bjornmma1 Posted April 10, 2022 Report Share Posted April 10, 2022 25 minutes ago, HareRumpler said: To be clear, this was all on Nati! 🤣 🙈🙉🙊 Magnificent Chulalongkorn 20-6-0 20 p4p Get Nati on the Chula-bandwagon, it is about time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator001 Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 Big respect to Vinnicus Verreira and his manager Mark Harrington. Vinicus was on the shelf for many months and lost tons of training time when his original manager went AWOL, but still managed to come back while so far behind in training and win SP lightweight title when org went to open ID, that is impressive!! Frankie Logan Inaugural winner of LW division tournament when Sucker Punch started as a 355k org 13 title fights in Sucker Punch - 11 LW title wins 3 time winner of lightweight title (Inaugural,reclaim from Guy River, reclaim from Vinnicus Verreira) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden97 Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 Noah Anderson- I wanna thank SP for believing in me and giving me a shot to run with the big dogs, I came in as a former 360+ champion on a disgraceful run of losing 5 of my last 6 by KO and cuts and in 2 short fights I’ve taking out your most accomplished heavyweight champion of all time, and one of WCFs most accomplished champions trying his luck here, I gotta a lot of scars but I’ve proved I’m the best, will Wrecks im calling you out let’s go! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 136 Hey Sucker Punch crew! I’m back from the long weekend away for “guy’s weekend” as we toured breweries, threw axes, played poker, disc golf, etc. and generally just had a good time. But hey, now it’s time to get back to work and the work at hand is preparing for SPPS 136 at the Tokyo Dome this evening! And what a friggin’ event we have lined up! TWO title fights, much like SPPS 135, and again like that event our first title fight of the evening won’t even be the Co-Main Event due to the hype of one of the fights that doesn’t have a belt on the line! Wow. Seriously, wow! Fight fans will NOT be disappointed with the action tonight as just about every fight on the card is worth of the Main Card portion of any other event! And boy, do we have to love these results going into tonight! I’m not going to yammer on here with boring details when I could spend the time better jumping right into things and getting into the details of each fight! So instead, let’s get a word about our merchandise partner, sponsor and favorite supplement provider and get into the really good stuff! Our fantastic and respected sponsor is Shadow Warrior Nutrition! Many of you already know them as the providers of Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q, THE energy loss reduction supplements! For those of you who aren’t in the know on that, you should be, because this is the way you keep your fighter training more often and not taking sessions off to try to keep his energy above 90%! If you aren’t using this supplement, hurry over and check them out today, you will not be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Featherweights Aaron Petrov v Oenomaus Doctore We have two sub-355k guys, the unrestricted, true unrestrained as we dubbed them leading up to April before we went full-on unrestricted, ready to go to battle in the cage here to start things off! Unfortunately this may not be as intense and drawn out a battle as we’d normally hope for because Aaron Petrov comes into the fight with only a little over half a bar of morale. Ah, so much for confidence and drive! That’s especially good news for Doctore who already had a slight advantage in most areas and a black belt on top of that over Petrov’s brown. This will be Doctore’s first appearance in the cage under the Sucker Punch banner after a very long, very travelled career through many orgs. His most recent run though is a four fight set of QFC battles where he started things off with a loss but has won the last three. The question tonight will be, “Can he get back to winning against actual org level competition?” The answer should be “yes” with the advantages he has. If he does, expect it to be via TKO with solid boxing. As old as Doctore may be at this point…and make no mistake about it, he certainly represents the older, wiser, teacher of the gladiators…he’s still four years the junior of Petrov. That certainly won’t help to improve Petrov’s already low morale. Petrov also comes in having lost his last two fights and is 1-2 here at Sucker Punch…1-5 going back a few more. His one win over that stretch was a majority decision over Ivan Volkov where he used solid striking, mostly to the head both in and out of the clinch…but more outside the clinch…to get the job done. He is a former SMASH champion at Featherweight, so it’ll be important for him to reach back to his knowledge and experience here tonight. Donkey’s Pick: Doctore via TKO (Strikes) It’s simple. I just can’t pick for Petrov here due to the morale issues and lack of preparation. It’s contributed to losses in the past and very likely to contribute again this evening! *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Heavyweights Jairzinho Teixeira v Andre Powell We move on to the second bout of the evening and I’m very disappointed to have to report that we have yet another case of bad preparation in this matchup just like we had in the first. Powell will come in with about 60% morale and despite Teixeira being at about 90% will give up a bit of an edge due to that lack of prep! If it weren’t for the lack of morale Powell would have had the advantage in skills tonight, at least in primaries, as he has the better Muay Thai and wrestling. With two losses heading into tonight’s matchup, he certainly need to turn things around but this is certainly not the best way to go about that task. If he can find a way to channel the work he did against Mills in back to back wins he might still pull it off via TKO, but he hasn’t done himself any favors here. Teixeira is certainly better off with than Powell but definitely not perfectly prepared for this battle. That said, he’ll need to bear down and focus as he’s had a rough run over the second half of his Sucker Punch stint here. While he has two wins in his last three visits to the cage, he’s coming off a loss to Ashwin Tyson and before the wins he’d racked up four losses in a row. He seemed to find that missing spark against both Mills and Farva, but that spark is in danger of fading out and he needs to turn it into a full-fledged fire in his gut with a win tonight! This man typically wins or loses via TKO or KO, giveth and taketh be the theme! Donkey’s Pick: Teixeira via TKO (Strikes) It’s almost guaranteed we’ll have a standup battle with plenty of hands thrown in this second fight of the evening! Given the similar approach between these two, I have to give it to Teixeira as the more prepared combatant! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Ibrahim Camara v Patrick Thomas Ahhhhhh! Finally two fighters who are both fully prepped and ready to give it everything they’ve got in the cage tonight! Thomas and Camara are both part of the full unrestricted, unrestrained crew here and damn, you cannot even find a hair of advantage in primary skills between these two…you could put a ruler down the line between them and not see a sliver of daylight either way! Now this is as closely matched as you can possibly get. Thomas needs a win here. Plain and simple. He’s 1-2 since joining us at Sucker Punch and 1-4 over his last five outings. With only a win over Derwent Bolt, a first round TKO, he will need to focus on finding a way back to the win column once again. Most of his career wins have come via TKO finishes but he has shown the ability to win on the judges’ scorecards as well. He’ll bring a healthy dose of kickboxing to the cage, with a heavy emphasis on strikes to the ole melon! Camara may be “Dishonest as Fuck” but he’s unlikely to fib about his desire for a win here tonight. Under the management of Antonio Maximus he has three fights since joining Sucker Punch and making the management change. He started off on the right foot with wins over a very tough Tribute and then a solid victory via split decision against a very talented Ryan Bolt. But he couldn’t escape the bloodbath that usually accompanies Radu Dracul into the cage, appropriately named I might add, and saw the doc pulling the plug in his last fight. While he has shown he can win via TKO, more often than not he tends to work the technical striking game and lean on the judges to see him as the more efficient aggressor. Expect the same tonight as he tries to avoid getting tagged by the big one from Thomas! Donkey’s Pick: Camara via Unanimous Decision I like Camara’s chances to hold off Thomas in a standup battle this evening and work those judges over. Thomas is usually dependent upon the finish and we’ll see if Camara’s solid chin can hold up against Thomas’ attack. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Middleweights Arthur Morgan v Paulo Blikstein We’re well into the Undercard here with our fourth fight of the evening and both of these kids are more or less fully prepped to get into that cage and get to it! Blikstein will have the wrestling advantage by a slim margin this evening but will give up the edge in Muay Thai, but a small, small amount, and a bit more in Jiu Jitsu. Blikstein has found a rhythm of late with three wins over his last four and his only loss coming to multi-time champion Wanderson Machado. That’s not a bad go given he hung in there for a solid three rounds against Machado and forced Machado to take it with help from the judges. He’s got some nasty hands and can do damage while boxing, especially with shots to his opponents chin and noggin’, even going so far as to win three fights ago against Ponor by forcing him to give up due to strikes! You know you’ve truly sucked the will and soul from your opponent when you can do that! Morgan’s success has been similar to Blikstein’s over his last several fights as he comes in 2-1 over his last three. His two fights here at Sucker Punch have come down to decisions, the first a split in his favor but the most recent a loss to Jacob Parker via unanimous decision. Taking the hard-hitting Parker the distance is no small feat though and nothing to be ashamed of even if it results in a loss. Donkey’s Pick: Morgan via Unanimous Decision Much like our prior fight, there’s a good chance we have Morgan looking to win via technical striking while Blikstein is going for the TKO. And once again I’m going to say that I think perhaps this one gets dragged out and we go to the judges as well. If that happens, Morgan should be in the driver’s seat when the scores are announced. *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Welterweights Darry Curtis v Mister Lee Curtis and Lee make this three fights in a row where our boys are set and ready to give it everything! Now that’s how you get this thing on track and finish up the Undercard folks! Good on these guys, and we here in the management office love em for it! Curtis will have small advantages in a few primaries here as he’s the better in Muay Thai and wrestling but Lee will have a significant Jiu Jitsu edge with is black belt over Curtis’ purple. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Lee will take this thing to the ground though as the common trend over his recent wins has been his focus on heavy, aggressive kickboxing. With a big focus on those feet doing damage to the opponents’ legs to slow them down, allowing the hands do their job. His run has been a little rocky of late though, with a 2-3 record over his last five but the big boost for him will be coming in off a win over Rossiter in March. Curtis turned things around last month by pushing the fight against Samuel Sanchez to the very end and winning on the cards. However, leading up to that fight he’d lost three in a row, all via TKO or KO…one of which was due to cuts. Not a three month run that any fighter really wants to look back on. Prior to that he was absolutely on fire with six wins in a row, including a championship fight win for the Welterweight title and a successful defense. But it was the second defense that started the rough streak and seemed to send him into a bit of a spiral for a while. With last month’s win, perhaps he’s shaken that off now and is ready to get back to showing how dominant he can be! Donkey’s Pick: Curtis via TKO (Strikes) If Curtis wins via finish tonight we may just be looking at a man ready to climb that ladder once again in search of his second championship run? He knows what it takes, but Lee is not going to be one to roll over and just be turned into a stepping stone. This is going to take serious focus and Lee could easily turn out the winning effort as well. *********************** Alright folks, Donkey and I are trying to move fast, we’re going to take the shortest of breaks here and get back to you with the Main Card action! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Heavyweights Alright, we’re back and now it’s time for the Main Card as we finish off all the action at SPPS 136 tonight! Olafsson is expected by many Sucker Punch fans to come in with some intensity tonight after his declaration that he and his team would be highly focused after their loss last month! He’d won his first two fights here at Sucker Punch over Zurauskas and Powell but Conchobhar proved a bit too much for him on the 9th of March as he stole it with the judges. When Olafsson is on his game you can expect a nasty clinch affair that does NOT involve any sort of romantic, lover-like slow dancing. Tyson came out strong last month with a TKO finish in under a minute as he dispatched Jairzinho Teixeira. Clearly he and his team decided that tip-toeing around wasn’t getting the job done after two prior losses, a TKO finish by Wrecks who would eventually become Heavyweight Champion and then a submission via arm triangle to Peter Beardsley. What will make this fight extremely interesting is that Tyson won that last fight with some nasty Muay Thai skills in the clinch. Hmm…sound familiar? Donkey’s Pick: Tyson via TKO (Strikes) It’s definitely looking like this COULD be a battle to dominate in the clinch tonight between two fighters who have proven they can get things done in there up close and personal. However, Tyson has the slightly better Muay Thai and unless Olafsson mixes it up a bit that might be the edge Tyson needs to walk away with the ‘W’. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Welterweights Despite long, long careers here at Sucker Punch for both of these Welterweights tonight they have never met before in the cage! That’s almost shocking given THIRTY-SIX combined fights between them here at SPPS! Sanchez will be off slightly on morale, by about 10%, and you have to wonder if that will factor in at all. Certainly it’s not ideal given he’s 1-4 over his last five with the sole win over that stretch coming two fights ago in February against Justin Kulina. All five of those fights ended via decision, just not in Sanchez’ favor most of the time. Sanchez can stand and strike but prefers to gather up most of his points with a nasty ground and pound attack. Slick Gunderson will step down to the cage for the second time this evening when Barbosa makes his entrance. A loss to Aleksy last month has undoubtedly left him eager to get back into the win column and to do that he’ll need to channel what worked in the prior two fights against Darry Curtis and Young Prodigy. Fights that earned him ‘KO of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ honors respectively. Barbosa is usually a power striker over the course of his career but has shown more recently that he can run a solid, precision striking game out there as well, picking his opponents apart for points. Donkey’s Pick: Barbosa via TKO (Strikes) Barbosa can claim more success of late than Sanchez and really that’s about the only reason I’m leaning this way. Outside that, there’s no reason this shouldn’t be a highly competitive fight and the real battle will come down to whether Sanchez can move the fight to the ground or not…and if so…if he can control the action there and capitalize on his ground and pound. If so, he can turn my prediction inside out! *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Light Heavyweight Championship Bout The middle of our Main Card and the last fight before the “technical” Main Events is honestly more like an additional Co-Main Event in reality as it’s one of our two huge Championship fights on the evening! This one between challenger Radu Dracul and reigning champ Sora Izanagi for the SPPS Light Heavyweight Championship! Both fighters are topped off with energy and morale and looking to give the fans every penny’s worth of excitement in there tonight! Dracul will have a small advantage in wrestling…by the smallest margin…and a black belt over Izanagi’s brown in Jiu Jitsu. This is the first title fight of his career and you can bet that brings an extra level of excitement to the cage for both he and his team! He earned this opportunity after a three fight winning streak capped off with a huge, nasty, blood-letting battle with Ibrahim Camara last month. It’s no mistake that he comes in with the superior ground game and if Dracul has his way this evening this fight will end up on the ground with Izanagi the recipient of a brutal downpour of shots from above! Izanagi comes in on his own three fight win streak but of course it includes the biggest win of all, his Championship Belt winning head kick KAAAAAYYYY-OHHHHH over Devin Ecker last month as we re-established the Light Heavyweight belt here at Sucker Punch! What an amazing, highlight reel way to get that done and bring the Light Heavyweight division right back into the spotlight with our fans! The ground is not his friend tonight and you can expect that he’ll want it right back on the feet, either via escape or ref standup, if it ends up on the mat. Donkey’s Pick: Izanagi via KO (Punch) I’m expecting that we’ll see Izanagi step back to the approach he took against Mandiang three fights back tonight. I that battle he worked a solid kickboxing strategy with a big focus on leg kicks and head shots. Leg kicks would be key again here tonight to slow down Dracul and keep him from being able to drive this thing to the mat. If it gets to the ground, the keys to this fight quickly switch to whether Izanagi can control and/or escape or if Dracul can gain dominant position and terrorize Izanagi with strikes. I have to lean towards the very proficient Izanagi here as Dracul would have to pull the upset for the win…and the acquisition of the belt! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Welterweight Bout Our Co-Main Event may not be for the Welterweight Championship but, while being sandwiched by title fights, is still going to be one of the most anticipated fights of the evening and a huge battle on this card! Former three-time Welterweight Champ…and two time Sucker Punch Welterweight champ, Christiano goes head to head against a ridiculously talented Ceaser El Toro Jr as Toro Jr makes his Sucker Punch debut…all with a title shot on the line for the winner! Now that…is some intensity and excitement just waiting to bust loose! Christiano lost the belt to Darry Curtis back in October after three successful title defenses. He bumbled around a little bit as he regained form and confidence with a win over Aleksy that was bookended with losses to Jinx and Konrad Wagner. He definitely showed he was back in form when he put an end to my own Lou Valentine’s steady rise to the top last month. Valentine was on a six fight streak over ever increasing quality of competition but Christiano was firm in denying him a shot at the title as he decisively took the decision victory. El Toro Jr hasn’t lost a fight under current management with Sonny Muchacho all at CFC prior to coming over here to Sucker Punch for his debut with Christiano! He went into CFC with a title fight in hand, won the belt and retained it for four successful defenses, eventually leaving as the reigning champ! I don’t think you need much more of a resume to prove you’re ready to step right up to the top upon arrival, but we’re still making him prove it once against the former champ here at Sucker Punch! Most of his wins over his championship run were decision victories with the sole exception being his win in January via TKO over Raphie Maldonado. Donkey’s Pick: El Toro Jr via Unanimous Decision El Toro can strike with the best of them but is also a serious Muay Thai specialist. Elite frankly. Two of his last three fights were won in the clinch or were heavily facilitated by it. Christiano is a serious technical striker who gets the job done with the judges either with his boxing or combined with some kick boxing thrown in. What makes me lean towards El Toro Jr here is that we don’t know really how Christiano will handle a clinch artist these days and he has tended to struggle in some fights of late. Much more than earlier in his career. I have to see him handle the likes of an El Toro Jr…so I’m leaning the other way. *********************** Main Event: Middleweight Championship Bout Our Main Event of the evening will be a battle for the Sucker Punch Pro Series Middleweight Championship! Jukassa comes in as the challenger against the reigning, defending champ, Kiryu Kazuma. Not only that, but he’s also the runner-up in the Middleweight division of the Olympics recently! Let’s face it folks, given that momentum for Kazuma and even with the skills that both of these fighters have…Jukassa actually having the advantage in Muay Thai and wrestling…Jukassa has to be considered by almost all to be the underdog here and a win would be a thunderous upset over the Olympic finalist! Now, with all of that said…Jukassa is on his own tear and while the world might be shocked initially if he were to win, the signs are there that he’s more than capable. He’s defeated Shigemasa, Duarte, Doe and Marka to earn this opportunity and is actually 7-1 under Sairanix Lokren, all since joining Sucker Punch! Much like Kazuma, he is a hard-hitting KO specialist who brings a heavy dose of boxing to the cage. Kazuma will have his momentum and morale perhaps put slightly in check with the finals loss in the Olympics to Winston Todd. But at the same time, making it there in the first place over amazing competition such as Shen Po, who he has now defeated twice if you include both the Olympics and SPPS battles, and Rick Piano is a HUGE accomplishment. Kazuma lands crushing shots on his opponents and can turn the lights out with his hands or his feet. Now that the Olympics are over, he’s back to continue his string of defenses for the title…if Jukassa wants that strap, he’s got to take it from Kazuma! Donkey’s Pick: Jukassa via TKO (Strikes) Even I’ll admit that this pick is a bit disrespectful although none is meant by it. Kazuma’s management team, led by Mattias Lundgren, is probably going to have no love for the Donkster after this preview comes out! That said, I have to make this pick way I am because a) the hair on the back of my neck is just standing up telling me that an upset may be in the air and b) the TKO loss in the Olympics showed that Kazuma CAN be defeated by another heavy-hitting, elite striker. Jukassa is that kind of striker. There’s a recipe for danger here and Kazuma had better come into this focused and ready take care of business if he wants to retain! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! So there we go folks! Amazing action lined up for SPPS 136 in Tokyo at the Dome tonight! I hope you’ll be joining us but if not catching the amazingly produced THREE HOURS LIVE PPV is an absolute MUST! We’ll be looking forward to all the action and all the talk afterwards folks! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 Full preview is up above now for SPPS 136 folks! Enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 Wow! Two title changes last night and a draw in our Co-Main Event! Unbelievable! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 The REMATCH has been signed, sealed and delivered...and scheduled for 11 days from now!!! I am SO excited for this rematch!!! Talk about walking into a cage and looking into the eyes of a man who you know you're just as good as, as are they, and it's about who WANTS IT baby!!! Who has the will to push even further... Last night they gave you this gem...that earned 'Fight of the Night' honors... ...This time around, they ARE THE MAIN EVENT! They deserve to be the MAIN EVENT! The only thing changed will be the corners...Christiano in the red...El Toro Jr in the blue...LET'S GET IT ON!!!! Who wants a TITLE SHOT baby?!?! It's gonna be well earned damnit!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyMuchacho Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 “The Drizzle” Caesar El Toro “Man oh man what a fight! Many props to Christiano - our warrior spirits soared together in our battle last night. You made me remember why I got into fighting so long ago. The cage is where I find peace and can be my true self. Thank you for the honor of a great battle. I feel reinvigorated in my career. I felt Sucker Punch would bring the magic to my twilight years and I was not wrong! 11 days from now I will have this bandage off and be back to 110% for the rematch. The main event. Expect a higher level me and a much higher me for that matter. For me this rematch represents the totality of my career. I am coming to take the title and I don’t give a damn about anything in my periphery. It’s all or none baby. Let’s go!” 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionjackson Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 Good fight my son, your holy spirit was on full display. Next time however, you will be baptized in fire! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottfutile Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 The level of detail in some of these orgs is just mind blowing. Honestly. I was going to share the betting preview I put together for Sucker Punch Pro Series 137, but I feel somewhat in awe. If you want to read it you can find the link here to the article in the Tycoon Times. Or if you just want to take a look at the odds for the event you can find it here on the Saturnia bookmakers page. Honestly great work everyone. The immersion is awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 137 First things first folks! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! Beyond that, we’re here on this fine bunny-like holiday to bring you SPPS 137! Now, as you would imagine, I myself, Hare, am a busy bunny this weekend so I’m going to be handing this thing off to Nati Batti who is currently in the process of preparing the preview. I make no guarantees about the quality of said preview, nor do I even guarantee that it’ll actually contain much in the way of actual fight analysis! But, hey, if anything it may be mildly amusing, as I got a few chuckles from the last one she did and I hope you fine folks did as well! SPPS 137 brings us ten amazing fights all out of the fantastic Wombley Arena in London! And bonus…our card is being covered by the sportsbook, Saturnia! For all your degenerate gambling needs! How appropriate for Easter, eh? The Light Heavyweights will be represented extremely well tonight with FOUR great fights from that weight class. The first of those will open up the card as Caleb DeCoteau and Misak Grigorian step into the pristine cage but likely don’t leave it that way by the time they finish! The second of those Light Heavyweight matchups will bookend the Undercard with Bobby Minnagh and Mike Bard mixing it up. Saturnia has Bard favored in this one, we’ll see if Donkey agrees with that if he decides to grace us with his presence today! The Main Card opens up with the remaining two Light Heavyweight battles and then we get to an amazing fight that I personally am waiting for, Lightweights Furioto and Bradley Brunswick Jr. throwing down in there for our pleasure! I love a good battle of styles and this one certainly will be as Furioto is all ground and submissions while Brunswick Jr. is all about fists and your face! Our Main Events will bring you Middleweight action as Chip Nickel takes on the always dangerous Jacob Parker as well as our Title Fight between challenger Tytus Aleksy and the defending champion, THE Greatest Dental Practitioner around, Konrad Wagner! This is likely Parker’s last run with us here at SPPS so we hope we get a beauty from him as a former Champ here at SPPS! All that fun and more coming at you shortly, with a lot more detail (hahaha, sure) coming up from Nati Batti here, so let’s hear form our sponsor and merchandise partner and get to it! Our fantastic and respected sponsor is Shadow Warrior Nutrition! Many of you already know them as the providers of Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q, THE energy loss reduction supplements! For those of you who aren’t in the know on that, you should be, because this is the way you keep your fighter training more often and not taking sessions off to try to keep his energy above 90%! If you aren’t using this supplement, hurry over and check them out today, you will not be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! Nati Batti’s Intro: Hello friends and Happy Easter. I have returned for yet another preview. I am once again writing without knowing what is going on, but I’ll try to at least look at the fights today so I can have some sort of an idea as to what is happening. Alright, let’s get this started. *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Light Heavyweights Caleb DeCoteau (-127) v Misak Grigorian (-117) Nati Batti’s Take: The first fight of the night has Caleb DeCoteau against Misak Grigorian in a light heavyweight bout. These two both appear to be relatively new fighters, with DeCoteau only having been in 3 fights up until this point. Grigorian has a little more experience, having fought in 7. At first glance, I’d say it is a pretty balanced match, maybe even favoring DeCoteau. However, looking at morale, Grigorian has a bit of an advantage. I like to judge based on morale and energy, so I feel like I must stick to that here. Since DeCoteau is missing about ⅓ of his morale, I’m going to give this one to Grigorian. I’m thinking TKO. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: DeCoteau (-127) Donkey’s Pick: Grigorian via TKO (Strikes) Making a pick here isn’t as simple as it usually would be for me. Sure, DeCoteau comes into this with the Jiu Jitsu advantage and everybody knows I love that…but he’s also off on morale by about 30-35% and doesn’t look to have leaned on his Jiu Jitsu in past fights offensively. And everybody knows I HATE a lack of preparation. Unless he wins this one early I think the momentum, and confidence, slides to Grigorian and he walks away with the win giving him a trio of W’s over his most recent run! *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Welterweights Malcolm King (-111) v Shock Linewood (-135) Nati Batti’s Take: Next, we will have a welterweight fight between Malcolm King and Shock Linewood. These are both pretty solid names so we can’t really judge based on that for once. However, we can judge based on energy and morale still. King is down just a tiny bit in morale and is missing about a quarter of his energy heading into this fight. This obligates me to choose Linewood, which is fine because it lines up with what I’d choose based on skills as well. These two are pretty evenly matched across all skills except BJJ, where Linewood has a significant advantage. Linewood has won many different ways across his 19 wins so I’m going to go ahead and say that Linewood will win this one via submission. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Linewood (-135) Donkey’s Pick: Linewood via Submission (Guillotine) King comes in with his energy off by close to 25% and that can have a big impact upon a contest. I wish we weren’t seeing this so early with the first few fights on the card but no doubt it’ll improve as we move forward. That said, the advantage has to swing over to Linewood here so I’m in agreement with Saturnia Sportsbook on this one. If Linewood can make good on it, he’ll improve his run at Sucker Punch to 2-3 and get closer to proving that those considerable skills he has aren’t just for show! He’s got a definitive edge in Jiu Jitsu so I’m expecting a submission to compete for an ‘of the Night’ award here! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Lightweights Adrian Atkins (-130) v Montesh Dominguez (-115) Atkins vs. Dominguez II Nati Batti’s Take: For the third fight of the night, we will see Adrian Atkins against Montesh Dominguez in a lightweight matchup. These two are skinny boys but they’re not the skinniest of skinny boys so maybe there is still hope for something exciting here. Once again we are looking at a pretty fair fight. Their skills all matchup almost perfectly except BJJ (again) in which Atkins has an advantage. Both of their morales are down a little but they’re down by the same amount so it evens the playing field. As for energy, Atkins is down just a little bit which shouldn’t have a major impact on his fighting but I feel like it will. Energy combined with experience (Atkins’ 6 total fights vs Dominguez’s 20) makes me choose Dominguez here. I do think it will be a pretty even fight and I’m not optimistic for a knockout here so I’m going to guess that it will come down to a decision. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Atkins (-130) Donkey’s Pick: Dominguez via TKO (Strikes) Both are fairly well matched in this one and also prepared overall. That means I’ll have to actually put some effort into a pick here it seems! Easter is supposed to be a day off…it’s Sunday darn it! Anyways, Atkins has the only definable edge heading into this with the stronger Jiu Jitsu. These two have met before though, so that helps me some with this being a rematch! That one came down to a very close 29-28 call on the scorecards in favor of Atkins. With Dominguez on a two fight winning streak heading into this and Atkins coming off a loss to Red Crow perhaps their momentums shift that some? Hard to say. The difference in that last fight was Atkins strength in the clinch. He was able to control the action and dish out some abuse. Dominguez will have to have an answer for that this time in a rematch that he was eager to get at. He took out Ryo Hazuki last fight with a head kick KO and I think he probably comes into this one headhunting as well given Atkins prior success winning decisions. Perhaps he lands that one shot he needs? *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Welterweights Manco Capac (-127) v Thomas Hearn (-117) Nati Batti’s Take: Fight number 4 will be a welterweight bout between Manco Capac and Thomas Hearn. These two have pretty similar levels of experience and similar streaks so that’s not really a good indicator of who will win this one. As for skills, wrestling is a toss-up between the two but Capac should be able to take Hearn in boxing and BJJ and Hearn should be able to take Capac in muay thai. Despite Capac’s lead in two skills, I am going to choose Hearn here because he has full morale and energy while Capac does not. There’s not really a trend as to how Hearn likes to win, so I’ll take the safe option and say he will win by unanimous decision. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Capac (-127) Donkey’s Pick: Hearn via Majority Decision Wow, two VERY prepared fighters here as we get close to finishing up the Undercard! Hare would love this and I certainly do as well! Right up to the point here where I need to make a pick…because it makes it tougher on me. Capac has both the boxing and Jiu Jitsu advantages here while Hearn claims the Muay Thai edge. We have to look back to Hearn’s run at HFC for fight analysis as this is his Sucker Punch debut, but it was hit and miss for him over at HFC, literally. He was 1-3 over his prior four before joining us and most of those losses were close decisions. Capac hasn’t been much more consistent with a 2-2 run so far with us here at Sucker Punch but he is coming off a solid decision victory over Vladimir Rurikovich. That said, he too has had a tendency to lose when it gets tossed to the judges so again, this becomes a very tough one to pick! Capac does have the Jiu Jitsu skills as we said, and normally I’d lean on them here. But Hearn has never been defeated via submission. I’m going to lean on that instead and with his aggressive tendencies say he perhaps grabs the points he needs to score the ‘W’ tonight! *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Light Heavyweights Bobby Minnagh (-117) v Mike Bard (-127) Nati Batti’s Take: The final fight on the undercard will be a light heavyweight bout between Bobby Minnagh and Mike Bard. Looking at skills, Minnagh has a slight edge over Bard in everything except BJJ, where Bard excels with his brown belt. There’s certainly more hype behind Minnagh in this fight despite Bard’s overwhelming popularity in comparison to Minnagh. I’m not sure what that’s about so I won’t be using that to help me decide here. Energy and morale, however, are fair game. They both have full energy going into the fight which is good but Minnagh’s morale seems to be down a little. Since their experience and win ratios are pretty much the same, I will once again be deciding based on morale and choosing Bard to win this one. He seems to like to win via TKO so hopefully he’ll do that again. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Bard (-127) Donkey’s Pick: Minnagh via TKO (Strikes) This should be a fantastic fight to close out the Undercard folks! Bard will have the Jiu Jitsu advantage but Minnagh gets to lay claim to the edge in all other primaries! Both are pretty well prepared with only Minnagh being a little short on morale, but likely not enough to have an impact. Bard is on a bit of a roll with a 3-1 record over the prior four including a win over Bruce Sidebar heading into this fight. The only loss was to now Champ Radu Dracul! He’s got the skills on the ground but more often than not he’ll stand and strike. Much like Hearn in the prior fight we have to look back to Minnagh’s run at HFC for any fight analysis with this being his Sucker Punch debut! He comes in on a 4-0 run under his current manager, Donald Trump, giving him no reason to hear the words, “You’re Fired!” He’s a hard striker who doesn’t need a lot of shots to get the job done and with Bard having fallen now and then via TKO you have to wonder if he’s ready to nullify that abusive approach. *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Light Heavyweights Aleks Kuznetsov (-115) v Abraham Barnes (-130) Nati Batti’s Take: The first fight on the main card will be another light heavyweight bout, this time between Aleks Kuznetsov and Abraham Barnes. These two have similar skills except in BJJ, where Barnes has the advantage. Both are down a little in morale, but Barnes is down by more in morale and is also down a little in energy. So, based on that, it’s already looking like it’s going to be Kuznetsov. The icing on the cake is that technically Kuznetsov has a winning record (11-8) and Barned does not (9-11). So, with all of that, it is pretty clear that I’ll be choosing Kuznetsov for this one and I think it’ll be by TKO. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Barnes (-130) Donkey’s Pick: Kuznetsov via Unanimous Decision Barnes comes into this one off a bit on both morale and energy, which is part for the course when it comes to Clifton Barnes’ kids. It doesn’t always mean a loss though, as he’s proven many times, and you wonder how well this stable could be doing if they were truly fully prepared for their fights? Abraham has won his last two over fairly accomplished and skilled opponents in Akerfeldt and Mandiang. That’s pretty impressive given the lack of prep. However, prior to that he was on a four fight losing streak and was close to having Hare let him go. He needs to keep this turnaround alive to stay alive with SPPS! Kuznetsov is a perennial contender with only one issue…his ability to handle grapplers and submission artists. He’s been tasked with proving he can do that before he’ll get another title shot. He fell short against Wille Thai three fights ago and then also lose via KO to Bloode who is now the Top Contender. A win last month over Akerfeldt proved that he is working on his ground game and perhaps heading in the right direction! He’ll get a chance to prove it once more in the near future but for now he has to handle hard-hitting Barnes. He’ll need to do better than he did against Bloode this time out. Given the tight contest here, I’m going to lean on preparation and go with Kuznetsov. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights John Fury (-115) v Aboubacar Mandiang (-130) Nati Batti’s Take: Fight number 7 will have John Fury against Aboubacar Mandiang in yet another light heavyweight bout. Did we have to put 3 light heavyweight matches in a row? I feel like we didn’t. I’m assuming this is Hare’s fault so I’m judging him now. Anyways, on with the fights. Mandiang’s name is fun but it’s a lot of letters so I feel like those two things cancel out. Both fighters have full energy however, Fury is down just a smidge in energy. Again, it’s probably not enough to affect the fight but I’m going to pretend it will. These two have similar records and skills, although Mandiang is better at BJJ. Altogether, I’m going with Mandiang with this one. He will win via unanimous decision. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Mandiang (-130) Donkey’s Pick: Fury via TKO (Strikes) Mandiang will have the skill advantage here with both of these combatants coming in fully prepped and ready to get at it, as Hare would say! Nice. That said, Mandiang is tangling with the former Light Heavyweight champ here and this will not be an easy fight for him. He’s given up two losses over his past three fights including the one prior to this to an unprepared Abraham Barnes. He needs a big bounce back win and with Fury struggling in his prior two fights, the first a title loss and then a loss to ground specialist Thai, perhaps the time is right to score a win? Both fighters bring some serious throwing of hands to the cage and I can say this, knowing Action Jackson’s demanding nature of his fighters a loss here could mean a farewell from Jackson’s stable for Mandiang! And unfortunately for him, I cannot give Mandiang my vote due to his recent losses…I really do feel he should have won at least one, if not both, of those recent fights. *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Lightweights Maximus Furioto (-127) v Bradley Brunswick Jr (-117) Nati Batti’s Take: The eighth fight of the night will be between Maximus Furioto and Bradley Brunswick Jr. If Brunswick didn’t have the suspicious double letter, it would almost be a cool name. This is a lightweight bout, by the way. Obviously, we must start by evaluating morale and energy. Both are down the tiniest bits in morale, but Furioto is down just a little bit more. However, Furioto has full energy while Brunswick is missing some. I feel like these two cancel out for once and we will not take this into consideration here. Their skills are all over the place, none of them are even. Brunswick will excel in boxing and muay thai in this fight while Furioto will have the advantage in wrestling and BJJ. Furioto has pretty much no ability at all in boxing or muay thai so I’m thinking Brunswick can end this one early with a good punch and a knockout. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Furioto (-127) Donkey’s Pick: Furioto via Submission (Armbar) As Hare mentioned in the preview, this truly is a grand battle between differing styles! Brunswick Jr. has the definitive standup advantage in this fight while Furioto will be single-mindedly focused on putting the fight on the mat and working for a submission! Who wins the battle? I can’t wait to find out! Both are fully prepped, so we’re likely to get the very best from both and this one is going to come down to defensive skills, strategy and perhaps a bit of luck. This one gets even more intriguing because Brunswick has NEVER lost via submission so far. I can’t say for certain if he’s faced an elite ground specialist or not, so that may be the defining bit of info here and frankly, I don’t have the time to fully research it. If you do, that would drive your pick if you’re betting. On the flip side, Furioto has only fallen via TKO or KO one time in his extensive career! He’s been taken via decision, but Brunswick typically isn’t a decision fighter. Does he switch it up tonight, defend against the ground game, and score points where he can? Boy I can’t wait to find out! Until then, I’m leaning towards the ground game, as I tend to do when stuck for a pick, and I’ll take Furioto here to dish out the first submission for Brunswick Jr. *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Middleweight Bout Chip Nickel (-125) v Jacob Parker (-120) Nati Batti’s Take: Fight number 9 will be a middleweight fight between Chip Nickel and Jacob Parker. Nickel has a pretty cool name so that gives him bonus points here. These two have pretty even skills across the board except, you guessed it, BJJ where Parker has a slight advantage with his brown belt. They are both lacking a little morale, but not much. Nickel has full energy while Parker does not. Since I already like Nickel’s name better, I’m going to biasedly choose him to win this fight via TKO. Even if he doesn’t win and Parker does, I think it will still be by TKO because that seems to be what these two like to do. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick:In the co-main event sees part-time journalist Chip Nickel 20-9-0 come up against Jacob Parker 13-6-0. Nickel, a BJJ purple belt will likely try to keep the fight standing and avoid tangling with Parker’s BJJ. Reliant on body kicks, Nickel will likely face a stalemate on his feet. Parker, the younger man, could win the fight if he keeps the fight on the ground. Our Pick - Jacob Parker to win by TKO in round three(1.75) Donkey’s Pick: Nickel via Unanimous Decision The Co-Main Event tonight should be a blast and a heck of a farewell party for Parker, win or lose! Parker will have the edge in Jiu Jitsu tonight but that shouldn’t factor in as it’s mostly defensive. Nickel heads into the cage for his third fight here at SPPS after an extensive career at HFC prior to joining us at SPPS. He’s a decision fighter who relies upon technical striking as opposed to Parker’s typical power striking style, although Parker has proven he can switch it up as well in the past. Expect an epic clash here as these two get at it! I’m going with Nickel here as he has more experience claiming wins from the cards and has seldom fallen via TKO or KO! *********************** Main Event: Welterweight Championship Bout Konrad Wagner (-122) v Tytus Aleksy (-122) Nati Batti’s Take: The final fight of the night will be a welterweight title match between Konrad Wagner (defending) and Tytus Aleksy (challenging). Both of these guys have pretty cool names so no bonus points will be given out for this one. This fight will be 5 rounds long so hopefully they do not let it go to a decision because that would be excruciatingly boring for everyone involved. This is a pretty perfect matchup for skills, they’re similar across the boards. Wagner might have a slight edge in some but he is down a little in energy and by a little more in morale so it balances out. Wagner has fought fewer fights in his career, but his win percentage is much higher (83% opposed to Aleksy’s 68%). For some reason, I just don’t see Aleksy upsetting Wagner for this one, so I’m going to predict that Wagner will win this fight via TKO. Saturnia Sportsbook’s Pick: Next Sunday sees the return of one of the most terrifying men to the arena in a bout for the Sucker Punch Welterweight Title. ‘Dr Drillfist’ Konrad Wagner will face up against Tytus Aleksy. The former dentist has a paper thin advantage on the feet against Aleksy. Wagner, on a three fight streak, will look to work behind his jab and chop at Aleksy’s lead leg. Tytus Aleksy, also on a three fight streak has a tendency to fight in similar fashion, but has shown a deeper level of comfort on the ground. Wagner is the naturally heavier man, with a 10 cm height advantage should find himself with his hand raised at the end of the evening. Our Pick - Konrad Wagner to win by decision(1.82) Donkey’s Pick: Aleksy via TKO (Strikes) The Main Event and Middleweight Championship fight couldn’t get much better with two very prepared fighters heading in to highlight the evening. And both are very, very closely matched in primary skills across the board with the champ having perhaps just the smallest smidgen of an edge in boxing, Muay Thai and wrestling. Not enough to make this a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination though! Aleksy has been on fire since changing management teams and joining us at SPPS with a 4-1 record over that period. The only loss came to former champ Juan Christiano, one he’ll likely get a chance to avenge sooner than later if he remains near the top of the food chain in the Welterweight division. The win over Barbosa last month cemented his title shot and no doubt he comes in with some fire in the gut tonight. A hard-hitting striker who loves the clinch, he can win via decision as well but has also fallen via KO in the past. The Dentist just finds a way to get back to the title and win it! He’s done that three times now at SPPS and once at CMMA in between! His issue? Retaining and defending the title. He was able to do that at CMMA but here at SPPS his first two title defenses saw the belt slip away. Can he buck that trend and get that monkey off his back? He’s clearly worked on his technical striking as he’s won his last few via decision now as opposed to the hard hitting style he used earlier in his career. Will that be a good or bad thing tonight? You be the judge…or let’s just watch it unfold! He’ll likely want to keep the on the feet, but not in the clich where Aleksy seems to enjoy being up close and personal! I hate to say it, but I’m leaning into the trend here and the potential words…”Annnnd Newwwww…” this evening. *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! Whoooooo! The bunny has brought us a heck of a card for this evening and we’re ready to let the sparks fly at the Wombley Arena in London! Just about 4+ hours now until things kick off, we hope you’re able to join us! If not, catch all the action on the THREE HOUR LIVE PPV as we’ve thrown all the best resources into bringing you a great production! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 138 Welcome back Sucker Punch fans world-over! We’re excited to have yet another mid-week card ready for you all to enjoy and if you haven’t figured it out by now (and really, who hasn’t?), yes, we’ve fallen into a routine of having these middle of the week events take place at the Tokyo Bowl in…well…Tokyo! Wow, I’m just the king of the obvious tonight aren’t I??? Let’s get on with it, because I’m sure you folks find these intros a bit repetitive after a while and I know I do as well! No title fights on the docket for the evening but still ten full fights of mayhem and fun! SPPS 138 will be heavy on Welterweight action tonight as there are four contests lined up at 170#’s including the two Main Events. Before we get to that we’ll have some other impactful fights in the Main Card as the former baddest MF’er around, Thoth Chontamenti, goes to war with Boris Balkan. That’ll be preceded by Choctaw Bloode throwing down against Ryan Bolt in a battle that very well could showcase a future title contender at Light Heavyweight! Lots of other fun nonsense leading up to that folks, hopefully with a heavy dose of cheap shots and unexpected cracks at the boys…you know, the dingle dangles and all…but before we get to it, how about we hear from our sponsor and merchandise partner! When you think about training your fighters, one of the biggest concerns is keeping them in the gym and actively training, am I right? And you can’t do that if they have to be stopping to recover and rest for sessions here and sessions there! That is why you need to visit our sponsor, Shadow Warrior Nutrition, and specifically grab some of their Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q. It is literally the best energy loss reduction supplement money can buy and will keep your fighter in the gym training rather than sitting days out resting! Stop on over there today, you will NOT be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Middleweights Oswaldo Fadda Jr v Rogerio Duarte Although not highly ranked by any stretch of the imagination, our first contest of the evening will be a Middleweight matchup that should be quite the contest if these kids come hungry…as they very well should be! Duarte and Fadda Jr are really, really evenly matched with very slight edges in Muay Thai and boxing respectively. Outside that, they’re most geared up and ready to go…with Duarte perhaps slightly off on energy at about 8% down. I’m a little disappointed in that given how bad both of these two need a win and Fadda Jr is certainly showing the better dedication to that task here. Duarte comes in off a loss to Blikstein last month and is 1-3 over his prior four fights. He’s a KO artist who, unfortunately for him, falls to the KO at least as often if not a bit more than he dishes it out. Last month was especially embarrassing for him, we’d imagine, as he offered up only two missed head shots of his own before being TKO’d thirty-six seconds into the fight by Blikstein. Ouch! Hey, it made for a nice highlight reel moment for Blik though! Fadda Jr has strong skills across the board and is 3-0 on his young career despite being 26 years old now. The man has been practicing MMA for quite a while but just hasn’t been fond of stepping into the cage in an official sense I guess! While not as desperate for a win obviously as Duarte, at least not from a record perspective, he needs to start accumulating more of them in order to improve his ranking and prove he doesn’t belong at the bottom of the heap with the other los…er, guys without as many wins! With sensational skills across the board and a brown belt, Fadda Jr has multiple ways he can come at his opponents and his two fights under Mikey C have demonstrated he can win via submission or take it the distance. Can he also put the KO on somebody? Maybe we find out tonight! Donkey’s Pick: Fadda Jr via Submission (Armbar) Um, yeah, maybe Hare. And maybe not! Fadda has shown no interest in standing a striking beyond what is necessary until he can work the fight to the mat. Not to say he can’t, his strikes have been accurate and on point, but he seems to really enjoy dishing them out more from above and working those submission opportunities in between! Duarte just hasn’t shown enough consistency of late to prove to me that I should toss my hat in his corner, so I’m going to go with Fadda for now. *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Heavyweights Ali Amir v Lou Slugger We move on to the big boys next and while Slugger will come into this fight with small advantages in Muay Thai and wrestling, suggesting he may have some success in the clinch, it’s really Amir with the more impressive edge with his black belt in Jiu Jitsu over Slugger’s purple. Both are well prepared for this fight and that’s awesome to see as frequently the early fights on a card are the ones that have the less prepared fighters at times. Slugger is just that…a boxer who mixes in a few kicks now and then. He wins via TKO or KO, he loses the same way. At almost an equal pace. He’s under new management now with Darren Russell as he makes his Sucker Punch debut and there’s no doubt that he and his new team are hoping to forget about the 1-4 run Slugger had been on while at HFC. Amir may have a black belt but he’s prove that he can also nail down a win via KO or TKO in the past as well. And he’s also proven that he can be put to bed the same way at times as he was in his Sucker Punch debut last month when he was KO’d late in the first by Bobo Brazil! Not something he’d like to repeat this evening, no doubt! A former Heavyweight champ at the old Ashbourne Presents promotion, those days are well in the past at almost two years ago. Since then he’s changed management teams twice and not only that, name as well. Formerly known as Tyrone Tyson, he’s changed name along with perhaps religion when he was with Bradley Burns. Now with Arcalimon the Coach the goal is to win more, lose less, be great! Does that mean he’ll focus on his strength tonight and work for a submission, or stand and strike? Guess we’ll find out! Donkey’s Pick: Ali Amir via Submission (Armbar) I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m going with a guy who can strike but also has offensive ground skills! Most know that I love that and this guy has proven he can pull off a slick submission. Rock Bastita learned that the hard way in a QFC battle back in January. Slugger has a lot to prove here before I can pick him going forward so for now, it’s Amir for me. *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights Maximus Jr vs. Prodigy II Marcus Megnus Maximus Jr Maximus Jr v Young Prodigy Halfway through the Undercard and we get a rematch here as Maximus Jr attempts to avenge a loss to Prodigy suffered almost exactly a year ago! Prodigy pulled off the submission via triangle choke in their first meeting and Maximus Jr will endeavor to ensure that isn’t the way things roll this time around! Prodigy may have a thing or two to say about that though! That said, this may be a rough set of conditions for Prodigy’s attempted repeat. He’s been under fire of late with a 1-3 record over his most recent four fights and only an armbar submission over Ryo Hamada keeps that from being a full string of L’s. Maybe a rematch with Maximus Jr is just what the doctor ordered? He doesn’t hold the advantage in wrestling or Jiu Jitsu for that matter but does hold small edges in both areas of standup. Maximus Jr shares a win over Ryo Hamada with Prodigy as he claimed the ‘W’ via Majority Decision two fights ago at the beginning of February. However, his run hasn’t been much better of late overall with a 1-2 record heading into tonight’s contest. He, too, has proven at times that he can win via submission but also loses by them and a myriad of other ways. Donkey’s Pick: Maximus Jr via Unanimous Decision Welterweight is one of our deepest divisions here at Sucker Punch and given our goals of ever increasing levels of competition these two are both dangerously close to the cut line in the org. And with Hare planning even bigger things in the near future, a win for both of them is almost an absolute necessity! They’re literally likely fighting for their SPPS lives here tonight and even with a win it may not be enough. But you can only control what is in your hands to control, so the best they can do is give it what they’ve got and go for that win! That all said, this is a toss-up and given Prodigy’s struggles lately I think I have to go for the split in their series. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Lightweights The Royal Savage v Venali Paetmar The Royal Savage…such a fancy and celebratory name guys!...will get a chance this evening to prove that he’s not just the sum of his parts! And by that I mean that he’ll give up the edge in Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu to the older, but lesser trained Paetmar tonight. Paetmar, 33, hasn’t been training MMA nearly as long as Savage yet holds those advantages. Both fighters very much need wins as Paetmar has suffered a rough 1-4 run lately while Savage is 4-1 but is very under skilled for his age and ID. It’s going to be a rough uphill climb for him but one win at a time could get him there! When Paetmar wins, it’s typically by decision and if he has it his way the fight will stay on the feet while he focuses on his kickboxing. Normally. Tonight may be different given his areas of advantage. Savage is a striker and does NOT like the ground game much at all. He’ll gladly stand and strike with Paetmar if that’s the path that’s chosen. He should worry that Paetmar will change it up this evening though as his only loss over the last four has been via submission…and as we said, Paetmar has the advantage on the ground. Donkey’s Pick: Paetmar via Submission (Armbar) Paetmar doesn’t have a ton of submissions over his career, at least not in his favor, but tonight would be a great time to pull that trick out if he has it. If not, this fight can go either way and I’d actually probably have to lean in Savage’s direction if it stays standing. *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights Peter Beardsley v Daniel Spong We wrap up the Undercard with another big boy battle here and with it we get a slightly demoralized Spong. Sounds like a faulty car part or something, right? Or somebody in need of a little blue pill! Ha! Anyways, Spong has struggled some after coming into Sucker Punch on a high note. He won via Liam Ghambe early due to cuts but then lost to both my own Akuma Manivong and then Krol last month. Both via decision. Beardsley has struggled over the most recent three fights as well with his sole win bookended by losses to Magomedov and Fett. Surprisingly, his most recent win over Ashwin Tyson came via submission, something that had not been a common result for him over his career. New surprises in the toolbox perhaps? And does he pull that one back out again tonight? These two are tightly matched, with Beardsley having a small Muay Thai advantage while giving up the same in wrestling. Flip a coin on this one I think, but we’ll see what Donkey has to say! Donkey’s Pick: Beardsley via Split Decision I’d say flipping the coin is a fantastic approach Hare! Not much separates or defines an advantage for these two, but Spong does have his morale off some so that’ll be my deciding factor here! This is pretty much a ‘must-win’ for Spong though as his ranking continues to drop and three losses in a row could be catastrophic considering some of the surprises Hare has planned in the near future! *********************** Donkey and I will get a quick break in here while we grab a snack and a drink and then we’ll be right back with you for the Main Card action in about an hour or so! Hang tight folks! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Welterweights Wow! We open the Main Card with two warriors who are even in primaries right down the line! Yep, I just stuck a ruler along there, and sure enough, it’s dead even folks! And both are prepped and ready, energy up, morale up, all systems go! NICE. Ozbourne has all the tools to be an absolute terror but with his manager mostly absent over the last few months he struggled more than he should have. That may be rectified this evening as I believe Andrew Wittig has been around and about a bit more of late! Bad news for Pollock, no doubt! A former champ at BBFC, he was unable to defend the belt and has also been unable to lock onto the belt since his arrival here at Sucker Punch. He’s recently changed divisions to try his hand at Welterweight rather than Lightweight and has had mixed results with a win and a loss both via decision. He’s a power-puncher and will try to use that to propel him to more of the former going forward. Pollock, led by Jack King of my own alliance (full disclosure here) has also had mixed results since joining Sucker Punch two fights ago. He lost via decision to Abdul Rahman but then pulled out a closely fought Majority Decision over Shock Linewood last month. Part of the unrestricted movement, he’ll look to use his technical striking and extensive tendency for kicks to slow down and damage Ozbourne’s chances tonight. Donkey’s Pick: Ozbourne via TKO (Strikes) Pollock has never lost via TKO or KO. It’s usually decision or bust one way or another. That said, all trends are made to be derailed and Ozbourne has the skills and power to make that happen even against a lower ID! However, if he can’t land those shots he needs, this thing swings considerably to Pollock’s favor! *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights One of these two Light Heavyweights will earn themselves a Title Fight date with the master of blood himself, Radu Dracul, next month. Barring a draw here. Please, Lord of MMA, no draw please sir! Both are fully prepped and both are just about equal in primary skills, aside from the slimmest of an edge for Bolt in both areas of standup! At 5-1, Bolt had done well for himself in his career but it was important for him to come into Sucker Punch and prove himself at org level due to his first two wins being QFC battles. He did well in his debut, ousting Doppo Orochi via TKO, who we’d brought in specifically for him. A very close, split decision loss to Camara derailed his run straight to the top a bit but last month’s decision win over Patrick Thomas certainly got him back on track! Now, the only thing standing in his way is Choctaw Bloode! Bloode, who has been fighting under Ryan West for all but his first two fights here at Sucker Punch, has rebounded from four straight losses to put together a nice little run over Barnes, Kuznetsov and Warlovski…with 2022 looking like it could be his year so far! Given that run of losses though, he needs a win over another quality opponent like Bolt to prove he’s worthy of the title shot. This is a man who wins and loses via the (T)KO finish, while Bolt tends to go for the decisions, so he’s going to either need to adjust his game plan tonight or ensure he lands the shots he’s looking for to snag yet another dramatic finish! Donkey’s Pick: Bolt via Unanimous Decision This is a tough one to call given Bolt’s limited history in org fighting but it looks like he knows how to get the job done with precise, technical striking. That may be what is needed to nullify Bloode this evening. I’m gonna run with it for lack of a better rationale! This should be one of the better fights on the night and is definitely one to watch folks! *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Heavyweights Chontamenti vs. Balkan II Our last fight before the Main Events gives us yet another showdown of the behemoths! And with it we get future HoF’er Thoth Chontamenti facing off against Balkan! Boris Balkan would normally be more than enough for anybody to handle, even Chontamenti, despite a prior loss to the former champ. But the battle will be even more uphill for him this evening as his corner may not be manned with manager Proudly Presents MIA over the past ten days! Ouch. The first time these two fought…for the title with Balkan the challenger back in October 2020…yes, almost a year and a half ago…Chontamenti ended things halfway through the third round via TKO. Balkan and Chontmenti have changed and evolved a lot since then, some good, some not…but… …Chontamenti now returns home to the fold, somewhat! Originally managed by Esiah Xavier of the Yabai alliance, he spent a half dozen fights managed by Arcalimon the Coach after Xavier’s departure. During that time his attempts to reclaim the belt were thwarted by another Yabai member, Carlos Castenada, and his boy Hero Shima who became a thorn in Chontamenti’s side. Tonight, Thoth returns to the cage under the Yabai banner again as he’ll be escorted down to the cage by Mikey C! Will that bring glory back to Chontamenti’s name and begin the rise towards challenging for the belt eventually? We’ll see! Donkey’s Pick: Chontamenti via Submission (Armbar) Expect a very, very hard-fought battle here tonight but when it comes to where the fight takes place I think that may depend upon what Thoth and Mikey C’s plans are. He’s very good both on and off the feet, so it could go anywhere so long as Balkan is willing to play ball. Without management in his corner tonight, I think the advantage swings wildly to Chontamenti. *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Welterweight Bout Our Co-Main Event of the evening pits two of the unrestricted, unrestrained fighters who arrived at Sucker Punch in a battle to take the next step towards a potential title shot! These two are working for the opportunity to get a Top Contender battle next month and with it land on the doorstep to the big opportunity in a division that just gets tougher and tougher all the time! And it’ll only get more difficult folks, trust me on this one! I has secrets! Both are fully prepped and the only real difference in skills is the edge that Navarro will have in Jiu Jitsu with his black belt over Rahman’s brown. Rahman had faced his own hurdles prior to joining Sucker Punch while at Grunge and then CFC, but came roaring into SPPS to the tune of three straight wins over some very, very quality competition! Linewood…KO! Pollock…outstruck! Ozbourne…also outstruck and now boom, here he is, just a couple steps away! Navarro, led by Randall McSweeney, makes his Sucker Punch debut after fighting the majority of his career with…well, damn, it looks like almost every organization you’ve ever heard of! Combate last, Syn before that…ICS…Pride…you name it! This man is 37 years old but has the experience of five lifetimes! At Combate, he had two wins in a row before heading over here to SPPS and going back further was 6-2. Solid, and those wins came in just about every way possible, KO, TKO, Submission, Decision…the man just gets the job done! Tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try his hand at another submission with the black belt advantage on the ground. Donkey’s Pick: Rahman via TKO (Strikes) At 31 years old, Rahman has “youth” on his side here and I think that little bit of youthfulness compared to Navarro may be the edge he needs to sneak by in this one. He’s fought tough competition here at Sucker Punch, and for that I have to give him a bit of respect against the newcomer to our org. I’ll go with the guy who’s been here more than a minute! *********************** Main Event: Welterweight Contender Showdown The Main Event! Former Champ Matsuzaka against potential future Top Contender Nova Lankinen! In a battle where Lankinen is actually the fighter with the skill advantage as he holds the edge in Jiu Jitsu! Despite Lankinen’s success and wins, even his manager Marky Mark agrees that he wants to see more from Lankinen before any look at the title comes into play. Well, a win over Matsuzaka would be something to see, eh? Wins over Mason, Warrior and Queen, actually, two over Queen, are nice…but the loss to my own Valentine left a few questions. A win against the former champ would answer a lot of those! Matsuzaka was so, so close to glory several times over his career between Checkmate, BFC/BBFC and then here at Sucker Punch. He was unable to capitalize on a title opportunity at BFC and then fell short against Christiano here at SPPS back in August last year. But he kept working, kept pushing forward and it all paid off in early March this year when he worked his way back to a championship fight with then Champ Leroy Jinx and walked away with the belt! Unfortunately, he was unable to successfully defend and The Dentist came in to extract the belt from his clutches. A win tonight over Lankinen would serve two purposes…knock down a fast rising threat…in a division that’s already as dangerous and deep as they come…and set himself up for a TC battle and trip back to the promised land against the winner of Navarro/Rahman potentially…barring any unforeseen surprises and changes of the landscape over the next month or two…ahem…er, anyways… Donkey’s Pick: Lankinen via TKO (Strikes) Matsuzaka is a technical striker who can point you to death but has also seemed to hone his skills in bloodletting! He’s won two of his recent fights, including the title fight against Jinx, via doctor stoppages…and surprisingly, not due to elbows in the clinch or nasty ground and pound! He just hits…um, just right! Lankinen is also a standup striker…and he’ll work you over both in and out of the clinch, with power or without, whatever it takes! It’ll be interesting to see what approach he and his team take tonight! Not sure why I’m going in this direction…I dunno, maybe a hunch, but I’m going to say that I just feel that this may be Lankinen’s night to ascend further up that ladder…! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! We’re back in Tokyo and the big ole Bowl is going to be full to the rim with energy and excitement folks! We hope you’ll be joining us for SPPS 138 and if not, catch the amazing THREE HOUR PPV LIVE as all the action unfolds! Let’s git it! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfuhrer Posted April 20, 2022 Report Share Posted April 20, 2022 Great stuff Hare. Hoping M3 keeps it alive tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden97 Posted April 22, 2022 Report Share Posted April 22, 2022 BMF- has anyone here ever seen what a triple champ looks like? I just inked my contract this morning, and has the greatest featherweight of all time I welcome all comers! Who’s first? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted April 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 140 It’s almost time to get at it again Sucker Punch fans! Tonight we’ve got SPPS 140 coming at you from the Tokyo Bowl in Japan! Ten monster fights, no titles on the line, but a night full of intense action and excitement. I won’t drag out this intro given I’m a little short on time this evening with work crawling up my ass…but let’s just say that any card that has Matsuda and McGuire representing the Middleweights to open up the Main Card and then ends with the likes of newcomer Ben Slam and Hero Shima going at it with a big boy showdown in the Main Event, means it’s going to be a good night! So let’s hurry up and get to it, but not before we hear from our sponsor and merchandise partner! When you think about training your fighters, one of the biggest concerns is keeping them in the gym and actively training, am I right? And you can’t do that if they have to be stopping to recover and rest for sessions here and sessions there! That is why you need to visit our sponsor, Shadow Warrior Nutrition, and specifically grab some of their Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q. It is literally the best energy loss reduction supplement money can buy and will keep your fighter in the gym training rather than sitting days out resting! Stop on over there today, you will NOT be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Lightweights Kagekatsu Uesugi v Roberto Soldic Lightweights Soldic and Uesugi open things up for us the right way this evening as both are fully prepped and ready to rock! This will be Soldic’s second trip to the cage under the Sucker Punch umbrella and after giving up a split decision loss to Takahashi last month he’ll be looking to flip the script this evening. To do so, he’ll have to deal with newcomer to Sucker Punch, Uesugi, who heads to the cage for the first time under new manager Estevão Belmiro! Soldic comes to the cage with a slightly better all-around standup game but will give up the wrestling advantage to Uesugi. On top of the loss to Takahashi last month in his first outing with Alex K. at the helm he carries in an additional two L’s from his prior team. A two-time challenger for the Featherweight belt at HFC, he’s hoping that the move to Lightweight will pay off after having spent a trio at 135 pounds before starting out here at Sucker Punch back at Featherweight last month. He and his team told me after that fight that they felt he’d be better suited at the next weight class up and you know we make the dreams happen, so here he is! Haha. He’s been mostly a decision fighter later here at the back half of his career so far and we’ll see if he can drag this one out while avoiding the ground tonight. Uesugi loves his submissions but has earned his fair share of decisions as well. That said, he’s also lost his fair share of those and given Soldic thrives on going the distance it’s probably a scenario that Uesugi wants to avoid this evening. Expect him to work to get this fight to the mat as soon as possible this evening so he can use his elite wrestling and black belt to put things away. His armbar submission back in August put an end to a three fight losing streak but he hasn’t seen professional action in the cage since then. Will he come out a bit rusty or be primed to showcase the evolution of his game this evening? Donkey’s Pick: Soldic via Split Decision Hard to ignore the trend and Soldic’s ability to control a fight and score points needed. Going with that for now given it’s been so long since Uesugi’s been in the cage and we’re not really sure what to expect from him this evening. *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Featherweights Moganesh Jain v Cleon Wright Wright will be in the blue corner for this contest against Jain and comes in with a solid two wins under his belt so far here at Sucker Punch! A KO over Dizzy Knox certainly made a statement in his debut here at SPPS and the follow-up decision victory over Courtial last month has opened a few eyes! Wright is a three-time Featherweight champion from his GDL days and undoubtedly is eyeing the title here at SPPS! Jain is part of the pure unrestricted squad here at Sucker Punch (as is everybody now that we’re into and almost out of April!). He carried two wins from CFC into Sucker Punch and has proceeded to stack them up since his arrival with two more wins over first Petrov via submission and then a decision victory over Bremner early this month. With both fighters fully prepped and ready, this should be a fantastic classic battle between striker and ground specialist! It’s going to take some great strategy, perfect skills and even a bit of luck for the winner tonight! Donkey’s Pick: Jain via Submission (Kimura) Both of these warriors, despite being in the second fight of the evening, will have an opportunity here to earn a Top Contender battle against the winner of our later fight this evening between Sitsongrit and Takahashi! So there’s a ton on the line for such an early fight! I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m going with a guy who can strike but also has offensive ground skills. That’s just the way I tend to roll and this is something that Hare and the rest of our fans know very well! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Middleweights Hall vs. Souppe II Sirus Hall v Bruno Souppe Halfway through the Undercard we get our first rematch of the evening as Hall and Souppe previously met almost a year ago to the day! That time around Hall came out on top in a loss that served Souppe his fifth in a row to start out his career. Lucky for Souppe, he was able to bounce back from that and earn his first win just a month later over Van Der Veer Jr. Souppe will have the advantage tonight in all areas except boxing. But that’s what got him last time with Hall pulling out the TKO finish just thirty-seven seconds into the first round. The goal tonight will be clear…avoid the big shots long enough to put this fight on the ground and try to reverse the prior result! Hall is coming off a submission win over Leonard Nimoy but had three losses prior to that and needs to try to get back to back W’s here to return to his prior winning ways. When he’s on, his striking is formidable but he also has a tendency to lose if the fight isn’t finished early. Lately he’s shown some skills on the ground as well so Souppe’s path to a victory on the mat is definitely not assured. Donkey’s Pick: Hall via TKO (Strikes) With the ground skills that Hall has shown lately I just feel that even if he can’t finish down there he can at least fend off opposing attacks. Long enough to give himself another shot on the feet and given his history, it may not take more than a few opportunities to capitalize. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Lightweights Repus Revorg v Jose Carvaleho My own Revorg sees a very tough Jose Carvaleho as he enters the cage this evening! Both men are topped off and ready to go, so this should be a fantastic battle with just about even primaries across the board. Revorg may have a slight edge standing, but Carvaleho will even that out with his wrestling. With elite skills on the ground I think it’s a safe bet to assume that Carvaleho will want this on the mat and be going for submissions fairly quickly if he can dictate the fight and put it there. He’s struggled over his past four fights though with a less than stellar 1-3 record, so he needs this win. He’ll need to watch out for Revorg’s striking as it’ll be an area of disadvantage and he’s shown himself to have a bit of a suspect chin against a top striker. Revorg has shown he can handle himself on the ground with good submissions in the past as well, but has also fallen to them and against a superior ground fighter it’s probably best for him to avoid that scenario if possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if my camp has told him to try to finish this early! Donkey’s Pick: Carvaleho via Submission (Triangle) Revorg lost to Pablo Itzpapalotltotec via submission previously and Carvaleho is more advanced on the ground. That means this is a dangerous fight and there is a definitely path to victory for Carvaleho if he can put it on the ground. *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Welterweights Ronnie Bass v Roger Michael Stanley These two talented mixed martial artists are just about even in skills…until you get to Jiu Jitsu where Stanley has the black belt over Bass’ purple. They’re both prepped well, so if Bass can avoid falling into the trap on the ground this may turn into an explosive matchup! Stanley makes his Sucker Punch debut coming off two submission victories in a row over at Blaze Brothers. Both also earned him ‘Sub of the Night’ honors so everybody should be in their seats and waiting to see if he can electrify the crowd again this evening when he helps to close out the Undercard here! Bass is a dangerous man on the feet but ran into another serious striker last month, taking the KO loss against Mason Jones. Prior to that he’d won three in a row and he’ll look to avoid having last month’s loss turn into a string as happened back in the latter part of 2021 when he lost four in a row. When Bass’ striking is on point and he’s in the right headspace, he’s one tough customer to deal with. Can he keep it off the ground this evening or might he suffer the first submission loss of his career? That’s what we’ll all be looking to find out! Donkey’s Pick: Bass via TKO (Strikes) Gonna go with the hard-striker here this evening despite the tingling on the back of my neck that says a potential first submission loss could be on the menu as Hare hinted at! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights We’ll open up the Main Card with a contest that I’m shocked to say is a first meeting between these two! Despite having spent considerable time here at Sucker Punch by both parties, these two have never met inside the cage up to this point! And both are fully prepped, as all have been tonight, so we’re definitely getting treated right by the managers and fighters who have brought their best for the Tokyo crowd! The skills are about even in most areas, with McGuire having slight…very slight…edges in Muay Thai and wrestling while Matsuda will boast the better Jiu Jitsu with a black belt over McGuire’s brown. McGuire had hit a rough patch for a while leading into the beginning of the year as he tallied up a 1-5 run from last August through this past February. That said, he’s now won two in a row and looks ready to put all that behind him and get back to showing the Top Contender form he’s demonstrated in the past. He’s also shown he can win via TKO and submission, not shying away from the ground game one bit if his opponents are interested in playing on the mat. Matsuda went on a very, very rough run after his last title opportunity against Machado, losing that fight as well as the following three up through this past March. His fight at the beginning of this month offered some redemption when he claimed a decision victory over Youssef Alaoui though. A prior BFC Middleweight champ, he’s been unable to duplicate that success at the highest level here at Sucker Punch so far with losses in two title fights to Machado. The trek back to the top continues here tonight and a win is necessary to keep him moving back towards contender consideration! Donkey’s Pick: McGuire via Split Decision McGuire and Matsuda are very, very similar styled fighters who can both get it done on and off the feet. This one is going to really come down to best fit skills and strategies that the camps developed over the past month as they prepared for this very, very tough fight. It should be one of the best of the evening I think! Flip a coin, but right now I just feel that McGuire has been a little more consistent of late. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Lightweights The only difference you’ll see in skills as these two Lightweights enter the cage tonight is Sukulaku’s Jiu Jitsu advantage, which is a fairly big one with a black belt over River’s purple. Much like every other fighter so far tonight, these two are fully prepped…heck, I’d say even more so than all other combinations before them so far! They’re ready to really throw everything into this one for the fans! River had a rough go from September through February, winning only one of his five contests during that time. Since, he’s bounced back and found his finishing touch again with TKO and KO wins over Moe Lester and Jose Carvaleho respectively. The most recent fight, the KO over Carvaleho, even earned him ‘KO of the Night’ honors. As he’ll be giving up the Jiu Jitsu advantage tonight it’s even more reasonable to expect he’ll be looking to keep this fight on the feet even more than normal. Sukulaku is coming off back to back losses, the first of which was a title fight against Thomas Maeda which he lost after five long rounds and a look at the judges’ scorecards. Last month, Yip Man lii dispatched him in just over two minutes with a nasty KO. While Sukulaku can finish via submission, and he certainly has the skills for it, he’s been just as likely to work his striking in the past. At times it works out…more often than not…but he’s also shown on more than one occasion that his chin can be suspect. He’s a man with KO power but who needs to watch out for the return shots as well. Especially tonight against River! Donkey’s Pick: Sukulaku via TKO (Strikes) Sukulaku may have the slight advantage due to my suspicion that Joe River, manager for Guy, may not be fully invested these days. That said, he has been on today, so he may very well have prepped Guy well for this fight in which case I actually do like him to win. But without knowing that, I’m going to lean slightly towards Suku on this one. *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Featherweights The final bout before the Main Events pits two of the most talented fighters at Sucker Punch against one another in a Featherweight clash! I sound like a broken record tonight, but both are fully prepared and that’s the kind of broken record I love to hear! Despite amazing skills on paper, Takahashi has struggled a little since arriving at Sucker Punch in February. Losses to top talent in Aalto and Baptiste, both former champions, set Takahashi back from an immediate title shot. His split decision win over Roberto Soldic at the end of March certainly turned heads though and if he can back that win up with another here over a tough as nails Sitsongrit it’d be one heck of an impressive way to make a statement! Early in his career Takahashi earned several submission victories but lately it’s been more decision or win via (T)KO finish, with aggressive, technical striking being demonstrated along with some kickboxing thrown in as a distraction! Everybody pretty much knows what our former champ Sitsongrit…and most of his camp as well…is all about. Technical, accurate, point scoring boxing that has allowed him to avoid all but one loss on his career outside early test fights. Chulalongkorn, who took the belt from Sitsongrit prior to going off and winning the Olympics, has been the only man in recent memory to find the answer to Sitsongrit’s style. Did Takahashi take notes and adjust to try to do the same? We’ll find out! Donkey’s Pick: Sitsongrit via Unanimous Decision There’s a lot on the line here as a win will give one of these two warriors a ticket to a Top Contender battle that will give somebody a future Title Fight opportunity once Chula returns in June from his walkabout to Combate 100! That is, if Chula survives his Title defense on May 4th here at SPPS. Expect a hard fought battle as both fighters tonight are managed by a couple of the greats in the game! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Featherweight Bout Baptiste vs. Aalto III Our Co-Main Event of the evening…former champion against former champion! Both having missed some opportunities of late and hoping to re-climb the ladder. Both only a few steps away from being able to prove that they’re still one of the ones to beat at Featherweight! And, as I would expect, both ready to get in there, fully prepped and ready to rock! This will be the third meeting between these two amazingly talented fighters. And it’s a bit of a rubber match as Aalto lost the first meeting just a year to the day prior to this fight…but won the follow-up rematch just over two months later in July last year. If this fight goes anything like those two, it’s going to come down to Baptistes’ technical striking against Aalto’s ability to get it to the ground and capitalize with a submission! Given that their skills still suggest the same, I’m thinking we get a rematch for the ages and we’ll see who can come out on top with the best two out of three! Whoever wins here keeps the dream alive, at least in a much shorter term, of making their way back to the top between now and July! Donkey’s Pick: Baptiste via Unanimous Decision Aalto has fallen via decision in his last two fights. Given what that has to do to one’s confidence, especially against Baptiste who is very, very good at grabbing decisions, I have to lean that way this evening. But Aalto also knows how to make things happen as a former champ, so don’t be surprised if he makes me eat these words! *********************** Main Event: Heavyweight Contender Showdown The Main Event! What has been a hugely anticipated battle is about to kick off this evening as two of the biggest names in the biggest division prepare to go to war! Both are fully prepped, so that caps off a card full of every single fighter prepared to do their best for the fans in Tokyo and all those watching live on the THREE HOUR PPV! NICCCCCE!!! Shima would likely need another win or two after this one to make his way back to the title picture given he’s come off two losses to Wrecks over the past three months. That said, he’s still one of the absolute best in this division and there is a reason he keeps making his way back to the title that he held not only once, but twice here at Sucker Punch! And he did that by taking down one of the best, a future HoF’er, in the BEAST, Thoth Chontamenti! Not once, not twice, but three times! Yes, he is the thorn in that man’s side! But on the same token, clearly Wrecks has become the thorn in Shima’s! Slam makes his debut with us tonight and given his 6-2 run at SFL under current manager John Daughterty he’s in prime position to earn a title shot here if he can defeat the former champ…even despite coming in off a title fight loss to Conor The Barbarian at SFL. Which was actually the same as the prior loss, also to CTB in a title fight! Interesting that in our HW division, our top dogs seem to have guys who just very much act as their Achilles heels! Lucky for Slam, Conor is not here with us at SPPS so “all” he has to do is get past Shima instead…yeah, easier said than done! Donkey’s Pick: Slam via KO (Punches) As a top striker who gives up the Jiu Jitsu advantage to Shima tonight, you can expect Slam to want to finish this thing on the feet long before it goes deep into the rounds. Most of his fights end early, well before they get a half round in. But if Shima gets this to the ground, the tables turn significantly. I’m going with Slam here due to his history of quick KO’s and Shima’s losses to Wrecks which demonstrated there is some susceptibility there. *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! We’re back in Tokyo and the big ole Bowl is going to be full to the rim with energy and excitement folks! We hope you’ll be joining us for SPPS 140 and if not, catch the amazing THREE HOUR PPV LIVE as all the action unfolds! Let’s git it! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted May 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 141 Welcome back Sucker Punch faithful! We’ve got an absolutely fantastic one coming at you tonight as SPPS 141 is set to kick off at the LA Memorial Colliseum this evening to a crowd of over 93,000 screaming fans! I’m pretty excited, I think Donkey is too, and boy, when the big boys not only come out to play, but come out to play for the title, well, you know there’s some skull-crushing excitement coming! The Welterweights are also heavily represented this evening as they make up three of the five fights on the Undercard but also will help close out the evening as the Co-Main Event when Mason Jones and John Fuller square off! All our Sucker Punch fans out there will also get a taste of Middleweight action, a couple of Lightweight battles to open up the Main Card and even some Light Heavyweight participation when Warlovski and Stevan Muller mix it up towards the end of the Undercard. Good stuff…no, GREAT stuff tonight folks! So I say let’s not dilly-dally any further and we get moving on to a detailed look at each fight...right after we hear from our sponsor and merchandise partner! When you think about training your fighters, one of the biggest concerns is keeping them in the gym and actively training, am I right? And you can’t do that if they have to be stopping to recover and rest for sessions here and sessions there! That is why you need to visit our sponsor, Shadow Warrior Nutrition, and specifically grab some of their Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q. It is literally the best energy loss reduction supplement money can buy and will keep your fighter in the gym training rather than sitting days out resting! Stop on over there today, you will NOT be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Middleweights Youssef Alaoui v Darwin Zambrano We’ll kick things off with some Middleweight action as my own boy Zambrano gets in that cage and prepares to mix it up with Youssef Alaoui! Both look very prepared to get in there, energy just about topped off and morale looking decent for both. Zambrano will have an edge on the ground as his wrestling is just a tad better and he boasts a black belt over Alaoui’s brown. These two have both been training about the same amount of time so you don’t really get much more of a nice clean matchup to kick things off than this! Zambrano is coming off two losses to very tough opponents in Krsto Vujić and Ainsworth. It was time to test him after he snagged an impressive victory over Jacob Parker, but clearly he’s not fully ready for a step up to the biggest and best in the division yet. Both he and Alaoui are part of that upcoming class that are closing fast on the top though! He had several submission victories early in his career and then seemed to move more towards his striking to finish things off, never eally winning things if the fight went the distance. However, the submission against Jacob Parker showed that that is still a tool in the old belt and you have to wonder if he’ll look to go that direction tonight with the ground advantage? Alaoui is also coming off two losses to McGuire and most recently Matsuda. So that makes two kids getting into the cage tonight who really, really want to grab that ‘W’ and avoid making it three losses in a row! He’s typically a striker who gets it done standing, usually mixing in a bit of kicks but more or less taking a heavy head and body approach with his boxing. We’d expect him to want to keep the fight standing this evening and even perhaps try to work for the decision with the judges. Donkey’s Pick: Zambrano via TKO (Strikes) Alaoui showed self-confidence early on in his career and it leaves me wondering if maybe his chin might be a little suspect. That, and while he clearly can finish via TKO or KO, is the power to finish against a decent chin really there? We know Zambrano’s got granite one and given that I’m expecting that Zambrano may try to push the power shots and accept a few in return. I’m going to lean towards Hare’s boy tonight even though I almost never pick in his favor! *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Welterweights Rick Segura v Vladimir Rurikovich The second fight of the evening is a Welterweight match that sees Rurikovich come to the cage a little on the foul side of attitude, but not so much that it should spell certain disaster. Sure, he could have a bit of a better outlook on things, but hey, we all have those days, right? That said, he’ll have the Muay Thai advantage this evening while giving up a bit of the ground advantage both in wrestling and Jiu Jitsu to Rick Segura. Rurikovich is under new management for this fight since departing ways with Team Ogan after his losing effort against Manco Capac at the end of March. Clearly that was the tipping point when it became a trio of losses in a row and he’s looking to make strides forward again with a new face at the helm. A striker by nature, Rurikovich has demonstrated in the past that he doesn’t mind if those strikes come in the clinch or out of it, just so long as he can swing away and dish out some punishment. Issue is, he falls to the same just as often as he wins, so that’s an area of obvious focus…get your shots in, but don’t get tagged in the process! Segura has been on what can only be described as a nightmare run of late with five straight losses. This is a man who had the world at his feet heading towards the end of 2021 and then with a loss to Demetrius Jackson in December everything seemed to unravel. Losses to my own Valentine via submission, as well as to Rossiter, Warrior and Queen via KO and a pair of decisions respectively have left him struggling to figure out where things went wrong and how to get back on track. There’s very little doubt in my mind that he’ll try to take advantage of his edge on the ground where he can dish out some serious GnP this evening. Donkey’s Pick: Segura via TKO (Strikes) Both fighters have struggled of late but I have to think that Segura’s edge on the ground, and likely desperation for a win, will break the losing streak. Or not. This is a tough one to call and it’s going to come down to who can dictate where the fight takes place. *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights Rossiter vs. Queen II Kai Rossiter v Ceedee Queen Speaking of Rossiter and Queen who have both gotten one over on Segura from the previous fight…they’ll have a crack at each other tonight in the middle of the Undercard here. This will be their second meeting after they fought to a decision in Queen’s favor back in January. The disappointing part? Both of these fighters could be better prepared this evening. Both are rested, but their morale’s are off. Queen’s is only off by a tad, so maybe not so bad there, but Rossiter is down about 40% and I think we know what that means for Donkey’s pick! It also means I’m not going to spend as much time on this preview as I don’t like it when guys come a bit off on the prep. We’ll suffice it to say that Queen has had the better run of late, being 4-1 over his last five, which Rossiter, likely due to lack of prep, is the opposite at 1-3 over his past four. Queen may make it 2-0 here due to Rossiter coming in less than prepared…and it may cost Rossiter his contract going forward! Donkey’s Pick: Queen via TKO (Strikes) Easy pick…Queen won last time and Rossiter comes in unprepared. No-brainer for me. Rossiter doesn’t deserve to win this evening. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Light Heavyweights Igor Warlovski v Stefan Muller Alright, moving past the last disappointing fight from a prep standpoint these two Light Heavyweights seem more than prepared to make up for it with the fans! Muller and Warlovski are set for an epic battle as both are fully prepped and both are about as close in overall skills as you can get. Perhaps Muller has the smallest smidgen of an advantage on the feet, but likely not enough to truly dictate the result here. Muller and manager Kevin Edwards make their Sucker Punch debut together this evening after having spent time at Gamma Contenders most recently. He was on a nice hot streak when he left GC with three wins in a row and will want to continue that streak this evening. Muller is a kickboxer who dishes out strikes to the head at about a 3:1 ratio compared to body shots, but also loves to serve up a good helping of leg kicks to slow down and tenderize his opponents. Warlovski is trending in the opposite direction at the moment with a three fight losing streak that he’d love to end after tonight’s battle. With losses to John Fury, Mandiang and Bloode, he’s had some tough competition over his last three fights and that resulted in manager Pablo Spezziale deciding he just didn’t see enough to retain in his stable. New manager Xola Ferguson clearly felt differently and perhaps the change of perspective on things will bring new life to Warlovski’s fortunes in the cage. Warlovski has tended to approach his opponents in a very similar manner to Muller, so we’ll see what Ferguson’s influence changes there! Donkey’s Pick: Muller via Unanimous Decision For now it’s very difficult for me to go against the trends until we see what Warlovski’s new management team brings to the table. Have to run with Muller for now until we know more! *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Welterweights Javier Pinales v Ryo Hamada We’ll close out the Undercard with a great matchup between two totally prepared fighters! AWESOME!!! Hamada will have the advantage in both areas of standup and has built up a little confidence after finally snagging his first win in a while last month over Bea Mason. He wasn’t able to end things on the ground the way he’d have preferred, but his GNP as well as his striking while standing were good enough to get the job done as his defense stifled Mason and prevented a single shot from landing the entire three rounds! He’ll look to build on that success tonight. Pinales comes to us from Combate and makes his Sucker Punch debut this evening after a loss to Henry Lancaster in December. He’s gone quite a while without stepping into the cage professionally now but perhaps that was an opportunity to evolve, work on new skills and strengthen those he already had! He’s a submission specialist so if Hamada does try to put this on the ground tonight he’ll have to be extra wary! Donkey’s Pick: Pinales via Submission (Guillotine) I just don’t see any way that this fight doesn’t end up on the ground at some point and even if Hamada does gain top position where he can rain down the pain he’ll still have to be extra careful. His aggression could lead to the submission, and that’s why I picked the way I did tonight! *********************** Donkey and I are working fast to get the remainder of the card done folks! Hang tight and we’ll be back with the Main Card very soon! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Lightweights Moving into Main Card action here I have to pause to say that I’m really, really disappointed that Crow is coming to the cage this evening with his morale off…again. This isn’t the first time and I just feel like the poor bastard is being let down and having his impressive talent wasted when he doesn’t come fully prepared! His opponent, Mister Mediocre, will not mind and if he can snag the win due to it he’ll become slightly less Mediocre! A 6-4 record overall doesn’t sound very impressive…actually, it sounds very…well, Mediocre…but it’s the most recent run that’s truly impressive under the management of Prince Mitchell. 4-1 with the only loss being the fight leading up to tonight’s matchup when Mediocre lost his Sucker Punch debut in early April to Greg Connor. No shame there, Connor is a hell of a fighter and he did push it to a three round decision! Over the prior four wins Mediocre showed he can win in a multitude of ways…TKO…KO…and hell, even submission via kneebar as he did over Frederick Zwirn in March! That’s an awesome one to see… you don’t see kneebars every day folks! Crow has been hit or miss since switching to the Stef Power team which is a bit surprising as Mr. Power has historically been one of the better managers in the game, even topping out at #6 overall at one point. But preparation has been a challenge for Crow and management is directly responsible for ensuring the kids have their heads on straight! Crow is still wearing his tighty-whities and that’s a travesty as Mr. Power can surely afford some new digs for this dude. When he wins, it’s usually via an impressive finish due to strikes which can come standing or on the ground. He’s got heavy hands, that much is obvious…but does he have a chin to go with it? His history suggests that it may be less than rock solid. Donkey’s Pick: Mediocre via Unanimous Decision My pick…Mediocre. My reason? Just can’t go with the unprepared dude. Simple as that. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Lightweights Although these next two Lightweights have been with Sucker Punch for an extensive amount of time each they’ve never faced each other. Why? Because Cabrera just moved up to Lightweight from Featherweight two fights ago! So all new faces to see, how exciting for him…haha. Cabrera will have the ground advantage tonight while Man lii tries to work his typically boxing approach. At 1-2 over the last three but 3-2 over the prior five, Cabrera has had success but also his disappointments of late. Which is also very, very representative of his career to date. He’s had two shots at titles, both at Featherweight, with the first beign at WPFA and the second here against Brady Jean Baptiste. He wasn’t able to capitalize on either and it remains to be seen if he can throw together a string of wins to earn a third chance. He’s very young at only 26 years old so far, so he does have a ton of time left under his belt. Man lii has proven he can win via the finish or decision but it’s a safe bet to say he’ll probably look to end this early so that the fight never gets to the ground. His last loss, three fights back, was a submission loss to Tonon and being on the ground is not his favorite destination. He’s come on strong of late, having taken out rising talents in Sukulaku and Paetmar as well as Dominguez and Itzpapalotltotec prior to the losses to Crow and Tonon. If he can throw a few more solid wins together, starting tonight, there’s a chance he’ll work his way to a third title opportunity after losses to Jurney Man at WPFA and Guy River here at SPPS. Hmmm…funny, that sound a LOT like Cabrera’s history! Donkey’s Pick: Cabrera via Submission (Triangle) Don’t quote me on this pick and certainly don’t go running out to bet on it! I’m far from certain about the result here but just going by Man lii’s struggles against ground specialists I’m going on a hunch. *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Heavyweights Lampi moved up to Heavyweight for his last bout against Bobo Brazil so despite both he and Haden being with Sucker Punch for an extended run over their careers this will be the first time they meet. Both are fully prepped and ready to get at it, so this last fight before our Main Events should be one heck of a battle between serious strikers! Haden will have the ground advantage with elite wrestling and a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. But unless he’s been working on his submission game and decides that a ground and pound approach is the best move tonight I highly doubt this fight goes to the ground much and stays there if it does! I could be wrong on this though…and that’s what makes this fun! He’s a former SPPS Heavyweight Champ who managed to snag the belt on his third try, finally finding his way to the gold after a decision victory against Hero Shima. That run with the gold was short-lived though as he was unable to successfully defend against Chontamenti, the thorn in his side who stymied his first two shots at the belt! Lampi, much like Haden, knows how valuable those chances are at the championship. He’s a former two-time Light Heavyweight champ here at Sucker Punch but much like Haden his luck at defending hasn’t worked out so far. He failed to defend on his first run, losing the belt to John Fury after winning against Jacob Parker. The second go-round, he defeated Fury for the belt as well as for revenge…but then lost to Dempsey ONeill in the ensuing defense. He’s a serious striker who can dish it out but almost never has to suffer for it as he’s only been stopped via TKO or KO twice in his career. That may also lead to Haden thinking the ground could be his friend…? Donkey’s Pick: Lampi via TKO (Strikes) Tonight is a huge test for Lampi to see if he can hang with the elites at HW. And Haden is one of those. He has such heavy hands that it’s tough to pick again him here. Haden is no joke either though, and I expect him to toss us a twist or two so I won’t be surprised if this thing goes sideways from my pick! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Welterweight Bout Jones vs. Fuller II Our Co-Main Event of the evening will bring us the rematch between Jones and Fuller…in a fight that comes well removed from their first meeting with a stay at CMMA for Jones in between! Both are fully prepped and ready to give us everything they’ve got tonight! Fuller will have the ground advantage and heads into the cage tonight on a four fight winning streak! Nice. With recent wins over Dunham, Bari, Maximus Jr and Rossiter, he’s ready for a big step forward in competition. Jones definitely meets that criteria! Fuller has turned into a decision machine since the beginning of 2022 and mixes things up between his boxing and a solid attack on the ground which focuses on the ground and pound with submission chances taken when they’re offered. The first time they met Jones was with former manager Robert Smith. He’s now been with Bradley Burns’ squad for the better part of a year. He’s gone on an impressive 7-1 run while with Burns and heads into this fight with three KO’s in a row! He’s a striker with hammers for fists and prefers a more classic power boxing approach. Donkey’s Pick: Fuller via Submission (Armbar) I’m really going out on a limb here and saying that if Fuller can get this to the ground, he gains the advantage. But if he gets caught napping before that happens, Jones has the power to turn the lights out before Fuller ever has a clue what’s coming! *********************** Main Event: Heavyweight Championship Bout The Main Event tonight is our biggest fight of the evening in SO MANY ways! This Heavyweight throw down is sure to please the masses, just as it’ll feature two masses of humanity in the cage! Anderson steps in to challenge for the title tonight as Will Wrecks “Your Face” (yes, I just tossed that name out there…it’s not official by any stretch) attempts to defend his belt successfully for the third time! Both men are fully prepped. Both men are skilled…about equally in all areas. This comes down to who wants it…who needs it…who can TAKE IT! Anderson walked into Sucker Punch two months ago with new management and a mission! Show the Heavyweight universe what he could do at Sucker Punch under the direction of Golden Finch and earn his shot at the title here! Well, with HUGE wins over the former champ, Thoth Chontamenti, and amazing talent David Jones he accomplished the first portion of that mission. The last part…win the belt! That’s his focus this evening, but it won’t be an easy one! Anderson throws down…just like Wrecks does! There is no reason to expect that this fight goes anywhere but straight forward with two beastly bodies colliding in a shower of power shots and gasp inducing strikes! Sounds like it could go either way? Well, it could…but… Wrecks is on a nine fight winning streak with seven of those here at Sucker Punch! And all of them except one has come via TKO or KO! Hmmm…but that one…a Submission over Magomedov two fights ago. Could that come into play tonight? Or does he simply say, “Oh hell no, I AM the best striking son of a bitch in this division folks!” I can’t wait to find out!!! Donkey’s Pick: Wrecks via TKO (Strikes) Simply put…I have to give the champ his respect and due. This isn’t his first defense after all, where I’d be more likely to say he has to show it again. No, he has. Now…can he hold off yet another serious challenger? WOoooo, we’re gonna find out folks!!! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! The action is huge as the titans of Sucker Punch headline tonight and get the entire city of Los Angeles, as well as MMA fans worldwide, riled up and ready for action! Hope you’ll be there and if not, catch it all LIVE on our special THREE HOUR PPV folks! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stpierrecanada Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 The KO Master Mason Jones with the submission win against a submission specialist. He can do it all. Jones said post fight. “Don’t pick against me again, put some respect on my name. I’ll KO your best striker, or I will submit your best ground guy just to make a fucking point. 8-1 under Bradley Burns and we’re coming for that Title. My primary stats might not show it, but you fuckers are all history once I get to you.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden97 Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Noah Anderson- I came in here losing 5 of my last 6 by knockout and 3 fights later I’m champion, I’ve finished everyone you put in front of me, these guys only hope is to open scar tissue on my face and hope to survive long enough to be gifted a W. I’m the best and I proved that against Will last night, I can beat anyone in the world at heavyweight 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted May 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 SOME AMAZING FIGHTS LAST NIGHT BOYS (AND GALS)! Seriously, the rating on that event did NOT do justice to the quality of fights and some of the crazy and fun results that fans will be talking about for a long time to come! Way to bring it peeps!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Magnificent Chulalongkorn 20-6-0 15 p4p Fighting my number one contender Heller Cabrera in a couple of days and must say that he seems like a real beast. The way he and I both fight, you might as well leave the judges home and save a few pennies.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjrfin Posted May 3, 2022 Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 Controversial decision in the Lampi vs. Haden fight. Robbery ? Incompetence ? Corruption ? A sacrifice to please the Just Bleed gods ? Even the Lampi corner thought he was down two rounds going in to third, as they instructed him to swing for fences. Haden showed huge heart to survive Lampi's onslaught in the third round. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted May 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 142 Hello Sucker Punch fans! We’re back with our mid-week event and you know what that means! Back to the Tokyo Bowl and over 93,000 screaming, out of their mind cheap shot enthusiasts just waiting for all the fun and excitement! Not to mention everybody worldwide who will be catching the amazing THREE HOUR long PPV production live as all the action takes place! I’m Hare Rumpler along with my buddy and analyst, Donkey “Dan”, and we’ll be looking at all the upcoming action for tonight’s card in detail. Everything from the very first opening fight which sees Banana Republic taking on my very own Akuma Manivong right up to the Main Event which will put the Featherweight Title on the line when Cabrera challenges not only our own Sucker Punch Champion, but the Olympic Featherweight Champ, THE Magnificent Chulalongkorn! And boy, there is a ton of fun in between that I just can’t wait to get into here! So, let’s skip all the fluff and crap that I usually toss out here in the intro and instead jump right into a detailed look at each fight...right after we hear from our sponsor and merchandise partner! Do you find that you’re resting your fighters too often? Two, three, maybe even 4 times a week sometimes? If that’s the case, you’re probably not supplementing their training, and if you are I’m thinking you’re not doing it with Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q, which is Shadow Warrior Nutrition’s outstanding energy loss reduction supplement. It’s the best money can buy and will keep your fighter in the gym training rather than sitting days out resting! Stop on over there today, you will NOT be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Heavyweights Akuma Manivong v Banana Republic Ok folks, as I mentioned in the intro there our first fight of the evening has my own Manivong set to go at it with none other than Banana Republic. This is the first of two huge Heavyweight fights, and I mean huge mostly just due to the pure poundage in the cage! Both fighters are right as a whistle and ready to give it their best and we all know that that makes Donkey’s life more difficult…so I’m a happy camper! Republic will give up the edge in Jiu Jitsu tonight with his brown belt against Manivong’s black but he’ll also have a 2k ID advantage and steps into a ring a year older at 27 years of age. He’s the heavier of these two fighters while giving up just a couple centimeters in height. Republic heads in there tonight with two back to back wins under his belt and, if you go back far enough, he’s actually had a very solid run at 5-2 since October last year. Recent TKO victories over both Alzado and Watts should bring him to the cage with a bit of confidence and good ole mo’ on his side. With the switch from decisions to finishes, it’s clear that Republic is now making it known that his boxing brings power along with precision. That will come in handy as up until Manivong’s recent three fight winning streak he seemed more than susceptible to being finished on the feet. Manivong, as we just mentioned, does come into this fight flying high as well on a three fight tear, most recently against Magomedov and then going back against Spong and Alzado, who both Republic and he have in common as far as recent victories go. He’s finished two of those three fights via KO but also fell via TKO and KO in his prior three fights. Has he turned the corner and figured things out, or is he just that sort of streaky fighter? One thing to keep an eye on…he has a black belt and he started out his career with more than a couple submissions. If this fight goes to the ground tonight that could come into play in a big way in Manivong’s favor. Donkey’s Pick: Republic via TKO (Strikes) We know from his early fight against Mike Oxmall that Manivong has a solid chin. Solid, but not granite, and certainly based upon his career so far we’ve seen that it can be gotten to. Republic has a granite on the other hand which should make it no surprise that every loss outside his early fights, barring one submission, has been a decision loss. Is Manivong built to be able to stand and go with a power striker that long without being able to get to the chin? Probably not. Can he take advantage of the submission angle? Republic hasn’t lost that way since Syd Rummel back in April of last year. This one looks to have Republic’s name all over it. *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Light Heavyweights Iron Side v Devin Ecker Our second bout of the evening is a Light Heavyweight showdown between ground and pounder Devin Ecker and newcomer to Sucker Punch, Iron Side! Both are well prepared to get in there and give it their best so that makes two fights in a row to start the evening and I hope the trend continues! Ecker has the better wrestling in this matchup and if he decides to work the nasty stuff on the ground that should benefit him. He also has the Muay Thai advantage so the clinch could be his friend this evening as well as he’s stronger in both areas of importance there. He’ll be looking to turn things around with this fight as he’s lost his last two in a row and it seems that the first of those two, a title shot against Sora Izanagi, shook his confidence some after a four fight winning streak earned him the opportunity. Since he’s also lost to Tank Tribute via KO, which makes two KO’s in a row and you have to wonder if there will be any lingering effects? Iron Side is the better boxer in this matchup and going by his fight history he’s definitely going to look to keep this fight standing and utilize that advantage. He tends to go heavy to the head while mixing in an equal dose of body shots and combos along with those shots to the melon. Interesting note…every single one of his professional MMA fights has ended via (T)KO…either in his favor or not. Many more in his favor I might add though! And many more via a clean, crowd pleasing KO! He was WPFA Heavyweight champ for a month back in August 2020 but failed to defend the belt the following month against Axl Lors. After dropping to Light Heavyweight, he earned two more title opportunities at Gamma Contenders but wasn’t able to capitalize. If he can get back to his form from BFC and WPFA he could climb the ladder here at Sucker Punch quickly! Donkey’s Pick: Side via KO (Punch) Ecker seems to be struggling with his confidence of late since losing in his title opportunity and I have to question if he’s ready for another heavy striker. If he is, this is the perfect opportunity to rebound and start building toward contention again. If not…this night could end with smelling salts…under his nose! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Featherweights Jaxon Bremner v Igor Lomachenko Lomachenko and Bremner head to the cage tonight midway through the Undercard as the first of three Featherweight matchups on the evening. The biggest obviously being the big Title Fight in the Main Event! These two, if I’m being honest, are on the other end of the ladder at the moment but both are hopeful that tonight will be the first step in moving upward! Both are prepared, making this three fights in a row so far that we’ve got kids who are ready and willing! Awesome! Lomachenko has the Muay Thai advantage this evening and is honestly in a ‘do or die’ situation more or less. He’d bolstered his record a bit under former manager Bradley Burns by winning four straight QFC fights and then taking part in a TWGC tournament where he secured the coveted hardware in the finals! Nice. However, upon returning to MMA action he struggled against true org level competition with losses to Figueroa and Yellow Belt Casey here at SPPS. Burns had seen enough and cut him loose but lucky for Lomachenko The Wandering Spirit clan saw some promise and brought him onboard…and will corner him this evening. That said, a loss tonight would push him so far down the rankings that it’d be almost impossible to match make him effectively going forward so this becomes a ‘must win’ fight tonight. Bremner has elite wrestling and a black belt in Jiu Jitsu making the ground game his clear advantage this evening. That said, he hasn’t pulled off a win on the ground in over a year and recently has depended upon decisions, thanks to strikes landed both on the feet and on the ground, to get the points he needs. While a capable striker, he doesn’t land a high percentage of shots but he also prevents a significant portion from his opponents with solid striking defense. While not in immediate danger of falling into ‘contract ending territory’, another loss would put him precariously close and is something that he and his team, led by Antonio Maximus, will very much want to avoid! Donkey’s Pick: Bremner via Submission (Armbar) Hare alluded to the fact that Bremner hasn’t pulled out a win on the ground in a while. He’s flirted with it, dishing out a few strikes here and there and even making the occasional submission attempt, but I’m suspicious that maybe tonight he pulls out the stops and shows he’s still got it. I know that his management team was concerned about taking the fight on somewhat short notice due to a business trip taking them out of town…but being that he ended up getting the green light I have to think they put the time in to game plan for this one! *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights Jake Drake v Yellow Belt Casey Drake and Casey should bring every bit of excitement to the cage that the fans are hoping for this evening as both are fully prepped and ready to get at it! Casey will have a small boxing advantage this evening while giving up the wrestling advantage to Drake. Brad Bombada and his staff have Casey firing on all cylinders of late as he comes into this fight with a trifecta of wins. All via TKO! One of those was also an impressive TKO via slam over Phat Bhoy that electrified the crowd despite not quite grabbing an ‘of the Night’ award. His prior win over Count Dankula certainly did though so with that history the crowd will likely be sure to be in their seats for his fight this evening! Or out of them but still watching and cheering if the excitement level is what we expect! He has a tendency to want to put the fight on the ground but of late he’s ended up getting the job done on the feet with a varied kickboxing attack. That may play into his hands again this evening given his boxing advantage. Outlaw Hardman will head to the cage to support his boy Drake this evening once again as, despite his insistence that Drake is no longer really bound for Title Contention, the fans look to see if Drake will indeed ascend yet again for a third title opportunity. Drake has won six of his last seven fights with only a championship bout loss to one of the G.O.A.T’s, Sitsongrit, marring that run. Five of those wins have been via submission so it shouldn’t be a surprise if he moves to put this fight on the ground early tonight. Donkey’s Pick: Drake via Submission (Triangle) Casey would be well advised to forgo his usual enthusiasm for the ground game against Drake I think! This man clearly has a proclivity for finding ways to tap out his opponents and despite Casey’s love of the ground it’s much too dangerous to head there this evening. If Casey can prevent the takedown, which is questionable as he’s unlikely to have much takedown defense given his tendency to try to put the fight on the mat, then he may be able to win this via strikes and points. But if it gets to the ground… *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights Herleifr Conchobhar v David Jones Our final fight of the Undercard gives us the second of three Heavyweight contests. Unfortunately, this is our first fight of the night where one fighter at least comes to the cage a bit unprepared. Jones has his morale off by about 15% and that’s undoubtedly going to incur Donkey’s wrath when he makes his pick! Jones needs every advantage he can get and coming to the cage with morale not at tops isn’t the way to go when you’re coming off back to back losses! His final fight with WCF was a submission loss to Chozen Gracie which was followed up with a loss in his Sucker Punch debut against future champ Noah Anderson. Given Jones’ considerable skills, it’s a bit of a shame to see him underperforming. A change of management occurred between that first SPPS fight and this one tonight, but clearly it hasn’t cleaned up the preparation issues. Luckily his eight fight winning streak at WCF, and three fight title run, bolstered his rankings enough that he can sustain a few drops in rank but that’s not something that can continue indefinitely. He’ll need to find a way back to his KO winning ways with a solid ‘W’ here tonight. Brad Bombada brings his second kid to the cage this evening and is going to have some tired legs from making the trip back and forth after SPPS 142! Haha! This time he accompanies Conchobhar who is on a four fight winning streak. Conchobhar has demonstrated an ability to win via KO or via decision over that run. He’s more than capable of handling himself in the clinch but his best work is while boxing while tossing in a few kicks just to keep his opponent off-balance. He needs a win over a high level opponent like Jones to prove he’s ready for a run at the top. Will he get that done tonight and position himself for contention? Donkey’s Pick: Conchobhar via TKO (Strikes) I’d normally go with the more skilled and overall accomplished fighter here, but Jones comes in somewhat unprepared and I just can’t, out of principle, pick him in that situation. Instead, Conchobhar gets the nod and we’ll see if he can make good on the opportunity! *********************** Donkey and I are taking a quick break to get a bite to eat folks!!! Hang tight and we’ll be back with the Main Card very soon! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Lightweights Two Lightweights, both managed by the same individual previously, get things going for us as we stumble and bumble into the Main Card at SPPS 142 this evening! Cobain, now managed by Runt, will face his former squad member Connor in a battle that sees Connor the underprepared and underserved this evening. Cobain is now managed by Runt and clearly is getting the level of attention he used to get back in the day under Andrew Wittig. His submission loss to Furioto in the first fight under his new team was disappointing but sometimes there is a period of adjustment. His decision victory last month against Herve Cabrera showed the synergy they’re starting to develop though and they’ll look to continue that success here this evening! A hard striker by nature, Cobain will have his work cut out for him in a fight where skills are just about equal and backgrounds are identical against his former teammate! Connor, still part of team Wittig, will come in disadvantaged this evening despite having a significant skillset to fall back on. His energy is off significantly at only 76% and if he can’t end this fight fairly quickly tonight there is a very good chance he’ll fall under the strikes of the hard-hitting Cobain! Formerly a power striker himself, Connor has switched to a more technical striker over the past year and has won…and lost…the last six fights via decision. At 4-2 over that run, he’s still shown he can get it done but giving up the advantage is no way to go about it unless you relish a challenge! A former longtime champ at Checkmate and BBFC, he’s definitely not to be overlooked though. Donkey’s Pick: Cobain via Unanimous Decision Despite the energy issue I don’t know if Cobain will finish this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if it does come down to a TKO due to the gas tank running on fumes but if not I think Cobain has the ‘chip lead’ to push the pace and win with the judges. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Middleweights Our second fight of the Main Card and we get back to the kids who come prepared and really show they want it! Nice. Blikstein and Kazuma, despite both being with Sucker Punch for a significant portion of their careers, have never faced each other before so this is set to be a fun and exciting matchup! Blikstein will hold the edge in the majority of primaries over the former two-time champ tonight. He’s on a 4-1 roll with a loss to Machado sandwiched by a pair of wins on both sides. A talented fighter with varied skillsets, Blikstein has won via TKO, submission and just about any other way you can imagine over his career. Don’t be surprised to see him try to leverage his edge in wrestling this evening along with his brown belt over Kazuma’s purple to go for the submission! Given the chance for a TC battle if he wins this fight, you can be assured that Blikstein has come prepared for a fight that he specifically requested! Yes, this man asked for and wanted the former champ, and now he’s got him in the cage! What can he do with him? Kazuma impressively made it to the Finals of the Olympics in the Middleweight division recently and just came up short against eventual winner Winston Todd from the Synchronicity promotion. Following that loss, he stumbled, perhaps out of fatigue, in a title defense here at Sucker Punch when the title was snatched from him by Zett Jukassa in a decision loss. That said, he’s a two-time champion here at SPPS as we mentioned previously and counting the Olympics had put together a hell of an impressive SIX fight win streak! That makes him more than worthy of a trip back to the title picture if he can take down Paulo who, as we also mentioned, had the intestinal fortitude to specifically ask for him tonight! Donkey’s Pick: Kazuma via TKO (Strikes) The winner here is going to likely get one final Top Contender battle with the winner of Nickel/Hunt in June with a title shot on the line after that fight. So while this isn’t for a title shot itself, it is the step needed to eventually get there! Both will want this one…BAD! I really like Blikstein’s chances here tonight, but Kazuma is one tough cookie and hits like a sledgehammer…I have to stick with the former two-time champ for now…but Blikstein can earn a whole bunch of new fans this evening with a huge win in a fight that, as Hare mentioned, he asked for! *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Tribute vs. Thai II The last fight before our two Main Events will be a rematch a long time in the making here between Light Heavyweights Wille Thai and Tank Tribute! The last time these two fought was almost a year ago and that fight saw Thai lose to Tribute via TKO early in the second round. Will we get a new result this evening or more of the same?!? One thing’s for certain, both will want this fight so much they can taste it as a Title hot is on the line baby! Thai showed two fights ago that he can win via decision if he must as he did against John Fury in a very close majority call by the judges. That’s not his preferred method of going about things. With sensational wrestling and a black belt in Jiu Jitsu his offensive skills on the ground are a constant threat for his opponents. He can pull out a slick submission at any time…and usually does! He’s won four of his last five with three of those W’s coming via submission. His only loss over the period was a TKO against Devin Ecker who managed to outmaneuver him on the ground, gain top position and dish out the punishment. Tribute has sensational wrestling as well but boasts only a brown belt to Thai’s black. What he does have over Thai is elite status in both areas of standup! He defeated Devin Ecker, who bested Thai, in a jaw-dropping TWENTY seconds last month with a performance that earned him ‘KO of the Night’ honors. On top of his prior win over Thai himself he’s also defeated ground specialist Bjorn Akerfeldt previously, so an opponent who prefers the ground does not necessarily make him take pause. But they’re always dangerous and you can be sure Tribute will want to end this one before he has to deal with much of that ground nonsense tonight! He’s had one prior shot at the title against John Fury back in November but came up short in a fifth round TKO. He won’t want to let an opportunity to get back to the big fight slip by here! Donkey’s Pick: Thai via Submission (Armbar) Ever the fan of controversy and rubber matches, I’m making this pick purely to be a troublemaker and create drama between these two! To be honest though, this fight could truly go either way, although most would say that Tribute is in the driver’s seat with the prior win advantage. *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Middleweight Bout Machado vs. Ainsworth II Our Co-Main Event will see one of these boys earning their way back into the title picture as the winner gets a shot next month against the winner of Jukassa/Po! Worth fighting for? You betcha! This will be the second meeting of these two but you have to go all the way back to October of 2020 to find the first time these two duked it out! Consequently, that was the first of three times that Ainsworth has fought for a title here at Sucker Punch…a loss via unanimous decision…with Ainsworth not quite being able to find a way to take the gold home each time. Ainsworth’s manager, Runt, may have more than one fighter on the card this evening but you can bet he’s paid attention to every little detail heading into this one as to not miss out on another opportunity. The last time he got a shot at the title he was felled via head kick by Kazuma. Since then, he rebounded with a big win over my very own Darwin Zambrano and a win tonight over the former multi-time champ and future HoF’er would make it a 5-1 run and certainly prove him worthy of another look at the big dance! Machado, managed now by Alex K., has been champ at SPPS three times under three managers. The first run spanned two managers as he won the title under the management of Mark Roland…technically at least…he was really managed by Mac Little by that point… and the second two runs were both under Yabai great and leader, Bwang Jong Sr. Since Bwang’s departure from the game for the most part the management of Machado has been picked up by Alex and while not impressed at first Machado just keeps demanding his attention and continued opportunities. Thus, despite wanting to put Machado on ice, Machado keeps finding ways to force Alex’s hand! The opportunity in front of them tonight is no different as it’s impossible to walk away from a title opportunity! After an impressive head kick KO last month over Craig Watkins, Machado is now 7-1 over his last eight fights with two in a row…and is likely looking to see if he can lay one of those nasty kicks right on Ainsworth this evening! Donkey’s Pick: Machado via KO (Head Kick) A tremendously exciting matchup is in store for the fans here! Their prior fight means almost nothing at this point given the management changes in between and the long time interval as well. Too much has changed, too much evolution has happened and this is a brand new fight to be seen by the MMA world! Ainsworth can make a huge statement with a win over a multi-time champ and make the point that he is destined to finally get that belt. But Machado knows how to get it done! I can’t look away from that for now and yes, I’m going to have the audacity to call for the second head kick KO in three fights for Ainsworth. Runt is going to hate me, although I’ve been told he hates when I pick FOR him also, so hey, there’s no winning for me here! *********************** Main Event: Featherweight Championship Bout The Main Event. It’s HERE!!! Introducing…THE Sucker Punch Pro Series Featherweight CHAMPION…THE 2022 Olympic Featherweight CHAMPION…FOUR time Featherweight Champion over his career with runs at Checkmate, BBFC and TWO runs here at Sucker Punch Pro Series…THE man who holds a winning streak of EIGHT fights in a row during his current stretch at both SPPS and the Olympics…YOUR Undefeated…Undisputed…MAGNIFICENT Chulalongkorn! Tonight he’ll be challenged for his belt by none other than a beast of a little dude in a cloak…a man led by Marky Mark, current #26 manager in the MMAT world and former #1 manager…former TWO TIME Featherweight Champion at WolfPac Fighting Alliance…and a man who is UNDEFEATED under the management of his current team as well as stringing that streak back to one prior…for a total of TWELVE WINS in a row…and a total MMA record of 14-1 on his career…HELLER CABRERA!!!! Cabrera is, as we insinuated, a beast of a ‘little man’ who brings a significant kickboxing game to the cage along with the ability to more than hold his own in the clinch. Chulalongkorn, your SPPS Champion, has a tendency to show his best work on the ground with submissions always a risk, but has also proven that he can best the best of strikers out there as he showed against Jihadi Joseph last month to retain the belt in a very early fifth round KO! No opponent is safe anywhere in the cage with this man and tonight we’ll have an epic battle for the ages!!! Are you ready?!?! Donkey’s Pick: Chulalongkorn via Submission (Triangle) This is one of those fights that you talk about animatedly and excitedly beforehand, watch and scream for while it takes place, and then talk about for months upon months afterwards! There’s no doubt that we’ll see some amazing stuff tonight and probably a few surprises as well. I’m going with the champ on this one…how can you pick against the Olympic Champion?...but at the same time, this is NOT a safe fight by any stretch of the imagination against a man with but a single loss on his career! LET’S GET IT ON BABY!!! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! A night of spectacular fights is set and ready to go for our fans worldwide! This one should be one of those cards that is on the mouths of every MMA fan nonstop after it finishes and I can’t wait for all the pulse pounding excitement to play itself out tonight! Hope you’re there with us, but if not catch it all LIVE on the special THREE HOUR PPV! Nothing has been held back from the production quality you’re going to get tonight folks, as you would expect! Till then, have fun and don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series style! 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Magnificent Chulalongkorn 21-6-0 11 p4p145lbs Olympic Gold winner 202295,24% wins by stoppage! Fighting a challenger who is on a 12-fight winning streak (with 10tko's), managed by the legendary Marky.... never was going to be an easy task. But guess what, I let the challenger come at me and stood waiting for his best shots, to answer them with pure hellfire. Any bastard out there saying midget fighting isn't entertaining and brutal, should buy himself/herself some glasses! Cabrera waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Chulalongkorn.Cabrera throws a leg kickand Chulalongkorn counters with a crisp right that sends Cabrera to the canvas! Chulalongkorn follows up with punches from the mount and this one is all over!Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:20 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Magnificent Chulalongkorn!Magnificent Chulalongkorn retains his featherweight title!Magnificent Chulalongkorn very nearly forgot to thank Paddy's Enhancing Drugs (160Q) amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted May 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 AMAZING job last night folks!!!! I knew this would be a card for the ages and you folks did not disappoint as you brought all the energy and excitement the fans could ask for! It was close to our highest, if not our highest, rated event to date! For a mid-week card! Wooooooot!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 1 hour ago, HareRumpler said: AMAZING job last night folks!!!! I knew this would be a card for the ages and you folks did not disappoint as you brought all the energy and excitement the fans could ask for! It was close to our highest, if not our highest, rated event to date! For a mid-week card! Wooooooot!!! Magnificent Chulalongkorn 21-6-0 11 p4p145lbs Olympic Gold winner 202295,24% wins by stoppage! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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