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 BFT-200 Preview
Greetings again, fans of Blunt Force Trauma…it is I, Proximo, here to bring you the best in violence and debauchery that Sydney has to offer. I have created an spectacle that the fans of BFT have never witnessed before and won't soon forget. Without further ado, this is what we have in store for all of you...
Undercard: Chev Chelios 17-8-1 (7-4 BFT) vs Akihito Tatsuhiko Jr. 22-12 (12-5 BFT)
After signing on with BFT and facing mixed success in the welterweight division (4-4), Chev Chelios has since moved up to middleweight and won his first three fights in his new weight division. Not having to cut as much weight has seemed to make a world of difference. As one of the most skilled guys in the division, Chev looks to take out his opponents with brutally efficient striking. He has been stopped in seven of his eight losses, so we shall see if that is a factor moving forward.
Akihito Tatsuhiko Jr. has been through a rough patch as of late. After vacating his middleweight BFT title, Tatsuhiko Jr. has gone 2-5. With the ability to stop opponents on the feet or with the ground game, Akihito is dangerous wherever the fight goes. Some have blamed his recent woes on an alleged lack of discipline when it comes to training. Others have blamed his management for making poor decisions on his behalf (i.e.: the incident involving the strippers at the book signing in Perth, for example). Whatever it is, perhaps a change of scenery back to BFT can turn things around for him.
Chelios is on a roll right now and is a dangerous man. A win over Tatsuhiko Jr. could very well put him in the front running for the next title shot at 185lbs. However, standing in his way is the former champ in this weight class. Tatsuhiko Jr. needs a win to re-establish his career and perhaps justify him being the next man to fight for the belt, as he never actually lost the belt in the cage. This should be a great fight to start off the event and will be crucial to see where both guys stack up at the top of the the middleweight division.
Undercard: Shananigan Lurendrejer 12-3 (8-2 BFT) vs Trinidad Suarez 12-6 (0-1 BFT)
Shananigan Lurendrejer is a man on a mission. After starting his career off with a 5-1 record in smaller promotions, Lurendrejer signed with BFT and compiled an 8-2 record while winning the 205lb title and successfully defending it twice. Losing the belt to Dallas MacMillan in their rematch at BFT-190, he got back on the horse and knocked out BFT newcomer Mukassa Jones in their matchup at BFT-197. Now set to fight a couple months later, he is facing another fighter new to BFT in Trinidad Suarez.
Like fellow newcomer Mukassa Jones, Suarez also lost in his promotional debut. Suarez is making the adjustment to fighting in a new weight class for the first time in his life, as his previous fights had all been at middleweight. With ten KO/TKOs in twelve wins, Suarez has shown that he can knock men out via brutal ground and pound. Training in Russia with elite wrestlers has been great for his MMA game and fans are anxious to see if he can turn things around in his second fight in the org.
Lurendrejer is a proven commodity here in Sydney and is looking to continue his run back to the title. Suarez is still looking to get settled in at light heavyweight and getting by Lurendrejer would be a huge sign that he's adjusted. This fight really hinges on who can establish their wrestling first and unleash their ground and pound from the top.
Undercard: Matt Miller 21-5 (10-0 BFT) vs Pithe Canthropus 23-18-1 (0-0 BFT)
BFT Hall of Famer Matt Miller makes his return to the very place that made him famous…fighting for Blunt Force Trauma in The Bridge. After winning his pro debut in the QFC, Miller signed with BFT and went on a 10-0 run. Miller took out fellow Hall of Famers Night Man and Guilherme Alves on the way to defending the title successfully five times, something that still hasn't been surpassed to this day. With thirteen of his twenty one wins coming by KO/TKO, it is clear that Matt Miller knows how to finish. After his storied career in BFT, Miller went on to win both the 145lb and 155lb belts in Syndicate. Facing a very unique opponent in his first fight in BFT in a long time, this will prove to be a memorable fight for all involved.
Pithe Canthropus should need no introduction to anyone that considers themselves an MMA fan. As the first professional mixed martial arts fighter ever, this man is truly a living legend. In all his travels throughout the world, Canthropus has never fought in Sydney before. At the age of 35 and with his career seemingly winding down, Canthropus jumped at the opportunity to fight someone the caliber of Matt Miller to prove to his detractors that he still has something left.
All analysts point to Miller as the favorite to win this fight. Canthropus has not been in his prime for some time but hasn't had a stoppage loss in the last two years. This fight should be a fun one for the fans and we are honored to have both Miller and Canthropus donate their time, abilities and bodies to put on a good show for the loyal BFT fans.
Mid Card: Damian Nitschke 18-12-1 (18-12-1 BFT) vs "Xavante Xernobyl" Hermio Junior 6-0 (6-0 BFT) ***185lb Championship***
Damian Nitschke's career has truly been a story of dedication and perseverance. As one of the original signings of Blunt Force Trauma, Damian made his debut at BFT-1 with a decision victory over Arthur Arthurzaok. However, the results of his next twenty fights were inconsistent. Switching management, he eventually started on his latest run with a win over Adam Axon at BFT-115. Going 10-2 in this span, he capped it off with a late 2nd round TKO win over Amir Khan to capture the middleweight belt at BFT-194. Now, fighting on the BFT-200 card, he looks to further secure his legacy by taking out an opponent that was thirteen years old when he fought his first fight in BFT.
Hermio Junior is young and hungry but don't let his lack of experience fool you. This man is a dangerous fighter with 6 KO/TKO stoppages and 3 Of The Night awards in 6 pro fights. At 22 years of age, the former Ukrainian professional boxer has definitely put the division on notice with his knockout power.
Nitschke has been known to put on fireworks, as his 10 Of The Night bonuses will attest. Facing a young, dangerous striker in Junior, he actually comes with a lot to prove, as many believe the 185lb division to currently be the weakest in BFT. Winning the belt is one thing, but it is something else to successfully defend it. If Nitschke looks to stand with Junior, it could be an early night for him but Junior's ground game is completely untested and Nitschke has shown the ability to stop men with either knockouts or submissions. This division could be wide open and it is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Mid Card: "Kana" Kuroda Atsushi 21-6 (13-5 BFT) vs Victor Bonifacio 15-5 (15-5 BFT) ***155lb Championship***
BFT's reigning lightweight champion Kuroda Atsushi is one of BFT's veterans from the early years. He made his professional debut at BFT-16 along with BFT Hall of Famer Guilherme Alves in a four man lightweight tournament that was put on to find new talent in the 155lb division. Atsushi would lose to Alves in the second round, who would eventually go on to win the tournament. After his elimination from the tournament, Atsushi went to fight in the now defunct Fight Club Down Under organization. After going 8-1 outside of BFT, he returned to face BFT lightweight stalwart Manny Pacquaio. He faced ups and downs in his next five bouts but then strung together some wins and eventually took the belt in a fight against Sergei Cosixen at BFT-160 for the title that Enrico Mazzarri vacated.
Starting his pro career off on the BFT Prospect Showcase card, Victor Bonifacio has fought all twenty of his MMA fights in the 155lb division of BFT. Having received and lost his first title shot in BFT at BFT-170 against Atsushi, Bonfacio finds himself once again in the limelight in the most important fight of his career yet. While not being known as a finisher (Victor holds the all-time BFT record for decision wins with eleven), he does have 6 Fight Of The Night bonuses to his credit.
Will the rematch go any differently than last time? Many in the MMA community seem to think that Atsushi will most likely take the win home again, though a strong argument could be made that Bonifacio was winning the standup. Once the fight goes to the ground, Atsushi will dominate. Regardless of what happens, the fans will most likely be in for a treat. 15 combined Fight Of The Night awards between them pretty much assures that.
Main Card: "Lord" Kim Jong 14-3 (1-1 BFT) vs "Overeem" Jason Hannibal 10-6 (6-4 BFT)
Korean heavyweight sensation Kim Jong arrived in BFT with an unprecedented amount of hype behind him. Jong was granted an immediate title shot against Hagen Germanicus by virtue of him coming into the org as a two division (HW/SHW) champion of CFA. This is the only instance where someone has come into the organization and received an immediate shot at the belt. Unfortunately, he lost in 12 seconds via a stunning head kick KO. Jong then rebounded at BFT-197 with a first round rear naked choke stoppage of long time BFT veteran and former #1 contender Steve Tompkins. When given the option to fight on the historic BFT-200 card, he immediately agreed. Taking fights like this can only help his standing within the organization.
Jason Hannibal is another dangerous fighter in BFT's heavyweight division. Hannibal has shown flashes of brilliance and his fights are almost always entertaining, as evidenced by him only going to decision once in sixteen fights. With multiple highlight reel head kick KOs, Hannibal is an up and coming fan favorite. Hannibal has a couple submissions under his belt as well, so he's not just a one trick pony.
Jong comes in as the favorite in this matchup, but questions remain. With only three and a half minutes under his belt in the BFT cage, BFT fans have not seen enough of him to pass judgement on him yet. Hannibal will most likely swing for the fences as usual. Already on a three fight winning streak, a win over Kim Jong will surely put him next in line for the title shot against the winner of Germanicus and Tippin tonight.
Main Card: "Lone Star" Dallas MacMillan 12-5 (9-2 BFT) vs Antoine "A-Train" Wallace 23-14 (22-14 BFT) ***205lb Championship***
Our next fight comes to you in the light heavyweight division. Dallas MacMillan looks to successfully defend his 205lb title for the second time against BFT mainstay, Antoine Wallace. Starting off his MMA career to mixed success in the QFC, MacMillan soon arrived in BFT and made a name for himself by stringing together a pair of 4 fight winning streaks. While both runs ended in unsuccessful bids at the LHW title with losses to BFT Hall of Famer Ken Tentheros and Shananigan Lurendrejer, MacMillan was finally able to get the belt around his waist by defeating Lurendrejer in a rematch at BFT-190. While his career in BFT has been relatively short, Dallas has had some notable wins in the org, with victories over former LHW/HW champ Jake the Snake, Mark Edwards, Tap Out, Titus Kahoohalphala, Wallace and Lurendrejer. With an impressive resume under his belt, MacMillan also has the skillset to back it up. With good striking on the feet, his real strength lies in the clinch, where he is an absolute monster. Anyone looking to go to the clinch with him would probably be best served not to do so unless they were raised in a camp in Thailand.
The "A-Train" has had a lengthy career here in Blunt Force Trauma. He made his debut at BFT-17 and went 1-2 in the WW division before deciding to move up to 185lbs due to the drastic weight cut he was having to make to fight at welterweight. With the most career wins in BFT with 22 and 3rd place all-time in BFT with 12 KOs, Antoine has been a face of BFT since the early days, win or lose. His 36 fights in the BFT cage put him in second place behind Suchart Chaowanungkarn…a record he will tie tonight when he faces off against MacMillan again. Antoine is known for his world-class wrestling skills, vicious ground and pound and heavy hands in the standup. While he is not the most well rounded fighter out there, you know what he will bring to the table every time and each fight with him is sure to be no walk in the park.
MacMillan looks to be the definite favorite in this bout but it remains to be seen if their bout at BFT-172 was a fluke due to poor fight IQ on Wallace's part or if it will be more of the same dominance that MacMillan has displayed in his time in the BFT cage. Wallace chose to unwisely take the fight to the clinch and was hurt by knees in the clinch in their previous matchup. If Wallace can take it to the ground and work his nasty GnP, he can knock almost any man out and MacMillan's weakness in his overall game is his work on the ground. Questions will be answered if Dallas wins but another set of questions will be raised if Wallace somehow manages to pull off the upset victory.
Main Card: "Pehlwan Monster" Mohammad Ul Haq 18-4-1 (4-0 BFT) vs Guilherme "Buscape" Alves 19-8 (15-6 BFT)
Lots of questions surrounding this fight in the lightweight division as we get closer to the co-main and main events. Mohammad Ul Haq has had tremendous success in the BFT cage and elsewhere. Undefeated in 4 fights here in BFT, Ul Haq made many in the MMA world scratch their heads when he declined the title fight against Kuroda Atsushi at BFT-190 in order to instead take the fight as a non-title affair. It seems as though he did not want the responsibility of defending the belt as champion if he were to have won the title. To further muddy the picture, he ended up knocking out Atsushi via vicious ground and pound in a dominant performance. Now, questions have arisen over rumors that Ul Haq may retire after this fight against Alves at 155lbs. With world class wrestling developed by his time as a Pehlwani wrestling champion in Afghanistan, Ul Haq has met little in the way of competition when it comes to the groundwork in MMA.
His opponent Sunday night will be a BFT legend in the form of Guilherme "Buscape" Alves. As a former welterweight champion with 15 wins in the org and 3rd place all-time in submissions inside the BFT cage with 11, Alves is no stranger to the Sydney MMA scene. With his impressive ground game and fearless abandon, the BFT Hall of Famer has recorded wins at 155lbs, 170lbs and even has a win at 185lbs over fellow BFT standout Mark Edwards. On the ground, Alves has very little competition in BFT, with the ability to finish you from the top with vicious ground and pound or submit you from the bottom with his superb BJJ game. As a BJJ artist however, it is actually his standout wrestling that makes him such a threat. Many BJJ practitioners are great when they get you to the ground but Alves has the ability to put most men on their back. This, combined with his great BJJ and ground and pound is what makes him a dangerous fighter. His clinch game is also excellent and serves as another way for him to get the fight down to the ground. Having faced questions about having a suspect chin, Alves has diligently worked on his striking game and looks to display a far better defense on the feet than what he has shown in the past.
Alves left BFT to seek glory elsewhere but has since returned to the org that made him a household name in Sydney. Looking to re-establish himself in BFT after some mixed results in recent years, he faces a very tough competitor that may be on his way out of the sport. Regardless of the circumstances, this matchup looks to be decided by whomever can assert their dominance in the wrestling game.
Co-main Event: Hagen "The Barbarian" Germanicus 19-4 (18-4 BFT) vs Pete "War Machine" Tippin 12-7 (12-6 BFT) ***265lb Championship***
Hagen "The Barbarian" is a man that needs no introduction to the rabid fans of BFT. A fearsome warrior in his homeland of Germania, Hagen has brought his penchant for violence and brutality to the BFT cage here in Sydney. One of the originals from the early days of BFT, he made his debut here at BFT-12 with a spectacular 16 second KO. None of his first six fights made it out of the first round with all of them ending via KO…one of them being a KO loss to former BFT HW champ Dustin Super that he avenged two fights later with a KO of his own. Hagen comes in to this fight on an 11 fight winning streak with finishes in all of them except for one (9 KO/TKOs and 1 sub). He has shown the fearsome power again as of late that made him a huge fan favorite early in his career, with his last five wins being by straight KO. Two of these knockouts were via head kick and shows that Hagen has evolved his game from his earlier days of raw power punching. With the most title defenses in BFT history at heavyweight (6), most KOs in BFT all-time (15) and 3rd most career victories in BFT (18), there isn't much more that needs to be said about this BFT legend.
The man facing him for the title is familiar with Hagen's power, as he has already tasted defeat to him via TKO at BFT-132. Pete Tippin is another BFT fighter that has fought virtually his entire career here in BFT with the exception of his pro debut fight in the QFC. Tippin is a fierce competitor himself, with stoppage victories in 10 of his 12 wins. Making his debut at BFT-58, Tippin suffered a couple losses to start his BFT career but has since rebounded to string a few wins together for every loss he has suffered. A mainstay in BFT's HW division for a long time, Tippin has shown that he is dangerous wherever the fight goes and hopes to avenge his loss to Hagen in this highly anticipated rematch.
Hagen will most likely come out with his "Barbarian Blitz" and try to end the fight within the first few minutes with raw power and aggression. If Tippin can weather the storm, he can utilize the diverse striking skillset he has shown in previous fights. Tippin's best best is to get to the ground where he can use his dangerous ground and pound to end the fight. For a heavyweight, Hagen is no slouch on the ground himself and has dangerous ground and pound of his own but it remains to be seen if his age and nagging injuries will finally catch up to him. Perhaps this night will be a changing of the guard in the heavyweight division...
Main Event: Super Hans 17-6 (17-6 BFT) vs Chumba "La Bamba" Wumba 11-2 (11-2 BFT) ***170lb Championship***
Super Hans comes into this fight tied with Pauli Painija for the most title defenses at welterweight in BFT history with four successful title defense. A legend in his own right, Hans is also the all-time BFT submissions leader with 15 and shows no sign of slowing down his quest of adding to that total. Making his professional debut at BFT-49 as a last minute replacement on short notice with little previous training, Hans had mixed success in the early part of his career but managed to avenge his losses to all of his opponents with the exception of one. Since winning the 170lb title from Jake Shields at BFT-158, Hans has looked virtually unbeatable at welterweight.
Standing across the cage from Hans will be Chumba Wumba…another homegrown BFT veteran. Making his debut at BFT-114, Wumba has had great runs of success in BFT with only 2 losses in 13 fights. Wumba has shown some good power, winning 8 of his 11 victories via KO/TKO. With an impressive win in his last showing over former welterweight champ Jake Shields, Wumba is here to prove that his successful runs in the past were no fluke.
Both of these men have fought their entire careers within the confines of the Blunt Force Trauma cage. Hans will surely try to take the fight to the ground and end it there, while Wumba will look to finish Hans via his vicious striking. Which ever way it goes, I foresee a finish here and a great ending to a night of superb fights.
Well…I've said all I set out to say. All the preparations are made and now we must allow the fighters to put on an awe-inspiring show. I bid you adieu, as I have other pressing matters to attend to. Enjoy the spectacle as I'm sure it will be a sight that you will one day tell your grandchildren about.
Proximo
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