Ironman Fight Club - Official Thread

[Cobra7]

Damn good writing! I really inspires me to want to resign Fay Gott after the New Blood Tournament.

I hope you resign Jack is looking forward to round 2 against the first person to go the distance with him

[TJMitchell]

Everyone in here needs to realise the 'resign' means quit lol. You mean re-sign, which means exactly that.

[SixFootPenguin]

You are correct, though we both know I actually mean re-sign.

[TJMitchell]

You are correct, though we both know I actually mean re-sign.

 

I know. It's just very funny to read "I hope you resign" in a sincere way.

[Cobra7]

You are correct, though we both know I actually mean re-sign.

Same here I don't like being a grammar police lol

[SixFootPenguin]

Well it makes my whole sentence so much more awesome. I told him to resign because he is the favorite to win the tournament.

[Cobra7]

Well it makes my whole sentence so much more awesome. I told him to resign because he is the favorite to win the tournament.

Yup he don't want a round 2 lol

[SixFootPenguin]

Because of the tournament structure this cant happen at least not soon but i would like to see Terry Crew vs Xing Pugberg. Even if Xing loses next round he would be in the 3rd place match for the finals.

[Judobill]

I hope you resign Jack is looking forward to round 2 against the first person to go the distance with him

If only Jack Dawson had your confidence. Speaking of which, you might want to change his clothes so his moral bumps up to 10%

[Cobra7]

It's going up little by little

[Judobill]

Everyone in here needs to realise the 'resign' means quit lol. You mean re-sign, which means exactly that.

I agree. I have become lazy and rely too heavily on spell correction.

[Alfred]

Ironman Fight Club - Mid Week 6 (11th October 2017) - Post Fight Recap

Another very good mid week show from the IFC and the fourth highest rated event so far!

In the main event of the evening #4 ranked Android Seventeen took on #6 Eldar Tskhadaia and almost finished the fight in the first minute of the first round, knocking down the Georgian with a big uppercut and sending him crashing to the mat. Somehow Tskhadaia managed to survive and scored a quick take down and was able to stall the fight and make it to the next round. In the second round Tskhadaia made no mistakes and with a textbook wrestling clinch into take down was able to secure an arm triangle submission at 0:33 of Round 2.

This will be a disappointing result for Android Seventeen especially after his previous title fight loss against Mew Choo and he now finds himself on a two fight losing streak and moving down to #7

For Eldar Tskhadaia this win marks his third in a row and moves him up to #4 in the rankings and into definite title consideration.

The Co-Main event tonight saw #9 Wolfgang Lee Roth impress against Delwyn Baines winning via rear naked choke mid way through Round 2. Lee Roth didn't put a foot wrong all the way and put on a thoroughly dominating performance in all areas.

With this win Lee Roth, who has yet to fall outside the Top 10, moves up to #6 and gets back to winning way.

Baines remains a popular figure with the IFC fans but they will no doubt expect better from him and this performance will be a disappointment.

In other Top 10 news, Dave "Tightass" Brooksbank makes a very surprising entrance into the upper echelons of the IFC roster after a superb submission victory over dangerous striker Terry Bogard. This win makes it three in a row for the BJJ practitioner and is just the latest in an impressive run of wins that include victories over Boss Yonic and Cattan Engoria. Both Top 10 fighters themselves at some point.

FIght Of The Night goes to Andy Bogard vs. Terje Warholm

KO Of The Night goes to Ken Shamrock

Sub Of The Night goes Dave Brooksbank

Special mention to Wolfgang Lee Roth and Dieter Schaafs who both received a performance bonus for their fights

After today's event the Road to the Gold is currently looking a little like this...

#Champion (1) Mew Choo (8-0, 191lbs)

#1 (1) Steve Butabi (5-0, 290lbs)

# 2 (2) Brooklyn Brawler (6-1, 190lbs)

#3 (3) Ricky Hughes (8-3, 264lbs)

#4 (6) Eldar Tskhadaia (7-1, 243lbs)

#5 (5) Tommy Walcott (6-1, 140lbs)

#6 (9) Wolfgang Lee Roth (5-2, 154lbs)

#7 (4) Android Seventeen (7-3, 283lbs)

#8 (NE) Dave Brooksbank (5-4, 160lbs)

#9 (7) Steven Kennedy (5-4, 178lbs)

#10 (8) Daniel Sainty (6-3, 150lbs)

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

[Affekonig]

 

SixFootPenguin I sent you an in game message.

[SixFootPenguin]

Ironman Fight Club XX fight preview Oct. 14 2017

 

 

Match 1- Long Thai (0-0, 165lbs) vs Alessandro "The Snowman" Angeli (0-1, 155lbs)

 

There will be quite a few debuts tonight and this will be a double debut in IFC for two new fighters from the New Blood division. As most people who read these preview will note, I like to try talking in detail about each match but this one is really hard to do. We have 2 fighters on paper who are identical and the only thing we have to look at so far is Alessandro Angeli's first mma fight in which he lost in the first minute to a superior bjj fighter. This will be a MT battle so I do not expect either fighter who are still in the early stages of training to want to fight where neither fighter is fimiliar. I expect this to be a pure stand up fight however when you are a MT fighter you could be coming in the cage as possibly a kicker or maybe a clinch fighter. Not sure quite what to expect other than that and we will see who so far has managed to train better for a possible mirror match.

 

Match 2- Angel "Sith" Raider (1-0, 235lbs) vs Rex "Lt." Wreckum (0-1, 250lbs)

 

This will be another double debut in the IFC New Blood division. Both have had 1 mma fight so there is at least some things to report. On one hand we have Angel Raider who is reported to have a bjj blue belt, basic striking, and a big right hand. He was able to win in a decision and it is pretty interesting to note that unlike most people the thing he was throwing the most in that fight was punch combos. On the other hand we have Rex "Lt." Wreckum who lost in his decision and was reported to be a blue belt that likes to brawl and likes musicals. In his first fight he really lost in points on the ground and this is one of those match ups that i really do not know what to expect. Angel Raider showed that he is also willing to take the fight to the ground however neither fighter has a whole lot of wrestling so its unclear if he can take it too the ground and if so what he can do with it once he gets there. We will be seeing a lot more debuts in the New Blood division in the future and a lot of them are still in the very early stages of training so you do not really know how good they will be. In this particular fight it is good to note that both managers are still new to managing in MMA and it is unclear who will be able to give the better advice to give their fighter an advantage in this match up.

 

Match 3- Vladimir "The Horizontal" Impaler (2-1, 270lbs) vs Shigeru Miyamoto (2-2, 160lbs)

 

Vladimir Impaler will be yet another debut of the night and even though both fighters are 19 years old, this will be a fight in the main division. Neither fighter has any grappling skills at all it seems so this will be a simple stand up battle between an exceptional boxer and an exceptional mt fight with not much else. It will be interesting to see if mixing up kicks and punches will help out Shigeru Miyamoto who is clearly at a weight disadvantage in a striking battle, being over 100lbs lighter. We have seen plenty of smaller fighters in IFC win striking battle and a great example is such a fighter is one of our fighters tonight in the main event, Tommy Walcott, who is from the same camp as Shigeru Miyamoto. At the same time we have seen others like Heath Bace for example win a match in a way you would not expect him to in only 5 seconds versus a much smaller opponent. I often like the bigger man in these fights because he would naturally need to hit less shots to get the ko however if your not connecting with your shots and the faster fighter can dodge you often enough than you will be in for a long night as bigger fighters are known to tire more easily.

 

Match 4- Trey Daniels (1-0, 250lbs) vs Dreamer Panda (0-0, 300lbs)

 

Both fighters will be debuting in the main division and you do not want to get Dreamer Panda confused with recently released Dream Panda even though they are from the same camp. When you are a debuting fighter from the same camp as the one champion in IFC than I feel like people are going to have their eyes on you especially in a night with a lot of debuts. Not a whole lot is known about him at this time however he is a wonderful wrestler and with his woeful boxing instead of going for a blue belt in bjj might mean that he plans to fight in the clinch. It would not surprise me as he would not be the only fighter of the night that does not have the greatest striking at the start of his career but could really control in the clinch. Of course wonderful wrestling could also mean that he could be a gnper but only time will tell what he is adept at and that is the hardest part of making any sort of prediction on new fighters with no fights, we really do not know. Trey Daniels on the other hand in his one MMA fight was very impressive showing of his ability to strike well with both punches and kicks. He is also reported to have a granite chin and it is hard to tell without at least debuting in IFC first however I think he could be a very dangerous fighter later down the road. On paper he is already better than most 25 year old prospects that we get in the IFC and I am starting to think yet again the landscape of the IFC and who is in the top 20 of the org is about to change a whole lot over the next month or two.

 

Match 5- Lord "God Of Destruction" Beerus (2-1, 168lbs) vs Yoshihiro Sexyama (1-0, 190lbs)

 

This will be the first fight of the night that does not have a debut in it and it seems to be a very interesting match up. On one hand with have Lord Beerus who is a brown belt in bjj but does not have much wrestling or anything else. Yoshihiro Sexyama is a 25 year old prospect who is a remarkable wrestler however he is only a blue belt bjj. In his one IFC fight so far he was able to get a submission win over Jeremy Lamb however I do not expect him to be able to tap out Lord Beerus. It will be interesting to see how good Yoshihiro's gnp is as the slightly bigger fighter and I see that as the one thing he can try to do on the ground to disrupt the dangerous ground fighter. Though I do expect Beerus to be able to get the submission victory it is good to note that not all ground positions are good for going for a submission like if Yohshihiro can get his back or side control. When I think of trying to gnp my opponent and I dont think i can mount him and i want to avoid a submission, I think of how I have watched MMA wrestlers in the past use side control to land lethal elbows. Lord Beerus did fight an exceptional wrestler in his last fight that was a white belt in bjj and he was able to finish that fight in only 34 seconds. There is also that possiblity if Yoshihiro has any skills in stand up which it does not look like he does, but he could use his remarkable wrestling to just keep this fight on its feet since I have mentioned before Beerus does not have good wrestling and could have trouble actually getting the fight to the ground.

 

Match 6- Dirty WhiteBoy (3-2 196lbs) vs Vedran "Blondebeard" Stefanovic (2-1, 260lbs)

 

Not only is this the IFC debut for Vedran "Blondebeard" Stefanovic but he is now under new management as well. Slightly interesting fact is that he was dropped by a manager who has a fighter in IFC than picked up by someone who did not and they brought this fighter to IFC. This is a classic grappler vs striker match up however it is interesting to note that they both have respectable wrestling so it will be very hard to predict if this fight will stay standing or go to the ground. Vedran Stefonvic is a wonderful boxer however I do worry about how his new manager will effect his progress. Since Vedran Stefanovic old manager is from IFC i happen to know from other fighters that come from that camp are trained a certain extreme way and I am not sure if his new manager will know how to fix his last camp's progress. Dirty WhiteBoy is a brown belt in BJJ and showed in his IFC debut that he has the ability to tap people out in the very first round. So far Vedran Stefanovic has shown the ability to win his fights fast winning two of his three fights in less than a minute total so it will be interesting to see how well Dirty Whiteboy can defend of his strikes while WhiteBoy tries to get to the ground. With both fighters being at a similar skill level in wrestling I am going to have to say the edge may have to go to Vedran Stefonvic because fights always start standing and he does not have to do anything to be where he wants however Dirty Whiteboy will have to do something first to disrupt Vedran's game plan.

 

Match 7- Iain "The CN" Tower (3-0, 275lbs) vs German Cordova (1-1, 150lbs)

 

This fight will be between two really exciting young prospects and this fight will definately help shape the new top 20 in the main division. I would even go far as saying either of these fighters may have what it takes to be in the top 10 of the division eventually in their career. German Cordova is a sensational boxer who is still a strong wrestler and record aside I consider him a very dangerous possible threat in this division. A lot of fighters and managers are afraid of fighting Iain Tower within good reason and I am not scared to say I am personally relieved when I see a contract for one of my fighters and his name is not on the other side. We have a lot of newer fighters and young prospects in the IFC and almost known of them is scarier on paper than Iain Tower. He is at least competent in every discipline and has wins in three different ways if you count strikes and head kick as different but i feel it shows that he can ko you with punches or kicks which makes him even more dangerous as it is a lot hard to defend against someone who can beat you in multiple different ways. You could be fighting Iain Tower and something as simple as a head kick knockdown could turn into a vicious submission victory real quick. German Cordova does have a chance in this fight do not get me wrong and he is dangerous in his own right however I could not bet against Iain Tower right now and I am not sure anyone in the IFC currently stands a chance against him.

 

Match 8- "Ashanti Warrior" Alambick Rana (3-0, 219lbs) vs Giovanni Gomes (1-2, 168lbs)

 

Believe it or not Alambick is a debuting fighter for the New Blood division who comes into the division with the second highest hype including over the fighters who are in the third round of the New Blood Tournament and he is only 17 years of age. On paper I would have to say record aside that this looks like a mismatch in Giovanni Gomes favor. Alambick Rana looks as if he would use his wonderful wrestling to take the fight to the ground but so far he has used it for the clinch which I could see going to the ground in this fight to be a very bad idea being a white belt bjj fighting a brown belt bjj with little wrestling. Giovanni Gomes also has respectable boxing which he will want to use if the fight does not go to the ground. It is possible that Alambick Rana does what he has been successfully doing so far. His best bet seems to be that clinch game that has worked so well so far only missing 1 strike in the clinch in his first three fights. Giovanni Gomes was in the main division before and after some really hard competition has decided to try his luck in the New Blood division and this will be quite the test for both fighters. I know i said earlier that on paper Alambick Rana looks to be mismatched in this fight however that means nothing fight time, and I do know that his manager knows exactly what he is doing when training his fighters and helping give them direction. This is of course speculation but if Alambick Rana does win and continue to stay more popular and hyped than the tournament, than one would assume he might be one of the first people who is looked at when deciding who gets the first title shot after crowning the champion and so far only Andre Clay has a better claim to that spot than Alambick Rana. This will be an exciting match to help shape up the New Blood division which Alambick Rana will be able to stay in this division longer and cause more havoc because of his young age coming in.

 

Match 9 (Co-Main Event)- Cattan "The Caribbean Death" Engoria (4-1-1, 215lbs) vs Naiki "The Drunken Finnish Demon" Nekele (5-2, 260lbs)

 

We all assumed that Cattan Engoria dropped the ball losing a fight he should have won in the third round to Dave Brooksbank but the thing is Dave Brooksbank is still on a roll since winning that fight and is now in the top 10. Cattan Engoria so far has been a great wrestler and ground artist who has only lost or tied in fights with other good ground fighters. Naiki Nekele is a good striker but does not have a lot of grappling skills however he is known for being able to go the distance and being hard to finish though the one time he has been finished so far has been by way of submission which is exactly how Cattan Engoria hopes to finish this fight like his other 4 submission wins. Upon watching some of Naiki Nekele's previous fights he has shown his ability to defend off strikers well but his first MMA fight in qfc was the only time he actually fought against a ground grappler and that ended in the first minute by submission though that was over four and a half months ago and he has had plenty of time to train up a better ground game but I am not sure how much time he has spent in doing so especially where we have more strikers than ground fighters in IFC. I really like both of these fighters however I just do not feel like Naiki Nekele matches up well with Cattan Engoria though lets face it, I said there was no way that Cattan Engoria would lose to Dave Brooksbank and I could not have been more wrong though in points Cattan was dominating that fight until he got caught in a submission.

 

 

Match 10 (Main Event)- (5) "Gypsy" Tommy Walcott (6-1, 140lbs) vs Schmorgen Biscuit (5-1, 210lbs)

 

This is a very big match up for the main division while we wait one more week for the #1 contender fight for the IFC title. At one point Tommy Walcott was considered next in line for a title shot but than IFC got quite a few big signings and instead he had to fight debuting fighter Android Seventeen in which he got his only loss in the first round by way of tko. Tommy Walcott turned 20 this week and has been developing into a very dangerous small fighter though his style seems to lead more primarily to boxing. Schmorgen Biscuit is quite the dangerous fighter himself being a very good ground fighter who also has strong MT. His one loss comes from IFC I so he has won five straight since and people consider him a good possibility for a new top 10 contender, that is of course if he can take out Tommy Walcott. While this is your classic striker vs grappler, unlike most of the big IFC fights we have seen so far they still have skills in other areas and wont be as easy to finish in territory they are weaker than their opponent in. This fight could easily go either way but I am going to predict Schmorgen Biscuit in this fight. I dont expect it to be easy however I feel like his advantages are just too much being a bigger wrestler who can either tap out someone or ko them with vicious gnp. The key just like all of these classic match ups is going to be can Schmorgen Biscuit get Tommy Walcott to the ground, especially where as of late we have seen how difficult it can be to fight these small bantamweights if you cant get a hold of them. I just feel like especially in IFC where most of the fighters are still young, Schmorgen Biscuit's strong MT will help him so much versus some of these strikers until he can find that right opening. He has a very good future ahead of him and i would even go as far as trying to predict a possible title fight in the future however the current IFC champion Mew Choo is from the same camp and as of right now Mew Choo has been unstoppable. Never can count out Tommy Walcott either because as much as I am a fan of Schmorgen Biscuit, Tommy Walcott clearly deserves some respect as well being a small boxer in a world of giants and he has clearly done well so far being in the top 10 for some time now as well being considered one of the more accurate strikers in the division so far.

[Alfred]

...A challenger emerges...

The Ironman Fight Club is thrilled to announce the signing of top undefeated fighter Louis C K who is fresh off of winning the Marty Robbins Fight Ranch 16 Man Tournament at Light-Heavyweight. He will now challenge for the Ironman Open Weight crown against undefeated Mew Choo

CK went a quick 3-0 in QFC managing to finish his opponents each time via either strikes or submission before moving onto the now defunct Extreme MMA in Helsinki. There he notched up another two victories, winning both fights by early Round 1 KO and bringing his record to 5-0

He has spent the last 6 weeks dominating the MR Fight Ranch and adding another 4 wins, 3 first round KO's and a 16 Man Tournament championship to his record.

Welcome to Louis C K

[Alfred]

Ironman Fight Club XX (14th October 2017) - Post Fight Recap

With so many debuting fighters and up and coming mid-carders, tonight's show was never going to set the event ratings on fire but nevertheless it was another exciting event and with only a couple of main divisions in the org, every fight is significant and helps shape the future path to the gold

Tonight's main event was between two young, hungry, up and coming fighters. #5 Ranked "Gypsy" Tommy Walcott, who has been in the Top 10 for quite a while now reaching as high as #2 and coming very close to at title shot at one point, took on Schmorgen Biscuit who has been threatening to break into the Top 10 for some time.

The fight went the distance and it was Tommy Walcott who came out on top on this occasion but the fight was not without controversy.

In the first round it was Tommy Walcott who took control of the fight, preferring to fight inside from the clinch and managed to land the greater volume of strikes whilst avoiding the take-down attempts of Biscuit. Round 2 started off similarly but this time Biscuit was able to use his superior wrestling skills and land a big suplex from the clinch. From there he spent the remainder of the round threatening to sink in a rear naked choke and landing some decent strikes but was unable to finish the fight. In the third and final round Biscuit landed a very early take down and proceeded to put Walcott through the meat grinder, landing elbows and knees to the body from side control. Biscuit almost had him finished and managed to rock Walcott but ran out of time as the round ended.

Bizarrely all three judges awarded Walcott the second round granting him a unanimous decision victory and ending the five fight win streak of Schmorgen Biscuit.

Tommy Walcott now moves to 7-1 and remains at #5 whilst Biscuit drops to 5-2 and will have to dig deep to come back from the disappointment of losing in such a way.

In the Co-Main event of the evening, another two young up and comers did battle with ground fighter Cattan "The Caribbean Death" Engoria taking on Muay Thai specialist Naiki "The Drunken Finnish Demon" Nekele. This fight was always going to come down to who could keep the fight where they were most dominant and after a couple of minutes of Nekele countering whatever Engoria threw at him, Engoria managed to drag the fight to the floor. From there it wasn't long before Cattan was able to secure an arm and end the three fight winning streak of the "Drunken Finnish Demon"

This fight was important for Cattan, as his last fight was a loss to a fighter many thought he should be beating. Cattan now sports a record of 5-1-1 and sits just outside of the Top 10 waiting to break in.

For Naiki, although this fight will no doubt be a disappointment, he will know that he is still very early in his career and has plenty of time to fix any holes in his game that may be letting him down at the moment. Big things are still expected from both of these fighters and we look forward to following their development.

There was some very interesting debuts on tonight's card also

In the New Blood Division, 17 year old 4-0 Alambick Rana made his IFC debut and made absolute mincemeat out of BJJ fighter Giovanni Gomes in the clinch. Landing a total of 51 head and body punches and winning via KO at 4:35 of Round 1, Alambick looks to be something of a force for the New Blood division.

Some more debuts in the New Blood Division, Angel "Sith" Raider looked impressive in his IFC debut winning via first round KO over fellow debutante Rex "Lt." Wreckum and Alessandro "The Snowman" Angeli also had a great entry to the IFC, taking out Long Thai by TKO at 0:51 of Round 1.

Debuting fighter from the same management team as Naiki Nekele, 19 year old Vladimir "The Horizontal" Impaler went the distance with Shigeru Miyamoto and won a unanimous decision. Impaler now 3-1 and looking like a sure bet to move past the mid roster and closer to his stable mate.

Another IFC debut with Vedran Stefanovic making a powerful entrance to the roster winning via First Round KO in just 15 second over Dirty WhiteBoy.

Lastly we had another impressive performance from the frightening Iain "The CN" Tower who took out the sensational Boxer German Cordova with a Guillotine Submission at 1:39 of Round 1. Tower is now 4-0 and will have the attention of just about everyone on the roster

FIght Of The Night goes to Tommy Walcott vs. Schmorgen Biscuit

KO Of The Night goes to Vedran Stefanovic

Sub Of The Night goes Lord Beerus

Trey Daniels, Angel Raider & Alessandro Angeli also receive a smaller bonus for their impressive performances

After today's event the Road to the Gold is currently looking a little like this...

#Champion (1) Mew Choo (8-0, 191lbs)

#1 (1) Steve Butabi (5-0, 290lbs)

# 2 (2) Brooklyn Brawler (6-1, 190lbs)

#3 (3) Ricky Hughes (8-3, 264lbs)

#4 (6) Eldar Tskhadaia (7-1, 243lbs)

#5 (5) Tommy Walcott (7-1, 140lbs)

#6 (6) Wolfgang Lee Roth (5-2, 154lbs)

#7 (7) Android Seventeen (7-3, 283lbs)

#8 (8) Dave Brooksbank (5-4, 160lbs)

#9 (9) Steven Kennedy (5-4, 178lbs)

#10 (10) Daniel Sainty (6-3, 150lbs)

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

[SixFootPenguin]

Ironman Fight Club XXI Fight Preview Oct. 21, 2017

 

Match 1- Marcus "Rebaund" Popogli (0-1, 200lbs) vs Ricardo Gracie (0-0, 176lbs)

 

Just like last week we have quite a few IFC debuts tonight in the New Blood division and on top of that this will be the biggest stage that IFC has been on as it will be in a new bigger arena. This match up is one of a wonderful wrestler in Marcus Popogli vs a superior brown belt bjj. At first glance one might assume all Marcus Popogli needs to do is use his wrestling to keep this fight on the ground and even though this is speculation at this point but it seems as if Popogli instead is a gnper. I do not actually know this but what i can tell you is in his one fight before IFC he lost to a similar fighter as Ricardo Gracie and the other fighter had no problem taking him down even with barely any wrestling. This is good news for Gracie as it is likely than that the fight will go to the ground one way or another and if Popogli can not control the fight or win quickly with gnp than he is going to be in a lot of trouble. If I was Popogli's manager i would see if there is a way I could prepare my fighter to just defend off the takedown and wear down Ricardo Gracie on the feet. At first the New Blood division did not have many bjj fighters however in this card alone we have three debuts from brown belts and it will be interesting to see how the other fighters react to them.

 

Match 2- Jackson "The Doctor" Avery (0-0, 264lbs) vs Duc Minh "Ram" Pham (2-1, 175lbs)

 

Jackson Avery will be continue the theme of the New Blood division tonight and is a brown belt bjj with almost no other disciplines so far. This will be his MMA debut and besides the obvious we do not really know what to expect from him. We kind of know what to expect from Duc Minh Pham as previously he was in a QFC tournament where he made it to the third round after two decision victories. He might not have a finish to his name so far however he showed in that tournament his accuracy with punching and he easily could be a terror for Jackson Avery if Avery can not take this fight to the ground. Duc Minh Pham might only have feeble wrestling to fend off against the ground attack but that is still better than Jackson Avery's abysmal wrestling. I am sure in the future he will be working on his wrestling as BJJ does you no good with you can not take this fight to the ground. Though just because he lacks wrestling does not mean he lacks in takedown offense which since he has yet to debut we do not know if he is reported to have good takedowns but one would have to assume if your all about BJJ you would also have to be working on your takedowns. Considering these are two very young fighters starting their career it will be very interesting to see how their debut does especially since the New Blood division became a big division quickly and it would be easy to get lost in the dust if you do not get off to a good start in your career.

 

Match 3- Paul "Tap Out" Walker (2-0, 170lbs) vs Tan Han Tunong (1-1, 271lbs)

 

Paul Walker is not only the third BJJ brown belt to debut in the IFC New Blood division tonight but he is the only one to already have debuted in MMA and has proven his ability to tap people out however it is good to note just like the other BJJ fighters debuting tonight, he lacks wrestling and in both fights that he won, the other fighters were the one to take him down and he has yet to score a takedown of his own yet. Tan Han Tunong is from the same camp as Duc Minh Pham and on paper they have identical disciplines however of the two of them Tan Han Tunong is the bigger fighter. He does have better wrestling than his BJJ opponent and if he can keep this fight from going to the ground right away he might be able to use his 100lbs advantage to score big in stand up. Paul Walker has no report of good takedowns and just like the first two cards of the night, this is all going to come down to who of these BJJ still has good enough takedowns to get the fight to the ground or who can fend of takedowns the best which I am not sure that every 18 year old fighter is prepared to fight in stand up and still be able to fend off wrestlers though that might just come in time and training.

 

Match 4- "The Barbaian" Battle Ram (7-3, 220lbs) vs Paul Michael Levesque (3-6, 255lbs)

 

This is an easy match to predict right? I mean it is someone who is 7-3 vs 3-6 so everyone assumes that Battle Ram is the favorite right? Not even close to the truth here. The thing about Battle Ram is he did start his career at 7-0 however since than he lost to Mew Choo and got released where he lost quite a bit of training time with no direction and since getting signed by a new manager he has yet to do anything losing his first two under new management. Now he is on a 3 loss streak and I am uncertain if he can make a comeback after I was so hyped about him returning to IFC. Paul Michael Levesque after getting his chance into the top 10 has lost 3 in a row himself however on paper he might be the better fighter keeping in mind I am ignoring their current records and putting them on equal footing at this point as the hype around Battle Ram has completely faded. What I like about Paul Michael Levesque in this fight is his wonderful wrestling which he has used to put some fighters on the ground though you do not want to sleep on the fact that Battle Ram does have the better bjj. I am thinking that Paul Michael Levesque will want to take this fight to the clinch which is what En Esch did in his fight vs Battle Ram to control the fight and that was with much worse wrestling than Paul Michael Levesque has. This will be an important fight for both fighters as both of them are in danger of falling to the very bottom of the division.

 

Match 5- Bea "Rick" Mason (3-3, 175lbs) vs Albert Van Rooy (0-0, 256lbs)

 

Even though both fighters are 18/19 years old, do not be confused because this match up is for the main division though it does follow the theme of the night for New Blood debuts. Bea Mason has had an up and down career already before join IFC and he is a brown belt with not much wrestling however it is reported that he has powerful takedowns which should be helpful in taking this fight to the ground. Albert Van Rooy has yet to debut in MMA and not much is currently known about him however we do know that he has wonderful MT and a manager that knows how to help guide his fighters as this same camp has 2 19 year old fighters in the top 10 of the main division. I suspect the wrestling that Albert Van Rooy has is for clinchwork however you never really know when someone is just starting their career how good they will be at takedown defense and how much time has he currently spent into it. It is also good to note that Bea Mason has only so far fought in his own division and had mixed results losing some fights in the first round to strikers however in IFC this is a whole different breed of fighting as he will be at a 81lbs disadvantage and we will get to see if he can fair well against fighters of different size as that is the true hardest part about IFC, how well can you do against fighters a lot heavier or lighter than yourself.

 

Match 6- Ganster "Bad" Killer (0-0, 185lbs) vs Aidan Entity (0-0, 185lbs)

 

This fight is a little different than most fights we have in IFC as it is actually an exhibition rather than a fight in one of our two divisions. Both fighters have only signed for a one fight contract and we will not likely see them again however that does not take away from the fact that this is an interesting fight. We do not know a whole lot about either fighter but we get to see a showdown of a wonderful boxer who is 18 years old vs a remarkable MT fighter who is only 16 years of age. Neither fighter has been training long but for anyone who is ever curious if a 16 year old can stand up with an 18 year old fighter, we will get to see it first hand.

 

Match 7- Gin Kobra (4-5, 140lbs) vs Crack Head "Roks" (6-3, 153lbs)

 

Crack Head made his debut in IFC at IFC XIX where he won by RNC in the first round vs Paul Michael Levesque. It was an impressive fight however I am still going to be hard on Crack Head for being well rounded and being good at nothing though people could agrue that even though his disciplines are all low and even, he clearly does have a strategy he employs because four of his six victories have came by way of submission. The thing is like in this match up, Gin Kobra has about equal disciplines on paper for the ground game than still is a superb boxer. It should not be easy for Crack Head to get a submission victory which should give Gin Kobra enough time to utilize his boxing. I do not expect this fight to finish in the first round and I personally expect unlike most matches in the IFC, that this fight is fought both on the feet and standing. Normally in IFC open weight Gin Kobra has been fighting at a weight disadvantage and he still technically is but there is a big difference between being 13 pounds light and being 50 plus pounds lighter. Personally I like matches like this because i do not think either fighter has what it takes to be IFC champion however you do not have to be the best to put on a good fight, you just have to be equally as good as your opponent to have a very close encounter. I honestly would not be surprised if this goes to decision though I do feel like it would be more likely that Gin Kobra is able to ko his opponent than Crack Head getting yet another submission victory. It is hard for me to root for the fighter who has so far been winning by submission when they are a competent wrestler and a blue belt in bjj.

 

 

Match 8- Ken "The world's Most Lethal M" Shamrock (3-3, 175lbs) vs Damien "The Terror" Demento (4-2, 185lbs)

 

Ken Shamrock has had a very up and down career so far where he started off by breaking the rules winning with a submission over another white belt. Since than he has had a bunch of stand up fights which he has all stand up skills so you would expect him to excel in those fights but he now stands 3-3 and has a very hard test for him. With no wrestling and a white belt in bjj I am not sure there is much he can do against the gnp Damien Demento. Damien Demento does have a good chin which will possibly make it very hard for Ken Shamrock to win with a ko before he can get taken down. It was also be interesting to see if Damien Demento can get a finish in this fight since he has struggled to finish fighters in the past however it is good to note that he has been unable to finish other wrestlers and the one fight in IFC where he beat a striker came down to the ref stopping the fight by a cut rather than tko or ko. I am not saying Ken Shamrock does not have any chance in this fight however having no ground skills at all will always scare me when fighting a ground fighter whose best discipline is wrestling. Some else interesting to not is that Damien Demento has two loses in IFC and both fighters he lost to were super heavyweights and he has been able to beat smaller fighters that he has faced so far which these two fighters would be in the same weight class though Demento is a little heavier.

 

 

 

Match 9 (Co-Main) - Taz "Crash" Bandichoo (4-3, 240lbs) vs En "Metal Priest" Esch (4-4, 238lbs)

 

I am very excited about this fight and it being the co-main event for the evening because it shows everyone in the IFC you do not have to be in the bottom of the main division forever. Most people would have quit if they started their career at 1-4, however En Esch took it as a personal challenge and now has won 3 straight so he can start to be taken seriously. I know I will be starting to take him seriously now however Taz Bandichoo on paper is just better than En Esch. The only discipline that En Esch has an advantage in is wrestling that he did use last fight for clinchwork in his decision victory vs Battle Ram. Matter of fact, in his 8 fights En Esch has gone to decision 5 times which might be particularly important in his fight because his opponent is Taz I am going to knock you out in a minute or lose Bandichoo. I am personally a fan of Taz Bandichoo and his knock them out slugfest style but he does seemily have a problem with running out of gas. So the big question becomes how long can En Esch fend off Taz Bandichoo because when I say this big man knocks people out in one minute I am not talking about tko as all 4 victory has been by ko. Taz's last fight that he won actually went over one minute for once ending in 1:18 seconds of the first round against amazing boxer Alex Stefanovic. Since this is the open weight division it is good to note that both fighters are reletively the same weight and i do feel like one of the reasons Taz Bandichoo has knocked some people out so fast was just his pure strength and size vs some of the smaller fighters. As I mentioned before this fight really comes down to can En Esch fend of Taz for a full round and than take over the fight once Taz is winded or will Taz continue to rise towards the top 10 in a division with a bunch of guys who would love to slugfest with him at the top such as both fighters in our main event.

 

 

Match 10 (Main Event)- (1) "Big" Steve Butabi (5-0, 290lbs) vs (2) Brooklyn Brawler (6-1, 190lbs)

 

With both fighters 1 win away from a title shot vs the winner of Mew Choo vs Louis CK, this will be the biggest fight either fighter has had so far. Both fighters have defensive wrestling with some good clinchwork that we have seen in previous fights from both fighters, however Steve Butabi has MT to go with that clinchwork, where Brooklyn Brawler is a dirty boxer. Both fighters are known for finishing a fight however Brooklyn Brawler has not able to put away Don Joe in his last fight, though he showed how well he can control and entire fight in the clinch, taking only 3 punches in the whole fight however I do not think he would beat Steve Butabi in the clinch. Brawler has also put away 2 300lbs fighters so far and has proved that even though he might have 100lbs disadvantage he can still outwork bigger fighters. However from what i have heard from talking to other managers, people consider Steve Butabi the favorite in this fight and he has no reason not to root for him since he is undefeated and only once has someone survived one full round against him and it was a fighter from the same camp of Brooklyn Brawler. Though it really showed off Steve Butabi's good chin as he was able to last 4 minutes on the ground against Damien Demento's gnp and came out of that round not looking too beat up and finished the fight 30 seconds into the next round. Of course I am slightly bias in rooting for Brooklyn Brawler but who was expecting me to not root for my fighter in the #1 contendership fight. This will be a tough fight for both fighters though it could easily come down to one of those famous IFC hard hitting 1 round fights that have become very common especially in the top of the division like Android Seventeen vs Mew Choo or Mew Choo vs Ricky Hughes. Statistically speaking both fighters only seem to throw different types of punches and clinch but fights like this where you expect a certain thing to happen is the best time to pull out some other moves if you have it. This is speculation but maybe Steve Butabi could pull out some MT knees if he gets Brawler into the clinch or maybe if Brawler feels like he cannot win the stand up battle he could try using his superior wrestling to take this fight to the ground and see what happens when two stand up fighters go to unknown territory. Being the manager of Brawler, and this being a fact that anyone could have noticed if you pay attention, i clearly should have one worry about this fight. Everytime he fights a bigger fighter he might not be getting hit a lot but he walks away from the fight with decent injuries. Matter of fact his last fight vs Don Joe who is the same weight as himself, even though Don Joe landed 3 punches in the entire fight, Brawler left that fight with a huge 15 day injury and is the reason it took so long before this match could take place. I only assume this means he is hurting his own hand punching the other guy but if he is taking a 15 day injury from 3 punches over 3 rounds than he could be in huge trouble as Steve Butabi is known to hurt people quick. Also Steve Butabi is the one known for his good chin and Brawler is not but he is good at controlling the fight and his scouting report says that he is very strong so he is much better at dealing out damage than taking it. This fight could easily go either way and not everyone took these fighters seriously while they were moving quickly up the ranks but if you were not taking these two seriously before you should be now because one of these two will get next title shot after Mew Choo vs Louis C K.

[Alfred]

Great stuff mate. I am pumped for this card!

[SixFootPenguin]

You should be, it will be your first card that is an arena that can seat 3000.

[Judobill]

Fay Gott will be watching these fights closely.

[Cobra7]

As a manager I'm proud to announce open negotiations for my newest acquisition.

 

I won't go into further details here but I will say that all you guys in the openweight division better be on your toes and have eyes in the back of your heads

[Cobra7]

Just signed the dotted line he's here

[SixFootPenguin]

I lost but most epic main event. Both fighters left with a 16 day injury and though Steve Butabi won he still left cut for 8 days as well.

[Alfred]

Ironman Fight Club XXI (21st October 2017) - Post Fight Recap

A nice start to moving to a bigger arena with the third highest rated event so far

Tonight's main event was a number one contender fight between "Big" Steve Butabi and the Brooklyn Brawler with the winner earning the right to challenge for the Ironman crown.

"Big" Steve Butabi has been on an absolute tear in the main division so far and tonight once again walked away with a TKO victory and his perfect record still intact although he did not walk away unscathed.

It was the Brooklyn Brawler, who has himself been equally impressive during his time here in the IFC, who draw first blood, opening a cut on Steve Butabi early on. Butabi was able to keep his composure however and went on to edge the round despite his cut getting worse.

Round 2 was classic Butabi as the big super-heavyweight landed a huge one-two that rocked Brawler and send him crashing to the mat. Brawler tried to get back into the fight but not long after another huge Butabi shot was enough for the referee who stepped in to save Brawler from further unnecessary punishment. A valiant effort from the smaller fighter who against all odds came agonizingly close to a title shot.

Steve Butabi, who is now 6-0, earns the right to challenge for the Ironman Fight Club title which is being contested next week. He will have to wait at least sixteen days however as he sustained an injury during the contest as well as a nasty cut.

The Co-Main event between Taz "Crash" Bandichoo and En "Metal Priest" Esch was a short but thoroughly entertaining affair with Bandichoo walking away with the fifth KO victory of his career at 0:37 of Round 1. Bandichoo has now won 3 in a row and has climbed all the way from near the bottom of the roster and finally breaks into the IFC Top 10 at #8.

A tough loss for Esch though who had himself been in good form as of late winning his last three in a row. With this loss his record now stands at 4-5.

Battle Ram put on a good performance against IFC vet Paul Michael Levesque managing to get back to his feet after being taken down and avoid being stuck underneath the powerful ground and pound specialist and go one to win a TKO win at 1:11 of Round 2. A first victory for the Barbarian under new management and back to winning ways after losing his last three.

A successful IFC debut in the main division for 19 year old BJJ specialist Bea "Rick" Mason who took out Muay Thai fighter Albert Van Rooy with a Americana submission late in Round 1 that also won him submission of the night honors.

And lastly, a further three successful debuts in the New Blood division with Tan Han Tuong, Duc Minh Pham and Ricardo Gracie also picking up wins in their first appearance here.

Fight Of The Night goes to Steve Butabi vs. Brooklyn Brawler

KO Of The Night goes to Duc Minh Pham

Sub Of The Night goes Bea Mason

 

 

After today's event the Road to the Gold is currently looking a little like this...

 

#Champion (1) Mew Choo (8-0, 191lbs)

#1 (1) Steve Butabi (6-0, 290lbs)

#2 (3) Ricky Hughes (8-3, 264lbs)

#3 (4) Eldar Tskhadaia (7-1, 243lbs)

#4 (5) Tommy Walcott (7-1, 140lbs)

#5 (6) Wolfgang Lee Roth (5-2, 154lbs)

# 6 (2) Brooklyn Brawler (6-2, 190lbs)

#7 (7) Android Seventeen (7-3, 283lbs)

#8 (NE) Taz Bandichoo (5-3, 240lbs)

#9 (8) Dave Brooksbank (5-4, 160lbs)

#10 (9) Steven Kennedy (5-4, 178lbs)

 

 

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

[Alfred]

Ironman Fight Club – Mid Week 7 (25^th October 2017 - Hyashi’s Lounge, Los Angeles)

Tonights card features a great mix of action from all across the board. From those trying to climb their way up from the bottom and out of mid roster obscurity all the way to the Top 10 and those pushing for a shot at the Ironman crown.

Fight 1) Shigeru Miyamoto (2-3, 160lbs) vs. Boyd “The Vanilla Og” Clark (2-7, 170lbs)

Opening tonights event we have Muay Thai fighter Shigeru Miyamoto taking on all rounder Boyd Clark. Clark has been on a terrible run lately and has managed to lose his last five in a row and now sits firmly at the bottom of the IFC roster. In seven career losses he has been finished six times and only managed to go the distance once. Though still young and with time to turn things around, Clarks career so far has been any but exceptional. His opponent Shigeru Miyamoto is also coming into this fight off the back of a loss but will no doubt be confident of taking advantage of Boyd Clarks recent form and getting back to winning ways. Stylistically Clark matches up favorably against Miyamoto if only due to his advantage on the ground. Miyamoto has literally no training in either wrestling or BJJ and this will leave him vulnerable should Clark find a way to take this fight to the floor. Something that Clark would be very wise to do.

Fight 2) Dreamer Panda (0-1, 300lbs) vs. Chong “The Star Fish” Tay (4-4, 210lbs)

Next up, another fighter that has found himself languishing at the bottom of the IFC roster, is Chong “The Star Fish” Tay. Tay sports a 4-4 record but is currently on a two fight losing streak. All of his wins have come by KO or TKO in the first round indicating that Tay is most dangerous early on in the fight. His opponent is rookie wrestler Dreamer Panda who had a disappointing entrance into MMA in his debut losing to Trey Daniels in only 31 seconds. Chong Tay is the more experienced fighter in this bout and with his wild brawling style stands more than a fair chance of catching Dreamer Panda early on. With no discernible striking skills to speak of Panda will really only have one game plan coming into this fight and that will be to take Tay off of his feet and control the fight on the ground. Of course Tay will be aware of this but whether he will adjust his own game to counter the incoming take down attempts we will have to see.

Fight 3) Terje “Nightmare” Warholm (1-2-1, 221lbs) vs. Heath “Lizard Arms” Bace (2-6, 300lbs)

Heath “Lizard Arms” Bace is from the same camp as Boyd Clark and Chong Tay and just like them both has managed to find himself on quite a run without a win. Though big and strong and capable of knocking out his opponents if he catches them, Bace has developed a bit of a reputation for being easy to finish standing. He has a respectable level of wrestling and a purple belt in BJJ but so far has been unable to survive long enough to be able to get the fight on the ground where he can use his wrestling and 300lb frame to his advantage. His opponent is Terje “Nightmare” Warholm who has moved back to the main division after being knocked out of the New Blood tournament by Micky Kirby. His last fight against Andy Bogard ended in a draw after a close three round fight that earned them both fight of the night honours. Terje fought well against a more experienced opponent and that will give him confidence going into this fight. Bace is the more experienced fighter and much like the majority of his fights so far is the more skilled ground fighter. Terje is a stand up fighter with a strong Muay Thai base and respectable boxing. Both fighters are even in the wrestling. At this point in Bace’s career this really is a fight he should be able to handle but judging purely by past efforts Warholm will have a great chance of ending this fight within the first round. Of course he will have to be careful to avoid any stray haymakers coming his way but unless Bace has made efforts to change his game plan or ability to get the fight to the floor, that will be his only concern.

Fight 4) Ivan “Russian Hulk” Shtirko (1-4, 275lbs) vs. Yoshihiro Sexyama (1-1, 190lbs)

Next up we have Ivan “Russian Hulk” Shtirko making his first appearance in the IFC against Yoshihiro Sexyama. Ivan Shtirko comes to the IFC with a slightly underwhelming record of 1-4 though three of those fights have been against a much, much older opponent in QFC. At only 19 years of age Shtirko has plenty of time to make a name for himself and has a great opportunity to begin here with a victory over Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Sexyama. Sexyama will be making his third appearance in the IFC and currently has a record of 1-1. More of a submission wrestler than anything else Sexyama will hold a sizeable advantage should the fight hit the ground though he is coming into this fight off the back of a submission loss. Shtirko’s last fight was a TKO win against a 32 year old fighter and that is most definitely impressive at this stage. If he is to carry on in the same manner coming into this fight stands a good chance of catching Sexyama. This fight is truly anybody’s to win and it will be interesting to see the outcome.

Fight 5) Dirty WhiteBoy (3-3, 196lbs) vs. Dieter “The Sheep” Schaafs (3-2, 190lbs)

This fight could possibly be Dirty WhiteBoy’s last fight as I’ve been informed that the 26 year old fighter is contemplating retirement pending the result of the bout. Fight’s like this are both easy to call and hard to predict. Dieter “The Sheep” Schaaf has wonderful Muay Thai and uses the clinch as his means to win fights. WhiteBoy is a Brown Belt level Jui-Jitsu fighter with respectable wrestling to help him get the fight to the floor. Usually these types of fights come down to whether the striker can take out the wrestler before the wrestler can get his hands on the striker. This fight will be no different and, due to some inept matchmaking, is actually a rematch from not so long ago in which Dirty WhiteBoy was able to get the submission win on that occasion. Based on that WhiteBoy has to be the favourite going into this fight but knowing that perhaps his heart isn’t in the fight game anymore, we will have to wonder how motivated he is coming into this fight. Perhaps an opportunity for Schaafs to get his revenge?

Fight 6) Evgeni Lomachenko (5-3, 152lbs) vs. Rober Garfield (2-1, 260lbs)

Next up, another debut in the IFC main division with 17 year old Rober Garfield taking on Evgeni Lomachenko. Rober Garfield comes to the IFC with a record of 2-1 and despite his young age has been training in MMA for a little while now. A remarkable boxer, Garfield is also fairly well rounded elsewhere with perhaps only his wrestling being slightly feeble. His last two fights have been stoppage victories and there will no doubt be many eyes on this young man as he makes his first appearance for the Ironman org. His first test is a fighter that has had a mixed success so far during his time here. Evgeni Lomachenko came to the IFC a solid 3-0 and looked to have a bright future when he took out submission machine Klaus Chugman in his debut and entered the rankings at #8. Since then however things have taken a turn for the worse and Lomachenko has managed only 1 win out of 4 and is currently on a two loss streak. This fight looks on paper to be very much a striker versus grappler situation and Garfield has over 100lbs on Lomachenko, meaning the Russian will want to avoid getting hit at all costs. Evgeni does posses the ability to get the fight to the floor and has a decent advantage in the grappling department should he be able to do it. Lomachenko is known for his ground and pound skills and while Garfield has not yet had to deal with the type of style that he brings, a 100lb weight difference could make controlling the fight tricky. Lomachenko really needs a win here if he is to gain back any of the momemtum from when he arrived and climb back into the Top 10. Rober Garfield is definitely a fighter that has been signed for his potential rather than expecting an immeditate impact but I’m sure Garfield will be keen to make his presence felt sooner rather than later.

Fight 7) Daniel “The Unsanitary” Sainty (6-3, 150lbs) vs. Klaus “The House” Chugman (7-2, 130lbs)

Next up we have a much anticipated fight between two very acomplished submission fighters. Both Daniel “The Unsanitary” Sainty and Klaus “The House” Chugman sit just outside of the Top 10 and are both tied for most submission finishes at six apiece. Sainty has spent the majority of his career at the top of the IFC roster and as such could definitely claim to have fought the tougher competition. Chugman comes into this fight with a record of 7-2 and on a streak of three wins. His last fight was his best performance so far when he managed to overcome an early knock down and go on to finish the highly regarded prospect Soul Shadow. This fight will be especially important for Chugman as he has already once built up a good run and come close to breaking into the Top 10 before falling short and having to start over again. Both hold brown belts in BJJ but Chugman’s wrestling is quite a bit better than Sainty’s. Chugman however has absolutely zero striking pedigree while Sainty, though only modest, does have a small understanding of the striking arts. It’s possible that on this occasion Sainty will look to keep this fight on the feet and Chugman out of his comfort zone. He will know that Chugman really only has one way to go in this fight and that is to take it to the ground. If the fight does end up on the ground Chugman would in no way be a heavy favorite to win as Sainty has a little size over him and just like Chugman, a proven track record of submission finishes. Overall, this fight is very difficult to predict but with king of the submission bragging rights on the table, you just know that it’s going to be intense!

Fight 8) (#10) Steven “The Steamroller” Kennedy (5-4, 178lbs) vs. Schmorgen Biscuit (5-2, 210lbs)

Coming close to the end of the evening we have the former IFC champion Steven “The Steamroller” Kennedy taking on young prospect Schmorgen Biscuit. Steven Kennedy has had a rocky time since losing his Ironman belt to Mew Choo back at IFC X. Dropping three in a row to Top 10 competition has gone some way to validating those who believed his title reign was something of a fluke. Still, due to his popularity and standing within the IFC he has been able to remain in the Top 10 all this time and picked up a win during his last outing when he defeated up and comer Damien Demento with an arm bar. Now once again he finds himself playing gatekeeper to the upper ranks of the IFC roster and he takes on yet another young star in Schmorgen Biscuit. Biscuit’s last fight was mired in controversy as he lost a decision to top 5 ranked Tommy Walcott and many believed it was a decision that should have gone the opposite way. Previous to that loss Biscuit had amassed a five fight winning streak and looked like he was about to finally break out into title contention. This fight is equally important to both fighters and for the opposite reasons. A loss for Kennedy would surely mean dropping out of the Top 10 for the first time since the organisations inception where as a win for Biscuit would no doubt be his ticket into the big time. Kennedy needs to win this fight if he wishes to remain relevant when discussing the title and you get the impression that this could be his last opportunity to do so before the Top 10 becomes overrun with hungry, young talent. Of course Kennedy is a former champion and cannot be counted out. He matches up well with Biscuit in most areas and could probably be considered the favorite should the fight hit the floor. Biscuit has been working hard to improve his stand up of late and that could be the first time in his career where that could be the right game plan for him but his bread and butter is truly his submission wrestling skills. Kennedy has shown that he willing to mix things up on the feet before putting his brown belt in BJJ to use and will not likely be intimidated in any area of this fight. An intriguing fight with a lot on the line but perhaps Schmorgan Biscuit would be the slight betting favourite for this one?

Fight 9 - Co-Main Event) (#3) Eldar Tskhadaia (7-1, 243lbs) vs. (#9) Dave “Tightass” Brooksbank (5-4, 160lbs)

For the Co-Main event we have another important fight for the Top 10 when #3 ranked Eldar Tskadaia takes on #9 Dave Brooksbank. Yet another fight that is most likely to be contested on the ground but between two very different fighting styles. Eldar Tskhadaia is currently on a three fight winning streak against some very solid competition and another win for him here would put him in dangerously close to a title shot. His style isn’t the most pleasing to watch and usually involves taking his opponent down and grinding them down with strikes. His opponent Dave Brooksbank is on a remarkable run of form that has resulted in himself rubbing shoulders with the top fighters of the IFC. In his last three fights he has mananged to submit Boss Yonic and Cattan Engoria, two very good ground fighters who were highly predicted to win and then dismantled dangerous striker Terry Bogard with ease. Without being rude to Brooksbank, it would be dishonest to say that his recent form hasn’t been surprising and with his previous history of results, his fighting style and age, you find yourself wondering if this is just a run of luck that could come to an end at anytime or whether Brooksbank has truly turned a corner and has things figured out. It is said styles make fights and Brooksbank’s BJJ based submission styles matches up very well against Tskhadaia’s top heavy ground and pound style. Tskhadaia has a significant weight advantage and he will likely be looking to make it business as usual but he will need to be very wary as he has suffered at the hands of someone very similar to Brooksbank before. Daniel Sainty, who is actually from the same management team, is a smaller, lighter BJJ fighter who managed to exploit a whole in the wrestlers game. Sainty laid out the blueprint for Brooksbank to follow and that will no doubt embolden Brooksbank should he find himself on his back in this fight. The pressure is definitely on Eldar Tskhadaia who has much more to lose from a loss than Brooksbank and that too could be a factor going into the co-main event fight.

Fight 10 - Main Event) (#2) Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes (8-3, 264lbs) vs. “Corpse Making Cowboy” Don Joe (5-2, 190lbs)

The main event of the evening features one of the most popular and longest serving fighters in the IFC, the very first Ironman champion Ricky “Big Tex” Hughes butting heads with the “Corpse Making Cowboy” Don Joe, who is fighting for the first time under new management.

“Big Tex” Hughes is an absolute wrecking ball of a man and is currently tied with Steve Butabi for most KO’s in the org. His last fight was a return to form when he scored a big KO over featherweight Wolfgang Lee Roth. That win halted a two fight losing streak that included a title fight with current champion Mew Choo and a showdown with “Big” Steve Butabi. His opponent for the evening is former Empire Grind middleweight champion Don Joe who came into the IFC with a perfect 5-0 record and was given an immediate title shot against Mew Choo. That fight lasted only 23 seconds and Don Joe tasted defeat for the first time. In his next showing he dropped a decision loss to the Brooklyn Brawler and it was there that his current management lost faith in him and parted ways. His free agency period didnt last long however as he was picked up by the same camp as Tommy Walcott and Eldar Tskhadaia. Their management obviously feeling that old Don Joe wasn’t finished yet.

This fight is guaranteed to be fireworks as both are geared towards striking. Joe has the slight edge technically in that department but is a complete novice in BJJ whereas Hughes is a blue belt and has shown previously that he has no problem changing tactics to take advantage of weakness when he can. Ricky Hughes will have a 70lb advantage going into this fight and that will make trading shots difficult for Don Joe. Joe will have to rely on speed and precision instead and employ a hit and run tactic if he is to have any chance of victory. He will also have to avoid being taken down as Hughes is definitely more capable there.

This is a big fight for Ricky Hughes and one he will really needs to be winning if he is serious about getting his belt back. Despite being so highly ranked at #2 he is still a couple of fights away from being able to challenge for the title and in the mean time the division gets more and more skilled with each passing week.