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Johnny Wonnut |
Nov 18, 2010 19:49 GMT |
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Well folks, we are here to offer you a preview of MFC 27: Stars Collide at the Hard Knocks Arena in Rio de Janeiro. This is a watershed event for Mayhem Fight Club featuring some massive fights that has fight fans in a tizzy. MFC 27 is bound to give this once fledgling organization some wings, direction and real sense of purpose.
Yuri Cavalcante v. Frank Hardhand – Lightweight
The opening fight is going to feature two young sparkplugs. Cavalcante enters the fight 0-1, but his skillset is undeniable with wonderful boxing, heavy hands, and a purple belt in BJJ. However, his game plan will need to be revamped. His first fight against Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves ended in just 71 seconds without Cavalcante throwing a punch. Cavalcante will enter the fight with superior stand-up to that of Hardhand. Hardhand has utilized solid strategy in his two career fights. He will look to wear Cavalcante down with a mix of punches to the head and leg kicks. The big question here is whether or not Hardhand is going to use his superior wrestling to get this fight on the ground where he will have to tangle with Cavalcante’s superior BJJ. The smart money here is on Cavalcante, but Hardhand is a determined fighter with something to prove.
Lucas the Spider v. Everton Pirolla – Middlewight
Next up, is a fight featuring two fighters who could really use a win to get back on track. When two men have this much on the line, they are sure to come out with fireworks. There is almost no way this fights lasts more than five minutes. The Spider is a submission specialist with all his wins coming by submission, but two of his three career losses by KO. Pirolla, on the other hand, is a wonderful boxer who looks to use his mediocre wrestling to keep the fight standing. All six career victories have come by KO, but five of his six careers losses have come by submission. Someone’s either going to sleep or losing a limb. Pirolla took the first bout between these two fighters by KO after just 81 seconds. If the Spider can learn from his loss, he could avoid Pirolla’s strikes and take him down, but oddsmakers don’t like his chances as Pirolla is the big favorite to get his career back on track.
Mikes Jones v. David Shields – Welterweight
Abu Dhabi here we come! Mike Jones features superb wrestling and brown belt in BJJ. Not to be outdone, Shields, a Princeton, New Jersey native, is a tremendously well-rounded fighter with proficient boxing, respectable MT, superb wrestling and a black belt in BJJ from third-degree black belt Ricardo Almeida, under the Team Renzo Gracie banner. Despite Shields advantage standing up, we don’t expect this one to last long on the feet. Jones has finished his last two opponents by submission. Shields, at 2-1, is still looking for his first submission victory. The winner of this fight will likely be catapulted into the deep waters of MFC’s welterweight division and could be on the cusp of making a big title run.
Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves v. Santouk Fairtex – Lightweight
Serious title implications abound for the vacant lightweight title in this match-up. Falcao Goncalves has wonderful boxing and beastly power. Fairtex is one of MFC’s most talented stand-up fighters with his proficient boxing and wonderful MT skillset. Falcao Goncalves is going to look to keep this fight on the outside and knockout Fairtex. No one has been able to get to his chin in 8 career fights and we don’t really see that happening here. We see Fairtex using his superior MT to batter Falcao Goncalves with leg kicks early to devastate his mobility before he uses his devastating MT plum to batter Falcao Goncalves with elbows and knees. Falcao will have to seriously contemplate his previous strategies heading into this fight if he wants to put himself into title contention.
Heckofa Riddum v. Super Slayer – Welterweight
Seriously, who names their kids Heckosa and Super? Maybe these guys’ mothers didn’t like them very much. I think they’ve used their animosity over their names and translated that into MMA rage. Riddum is a very well rounded fighter whose records sits at 7-5 with four submission victories. Slayer is a remarkable boxer with an equally remarkable sprawl who has amassed a 4-2 record with two knockouts to his credit. Both fighters have Al Bummin as a common opponent and both defeated him. Riddum scored a unanimous decision victory in his last fight out where he showed great restraints and an incredible game plan. Slayer, on the other hand, was takendown early by Bummin where he was able to fend off seven submission attempts before the end of the first round. The second round belonged to Slayer where he knocked out Bummin. Oddsmakers appear torn between Slayer’s super power and the heckofa game plan which we expect Riddum to employ. However, they have installed Slayer as a very slight favorite.
Iggy Reznor v. Mayron Rocha – Middleweight
The fight between these two grapplers is going to hit the mat sooner rather than later. Reznor could be the divisions most decorated grappler with proficient wrestling and a brown belt in BJJ. Rocha could be the best offensive wrestler as he uses his strong wrestling to get the fight to the ground. However, the ground might not necessarily be the best choice for Rocha as Reznor has six career submissions. Reznors only two losses have come in title fights to two of MFC’s best: Wellen Dowd and Wagner Nascimento. We say he continues his streak and moves to 8-2 with a triangle submission in the second round. A win here puts him in the title picture.
Co-Main Events – While there is only one true co-main event, we’ve lined up four fights which could, on any other card, be a headliner.
Gus Jackson v. Piston Honda – Welterweight
Two of the most talented fighters in Rio lock horns in this welterweight contest. Gus Jackson uses his wonderful boxing and proficient MT to remove his opponents from consciousness as evidenced by his six career knockouts. Honda, a newcomer to MFC, is ranked 29th in Rio and 226th in the world in the middleweight division. He has superb boxing and strong MT. He’s more of a finesse fighter than Jackson is. Jackson’s going to come in and look to knock Honda out in the first round. If Honda can evade Jackson’s onslaught he’s going to look to clinch up where he uses a unique style of seamlessly flowing between dirty boxing and the MT plum to land big knees. Questions to be answered: Jackson has shown little inclination to fight in the clinch, but when he’s in the clinch he’s been impressive. How good is his clinch? Also, how good is Honda’s chin? We’ll find out the answer to both questions. The oddsmakers are giving EVEN odds on this closely disputed contest. The winner will be in line for a title shot.
Ben Richards v. Marcelinho Garcia – Heavyweight
Our welterweight division was once our best and deepest division, but with some recent additions to our roster, like Garcia, the heavyweight division is presently where its at. It’s already been settled that the winner of this fight is going to be taking on the loser of the Kjell Dillon and Mayger Mayne battle while the loser of this fight is going to take on one of our rising stars, Ricardo Nalaban.
Richards is a superb boxer with very strong sprawl and brawl. He’s been able to finish four opponents by KO with three of his last four fights ending by him knocking his opponent out. These include his 19 second destruction of Enson Inoue and 21 second drubbing of Sanabria Iglesias. Richards has never been submitted. Then again, Richards has never fought Garcia. Garcia features proficient boxing which he uses primarily to set-up takedowns. With superb wrestling and a purple belt in BJJ he has been able to rack up an 8-2 record with an impressive 7 finishes by way of submission including an impressive triangle armbar, Werdum over Fedor-style.
Wellen Dowd v. Jack Shepard – Welterweight Title Fight
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! I am excited about this title fight. Shepard, after an unsuccessful run in Syn, reinvented himself, came to Rio and won himself a title over long-time champion Austin Smith with a devastating head kick just 51 seconds into the first round. A champion was born. The big man, Dowd, is a master trash talker as he’s been telling Shepard off in press interviews. Fortunately for him, he can back it up. Dowd, the former middleweight champion, lost his title to James Logan on October 11 and then dropped to welterweight. On November 3, he established himself as one of the divisions best welterweights as he beat up the formerly undefeated Alex Diaz in just under five minutes.
The challenger uses a variety of attacks from a variety of angles. However, where he really wants this fight is on the ground where he can use his remarkable wrestling and purple belt in BJJ. Dowd, simply, is outclassed on the feet. Taking Shepard down will not be an easy feat as he has strong wrestling himself. Where the champion really shines is his stand-up. Equally skilled with strong boxing and remarkable MT, Shepard is a terrific striker.
Dowd’s best bet is going to be utilizing his ground and pound where he can neutralize Shepard’s game. Shepard is going to mix it up with a barrage of punches and kicks, but don’t be surprised if he really attacks the legs. Shepard is the Rio oddsmakers favorite, but Dowd’s hung in there with equal fighters and we don’t count him out by a long shot.
Main Event
Gunnar Hansen v. James Logan – Middleweight
There is no question about it. This is the biggest fight in MFC history as two of the best middleweights in the world meet in the octagon. Hansen has only one loss on his record. That lone loss came at the hands of Nank Singh. Singh is definitely a top-ten middleweight in the entire world, so a loss to him is certainly not much of a blemish on an otherwise impressive record. More impressive to us is that Hansen has finished his opponents by KO in all of his wins including a first round head kick knockout over sensational boxer Dre Battle in his last fight.
Hansen’s opponent is none other than the current middleweight champion, James Logan. Logan is the best boxer in MFC as he comes in with exceptional boxing, but he’s also been training hard in MT and is now respectable. As with Hansen, Logan has won all of his fights by KO. Logan’s goal is going to be simple. Don’t get kicked in the head. A well-timed head kick from Hansen could end Logan’s night and the good will he’s built up with the Rio fans. If he can stay in Hansen’s face and out of range of those nasty kicks, we like Logan to notch his eleventh win. |
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