The Island Season 12 Previews

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - BANTAMWEIGHT

 

Kazuo Takashi (15-0) Vs Viserys Targaryen (8-5)

Takashi will be wiping the sweat away from his brow after a much more competitive fight than expected against a then 1-0 fighter. But a win is a win and the top seed moves through, only to fight yet another BJJ brown belt. Viserys too dropped his first round but came back strong. Both guys have shown they can struggle in this exact style of fight, so we could really see this going either way.

 

Dax Crumper (7-3-1) Vs Genji Kamogawa (10-4)

The surprising run of Dax continues, with him picking up just the third submission of his career against a tough Pat Risher. However, this is a grudge match entirely. When these two met at Highland 2, in each of their respective debuts, Dax dominated only to be caught off guard with less than a round to go in the fight. Dax feels Genji was lucky, but Iron Fist has been looking better than ever and an easy win over Agent Orange follows him into this one.

 

Takeshi Yuudai (13-4) Vs Valerio Falto (6-3-1)

No surprises that Yuudai is through to the next round with an easy sub win over Leif Cassidy. However, there’s an extra edge here. Yuudai has beat Brett Shoenfeld twice in his career but both by submission. However Valerio Falto just picked up the biggest win of his career, submitting Brett in the second round. Falto hopes this proves the quality difference between them and he can score a big upset here in round 2.

 

Millard Masters (8-3) Vs Squeaky Sneakers (11-4)

Masters had a commendable victory in round 1 over the touch Oliver Schultz, but Sneakers is a different level than he’s defeated to this point. Sneakers wants to come in and show his champion spirit, and it never hurts to force your opponent to tap to strikes in your last outing. Sneakers is a big favourite but Masters is very stiff competition.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - FEATHERWEIGHT

 

Ricky Luciano (14-3) Vs Waramunt Haber Jr (6-1)

It took just 28 seconds for Ricky to come through round 1 and he’ll be carrying all that swagger with him. He claims to be the best striker on the island and after that match up, it’s hard to argue. Haber Jr would have felt he deserved a big fight during the season and now he’s finally got one. His fight with Walter Waters in round 1 was an absolute war in which Haber won on willpower alone, but he’ll need to tighten up defensively against Ricky Luciano.

 

Miguel Azevedo Souza (11-3) Vs Gosuke Del Valle (9-3)

An absolutely incredible match up. My favourite easily thus far. This is a proper top tier fight between the best from Highland and IXF. Miguel dropped his championship to Ron Johnson early in the season, while it took just 26 seconds for Gosuke to dispatch a now out of form Johnson in round 1. Both fighters are submission masters, but both have also been submitted as well, so this is a real toss up.

 

Jobber Joe (13-4) Vs Anwar Rinda (7-5)

As if we needed proof, IXF beat CoMMA as Joe didn’t struggle in the opening round against Kasper Hansen. Joe is a best and has been in every division he’s fought, but if there’s one area we can say he’s struggled it’s in the grappling exchanges. Anwar Rinda hasn’t been successful at the same level, but he’s a very slick BJJ practitioner and this might be the one fight he has an edge.

 

Reynard Frederick (4-1) Vs Remi Chavaski (11-1)

Some fighters need to wait a long time before they get a rematch after a successful title challenge, but just one fight and 10 days separates Frederick’s second shot. Frederick had a scrambly round 1 fight against a tough Caligola Daskalakis, but Remi Chavaski wouldn’t let him away with some of those mistakes and it’s unlikely Frederick has made the adjustments in the allotted time.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - LIGHTWEIGHT

 

Noel Diaz (14-0) Vs KJ Wassermann (10-3)

A superman punch? A superman punch? Are you fucking kidding Noel? Fair enough he’s been working his boxing and got the Ed Green KO last month but a superman punch is hardly an entry level shot. But one man who won’t give a damn about that is KJ Wasserman. KJ was a little lucky to come through his first fight with the win, but he’s as hard nosed as they come and he’ll have been keeping his eye on Diaz for a while.

 

Timo Leyton (6-1-1) Vs Richard Ramirez (5-2)

Holy upsets batman. Timo is a great fighter but maybe Liam Murphy appeared a bit of a step up on his previous wins, but he used his wrestling well and managed to get a comfortable stoppage victory. But more surprising is Richard Ramirez who knocked off Kofi Ousmane in round 1. A very big way for him to announce himself as a potential contender and this is a very hard fight to split.

 

Bosque Trabuco (5-3) Vs Santiago Ponziabo (6-3)

Speaking of upsets, the biggest one of the entire tournament came from Bosque Trabuco who knocked off former foe Ed Green in the first round of the competition. A massive scalp for him to secure, and it shows his improvements after their last outing. However Santiago avenged a loss of his own, knocking off Barry Bonon in the opening round. Both guys can adjust, but who’s going to pick up the win in this one?

 

Anthony Epolito (6-2) Vs Necmettin Hoca (10-3)

That’s five in a row for Epolito who picked up the biggest win of his career with a professional performance against Better Dead. He wasn’t happy about the round 1 prediction that he might not take the win, but he definitely shut me up. Although, he can’t be too mad at a prediction in this one, right? IXF champ Hoca beat Epolito back in May and will be confident he can do it again. I’d say I’d fancy him to do it, but I’m scared of Epolito or his manager catching me in the locker room.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - WELTERWEIGHT

 

Maurice Tillet (11-2) Vs Dirk Jammer (6-3)

Aidan Oshea was a bold man to try and take Tillet down in round 1 and it went much how you’d have expected from there. The Highland champ scored an easy win, although Davey Mack’s newest fighter scored his biggest win to date with a quick dispatch of Julio Balestrin. If there’s a style to beat Tillet, a BJJ guy might be the one, but Dirk will have to fight on the ground for that which is a whole world of pain Vs the Highland champ.

 

Vanna Phommathep (8-4) Vs Jake Damien (9-2)

An easy first round for both is out of the way and now the brown belt duo will show us who’s ground game is truly best. Both have just come off of their first fights with new managers with round 1 submissions. Jake has beat the better fighters in his career but Vanna has proven himself to be a tough scrap for anyone. A real toss up.

 

Auric Gallahad (7-1) Vs Enzo Williams (12-7)

Gallahad is now representing his team mate Buddy Barnett in the tournament who was knocked out in round 1. Auric had little challenge in his opener with a quick win in 25 seconds, while Enzo had a disputed decision against Perry Platypus. Enzo has shown a rocky game on the ground against fellow grapplers, so Auric is likely the favourite in this one.

 

Kristoffer Wexell (6-3) Vs Adam Shalashaska (14-2)

No one has ever accused Wexell of being a fearful fighter, but when you see Shalashaska come into your fight off the back of a 5 second KO, yeah, your heart will start to beat a little bit quicker. Wexell’s opening fight was close too, so Adam has to be considered a significant favourite with all the momentum behind him.

 

Marcus Behnder (15-7-1) Vs Tommy No Bahamas (6-5)

No one is surprised that Behnder has come through the first round with yet another submission to add to his long list of victims. Tommy had the tougher opponent in Pierre St Georges in the opener, but with multiple submission losses on his record, it’ll be interesting if he can do something we haven’t seen him do before to pull off a major upset here.

 

Larry Shark (6-3) Vs Kwasi Kwong (10-0)

Larry has some good momentum rolling now and although his record doesn’t look great, two of his 3 losses are to Winters and Tillet, the 1 and 2 seed, and his current streak is 5-1. However when you talk about streaks, Kwasi has beat 10 opponents in a row, so you can’t really knock that at all. I’d say this is the toughest test for Kwong in his career so far with his measured step up in competition each outing, but it’ll be surprising if he can’t get it done I’d imagine.

 

Odd Job (9-4) Vs Daron Acemoglu (8-4)

Another recent rematch on the slate here. After winning the first round, Odd Job managed to hand Acemoglu his first submission loss earlier this month. Odd is lethal on the ground, but Daron will be thinking that it was a fluke and with a slightly calmer top game, he can pull it off. Will lightning strike twice for OJ?

 

Shug Skinner (6-3) Vs Dick Winters (12-4)

A decent win for Skinner in his opening round but this is a whole different level. IXF champ Winters is done with the low level opponents and is ready to start challenging himself, and Skinner is the first opponent he’ll be facing on this road. With so many big names, including a potential rematch with Shalashaska ahead, Winters needs to come through this impressively.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - MIDDLEWEIGHT

 

Lucas Barbosa (10-1) Vs Jose Galvao (6-4)

The champ reigned supreme with an easy submission win in round 1. Galvao too scored a quick submission, so both fighters are as confident as ever in their grappling skills. Galvao has always had the belief that he was a top fighter but has struggled with proving it when the big moments come. This is his first shot at the top in a while and he’ll be dying to prove himself at long last.

 

Gael Grappler (8-4) Vs New Home (11-11)

Grappler by name and TKO machine by nature as Gael made quick work of QFC scrapper Mister Man. New Home one upped him though with a blistering 11 second finish of Better Dead ii. But now things have moved up to the next level and despite never clashing during their long IXF runs, it’s finally time for these guys to throw down.

 

Hayato Sakuraba (7-3) Vs Ottaa Koppia (7-4)

After a long time out of the cage, we got our first look at a McGregor-led Koppia and it was a pass with flying colours, finishing his fight in under a minute. The power is still there, but Sakuraba never wanted a striking match anyways so if Koppia doesn’t have his grappling on lock, Saku will be looking to add a first submission loss to his record.

 

Nikolay Leonov (7-4) Vs Mike Ziskie (14-4-1)

Leonov threw everything but the kitchen sink at Grover Montoya in round 1 and even though he couldn’t get the finish, he still looked dominant and controlled. However at IXF 30, Ziskie already forced him to tap out in the very first round. Ziskie might be looking past this fight and give Nikolay an opportunity, but he’ll have to be at his very best to survive even the opening bell against The Polish Dragon.

 

Guilherme Godoi (9-2) Vs Frederic Bastiat (9-3)

It was nice to see Godoi back in action after taking most of the month off and switching manager and in just 29 seconds he was already on his way to the locker room once again. A big round one win over a talented Kostlov sees Bastiat through, and although Godoi has fought at a much higher level, the stellar record Rodrigo Rojas has on managing fighters against Callum McGregor has long stood in tact.

 

New Car (13-9) Vs Trent Punchy (9-2)

This is a rematch from IXF XXVII, write what number that adds up to on a postcard to me, and it’s yet another in the long line of Louie Vs K Rad scraps that we’ve seen time and time again. It was Punchy that was successful back then, finishing the fight by submission, and if their form since then tells us anything it might be a repeat once again.

 

Neuzvarams Semyorka (7-4) Vs Ebubekir Siddik (9-3)

The biggest dark horse in the weight class Semyorka has a big challenge in round 2 in fighting another former champion. He sent Cathair McKay into retirement so we know he’s unphased by the challenge, but the quality of Siddik is so high that you have to wonder how much will be too much for Semyorka to bite off?

 

Dwight Schrute (6-0) Vs Keke Kivi (11-2)

I think I considered it a bit of an upset for Schrute to come through round 1 and he definitely proved me wrong with a good submission win against Gregorio Serrano. However, yet again I’m afraid I have to doubt the Scranton native as Keke Keivi is one of the biggest threats this division has to offer. I’ll be shocked to be proven wrong, but no more than Kivi himself would.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Torhte Finlayson (15-0) Vs Billy Crawley (7-2-1)

Of course there was no upset for Torhte in round 1 as he continues in his pursuit of a perfect Island record. Billy Crawley had a commendable first round win, but he’ll be haunted by his Highland 37 stoppage loss to Torhte where he stole the first round only to be stopped soon into the second. That confident will be there for Billy, but he’ll need to bring his absolute A game.

 

Diamond Hand (8-4) Vs Ludwig Lachmann (11-4)

Diamond had a very fun opening round scrap but did enough to get a third round finish over Amaharo Xan. Despite an impressive opponent list in his 12 fight career, Lachmann is probably the stiffest test with his superb submission skills. Hand might lose an arm in this one, but with the power he possesses it’s hard to ever see him with low morale.

 

Murtaz Vatsadze (11-4) Vs Wesley Janssen (8-4)

I think Murtaz went out just to have fun in the first round, beating Iron Fist everywhere the fight went. He promises to have something special planned in this tournament, and we’ll see if it’s coming against Wesley Janssen who’s turned into a bit of a submission specialist as of late. We’ll see if Murtaz will be still as happy to take the fight down in this one.

 

Matthew Quigley (9-6) Vs Sonatane Veainu (13-2)

Back at IXF XLVIII, okay these names are taking the piss, Quigley had his first shot at a belt in MMA but was easily turned away by Veainu. Sonatane remains the IXF champ to this day and won’t see Quigley as any bigger a threat than he did back in July. We’ll see if Matthew has added any more tools to his toolbelt but if not, it’ll be a quick night of work for Sonatane.

 

Biscuit Oliva (9-3) Vs Franko Getaldic (5-3)

A threw fight win streak including wins over Tantor and Vatasadze? Not bad going for Unchained Biscuit! Franko has only had a flew flashes at top level competition but has yet to come through one with a W on his record. His fights don’t last long and with Oliva finding out he has a head kick from hell, Mayhem might be in a spot of bother.

 

Phillip Driver (7-4) Vs Sergey Vinogradov (9-2)

I don’t know what’s more surprising; Driver is in the second round or he’s on a 4 fight win streak with decent competition. Another rapid KO of Big Zac Tan under his belt, Driver has never had more hype behind him. But Sergey is an absolute beast on the ground and he’s not one you want to overcommit on your shots against. Proper striker Vs grappler match up here.

 

Mara Tantor (8-2) Vs Melvin Manhoeff (7-4)

Sound the rematch alarm. Tantor beat Manhoeff back at Highland 78 when the doctor got involved and stopped the contest. Melvin assures me that it was just a scratch, so now he has a chance to prove it. Manhoeff is fresh off of potentially the biggest win of his career enroute to an uneventful decision win over Archie Laird. Perhaps now more prepared for top level competition, The Kelvin has a chance but Tantor is every big the killer he was bad then and he believes it’ll be a repeat performance.

 

Ben Askrew (7-2) Vs Siale Veainu (12-2)

Where the hell did that come from Munky? After bouncing around the middle end of the division all season, Ben comes out and submits one of the favourites to win it, Tama Ruiha, in the very first round. Wow. However this is a tournament and the challenges just get harder and harder. Now he’s faced with IXF middleweight champ and bonafied murderer Siale Veainu, and you have to wonder if that’s just a bit too much at this time.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Vunipola Veainu (12-1) Vs Rav Kapur (7-5)

Marlin Parschal is a decent opponent. You wouldn’t know it because Veainu just walked through him like it was nothing. 37 seconds of action, Veainu took longer getting his gloves on. However Rav Kapur is a proven dangerous submission threat and is fresh off of a very commendable first round win. No one has been able to stop Veainu with their submission skills, but if anyone can it’d be Rav.

 

DeeJay Dawkins (10-6) Vs Balin Trollslayer (10-1)

There was no fluke in his first finish of Sean Martin as DeeJay qualified it next time out. But there’s a big difference between Sean Martin and Balin Trollslayer and Ballin managed to force ultimate upsetter Dick Hickock to tap out due to strikes in their opening contest. Feeling as destructive as ever, Trollslayer wants to hurt everyone and Dawkins is next in the queue.

 

Timur Vasiliev (10-2) Vs Ricky Thompson (10-7)

I think all these heavyweights are racing one another as Vasiliev took out his first round opponent in 49 seconds. It wasn’t quite as quick for Ricky Thompson, who took a mammoth 175 seconds to come through the opening fight of his competition, but still a good win none the less. Ricky relishes these big opportunity fights, but it’s hard not to think Vasiliev is going to be a big threat to his tourney run in this one.

 

Jani Honkanen (6-5) Vs Phuc Dat Bich (13-2)

A massive win for Jani in round 1 as he breaks a three fight skid to repeat his May victory over Ray Dalio. Submitting a purple belt is always impressive, but submitting a brown belt is that much harder. Bich continued the misery that Adrik Mihaylov has been facing in his career in just 25 seconds, and now thinks his ground game is beyond his opponent. With a sub loss on Bich’s record though, is there a potential weak spot?

 

Amaru Kawiwasulu (9-3) Vs Lee Tassen (8-6)

When I tell you Amaru is a killer on the feet, I can always be confident that I’m not going to get proven wrong. An easy win over Ray Turn and now he’s faced with Roid Monkey Lee Tassen. That is a nickname. The Island’s testing is stellar. Don’t look into it. Lee had a decent, albeit scattered performance against Boyd Fitzgerald but I have to think this is as far as his tournament goes.

 

Rashid Elkhan (8-1) Vs Titus Lesnar (10-3)

Boom, this is what I wanted to see. Rashid has been desperate to fight guys like Lesnar for so long and here he finally has his shot. I love seeing Titus back on winning ways and this marks two great wins in a row for him. Rashid is a brutal puncher who finishes fights quick, but can Titus Lesnar take it down and wear him out?

 

Malachi Camara (5-0) Vs Marko Kerr (7-4)

Well, consider me impressed. The youngster Camara had a huge step up in competition when he took on De Oliveira in round 1 and he came through effortlessly with a 48 second KO. The power is real, the hype is real. Marko Kerr knows a thing or two about destructive power though and he too is off the back of an impressive win. I really can’t call this one. Let’s just enjoy it.

 

Jorlan Vieira (7-6) Vs Maro Pjetlic (11-2-1)

I’m a little mad at Jorlan for sending my favourite fighter Koto Show home, forcing him to submit to strikes, but I told yous it would finish in the first round and that’s exactly what happened. Who’s next? Two time Highland champion Maro Pjetlic. I’m admittedly a little surprised that Maro couldn’t finish his first round fight, but when he landed 136 strikes with an outstanding accuracy, sooner or later you just have to credit the opponent. This might be that one level too high for Jorlan.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 2 - SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Mfer Phol (9-2) Vs Hiroshima Nagasaki (5-0)

The bigger they are, the harder they Phol, but Mfer isn’t planning on Pholling any time soon. Okay that pun got worse as I went on. An easy win, now we’re onto a tougher test in Nagasaki. The Bomb also beat Phol’s first round opponent in the regional circuit, and he once again used his brutal kicks to come through the opening round. Phol will have to watch the lethal kicking game, but you have to give him an experience edge here.

 

Torraso Fisticuffs (5-1) Vs Dwalin Giantslayer (5-1)

No experience edge this time as both men have the exact same record. While Dwalin finished his opening round fight in 58 seconds, it was just 10 for Fisticuffs to get his hand raised. Big hitters and big men, this is what the fans love to see. There’s a little bit more experience in Dwalin’s corner so that might be all that splits them in this one.

[clydebankblitz]

Here's a few quick upset stats from round 1;

 

UPSETS PER DIVISION

Bantamweight - 2

Featherweight - 2

Lightweight - 4

Welterweight - 3

Middleweight - 1

Light Heavyweight - 3

Heavyweight - 3

Super Heavyweight - 0

 

TOP UPSETS

Malachi Camara (Seed #25) Vs Bruno De Oliveira (Seed #8)

Melvin Manhoeff (Seed #22) Vs Archie Laird (Seed #10)

Bosque Trabuco (Seed #14) Vs Ed Green (Seed #3)

Richard Ramirez (Seed #13) Vs Kofi Ousmane (Seed #4)

 

[Arcalimon]

Holy shit man, thanks for all the effort you are putting into this ?

[MiikeSnow]

The level of detail is incredible, I hadn’t even noticed I subbed Ziskie’s next opponent about 10 fights ago until I read it on your preview. Good shit.

[poraan]

Some of those fights have been super close already. One takedown and basically any striker can be out of tournament.

[IconManagement]

Since my fighters are all still in the competition I took a look and here are my predictions:

 

Bantamweight:

Squeaky Sneakers - he is just too good of a jack of all trades and does not have any clear weaknesses.  I predict he will win this entire thing.

Featherweight:

"The Bum" Jobber Joe - taking into account rest of the division he can face anyone, make it a good fight and have realistic chance to win. So I predict he will take this entire thing.

Lightweight:

Noel Diaz - just give him the title already. He is just not going to lose.

Welterweight:

Maurice Tillet - I am his manager and with him being current Highland champion in  his weight division I predict he will win this entire thing. His GnP has already proven to be lethal and top of that he can take a punch and more. He is even stronger now (by a significant margin) and rest of the challengers seem to lack that rock solid chin needed to stop him. Obviously he will now all of sudden get KOed by random punch in his next match. 

Middleweight:

Keke Kivi or Lucas Barbosa - This one is a toss up between Keke Kivi and Lucas Barbosa. Kivi can just flat out KO anyone but Lucas can take a punch and if he takes it to ground it is all over for Kivi. I predict Kivi will end up facing one of the grapplers in this division be it Lucas or someone else.  Lucas being the current Highland champ and my fighter I obviously root for him. This being said Kivi is a difficult fighter to defeat.

Light Heavyweight:

Torhte "Gingy Bear" Finlayson - just give him the title already. He is just not going to lose.

Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight - I have not been paying attention to these two division a lot at all so I have absolutely no idea who is good and not.

 

 

[clydebankblitz]

Heavyweight has been a fucking revolving door all season. Needle Dick isnt signed up and he would have been my top pick but only because I didnt get to pay as much attention to Veainu who hasnt lost since his debut. At the same time Pjtelic (spelling might be off, on phone I cant check sorry haha) has only lost to Needle so also completely free here. So many good fighters which is surprising since a few are missing too.

[Arcalimon]

Why is Needle Dick not in the tournament?

[Xyel]

21 minutes ago, Arcalimon said:

Why is Needle Dick not in the tournament?

His manager hasn't logged in in a while - tournament doesn't take in fighters of inactive managers.

[Xyel]

My heavyweight match this round was like:

 

 

 

[IconManagement]

That's nice! Pretty crazy event and some real upsets. Like how did my failure of a GnP wrestler Wexell  KO Adam Shalashaska in round 1? As cherry on the cake my failure of a submission fighter Honkanen took out 13-2-0  Phuc Dat "Humongous" Bich.

 

[clydebankblitz]

Yeah that round was absolutely fucking ridiculous. I'd be quicker doing a breakdown of fights that weren't upsets than were. The annoying thing is half of my bum ass roster won their fights too. Stop pushing people towards retirement!!! haha. Breakdown will come early tomorrow. Don't cut your fighters plz  haha

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINALS - BANTAMWEIGHT

 

 

Kazuo Takashi (16-0) Vs Genji Kamogawa (11-4)

Sweat will be absolutely pouring from the head of Takashi who is witnessing favourites get beat left and right. Especially when you add in that he’s going for a more cautious game, which can also be scary when the judges get involved. But he’s still here and faced with a former foe. Genji obliterated Dax Crumper in just 15 seconds, making him tap to strikes. Damn. Genji is undoubtedly on his best run, but with a loss on his record to Genji before, he’ll have some nightmares that have kept him up at night since.

 

Valerio Falto (7-3-1) Vs Millard Masters (9-3)

In the other semi final we have Takeshi Yuudai Vs Squeaky Sneakers….wait….what? No? Which one lost? BOTH? What the fuck. Valerio at one stage was on a 0-2-1 run and now he’s just taken out two of the top IXF guys back to back. Arguably even a bigger upset, Monken Masters took out the another IXF champ in what might be his only top level win since Harry Henderson back in the QFC, and even that was a level behind. But here we are, two underdogs making themselves favourites. This will definitely spill to the flower, but Falto’s brown belt the only edge in this one?

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINALS - FEATHERWEIGHT

 

Ricky Luciano (15-3) Vs Miguel Azevedo Souza (12-3)

Two men who spit in the face of upset season. Ricky comes through his battle with Waramunt Haber Jr in the effortless fashion we’ve come to expect from him, while Souza knocks off a man who has two wins over Luciano in the past, Gosuke Del Valle. Well, what a scrap we have here folks. Both men have taken losses, at times in fights they arguably should have won, and both have reigned on top of their divisions. While Luciano was ripping up LW, Souza was killing it at FW, however it was the former who finished the season with a belt. Striking Vs grappling, can MAS add a third submission loss to Luciano’s record?

 

Anwar Rinda (8-5) Vs Remi Chavaski (12-1)

I’m Anwar Rinda’s manager, and no I didn’t fucking expect that. Jobber Joe has been one of my favourite fighters all season. I regularly sent his manager Ethan Downs messages just to say good luck on fights and stuff. And then Rinda steals a massive upset, killing the dream match of Chavaski Vs Joe. Damn. Rinda is a great offensive submission fighter, but with 3 losses via tapout on his record, the Highland champ Remi Chavaski has to be the favourite for the final. That means Rinda is going to win though, right?

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINALS - LIGHTWEIGHT

 

Noel Diaz (15-0) Vs Timo Leyton (7-1)

Imagine being a gambler trying to set odds for how Diaz is going to finish a fight? Maybe he’ll pull out a head kick in this one, who knows. But after the superman punch in round 1, Diaz manages to secure the clinch, pull the fight down and submit KJ Wassermann. That’s insane skill. But Timo steps up as a fresh challenger for Diaz. Granted, his last opponent had a big of an upset win to get to that stage, but with Liam Murphy being the former opponent and the most recent challenger for Diaz’ title, he’s been fighting at that level regardless. Everyone will have Diaz as a huge favourite here but it’s Leyton’s first pop at the top dog and he’s hoping to catch everyone off guard.

 

Santiago Ponziabo (7-3) Vs Necmettin Hoca (11-3)

IXF never die eh? After his huge upset in the first round, Bosque Trabuco was unceremoniously ousted from the competition courtesy of a Ponziabo armbar. That makes it 5 armbars and 7 armlocks in Ponziabo’s career, so no surprises what he’s going for. However his opponent hear managed to score a stoppage win over him at the tail end of July. Ponz showed a lot of heart and toughness in that fight, but his desperation for the takedown got the better of him and Hoca pieced him up badly on the feet. We’ll need to see some huge adjustments from Ponz to pull it off here, but Hoca has to be the bookies favourite to come through this with a win and set up a huge final fight for himself in the process.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 3 - WELTERWEIGHT

 

Maurice Tillet (12-2) Vs Jake Damien (10-2)

I have to first add, Dirk Jammer take a bow. Not many get taken down my Maurice Tillet and live to tell the tale. But the Highland champ goes through to the quarter finals with no sweat off his nose. Jake Damien wants to take his nose off though, even though he’s a submission guy and that transition made no sense at all. Jake took on a fellow submission expert in Vanna Phommathep and managed to dominate the rounds before capping it off with a trademark kimura. Nice. It seems like any fight Tillet has I’ll be saying there’s a small chance of a sub, but Damien is one of the toughest opponent’s Tillet will have faced so that threat is very much alive here.

 

Auric Gallahad (8-1) Vs Kristoffer Wexell (7-3)

I’m going to be Auric’s biggest fan after the tournament, but I’ve been at odds with him trying to knock off all the old timers all season long. Last round it was my own fighter Enzo Williams who got dumped out of the tournament. Meanwhile Wexell stunned the world. Despite being known as a little bit of a weak puncher at times, Wexell landed that one sweet blow to daze tournament favourite Adam Shalashaska and book his way into the semis. Wow. I’m not even sure if Auric will be happy or sad because Adam is the one loss on his record too. But none the less, this will go to the floor and Wexell’s team will be asking for the same again. Those Gallahad submission skills might very well be too much though.

 

Marcus Behnder (16-7-1) Vs Kwasi Kwong (11-0)

I didn’t know much of Kwong before this tournament and it’s actually been fascinating to follow him along. He’s went step by step and now he finds himself facing one of the best welterweights The Island had to offer. While Kwong was going to the decision, Behnder made quick work of veteran fighter Tommy No Bahamas. It’s a really hard one to call because I can keep saying this might be too much of a step for Kwasi, but he can keep proving me wrong. But I think everyone would be surprised if Behnder didn’t make it further in the competition so the bookies (me, but in a way I don’t offend anyone) will probably be expecting him to pull it off with a submission or decision victory.

 

Odd Job (10-4) Vs Dick Winters (13-4)

Odd Job is so underrated as a fighter and he proved this his sub win over Daron Acemoglu at Highland 86 was definitely not a fluke. Twice as nice, and bizarrely at the EXACT same time as the fight before, OJ goes into the final but here’s the twice, Dick Winters is the man who took it all from him once before. OJ, the CoMMA champ, came to Highland and won the belt in his debut. Dick Winters stole it from him with a submission of the night armbar, and bounced off to IXF before OJ could ever get a chance at redemption. Now, it’s Dick Winters who has a belt over his shoulder and even though the IXF belt isn’t on the line, Odd Job is looking for that all important moral victory.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 3 - MIDDLEWEIGHT

 

Jose Galvao (7-4) Vs New Home (12-11)

My man Jose Galvao FINALLY managing to get that all important top level victory, knocking off none other than the Highland middleweight champion Lucas Barbosa. I know that Master Leader, Jose’s manager, has believed in him since his debut fight and now he can finally sit back with a smile on his face. But the work’s not over yet. In comes New Home, who after deciding that playing patty cake with New Car is showing himself to be a wrecking machine. Gael Grappler had the audacity to outfight Home in the last round, only to be knocked down with the first punch of round 2 and finished 16 seconds later. Damn. Galvao has proven he can fight these guys, but Home might just be a step too far at this moment in time.

 

Otta Koppia (8-4) Vs Mike Ziskie (15-4-1)

I have to say, it was a little bit of an upset to me when Otta Koppia beat Hayato Sakuraba in round 2 of the tournament. Sakuraba gave him a hell of a fight but an absolutely brutal round 2, which really shout have seen the fight stopped, was enough to lead Koppia towards a victory. That momentum is good, but Mike Ziskie is on the run of a lifetime. Back to back triangle chokes for The Polish Dragon lead into this contest and with fighters like Siddik and Galvao still in the competition, you know he’s eyeing up some former foes. Ziskie needs to take this one down and fast, and the bookies have to think he’s likely to do it.

 

Guilherme Godoi (10-2) Vs New Car (14-9)

Time for a good old fashioned rematch. In the fight of the night back at IXF XIX, Godoi managed to stop New Car in the third round. The power of double G is clear to see in this tournament having not spent even two minutes inside the cage. But Mr. Carr himself also has a pair of first round finishes and anyone that’s KOed or TKOed 14 other humans has some dynamite in their strikes. This fight is a beautiful war between scrappers, and you can tack on the Callum McGregor Vs Louie DePalma rivalry that has fizzled out since Spring of 2021.

 

Ebubekir Siddik (10-3) Vs Keke Kivi (12-2)

The intensity of Siddik really is dictated by the opponent, and despite only managing a limp decision win over Andre Good Boy, he managed to take out the much more impressive Neuzvarams Semyorka in the very first round last time out. The former IXF champ is known for his ground and pound while his opponent, Kivi is a devastating striker. Kivi’s only sticking point in his career so far, Lucas Barbosa, is out of the competition and interestingly enough he has wins over the two men at the far side of the bracket. If Siddik can’t take this down it’s all over, but he only needs one takedown to change the course of the fight.

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 3 - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Torhte Finlayson (16-0) Vs Diamond Hand (9-4)

How many times should I try to jinx Gingy Bear by claiming that the dream is still alive? One more? Cool. The dream is still alive. 16-0 and an amazing four knockdowns against Billy Crawley to finish that one. While you have to give a hand to Billy for surviving, you have to also stay the fuck away from Finlayson or he’ll knock you out too. But Diamond Hand doesn’t give a damn about that. Everyone else might be scared, but he’s not. Even after he rocked Ludwig Lachmann, he found himself taken down and cooly and calmly got straight back up and went about getting a first round finish. This fight is absolutely insane and I can almost guarantee we’re seeing a knockout.

 

Murtaz Vatsadze (12-4) Vs Sonatane Veainu (14-2)

Ohhhhhh shit this is a hell of a fight. Big Murtaz promised us something special and two fights, two first round finishes, he’s not underdelivered so far. Although Iron Fist and Wesley Janssen are good, Sonatane Veainu is great. I’m still not entirely sure why he wasn’t ranked higher in the seeding but who cares because that gives us a rematch like this. Oh yeah, did I not mention. Veainu has two losses on his record…BOTH to Murtaz. What a story. Veainu fell to the Georgian in his debut at Highland 5, and then all the way at Highland 74 once again. Being as dominant he is, I know Veainu is DESPERATE for the win here and when you factor in that his brothers have also been knocked out of the competition, he’s got every incentive to go in there and destroy.

 

Biscuit Oliva (10-3) Vs Sergey Vinogradov (10-2)

My boy Biscuit still in the mix after comfortably coming through his two first round fights. There isn’t too much to say about this as to be honest, we kind of expected him to win those fights. But when you factor in the Tantor and Vatsadze wins that led into the tournament, yeah that’s a hell of a run. But while we all know Oliva, we’re seeing El Cuñado back up his impressive record as he makes it two straight arm triangles. With Diamond Hand still in the competition we might very well be seeing Sergey will himself towards that showdown if it makes it to the final, but Biscuit is a very very tough opponent between now and then.

 

Melvin Manhoeff (8-4) Vs Ben Askrew (8-2)

My god, what the hell are you guys still doing in this competition? STILL killing it. Manhoeff picks up his second straight beastly win, beating a man who actually beat him earlier in July in Mara Tantor. No doctors around to stop the fights on cuts this time. Melvin is on cloud 9 after his Tantor and Laird wins, but maybe even a better run is Munky Ben Askrew who has someone put together wins over Tama Ruiha and Saile Veainu, both in the first round. Knocking off the IXF MW champ is a huge accolade for the man from Afghanistan, and he might be planning on doing the same to Sonatane if the competition goes that deep.