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In part 2 of our giant weekend extravaganza, we will also be live at the same time just down the road at the Cameron Conference Center and boy is this event stacked with some star power.…
Tito Hopkins (30-9) vs. Levi James (3-3)
In our opening bout from the Cameron Conference Center, Tito “Hands of Stone” Hopkins comes out of retirement to join the team tournament. He’s declined a little from the long layoff, but he is still a dangerous opponent as he has such championship level experience. Tito has won titles in organizations such as Konflikt, CoV, Blitz NY (Empire), RAFL, and ONI. He has wins over some of the best fighters in tycoon history. Levi James comes into this fight at a serious experience disadvantage. He will have to hope that Tito is just washed up, and should’ve just stayed retired. This will be the 5th and final fight between Dinooo’s Donkey’s and Hells Balls Fight Team. We will see how James does in the role of under-dog. With Hopkins power though, I don’t think he will have much problem in this one.
Dakota Royer (28-10) vs. Kaalikorva (28-13)
Dakota Royer is an Ascension hall of famer. He has 26 fights under that banner which is among the most in the storied history of the organization. He is also a former Ascension middleweight champion. His career of late has not been spectacular. He comes into this fight having lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Dakota is a devastating striker with vicious knockout power. He will try to sprawl and brawl, and knock his opponent out. Kaalikorva is a very skilled striker, but he has some durability issues having been finished by strikes 9 times in his career. He is also a very good ground fighter however, and I think that is where he will try to take this fight in order to avoid being knocked out. This one is a toss-up.
Thomas Billington (22-12-2) vs. Andreas Reinhardt (12-8)
Thomas Billington comes into this fight with Olympic level wrestling skills, and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Those two skills combined with his durability and the fact that he has not been stopped due to strikes or by submission in 36 career fights make him a match-up nightmare for anybody in this tournament. He can keep himself in absolutely any fight if he can get you down and get on top of you. The scary part of that for Reinhardt, is Billington actually comes into this fight the more skilled striker. This fight could go either way, but I have to lean towards Billington because Reinhardt has been finished in 7 of his 8 losses. Billington’s durability comes through for him in the end in this fight.
Dan Leighty (12-5-1) vs. Jan Dudek (20-4-1)
Dan Leighty comes into this fight an elite level striker, with good knockout power in all of his limbs. He likes to take the fight into the clinch and unleash a vicious MT game with knees, elbows and punches. He comes into this fight looking to gain a little bit of respect from Dudek’s camp, who have been very vocal about his thought on fighters from Sydney. Everyone expects Joshua Donovan, a brash manager out of Philadelphia to be very vocal. We’ll see if his fighter can come out and back up his manager’s big mouth. Dudek has an outstanding combined MMA and KT record of 20-4. He has spent the last half of his career in No Exit FC out of Rio. This fight will be a pivotal match in the team match-up between Team Syndicate Nutrition and Team Kaiser.
Karle Denke (23-6-1) vs. Constantine Barca (21-9)
Karle Denke comes into this tournament as 1 of the favorites to win the individual tournament. He is a former MIFC and GAMMA Middleweight champion and has been in there with some of the biggest names in the sport. In his 30 fight career he has never once been finished. His chin, combined with his Olympic caliber wrestling and elite level boxing skills make him a tough fight for anyone in this tournament. Constantine Barca is coming into this tournament off an impressive win over Peter Tosh at Empire 28 ‘Fett vs. McDermot.’ Most of his career he has been over-shadowed by his teammate Boba Fett, but Barca is looking to make a name for himself with individual glory this season. Barca is also a very durable fighter, and also has never been finished in 30 career fights. He poses a dangerous BJJ game, having a black belt and 11 of his 21 career victories by submission. I expect Denke will try to keep this one standing, and be very aware while on the ground with Barca and I see this going to a decision.
Toby Diaby (25-8) vs. Katsuro Sato (17-7)
Toby Diaby has won titles in 5 different organizations. His last fight was a decision loss to the former #2 p4p fighter on the planet. He has been in there with some seriously stiff competition, so he is not intimidated by the ITFL field at all. Diaby recently changed camps, we shall see if it was a good decision for his future or not. Katsuro Sato is a former GSF Middleweight champion. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and has 15 of his 17 career victories have been finishes. Sato is also very durable having never been finished in 24 fights. This will be a very interesting fight, and another key match-up in the battle to make an early statement in the team standings between Team Syndicate Nutrition and Team Kaiser.
Frank Esposito (30-11) vs. Jeremy Voda (8-6)
Frank Esposito really put himself on the MMA map when he won the VFC Welterweight crown by defeating Sunny Supernova, a long time contender in the original Blitz welterweight division and a former Blitz Russian Combat and VFC welterweight champion. He lost the title in his very next fight but then went on a 3 fight win streak to earn himself a shot at the Empire Welterweight champion and former #1 p4p fighter Sam Hall. Esposito lost a close majority decision, and when he announced his entrance into the ITFL team tournament, he was considered among the favorites to bring home the individual glory. Esposito brings world class boxing and MT as part of his arsenal, he will keep the fight at a distance and hurt you with punches and kicks, or he will close the distance and brutalize you with elbows and knees from inside his clinch. Jeremy Voda looks to be no match for Esposito on the feet in this fight. He will have to look to use his division 1 wrestling pedigree and his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as his keys to victory in this fight. So far Voda’s career has been a real roller-coaster ride but 1 thing he has working for him in this fight is he’s appeared pretty durable in his career. He’s never been in the ring with a world class fighter like Esposito however, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t make the distance in this one.
Tweedle Dee (19-5-1) vs. Viktor Kafka (18-7-1)
In this fourth fight between these two very evenly matched teams, we will see the current Syndicate Middleweight champion Tweedle Dee as he takes on a well-rounded and very tough fighter in Victor Kafka. Dee brings his Olympic level wrestling and a pretty versatile striking game to the table, as he will look to wear Kafka down on the feet, and from the clinch in order to get this fight to the ground where he is a very dangerous fighter. Tweedle Dee has pretty good knockout power in his fists having finished 13 of his 19 wins via strikes. Kafka will be looking to do whatever he can to keep this fight on the feet, where he has to hope he can score enough points to win a judge’s decision, as a knockout is very unlikely for him in this fight. Kafka does have a bit of a wrestling game himself so I wouldn’t be shocked if he tries to put Dee on his back, and make him dispel the myth that wrestlers don’t like being on their back. This has the potential for a FOTN bonus, and will be another pivotal fight in the Team Syndicate vs. Team Kaiser week 1 match-up.
Dan Smith (16-4) vs. Dennis Wise (21-8)
Dan Smith doesn’t come into this fight with any elite level striking or grappling abilities, on paper this fight looks like a complete blow out. The one thing that Dan Smith does possess though is terrific knockout power, and that will be his key to victory in this fight. Dennis Wise enters this fight coming off the biggest win of his career, by defeating former #1 p4p and IMMA’s 170 champion Sinuhe Egyptian. Wise brings elite level boxing and MT skills into this fight, and he also possesses terrific knockout power, having finished 16 of his 21 wins by strikes. After his victory over Egyptian, Wise enters the team tournament as 1 of the odds on favorites to bring home individual glory. He is also hoping that he can help bring home the team tournament for Reaper Combatwear.
Luka Beck (14-3-1) vs. Sergei Skylar (16-3)
Our next fight is the main event of our 2nd event this weekend, and the fifth and final fight between Team Syndicate Nutrition and Team Kaiser as 1 of these two teams try to make an early statement in the power rankings. Sergei Skylar is the SPFT Bantamweight champion and has great finishing ability having finished 12 of his 16 career wins, 11 via strikes and 1 by submission. Skylar possesses Olympic wrestling ability and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He will be at a significant size disadvantage when he takes on vicious MT striker Luka Beck. Luka was recently the runner-up in the Convicted TUF HW tournament, losing a unanimous decision to Budo Rei in the finals. Beck is no stranger to the big stage, he has fought in some of the top orgs in the world such as Syn, and Ascension. In the 4th fight in his career he took on former #1 middleweight Royce Silva, and dropped a close 29-28 unanimous decision. Luka is a very well-rounded striker and has never been finished in his career. Will Skylar be able to prove that size doesn’t matter, or will Luka show that at the elite level the bigger man will usually win? Tune in Friday March 15th, 2013 to find out.
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