Heavyweight on the other hand is a proven clinch monster but has also his fair share of wins stemming from his heavy accurate hands at striking distance. Neither are likely to want this fight on the ground so we can assume that this fight will be won and lost on the feet. S.Heavyweight has shown some serious durability in his last fight and his ability to soak up damage will no doubt come in handy tonight as Butabi has rarely had trouble destroying what he hits. This is a massive fight for Butabi as has already been mentioned a victory will serve to earn him another shot at the title. S.Heavyweight will not be under the same pressure and will simply be looking to put the failure of his own previous title attempt behind him with a big performance tonight. The bookies have S.Heavyweight as the favourite going into this fight citing his proven record on the Island as the main factor but also a more dominant win over a recent mutaul opponent in Don Joe. Co-Main Event – Middleweight Division (#2) Mew Choo (11-1, 191lbs) vs. (#6) Jon “Enjoy Coke” Ubereem (13-6, 218lbs) The Iron Man Fight Club’s most prolific fighter and current Hall of Famer Mew Choo makes his return to the cage after suffering his first ever professional loss and the failure to capture the middleweight crown after relinquishing his former Open Weight championship belt to do so. He’ll be taking on #6 ranked Jon Ubereem who made quite a splash in his IFC debut when he took out young prospect Terry Bogard with a first round submission. Against Light Heavyweight for the then vacant Middleweight title, Mew Choo, for the first time in his career, was unable to turn the tide and pick up the win. He struggled to land his combinations against his heavier opponent and was punished by L.Heavyweight’s tight striking game who kept things simply and tidy and eventually was caught out by a combination himself midway through round two. It was the first time we have ever seen Mew Choo on the receiving end of loss and now all eyes will be on the former champion to see just how well he deals with that loss. For his return fight he’ll face another former Island fighter and champion and a rare match up against an acomplished submission wrestler Jon Ubereem. Ubereem, who brings with him a record of 13-6, instantly broke into the IFC middleweight top ten after taking out well regarded prospect Terry Bogard with a dominant ground performance ending with a first round submission. It was a perfect start in the IFC for the unfancied grappler and tonight he’ll have the opportunity to not only gauge his potential in the division against a former champion in Mew Choo but to also take a big step closer to the title himself. This is an interesting fight in that Mew Choo hasn’t faced many grapplers in his career and whenever fights have hit the floor, Choo has usually been favoured in that department. On his occasion the roles are reversed with Ubereem’s slight edge in the wrestling meaning that Choo would probably prefer to be on his feet for the duration. Ubereem has a good finish rate that leans unsurprisigly towards submissions where as Choo is evenly split between KO’s and submissions. Ubereem will be looking to get the fight on the ground as a matter of urgency as though he is no novice on the feet, his chin has let him down on several occasions and this is something Choo might hope to exploit. It’s also been highlighted by those in Ubereem’s camp that his mind hasn’t been quite right for a little while now and even a big win in his debut hasn’t been enough to keep him motivated. An interesting fight and a big opportunity for an unfancied Ubereem but also a very tough one as Choo, though has now shown he is beatable, is very capable in all the same areas and even better in the stand up. The oddsmakers have Choo as the favourite in this one and pick him to get back to winning ways. Fight 8 – Heavyweight Division (#5) Vincent Lemieux (10-5, 270lbs) vs. (#6) Vinicio “Il Serpente Ubriaco” Serpico (2-0, 260lbs) Another big fight in the heavyweight division and one that will huge repercussions in the overall rankings. Heavy hitting Vincent Lemieux, fresh off his demolition of former champion Ricky Hughes welcomes former heavyweight KT champion Vinicio “Il Serpente Ubriaco” Serpico to the IFC. Though Vincent Lemieux’s 10-5 record doesn’t look to be anything special, if you care to look a little closer you will see that four of those loses occurred at the start of his career and since that time Lemieux went undefeated in nine before a KO loss to Terry Bogard put a halt to that streak. Lemieux put that loss behind him however with a very impressive KO win over Ricky Hughes that earned him KO of the night. His opponent tonight, though making only his third appearance under MMA rules, will not likely be cowed by Lemieux’s impressive form as he has gained valuable experience in the striking arts and forged his name predominately in the KT scene where he managed a solid 4-2 record. Now having transitioned into MMA, Serpico has looked no less impressive early on after navigating his way to a two fight win streak both by unanimous decisions. This is a fight that might have Lemiuex concerned as his most recent loss was also to a former KT fighter turned to MMA. Serpico has without a doubt the technical ability on the feet and with his rock of a chin might have the durabilty to absorb Lemieux’s ferocious KO power long enough to put his all round striking ability to good use. Of course this is no easy feat as Lemieux’s record for finishes stands at 100% in all his victories but Serpico has yet to be stopped and it will be very interesting to see just how he will approach the challenge the Lemiuex provides. A big fight for both fighters and for the division as a whole as the #5 and #6 ranked fighters go head to head. This fight has massive potential for “of the night” honours and quite frankly picking a winner seems pointless. Fight 7 – Heavyweight Division Maurice “The MoleMan Keith” Stone (9-4, 265lbs) vs. Urban “Brutus” Go Bucks (3-1, 255lbs) Next up, a heavyweight bout featuring newcomer Maurice Stone taking on youngster Urban Go Bucks. Maurice Stone comes to us with a decent record of 9-4 though most of his career has been spent fighting in the QFC system. He did have a successful spell at the Ultimate Violence org out of Hilo where he managed to pick up their heavyweight title and defend it once before dropping it in his last fight there. Since losing that title, Stone’s form dropped considerable which lead him to a three fight losing streak though he has just managed to put a stop to that with a solid first round submission win in his last fight. Welcoming Stone tonight is Urban Go Bucks who since beginning his professional career in the IFC has managed to forge a 3-1 record and is currently on a two fight win streak. Stone has an extremely impressive level of submission ability and has so far managed to take home eight victories by submission. While this isn’t necessarily Go Buck’s weakness is definitely isn’t an area that he will want to duke it out and will no doubt be doing his very best to keep the fight standing where he can best utilise his best assets which is of course his striking. Stone could match Go Bucks in the boxing but would likely get overwhelmed by Go Bucks wonderful Muay Thai ability. Many consider the challenge that Stone will have in getting the fight to the floor before getting tagged with a heavy shot to be a rather large one. Each of Stone’s four losses have been by KO which points to the rather obvious fact that he needs to get this fight on the floor quickly. If he can do that then the odds would definitely swing in his favour but as the fight starts standing Go Bucks will be the slight favourite going into this one Undercard Fight 6 – Heavyweight Division Vedran “Blondebeard” Stefanovic (4-5, 260lbs) vs. “The Phenomenal” Orgasmic Bliss (2-4, 300lbs) Keeping with the heavyweight division we have a pure striker versus grappler match up with do or die Boxer Vedran Stefanovic taking on submission wrestler Orgasmic Bliss. Vedran Stefanovic will be making his seventh appearance for the IFC tonight but up to now has only managed to pick up a disappointing two wins out of six. The root of the problem seems to stem from a combination of missed punches and early signs of a weakening chin but there is no doubting the big Serbian’s power and so, with the power to correct one of the two, there is always a chance for Stefanovic in any match up. His opponent Orgasmic Bliss has also struggled of late after a promising start to his IFC career. Bliss, the big three hundred pound grappling monster from Arundel, USA became involved in MMA much later than the vast majority of those currently signed and in truth, though poor, his record is actually decent for the competition he has faced. This fight will be won and lost in the wrestling. Stefanovic has a classic boxing sprawl and brawl style and will need very much to keep this fight on it’s feet for as long as possible. Bliss will be looking for one thing and that is to get in and get the fight to the floor without taking any damage. Any time spent in the others domain will only bring bad results for the other Both fighters are suffering from poor form and would no doubt love to get back to winning ways with a victory over the other. A clear winner is difficult to predict but one could definitely wager that this fight will be settled in the first round and probably within the first minute or so. Fight 5 – Middleweight Division Dex “The Assassin” Arial (6-6, 176lbs) vs. Kung Le (3-5, 172lbs) Next up we move to the middleweight division and newcomer Dex “The Assassin” Arial will be making his IFC debut and he’ll be taking on Kung Le who will be looking to make amends for his own failed debut during his last fight. Dex Arial is an experienced journeyman who has spent the majority of his career in Montreal fighting for the Canadian Extreme Fighting Championship where he managed where he managed to go an even 5-5. Arial is predominately a submission wrestler and his style could probably best be described as “old school” in that he likes to use strong wrestling to get the fight to the floor and then finish his opponent with ground and pound. With a overall record of 6-6 Arial is clearly capable on his day and in twelve fights has only been finished on three occasions. You could almost get the impression the Arial is better than his record suggest but now in the IFC we will get to see whether that is true. Standing across the cage from him tonight will be Vietnamese striker Kung Le. Le had a tough time in his IFC debut when he lost by first round submission to Bea Mason. Previous to that he had been fighting in the GAMMA Rising Stars org in New York where he could only manage a lowly 2-4 record. Le is currently in the process of cutting weight so that he can move down to the lightweight division so tonight will most likely be his last fighting in this weight division. This is a very intriguing match up to me as neither fighter truly excels at any one discipline despite obviously fitting into either striker or grappler categories. As previously mentioned Arial would likely prefer to take this fight to the floor and finish Le there whilst Le really is looking to fight everywhere. Both fighters are in similar form with both having alternated wins with loses during their last five. Both are susceptible to the others strong points and both are of similar size and weight. Arial might be considered the betting favourite going into this one as Le truly is a wild card and you just never know what you’re going to get Fight 4 – Lightweight Division Jaddie “The Future” Defensor IV (2-1, 155lbs) vs. Adlan Aukhadov (0-1, 160lbs) Next up in the lightweight division we have another debutante in Jaddie “The Future” Defensor IV and he’ll be taking on Adlan Aukhadov who will be making his second appearance for the IFC. Jaddie Defensor IV is an exciting young striker hailing from the Philippines who so far has managed to win two out of his first three contests. Though it is still early days for Jaddie, the future looks bright for this young man as he brings his brand of flashy kicks and punches into the IFC. Taking him on tonight is Adlan Aukhadov who fell short in his first ever fight last time out when he lost to CJ McGregor in just 41 seconds. There wasn’t much of a performance in which to judge him on that occasion but you can bet that he will be keen to on from that fight. Both fighters like to throw down on the feet and this fight is unlikely to be any different. Defensor really likes to mix up his strikes where as we have only seen some kicks form Aukhadov so far. Defensor has the better record and has yet to be beaten on his feet. Aukhadov is still learning the ropes and will face a tough time against the newcomer tonight and will need to be very careful if he isn’t to suffer his second KO loss in a row. Fight 3 – New Blood Division “I Weigh” One Fortytwo (2-4, 142lbs) vs. Morris Kirby (1-1, 142lbs) Next up, technically a New Blood division match up but as both fighters have recently turned twenty this could just as easily be considered a lightweight bout. First up is “I weigh” One Fortytwo who has already given his intention to stay with the IFC and move down into the lightweight ranks. Fortytwo made his pro debut here when he took part in the first ever IFC New Blood Tournament. Though he was eliminated in the first round, Fortytwo persevered and has gone on to a slightly underwhelming 2-4 record but considering he is a striker in an openweight division, things could have been a lot worse. His opponent Morris Kirby will also be making his final appearance in the New Blood Division but as of this writing, his future is as yet unknown. Morris, from famous Kirby family, arrived late in the IFC and with a record of 1-0. In his debut here he dropped a three round unanimous decision loss to kickboxer Patrick Thompson but quite frankly the decision could have gone either way. Now Kirby will make his final appearance in the division and will want to see if he can go out with a bang. This is an interesting match up in that both fighters weigh, you guessed it, 142lbs though there is a stark difference in stature as Fortytwo will tower over Kirby by around two feet. Kirby is a remarkable wrestler so this may be to his advantage when going for takedowns. Fortytwo has picked up a couple of TKO victories along his way so he is definitely capable when he gets going but it’s likely that he will need to be sharpening his ground skills for this one as, aside from stopping the fight early with a flash KO, this fight is likely to hit the floor and Fortytwo is likely to be fighting off of his back. A classic grappler versus striker match up in which the grappler comes from a family of proven fighters. This will be a very tough fight for One Fortytwo to win and he will need to be at his very best to squeak out a win here. The oddsmakers have Kirby as the favourite with a ground and pound TKO likely on the cards. Prelims Fight 2 – New Blood Division Victor “Sabertooth” Creed (1-0, 190lbs) vs. Thor “Thunder” God (0-0, 220lbs) Kicking off the prelims we have two new youngsters making their debuts in the New Blood division with Victor “Sabertooth” Creed taking on Thor “Thunder” God. Creed has already given us an inkling of what we can expect from him after watching his first professional bout in the QFC where he was able to take down his opponent with ease and finish the fight by submission in little under three minutes. Tonight he’ll be facing none other than the God of thunder Thor who will be making his very first appearance in the mortal world/cage. An interesting match up in so much as we know what Creed is going to be looking to do but we know absolutely nothing about God. God seems to be very well rounded but not at the highest level which could spell disaster but if we take into account that his manager seems to know what he is doing we are given a little bit more hope for him. The bookies have Creed as the overwhelming favourite but we are very much looking forward to seeing God in action and to see if he can somehow pull of an upset. Fight 1 – New Blood Division Matthew De Barros (3-2, 273lbs) vs. Thomas “Elbow King” Farrier (0-2, 190lbs) Kicking off tonight’s event we have two young fighters attempting to claw their way up from around the bottom of the New Blood division ranks. Matthew De Barros takes on Thomas “Elbow King” Farrier. De Barros has managed to lose his last two fights which is a shame as he began his career looking like a fighter with strong potential when he picked up three first round KO’s in a row. Now after suffering a late KO in the first round against Gyukosho Fujimoto he will no doubt be hoping for a better result against Thomas Farrier. Farrier has yet to pick up a win after two professional bouts and has unfortunately looked poor in both of them. Predominantly a striker, Farrier is still early in his development and for that the fact he has suffered both his losses by KO might be overlooked, for now at least. Both fighters are evenly matched going into this bout and it could actually turn out to be a real sleeper for fight of the night as both fighters will be looking to stand and trade. De Barros will have a decent size advantage going into this and coupled with his early success would be the strong favourite to pick up another win at Farrier’s expense. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello301 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 IFC XXXIX - Preview by Eric Leoanrd (24 February 2018 - King Theatre - Los Angeles) Prelims Fight 1- Lightweight Division (4-10, 155 lbs) Boyd “The Vanilla Og” Clark VS (0-1 166 lbs) Tytus “No Neck” Aleksy Clark has been a regular at the IFC and so far he has been consistently disappointing hosting a record of 4-10. He is a very strong fighter but he has a bad habit of ceding control of the fights he participates in to his opponent. Giving up control to his opponent has led to him knocked out 7 of his 10 fights and he will need to win many fights in a row to ever become a contender. Aleksy made his IFC debut in January and lost to an average opponent in a fight that he seemed to control, but his opponent caught him with a flurry of punches and that was all she wrote for the fight. He is an extremely promising rookie and we hope that he can try and make a recovery in this fight and get back on his way to proving himself in the IFC. Prediction: Both of these fighters are very good in the clinch and it is within reason that the fight will probably take place mostly there. Clark will have to show that he can be more proactive and Aleksy will need to stop clinching then breaking the clinch for some odd reason. Winner: Tytus “No Neck” Aleksy Despite his bad showing I hope that Aleksy learned from the error of his ways and will make a recovery in this one. Fight 2 - Middleweight Division (1-3, 184 lbs) Hennig Miller VS (0-0, 190 lbs) Hallis “The Captain” Mollen Miller started his career and then was blind sided with three straight losses in a row until finally managing a victory in his most recent fight. Will this victory manage to rejuvenate the 19 year old Schleswig native remains to be seen, but if he can have a showing like in his last fight we might get to witness the continuation of a man on a mission to right the sinking ship that is his career. Mollen is here to make a successful IFC debut and judging from his skills he is a very talented fighter that many will keep their eyes on. Of particular note are his boxing and wrestling skills, both of which are going to be difficult to deal with for Miller. Prediction: Miller is inferior in every aspect to his opponent and he will need to innovate with strategy to beat this more skilled opponent. Winner: Hallis “The Captain” Mollen While innovation in the octagon can earn you wins, against an opponent this much more skilled I don’t think Miller will have any chance of strategizing his way to victory. Undercard Fight 3 - Middleweight (11-7, 204 lbs) Bricks “Parpaing” Thrower VS (3-6, 185 lbs) Sascha “Widow Maker” Koniezko From IFC 1 and on Thrower has been a fighter in the IFC and while not the greatest, he has won quite a few more than he has lost. What really matters is what he has done lately, and he was slumping until a couple weeks ago when he beat Ram very impressively, knocking him down, waving him back up, then knocking him down again. If he can keep this momentum up now that their are division he may be able to make it up in the rankings. Koniezko also managed a win in his last fight which happened to be in the same card as Thrower. He however, has won 3 of his last 4 fights and has been reversing his record since joining the IFC. In his last fight he forced his will on his opponent controlling the fight from start to finish and although he didn’t finish the fight there was no argument he had a dominant performance. Prediction: These two fighters are very similar in style, skill and are probably similarly ranked within the IFC. This fight ultimately will come down to gameplan since these two are so evenly matched. Winner: Sascha “Widow Maker” Koniezko Sascha is very slightly more skilled than his opponent, but for me the factor that decides in me picking him is the experience of his manager. Fight 4 - Heavyweight Division (3-3, 256 lbs) Albert Van Rooy VS (3-3, 285 lbs) Pete “Red Bull” Blowkarski Rooy one of the new bloods is taking all comers as he fights a 20 year old with the same record as himself. Rooy has looked both impressive and lackluster in equal regard looking strong in his wins and lost in his losses he just stopped a 3 fight win streak by losing his last one and hopes to get back to his winning ways against Blowkarski. Blowkarski from the UFC has only fought once in the IFC within which he beat orgasmic bliss with a 31 second knockout. He is a very powerful fighter and has yet to be tested within the IFC so far. Prediction: Both fighters prefer to fight standing, but they don’t agree at which distance to fight at as Blowkarski would much prefer to box while Rooy wants to get up close and personal in the clinch. This fight will ultimately come down to whether or not they fight from the clinch or from a distance. Winner: Albert Van Rooy Blowkarski has shown struggle against previous muay thai fighters and until he halts that trend I have to to peg him as the underdog in this one. Fight 5 - Lightweight Division (5-3, 163 lbs) #9 LW “Dark and Light” Soul Shadow VS (7-5, 140 lbs) Ma Moru Soul Shadow has much to prove coming in as the ninth ranked fighter in the lightweight division. He has had two straight victories, one of which he just barely eked out in a majority decision. He is one of the few fighters who has stuck to training all aspects of his fighting equally. Moru is brand new to the IFC, and starting right off the bat against the ninth ranked fighter will be a very rough introduction to the organization for him. He is primarily a stand up fighter, but has only finished 4 of the 7 opponents he defeated. A victory against the ninth ranked fighter would give him a red hot start to his IFC career and may catapult him into the top 15 rankings after just one fight. Prediction: Moru’s stand up is definitely his strong point, but he has put a good amount of practice into his BJJ game as well so this will be a troublesome opponent for the all-rounder Shadow. Winner: “Dark and Light” Soul Shadow Skill wise Moru looks like the superior fight, but anyone who has followed Shadow’s career can see that he has beaten fighters who looked better than him coming in and as such I don’t see Shadow losing to an opponent who isn’t better than him at Jiu Jitsu. Fight 6 - Middleweight Division (7-3, 205 lbs) #12 MW Jaxson Wilder VS (8-4, 175 lbs) #13 MW Bea “Rick” Mason Wilder has earned his spot among the top of the middleweight division and he will be tested in this one by the fighter a spot below him. He has been 2-2 since joining the IFC, but both of his losses were against contenders and you can’t judge him for losing to fighters of such high quality. The fact that he has struggled against other contenders is definitely cause for concern and he needs to prove himself in this one or lose his spot in the top rankings. Mason is on a tear recently having won four straight fights and another win here would put him in a very strong position for breaking the top 10 and maybe even higher. However this is his first fight against a person in the top 15 of the IFC and could potentially stall out his recent climb through the rankings. Prediction: Anybody can tell what each fight wants in this one. Wilder comes in with 7 knockouts while Mason comes in with 8 submissions meaning Mason should have the advantage on the ground if he can get Wilder there. Winner: Jaxson Wilder The up and comer should get his reality check in this one as Wilder looks to be the superior fighter in just about every aspect. Main Card Fight 7 - Heavyweight division (6-2, 270 lbs) #8 HW “The Hunk” Jack Dawson VS (6-3, 292 lbs) #9 HW Hamish “The Pig” McTavish Dawson has been dedicating his fights to his wife since the start and she is a large part of what has driven him to the heights he has reached. He was very close to winning the new blood tournament, but lost in the final to a very strong opponent. He has since managed to climb his way to the top 10 of the heavyweights and is still eyeing those above him in his efforts to reach the top. McTavish has only lost once in the IFC leaving him with a record of 3-1 within the organization. Through it all, win or lose, the fights end with a knock out or a TKO as for this fighter decisions are not an option. Prediction: Regardless of who wins this is not one that will end in a decision with neither one of these fighters liking to leave the decision to the judges. Dawson will need to abuse his advantage in Muay Thai to abuse McTavish while McTavish has to try and get Dawson to the ground. Winner: Hamish “The Pig” McTavish I’ve made it a trend to pick Dawson’s manager to lose and I’ll have to continue it as McTavish just defeated a fighter very similar in skill to Dawson, meaning I give the slight edge to him. Fight 8 - Lightweight Division (12-5, 148 lbs) #3 LW Luiz Correia Azevedo VS (8-7, 152 lbs) #12 LW Evgeni Lomachenko Azevedo just dropped from being the first ranked fighter to the third and he wants to reclaim that spot. He has not fought outside of the island yet, but as the runner up in his tournament you can expect him to show very good results. Having eleven submission victories and only one decision victory speaks volumes about the kind of fighter he is, underestimate him at your own risk. Lomachenko is set to welcome this island fighter in IFC style, being given the chance to fight the #3 ranked fight isn’t something that happens everyday. He is a very similar fighter to his opponent and will look to compete on the same terms hoping to show Azevedo that just, because he was on top of the world on the island doesn’t mean he will be in the IFC. Prediction: This fight is going to be a clinic on the ground as both of these fighters will take it to the ground and try and submit eachother. The winner is going to be decided by the narrowest of margins and this should prove to be an entertaining fight for those of you who enjoy grappling. Winner: Luiz Correia Azevedo With both of these fighters being similarly skilled I have to give the advantage to the more experienced manager, because strategy will play key in this one. Co-Main Event - Lightweight Division (15-4, 164 lbs) #4 LW Bruce “Get Loose” Mafaking VS (6-3, 168 lbs) #6 LW Brock “The Bodygaurd” Sampson Following up the third ranked lightweight we have another exciting matchup in the lightweight division between Mafaking and Sampson. They will be extra motivated knowing the spot above them could be vacated leaving it open for whoever wins this fight to climb up in the rankings. Mafaking is a recent addition to the IFC lineup and is here to make his organization debut against a very tough fighter. He lost in the third round on the island and has much to prove both for being an island fighter and having lost in the third round. Sampson has fought only in the IFC and is coming off of an impressive 26 second KO victory in his last fight. He has struggled against strong opponents and has just as much as Mafaking to prove in this one as many people question his ranking at the sixth spot based on his history against good fighters. Prediction: Both of these fighters have the skills to win in a number of different ways and each has a part of their game where they have the advantage. Sampson most likely has the advantage standing while on the ground its hard to tell has Mafaking is the better wrestler, but Sampson has the better Jiu Jitsu. Winner: Brock “The Bodygaurd” Sampson It is my belief that Sampson has a small advantage in this one with the Jiu Jitsu edge and the boxing edge nudging him above the opposition. Main Event - Middleweight Division (10-3, 190 lbs) #3 MW Brooklyn Brawler VS (8-1, 220 lbs) #9 MW Ribociclib “CDK4/6” Kisqali And now finally its time for the main event of the night. Brawler is headlining his second event in a row having defeated Yonic in his last fight and is welcoming the impressive Kisqali to the IFC. Both fighters have impressive records Brawler in the IFC and RIbociclib in Steel Penn. Brawler is a machine who has impressive accuracy and the stamina to go the distance in any fight. Trying to find an opening in his defenses is very difficult, as evidenced by the fact that he has lost only three fights in his entire career. Ribociclib is such a talented fighter that on joining the IFC he was instantly given a spot in the top 10 of the extremely competitive middleweight division. All of his victories have been via KO or TKO and his only loss led to him taking a short hiatus from fighting as he trained further to make sure it never happened again. Prediction: Both fighters love to fight on their feet and I expect to see a boxing show as they each try to find holes in the other’s defenses. I would normally say Brawler’s stamina gives him the edge, but kisqali is known for his cardio as well making it a wash on who could outlast who. Winner: The Fans I could not force myself to pick a winner in this fight, because Kisqali appears to have the advantage, but this is true in most of Brawler’s matches yet time after time he wins anyways, thus the winner of this fight by my prediction is you the fans for getting to witness what should be an amazing fight. -Eric Leoanrd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra7 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 Once again betting against me???sheesh when will you learn haha 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFootPenguin Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 I like it, in my main event the prediction seems correct, the fans win. I think my opponent has the clear advantage but its so hard to bet against brawler. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFootPenguin Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Another dominant performance from Brawler, with that tko he now has the most knock out victories in an IFC ring. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello301 Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Once again betting against me???sheesh when will you learn haha I was right this time =p 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Another dominant performance from Brawler, with that tko he now has the most knock out victories in an IFC ring. Well, well, well. I thought there's no way that could be right but there it is. Brawler is the current KO king of the IFC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club - Official Rankings (25th February 2018) Lightweight (155lbs and under) #Champ (Ch) - Klaus Chugman (12-2, W,W,W,W,W, 130lbs #1 (4) Bruce Mafaking (16-4, W,L,L,L,W, 164lbs) #2 (12) Evgeni Lomachenko (9-7,W,W,L,L,W, 152lbs) #3 (1) Mister Island (10-5, W,L,L,W,W, 145lbs) #4 (2) Uri Geller (20-5, L,L,W,W,W, 158lbs) #5 (5) Mike Van Rijn (11-5, L,W,W,L,W, 163lbs) #6 (9) Soul Shadow (6-3, W,W,W,L,W, 162lbs) #7 (10) Daniel Sainty (9-7,W,L,W,L,W, 150lbs) #8 (3) Luiz Correia Azevedo (12-6, L,L,W,W,W, 148lbs) #9 (7) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-2, L,W,W,L,W, 165lbs) #10 (6) Brock Sampson (6-4, L,W,L,L,W, 168lbs) #11 (8) Maximilian Kirby (4-0, W,W,W,W, 165lbs) #12 (1) Wolfgang Lee Roth (7-5, L,W,L,L,W, 154lbs) #13 (NE) Harry Entei (9-8-2, D,D,L,W,W, 155lbs) #14 (13) Cj McGergor (5-1, W,W,L,W,W, 156lbs) #14 (12) Simon Jensen (9-4, L,W,W,W,W, 162lbs) Middleweight (155lbs to 205lbs) #Champ (Ch) Roman Divac (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 198lbs) #1 (3) Brooklyn Brawler (11-3, W,W,W,L,W, 190lbs) #2 (2) Mew Choo (12-1, W,L,W,W,W, 191lbs) #3 (1) - Light Heavyweight (21-3, L,W,L,W,W, 220lbs) #4 (4) Luca Brasa lii (8-3, W,L,W,W,W, 205lbs) #5 (5) Big Murha (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 215lbs) #6 (7) Terry Bogard (7-4, W,L,W,L,W, 179lbs) #7(12) Jaxson Wilder (8-3, W,W,L,L,W, 205lbs) #8 (8) Ispa Murhaa (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 192lbs) #9 (6) Jon Ubereem (13-7, L,W,L,W,L, 218lbs) #10 (11) Steven Kennedy (9-8, L,W,L,W,L, 178lbs) #11 (9) Ribociclib Kisqali (8-2, L,L,W,W,W, 220lbs) #12 (14) Damien OQuinn (9-3, W,W,W,W,L, 216lbs) #13 (NE) Manuel Lora (9-6, W,W,L,W,L, 180lbs) #14 (15) Yuri Bezmenov (4-0, W,W,W,W, 207lbs) #15 (13) Bea Mason (8-5, L,W,W,W,W, 175lbs) New Blood (for 18-19 year olds, Open Weight under 265lbs) #Champion - Vacant #1 (1) Tan Han Tuong (5-1, W,W,W,W,L, 271lbs) #2 (2) Micky Kirby (4-1, W,L,W,W,W, 230lbs) #3 (3) Gyukosho Fujimoto (3-0, W,W,W, 250lbs) #4 (4) Terry Crew (4-2, W,L,W,W,L, 200lbs) #5 (5) Matteo Boretti (3-0, W,W,W, 205lbs) #6 (6) Kenny Tcusuk (3-4, W,L,W,W,L, 265lbs) #7 (7) Xing Pugberg (4-2, L,W,W,L,W, 130lbs) #8 (8) Armel Vidal (3-0, W,W,W, 146lbs) #9 (9) Dai Zexi (3-0, W,W,W, 220lbs) #10 (10) Anton Touchard (5-1, W,L,W,W,W, 168lbs) Heavyweight (205lbs and over) #Champ (Ch) Iain Tower (8-0, W,W,W,W,W, 275lbs) #1 (1) Japa Koniu (7-1, W,W,W,W,L, 235lbs) #2 (3) Super Heavyweight (18-3, W,L,W,W,W, 280lbs) #3 (6) Vinicio Serpico (7-2, W,W,L,W,L, 260lbs) #4 (4) Grigori Rasputin (16-2, L,W,W,W,W, 241lbs) #5 (2) Steve Butabi (8-2, L,W,W,L,W, 290lbs) #6 (7) Schmorgen Biscuit (9-4, W,L,W,W,W, 222lbs) #7 (8) Hamish McTavish (6-3, W,L,W,W,W, 292lbs) #8 (5) Vincent Lemieux (10-6, L,W,L,W,W, 270lbs) #9 (10) Vladimir Impaler (7-2, W,W,W,W,L, 270lbs) #10 (8) Jack Dawson (6-3, L,W,W,L,W, 270lbs) #11 (11) Android Seventeen (9-8, W,W,L,L,L, 280lbs) #12 (12) Randall Couture (9-3, W,W,L,W,L, 233lbs) #13 (13) Naiki Nekele (8-4, W,L,W,W,L, 268lbs) #14 (14) Greg Bell (7-9, L,W,W,L,L, 300lbs) #15 (15) Ricky Hughes (9-8, L,L,W,L,L, 264lbs) **Rankings are determined by hype/pop, p4p rank, win/loss record and a few company internal criteria. Rankings can and will change frequently after each event** 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseppe Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Im routing for Japa Koniu the underdog who retired my fighter so good luck to him. Plus it was a pleasure being in this org & respect the the org owner for being cool when i released my guy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFootPenguin Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 yeah alfred is awesome, one of the first orgs i ever joined ironically my first two orgs was ifc and ifc (ironman fight club and island fight club) and im still going strong with fighters in this org. In my personal experience the only org i have been in (i have only been in id restricted ones not the big names yet) the only one that gives ifc a run for their money is njmma which i was actually in the first card for that org. I also really like the previews even when im considered the underdog though i still love the prediction from todays cards was the fans win because who is going to bet against Brawler? Dont get me wrong even I was suprised but how dominant that last fight was but he is in ifc compentition 9-2 8 kos and now has 7 straight main events on the card which he is currently 5-2 in main event matches. I know the next fight for Brawler will be for the middleweight title match (he did lose to mew choo 4 fights ago for the title but technically that was for the IFC title before the division split.) On paper Divac should be the heavy favorite based on primary stats but we just saw that it doesnt seem to matter for Brawler and i expect this to be one absolute hell of a fight. Both fighters have all but 1 ko and Divacs decision seems even more special as he lasted 5 rounds vs light heavyweight in a very awesome fight. I expect this fight to be just as awesome but i do not expect this to be able to go to decision. Brawler has big fights where he gets hurt quickly so i definately expect a ko one way or another but since Brawler has proven you cant judge him but how much more primaries the opponent has, anything can happen. I dont expect him to be #1 in IFC knockouts forever but I do expect that he is top class and will have big matches in his future. He has yet to fight light heavyweight and I have been informed that he definately wants a rematch with mew choo sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 I would definitely vouch for New Jersey MMA and also Rise Fight League. Both have good owners in Peter Dry and Humble Greco. It's seems actually that a lot of the new 330k orgs are doing good work too but I'm always weary as even in just under a year a playing again i've had fighters trapped in orgs that stop all of a sudden without releasing the roster. The other org I would personally recommend for 310k fighters is The Global Colosseum in Las Vegas. I'd say it's more no thrills but the owner runs it well and has been consistently for over a year now. Pays well and has plenty of events. Don't know about the open ID orgs. Any recommendations? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFootPenguin Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 if you have a good fighter which i oldest id fighter is only gosha but if you have a real good fighter i think the best org right now is syn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted February 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 Hey guys. I've just opened Iron Man Bookmakers to add a little extra spice to proceedings. I know very little about betting and these american odds are very strange so please don't be offended if I've got your guy as an underdog. It's just for fun and I've only given the match ups the most cursory of glances and not sat here analysing each and every inch of the fight. Oh and please don't fleece me if I've made a mistake lol http://mmatycoon.com/bookmakerpublic.php?bid=8477 Also Eric Leonard was running bets on some of the IFC event's but none of us noticed so thanks to Eric anyway and you can check out his bookies here too http://mmatycoon.com/bookmakerpublic.php?bid=8471 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club 40 (3rd March 2018 – King Theatre, Los Angeles) Main Card Main Event – Heavyweight Division (#4) Grigori “The Buttsex Monk” Rasputin (16-2, 241lbs) vs. (#14) Greg “The Gronk” Bell (7-9, 300lbs) Our main event tonight is headlined by the massively popular Grigori Rasputin who will be making his first appearance in the IFC and he’ll be welcomed by tough veteran Greg “The Gronk” Bell Grigori Rasputin has found his way into the IFC after a very successful campaign on the Island where he managed to amass a superb record of 16-2 with not one of his losing opponents managing to go the distance with him. During his time fighting for the Island FC, Rasputin managed to capture their heavyweight title on two occasions and successfully defend it an impressive seven times. He then went on to make it all the way to the fourth round of the end of season tournament where he suffered only his second loss of his career and now, under new management, he will begin his career on the mainland. Locking horns with Rasputin tonight is long time IFC fighter Greg Bell. Bell has had some highs and lows since making his debut all the way back at IFC I but has always remained a tough opponent for anyone and has often found himself playing the role of gatekeeper and weeding out those in the ranks who wish to move into the top 10. Bell will be coming into this fight off the back of a decisive one sided loss to “Big” Steve Butabi but previous to that Bell had managed to raise his level of performance and after a couple of solid wins finds himself back in the Top 15 of the heavyweight division again. A few factors go into raising the interest of this fight one of which being that Rasputin’s high level of success could really be attributed to his former management team who have since moved on. On paper, there isn’t anything that makes Rasputin stand out as being head and shoulders above the rest leading us to consider his success to be a possible case of overachieving and now fighting for the first time under new management we have to wonder if the same level of success will be achievable? Bell will enjoy a few advantages going into this fight and, on paper once more, looks to be the more advanced of the two. If it was solely down to this, Bell might be a big favourite here but his inconsistency has really let him down over his career and has lost him big fights that he stood a good chance of winning. With this in mind and if a prediction must be made it would have to be Rasputin who would be considered favourite even though we have yet to see him fight under his new manager. If Bell can get the fight to the floor it really should be a done deal but if Rasputin’s new team can come even close to his level of performance on the island it should be a successful debut for him. Co-Main Event – Heavyweight Division Title (Champion) Iain “The CN” Tower (8-0, 275lbs) vs. (#1) Japa Koniu (7-1, 235lbs) Our Co-Main event tonight is for the Iron Man Fight Club heavyweight title and it features without a doubt one of the most fearsome pound for pound fighters currently on the roster in Iain Tower and he will be taking on Japa Koniu, a very deserving challenger who has battled his way through four opponents in a row to reach this opportunity. What can be said about Iain Tower that hasn’t already been said? Arriving in the IFC as perhaps one of the best prospects we’d seen, Tower has absolutely steamrolled his way through everyone put in front of him and after eights fights total, is still yet to be truly tested. In his last fight which was for the vacant IFC heavyweight title, he faced possibly his most significant challenge in ex-Island juggernaut Super “Dominator” Heavyweight but though Tower needed more than his usual few minutes to break down his opponent, it was all still very much a one sided affair and if anything just served to show how tough Super Heavyweight was as he lasted until the last minute in round two before Tower picked up his fifth submission win and finally captured the Belt that he had recently called for a shot at. Now, Tower begins his life as the IFC’s heavyweight champion and it is time to face his first challenger. He was previously asked his thoughts on his opponent tonight and on whether he saw any potential interesting match up’s elsewhere in the org. Here’s what he said "What do I think of Koniu? He's got some good speed and does well for being a smaller fighter in the division. Good hands. One dimensional. Cuts more than a barber. Will soon cut to 205. What do I think of the rest of the division? I see a bunch of dudes who should've stayed on the Island and a bunch of kids who are already a step behind. I'm hoping someone steps their game up soon." Japa Koniu signed to the IFC with little fanfare and without much notice taken. Even after his debut fight in which he TKO’d Donold Trenchard in the first round those around him barely lifted their heads in acknowledgement. It wasn’t until his next fight, a three round decision win and absolute war against Jaxson Wilder did he begin to get any recognition from the rest of the ranks and then to follow that, a knockout over slugger Taz Bandichoo. At that point having established himself as a credible contender, Koniu faced Stewart Pack in a number one contender fight and after a frantic first half of round one in which he found himself fighting for his life against Packs superior submission game, managed to regain his feet and went on to KO Pack a little while later. With that win and his undefeated four fight streak, Japa Koniu emerged as the IFC heavyweight number one contender and tonight faces the toughest fight of his career. An opportunity to round out this fairy-tale run up the ranks and capture the heavyweight title. He too was asked for his thoughts on his chances tonight and his manager replied with this “Koniu fought already 8 times, only one loss. Just one of his opponent could stand to decision. Tower has similar experience and never gone to distance. This fight will end in less than 5 rounds. Tower, on paper, is a favorite but heavy hands on both sides can not guarantee an obvious winner. Prediction is Japa Koniu via TKO 3rd round” There’s no denying that Koniu will be the heavy underdog going into this fight and he and his team seem well aware of the odds. Though there isn’t much in it on the feet with Koniu’s wonderful boxing expected to hold up against Tower’s exceptional Muay Thai skills it is the submission skills of Tower that will be the big worry for the Polish challenger as Tower has demonstrated a very high level proficiency during his young career. Koniu was able to keep his previous opponent at bay on the ground and overcome a difficult opening but Tower is on another level all together and is unlikely to let Koniu slip away should he get a hold of him on the floor. Overall it is a shame to say that for all of Koniu’s hard work in climbing the mountain, he has now reached the top and finds that there is a ferocious beast waiting there already and really the best chance he has in this fight is a punchers one. That, however, is still a chance ladies and gentlemen and if Tower’s confidence turns into complacency, it could be a big one Fight 8 – Lightweight Division (#12) Wolfgang Lee Roth (7-5, 154lbs) vs. (#14) “Notorious” CJ McGregor (5-1, 156lbs) Another long time veteran of the IFC making his return to the cage tonight with Wolfgang Lee Roth taking on young up and comer CJ McGregor. Wolfgang Lee Roth is a tricky one to figure out. During his time here in the IFC he has taken out some truly big names and defeated huge heavyweight KO machine Android Seventeen twice in old school open weight format but with so many creeping losses dotted around his record it is hard to known just what sort of fighter is going to turn up on the day. In fact, it almost seems as though Wolfgang is phoning it in these days with training partners in his run down Hilo gym informing us that his morale isn’t what it used to be and that he doesn’t even bother to change his shorts these days. But, despite all of this Wolfgang remains one of the best submission artists in the IFC and still sits on the fringe of the lightweight Top 10. It really does beg the question of whether Lee Roth has simply overachieved during his time here or whether he is falling short of a higher potential. One fighter’s hunger that can definitely not be questioned is the young boxer from Ireland, CJ McGregor. Having only just made his IFC debut against Adlan Aukhadov and winning in spectacular fashion, McGregor has barged straight into the Top 15 and no doubt has his sights set on moving up the ladder in front of him. With a 5-1 record that is mainly full of KO finishes there’s no reason to doubt he cant be a factor in the division. Neither fighter is a complete novice anywhere but both definitely have their favourite areas of expertise that they will attempt to impose on the other in this match up. McGregors best attributes are without a doubt his remarkable boxing skills and excellent cardio where as the BJJ Brown Belt Lee Roth is definitely geared towards submissions and brawling. This is a big opportunity for McGregor and a solid test for the youngster. This isn’t the first time that Wolfgang’s motivation has been questioned before seeing him pull out a big performance so it would be foolhardy for MgGregor to expect an easy fight. Still if he is to move up in the rankings these are the sorts of fights that he needs to be winning. Fight 7 – Heavyweight Division (#13) Naiki “The Drunken Finnish Demon” Nekele (8-4, 270lbs) vs. Wilson “KO” Reyes (7-7, 287lbs) Naiki Nekele has really taken his time in developing his game and as such has been a real slow burner in the division but now we are starting to see him emerge in the heavyweight division finally and tonight he’ll get to pile on the misery for struggle Wilson Reyes who has all of a sudden developed a problem with cuts and after a terrible run of three loses in a row has recently fallen just outside of the Top 15 for the first time since joining the org. Nekele has always been a good striker but lately has really been putting emphasis on improving his boxing. Previously we had seen an almost Savate like striking style from the big fighter from Finland with lots of flashy kicks both high and low but over the course of the past few fights we have witnessed Nekele completely change course and instead we have watched as he let his fists do the talking for a change and to very good effect. Wilson “KO” Reyes on the other hand has had a terrible run of form of late after breaking into the org in a big way. A submission win over former number one contender Android Seventeen and a first round KO over former champion Steven Kennedy were enough to make Reyes relevant in the upper echelons of the roster but after three big fights in a row all stopped by the doctor in the first round the future now looks rather unsure for Reyes. These cut stoppages have been a source of frustration for Wilson’s management and it’s possible that if the trend is to continue Reyes may find himself having to reconsider his career choice. In terms of match up both fighters are much happier slugging it out though under the circumstances Reyes might be looking to improve in other areas to avoid repeats of past results. Reyes definitely has the power to test Nekele’s chin and will likely need to finish this fight fast as Nekele has been known in the past to turn fights into long drawn out affairs and wear down his opponents with volume over power. If the fight was to go this way it would likely spell disaster for Reyes. This is do or die for Reyes and that makes him dangerous but Nekele has been slowly coming up the ranks and improving in key areas. Nekele the favourite to win and quite possibly by another TKO cut finish Undercard Fight 6 – Lightweight Division Dave “Tightass” Brooksbank (6-10, 160lbs) vs. “Slim” Willie McCoy (5-3, 165lbs) Next up in the lightweight division we have Dave Brooksbank who will be looking to overturn an atrocious run of five loses taking on recent signing “Slim” Willie McCoy. At his best Dave Brooksbank is a crafty submission specialist who has taken out some big names and ranked fighters but at his worst he is bad. Very bad. Such is the difference between the two extremes that you’d be forgiven for believing they were completely different fighters. Making his IFC debut tonight and hoping for another off day from his opponent will be Willie McCoy who started his career in The Global Colosseum in Las Vegas and managed to carve out a winning record of 4-3 before moving on. His last fight was a three round decision in the QFC system and it was a fight he completely dominated so confidence will likely be high for this young all rounder. McCoy will have a sizeable advantage in the stand up and with his remarkable wrestling ability may even be able to hold his own against Brooksbank on the floor although it would be a much bigger gamble than attempting to keep the fight on the feet. If McCoy keeps this fight simple he is likely to run away with it but Brooksbank has shown that he is capable of punishing mistakes before so McCoy will need to keep his wits about him. It’s been said that Brooksbank has ridiculous power in his hands but so far has shown no real interest in developing his boxing and without much wrestling to help him get fights to the floor, he is always going to find these types of fights difficult. McCoy the favourite to win and by KO. Fight 5 – New Blood Division Ivashin “Imadlo” Dmitrievich (3-3, 240lbs) vs. Patrick Thompson (2-2, 270lbs) Next up in the New Blood division we have a departing Ivashin Dmitrievich who will do battle for the last time in the division and he’ll be taking on Patrick Thompson. During his time in the IFC, Ivashin Dmitrievich has managed to go an even 3-3 and has shown both promise and room for improvements. He has shown himself to be a do or die kind of fighter and in both victory and defeat, no fight has ever gone the distance. Tonight he’ll be looking to pick up one final victory and perhaps leave the New Blood division with a winning record. With his future unknown to us at this time we take this moment to thank him for his hard work in the org. His opponent tonight is Jamaican striker Patrick Thompson who himself has shown some promise but also some glaring weakness. 2-2 Thompson, who is still only nineteen and will have a little more time in the division to improve, has yet to finish a fight decisively and will tonight hope to show that he can be a finisher against Dmitrievich. Both fighters are fairly similar in size though Thompson is a slightly larger heavyweight than Ivashin. Thompson with a slight edge in the boxing, Ivashin in the wrestling, this fight could end up anywhere and really it is anybody’s fight. Fight 4 – Lightweight Division Jonathan “Money Shot” Davis (4-6, 142lbs) vs. Cahal Jerfferson (2-2, 142lbs) Back to the lightweight division and Jonathan “Money Shot” Davis who has struggled to find the form that he started off with in his career takes on Cahal Jefferson who will be stepping into the cage for the first time after making the decision to transition from KT to MMA. Ever since his New Blood tournament loss to Micky Kirby in the semi-final, Jonathan Davis hasn’t been able to buy a win. It was hoped that a fresh start in the new lightweight division would be enough to rejuvenate him but after dominating most of the fight against Uesugi Kenshin, a lapse in concentration early in the third round was all it took to drop to his fifth professional loss in a row and lead him to his current dire situation. His opponent Cahal Jefferson has yet to face anyone under unified MMA rules but comes to the IFC with an even 2-2 record in KT. As to be expected, Jerfferson’s strongest attributes are clearly his striking though he has worked on his wrestling a little, enough to bring it up to a mediocre level. Though Davis is predominantly a striker himself, it’s likely that Jefferson will be a notch or two above him in that area and so perhaps Davis will take this as an opportunity to test his ground fighting capabilities and attempt to take advantage of Jerfferson’s novice skill level on the ground. Jefferson will no doubt be keenly aware that he is lacking in that area though and should be making preparations to remain on his feet at all costs. If the fight stays standing then expect Jefferson to pick up his first victory in MMA but if Davis can somehow use his superior experience and develop a different way of going about this fight then this could be the fight to halt Davis’ nose dive in form. Fight 3 – New Blood Division Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner (1-1, 210lbs) vs. Dreamier Panda (1-1, 220lbs) Our opening bout of the undercard features two eliminated fighters from the ongoing New Blood tournament with BJJ brown belt Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner taking on wrestler Dreamier Panda. Both fighters have bounced back from their disastrous opening round match ups and picked up their first wins in MMA. Kurt Wagner was able to fend off giant Paily Vattakkizhi long enough to finally get a takedown and finish him off with a submission in the first round and Dreamier Panda was quickest off the draw in his match up against Beast Incarnate and was able to get the early takedown and control the fight until catching Incarnate with a triangle choke. Both fighters will be looking for the submission in this one and really this is could go either way. Prelims Fight 2 – New Blood Division Warren Goldner (1-1, 245lbs) vs. Sal Sizzaro (1-1, 270lbs) Keeping with the New Blood division we have recently eliminated Warren Goldner who will be attempting to make a comeback from his shock submission defeat against Armel Vidal and Sal Sizzaro who comes into this fight having already avenged his opening round loss with a cool submission victory over Nigel Farage. Warren Goldner will no doubt be looking back on what could have been. Highly expected to defeat his much smaller opponent in Vidal, Goldner was surprised with a crafty triangle choke submission from fellow white belt opponent and forced to tap out early in the first round. Facing him is Sal Sizzaro, a wonderful wrestler fighting out of Kingston, Jamaica who was eliminated by one of the early favourites Mohammed Ruslanov after dropping two out of three rounds to the Russian but since then has come back with a hard fought victory in his last fight. Pretty much a grappler versus striker match up though Goldner has made some good progress in building up his wrestling ability. Not enough to match Sizzaro yet but perhaps enough to give him a better chance at defending the takedown and the longer this fight stays on its feet the better it will be for Goldner Fight 1 – Middleweight Division Vincenzo Kirby (1-0, 215lbs) vs. Christopher Banks (2-4, 182lbs) Getting the evening started is the events sole match up from the middleweight division with Vincenzo Kirby making his first appearance at this weight after a single fight in the New Blood division taking on youngster Christopher Banks who makes his IFC debut after spending most of his carer with Undead Fighting Championship in New York. Banks is fairly well rounded but not exceptional in any one area whereas Kirby is slightly more one dimensional but might have the advantage in the striking. Banks will no doubt be looking forward to competing at a more even level after facing some significantly more experienced opponents previously and get off to a good start here. Kirby, from the fighting Kirby family will provide a stern test for him and be looking to improve on his single solitary career win so far ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Add some excitement to the event and put your money where your mouth is! Iron Man Bookmakers are ready to take your bets 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club New Blood Tournament V.2 – Round 3 (Semi-Final) (4th March 2018 – Hard Knocks, Los Angeles) Main Event Main Event – Heavyweight Division (#6) Schmorgen Biscuit (9-4, 228lbs) vs. (#6) Vladimir “The Horizontal” Impaler (7-2, 275lbs) Tonight’s main event features two young heavyweights who are just beginning to make an appearance in the divisions Top 10. #6 Ranked Schmorgen Biscuit will be making his first official appearance in the IFC heavyweight division after only one fight in the org’s middleweight ranks. Having spent the past few weeks bulking up to meet the minimum weight requirements, Biscuit is now ready to get to work. Biscuit is by now a long time IFC veteran having made his debut all the way back at the beginning with IFC I. His career has generally followed an upwards trend but having never been able to quite crack the very top of the Iron Man ranks, Biscuit’s best is likely still to come. He holds notable wins over Greg Bell and submission specialist Daniel Sainty and also heavy hitting heavyweight Android Seventeen but his best performance was possible his last bout in which he completely dominated former title challenger Don Joe in a fight that ended by TKO in the second round. In that fight Biscuit looked comfortable on his feet but was extra impressive with his aggressive ground assault and looks like he is on his way to becoming a well rounded fighter Tonight he will once again need to be performing at that level as he takes on a fighter that has come into his own as of late; Vladimir Impaler Vladimir “The Horizontal” Impaler comes into this fight off the back of a four fight run of brutal first round KO finishes and will no doubt feel as though he has the power in his hands to put Biscuit away. In his last fight against Wilson Reyes, he showcased some serious accuracy and speed with his punches and mangled the tough Reyes’s face forcing the doctor to call a stop to the bout and all without taking a single bit of damage himself. That performance was enough to move him into the #9 spot and put the divisions title in his sights and with a big performance tonight could take a massive step towards making that shot a reality. This is a tough match up for Impaler who has really put most of the bulk of his training into the stand up side of MMA and as a result is rather weak on the ground which is an area that Biscuit has looked extremely dangerous. Impaler has a proven record of finishes and will need to be quick off the mark in this one. He will need to use his speed and quickness and hope to finish Biscuit off quickly or at the very least not get taken down early where he will struggle to hold out on the ground for minutes at an end. Biscuit has shown that he is game on the feet and in the clinch but at striking distance, Impaler would likely be a step ahead so Biscuit’s best bet is without a doubt to get the fight to the floor. In that area there is no contest and it would be only a short time before Biscuit would end the fight with a TKO or submission. This fight is likely to be over quickly and decisively but just who will get the upper hand really depends on who imposes their game plan first. Most would have Biscuit as the favourite as on the feet he may have enough about him to hang in there with Impaler but on the floor it would be a very one sided affair. Co-Main Event – New Blood Division Title Fight (#1) Tan Han Tuong (5-1, 271lbs) vs. (#2) Micky Kirby (4-1, 230lbs) Next up we have the vacant New Blood division title up for grabs with two very worthy competitors looking to cement their place in history books. With a record of 5-1 Tan Han Tuong takes on the first New Blood tournaments runner up Micky Kirby. Since arriving in the IFC an unremarkable 1-1, Tan Han Tuong has gone a perfect 4-0 and off the back of that perfect run of results and with some very impressive KO finishes, Tuong has earned the right to challenge for the vacant title. At 271lbs, Tuong’s KO power is truly amplified as many of his opponents will attest to. Within those four division wins, twice has Tuong been awarded with KO of the night honours which really goes to show just what he is about. Tonight however he faces without a doubt his toughest challenge and a fighter that has already been here before and will be looking to make sure past failures are not repeated. The New Blood divisions title has been a strange thing to witness. With fighters moving on once they turn 20, we have already seen a former champion having to vacate without officially losing the belt and combined with several upsets in the division, it has taken a while to define two deserving challengers and as a result the belt has remained vacant for a little while. This will be Micky Kirby’s second attempt at the title and in all fairness it could have very easily have been someone else in his place. It will also be his very last fight in the division as he has just turned 20 and, win or lose tonight, will need to make a big decision about his future. Kirby has been a star in the division and made the first tournament an extremely interesting one. To those who have followed the tournaments history, it is Micky Kirby that has shown that preparation and a good game plan can overcome all but the biggest hurdles placed in front of you and tonight he will get one more chance leave his mark on the division. Very little has changed for Kirby who still remains very much a wrestler with little else on paper about him. Of course it is well known by now what Kirby’s strengths are which Tuong will no doubt be well aware of. Tuong himself has made some good improvements in his grappling and overall looks to be a very decent prospect with no glaring weaknesses at this level. The key to this fight will be in stopping Kirby from getting the fight to the floor. Seldom has it been enough to fight back to the feet as Kirby’s takedown attempts are relentless and strong and many fighters have found themselves right back down on the ground after fighting so hard to get up. A demoralising practice for the opponent so Tuong must meet Kirby head on and follow the blueprint that Fay Gott laid out in the first New Blood title fight. If he can do that and start to land those huge hammers of his then he stands an excellent chance of putting Kirby away but if not he will likely be ground down over time on his back with no way to make the best of his attributes. An extremely tough fight to predict as Tuong has come along rapidly during his time in the IFC and has yet to lose since being here. He also looks to have many more options going into this fight and the added benefit of knowing what Kirby’s game plan is likely to be. Of course to overlook Kirby is to make the same mistake as many of his previous match up’s in which he was considered the underdog. Kirby’s gameplan is without a doubt one dimensional and by now obvious, but it has also be proven very difficult to deal with and so to count him out would be foolish. A Kirby win means a fleeting moment as champion and in reality simply a gesture of his place in the history of the division where as for Tuong, who still has more time in the division, a win means not only becoming the champion but of perhaps, when all is said and done, going down as the greatest New Blood champion that ever was. Fight 8 – Lightweight Division (#11) “King” Maximilian Kirby (4-0, 165lbs) vs. (#15) Simon “Spike” Jensen (9-4, 162lbs) When one Kirby goes to war, they all go to war. “King” Maximilian Kirby puts his undefeated record on the line when he takes on BJJ Brown Belt Simon “Spike” Jensen So far in his young career Maximilian Kirby has exceeded what would usually be expected from someone who has only been in the game for such a short time but with a string of TKO finishes to his name he has made sizeable steps up the rankings. Beginning in the New Blood division where he went a perfect 2-0, Kirby made his debut in the newly formed lightweight division for his last bout and once again got the finish though this time he had to work much harder for it and navigate the skills of a superior jiu-jitsu fighter. The result of that fight might serve to boost his confidence going into this one though Simon Jensen is without a doubt a step up in challenge. Simon Jensen entered the IFC an impressive 9-3 and on a win streak of four but in his debut against Evgeni Lomachenko, he found himself taken down and outworked on the ground and unfortunately finished in the first round. It was a disappointing result for the grappler and a surprise for those that had expected Jensen to instantly feature in the divisions title picture from which a win and a five fight winning streak would have no doubt have brought him. Now against Kirby he will get another opportunity to show what he is capable of and put that last result behind him. This fight is very likely to end up on the ground with the superior wrestler Kirby on top and trying to do damage with his strong ground and pound and the superior jiu-jitsu fighter looking to finish with a submission off of his back. It’s possible that either fighter may try to engage on the feet as there is little danger of getting overwhelmed by the other. Neither are complete novices in that department but neither is exactly far from that. The most immediate factor that comes to mind in this fight is that Kirby could perhaps be considered to have a similar style to Lomachenko who just beat Jensen so Jensen must be ready to make some adjustments if he isn’t to suffer the same result as there. A difficult fight to predict and really it could go either way but with very few fighters currently on a streak like Kirby it would be very interesting to see just where he stands in the divisions rankings with a win here and that will no doubt be a motivating factor for him. For Jensen, this fight represents an opportunity to erase the results of his debut and to start working his way up in the rankings and back into the Top 10 where he will surely feel he belongs. Fight 7 – New Blood Division (#4) Terry Crew (4-2, 200lbs) vs. (#6) Kenny “The Follower” Tchusuk (3-4, 265lbs) Rounding out our main card we have two fighters who will be making their final appearances in the New Blood Division with Terry Crew taking on Kenny Tchusuk in a rematch of their previous battle in which Crew submitted Tchusuk in under thirty seconds. With both fighters having made some serious improvements since that time it’s going to be interesting who will come out on top this time around. Terry Crew is one of the original New Blood tournament fighters and has been in the division since beginning his professional career. Joining the tournament as one of the youngest fighters and with no one really giving him much of a chance, he pulled off quite an upset in the first round to beat Thierry Paulin and, though was eliminated in the next round, has gone on to build a respectable 4-2 record overall and only just missed out for consideration in the vacant title picture. Tonight he will face a familiar face for his final appearance in the New Blood division and quite possible the IFC before moving on to new pastures where we know he is destined for big things. If there was an award for most improved fighter from the original New Blood tournament then Kenny “The Follower” Tchusuk would be at the top of the short list. After being eliminated in the first round and going on to lose his next couple of fights, Tchusuk seemingly turned a corner and began to get some big results of which his biggest is without a doubt his nine second destruction of undefeated division monster Alambick Rana. The result of that fight not only took away Rana’s title shot but catapulted Tchusuk into contention himself where he put in a brave performance against Fay Gott but ultimately fell short and losing by TKO in the third round. Tchusuk will be coming into the fight with much improved striking skills and also having acquired a taste for big first round knockouts. He is a much different version than the one Crew faced before and presents a much more difficult challenge this time around. Crew has not just sat around idle either though and has grown into a very capable submission artist with a perfect record of finishes in his wins. Though both fighters are currently brown belts in BJJ, Tchusuk does not posses anywhere near the wrestling skill of Crew and will likely struggle against the superior technique and control that Crew has on the ground. Both have faced tough competition in their short careers and even share a couple of mutual opponents though neither have had the same results as each other which makes any attempt at using MMA math to get a clearer prediction all the more pointless but if forced to make a guess it would be Crew that would most likely be considered the betting favourite as, after all, he does already have a win over Tchusuk already. Whatever the result, we must say goodbye to these young warriors in the New Blood division and wish them the best of luck wherever they end up Undercard Fight 6 – New Blood Division (#5) Matteo “The Werewolf” Boretti (3-0, 205lbs) vs. (#10) Anton Touchard (5-1, 168lbs) Next up, one of the brightest prospects in the New Blood division Matteo “The Werewolf” Boretti takes on a departing Anton Touchard who has recently turned twenty. So far, so good for Matteo Boretti. The natural light-heavyweight from Firenze, Italy has managed to rack up a perfect trio of first round KO’s and has made some big leaps up the New Blood rankings and is currently looming large in the title picture. With time still on his side, Boretti could potentially be in the division for a few months longer and will only get better. Tonight he’ll face another step up in competition when he takes on 5-1 brazillian jiu-jitsu brown belt Anton Touchard. Touchard arrived in the IFC as an already blooded 3-0 prospect and made a strong impression in his debut when he beat Callum Kane with a first round submission. Since that time he has gone 1-1 with his last fight being another first round submission and will be looking to make a just as strong as an exit for his final bout in the division and possible the org. This fight will likely play out as a classic grappler versus striking scenario with Boretti looking to avoid any and all interactions with Touchard on the ground and will look to pick up his forth knockout in a row. Touchard has faced similar opponents before and though was caught once before, generally does fine for a BJJ fighter with his mediocre wrestling usually going a long way to helping get the fight to the floor. On this occasion both fighters are of a similar standard in that area and so the wrestling aspect of this fight is going to play a massive part in the result. As mentioned before, this is Touchard’s last fight in the division and pride is always a motivating factor though it is Boretti that may feel he has the most to fight for here with a strong performance all but guaranteeing him the next shot at the New Blood title. Fight 5 – New Blood Tournament Semi-Final 1 Armel Vidal (3-0, 146lbs) vs. Georges “The Guillotine” Danton (2-0, 215lbs) The first of our Tournament semi-finals and Monaco’s Armel Vidal will be hoping to keep his unfancied run alive as he takes on the significantly larger Georges “The Guillotine” Danton By now Armel Vidal is probably not to be underestimated. With a record of 3-0 overall and having put on a tactical masterclass throughout this tournament, there is no reason to believe that he cannot pull off another upset here tonight. When asked if we could expect to see any surprises tonight Vidal’s manager took the time to answer. “ I don't believe that there will be any big surprises in this fight. Danton doesn't have an obvious weakness like Goldner had, so I can't commit to something like a guard pull. This should be a more traditional striking match where my gameplan is going to be focused on avoiding his power and out pointing him to a decision win. That being said, I am confident in Vidal's ability to get the submission if the fight should go to the ground. “ Of course, being one of the last remaining four means that not only are the stakes that much higher but also the level of competition too and tonight Vidal faces without question his toughest test in rapidly improving Georges Danton. “The Guillotiine” has looked very good so far in this tournament and started by taking out an early favourite in Nigel Farage in the opening round and then, in his most recent fight, showed some serious grit in overcoming a very rough first round against grappler Boris Boulder and come back with a KO finish in the second. Unpinning these results are some seriously impressive advances in his skill set and going into this fight, Danton will look like a strong favourite in almost all areas. On paper this fight looks damn near impossible for Vidal to win with no clear advantage anywhere, not even in terms of size. Danton is bigger, stronger and has finished both of his fights with a KO where as Vidal has had to rely on speed and cunning to make it this far and tonight, though Vidal has made a fool of the oddsmakers throughout this tournament, this could be where it all ends for him. Can Vidal conjure up another tactical masterpiece or will Danton prove to be too much for the natural bantamweight? Fight 4 – New Blood Division Alfred Touchard (5-2, 220lbs) vs. (#7) Xing “Rufus” Pugberg (4-2, 130lbs) Fight number four features another two graduating New Blood fighters with Alfred Touchard taking on Xing Pugberg. Since arriving in the IFC with a perfect 4-0 record, Touchard has found life outside of the QFC much more challenging as he has suffered two losses out of his three fights. It’s fair to say that both of those loses were against some very tough opponents that include tonight's title challenger Micky Kirby and Touchard almost came away with the win after dominating the first two rounds before getting caught underneath Kirby’s patented ground and pound. Now making his last appearance in the division, Touchard faces another ex tournament fighter and will need to be at his best against natural flyweight grappler Xing Pugberg. Xing Pugberg could consider his time in the New Blood division to be overall successful although his previous fight, a nine second KO loss to Kenny Tchusuk, is the sole reason that he isn’t fighting for the title tonight in place of Micky Kirby. Both fighters are predominately ground fighters but Pugberg’s purple belt in BJJ is a step above Touchard’s blue and Pugberg has also been improving his stand up skills lately and while still only at a mediocre level, is again a step above anything Touchard will be bringing in. Touchard’s best chances in this match up probably come from his management team who have been known to be very tactical in there approach to difficult fights and may be able to guide him around the obvious disadvantages he will face in this fight. Pugberg is a skilled submission artist but has suffered against the power of larger fighters in the past and tonight Touchard will have at least ninety pounds on Pugberg which could be a problem if Touchard end’s up on top. Overall Pugberg looks to be the more advanced fighter in this and will be the favourite going in to pick up his final win in the division before moving on elsewhere. Can Touchard pull of an upset? We cannot wait to see Fight 3 – New Blood Tournament Semi-Final 2 Mohammed Ruslanov (3-0, 235lbs) vs. Dai Zexi (3-0, 220lbs) The second half of our New Blood tournament semi-finals now and strong favourite Mohammed Ruslanov from Russia will take on China’s Dai Zexi and this fight should be an absolute classic. So far in this tournament Mohammed Ruslanov has displayed a level of grappling that no one else has in New Blood tournament history. His previous decision win over Jake Kirby proved that he was a level above as even the proven Kirby ground and pound style wasn’t enough to trouble Ruslanov. When asked for his thoughts on his opponent tonight Ruslanov answered simply “ I do to short man what I do to everyone: crush. I best in world. I no care about Vidal or Dayton, either way, I crush “ Confident words from the Russian, however tonight he faces a tricky match up as his opponent Dai Zexi might just have the antidote for that top heavy control style of his. Zexi, a BJJ brown belt, has managed to finish all of his previous opponents by submission and may not have as much reason to worry about being taken down on put on his back as Ruslanov’s previous opponents. He has also shown an eagerness to brawl which is interesting and adds another layer to this entire match up. Our reporters caught up with Zexi’s manager to find out his thoughts on this fight and also that of tonights other semi-final. Here’s some excepts of what was said. “ I think Zexi matchs up poorly with Ruslanov and that this will be a rough fight. Ruslanov's manager is good at what he does and Ruslanov has only focused on his ground game. This is a tough match up and I think that Ruslanov has enough skill to neutralize Zexi's submission game and get a grinding decision “ Vidal has no visible advantage in this fight skill-wise and he's both lighter and shorter than Danton. That's a lot of reach to make up for and the power of Danton is going to be dangerous. As much as I hate to say it, I expect Danton to bully Vidal and get the finish “ Ruslanov will have a slight advantage in size weighing in at around fifteen pounds heavier and is also some thirteen centimetres taller too. This slight difference isn’t expected to play much of a part in this as Ruslanov is not much of a striker and Zexi is not much of a wrestler. Ruslanov has been one of the heavy favourites to win this entire tournament but this fight is likely to be his toughest challenge. Zexi matches up extremely well against wrestlers and with his aggressive stand up tactics, we might also see something happen on the feet. I will be going out on a limb here and be picking Zexi as the favourite to win but it is no easy choice at all. Ruslanov is an amazing grappler and may even have enough to fend off Zexi’s inevitable submission attempts for a long while but for three whole rounds it may be asking too much. Whoever does win here however can definitely consider themselves the superior New Blood V.2 grappler and with two strikers in the other bracket might feel as though they have a clear run to glory Prelims Fight 2 – New Blood Division Jake “The Rattlesnake” Kirby (1-1, 180lbs) vs. Boris Boulder (1-1, 180lbs) Our second prelim fight is likely to be a very interesting one with both fighters having just been eliminated from the tournament in the previous round. Jake “The Rattlesnake” Kirby takes on Boris Boulder. Jake Kirby, from the famous fighting Kirby family, returns to the cage after a tough second round battle against Mohammed Ruslanov. Kirby fought hard for the entire three rounds but was never able to really gain control of the bout and anytime he did get ahead, he was quickly shut down or reversed by the Russian. Now he will be looking for redemption against his fellow eliminated opponents. Boris Boulder went into his second round fight with a very good chance of victory. Winning the first round handily, things were looking good for Boulder but his opponent Georges Danton has developed into a dangerous striker and Boulder wasn’t able to take control of the second round quick enough and suffered a KO loss just before the minute mark. It was a tough break for Boulder who might feel as though he is good enough to be amongst the semi-finalists tonight but that is the fight game for you. This is going to be another big fight in the New Blood division with both fighters being very good on the ground and very similar in size and abilty. The only major difference is Boulder’s level of BJJ of which he currently holds the rank of purple while Kirby is a blue. I couldn’t even pick a winner in this one if I had too with even a draw not being that far off of being feasable. Fight 1 – New Blood Division Odogwu Agrinya (1-0, 240lbs) vs. Long Thai (0-4, 165lbs) A fun fight to open the evening and one that wouldn’t look out of place in a KT venue with all round striker Odogwu Agrinya taking on Muay Thai specialist Long Thai. Agrinya’s record in MMA is actually only 1-0 and that was his debut here in the IFC where he beat Thomas Farrier in the first round by KO. The rest of his 2-2 record comes from competing in various KT orgs starting with Dynasty where he was unable to pick up a win in two fights and then in Elite Pride Glory and Honour in Hilo where he looks impressive picking up a first round KO in thirty seven seconds. Tonight he makes his second and final appearance in the division as he has just turned twenty and will no doubt be looking for a big performance on the way out to raise his stock for potential courtiers. His opponent is Muay Thia fighter Long Thai who is still looking for his first win after four fights. Long Thai, who has shown little interest in developing anywhere outside of Muay Thai, has suffered for his lack of ground skills with two submission losses but looked a little more durable in his last fight against Vincenzo Kirby though still losing by decision after three rounds. Long Thai looks to be a little more refined on paper with some reported sensational level skills in Muay Thai but as yet we have not witnessed ourselves. Agrinya hasn’t quite reached that level in any one particular discipline but instead is more well rounded everywhere and this is likely to help him against Thai. The oddsmakers have Agrinya as the heavy favourite having so far not seen anything from Thai to make them believe he has what it takes to compete at this level. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Add some excitement to the event and put your money where your mouth is! Iron Man Bookmakers are ready to take your bets 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernNinjas Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14913945358474.jpg Iain "The CN" Tower (9-0, 9 Finishes, Undisputed King of IFC) "Where is my equal?" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club - Official Rankings (4th March 2018) (Sponsored by IniTech Nutrition who stock both 160q Stamina Fuel and 160q Muscle Bulk along with their pioneering Chaos Energy 160q Recovery sup) Lightweight (155lbs and under) #Champ (Ch) - Klaus Chugman (12-2, W,W,W,W,W, 130lbs #1 (1) Bruce Mafaking (16-4, W,L,L,L,W, 164lbs) #2 (2) Evgeni Lomachenko (9-7,W,W,L,L,W, 152lbs) #3 (3) Mister Island (10-5, W,L,L,W,W, 145lbs) #4 (4) Uri Geller (20-5, L,L,W,W,W, 158lbs) #5 (12) Wolfgang Lee Roth (8-5, W,L,W,L,L, 154lbs) #6 (5) Mike Van Rijn (11-5, L,W,W,L,W, 163lbs) #7 (6) Soul Shadow (6-3, W,W,W,L,W, 162lbs) #8 (7) Daniel Sainty (9-7,W,L,W,L,W, 150lbs) #9 (8) Luiz Correia Azevedo (12-6, L,L,W,W,W, 148lbs) - FA #10 (9) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-2, L,W,W,L,W, 165lbs) #11 (10) Brock Sampson (6-4, L,W,L,L,W, 168lbs) #12 (11) Maximilian Kirby (4-0, W,W,W,W, 165lbs) #13 (NE) Willie McCoy (6-3, W,W,L,L,W, 150lbs) #14 (13) Harry Entei (9-8-2, D,D,L,W,W, 155lbs) #15 (14) Simon Jensen (9-4, L,W,W,W,W, 162lbs) Middleweight (155lbs to 205lbs) #Champ (Ch) Roman Divac (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 198lbs) #1 (1) Brooklyn Brawler (11-3, W,W,W,L,W, 190lbs) #2 (2) Mew Choo (12-1, W,L,W,W,W, 191lbs) #3 (3) - Light Heavyweight (21-3, L,W,L,W,W, 220lbs) #4 (4) Luca Brasa lii (8-3, W,L,W,W,W, 205lbs) #5 (5) Big Murha (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 215lbs) #6 (6) Terry Bogard (7-4, W,L,W,L,W, 179lbs) #7(7) Jaxson Wilder (8-3, W,W,L,L,W, 205lbs) #8 (8) Ispa Murhaa (6-0, W,W,W,W,W, 192lbs) #9 (9) Jon Ubereem (13-7, L,W,L,W,L, 218lbs) #10 (10) Steven Kennedy (9-8, L,W,L,W,L, 178lbs) #11 (11) Ribociclib Kisqali (8-2, L,L,W,W,W, 220lbs) #12 (12) Damien OQuinn (9-3, W,W,W,W,L, 216lbs) #13 (13) Manuel Lora (9-6, W,W,L,W,L, 180lbs) #14 (14) Yuri Bezmenov (4-0, W,W,W,W, 207lbs) #15 (NE) Kamden Jackson (8-3, W,W,L,W,W, 189lbs) Heavyweight (205lbs and over) #Champ (Ch) Iain Tower (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 275lbs) #1 (3) Super Heavyweight (18-3, W,L,W,W,W, 280lbs) #2 (3) Vinicio Serpico (7-2, W,W,L,W,L, 260lbs) #3 (1) Japa Koniu (7-2, L,W,W,W,W, 235lbs) #4 (14) Greg Bell (8-9, W.L,W,W,L, 300lbs) #5 (5) Steve Butabi (8-2, L,W,W,L,W, 290lbs) #6 (4) Grigori Rasputin (16-3, L,L,W,W,W, 241lbs) #7 (7) Hamish McTavish (7-3, W,W,L,W,W, 292lbs) #8 (6) Schmorgen Biscuit (9-4, W,L,W,W,W, 222lbs) #9 (8) Vincent Lemieux (10-6, L,W,L,W,W, 270lbs) #10 (9) Vladimir Impaler (7-2, W,W,W,W,L, 270lbs) #11 (13) Naiki Nekele (9-4, W,W,L,W,W, 268lbs) #12 (10) Jack Dawson (6-3, L,W,W,L,W, 270lbs) #13 (11) Android Seventeen (9-8, W,W,L,L,L, 280lbs) #14 (12) Randall Couture (9-3, W,W,L,W,L, 233lbs) #15 (15) Ricky Hughes (9-8, L,L,W,L,L, 264lbs) **Rankings are determined by hype/pop, p4p rank, win/loss record and a few company internal criteria. Rankings can and will change frequently after each event** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello301 Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 IFC MW17 (7 March 18 - Hard Knocks, Los Angeles) Prelims Fight 1 - Lightweight Division (3-3, 155 lbs) Jon George VS (1-1, 135 lbs) Christopher “Acid” Allan George is fresh out of the UVC organization and will be making his IFC debut in this fight. Although his record seems poor this is only, because he was at the top of the rankings and 2 of his 3 losses were to the same opponent who was the champion in the UVC. He hopes a good showing in this one could lead to him trying to get a strong position in a new organization. Allan had an abysmal showing in his IFC debut getting knocked out in 39 seconds against Nate Diaz. Considering the only opponent he has defeated was Ryan Gosling (who was singing to Emma Stone at the time) he has a lot to prove in this one if he wants to climb in the rankings. Prediction: This is kind of a classic match up between a wrestler and a boxer and as always it will come down to whether the wrestler can take the boxer down. Winner: Christopher “Acid” Allan George’s takedown defense doesn’t look up to the task of stopping Allan so I expect Allan to be able to take the victory in this one. Fight 2 - Middleweight Division (3-6, 185 lbs) Lord “God of Destruction” Beerus VS (1-1, 177 lbs) Uoi “Raging Bull” Ishida Beerus has looked less like a God of destruction and more like a mortal of loss as of late. 5 straight losses is not something any fighter can afford to have happen if they expect to be anywhere in the considerations for the power rankings. He has had serious concerns about his chin as he seems to be getting knocked out a majority of the time with only his last opponent being unable to finish him. Ishida is making his triumphant return to the mma world having not fought in an mma fight since May of 2017. His record seems ok, but if you add in his KT fights he hosts an abysmal 2-6 record. Just like his opponent he appears to suffer from an inability to take a punch. Prediction: Predicting this fight is not predicting who will win, but who will lose, because neither one of these fighters has shown much other than the ability to be knocked out. If Beerus can get this fight to the ground he has a very large advantage, but his opponent similarly has a large advantage standing. Loser: Lord “God of Destruction” Beerus Beerus’ takedown ability is just too poor to support his jiu jitsu and I expect him to be knocked out before he can get this fight to the ground. Undercard Fight 3 - New Blood Division (0-2, 145 lbs) “The Dangerous” Beast Incarnate VS (2-1, 150 lbs) Ronaldo Mateo Suarez Incarnate has looked very poor in both of his showings and another loss her would be demoralizing for him, especially if its another 5 second knockout. However, he has shown nothing as of yet that would give anyone confidence in him being able to beat anyone. Suarez left RISE with a 2-0 record and two knockouts to his name. This is a perfect opponent for him to continue the knockout streak against and a loss here would just go to show that he might not be ready for the IFC at this point in time. Prediction: Suarez has yet to face a decent jiu jitsu artist and this whole in his game does leave an opening if this fight goes to the ground. Winner: Ronaldo Mateo Suarez Its hard to picture Suarez losing this one, but if he chooses to take his opponent down there is a chance of him being submitted. While he is a strong wrestler it is unnecessary for him to take the risk of taking a jiu jitsu artist to the ground and I expect him to just keep it standing. Fight 4 - New Blood Division (1-1, 258 lbs) Carver Frost VS (5-2, 280 lbs) Jason “Arm Bar” Card Frost looked amazing in his first fight knocking Incarnate out in 5 seconds, but his second fight he ran into a good jiu jitsu wrestler and was submitted right before the match went to the judge’s scorecards. Against this opponent we will find out how he fares against a Muay Thai fighter. Card although young already has fought 7 times with a good record to show for it. Since joining the IFC he is 2-0 and has won both of these fights with his knees. However, both of these fights were against people who also wanted to fight from the clinch. Prediction: Frost has the advantage from a distance, but if Card can bring it in close he should have a rather large advantage. Winner: Jason “Arm Bar” Card I expect Card to bring this fight into the clinch where he can control with his superior strength and a combination of elbows and knees, ultimately ending in a TKO. Fight 5 - Lightweight Division (6-9, 140 lbs) Gin Kobra VS (3-1, 155 lbs) Uesugi “Samurai iii” Kenshin In his last fight Kobra managed to win a fight against a very closely matched opponent and will look to continue with another win making him 2-0 since the IFC was split into different weight classes. Kenshin is only participating in his second fight since joining the IFC and so far he is 1-0. You have to take this win with a grain of salt, because he defeated Davis who is on a major slump and has not won in quite some time. Prediction: This fight it is hard to say where it will take place at. Honestly this fight largely depends on Kenshin, because he has the ability to fight standing or on the ground and which he decides will have a large impact on the fight. Winner: Uesugi “Samurai iii” Kenshin Despite being slightly inferior standing I give Kenshin the edge, because he has the wrestling to bring it to the ground if the boxing goes poorly for him giving him more options in the fight. Fight 6 - Heavyweight Division (6-9, 238 lbs) En “Metal Priest” Esch VS (3-1, 255 lbs) Vinnie Sixx Esch finally halted his 4 loss streak with a victory over Krieg via TKO in the 2nd round. It was a very one sided fight that participated solely in the clinch which is the strong point of Esch’s game. If he can fight from the clinch again he could get another win in this one. Sixx is a very accomplished boxer with decent skills in wrestling and jiu jitsu as well. He has only fought once in the IFC, but in that one fight he managed to win knockout of the night with an impressive win over Wood using a superman punch 23 seconds into the fight. Prediction: In a fight where we have a muay thai fighter against a man who has a tendency to cut things look grim for the easily cut man. However, in this case that man is Sixx whose boxing skills make closing a very difficult process. Winner: Vinnie Sixx Esch has proven too prone to being knocked out for me to give him the nod despite Sixx having the weakness to cuts. I doubt Esch will be able to last long enough to pull Sixx into the clinch making Sixx the clear favorite. Main Card Fight 7 - Middleweight Division (9-3, 217 lbs) #12 MW Damien “Avalon D” OQuinn VS (9-6-1, 185 lbs) Boss Yonic OQuinn is finally making his IFC debut as he takes on Yonic in this one. He has had a successful career in the KFC and the SFC amassing a record of 9-3 through his tenure in these orgs. Now we get to see how he stacks up against the Fighters in the IFC as he takes on a fighter on the cusp of the rankings. Yonic had his chance to burst onto the scene in his last fight where he headlined against Brawler. However, Brawler cut the dream short as he knocked Yonic out in the middle of the second round. Yonic will look to recover against the IFC newcomer OQuinn and prove that getting a chance to headline an event was no fluke. Prediction: This is a difficult fight to predict, because both fighters are impressive in their own rights. Standing OQuinn has a large advantage while on the ground Yonic has a small one. However, OQuinn is almost as good as Yonic at wrestling so its hard to say whether Yonic can take OQuinn down with any reliability. Winner: Boss Yonic OQuinn’s victories came against opponents that were not very impressive so I feel that his record is less impressive than it appears. Yonic on the other hand has been tested against tough opponents and I’ll give him a slight edge in this one, but OQuinn would go far in proving himself with a victory here. Fight 8 - Middleweight Division (8-3, 205 lbs) #4 MW Luca Brasi lii VS (6-0, 215 lbs) #5 MW Big Murha Brasi was a champion who defended his belt two times in the SFC and after losing it decided to move on. Since joining the IFC he is 1-0 and is currently slated to be the 4th ranked fighter in the middleweight division. He didn’t look particularly impressive in his first fight and will have to show he belongs this high in the rankings through a victory in this one. Murha unlike Brasi has been in the IFC through 5 of his 6 career fights and has clawed his way up to his present day ranking. Some say that his ranking at 5th is almost an insult to a fighter as impressive as Murha and beating the upstart Brasi would go far in showing that he is a serious contender in the middleweight division. Prediction: Murha has some serious power at his dispense and will try and keep this fight standing while Brasi has the ability to mix up his style between standing, clinch, and ground. Brasi would have to be very brave to keep this one standing so I expect him to try and bring this to the ground. Winner: Big Murha Brasi may have the advantage on the ground, but I find it extremely unlikely for him to get the fight there against a superior wrestler. On the other hand Murha is vastly superior standing and should be able to pound Brasi into oblivion. Co Main Event - Lightweight Division (20-5, 158 lbs) #4 LW Uri “The Bender” Gellar VS (11-5, 163 lbs) #6 LW Mike “The Hammer” Van Rijn Gellar is a former island fighter who has no signed on with the IFC and he is here to show what the island runner up can do on the mainland. He was put into the #4 spot in the lightweight division and gets the chance to prove he belongs there with this fight. Van Rijn was also an island fighter, but he made a much poorer showing of himself on the island. He is 2-1 in the KFC organization since leaving the island and now looks to bring his skills over to the IFC. This fight gives him a good opportunity to show that his showing on the island was not indicative of the amount of skill he has. Prediction: The runner up versus a guy who got knocked out in the second round seems like a pretty simple one to predict, but you never know what will happen until the fight is over. Both fighters prefer to keep it standing so we should get to see an exciting back and forth where each fighter trades blows. Winner: Uri “The Bender” Gellar Gellar is superior in every part of his game and its hard to see Van Rijn having any chance at winning this fight. Main Event - Middleweight Division (21-3, 220 lbs) #3 MW Light “Son Of” Heavyweight VS (9-8, 178 lbs) #10 MW Steven “The Steamroller” Kennedy Heavyweight proved himself to be the best fighter in the middleweight division at IFC MW13, but then summarily lost his title to Divac two weeks later in a very tough decision loss. He will be trying to recover from the demoralizing loss in this fight against a good fighter in Kennedy. Kennedy has been floating around the top 10 rankings throughout his career, but just can’t seem to ever climb passed the bottom of the rankings. He recently lost to the upstart Brasi and a victory here would go far in validating him as a fighter showing that he belongs within the top 10 not right at the cusp. Prediction: Kennedy likes to fight on the ground while his opponent has won only by TKO and these two contrasting styles will make for an interesting fight where you have no idea what will happen. Winner: Light “Son Of” Heavyweight Heavyweight has fought better wrestlers and won. Its hard to vote against a fighter with as storied a career as Heavyweight and I expect yet another TKO victory from the impressive fighter. -Eric Leoanrd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 New Blood V.3 - Iron Man League (Creation Tournament) Hey guys. In a move that is totally not ripping off the New York Fight Nights Legends tournament that has currently been running, I would love the next New Blood tournament to start in league format! The NYFN tournament was only open to managers that have been ranked Top 10 but this is open to any and all. My biggest prerequisite is that you have at least been playing for a little while and been active. I'm unlikely to accept entries from brand new accounts as there is rather large element of trust needed for these type of things to run smoothly but nothing stopping anyone from shooting me a message if you are unsure. Rules will be similar to the NYFN thing as it seemed to work well and everyone enjoyed. FORMAT 1. Creation date will be 1st April 2018 (The day of the current New Blood tournament final) - There will then be four weeks of training time until tournament start 2. Testing is allowed but fighters must be chosen and signed up two weeks after creation. 3. As always it will be open weight up to -265lbs (must be able to make 265lbs) and fighters MUST be 18 4. Shooting for 16 fighters randomly split into two pools of 8 (though this can work with any number of fighters really and could end up being only one pool if poor numbers) and will fight each other once 5. Top 2 in each pool (or top 4 if only 1 league) qualify for the Semi-Finals which will be standard knockout format. 6. Fights will be EVERY 2 WEEKS and fights will be standard 3 x 5 mins rounds (except for final which will be 5 x 5) POINTS - 3 Points for Finish Win - 2 Points for Decision Win - 1 Point for Draw - 0 Points for Loss PRIZE - 1st Place = 300k + 3 Months VIP - 2nd Place = 150k - 3rd Place = 75k - 4th Place = 25k ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for now. If I've missed any glaring bits of information out please let me know. I've already got a decent amount of interest and we're about half way to the target already so if you want a spot please let me know asap. Cheers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 IFC 41 - Preview (10th March 2018 – King Theatre, Los Angeles) Main Card Main Event – Lightweight Division Title (Champion) Klaus “The House” Chugman (12-2, 130lbs) vs. (#1) Bruce “Get Loose” Mafaking (16-4, 164lbs) Our headline fight tonight sees Klaus “The House” Chugman defending his newly acquired lightweight title belt for the first time and his first challenger is ex-Island terror Bruce “Get Loose” Mafaking. Klaus Chugman has had a tremendous career so far in the Iron Man Fight Club and the fact that the vast majority of his 12-2 record was fought in the now finished open weight format really shows just how hard he has had to work to get to the stage he is at now. He has already fought and beaten many of the current lightweight Top 15 and probably his most famous victory was against Island champion Light-Heavyweight not so long ago where he managed pull off a submission upset after dragging the fight to the floor and securing a rear naked choke in the first round. Chugman’s most recent fight was for the then vacant lightweight title where he faced boxer “Gypsy” Tommy Walcott for the second time in his career. Although the fight went longer than before, Chugman’s tenacious ground based fighting style proved to be too much once again and Chugman became the very first IFC lightweight champion. Now, after basking in the glow of that recent title victory, it’s time to get down to business once more and to the task of defending the belt. Attempting to wrest the gold from Chugman’s grasp is former Island fighter Bruce Mafaking. With a record of 16-4, Mafaking’s time on the island was a successful one in which he managed to capture the Island FC lightweight title and defend it a further eight times until season’s end. Though a strong candidate for the end of season tournament, Mafaking was eliminated in the third round by the eventual winner. Mafaking then made his way to the mainland under new management but made a poor showing in the Pulse Fighting Championship in New York losing two out of two fights there before parting ways with management. Those two losses didn’t seem to damage his stock too much however and with new representation and after a strong showing in his IFC debut where he managed to catch Brock Sampson with a submission in the third round, Mafaking was given the next shot at the title. Both fighters are first and foremost grappling specialists and have an exceptional level of wrestling to assist their strong submissions games. Unlike Chugman however, Mafaking has put in some work both with his boxing and Muay Thai and though only to a mediocre level, Mafaking has shown some very tidy striking and even managed to pick up some finishes as a result. This could be a key aspect of the fight. Chugman has faced strikers before as well as top level submission wrestlers but not usually both at the same time. Though Chugman’s BJJ brown belt certainly trumps Mafakings purple, it’s unlikely that Mafaking will be very far behind and if he is able to keep up with him on the floor then certainly his striking advantage may come into play if he chooses to go that route. Chugman is the champion and has been a tremendous fighter in the IFC but make no mistake this could be his toughest fight to date and he very well could find himself struggling against Mafaking if he can’t keep the fight on the floor. He will be the slight favourite overall but mainly because of the consistency of his camp and good form of late. Co-Main Event – Middleweight Division (#8) Ispa Murhaa (6-0, 192lbs) vs. (#6) Terry Bogard (7-4, 179lbs) Our co-main event of the evening features undefeated Finnish prospect Ispa Murhaa taking on kickboxer Terry Bogard. It’s been interesting to watch Murhaa develop over the past six fights as, though he has always displayed great potential from the very start, he didn’t start out as a big finisher despite dominating in those early fights. Lately however, Murhaa has really upped his game and the results have been some staggering KO finishes over solid opponents and some solid gains up the middleweight rankings. Now making his seventh professional appearance in the cage, Ispa Murhaa will look to keep his undefeated streak intact and notch up another big win this time over striker Terry Bogard. Terry Bogard has blown both hot and cold of late but mainly suffered at the hands of skilled submission specialists. In fact only against other strikers has Bogard looked truly comfortable with big wins over Trey Daniels, Vincent Lemiuex and most recently Don Joe being of particular note. Bogard has made some obvious improvements in his wrestling over the past weeks but still has yet to take his submissions ability seriously and currently remains a white belt in BJJ. This likely won’t be a huge factor in this match up but it has definitely come to be his Achilles heel overall. It’s hard not to consider Murhaa as the favourite in this one as his overall game is far more well rounded and he will have a big advantage in the grappling. However, you also cannot ignore Bogard’s perfect record of KO’s in all of his wins and after his knockout of heavyweight Vincent Lemiuex in his last open weight bout, obviously has the power to test Murhaa’s chin should he connect. A big occasion for both and a big test for two men with designs on the middleweight title Fight 8 – Heavyweight Division (#14) Randall “Natural” Couture (9-3, 233lbs) vs. (#13) “Red Ribbon Armys” Android Seventeen (9-8, 281lbs) A heavyweight bout now and Randall “Natural” Couture, a fighter who has made a pretty successful start to his time in the IFC will take on former title challenger Android Seventeen who has made something of a resurgence lately after a very rocky period previously. Tonight’s match up marks Randall Couture’s third time fighting under the IFC banner and will be his thirteenth professional fight overall. A record of 9-3, Couture previously fought in the now defunct World Fighting Championship out of London where he managed to capture their heavyweight title before dropping it in his first defence and after going a respectable 3-2 found his way to the Iron Man Fight Club and has so far made quite an impact knocking out both Vedran Stefanovic and former champion Ricky Hughes in the first round. These performances have been enough to thrust him into the Top 15 and tonight he will have an opportunity to go even further if he can first get past the larger, heavy hitting Android Seventeen. Android Seventeen has had to battle through some serious adversity and has only just managed to start turning things around after going through one of the worst streaks of loses ever seen in the IFC cage. A total of seven in a row with six of them by submission, Seventeen’s days as a high ranking contender seemed numbered before getting back to what he does best with first round KO’s over En Esch and The Requis. The successful early days of his career built up quite a fan following and it is that loyal fan base that have kept Seventeen relevant and now back on a two fight win streak Seventeen is making moves back into the Top 10 and a win over Couture would surely seal the deal. This is an interest match up as Couture seems to like fighting everywhere. On his feet, in the clinch and on the ground. Seventeen would no doubt like to keep this standing as that is where his bread and butter lies and Couture is unlikely to be able to match him there. Couture does have the ability to finish fights but he also has a fair amount of decision wins too which doesn’t seem likely in this one as Seventeen has rarely gone past the first round no matter what the result. Seventeen has also made improvements in his grappling, no doubt as a reaction to his run of submission losses so it will be interesting to see how the fight will play out should Couture be successful in taking the fight to the floor. Couture has had a good start in the IFC and seems to be a very solid fighter at this point but tonight you get the feeling that Android Seventeen is on the rise once more and this is reflected in the bookmakers odds that see Seventeen as the favourite for this one Fight 7 – Middleweight Division “Corpse Making Cowboy” Don Joe (8-6, 190lbs) vs. Alexander Porto (9-8, 180lbs) Fight 7 brings us a middleweight match up between the “Corpse Making Cowboy” Don Joe and Brazil’s Alexander Porto Don Joe is currently suffering a bad spell of form and has managed to lose his last four fights in a row. Two were to heavyweight juggernauts Super Heavyweight and “Big” Steve Butabi in the open weight format but after dropping into the middleweight division Don Joe has also struggled against ranked fighters in Schmorgen Biscuit and Terry Bogard. These last two loses have been particularly concerning for his management who may be considering whether Don Joe can compete at this level any longer. As a former champion in a rival org, to a title challenger in the IFC and now struggling as a middle runner in the new middleweight division. Don Joe needs a big performance and he needs it tonight. His opponent Alexander Porto also comes into tonight's bout off the back of some tough results. At XXXV he was caught by former champion Steven Kennedy with a first round submission and then in his second match up he faced exciting undefeated prospect Ispa Murhaa and though gave a good account of himself was caught with a big uppercut near the end of round two that ended the fight. This fight is likely to be a stand up war with both Joe and Porto preferring to do there work there. Don Joe has the better boxing and Porto the better Muay Thai. Statistically Porto is a little more likely to get the finish then Joe but there isn’t much in it and this area should be competitive. Porto’s will have a better advantage in the wrestling and has shown a decent ability in the clinch. This is an area that Joe has usually shied away from and that could be a lack of confidence in his abilities there. Both Porto and to a degree Joe have looked promising at times when on the offensive but defensively have suffered their fair share of losses by now. Both fighters have dropped outside of the Top 15 in the org and will be desperate to pick up a win here tonight. Porto the favourite by a small amount to pick up a win here and most likely by a stoppage Undercard Fight 6 – Middleweight Division Edson Ribeiro (10-2, 185lbs) vs. Terje “Nightmare” Warholm (4-4-1, 220lbs) After a few weeks away from the cage, famous Island fighter Edson Ribeiro returns and he’ll be taking on Terje “Nightmare” Warholm After a stunning ten fight undefeated streak on the Island that saw him capture the TIT 185lb strap, Ribeiro was inexplicably dropped by his management team and his home organisation. With such a following it didn’t take long for new management to come along and with it a move to the rival Island FC where he was unsuccessful in his attempt to become a two org champion. This would be Edson’s last fight for the year 2017 and it wasn’t until recently he resurfaced on the mainland and signed with a the IFC. Making his debut at Mid Week 13 against first ever New Blood Tournament champion Fay Gott, Ribeiro showed himself to be an amazingly tough competitor as he was battered for the entire fifteen minute match up and lost a unanimous decision. Now for his second appearance in the IFC cage he faces another tough test in the form of youngster Terje Warholm. Terje Warholm began his career in the IFC and has bounced from division to division. Beginning in the old open weight format, Warholm then entered the first ever New Blood tournament where he was eliminated in the second round by Micky Kirby. Moving back into the open weight Warholm managed to pick up some big wins against prospects Rober Garfield and Mr Kaalee before losing in his last fight to high ranking middleweight contender Big Murha. It was a three round war in which both fighters traded many shots but despite finishing strong it wasn’t enough to overturn the two round lead that Murha gained. This is a difficult match up for Ribeiro who will desperately need to get this fight to the floor quickly. Warholm hasn’t yet evolved his game in area past a remarkable level but he has developed a very strong well rounded striking game that is likely to quickly overwhelm Ribeiro. Ribeiro doesn’t seem to have evolved very much from his Island days but his bread and butter is still very much his submission game and Warholm will not want to test himself against Ribeiro there. With many believing that Edson Ribeiro’s best days are firmly behind him there doesn’t seem to be much faith in a victory for him tonight. A heavy underdog. Can Ribeiro prove those naysayers wrong or will Warholm make a name for himself off his back. Fight 5 – Middleweight Division (#14) Yuri “Subversion” Bezmenov (4-0, 207lbs) vs. Chara Zaad (8-7, 210lbs) Next up in the middleweight division, one of the most frightening prospects we’ve seen in the org since Iain Tower marched his way to heavyweight gold, Yuri “Subversion” Bezmenov takes on experienced journeyman Chara Zaad. Making only his fifth appearance in the cage tonight, Yuri Bezmenov already looks to be the real deal and has yet to truly be tested in the cage. With all four wins coming by way of first round finish, Bezmenov has already moved into the middleweight Top 15 and if his current form continues as it is, looks unlikely to stop anytime soon. Attempting to halt Bezmenov tonight is IFC veteran Chara Zaad who will be making his sixteenth appearance in the IFC cage. Zaad has been one of the most active fighters in the org’s history and is currently ranked joint third for most fights. Zaad is also up there in other catorgories such as most KO’s with six and most wins with eight. Overall though it is Zaad’s willingness to fight any and all comers that has endeared him to the fans hearts. This fight pits raw, natural ability against experience of which Zaad will need every ounce of if he is to figure out a way of defeating the up and comer Bezmenov Bezmenov has shown tremendous improvements in his striking skills that are only surpassed by his frightening ground game. Zaad has some sensational boxing skills and is coming off of a couple of very big wins against The Requis and Wrecking Ball which may give him reason to believe he has a good shot tonight. Zaad has been slowly building his wrestling up in order to give him more opportunity to stay on his feet but it will be a tall order to stop Bezmenov from taking him down. Once on the floor the fight is likely to be over quickly so really Zaad’s only chance is to get the job done standing and done quickly. Despite Zaad’s recent good form and his wealth of experience, he will still be the heavy underdog with many believing Bezmenov to be a future champion down the road. Fight 4 – Middleweight Division Joe “The Alternate” Average (2-4, 210lbs) vs. James “The Nervous” Gregor (5-10, 210lbs) More action from the middleweight division with Joe “The Alternate” Average taking on James “The Nervous” Gregor. Joe Average, fresh off a rare submission victory against Chong Tay in his last fight, looks to keep the momentum going as an IFC middleweight and improve upon his relatively poor record overall. He’ll be taking on another under performer in James Gregor who will be making his sixteenth appearance for the IFC but has only managed to get his hand raised on a handful of those occasions. Both fighters have made visable improvements in the gym but have had a hard time putting it together in the cage. Gregor will have a slight advantage in both the stand up and on the ground but generally this should be a very competitive match up with the bookies making Gregor only the slight favourite Fight 3 – Heavyweight Division Kirk Lazarus (2-2, 265lbs) vs. Francisco “The Count” Babyara (2-2, 270lbs) Next up, what should be a fun heavyweight scrap with Kirk Lazarus taking on unashamed Spanish striker Francisco “The Count” Babyara. Kirk Lazarus is another fighter guilty of under performing during his time here in the IFC. On paper, a very capable young prospect but having dropped losses to low ranking fighters such as James Gregor, Lazarus hasn’t exactly been turning any heads. He did managed to pick up a win during his last bout however and against a solid competitor in Kyle “Animal” Ryan but he will need many more such performances if he is to climb away from the bottom area of the heavyweight rankings. His opponent Francisco Babyara could very easily be mistaken for a KT fighter who has just wandered into the cage by mistake. An exceptional boxer with a competent base in kickboxing, Babyara has shunned other areas of MMA in favour of his striking and if his last fight is anything to go by could be onto something. His IFC debut against Kendrick Michaelson ended after only eleven seconds by a beautiful shot to the temple following a big combination. On the feet this fight should be very competitive with both having some high level striking skills. The grappling is another story altogether. Lazarus is a well rounded fighter who has yet to be finish in a fight. Though his results have been lacklustre so far his options in this fight are just too numerous compared to Babyara who will need get things just right in order to pull of a small upset. Prelims Fight 2 – Heavyweight Division Kendrick “Ni Klaus” Michaelson (1-2, 253lbs) vs. Ruben Kirby (0-1, 265lbs) Our second prelim fight of the night features two fighters starting at the bottom and looking to make a name for themselves in Kendrick “Ni Klaus” Michaelson and Ruben Kirby Kendrick Michaelson will be looking for some redemption in this match up after suffering a demoralising eleven second knockout at the hands of Francisco Babyara. The defeat made all the more embarrassing after some unfortunate smack talk from Michaelson’s manager was directed Babyara’s way. Now making his second appearance in the IFC, an opportunity to do better and test himself against one of the famous Kirby family fighters, newcomer Ruben Kirby Ruben Kirby has fought only once before in the New Blood division and lost a unanimous decision against Hennig Muller. It was a fantastic fight and one that could have easily have been awarded fight of the night. Both fighters are likely to keep this standing and that bodes well for the fans watching. Both fighters are fairly similar in size and ability and both will be hungry to avenge their previous loses. Fight 1 – Middleweight Division Raheem “The Dream” Nazir (6-16, 210lbs) vs. Nevil “Sinclair” Hawk (1-6, 170lbs) Kicking of the evening we have a middleweight scrap between journeyman Raheem “The Dream” Nazir and Nevil “Sinclair” Hawk. Raheem Nazir has by now a wealth of experience in the cage and will look to put all that experience to good use tonight. His IFC debut didn’t go particular well after suffering a first round KO against youngster Hanny “The Fist” Sledgehammer. Making his own IFC debut tonight is newcomer Nevil Hawk, a twenty year old brawler with a record of 1-6. Hawk has spent the majority of his career fighting in Hilo in The Beatdown org where he managed to pick up only one win in six. Now, with a fresh start, Hawk will see if he can fare any better here. This really could go anyway at all. Nazir will be looking to get this fight to the floor where he will have a decent advantage there and Hawk will no doubt want to stay on his feet and win with strikes. Neither fighter has been that successful in imposing his style on his opponent so far so we will look forward to seeing who will come out on top in this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club - Official Rankings (11th March 2018) (Sponsored by IniTech Nutrition who stock both 160q Stamina Fuel and 160q Muscle Bulk along with their pioneering Chaos Energy 160q Recovery sup) Lightweight (155lbs and under) #Champ (Ch) - Klaus Chugman (13-2, W,W,W,W,W, 130lbs #1 (4) Uri Geller (21-5, W,L,L,W,W, 158lbs) #2 (2) Evgeni Lomachenko (9-7,W,W,L,L,W, 152lbs) #3 (3) Mister Island (10-5, W,L,L,W,W, 145lbs) #4 (1) Bruce Mafaking (16-5, L,W,L,L,L, 164lbs) #5 (12) Wolfgang Lee Roth (8-5, W,L,W,L,L, 154lbs) #6 (7) Soul Shadow (6-3, W,W,W,L,W, 162lbs) #7(12) Maximilian Kirby (5-0, W,W,W,W,W, 165lbs) #8 (8) Daniel Sainty (9-7,W,L,W,L,W, 150lbs) #9 (6) Mike Van Rijn (11-6, L,L,W,W,L, 163lbs) #10 (10) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-2, L,W,W,L,W, 165lbs) #11 (9) Luiz Correia Azevedo (12-6, L,L,W,W,W, 148lbs) #12 (11) Brock Sampson (6-4, L,W,L,L,W, 168lbs) #13 (NE) Anton Touchard (6-1, W,W,L,W,W, 168lbs) #14 (NE) Xing Pugberg (5-2, W,L,W,W,L, 130lbs) #15 (13) Willie McCoy (6-3, W,W,L,L,W, 150lbs) Middleweight (155lbs to 205lbs) #Champ (Ch) Roman Divac (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 198lbs) #1 (1) Brooklyn Brawler (11-3, W,W,W,L,W, 190lbs) #2 (5) Big Murha (7-0, W,W,W,W,W, 215lbs) #3 (3) Light Heavyweight (22-3, W,L,W,L,W, 220lbs) #4 (2) Mew Choo (12-1, W,L,W,W,W, 191lbs) #5 (12) Damien OQuinn (10-3, W,W,W,W,W, 216lbs) #6 (7) Jaxson Wilder (8-3, W,W,L,L,W, 205lbs) #7 (9) Jon Ubereem (13-7, L,W,L,W,L, 218lbs) #8 (4) Luca Brasi Lii (8-4, L,W,L,W,W, 205lbs) #9 (6) Terry Bogard (7-5, L,W,L,W,L, 179lbs) #10 (10) Steven Kennedy (9-9, L,L,W,L,W, 178lbs) #11 (14) Yuri Bezmenov (5-0, W,W,W,W,W, 207lbs) #12 (11) Ribociclib Kisqali (8-2, L,L,W,W,W, 220lbs) #13 (RE) Alexander Porto (10-8, W,L,L,W,L, 180lbs) #14 (13) Manuel Lora (9-6, W,W,L,W,L, 180lbs) #15 (15) Kamden Jackson (8-3, W,W,L,W,W, 189lbs) Heavyweight (205lbs and over) #Champ (Ch) Iain Tower (9-0, W,W,W,W,W, 275lbs) #1 (1) Super Heavyweight (18-3, W,L,W,W,W, 280lbs) #2 (2) Vinicio Serpico (7-2, W,W,L,W,L, 260lbs) #3 (3) Japa Koniu (7-2, L,W,W,W,W, 235lbs) #4 (4) Greg Bell (8-9, W.L,W,W,L, 300lbs) #5 (5) Steve Butabi (8-2, L,W,W,L,W, 290lbs) #6 (6) Grigori Rasputin (16-3, L,L,W,W,W, 241lbs) #7 (10) Vladimir Impaler (8-2, W,W,W,W,W, 270lbs) #8 (7) Hamish McTavish (7-3, W,W,L,W,W, 292lbs) #9 (13) Android Seventeen (10-8, W,W,W,L,L, 280lbs) #10 (9) Vincent Lemieux (10-6, L,W,L,W,W, 270lbs) #11 (8) Schmorgen Biscuit (9-5, L,W,L,W,W, 222lbs) #12 (11) Naiki Nekele (9-4, W,W,L,W,W, 268lbs) #13 (RE) Albert Van Rooy (4-3, W,L,W,W,W, 234lbs) #14 (12) Jack Dawson (6-3, L,W,W,L,W, 270lbs) #15 (14) Randall Couture (9-4, L,W,W,L,W, 233lbs) **Rankings are determined by hype/pop, p4p rank, win/loss record and a few company internal criteria. Rankings can and will change frequently after each event** 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted March 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 Iron Man Fight Club – Mid Week 18 Preview (14th March 2018 – King Theatre, Los Angeles) Main Card Main Event – Heavyweight Division (#1) Super “Dominator” Heavyweight (18-3, 280lbs) vs. (#2) Vinicio “Ill Serpente Ubriaco” Serpico (3-0, 260lbs) Our headlining fight tonight features two of the top talents in the heavyweight division in Super “Dominator” Heavyweight and Vinicio “Ill Serpente Ubriaco” Serpico and both are building a solid case for a shot at the title. Super Heavyweight hasn’t long had his first crack at the IFC heavyweight title which was an unfortunately one sided affair against Iain Tower in which Heavyweight lost by submission late in the second round. Though Heavyweight was unsuccessful in that attempt he did show unbelievable determination to take Tower further than anyone previously had and also some serious toughness to take as much punishment as he did. The loss didn’t linger on Heavyweights mind for long however as in his return fight against Steve Butabi, Heavyweight was the last man standing in absolute rock em, sock em slugfest and managed to put Butabi away just before the bell at the end of round one. Now back to winning ways, 18-3 Super Heavyweight will look to pick up another win here tonight and ever closer to another shot at the title. His opponent is young up and comer Vinicio Serpico. A former KT fighter, Serpico is actually undefeated in his early foray into MMA and with a record of 3-0 and after a stunning first round TKO over Vincent Lemieux in his IFC debut finds himself flying high in the rankings and with a real opportunity to stake his claim for a shot at the heavyweight title. Of course to get there he will need to get past Super Heavyweight first and that will be no easy feat at all. This fight will very likely end up being a heavy handed stand up battle with Serpico trying to keep it at a distance and Heavyweight using his simple but effective striking to get in close to and work over Serpico in the clinch. Serpico has had good result using those types of tactics against big strong fighters like Heavyweight which has resulted in some decision wins on his MMA record. Heavyweight on the other hand has a terrifying 100% record of KO finishes in his eighteen wins meaning that if he is going to beat you, you are going to sleep. Making this match up all the more interesting is the fact that Serpico has never been knocked out in either KT or MMA and that could be down to either his granite chin or his evasive stand up technique. This fight is tough to call with both fighters being extremely good at what they do. Whoever is able to impose their game plan on other is likely to come out on top and I think we could see this end up in a decision. With no real obvious contenders in the division at the moment a win here could be enough to earn a shot at the title though it’s likely Heavyweight would need at least another after this. Serpico on the other hand could end up on a four fight winning streak and that would put him ahead of everyone else currently. Definitely a high stakes fight and what will no doubt be an exciting main event for the IFC Co-Main Event – Heavyweight Division (#5) “Big” Steve Butabi (8-2, 290lbs) vs. (#10) Vincent Lemieux (10-6, 270lbs) Our co-main event of the evening is already a potential candidate for fight of the night with two extremely prolific and heavy hitting heavyweights in “Big” Steve Butabi and Vincent Lemieux Steve Butabi started his career in the IFC back at IFC IX and absolutely terrorised the roster, going on a six fight streak of KO’s and earning himself a shot at the title against then undefeated Mew Choo. One very uncharacteristic mistake during the fight and Butabi went home empty handed and suffering his first professional loss. He didn’t dwell on that loss however and instantly got back to winning ways going on a two fight streak before running into Super Heavyweight in his last bout. An absolute war, Butabi and Heavyweight went toe to toe and both suffered terrible cuts that threatened to stop the bout at any moment. After just over four minutes of incredible action, Heavyweight caught Butabi right on the button and Butabi suffered the second loss of his career. Now, once again, he must pick himself up and will look to get back in the mix with a strong performance tonight. Facing him is Canadian slugger Vincent Lemiuex who will be making his sixth appearance in the IFC after a brief spell in the Steel Penn org of Hilo. After a strong start to his time here, Lemieux’s performances have been a little up and down of late with alternating wins and losses and will be coming into this bout of the back of a first round TKO loss to Vinicio Serpico and having slipped down the rankings from his previous best. This one is likely to be decided quickly and decisively. Both Butabi and Lemieux hit hard and know a thing or two about finishing a fight. They have also shown previously that they can be finished themselves and so we can pretty much assume that this fight is unlikely to go to the judges. Butabi has on the rarest of occasions taken the fight to the ground and it will be interesting to see if he attempts to do the same in this match up and both he and Lemiuex are extremely similar in that area. Butabi the favourite in this one by a razor thin margin. Fight 8 – Lightweight Division (#10) Tzwrtzos Peidis (6-2, 165lbs) vs. (#8) Daniel “The Unsanitary” Sainty (9-7, 150lbs) Next up, a classic grappler versus striker match up with Tzwrtzos Peidis taking on submission specialist Daniel Sainty Tzwrtzos Peidis makes his return to the cage after previously losing a number one contender match up against Mister Island. It was his first loss after a couple of good wins and really upset the momentum of the Greek fighter, dropping him down the rankings to #10. Now making possibly his last appearance in the IFC, Peidis takes on submission specialist Daniel Sainty. Sainty is coming into this fight off the back of a stunning upset over up and coming lightweight star Gosha Lopez. Though he was outgunned in almost all areas, Sainty managed to make his best attributes count and caught Gosha napping with a guillotine. It was Sainty’s ninth career submission win leaving him second only to Klaus Chugman for most submissions in the org. Now, having moved to #8 Sainty could perhaps take a big step towards earning his first shot at the lightweight title with another win over Peidis here tonight. Both Peidis and Sainty are very proficient in what they do. Both fighters have a perfect record for finishes in their victories and have a big advantage in their specialised areas. There is likely to be a real battle in the wrestling where both have a proficient level and could be the key to how this entire fight plays out. If Peidis keeps it standing, he will win. If Sainty get’s him down he will catch him. An interesting fight and one that isn’t likely to last long. Peidis just suffered at the hands of a superior grappler and that might damage his confidence in this one however Sainty has always been a little inconsistent and has dropped plenty of losses during his career. An obvious winner isn’t clear and this will be reflected in the opening odds. Fight 7 – Heavyweight Division Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes (9-8, 264lbs) vs. Taz “Crash” Bandichoo (6-8, 240lbs) Next up, back to the heavyweight division and the opening fight of the main card. It’s likely to be a big one as fallen former champion Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes desperately fights to climb back into relevancy in the division. He’ll be taking on another fighter that has seen better days in Taz “Crash” Bandichoo Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes is a former IFC champion and a current hall of famer. His early days in the IFC were filled with some truly devastating and brutal knockouts and Hughes’ name alone inspired fear among the division but that all seems like such a long time ago now and the second half of Ricky Hughes career has been almost the polar opposite. His chin has become suspect and his once feared right hand no longer seems to be able to find it’s target. He has managed to win only once in his last five and has seemingly stopped improving. It is safe to say that it is a worrying time for Ricky Hughes as he faces the prospect of truly falling into obscurity. His opponent tonight is Taz Bandichoo who himself has seen his career reach some real highs and currently some big lows. On a five fight losing streak with four of them by KO finish, Bandichoo too needs to find a new way to get the job done when brute force can no longer be relied on. Now having fallen outside of the Top 15 completely, Bandichoo faces a monumental task to climb back up but tonight attempts to take the first step in doing so. On paper this fight looks as though it should go to Bandichoo handily. An overall more skilled striker with ever so slightly better wrestling and the same blue belt level jiu-jitsu as Hughes on the ground. However skills don’t paint the entire picture and Bandichoo has looked absolutely awful in his last several fights. Both he and Hughes have been guilty of favouring power over accuracy and that has been evident in their statistics of strikes landed. Hughes has at least picked up a win not so long ago and it was a good one. A KO over Bricks Thrower proving that there is still some fight left in the old dog. If nothing else this fight will be entertaining. Two fighters with a history of brutal knockouts between them and both with weakening chins. It’s likely that whoever catches who first will get their hand raised so this fight is just as much about who is the better defensively as it is about landing that big KO blow. This is a massive fight for the underdog Ricky Hughes and his loyal fans will be praying that he can somehow turn things around and return to the glory days. Undercard Fight 6 – Lightweight Division Sirimongkol Niyotrong (5-3, 152lbs) vs. Gosha Lopez (4-2, 135lbs) The last bout of our undercard features fast rising Sirimongkol Niyotrong taking on Gosha Lopez, a once highly touted prospect who has so far been disappointing. Sirimongkol Niyotrong had a rough start to his MMA career after losing his first two fights by second round TKO’s and then by decision in his third but has since come back superbly and has remained undefeated in his last five. Now sitting just outside of the Top 15, Niyotrong has a fantastic opportunity to make himself known amongst the best in the lightweight division but first he must get past what is quite possibly his toughest match up yet. Gosha Lopez signed to the IFC as a very exciting young prospect. A grappling wizard who was making great improvements in his striking, Lopez, a natural flyweight competing in an open weight format, raced to a 3 fight win streak in the IFC and looked well on track to become the potential star that was predicted. A set back against a much heavier Jaxson Wilder however gave Lopez his first loss just before moving into the newly formed lightweight division and shortly after that a shock upset against submission specialist Daniel Sainty in a match up that Lopez was highly favoured to win. With two big losses in a row, Lopez found himself outside of the Top 15 and most likely filled with doubt about his future. With a win tonight, Lopez could get himself back on track but he has a tough fight ahead of him This will be another match up in which Lopez should be favoured overall. He is by far the superior grappler and on his feet, has made enough improvements to be able to hang with Niyotrong who is much more of a striker than anything else. Niyotrong doesn’t do anything particularly spectacular but he does like to keep busy and keep his opponent guessing with a varied offensive output. With all five of his wins having been by the judges decision it’s obvious that he doesn’t have the firepower to put opponents away, at least currently. This could mean giving Lopez too much time to get the fight to the floor where Niyotrong isn’t expected to last very long at all but Lopez might want to test himself standing and that could possibly end up being a bad idea. Despite form painting a different picture, Lopez will still be the overwhelming favourite in this one but with a lot of pressure to perform as another loss against supposed weaker competition could all but destroy any notion of being a potential contender. Fight 5 – Lightweight Division Crack Head “Roks” (8-7, 153lbs) vs. Leon “Hands of Stone” Lentz (2-2, 161lbs) Next up, another struggling fighter that was once spoken about as being a potential threat in the org in Crack Head “Roks” takes on Luxembourg’s Leon “Hand’s of Stone” Lentz who also hasn’t had a great start in the IFC and will actually be making his final appearance as a professional fighter. Crack Head went a perfect 3-0 in his first few fights in the IFC and managed to take out the well respected Damien Demento by first round submission. Perhaps the pressure of winning got a little much however as from there, Head has not managed a win in four fights and lost to bitter rival Kongchai Phetboonme back at IFC XXX. With morale at an all time low, Head will need to dig deep and find something to get him motivated tonight as Leon Lentz will be looking to go out with a bang. On paper, Lentz has looked formidable but, as is the case sometimes, it just hasn’t come together in the cage and Lentz has found himself finished in both of his appearances in the IFC cage. His last, against a demoralised Andy Bogard who entered the bout on a five fight losing streak, was quite possibly the final nail in the coffin and Lentz has decide that win or lose tonight, he will call time on his very short MMA career. Though Lentz looks to have overtaken a stagnating Crack Head in terms of overall skills, Head is still likely to be competitive in this match up as his strengths are still enough to forge a winning path in places. Lentz is likely to want to keep this fight standing and it would be a huge mistake for Head to fight at a distance. His record of KO losses recently have been cause for alarm and really he needs to get up close and personal and quickly. If Head can get this fight on the floor or keep it in the clinch then he stands a chance. If not Lentz should have enough to get the KO and big finish he would no doubt want before walking off into the sunset Fight 4 – Middleweight Division Ophelius “Krampus” Ragnar (1-0, 222lbs) vs. Chong “The Star Fish” Tay (7-7, 210lbs) Our next bout sees experienced striker Chong “The Star Fish” Tay taking on fairly recent signing Ophelius “Krampus” Ragnar who is fresh off of a successful debut here in the IFC. Ophelius Ragnar is one of the very first BJJ black belts to ever grace the IFC cage and gave the crowd a quick glimpse of his advanced skills when he put a textbook jiu-jitsu performance against Taivon Arsett in his debut. A great start for Ragnar but still gaining experience and faces an uphill battle tonight against a much more experienced opponent. Chong Tay will be making his fifteenth appearance in the cage tonight and will be bringing an even record of 7-7. While inconsistency has plagued his career, Tay has shown that he has enough power in his hands to be a danger to those not paying attention and looks to also have made some improvements to his once non existent ground game. A difficult fight to predict as Ragnar is still in the infancy of his MMA career and in his one and only fight we didn’t get to see him use any of his skills in the stand up or in the clinch. Tay has shown himself to be dangerous with both his hands and feet against those less skilled then himself and, on paper, Ragnar fits that description. Ragnar may well have the confidence and composure to deal with Tay in that area but without knowing for sure we can say for certain is that Ragnar will find the easiest route to victory in a repeat performance from his debut. Fight 3 – Heavyweight Division Blitz “88” Krieg (6-6, 300lbs) vs. Maddox “Hitman” Wood (7-9-1, 245lbs) A heavyweight match up this time and Blitz “88” Krieg will take on Maddox “Hitman” Wood So far during his time here in the IFC, Krieg has shown himself to be fearless but often out of his depth and has only managed to pick up one victory in four. That sole victory however was a massive one and a huge upset over highly touted prospect Tytus Aleksy showing that, on his day, Krieg is not to be overlooked. Tonight he faces a fighter who looks to be a lot better overall but who’s recent form has dropped him squarely near the bottom of the IFC heavyweight rankings, Marcus Wood. Wood has managed to lose four of his least fights in a row including his debut here in the IFC. Alarmingly for a big striker, all four of those loses have been by first round KO so Wood has definitely got a long road ahead of himself if he is to turn things around. On paper this looks like a massive mismatch but knowing that Blitz Kreig is carrying some serious firepower and that Wood’s chin has possibly become a liability, things could get very interesting on the night. Of course Wood has an easy out and that is to bring the fight to the floor where Krieg has no formal training whatsoever. If he is able to do that then the chances of Krieg recovering are pretty non existent but all the while the fight is standing it is anybody’s fight Prelims Fight 2 – Middleweight Division Pacer “The Turnip” Dalton (2-1, 220lbs) vs. Hanny “The Fist” Sledgehammer (1-2, 192lbs) Next up, “The Turnip” Pacer Dalton attempts to move past his first career loss suffered in his last bout and his opponent is Hanny “The Fist” Sledgehammer who himself made an impressive entry into the IFC defeating journeyman Raheem Nazir in his debut. An interesting match up for Dalton as once again he is unlikely to have any trouble in getting the fight to the floor should he choose but once there will find an equally skilled BJJ blue belt. If Pacer is able to use his wrestling to control Hanny there then he will likely coast to another decision victory but if “The Fist” is able to defend and force the stand up then he might find that he has ample opportunity to find a finish on the feet. Dalton will be a decent favourite in this one but he will need to do better than last time. Sledgehammer in with a chance but only if he can get the referee to stand the fight up often. Fight 1 – Middleweight Division “Coldblood” Ed Killer (2-3, 210lbs) vs. Taivon “Mack-10” Arsett (1-3, 200lbs) Kicking off the evening we have two middleweight fighters looking to pick up a win after a couple of bad results each. “Coldblood” Ed Killer takes on Taivon “Mack-10” Arsett. This is really anybody’s fight as both fighters match up really well against each other. Both are predominately boxers and will be looking to the KO finish but Killer has some BJJ skills that he might look to take advantage of if he can somehow get past Arsett’s superior wrestling. Perhaps the biggest factor in this one is Arsett’s rock bottom morale and, though it isn’t always a guaranteed loss, it does show that the fighter isn’t taking the ideal care of himself and if that is the case, Ed Killer will no doubt be ready and willing to put him out of his misery. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.