The Island Season 12 Previews

[clydebankblitz]

ROUND 3 - HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Rav Kapur (8-5) Vs Balin Trollslayer (11-1)

Dubbed the biggest upset of round 1, somehow Rav Kapur knocked off number 1 seed Vunipola Veainu in the last round. It was a surprisingly simple affair for the Brummy Kapur, who took the fight down without getting hit and managed to lock in an early arm triangle choke. I’m a little bit at a loss for words on it if I’m honest. But none the less, it’s onwards to Balin Trollslayer. Balin had an extremely nervy fight last round which saw him controlled by DeeJay Dawkins for 2 rounds, only to come back and score a TKO win in the third. A hell of a comeback from a hell of a fighter. Trollslayer does have a submission loss in his past which might be something for Kapur to exploit, and honestly if he’s able to pull off wins like last round Kapur might just upset the whole division.

 

Timur Vasiliev (11-2) Vs Jani Honkanen (7-5)

Speaking of nervy fights, Vasiliev found himself taken down by Ricky Thompson and eating some pretty brutal ground and pound for the opening contest of their fight, only to bounce back like the Yakutskian he is with a dominant KO in round 2. Yeah, they call it a Yakutskian. And yeah, they are known for their bounce back ability. Leave me alone. The surprising one however is the big submission victory Jani had over one of the competition favourites, Phuc Dat Bich. Afyer a split first two rounds, Phuc just didn’t have enough left in the tank and Honkanen sensed it, pulling guard and grabbing an armbar. It’s undisputedly the biggest win of Jani’s career and will put everyone on notice. I’d keep this one standing if I was you Vasiliev.

 

Amaru Kawiwasulu (10-3) Vs Rashid Elkhan (9-1)

The rematch is on! I will always take any opportunity to remind everyone about Amaru’s killer KO power, but when Elkhan KOed him in the opening round, inside 2 minutes, back at Highland 62, yeah, maybe he’s not THE most dominant striker. What will hurt Elkhan is that he was beat by Needle Dick soon after, while Amaru went on to achieve his dream of becoming the champion. How does Rashid manage to stop Amaru, and he’s never managed to get his hands on the gold? Well, we’re about to find out. It’s not been the toughest road for Amaru so far in the contest, while Rashid had a very challenging opening two stanzas. But what matters is this fight right here. Amaru is out for blood, Rashid is out to be finally recognized as the best heavyweight on The Island.

 

Marko Kerr (8-4) Vs Jorlan Vieira (8-6)

Jorlan, where the fuck did you come from? 15th seed. Lost any big fight he ever really had. Only fought at super heavyweight. Now he strolls in and knocks off the tough as nails Koto Show, and much bigger, the former Highland champion Maro Pjetlic? What the hell? What’s crazy too is he was just straight up winning the fight too, but still went for the finish. A true fan favourite fighter. Meanwhile if you told me back in June that Marko Kerr could be looking good for the end of season championship I wouldn’t have believed you. Marko was recently stopped by Pjetlic too, so Jorlan might have a bit of an advantage. But Marko Kerr’s power can take away any advantage in a heart beat.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Mfer Phol (10-2) Vs Dwalin Giantslayer (6-1)

God damn is it that time already? We have our first championship to be decided of the tournament! Mfer Phol and Dwalin Giantslayer meet each other for the first time, and honestly when we saw the tournament line up I think we all saw this coming. I think the first thing to do is look at shared opponents. In June Mfer Phol had a decision win over Jorlan Vieira, while Dwalin managed to submit him to strikes in July. Advantage, Dwalin. Next is Buzz Light Year, who Dwalin stopped in 1.59 but Phol beat in 1.49. Advantage, Phol. So what does this tell us? Absolutely nothing at all. But I thought it was worth looking at. I haven’t seen much from Ispa Murhapuro, the manager of Phol, to be honest. However, he holds the prestigious #1 manager trophy so his calibre is evident. He made it to the third round of an Island tournament previously with Bryan Schaub, but this is his most successful campaign yet. Meanwhile Don Xyel has been chronicling the journey of his midget army’s tournament exploits. Don might have had former Island guys, but I couldn’t tell you as they’re not on his profile so sorry Don, that’s as far as this deep dive goes. With two men left in the competition it’s not one and done for Xyel’s army, but he doesn’t want to leave it all in the hands of Balin Trollslayer, that’s for sure.

[clydebankblitz]

A few Island guys who might be worth picking up;

 

Gosuke Del Valle (9-4) - Two time IXF LW champion and more of a natural FW anyways. Big wins over Necmettin Hoca, Ricky Luciano and Rory Wexler. One of the premier fighters the entire season.

 

KJ Wassermann (10-4) - One of the biggest threats at LW all season. Outside of a big upset to Liam Murphy, the only man to best him any time recently is Noel Diaz. I reckon KJ is one of those fighters who'd go on to be the champ in a few months time if Diaz ever slips up.

 

Adrik Mihaylov (5-6-1) - This is a proper challenge fighter, and one I'm interested in trying to get too. Adrik went from 5-0 and Highland Champion, to losing 6 and drawing 1. Crazy downslide. The saving grace is all his losses are really good fighters. I think a proper good manager (like Master Leader is) who'd be able to rebuild him from the bottom up could create a special story with Adrik.

 

Bosque Trabuco (5-4) - Average looking record but a big player at LW. He just beat Ed Green in the tournament who is one of the best champs we've had at Highland, so he'd be coming straight in looking to take a big scalp as soon as he's back off The Island.

 

Reynard Frederick (4-2) - Created very late and still managed to get himself a title shot. Really, I doubt many will go for Frederick but I'm sticking his name down just because it'd be cool to see him get a longer run then one title shot and gone.

 

 

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - BANTAMWEIGHT

 

Kazuo Takashi (17-0) Vs Millard Masters (10-3)

17-0, what an insane Island record that Kaz has put together for himself. From catch wrestling teacher, to Island legend. What a story. And even crazier? He was two rounds down against Genji Kamogawa. Genji went to work in the clinch and was able to take each round, only for Kaz to give up on his lay and pray style at the perfect moment to slap on a triangle from the bottom. A true, true champion. But Millard Masters is out here beating the top fighters at BW start to finish. All 3 of his opponents have been submitted, and all 3 are some really, really talented guys. However, you can’t ignore that in Masters’ last fight prior to The Island, he did get submitted by his opponent here. But the positive for Masters is it wasn’t a white wash. He pushed the fight into the championship rounds and arguably took the second. But a Kaz armbar ended his championship opportunity and if you ask Kazuo, it’ll end his tournament run as well. If Kaz is able to pull of this win, he goes down in history as the greatest Island fighter in history. There will be some debate if other fighters are able to win in later rounds of different weight classes, but Kaz at the very least for one moment will be able to call himself the best ever.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - FEATHERWEIGHT

 

Ricky Luciano (16-3) Vs Anwar Rinda (9-5)

There’s absolutely no way anyone predicted Anwar Rinda to get into this round, especially me, his manager. Rinda was beat by Remi Chavsky back in May in the first round, so why would anyone think he was going to return the favourite with a first round kimura? Insane, especially when coupled with his previous round’s victory over Jobber Joe. But when you’re the underdog, that will only take you so far. Ricky Luciano has never been an underdog in a single fight in his career. His patented form of brutality saw him score one of his biggest wins in the semi final against Miguel Azevedo Souza, and you have to think Ricky is the favourite to win this one. Will Rinda manage to surprise everyone once again, or is this a routine finish and tournament win for the IXF champ Luciano?

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - LIGHTWEIGHT

 

Timo Leyton (8-1-1) Vs Santiago Ponziabo (8-3)

Talk about sucking the energy out of the arena. Timo Leyton didn’t come to win fans, he came to win tournaments, and when faced by undefeated triple champion Noel Diaz, Timo took absolutely zero changes. In his first crack at the champ, he took the fight down and held on. Some small ground and pound punches landed, but ultimately not much happened. It went to the scorecards and 2 of the 3 judges ruled Timo had taken Noel Diaz’s dreams away. Split decision. The crowd were still. You could hear a pin drop. But Timo did what he has to do and now he’s here in the lightweight final. But that’s not the only upset. Necmettin Hoca was looking set for a tournament final, facing someone he’d already beat, but Ponziabo’s insane current form saw him pick up a second round win. In fact, with that victory, Ponziabo has avenged 2 of his 3 losses. While it’s unknown if he’ll ever get that rematch with Hugh Rection, Ponziabo is on a whole different level to his former self and now as we sit looking at this tournament final, it’s anybody’s game.

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINAL - WELTERWEIGHT

 

Maurice Tillet (13-2) Vs Auric Gallahad (9-1)

Well well well, how did we get here? Maurice Tillet finds himself faced by the man who put an end to his second Highland title run, and he’s currently on his third. An early loss to Odd Job is still on his record but this is Tillet’s only loss any time recently, but Auric looks to be turning it up to another gear in this tournament. Submission after submission, Gallahad could find himself in line for a promotion to brown belt in the near future with his performances in this competition. And how can you predict anything? Tillet has beat up some of the best grapplers around, but Gallahad has submitted just about anyone he’s faced including Tillet. It’s not too surprising that these men have got to this stage, and it’s going to be so exciting to see who progresses to the final.

 

Kwasi Kwong (12-0) Vs Dick Winters (14-4)

I’m officially done doubting Kwong after his KO victory over Marcus Behnder. That’s as top level a win as you get, and Kwong pulled it off inside the very first round. He really rises to his opponent and the 20 year old is among a very elite group with Kazuo Takashi and Torhte Finlayson as the only undefeated fighters left in contention. But Dick Winters has also beat Behnder, and with a very strong tournament run to this point, he’s not looking like he plans on taking Kwong lightly. Odd Job is a very talented grappler and Winters chocked him unconscious. Two grapplers, both purple belts but Kwong likes to work with his hands. He’s a well rounded, beastly fighter but Dick Winters is always going to be a huge threat if it ever hits the floor.

[IconManagement]

Two out of the four HW finalists are mine. Out of all of my fighters those two proved to be rather average when compared to Tilles, Sakuraba and Lucas. Yet here we are. Lucas and Sakuraba are out of the competition and Marko and Honkanen are still part of the HW division.

This Island thing is really something else.

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINAL - MIDDLEWEIGHT

 

New Home (13-11) Vs Ottaa Koppia (9-4)

New Home is just so hard to keep down. Both Gael Grappler and Jose Galvao have managed to take him down, and Home calmly makes his way back to his feet and gets the knockout soon after. This time Home stunned Galvao with a brutal superman punch. A glorious finish over a very game opponent. Home is a very tough fight for anyone, but after some time out of the cage Ottaa has some back as brutal as ever with back to back wins over Mike Ziskie and Hayato Sakuraba. These are arguably his best wins in his career, and his hands seem absolutely lethal. This one is going to be a war on the feet, and I could see fighters get dropped and get back up on both sides.

 

Guilherme Godoi (11-2) Vs Ebubekir Siddik (11-3)

It’s two rematches in a row for Godoi, but unlike New Car, Siddik holds a victory over the Brazilian. Back at IXF XXV, Siddik brutalized Godoi by taking the fight to the floor and beating him up badly with ground and pound. It was Godoi’s first opportunity at a title, but since then he’s managed to climb to claim the belt since then so the quality is obviously there. Both have had some brutal opponents throughout the tournament thus far, and Siddik managed to pull off a win against former Highland champion Keke Kivi. Two of IXF’s best here and neither have fought their potential opponents in the final so there’s some intensity that’ll surround the fight.

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINAL - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Torhte Finlayson (17-0) Vs Murtaz Vatsadze (13-4)

THE DREAM IS ALIVE. Two fights separate Torhte Finlayson from immortality but wouldn’t you know it, it’s Murtaz Vatsadze fighting him…AGAIN. For those who aren’t aware, Finlayson fought Murtaz back at Highland 25 in April, defending his title. Then again in Highland 58 in June, defending his title. Then again at Highland 82, in July. Yes, they’ve ALREADY had a trilogy, and while you think Murtaz just has to accept he can’t get it done, every single time he’s bounced back by destroying the best opponents he can face. Sonatana Veainu (x3), Archie Laird, Amaharo Xan, Wesley Janssen…Vatsadze has fought some killers and come through almost every single one. Torhte seems to have put the shakey Archie Laird performance behind him and is back to just KOing everyone in the first round, so we’ll see if he’s done enough to get Murtaz out of there early this time.

 

Biscuit Oliva (11-3) Vs Ben Askrew (9-2)

Whenever I talk about Murtaz like above, I keep saying things like “beat ALMOST everyone”…that’s because Biscuit Oliva takes away the clean verbiage. Oliva struggled to get a huge top tier run together during The Island but his current 5 fight win streak is outstanding. He fought off Sergey Vinogradov’s grappling to get through to a unanimous decision victory. But I’ve already said all I can say about Ben Askrew. He comes into this tournament with barely a top win, then beats Tama Ruiha, Siale Veainu and Melvin Manhoef, 3 in a row, all in the first round by submission. Absolutely stellar. This is a complete pick em. A lot of fighters have tried to submit Biscuit but no one’s managed it since Highland 1. Let’s see if Ben’s going to make lightning strike for a second time.

[clydebankblitz]

SEMI FINAL - HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Balin Trollslayer (12-1) Vs Jani Honkanen (8-5)

Balin Trollslayer was faced by Dick Hickock and Rav Kapur, two fighters renowned for an upset, and didn’t even blink. As professional as they come, Balin gave his opponents nothing at all and came through every fight comfortably. The confidence of seeing his training partner Dwalin Giantslayer bring a trophy into the gym will prop him up to win once again through, but Jani Honkanen looks like an entirely new fighter. He came into this tournament off the back of 3 losses, only to beat 3 legit contenders entirely in a row. His grappling has looked outstanding and he’ll be confident he can submit Balin, who is happy to take the fight to the floor. This fight is a repeat of Balin’s last, but does he really want to play with fire against a submissionist like Margarida?

 

Rashid Elkhan (10-1) Vs Marko Kerr (9-4)

He gets it done once again. Rashid Elkhan beats Amaru for a second time, almost as quick as last time, with his lethal, sniping boxing skills. You’d think his knockout record says he’s swinging for the fences at opponent’s domes, but he’s actually a very precise boxer who mixes it to the head and body consistently. Has Marko Kerr had the hardest tournament of all time? Probably not. But what can you say when his opponents are able to beat the top guys and he beats them? It’s been such an interesting resurgence from Kerr, who once upon a time started to lose the confidence of his manager, and now he finds himself one fight away from a tournament final. If Rashid can get his hands on Kerr early, the fight will likely be doneski as soon as it started, but Kerr’s an elite wrestler and should be able to work his opponent over if it spills to the mat.

[clydebankblitz]

CHAMPION - SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Dwalin Giantslayer (7-1) 

We have our first champion of the tournament! For what he lacks in size, he makes up for in girth and Dwalin used his girthy mass to render all 3 of his tournament opponents unconscious. Outside of his debut fight, which was a glorified exhibition against a training partner, Giantslayer has stopped 7 opponents in the first round. The latest being Mfer Phol in the super heavyweight tournament final of The Island Season 12. He took the fight down, landed his ground and pound and managed to come out the other side without much damage at all. A great win for Dwalin and now all eyes will be turned to his training partner and former foe Balin Trollslayer who competes in the semi finals of the heavyweight tournament.

[TycoonHec]

A REVIEW

  

Noel Diaz vs Timo Leyton

Perhaps one of the more intense semi-final matchups that occurred today was the fight between Noel Diaz (15-1) and Timo Leyton (8-1-1). The younger and less experienced Leyton was considered by many to be far too interior in skill to compete with the undefeated three division champion, Noel Diaz. To the shock of many, Leyton had grabbed the victory in what appeared to be a fight focused on control rather than conquest. 

There was a great saying in MMA a long time ago from a hall of famer who goes by the name of Matt Hughes. He shared with his fans and critics that if you are undefeated in MMA it means that you are not fighting the very best. This matchup between Leyton and Diaz was so similar to a match that we witnessed earlier in Diaz's career, the matchup with Calvin Shields.

Earlier in his career, Noel Diaz took on a violent man by the name of Calvin Shields, who at the time was unbeaten and knocking everyone out. In their fight, Diaz fans were nervous that their then, 5-0 Bantamweight & Featherweight Champion was going to lose. For three rounds we witnessed Shields take Diaz down and control him landing 18 punches and focusing on grinding him out to get the win. It was not until the fourth round where Diaz fans noticed that the skill level on the ground was vastly different and with another five minutes to go they would probably see their fighter win. With a raise of confidence we witnessed Diaz jump guard and pull off a spectacular triangle choke early in the fifth round. Had that not occurred, the judges would have awarded the fight to Shields and we would probably not be speaking of the three division champion today. 

Leyton clearly took notice of the fight and with more time focused on improving his defensive grappling, the younger competitor looked to throw less strikes and found himself comfortable waiting out the rounds. Leyton understood that Diaz had impeccable grappling defense and a granite like jaw, so finishing him was not the goal, getting the judges to give him the win was and that is what he did. Two of the Three Judges had believed the takedowns Leyton scored early in the first were enough for him to get the victory. The Third judge had noticed a takedown avoided by Diaz and an insane work rate from Diaz on his back. 

So what went wrong for Diaz? From my perspective, a manager who has an equal amount of losses to wins, I noticed that Diaz seemed to want to prefer to strike with his opponent believing that he would eventually knock him out. Knowing that Leytons skill level in boxing is literally abysmal and useless, this was a great idea. Despite Leyton never being finished via ko or submission before, one does have to wonder why Diaz did not go with his bread and butter in this fight? The knockout could have certainly come to fruition had Diaz not been taken down so easily by Leyton but his aggressive nature and determination made sure the fight got to the ground. 

Fight fans who support Diaz wont seem to accept this loss as they do believe their fighter should have gotten his hand raised and consider that it was a pure robbery. Unfortunately for Diaz, rumors are circulating that his Morale has hit an all time low and he is left flustered at both the game plan he implemented and will forever wonder what if the fight went an additional two rounds as the Shields fight did. Regardless of the reality we find outselves in, Noel Diaz the three division champion and 15-1 Island fighter deserves nothing but praise for his victories. I definitely look forward to what his career holds for us in the near future. 

So what is next for Leyton? Santiago Ponziabo (8-3) a submission specialist who may find himself studying what Leyton did in his match with Diaz to get an idea on how to beat him or at least the game plan he looks to employ. Should Leyton get passed the monster Santiago, he will be recognized as the Islands king of the Lightweight Tournament

[Arcalimon]

Thanks for the fight review @TycoonHec

One more step and Diaz would have become the Island GOAT. Unfortunately that did not happen. 

Congrats to Leyton manager for his win : )

 

*crying inside*

[Ado1]

9 hours ago, Arcalimon said:

Thanks for the fight review @TycoonHec

One more step and Diaz would have become the Island GOAT. Unfortunately that did not happen. 

Congrats to Leyton manager for his win : )

 

*crying inside*

Great review @TycoonHec.  Diaz still going down as the GOAT in my opinion.  Sorry for the snooze fest but it seemed like the only path to victory haha.  I will give you a better fight in the rematch.  I'm sure we are meeting again fairly soon.  

[clydebankblitz]

5 minutes ago, Ado1 said:

Great review @TycoonHec.  Diaz still going down as the GOAT in my opinion.  Sorry for the snooze fest but it seemed like the only path to victory haha.  I will give you a better fight in the rematch.  I'm sure we are meeting again fairly soon.  

Considering Diaz is submitting and KOing people, and even using the clinch to set some of those up now, I don't blame you for trying to figure out whatever style you could haha

[IconManagement]

After action report from me:

1. I gave Honkanen 60% SHIG.  Maybe more methodical approach together with 60% SHIG would have worked better. This remains to be seen.

2. Since Gallahad is a sub spammer I decided to take that into account and adjusted my strategy. I suppose more tweaks are needed as it went to the distance and Tillet did not try and land enough GnP.

3. Kerr. Well with this one I just decided to try to crush the opponent from get to go. I did not want Kerr to respect his opponent. This time it worked regardless of the Granite chin from opponent's ToT.

[clydebankblitz]

CHAMPION - BANTAMWEIGHT

Kazuo Takashi (18-0)

The undefeated champion! When we saw Noel Diaz fall to his first defeat earlier in the week, the idea that Kazuo could potentially mark another loss for Arcalimon The Coach would have been devastating. But that wasn’t to be the case. Out came Kazuo to implement that gameplan we’ve seen him use to effectively in his later career. In fact ever since the Highland 81 fight with Takeshi Yuudai, we’ve seen Kaz take very little changes in his performances. 3 decisions out of 4 tournament fights, following a career with 13 finishes from 14 fights, it’s clear there has been a shift in mentality and you can’t knock the results. Commiserations to Mildred Masters. Coming into this tournament he wasn’t a clear favourite but managed to finish all 3 of his opponents to put on an extremely respectable performance that leaves him in good stead for his further career.

[clydebankblitz]

CHAMPION - FEATHERWEIGHT

Anwar Rinda (10-5)

What in the blue hell happened here? I’m Anwar Rinda’s manager. I’m supposed to be supremely confident in his abilities. But when he walks into a tournament with a record of 6-5, I have to say I wasn’t exactly hopeful. But not only did he win the fucking tournament, he beat Jobber Joe, IXF champ Ricky Luciano and Highland Champ and former foe Remi Chavaski along the way. How the hell did he turn the corner and manage to pull this off? Four first round submission too, what an upset. I haven’t even had time to think whether or not it makes me happy to be honest. It’s a crushing defeat for Luciano who has been such a steady contender all season long. He’s been a killer at 155 and a killer at 145, but to not win the tournament has to be a massive kick in the stones. Should he continue his career, I’m sure he’d love another crack at Rinda sometime in the near future.

[clydebankblitz]

CHAMPION - LIGHTWEIGHT

Santiago Ponziabo (9-3)

Nobodies favourite coming into the tournament, but you have to say he came through as a superstar. He removed the arm from each of his opponents enroute to this momentous win. It wasn’t an easy final. Timo Leyton looked to be taking the fight but the Argentine didn’t give up and pulled off a late come from behind win with little over a minute to go. Beautiful stuff, and after Timo managed to beat Noel Diaz in the last round you have to wonder what he must be thinking to have knocked off such a huge favourite only to fall for one of the underdogs of the competition.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - WELTERWEIGHT

 

Maurice Tillet (14-2) Vs Kwasi Kwong (13-0)

After dealing with a youthful opponent in his last outing, Highland champ Maurice has to jump right back into the fountain of youth once again. Kwasi Kwong has been one of the surprising outbreaks of the season, seemingly capable anywhere the fight goes. Beating Marcus Behnder and Dick Winters back to back is an incredible feat, and even though Winters gave him some trouble he still managed to come through the other end.  While he can enjoy the ground game, Kwong is so well rounded that he can strike too and you have to imagine this is a simple case of striking Vs wrestling. Tillet won’t feel too threatened from submissions so if he does get the fight down, expect him to go crazy in pursuit of the tournament victory.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - MIDDLEWEIGHT

 

New Home (14-11) Vs Ebubekir Siddik (12-3)

It really is a surprise that neither man has fought one another to date.  Siddik was mostly around the title scene while it appears that New Home fought everyone else. He’s been held back from glory due to his 11 fight series and lack of title opportunities, but New Home has crafted this tournament final himself with some elite level striking, and now he finds himself pitted against a grappler with an overall well rounded MMA game. Siddik can fight in the clinch or on the ground, but did seem to slow down late against Guilherme Godoi. Both men have fought fantastic competition this tournament and now we’ll finally get to decide the king of middleweight once and for all.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Torhte Finlayson (18-0) Vs Biscuit Oliva (12-3)

THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE, AND THERE’S ONE MORE NIGHTMARE TO GO!!! When Finlayson took on Murtaz, for the fourth time might I add, he saw something different and did face some damage on the feet. But he overcame and put down his most impressive Murtaz beat down to date, forcing him to submit to strikes and putting their record to 4-0. Biscuit Oliva will be unimpressed by this as he too has defeated Vatsadze on his current run. Showing his ability to adjust his pace per the opponent, Oliva blew through Ben Askrew allowing for zero upsets to put himself in this final opportunity. Kazuo Takashi will be eagerly tuned into this one, as a win likely solidifies Torhte’s place as the greatest Island fighter of all time. But Oliva is as tough of a challenge as he’s faced and we’re going to be in for some fireworks as the crown is decided.

[clydebankblitz]

FINAL - HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Balin Trollslayer (13-1) Vs Marko Kerr (10-4)

When Marko Kerr worked his way up to a title shot on August 6^th, both me and his manager were surprised that he managed to throw together a surprising little streak. He got stopped quite quickly as expected, but he always appeared to have a fairly defined ceiling. Well he’s just speared through that ceiling and been dropping elbows on the plaster. Four wins in a row in the tournament, including the biggest win of his career in avenging an early loss to Rashid Elkhan, Marko is a stud. But the pride of the dwarves is also a stud, and just dispatched Marko’s training partner in his last fight. Balin likes to take fights down and rough opponents up…the exact same style as Marko Kerr. It’ll be very interesting in the small stature of Trollslayer plays a big part. He might be able to use it to get in on Marko’s legs easier. But either way I highly doubt we see any stand up fighting and both guys spill to the floor and punch lumps out each other. Perfecto.

[TycoonHec]

1 hour ago, clydebankblitz said:

FINAL - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Torhte Finlayson (18-0) Vs Biscuit Oliva (12-3)

THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE, AND THERE’S ONE MORE NIGHTMARE TO GO!!! When Finlayson took on Murtaz, for the fourth time might I add, he saw something different and did face some damage on the feet. But he overcame and put down his most impressive Murtaz beat down to date, forcing him to submit to strikes and putting their record to 4-0. Biscuit Oliva will be unimpressed by this as he too has defeated Vatsadze on his current run. Showing his ability to adjust his pace per the opponent, Oliva blew through Ben Askrew allowing for zero upsets to put himself in this final opportunity. Kazuo Takashi will be eagerly tuned into this one, as a win likely solidifies Torhte’s place as the greatest Island fighter of all time. But Oliva is as tough of a challenge as he’s faced and we’re going to be in for some fireworks as the crown is decided.

LETS GO TORHTE!!!!! 

 

Also that Tillet vs Kwong fight....OH MAN! Lets go TILLET!