Highland - Official Thread

[MauriceSimmons]

12 hours ago, Sprooch said:

Kaiden Thibodeaux: “I ended his career already.”

True that

[clydebankblitz]

Hey folks. Unfortunately tonight is the first ever time Highland is running an event with less than 10 fights, all because I messed up the timings. I think it's better to recognize if standards are slipping slightly now than to realize later when some damage has been done, so if anyone is interested in helping out with some of the day to day running of Highland, shoot me a message. Preferably someone with Highland fighters who I've spoken to plenty of times before.

[popart]

Lucky Liam Retires

 

By Chad Stevens, MMA-LA

 

Following his decision win at Highland 180. Liam Murphy took a couple weeks off before deciding to officially hang up the gloves. Murphy signed for Highland shortly before Highland 7, and fought 27 fights for the organization, until the age of 31. 

Murphy was twice a title challenger at Highland, in battles against both Noel Diaz and Ed Green. 

Never quite dedicated enough to his craft, Liam was known for his 'good time, not a long tine' attitude in training. Island goers would often complain of smelling liquor on his breath when he entered the cage. This was worsened by his owning of Lucky Liam's Bar, which was open for 2 months at the beginning of the island season. It shortly closed after Liam was found drinking his profits. 

 

In retirement, it is expected that Liam will loiter around the Yellow Lotus center, chasing after the next good time. 

 

[Curix]

Jerry "The Officer" Short (379233)

"THAT 135LBS BELT IS MINE."

[scottxbandz]

the legendary story of jerry short

[Curix]

1 minute ago, scottxbandz said:

the legendary story of jerry short

😅

[clydebankblitz]

HIGHLAND 191

 Vs 

Noel Diaz Vs Siale Veainu
Highland Welterweight Champion Vs Highland Middleweight Champion
Legend Vs Legend

 

On September 16th, 2022, we bore witness to the biggest fight in the history of Highland. But before we look at the result, let’s look at the fight itself.

In one corner we have the challenger, the legend, the four weight champion, the BMF champion and the most memorable fighter you’re ever going to bare witness to; the one and only Noel Fucking Diaz. In the other, the stalwart of the most dangerous family in fighting history, a man with the touch of death that was born to be in title fights, the reigning and defending Highland Middleweight Champion; Siale Veainu.

Noel came into this fight as a proficient submission specialist who’s been able to improve and develop his striking game in the past half a year to enable him to compete against anyone, anywhere. Siale might not be as well rounded, but the dynamite he has in his hands is rivalled by very few in the sport and there’s no middleweights since Lucas Barbosa that have been able to keep him at bay.

The fight begins…

Diaz outboxes a wilder Siale, although a nice counter punch saw an early cut open up on the Welterweight Champ. Diaz grabs the clinch and drags the fight to the floor, attacking with submissions and giving Siale flashbacks to Lucas Barbosa. The final bell goes by and the round is over quickly. Diaz takes a close round.

Round 2 begins and it looks like both men are going to stay on the feet. Diaz continues to be the more clinical striker, but he takes some big shots throughout the round. Neither man is swinging for the fences and are cautious of each other’s weapons. Another close right, but maybe going to Siale.

Round 3 starts and BOOM. Siale comes out and drops Diaz multiple times. The 170lbs champ is rocked and tries to hang on. He goes, and the fight goes to the final bell. Diaz knew he was going to be facing a new level of power at 185lbs, and he’s got it.

Round 4 is up next and if you ever wanted to know why Noel Diaz might be the biggest legend we’ll ever see in Highland, a round like this is why. He managed to avoid the big follow up from Siale and actually outstrike him. There’s a difference in power but many could have had round 4 to the challenger.

It could easily be all equal going into the fifth and final round. The bell goes….and he’s down again! Siale lands a huge right hand and Diaz falls to the floor. He managed to clinch up for some time, but Siale manages to take a step back and crack him with a mammoth overhand right to get the knockout! He’s done it! Siale Veainu defends his Highland Middleweight Championship!

What a fight, what an epic story and what warriors. This fight mostly played out on the feet and Noel Diaz showed us once again that he can hang with the best of them on the feet. The power of Siale is something anyone will fear, and if they ever cross paths again I’d expect him to look to avoid those exchanges a little bit more.
So what’s next for either man? It’s kind of hard to say. Siale was rumoured to be chasing a super fight with Torhte Finalyson before this fight came along. If he was to move up and intended to continue fighting at 205lbs full time, you’d have to imagine Diaz would get the next title shot at 185lbs. But we’ll have to wait to see where all the cards fall.
For now, the champ has a name, and that name is Siale Veainu.

[Arcalimon]

Noel Diaz (27-4-0)

    

"I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese, bitches!"

[scottxbandz]

whattttttttttttttt

[clydebankblitz]

10 hours ago, Arcalimon said:

Noel Diaz (27-4-0)

    

"I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese, bitches!"

If this is the end of Noel Diaz, then this is the end of one of the greatest fighters to ever grace The Island shores, and more importantly a character at Highland who will never be rivalled.

The GOAT.

[saklain]

15 hours ago, Arcalimon said:

Noel Diaz (27-4-0)

    

"I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese, bitches!"

Remi Chavaski (19-8)

Former 135lb and 145lb Highland Champion

"I cracked your cousin of yours last week, Nolan Diaz and know all of a sudden you want to retire??? Get back for your cousin at least you lil sellout. You won two fights off of luck and been moving up weight hoping that the Highland matchmakers don't call for the trilogy. I don't give two shits if you decide to run away from the sport but let's do one more fight at 155 in the sold out WOMBLEY ARENA!!! Don't pussy out Noel Silly, you know this is what the fans want to see. I'm coming to kick your fake Stockton ass back to where you came from (a rich neighborhood in London). THERES ONLY ONE KING IN THE GAME AND HIS NAME IS REMI "STOCKTON-ASS KICKER" CHAVASKI!!!!" #RealBMF #DoubleChamp #StocktonSlapNoelSilly #NoelSillyTheChicken

 

[clydebankblitz]

HIGHLAND 193

Antonio Tarver (c) (13-1) Vs Jerry Short (11-4)

Highland Bantamweight Championship

The Eater Of Worlds Antonio Tarver is looking to fulfil that ancient, and incorrect, prophecy; ‘You’re only the champion if you defend your belt’. Antonio won the belt earlier this month at Highland 187 against the defending champion Mike Ziegler. Antonio managed to secure a first round armbar victory, something he has made his name for.

Following a very successful run in Caged Dragons Fighting Championship where Tarver was a two weight champion, he switched managers and companies and now with Leon Price at the helm, is the champion at 135lbs.

Looking to strip away that championship is one of the most outspoken fighters on the entire Highland roster; Officer Jerry Short.

Officer Jerry entered the fray during the Highland Bantamweight Grand Prix in 2021. He went deep in the tournament, but finished his campaign with a record of 5-2 with a loss to the eventual champion Kaiden Thibodeaux.

Now riding high on a four fight win streak, Jerry wants to test his lethal jiu jitsu skills against a fellow master on the mats and prove that he is absolutely ready for the big time and is more than a loud voice on the police radio airwaves.

[clydebankblitz]

HIGHLAND 194

Aiko San (c) (13-3) Vs Kazuo Takashi (c) (32-3)

Highland Lightweight Championship

They don’t get much bigger than this folks. A legitimate, bona fide, straight up super fight right here in Highland.

In the championship side, we have the defending Lightweight Champion Aiko “Frog Man” San. After a mixed career in Bellicose, San made the switch to Highland and found his true calling. Winning 6 straight fights, San found himself in a prime opportunity to take on the champion: Anthony Epolito. It was a tough war, but a late rally from San saw him lift the belt above his head and in turn usher in a new generation in Highland’s Lightweight division.

But if you want a trial by fire, well Frog Man, you’ve got one. One of the most legendary Highland fighters in history, Kazuo Takashi is the reigning Featherweight Champion, in his second reign with the belt and with 8 straight defences. To add to these accolades, Takashi is a former undefeated Highland Bantamweight Champion, an IXF Featherweight Champion and the Season 12 Island Bantamweight Champion.

Kazuo never sought after the bright lights like his training partner Noel Diaz did. While Noel moves through the weight classes for fame and fortune, Kazuo has moved through them due to necessity. That is to say that Kazuo is so dominant, that no one is left that he hasn’t beat.

Aiko San doesn’t care what Kazuo has done. He doesn’t care who he is or how long he’s done it. As he holds on tightly to the Highland Lightweight Belt, San says that the belt may be 5lbs, but this 10lbs jump is going to be the downfall of Kaz, and a new crowning moment for the 155lbs king.

 

[AlVandal]

On 9/18/2022 at 12:57 AM, saklain said:

Remi Chavaski (19-8)

Former 135lb and 145lb Highland Champion

"I cracked your cousin of yours last week, Nolan Diaz and know all of a sudden you want to retire??? Get back for your cousin at least you lil sellout. You won two fights off of luck and been moving up weight hoping that the Highland matchmakers don't call for the trilogy. I don't give two shits if you decide to run away from the sport but let's do one more fight at 155 in the sold out WOMBLEY ARENA!!! Don't pussy out Noel Silly, you know this is what the fans want to see. I'm coming to kick your fake Stockton ass back to where you came from (a rich neighborhood in London). THERES ONLY ONE KING IN THE GAME AND HIS NAME IS REMI "STOCKTON-ASS KICKER" CHAVASKI!!!!" #RealBMF #DoubleChamp #StocktonSlapNoelSilly #NoelSillyTheChicken

" Maybe if you'd have kept your puny mind on your upcoming opponent instead of begging to have Diaz kick your one trick loser ass for a third time you would have gotten owned as bad. Dumbass livin in the past mofo." Anthony Epolito 

 

[clydebankblitz]

HIGHLAND 196

Torhte Finlayson (c) (34-2) Vs Kazuo Takashi (c) (25-7)

Highland Light Heavyweight Championship

We are fully in the age of superfights here at Highland and this might just be out biggest one to date. Before we discuss this individual fight, I want to give a little bit of a backstory to Torhte Finlayson Vs Sonatane Veainu.

Sonatane is a brother of Siale. Following The Island’s tournament, Sonatane would knock out Torhte Finalyson not once, but twice, in two of the most incredible upsets of all time putting Sonatane down in history. In fact, these are still the only losses Torhte has ever taken, and although he managed to get his vengeance over Sontane at Highland 146 in March, he still wishes those marks weren’t on his record.

 I felt this history was important, because Siale might be the most talented Veainu of all. Siale is a former two time IXF Middleweight Champion and a three time Highland Middleweight Champion. He has dynamite in his hands, leading to his incredible 5 defences of the 185lbs belt, including his last outing where he turned back the legendary Noel Diaz in yet another superfight. This time it’s Siale giving up some of the size, as he moves up 20lbs to face the one and only Torhte Finlayson.

Torhte is the most prolific and devastating striker Highland has ever witnessed. He has knocked out all 34 of his 34 victories. That is just insane. He has 11 defences of his Highland Light Heavyweight title in a row, and 21 overall including his former run. He also has an Island Tournament victory under his belt for good measure. Torhte has basically fought everyone who is anyone at 205lbs and defeated them all, so that’s why Siale is moving up to give him a new challenge.

The smart money has to be on Torhte. It doesn’t matter who he’s facing, it always does. But we know the Veainu family have found the buttons to press against Torhte before, and while he may not have the one punch power of Sonatane, Siale is arguably the more accurate and effective boxer.

This is a fight for the ages, between two of the greatest Highland fighters in history. A hall of famer up against a future hall of famer. The light heavyweight champ against the middleweight champ. Legend against legend.

[clydebankblitz]

HIGHLAND HALL OF FAME
NOEL DIAZ

A long overdue induction for the most charismatic, fearless and credentialled fighter ever to compete for Highland. Noel Diaz started his career at Bantamweight and won the undisputed championship all the way up to Welterweight, even competing for the Middleweight strap in his most recent bout as of this induction.

We'll have a little look at Noel's accolades; Highland Bantamweight Champion with 1 defence, Highland Featherweight Champion with 3 defences, Highland Lightweight Champion with 5 defences, Highland BMF Champion, 2x Highland Welterweight Champion with 5 combined defences, 2021 Highland Fighter of the Year, 2021 World Lightweight of the Year, 2021 MMA Character of the Year.

I had to purchase a new keyboard just to get through those accolades.

However, as incredible as Noel is as a competitor, we're talking having all 3 FOTN, KOTN and SOTN under his belt kind of incredible, Noel's legacy is more than that.

Noel's character transcends Highland. Fans from all over, who don't even tune into each Highland event, made sure to never miss a Noel Diaz outing. He created new fans and probably inspired new fighters to compete. When seeing their name beside his on the line ups, opponents didn't feel scared or nervous. They felt excited. Because whether or not that won, they got to share the cage with THE Noel Diaz. Perhaps that's why Noel was able to have so much success, his opponents were fans of his.

Some highlights from the legendary career of Noel Diaz for me include his BMF fight against another outspoken veteran, Remi Chavasi. His incredible WW trilogy with Adam Shalashasa. His TKO victory in an absolute war with Maurice Tillet. But you could really add much more in here.

While the world is sitting waiting to see what Noel Diaz does in his next move. Whether the proclamation of retirement is one he intends to see through or the itch to compete will get the best of him, please join us in saying

We hope you will join us in welcoming Noel Diaz to the Highland Hall of Fame.

[clydebankblitz]

 

HIGHLAND 200 PREVIEW

Kaiden Thibodeaux (12-3) Vs Antonio Tarver (14-1)
Highland Bantamweight Championship

In the 135lbs division we see former champ Vs current champ as Kaiden Thibodeaux takes on the
Bantamweight king Antonio Tarver.

Thibodeaux shot to fame during the Highland Bantamweight Grand Prx 2021, building up a record of
6-1 during the competition and going on to win the Bantamweight Championship. After his first
successful defence, Kaiden would drop and reclaim the belt in a fantastic rivalry with Scottie Lamez,
before dropping the title once again to Mike Ziegler at Highland 179. Now back on winning ways,
Kaiden sees a new man sitting atop the throne and is eager to have that belt put across his waist as
the new champion for the third time in his career.

Submission specialist Tarver has other plans. Including a strong run in CDFC which included 2 reigns
as the Bantamweight Champion, Tarver made the switch to Highland at Highland 176 and won the
title in just his third fight with a submission win over Ziegler. He successfully defended the title
against Jerry Short last time out, but some say this will be the toughest opponent he has faced to
date.

The gameplan for both men is clear, but we may see some changes to proceedings from Kaiden. Of
his 3 losses, 2 have been by submission and we know how lethal Tarver is when the fight hits the
mat. It’ll be interesting to see how Kaiden approaches that possibility and if he can avoid letting the
fight spill to the canvas.

 

Ed Green (24-10) Vs Kazuo Takashi (32-4)
Highland Featherweight Championship

This might be my favourite fight on the entire card, and a fight that at one stage we may have never
considered.

The challenger Ed Green has spent most of his time competing in the Lightweight division. There, Ed
is a 3x Highland Lightweight Champion, with a combined 6 defences. He had a bit of a rocky road the
past few months, but has bounced back with two incredible victories. First, he managed to defeat
Kranckx Diesel, his biggest rival. Green won his first belt against Diesel, but later lost both that and
the rematch. Journey ahead well over a year and Green avenges this loss, then shocks everyone by
announcing he was moving down to FW. Ed would burst on to the scene against one of Highland’s
most talented legends Miguel Azevedo Souza, setting himself up for this dream fight.

It’s getting repetitive but when you get a guy like Kazuo Takashi, you just need to list off the
accomplishments. Former Highland Bantamweight Champion with 8 defences, former 2x Highland
Featherweight Champion with a combined 9 defences, former IXF Featherweight Champion, Island
Season 12 Bantamweight Champion. Kazuo is the real deal and you just know we’ll be adding Hall of
Famer to that list before long. It’s rare to see Kazuo compete off the back of a loss. In fact we’ve only
seen it happen 4 times, but some complications in the camp saw him fall in his efforts to capture the
155lbs gold, although he has signified that it’s not the end of his Lightweight pursuit. Now back to
defend what’s his at Featherweight, he has a fun as hell opponent on his hands.

Both of these fighters are masters on the ground. We know where this will go. Ed Green has perhaps
never faced an opponent that is more legendary and history in the organisation than himself, and
yet he finds himself the underdog against one of the greatest to ever grace the Highland cage. It’s a
fantastic fight and the appreciation we have here at Highland for these two men knows no bounds.

 

Punchy Cartwright (11-6) Vs Aiko San (14-3)
Highland Lightweight Championship

The Cartwright bros have become staples of the Highland divisions and have competed for belts on
many occasions. In fact Punchy recently challenged former champ Anthony Epolito for the scrap at
Highland 183. However, it’s undeniable that this is a situation of right place right time. Punchy did
impressively dispatch Richard Ramirez in his last outing but really, with no other fresh challengers for
Aiko’s belt, Punchy just found himself fortunate to be ready, willing and available.

But let’s not sell Punchy short. He’s an experienced Highland fighter and his recent wins over former
Lightweight Champions Remi Chavaski and Kofi Ousmane show his calibre. While his record is
tarnished by early losses, his recent run sees him 5-1 and the opponents have been high level.

However, if we’re going to big up Punchy, we need to give the champ his flowers. Aiko San has been
a revelation in Highland and some have pointed to him as the figurehead of the new generation. One
of the Bellicose originals, Aiko had an okay run before switching over to Highland and it’s here that
he really found his calling. Winning 7 straight, the last 2 fights of Aiko’s career have really shown us
that we’re on to something special. Defeating the long term champion Anthony Epolito as the
underdog, then defending against the legendary Kazuo Takasho, Aiko San looks like he’s going to be
a major player in Highland for a long long time, but tonight could be a major spanner in the works if
he doesn’t get through Punchy.

 

Kohinata Minoru Li (14-3) Vs Siale Veainu (25-8)
Highland Middleweight Championship

We just spoke about Aiko San being the figurehead of the new generation of Highland, well here’s
the next in line. Siale will be looking at Kohinata as an itch that just wont go away. Joined Highland
after a run in Caged Dragons, Kohinata went on an absolute tear defeating 6 straight Highland
opponents, including former Middleweight king Murtaz Vatsadze. He earned his first crack at Siale ‘s
gold at Highland 169, but came up short in a second round TKO. Bouncing back strong, he would
defeat former Welterweight Champion Ottaa Koppia along with Diamond Hand and Muchy
Cartwright to establish himself as the number one contender once again.

For the kingpin Siale, this is just a distraction. He already defeated Kohinata, by stoppage. He doesn’t
want this rematch. But with his recent run of superfights, it was time for Siale to get back to putting
his gold on the line against the rest of the Middleweight division.

I almost forgot, it’s accomplishment listing time. Siale is a former 2x IXF Middleweight Champion, 3x
Highland Middleweight Champion with a combined 6 defences of his Highland gold. He had 5
legendary fights with Guilherme Godoi, finishing the series 3-2, and most recently has went on a tour
of Highland greats. At Highland 191, he welcomed Noel Diaz up to Middleweight and put his strap on
the line. Noel had never lost in challenging for a belt in the weight above, doing so on 3 occasions
previously, but unfortunately for Noel this was not his night and Siale managed to score one of the
biggest stoppages of his career with a 5 th round KO. Next up, it was Siale’s turn to skip the weight cut.
He moved up to 205lbs to fight the legendary Torhte Finlayson but was unable to replicate his
brother Sonatane’s efforts to dethrone the long time champ.

Now, we’re back to square one. Kohinata knows what to expect in this one and he’s very confident
he’s made the right improvements to get the job done. Siale wants bigger and better things than to
defend against this new generation, so if he wants to keep his lofty ambitions in the headlights, he’ll
have to dispatch of this unstoppable up and comer once again.

 

Rav Kapur (15-12) Vs Balin Trollslayer (28-5)
Highland Heavyweight Championship
Rav has been a consistent threat in Highland, competing for the Heavyweight Championship on 3
occasions and racking up wins over the likes of Schlunckr Diesel, Ricky Thompson, Vunipola Veainu,
Jorlan Viera and Sonatane Veainu. He joined Highland as the reigning ColMMA Heavyweight champ
during Highland’s early days, but unfortunately has never had a chance to lay a finger on the belt
over here. It’s even unfortunate that he challenged for the IXF 265lbs Championship against Timur
Vasiliev, only to lose and defeat him with no title on the line soon after. It’s been an unfortunate run
full of big upsets and surprising losses, but his recent win over Sonatane sees him back competing
against the champion Balin Trollslayer, and there’s a vendetta on the line.

That’s because one name I missed off the list of opponents for Rav is Balin. They currently stand at 1-
1 against one another, and in fact the most recent of which was won by Kapur. Rav is a ferociously
competitive fighter, with every loss sticking in his brain like a thorn. Unfortunately Phuc Dat Bich has
retired so that win will never be avenged, but Needle Dick, Arturo Vargas and Maro Mjetlic have all
faced Trollslayer’s wrath after he suffered a loss at their hands.

As The Island Season 12’s Heavyweight Champion, Balin was destined for greatness and is now a 3x
Highland Heavyweight Champion with a total of 4 defences. With 3 defences in a row, if Balin was to
successfully defend his belt here he’d become the longest reigning Highland Heavyweight Champion
of all time, having shared the record with his old rival Arturo Vargas as of his last fight.

Balin desperately wants to show Rav the same fate everyone else has, but one thing we know about
Rav is he can pull off an upset submission out of nowhere. While it’s unexpected that any bookie
would take a piece of that action, stranger things have happened.

[MauriceSimmons]

Kohinata Minoru Ii (15-3-0)

IT'S THE START OF A NEW ERA IN THE MINORUWEIGHT DIVISION!

[AlVandal]

 

Guess who's back? It's my house!

 

[BenhornbyMMA]

Frankie "The King of the Islands" Venegas

 

I've had two fighters in a row who haven't signed on the dotted line... This highly pisses me off as I just wanna fight, Win or lose the fans know they're going to get a show and a finish!!!

 

So does anyone want a fight at 135lb? Hell ill even do 145lb to put on a show for the highland fans!!!

 

 

[Alfred]

HIGHLAND 209

Sunday 20th November 2022 - Wombley Arena, London

Torhte "Gingy Bear" Finlayson (36-2) vs. Noel Diaz (27-4)

It would have been a travesty to allow such a big fight at Highland to go without mention and as a loyal supporter of this org I felt it was my duty to step in and help out Callum the McGregor with a few words. Also, knowing how tight he is with in game money, I saw the hefty writing fee he was offering as an even larger and more desperate cry for help (seriously, someone help him with this org. He comes around crying at least once a month and it is bringing the rest of us down)

So, lets start with the man that needs no introduction, Torhte “Gingy Bear” Finlayson. Responsible for the constant flowing tears of salt from many a rival manager who decry his involvement within the Top 10 and p4p rankings, Finlayson is a hard figure to miss for regular visitors to the Top Ten page. The current and undisputed light-heavyweight champion of Highland, Torhte also holds a myriad of other current accolades such as #1 light-heavyweight in the game, #1 openweight fighter in the game and #3 in the global p4p ranks. The big question from many however is that whether Finlayson is worthy of such lofty ranks and for that we would have to say....maybe? Let's examine the evidence. 

Starting at the beginning which was The Island, Season 12, he racked up win after win after win against other opponents all of which had started on the same completely even playing field. It wasn't long before he captured the Highland 205lbs title and he never let go for the rest of the season. He then won the end of island tournament and entered the mainland with a 19-0 record. All nineteen of those wins had come by finish. 

His first showing outside of The Island was a disappointing one and remains the sole blip on an otherwise flawless career. Two consecutive losses to Sonatane Veainu resulted in the loss of his title and undefeated record but a champion such as Finlayson was never going to be deterred by a such minor setback and it wasn't long before he managed to recapture the belt and eventually avenge his losses to Veainu in a title defence further down the line

From the moment he recaptured the Highland light-heavyweight title, Finlayson would embark on his second run of greatness. Currently on a seventeen fight winning streak, he hasn't lost a fight since October 15th 2021. He holds the most KO's victories in Highland with 27 and back in March of this year managed to capture the SYN openweight title. Coming into this next fight with a record of 36-2 with all 36 victories by way of knockout, it seems hard to argue that Finlayson isn't at least a little bit special. 

His opponent for this grand event might not be exactly on par with him in terms of hype and p4p clout but he is no less well known amongst the fans of Highland and has perhaps and even more storied career than Finlayson himself. The current Highland welterweight champion and current BMF title holder, Noel Diaz. 

From the very start of his career, Diaz has been on a mission to dominate the entirety of the Highland organisation and up until recently he has been on course to do so. Starting as a bantamweight on The Island's twelfth season, he found himself a champion after only two fights and quickly moved up into the flyweight division and once again snatched away that belt too. After his announcement to move up to lightweight, Diaz' mission started to become clear. The only question on peoples mind was how far could he take it? Well, in only nine fights, Diaz captured his third weight class title and managed to go on to an undefeated regular season run within Highland. Unfortunately however he was unable to add the end of season title to his name after losing to Timo Leyton in the finals. 

On the mainland, Diaz instantly avenged his loss against Leyton and continued on his way as Lightweight champion. A few more title defences as well as capturing the BMF title against Remi Chavaski and it was time to once again make moves to continue his mission. Noel Diaz was moving up to Welterweight. A victory against champion Maurice Tilet saw him capture an unprecedented fourth weight class belt and the hearts of Highland fans everywhere. 

Diaz suffered a rare slip up in his first defence at 170lbs after losing a close majority decision to Adam Shalashaska but rebounded instantly in his return fight against Ottaa Koppia and then went on to KO Shalashaska in his next. A trilogy of fights against Odd Job, a victory over highly regarded Guilherme Godoi and then a final victory over Shalashaska once more meant that it was time to move on to the next phase of his mission; the highland middleweight division and a showdown against it's champion Siale Veainu. 

With four back and fourth rounds already underway, Diaz went into the fifth round of this epic showdown knowing he needed to win it but instead, and for the first time in his career, he came up short when he was caught with a counter right midway through the round and suffered the first KO loss of his career. This will be the first time he has stepped into the cage since that loss. 

The Match Up

This is the first time these two fighters will have met which is always an exciting added element to such fights and especially when the potential pool of opponents seems so much shallower than elsewhere.

Finlayson is the larger of the two as a natural light-heavyweight whilst Diaz has been slowly bulking up from his early days as a large midget. He'll be giving up around twenty-five pounds to Finlayson but that isn't really expected to change much about the fight. 

Clearly Finlayson is the more dangerous striker and his knockout power is truly frightening to behold. He will have at least a small advantage in pretty much every aspect of this fight except for the ground which is where Diaz shines. In fact, that Diaz is such a proficient submission artist is what makes this match up all the more exciting. 

Both fighters are pretty well rounded in the context of what Highland is and have enough about them not to get instantly overwhelmed by the others strength in the first couple of minutes. What I mean by that is that Diaz has enough stand up skills that Torhte shouldn't be able to smash straight through him and that Torhte has enough defensive grappling skills that ending up on the ground with Diaz shouldn't be an instant death sentence. Could that still happen? Absolutely it could but I would be very surprised to see this fight end in the first round. 

Aftermath

So what is the point of this fight and what comes afterwards? Quite a few points to discuss here so lets start with Torhte. 

Truth is that a win here against Diaz doesn't really give him much more than he already has now. It's a marquee fight for sure and it's definitely an exciting challenge for him but Torhte is already the man here in Highland and quite honestly he has surpassed the majority of the roster by quite a margin. I'm not suggesting for one second that I want to see him retire at the top or anything like that but I would love to see him venture out of the light-heavyweight division that he has dominated for so long and either move up or down and perhaps even try to exceed Diaz's collection of weight class belts. I'd also perhaps like to see some super fights inside of Highland against some unrestricted challengers in order for him to justify his position in the game but rumour has it that he has turned down the opportunity to defend his SYN open-weight title against other similarly skilled heavyweights in fear that he cannot hang with the big boys.

As for Diaz, there is a nasty rumour that this will be his last fight and I hope very much that there is no truth to that as Diaz still has much to do within Highland. After capturing every belt from 135lbs up to 170lbs, one failed attempted at 185lbs seems a particularly strange place to stop as well as in stark contrast to the gritty nature of the current BMF title holder. He has also throughout his career managed to avenge any losses he has ever incurred which means a potential rematch against Siale Veainu. Their first fight was extremely close until the finish and the prospect of a second encounter would be a very exciting prospect for fans indeed. Regardless of that, the idea of one of Highlands favourite sons retiring from the org is one too awful to dwell on.  

For now however, the BMF title is on the line and Noel Diaz is defending against the seemingly unstoppable force that is Torhte Finlayson. Diaz will likely be considered the underdog here with Torhte's ferocious power giving him a big edge in any exchanges on the feet. My personal prediction? Finlayson by KO in round 4. 

 

 

[HareRumpler]

Um, why it say company for sale?!?

[Daudy]

4 minutes ago, HareRumpler said:

Um, why it say company for sale?!?

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, just needs to top up his VIP days. He was on our discord as recently as this morning (my time).

 

EDIT: I like your festive profile pic!

[Scottfutile]

58 minutes ago, HareRumpler said:

Um, why it say company for sale?!?

Your guess is as good as mine.

[Alfred]

Callum says he's been real busy and VIP just slipped. He's renewed but just waiting for Mike to process. Fear not!