The 2021 Alliance World Championships

[barney]

I got to admit, things were not sailing as smooth as I predicted. I really believed we could fight head to head at the toughest group and deliver a great underdog performance, ending top 1. This was the goal.
It couldnt be further from the truth. In matter of fact, we sucked.

Naughtly Crew 1 tanked.

We were worthless. Its like those nightmares you appear naked at school for a suprise math test. We were exposed, our manhood taken...

This round was not a fight for a spot. This was a fight to grab our manhood back. This is were we show balls of steel. The pride... THE GRIT.

Alright bois, LETS DO THIS!

Ricky Greene              vs                Clint River

Ok so our first fight is a bit of a... well... Yeah, thats tough. But Joe is a great manager. Joe has lots of experience at tournaments. His fighter is heavy handed, anything can happen!

Ok fam. It's a bad start. A first round finish. We can still do this. It's not all lost. We just gotta think positive. Thinks are gonna work. Relax noob, we got this.

We fuck'em, thats the plan. LES GO!

SHINJI TOMOGUCHI       vs      JAKE KEANE

Ok Jake you 1-3 so far boy that ain't no "natural born talent", just stick to the basics. Remeber what we planned?

*Sigh*

Ok. Thats bad. Thats really bad. So we are lagging behind. 1 decision and 1 first round finish. Odds are not at our favor right now... But remember what I said? Pride... Grit... HEAVY HAIRY BALLS OF STEEL.

So all we gotta do now is out perform them. We need 2 finishes, and it has to be both at second round or one of them has to be at the first round. Otherwise its a draw and we are out. LES FUKEM.

MAXIMUS DEMARCUS MERIDIMIDIMUSI            VS            REGGIE BOOKER

OK. OK. AIGHT. This weight is a good weight for KOs already, he is heavy handed... we can do this.

Plan is working. One finish is a go. It was only third round tho, so we still need a first round finisher otherwise this is not good. And its all down to one man, Kevin Mamar. A fucking shitty determined fighter. Against a raging bull with KO power at the big bois division.
I'm not gonna lie. Things dont look good. But I trust my build. I trust the plan. We just need to finish early.

Bruce Hood                    vs                 KEVIN MAMAR

Ok bois. This is it. Times are grim. This is it. The dream is over. Round is almost over... Its now or never

SUGGESTED OST FOR DRAMATIC ENDING

 

 

WE. FUCKING. DID IT.  FIRST ROUND FINISH. WE ARE AHEAD BY ONE FUCKING POINT.

 

Lets see how far this shit goes. One last message to my team mates

[Xyel]

 

NC1 better win their next match, so we can get the Naughtly Crew hattrick

[barney]

9 hours ago, Xyel said:

 

NC1 better win their next match, so we can get the Naughtly Crew hattrick

[Alfred]

Round 5 Recap

GROUP A

First up in Group A was Naughtly Crew 3 taking on the boys from ACME 1. ACME were already a man down due to their team captain Devin Russell quitting the tournament after round four meaning that Naughtly Crew 3 captain Stuart Burrows was walking away with a five point forfeit victory without even breaking a sweat. Unfortunately for Naughtly Crew however it would be the only points that they won that evening as ACME proceeded to thoroughly trounce them from here. At 155lbs, Torn Brot overturned a two fight losing streak when he just about did enough to get a split decision over a very underwhelming Ultimate Warrior who now drops to 0-4. Gretchen Alexander also doing well to come back from a two fight skid as he picked up a second round submission win over Naughtly Crew's Tran Quaach. This put the score at 5-6 to ACME meaning that the final heavyweight bout would decide the result. On this occasion ACME's Peter Kowalksi absolutely dominated Naughtly Crew's Uncle Abner after taking him down to the ground and battered him enough to force the doctor to call the fight off due to a cut. ACME win the meeting 11 Points to 5. 

Even with a man down ACME rallied hard and managed to pull of a superb victory here and upset all the odds by finishing third in their group overall. Even though they very narrowly miss out on a spot in the Top 8 champions phase finals they can still feel proud of their achievements in avoiding a predicted bottom place finish and instead, they will now move into the Middle Phase Finals where they can achieve a best placed finish of 9th overall. 

A terrible, terrible performance from Naughtly Crew 3 who somehow miraculously manage to avoid finishing up bottom of the group. They end up in fourth place instead and will also now go on to compete in the Middle Phase Finals.

The other Group A match up was between fourth placed The Guardians and second place Keyboard Warriors. The Guardians were fighting to avoid a last place finish in the group whilst Keyboard Warriors were chasing first of which a win here tonight would give them. 

First up, a team captains battle at 135lbs with Keyboard Warriors Akio Kurosaki taking on Kaspar Kallaste for The Gaurdians. The fight didn't make the two minute mark as Kurosaki gave Kallaste not a moment to breath, taking the fight to the floor and finding a kimura submission for a 5 points lead. A massive win for The Guardians next as Isak Hardrada TKO'd Aung Siang in the first round to bring the score level. No real surprise at 185lbs as undefeated submission wizard Bofur Widenose made short work of now Free Agent Matt Cosce for The Guardians. This put the score at 10-5 to Keyboard Warriors meaning that they would need to rely on their heavyweight Drax Bautista to help them secure a draw. This wasn't to be however as Felix Suarez stank up the joint with an extremely boring display of lay and pray, forcing the poor begrudging judges to declare him the winner by unanimous decision. The victory was enough to put the final result beyond any doubt (and also those in attendance to sleep). Keyboard Warriors win 12 points to 5.

Another good performance for Keyboard Warriors and enough to give them a first place finish in the group. Clearly this is a massive statement of intent going forward given that they shared the group with reigning champions YABAI. With two of their four team members still undefeated, Keyboard Warriors are going to be a tough team to beat in the Top 8 Champions Phase Finals. 

Commiserations to The Guardians who were unable to avoid finishing last and will now move on into the Bottom Phase Finals to decide positions 13th through to 15th. To make matters worse, it looks as though they are going to be a fighter down as middleweight Matt Cosce has parted ways with his management team. The big question now will be whether they can avoid finishing last out of all 15 teams in this years Alliance World Championships. 

GROUP B

Over to Group B and first up were last years runners up The Stepdads and they were taking on the dastardly bunch from Naughtly Crew 1. The Stepdads were already in first place in the group and guaranteed a spot in the finals whereas Naughtly Crew's fate was completely up in the air with all manner of possibilities stemming from this result including last place in the group. 

A poor start for them at bantamweight as a struggling Clint River fell to his fourth loss in a row. This time at the hands of The Stepdads Ricky Greene who improved his streak to three in a row (3-1 overall) with a first round submission victory. 5 Points for The Stepdads and another two to add as team captains Shinji Tomoguchi (TS) and Jake Keane (NC1) fought to a fifteen minute split decision. Two fights down, things definitely weren't looking good for Naughtly Crew 1 but middleweight Reggie Booker gave them a glimmer of hope as he took out well regarded 3-0 Maximus DeMarcus Meridius via third round KO and pull back the score to 7-3. Going into the heavyweight bout Naughtly Crew 1 needed a miracle to win the meeting and that's exactly what they got. Kevin Mamar managed to get the first round finish with only two seconds to spare as he defeated Bruce Hood by TKO following some viscous ground and pound. A Hollywood movie finish to the meeting as Naughtly Crew 1 upset all the odds to defeat The Stepdads 8 points to 7. 

It didn't really matter to The Stepdads what the result of this meeting would be as they were already guaranteed a place in the final 8. Still, there's no telling what this loss will do for their confidence as they move into the finals being as their performances have seemingly getting worse. Perhaps just a blip however and maybe this loss will be exactly what they need to motivate them as they look to go one better than their 2020 result. 

A very nice yet somewhat surprising win for Naughtly Crew 1 and enough to hand them one of the two third place wild card spots for a chance at winning the tournament overall. Still, there has to be some major concerns for their bantamweight fighter Clint River who is still searching for his first win and is currently responsible for leaking 14 points in the group. 

The second Group B match up was between second placed Syndicate and bottom of the table Legion of Doom. Syndicate had already confirmed themselves as part of the final eight no matter what the result here whilst the LOD were simply hoping to avoid being lumped into the losers bracket after this round. 

There was little in the way of surprises as Syndicates top performer Dreynos Elvul continued his unbeaten run when exploiting the lack of grappling skills from his gritty opponent Solomon Grundy. It was Grundy's second loss in a row and third overall during this initial group stage. 5-0 to Syndicate as we moved into the 155lbs category. 2-1 Bob Probert faced off against Syndicate team captain Slash Shredder and once more exhibited superb stamina by outpointing his opponent over three rounds. The decision win gave LOD two points and closed the gap to 5-2. At 185lbs, Al Hoffa seemed to have turned the corner as he racked up his second win in a row following his disappointing performances early on. He defeated Legion of Doom team captain John Rackham by first round submission which leaves Rackham now on a three fight losing streak. With the score now standing at 10 points to 2, Legion of Doom could no longer even force a draw meaning it was purely bragging rights on the line for heavyweights Richard Anderson (LOD) and Sono Tiger (Syn). Both were coming in with 2-1 records and generally considered to have an equal chance of victory. On this occasion it was Tiger who got the win after a gruelling but entertaining three rounds of action. The fight was declared a Majority decision win in his favour and Syndicate get the win over Legion of Doom 12 Points to 2. 

Another big win for Syndicate who very nearly clinched the top spot from The Stepdads with this result. They finish up keeping their second place spot but tied on points and separated by only four match points. Dreynos Elvul continues to impress and will be an integral cog in the Syndicate machine as they move into the champions phase finals whilst heavyweight Sono Tiger has also been a good source of points in a notoriously unpredictable division. 

Another disappointing result for Legion of Doom who really shouldn't have done this badly overall. Lightweight Bob Probert is 3-1 and heavyweight Richard Anderson is 2-2 but it hasn't been enough to balance the poor form of team captain John Rackham and bantamweight Solomon Grundy. With the loss, Legion of Doom finish bottom of their group and will now move into the losers bracket with the sole intention of not ending up 15th out of 15 teams. Can they do it? I personally believe they can but it's going to be fun finding out. 

GROUP C

On to Group C and the final two match ups of Round 5. First up we had those dastardly FinnFighters taking on the righteous might of Naughtly Crew 2. The Finns had been having an absolutely storming campaign thus far and had long since guaranteed themselves a place in the final eight as Group C champions whilst the fate of Naughtly Crew 2 was largely undecided at this point. A win would very likely grant them passage into the finals whilst a loss could result in catastrophe depending on the results elsewhere in the tournament. 

A terrible start for them as the FinnFighters undefeated submission hunter CG Mannheim made short work of Norman Pike. Another first round submission for him and a quick five points for the FinnFighters to get the ball rolling. Next up was the Finns team captain Rokken Roll who was taking on Christian Caliman who had just recently found himself new management. A decent effort by Caliman but not enough to avoid a third round TKO loss. 8-0 to the FinnFighters going into the middleweight bout leaving Naughtly Crew needing to win every fight from here and in a big way. It wasn't to be however as their team captain Anders Thorsen was punished for his sloppy take down attempts by FinnFighters Oke Swahn in just thirty-nine seconds. A terrible example from a team captain and once again it was left down to Dick Glover to show everyone how it's done as he defeated undefeated KO machine Einar Kyrvansyyla by first round KO to earn Naughtly Crew 2 their only points of the evening and end the meeting 13 points to 5. 

With a cool, calm confidence the FinnFighters easily take the Group C title and quite honestly didn't even really seem to be tested. They finish with a 4-0 record and a staggering +47 match points difference. Suffice to say they go into the Champions Phase Finals as the number one seed and will surely be considered one of the main threats within the top eight teams. Two of their members still remain undefeated whilst the other two sport winning 3-1 records. FinnFighters are currently a very solid looking outfit. 

Despite the humiliating loss, Naughtly Crew 2 somehow manage to snag one of the two remaining wild card slots and will get a thoroughly undeserved shot at glory. They finish in third place and qualify on match points by the skin of their teeth. The only real stand out performer is heavyweight Dick Glover who has managed to rack up 15 points for his teams cause but one fighter alone cannot carry an entire team on his back. Unless something drastic happens to them from here, Naughtly Crew 2 will not be considered to have any real chance for a high ranking finishing place. 

The final Group C match up was to decide last place with #4 Team Panda taking on bottom of the group ACME 2. ACME 2 were already starting 5 points down due to a forfeit making an already difficult job all the harder. It was until the very last minute two fights down but team captain Mun So signed the fight agreement just in time. Team Panda still had a small chance of grabbing a wild card slot and the immediate forfeit win would have really given them confidence going in. 

Team Panda captain Napoleon Panda set the bar high with a superb twenty-eight second submission win over ACME's Glenn Welch. The victory ended a two fight losing streak for him whilst marking the fourth loss in a row for Welch. ACME's Brett Keane immediately levelled the scoring with a first round KO win over previously reliable Jacques Turcotte who drops to 2-2. Keane has been somewhat inconsistent himself during the tournament but the win did mean snapping a two fight losing streak. Next up was ACME's team captain Mun So and he was taking on the very underwhelming Otto Graf who was still searching for his first win. So made quick work of Graf winning the bout in just thirty-eight seconds meaning that his team would at least finish the group stage with a point. With the score 10-5 to ACME it would immediately change to 10-10 going into the heavyweight bout as ACME's Fidel DeLuna was a no show against ready to go Jacko Dawson. A real shame for the others in the alliance as they would have stood a real good chance of picking up their first win of the tournament. Instead they have to settle for a draw 10 points to 10. 

A valiant last effort from ACME 2 to salvage a draw out of this mess but alas not enough to avoid finishing in last place in the group. Still, they do avoid being the only team not to score a single point with the result and hopefully that will be a small sense of accomplishment. They now move on into the Bottom Place finals but with a fighter short and some other concerns with reliability, ACME 2 could be strong favourites to finish as the 15th ranked team in the tournament.  

Not quite the result that Team Panda would have been looking for but it was at least enough to avoid finishing bottom of the group. They now move into the middle phase finals where they will be aiming to get the best placed finish of 9th out of 15th. In truth, their recent performances would make that an unlikely scenario with a 12th place finish much more likely of the two. Still major concerns for middleweight Otto Graf who has yet to score a point and now previously dependable lightweight Jacques Turcotte also something of a decline. 

[Alfred]

 

Individual Performance Tables 

(After Round 5)

 

135lbs

155lbs

185lbs

265lbs

[JudoJoker]

1 hour ago, Alfred said:

This wasn't to be however as Felix Suarez stank up the joint with an extremely boring display of lay and pray

I'm not normally one for drama but I feel that this should be addressed. Several days ago I messaged Alfred with some *constructive criticism* on his coverage of Felix Suarez, who is currently the only undefeated Heavyweight in the tournament, and he replied by threatening to launch a campaign of negative marketing.

As a professional and upstanding manager I replied in a dignified manner in which I neither apologized for my criticism nor begged him to write flattering statements about Felix Suarez.

If this is the route Alfred would prefer to take than I would suggest he be ready for grappling onslaught his boy Dick Glover is about to be on the receiving end of!

[Alfred]

5 minutes ago, JudoJoker said:

I'm not normally one for drama but I feel that this should be addressed. Several days ago I messaged Alfred with some *constructive criticism* on his coverage of Felix Suarez, who is currently the only undefeated Heavyweight in the tournament, and he replied by threatening to launch a campaign of negative marketing.

As a professional and upstanding manager I replied in a dignified manner in which I neither apologized for my criticism nor begged him to write flattering statements about Felix Suarez.

If this is the route Alfred would prefer to take than I would suggest he be ready for grappling onslaught his boy Dick Glover is about to be on the receiving end of!

This is outright slander. I have no recollection of any such conversation. I call the fights as I see them and everybody can see that I am as impartial as anybody possibly could be. 

I see this rambling as the mark of a desperate and fearful man who knows his fighters time at the top is over. Felix Suarez is about to get that zero on the end of his record shoved right up his Humours 

#Heritage #Rideordie #Rentfree #FreeCamara 

[JudoJoker]

9 minutes ago, Alfred said:

This is outright slander. I have no recollection of any such conversation. I call the fights as I see them and everybody can see that I am as impartial as anybody possibly could be. 

I see this rambling as the mark of a desperate and fearful man who knows his fighters time at the top is over. Felix Suarez is about to get that zero on the end of his record shoved right up his Humours 

#Heritage #Rideordie #Rentfree #FreeCamara 

I would suggest you be careful with your words in the preview for our bout!

It would be a shame for Big Dick to come up short in a fight you claim to be so confident in his ability to perform in

[barney]

4 hours ago, Alfred said:

 Going into the heavyweight bout Naughtly Crew 1 needed a miracle to win the meeting and that's exactly what they got. Kevin Mamar managed to get the first round finish with only two seconds to spare as he defeated Bruce Hood by TKO following some viscous ground and pound. A Hollywood movie finish to the meeting as Naughtly Crew 1 upset all the odds to defeat The Stepdads 8 points to 7.
 

[skull]

I really shit the bed in this tournament Lol. Sorry fellow LOD I am not worthy ?‍♂️ 

[Alfred]

15 hours ago, skull said:

I really shit the bed in this tournament Lol. Sorry fellow LOD I am not worthy ?‍♂️ 

At least you haven't rage sacked like some of the other pussies in the tournament. Plus it's still a much a improved performance from last years "elbow" guy lol. 

Also, just remember folks that at this point, whilst you might not have that granite chinned 7+ learner that you wanted, stopping the opponent from getting maximum points off of you is still a win in my book. So plug those leaky holes losers!

[skull]

3 hours ago, Alfred said:

At least you haven't rage sacked like some of the other pussies in the tournament. Plus it's still a much a improved performance from last years "elbow" guy lol. 

Also, just remember folks that at this point, whilst you might not have that granite chinned 7+ learner that you wanted, stopping the opponent from getting maximum points off of you is still a win in my book. So plug those leaky holes losers!

Thats the bad thing, he is a 7 learner and granite chin LOL i fudged up and spread the skills out hoping the fast learner would make up for it but didnt account for needing physicals trained as well.   He will end up being a decent fighter with some training time.

[Alfred]

CHAMPIONS PHASE FINALS

Round 1

 (A) FINNFIGHTERS (Most Points Winner) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 1 (Least Points Wild Card)

The FinnFighters are coming into the final eight as the team to beat. They absolutely steam rolled their Group C competition, topping the table and managing to reach this point undefeated. On top of that, they finished with a +47 match points record which is by far the largest margin of any other team in the tournament. Of course, there will be murmurs from some that the Group C opposition they faced was not as competitive as elsewhere but then this is exactly where we will see if there is any truth to that. 

They are now set to face Naughtly Crew 1 who just about squeaked their way into the final eight after a "down to the wire" upset victory over last years runners up The Stepdads in Group B. That victory alone was enough to hand them one of the two third place wild card spots and a final, long shot chance at glory. Despite making it this far, Naughtly Crew 1 have been less than stellar and can no way claim to have lived up to expectations (especially after some people went off and thought they were cleaver in snatching up all the “best” managers from the alliance without offering to share) From this point on, they would do well not to finish in 8th place. 

Predictions:

It's an easy pick at bantamweight with FinnFighteres undefeated submission wizard CG Mannheim taking on Naughtly Crew's 0-4 Clint River. The only question here is whether River's can hold on for a decision or not. Given that two of his four losses have come via submission and that Mannheim has won three out of his four victories by the same means indicates that it's highly unlikely. 

At lightweight, the two alliances team captains face off and again, it looks like an easy FinnFighters victory. Their captain Rokken Roll has also managed to reach this far without suffering a loss and on paper looks just a little bit more advanced all round than Naughtly Crew 1 captain Jake Keane. Keane has a 1-3 record but is coming into this bout on a three fight losing streak. Not exactly the confidence builder you need when facing one of only a handful of undefeated fighters left in the tournament.

At 185lbs things seem to get a little bit more competitive. FinnFighters Oke Swahn takes on Naughtly Crew 1's Reggie Booker. Both fighters currently 3-1 and both currently on a two fight winning streaks. No real advantage for either in the grappling but on the feet, Booker will have to contend with Swahn's far superior boxing skills and given that Swahn hasn't gone past a single round in his three victories, it's clear that he has some serious power in those hands of his. Again, slightly favouring FinnFighters but Booker is no slouch and it won't be easy for Swahn. 

At heavyweight we have a real grappler versus striker showdown with Naughtly Crew 1's 3-1 Kevin Mamar taking on FinnFighters Einer Kyvansyyla (also 3-1). Mamar got off to a poor start in the tournament but has managed to get right back into the mix and will be coming into this bout on a three fight winning streak. Finnish powerhouse Kyvansyyla has just had his own three fight winning streak dashed by a similarly styled fighter to Mamar and will be coming into the fight after suffering the first loss of his career. A real toss up between these two and really it could go either way. If Mamar can follow the blueprint laid out by Kyvansyyla's previous opponent then it just might go his way. 

Overall, it's clear to see that FinnFighters are the heavy favourites in this one but in truth, that was always likely to be the case with the top team from the group stage facing the 8th best. Expect FinnFighters to take three out of the four match ups here. 

(B) KEYBOARD WARRIORS (2nd Most Points Winner) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 2 (Most Points Wild Card)

Keyboard Warriors missed out on the 2020 edition of the Alliance World Championships but boy oh boy have they come in hot this time around. Like the FinnFighters, they too reach this point of the tournament without having suffered a team loss and are second best solely on match points (of which they still amassed an impressive +34). Keyboard Warriors were not considered to be among those with the highest chances of winning at the start of this tournament but at this point, after topping a group that included current champions YABAI, they have earned their respect and must be considered serious contenders. 

Like their other floundering alliance mates, Naughtly Crew 2 limp into the final eight after just about doing enough on the final day of the group stage. They finished third in Group C with a 2-2 record and managed to snag the first of two third place wild card slots giving them a shot against the big boys (Well, Keyboard Warriors are hardly the big boys of the MMATycoon world but they are doing quite well right now) Naughtly Crew 2 weren't really expected to make it this far so they have already exceeded expectations (excuses made) and a good finishing place would just be a bonus. 

Predictions: 

An interesting Bantamweight match up to get us started as Keyboard Warriors team captain Akio Kurosaki takes on Norman Pike for Naughtly Crew 2. Both fighters coming in with 2-2 records though it's fair to say that Kurosaki has perhaps been a little underwhelming whereas Pike has perhaps done better than most would have thought. On paper, Kurosaki would be the obvious favourite but Pike's unpredictability makes this meeting a much more interesting encounter than it otherwise should.

At 155lbs, Keyboard Warrior belt thief Aung Siang takes on the “Bag of horse shit” Christian Caliman. Siang hasn't had the best of times during his group stage campaign racking up a 2-2 record with both loses coming via first round finish. Hardly a championship run so where the hell he got that belt he's pictured with from, God only knows. As for poor Caliman, he has had the misfortune to get his MMA tutorledge firstly under the infamous “Ratão do Rio” and then the games least attentive fight manager Kishion Camara. It's pretty safe to say that this is a gimme fight for Siang even though he doesn't deserve it

At 185lbs, things should have started getting a little more competitive but instead we have undefeated 4-0 submission specialist Bofur Widenose taking on a very inconsistent 2-2 Naughtly Crew 2 captain Anders Thorsen. On paper, the fighters look somewhat competitive but Widenose will have the advantage on the floor which will be a key area of this fight. Thorsen has been too up and down and his manager too preoccupied with less important things like work and family to confidently pick to win so it's looks as though we have another clear cut Keyboard Warriors win. 

On to the heavyweights where for the Keyboard Warriors we have Felix “Cheese” Suarez the sub spammer taking on the face of the tournament “Big” Dick Glover for Naughtly Crew 2. Suarez has cheesed his way to a fairly impressive undefeated 4-0 record but as we all witnessed in his last bout, has no objections to becoming a literal human blanket and stalling his way to victory when faced with actual competition. Glover has looked pretty good himself except for that one time when Karter illegally set his opponents sliders for him and threw off his game planning. A record of 3-1 with all wins coming via first round KO, Glover has promised to turn Suarez into a pretzel in honour of his pretty cool manager Alfred Winterbottom. 

If life was fair, the only match that would be counted would be the heavyweights. The true alphas of the fighting world that stand head and shoulders above all the other little midgets beneath them. But it isn't so it looks as though Keyboard Warriors will be gifted yet another victory here again. 

(C) THE STEPDADS (3rd Most Points Winner) vs. CONVICTED INC (3rd Most Points Runner Up)

Last years runners up The Stepdads were drawn into a very tough looking Group B and what many considered to be the group of death. They started off well with three straight victories in a row and were looking to be every bit the championship contenders predicted at the start of this tournament before slipping up in the final round. In fairness, The Stepdads had long since qualified for the final eight so you may yet forgive them for any lack of motivations but knowing their competitive nature, this is not the finish to their group stage campaign that they would be pleased with. 

Their opponents, Convicted Inc, have been a major disappointment thus far. Absent from the 2020 tournament due to cowardice, Convicted's confirmation in this year's tournament generated quite a bit of buzz right up until the last moment of reveal. It was like when a top football (proper football) club comes to town for a pre-season friendly and you get all excited and take your boys to go see their childhood heroes only for you to get there and recognise barely a single player. Your confused and disappointed boys constantly asking where “X” or “X” is until they too realise that they'd been duped. Convicted Inc fluffed their way into a second place finish in Group C with a 2-2 record. The worst second place record from any group but on this occasion it was enough. 

Predictions:

At 135lbs The Stepdads Ricky Greene will take on Convicted's Nevez Amadaus and this one looks to favour The Stepdads quite a bit. Green comes into the bout with a 3-1 record but in top form as he currently rides a three fight winning streak with all three coming via first round submission. Amadaus hasn't done terribly so far with a record of 2-2 but he has been inconstant alternating wins and loses and looked to be weak against submission fighters. 

At lightweight, The Stepdads team captain Shinji Tomoguchi is up next and he will be taking on Rico Axelrod for Convicted Inc. Tomoguchi reaches here with a 3-1 record with his one loss being a close majority decision loss to LOD's Bob Probert. His fighting style hasn't exactly ended up contributing a massive amount of points for his teams cause but he has remained a dependable rock for them to build around and that is exactly what you want from a team captain. Axelrod, like Amadaus, has been inconsistent throughout the group stage and alternating wins and losses for a 2-2 record. On paper he looks as though he could be competitive but a betting man would heavily favour Tomoguchi at this point. 

A massive fight for Convicted at 185lbs as their undefeated MVP team captain Haitian Ginger takes on The Stepdads 3-1 Maximus DeMarcus Meridius. It's fair to say that Convicted Inc have reached this far largely off the back of the star performances of Ginger. His four victories, with all but one coming in the first round, have not only helped secure Convicted safe passage to the finals but also put Ginger on top of the individual performers list at middleweight. His opponent Merdius is no slouch either though and could end up being Ginger's toughest opponent yet. Meridius comes into the bout after suffering his first loss and ending his three fight winning streak. This might be the only Convicted win on the cards with Ginger seeming to have the more options in getting the win. 

At heavyweight we have The Stepdads Bruce Hood and he takes on Ghengis Kahn for Convicted Inc. Bruce Hood started off tremendously and looked to pick up where is managers former alliance tournament star Bubba Wallace left off. Wallace, of course, is famous for annihilating every opponent he faced by first round KO in last years tournament and Hood seemed to be going in the same direction after reaching 2-0 in the same manner. His fortunes have since spun around dramatically however and now Hood will be coming into this fight having lost his last two.  Opponent Kahn, like most of his team mates, has been inconsistent with alternating wins and losses and comes in with a 2-2 record. A tough one to predict given Hood's poor form but you have to fancy him to get back to winning ways here. 

Overall, this looks to be an easy win for The Stepdads. With only one out of the four matches looking competitive, most would be shocked if Convicted Inc could pull off the victory here preserve their already shaky reputation. 

(D) YABAI (Most Points Runner Up) vs. SYNDICATE (2nd Most Points Runner Up)

Last years champions YABAI ended up in second place in Group A and earned a slot as the runners up with the most points overall. The fact that they didn't sweep their group might be a concern for some but, if we look back to last year, they also took a little time to warm up before kicking it into overdrive during the play-offs. In truth, they are looking solid as a unit with most of their members performing well. Now that the pressure is on however all eyes will be on them looking to see if they can once again step it up a gear and retain their 2020 Alliance World Championship title. 

Their opponents are newcomers Syndicate who were predicted to be the dark horses of this tournament. A team full of highly ranked managers, Syndicate did very well to finish second in the highly competitive Group B group of death and actually finished joint on points with group winners The Stepdads. Separated only by match points, Syndicate enter the finals as the runners up with the second most points and will probably be very surprised to find themselves facing the 2020 champions YABAI straight away. 

Predictions: 

An absolutely tantalising match up at 135lbs as YABAI's team captain Jay Reepo takes on one of Syndicate's star performers Dreynos Elvul. Both fighters are coming into this fight as undefeated prospects but it is Elvul that really stands out with his three out of four first round submission victories. Reepo too is a ground fighter but has so far preferred a more cautious approach which in turn has led to the majority of his victories coming by decision. On paper, there really isn't much between them save for Elvul's finish rate. Is this enough to consider him favourite? Too close to call. 

At 155lbs the balance of power shifts heavily towards YABAI as undefeated Bishop Bonesteel takes on Syndicate team captain Slash Shredder who whilst having a poor record at this stage of the game, has done his absolute best to limit the points being taken from him. All three of his loses have come by decision and added together with his first round victory, it means Shredder has only lost his team 1 single point overall. That is the way to lose folks. Damage control! Still, he is going to have an incredibly difficult time here against such a well rounded natural finisher in Bonesteel and a decision loss would probably be considered a good result. 

Another tough fight for Syndicate as their man Al Hoffa takes on YABAI's Omer Demirci. Hoffa started poorly in the tournament dropping to 0-2 early but he has since rallied and now comes into the bout with a record of 2-2 and a two fight win streak. His opponent Demirci is also currently riding a solid win streak after slipping up in his first match up. Demirci has now gone three fights in a row winning all of them by submission. With both fighters preferring the ground you have to wonder if one of them will try to gain the advantage on the feet as opposed to slugging it out with a similar styled opponent. On paper, not as clear cut for YABAI as you might think but still in their favour. 

At 265lbs we have Syndicate's Sono Tiger facing YABAI's 2-2 Huber Schlesien and this one could lean towards Syndicate. Tiger has racked up a record of 3-1 so far with two of his three victories coming by first round KO. He had a tough time with his last opponent Richard Anderson but then Anderson is a tough fighter. Schlesien has been the least performing member of his alliance team with a record of 2-2 but, as YABAI have proven to do, has seemingly turned around his poor start and has now picked up two wins in a row, winning by both submission and KO. These multitude of tools will certainly make him a tricky opponent for anyone he faces but can he compete with the sheer power of superior striker Tiger? Both on two winning streaks, this one could be a fight to keep an eye on. 

Really this is the first play-off showdown that doesn't have an obvious victor and that's probably not surprising given the position of these two seeds. You could easily see this one going 2-2 in fights with the deciding factor coming down to points earned. Both teams have high scoring fighters amongst their members so in all honesty, this one could go either way. Based on history alone however, you would have to go with the current champions YABAI. 

Middle Phase Finals

Round 1

(A) ACME 1 (9th Placed Team Overall) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 3 (12th Placed Team Overall

ACME 1 did very well to finish third in Group A and in truth were not all that far away from a place in the champions phase finals. They have been very unfortunate to have been let down by one manager after round four which could have made all the difference. 

Naughtly Crew 3 narrowly avoid finishing bottom of their Group A table and instead will get the opportunity to finish as high as 9th out of 15 teams. They aren't expected to reach that high however with some truly poor performing fighters amongst them. 

The 135lbs fight is missing after ACME manager Saklain Javid sacked his fighter and team captain Devin Russel after round four. Naughtly Crew captain Stuart Burrows will be denied yet another opportunity in the cage with his second forfeit victory in a row.

At 155lbs, 2-2 Torn Brot for ACME looks set to have his way with 0-4 Ultimate Warrior for Naughtly Crew 3. Warrior has the advantage on paper but so far hasn't been able to put it all together.

185Lbs gives us Gretchen Alexander for ACME 1 taking on Tran Quaach for Naughtly Crew 3. Quaach is currently on a three fight losing streak whilst Alexander comes into the bout off of a win. Grappler versus striker. Alexander the favourite here.

At heavyweight another predicted ACME win as their man Peter Kowalski takes on 0-4 Uncle Abner. Another grappler versus striker affair but likely to be a repeat of their recent meeting where Kowalski finished Abner in the first round. 

Predictions:

 An instant rematch from the previous round where ACME were victorious 11 points to 5. It's unlikely much would have changed during that time so expect ACME to once again defy the odds and get the win with a man down. 

(B) TEAM PANDA (10th Placed Team Overall) vs. Limitless (11th Placed Team Overall)

Team Panda kicked off the tournament with what was thought to be a massive upset victory over Convicted Inc. Things went progressively downhill from there although they did manage to avoid a predicted last place finish in Group C and earn the right to fight for 9th place. 

Limitless also started off well enough early on and for a time even led the Group B tables. However, two devastating clean sweep loses were enough to dash their hopes of a place in the finals and instead they will now have to make do with a potential 9th place finish. 

Predictions:

Team Panda captain Napoleon Panda is first up at 135lbs and he takes on Paolo Del Geno for Limitless. Del Geno was looking like a top prospect early on but has since dropped two in a row for a record of 2-2. Panda also 2-2 but coming in off a win. Can Del Geno's brawling style stop Panda from taking him down and submitting him? That is the question. 

At 155lbs, two fighters that have slipped up during the second half of the group stage is Team Panda's Jacques Turcotte and Limitless' Trey Limitless. Both fighters started off well going 2-0 but have since dropped to 2-2. Yet another grappler versus striker match up with maybe Turcotte having a little more in the tank standing then Limitless does in the grappling. A tough call. 

A clear favourite for Limitless at 185lbs as 1-3 Heinrich Von Slackenfuchs takes on 0-4 Otto Graf. Whilst not having a great record, Slackenfuchs has at least managed to limit the majority of his losses to decision ones where as Graf has had a terrible time having suffered four first round KO losses in a row. Graf has only a punchers chance in this one but even then, the bookies will have him as a heavy underdog

The final heavyweight bout looks as though leans towards Team Panda. Their man Jacko Dawson will be chomping at the bit to get inside the cage after sitting out with a forfeit win during round five. His opponent is Limitless team captain Slim Towney who is still searching for his first win of the tournament. BJJ Brown belt versus wonderful Muay Thai. Dawson likely to pick up his third KO of the tournament. 

On paper this should have been Limitless all day but there recent performances have made them unpredictable which gives Team Panda more than a decent shot in three out of the four match ups. They should still pull it off but don't be surprised to see Team Panda get the win here instead. 

Bottom Phase Finals

Round 1

ACME 2 (15th Placed Team Overall) vs. The Guardians (14th Placed Team Overall)

The first of three meetings to decide who comes last overall and already marred by the ugly head of rage sacking. 

ACME 2 ended up finishing last in Group C but they did managed to scrape together a draw in the round five match up which meant they avoiding being the only team not to score a point during the group stage. Still, they will be a man down from here as they miss heavyweight Fidel DeLuna after being sacked by manager Darren Russell. 

The Guardians finished up bottom of Group A after a very poor AWC debut. Whilst not expected to make the top 8, they were expected to easily qualify just outside of that so their participation in the losers bracket will no doubt be of a big disappointment to them. They will also be a man down for these remaining two meetings as manager Robert Smith sacked 0-4 fighter Matt Cosce. 

With only two of the four fights in this one confirmed, the results of these are going to be extra important. 

At 135lbs, The Guardians team captain Kaspar Kallaste takes on ACME 2's Glenn Welch. Kalleste has slowly been improving his overall skill set but hasn't quite managed to put it all together just yet. He hasn't managed a win since his round one victory over Devin Russell with two of his three losses coming via submission. Opponent Glen Welch is still yet to get a victory of his own but big kudos to him for soldiering through. If he can manage to get this fight on the floor he might just have a shot at getting his hand raised. 

At 155lbs we have ACME 2's Brett Keane taking on The Guardians Isak Hardrada and this one has all the hallmarks of a stand up war. Both fighters are coming in with 2-2 records and a very good level of stand up skill. Perhaps if we delve a little deeper into individual records we could agree that Hardrada's is just a little more impressive and because of that will likely come in as a slight favourite. 

We are missing the 185lbs fight due to The Guardians absent Matt Cosce. This means ACME 2 team captain Mun So will be getting maximum points for a forfeit win. A shame not to see him back in the cage quickly after his impressive first round in his last fight. 

Also off the schedule is the heavyweight bout as ACME 2 are missing Fidel DeLuna since round four. This gives The Guardians Drax Bautista five points for a forfeit win and also an extra couple of weeks to prepare for his final tournament bout. 

Bye Round – Legion of Doom

Legion of Doom finished last in the Group B group of death but as the best performing of all three bottom placed teams. For their efforts they get the first bye of the losers bracket finals and an extra couple of weeks to prepare before back to back meetings

[Gator001]

" Siang hasn't had the best of times during his group stage campaign racking up a 2-2 record with both loses coming via first round finish. Hardly a championship run so where the hell he got that belt he's pictured with from, God only knows. As for poor Caliman, he has had the misfortune to get his MMA tutorledge firstly under the infamous “Ratão do Rio” and then the games least attentive fight manager Kishion Camara. It's pretty safe to say that this is a gimme fight for Siang even though he doesn't deserve it"

 

hahahaha love it, great stuff Alfred

 

He can dream cant he??? He got it off ebay with a bunch of Tap Out shirts

[Xyel]

This is easily the best preview I've ever read. The slightly biased, I've got some skin in this approach is approximately 800 % more entertaining to read than the usual, neutral style.

[TJMitchell]

Amazing stuff Alfred. Fuck those Convicted cowards

[JudoJoker]

Felix Suarez responds to Alfred's uncalled for comments about him 

[JudoJoker]

8 minutes ago, Alfred said:

"Big" Dick Glover is gonna have to change his name to "Lactose Intolerant" Dick Glover after the embarrassment he's about to experience.

[Alfred]

Dammit! I thought I'd deleted that in time. The picture took up the whole screen lol

[JudoJoker]

I wouldn't have noticed this if PJ Jones hadn't pointed this out, but judging by the betting odds, it appears Alfred gets off on losing money!

 

I'm not one to judge, you do you bossman, but it is an amusing form of masochism.

[rjs2442]

That was outstanding!  Great work Alfred!

[Gator001]

1 hour ago, JudoJoker said:

I wouldn't have noticed this if PJ Jones hadn't pointed this out, but judging by the betting odds, it appears Alfred gets off on losing money!

 

I'm not one to judge, you do you bossman, but it is an amusing form of masochism.

he is doing some voodoo juju shit ?

[barney]

expect even MORE memes to come next review

[Mannetosen]

Excited for Chris' favorite son to lead the Sick Old Man of Tycoon to another victory in a few days.

[rjs2442]