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 This Saturday at the Hard Knocks in Los Angeles the UPF-LA has put together another exciting night of MMA action. There will be two title fights as well as a number one contender fight to see who will be fighting next for the middleweight belt. Let's take a closer look at the card and the indivual fighters.
The night starts off with a light heavyweight match up between Michael Davis (6-2) and "Lights Out" Toki Mazuke (4-5).
Davis is mostly known as a stand up fighter, he won a QFC tournament in January and is a well respected fighter. He has proven he has the stanima to go the distance if needed, six of his eight fights have went the scorecards. Mazuke is a well rounded fighter who prefers to fight on the ground. Mazuke holds the edge on the ground but may be hard pressed to take Davis to the mat, Davis' has only allowed only 4 takedowns against against him in 60 attempts over 8 fights. Will Mazuke take it to the mat and use his Jiu Jitsu advantage to get the sub, or will Davis show us why he won a QFC tournament and walk away with the win?
Hole in your pocket sportsbook (HIYP) odds: Michael Davis -120, "Lights Out" Toki Mazuke -102
We continue the undercard with a welterweight fight between "Prodigy" BJ Penn (2-1) and Dagonet "The Irishman" McLoughlin (5-2).
This is a rematch from UPF-LA 4. Mc Loughlin was successful last time keeping the fight standing and scored a TKO in the first round. I expect that Penn will again attempt to take it to the ground where he holds the advantage, but he also holds the advantage in the clinch, if he keeps it clinched up while standing we could see a different outcome. Mc Loughlin has some real KO power with two of his last three wins coming early in the first round. Will Penn manage the takedown this time and score a sub, or will Mc Loughlin get yet another quick KO?
(HIYP) odds: "Prodigy" BJ Penn +115, "Lights Out" Toki Mazuke -141
The final fight on the undercard is a light heavyweight bout between Preston "RussianMaFia" Miller (1-1) and Zemli Funtov (5-3).
This fight pairs up two fantastic wrestlers against each other, both fighters are ground and pound specialists and this one could be determined by who has the top position on the ground. Miller holds a small advantage is the stand up so you would think that he may try to use that to score some points while Funtov is using his energy trying to take the fight to the ground. That stragety may spell disaster though, if Funtov scores the takedown and gets the top position he may very well score the TKO via ground and pound before Miller can reverse the position. The question here is who scores the takedown and can he maintain the top position?
(HIYP) odds: Preston "RussianMaFia" Miller -133, Zemli Funtov +108
We begin the main card with a bantamweight fight between Carl "CJ" Johnson (4-1) and Mister "The Powerhouse" Theilulaia (3-4).
Johnson is a ground fighter who will be looking to take the fight to the mat. Theilulaia is a powerful Muay Thai fighter who will be trying to keep this one standing. Theilulaia looked a little worn down at weigh-in and may not have enough energy to resist Johnson's takedown attempts. Theilulaia is moving down in weight and has some real power, if he can manage to keep it standing he could score the knockout. Will Theilulaia keep it standing and get the KO before he tires out, or will Johnson take him down and score a win?
(HIYP) odds: Carl "CJ" Johnson -153, Mister "The Powerhouse" Theilulaia +125
Next we have a middleweight fight between Alecxsander "The Slugger" Pitpitunge (5-8-0) and Francis Stark (4-2-1).
Pitpitunge is a well rounded fighter who prefers to fight on the ground, he is looking to return to the win column after two disappointing loses in UPF-LA. Pitpitunge will want to take Stark down quickly in this fight. Stark is looking to move up the ranks in the division and take his shot at the belt, he is a powerful striker who holds nothing back. All four of his wins have come via first round knockouts, but he has the stamina to go the distance as he showed us in UPF-LA 3 when he battled Jimbo Jones to a draw. Will Pitpitunge take it to the ground a force Stark to tap, or will Stark knock him to tomorrow?
(HIYP) odds: Alecxsander "The Slugger" Pitpitunge +115, Francis Stark -141
Next is a middleweight fight between "The Merkin" Phil Harris (4-1) and Sol "Freeze" Ution (2-0).
Ution puts his undefeated record on the line against a more experienced Harris. Both fighters are ground fighters who love to use their ground and pound, but Harris holds a big advantage in the stand up. I would expect Harris to try to score some points in the stand up letting Ution use his energy to get the fight to the ground, but again here he will be giving up the top position which doesn't bode well for him on the ground. Will Ution get the win and remain undefeated, or will experience play a part and give Harris another victory?
(HIYP) odds: "The Merkin" Phil Harris +133, Sol "Freeze" Ution -163
Next, we have a light heavyweight championship belt fight between the reigning champion Carlos Jos Ricci (8-4) and the challenger Robbie "Lagarto" Stone (5-1).
Jos Ricci looks to defend his belt after he won it in a vicious TKO win over Pawel Nastula in UPF-LA 3. Both fighters are ground fighters so expect this one to go to the mat early. Jos Ricci is a ground and pound specialist while Stone has awesome submission skills. Stone has never been tested against someone who specializes in ground and pound and will want to keep the top position if he can, if he ends up on bottom he will be in for a real test. Will Jos Ricci's ground and pound help him keep his belt, or will Stone tap him out and be crowned as the new champion?
(HIYP) odds: Carlos Jos Ricci +156, Robbie "Lagarto" Stone -194
The Co-Main event is a middleweight fight to determine who will be challenging Ouji Eiichi for the championship belt. Matched up, we have Anderson "The Spider" Silva (9-2) and "JJ" Jimbo Jones (6-1-1).
Silva is a highly accurate stand up striker whos punches carry the force of a freight train, no one has made it out of the first round against him in his nine victories. Jones is a ground fighter who is a real submission artist, all six of his wins have come by submission, five of them in the first round. Jones will need to get this fight to the mat early to win, he simply is no match for Silva on his feet. Silva has good take down defense so Jones will have his hands full, if the fight goes to the ground Silva has good submission defense as well, but it only takes one successful attempt to lose. Will Jones take Silva down and tap him out, or will Silva make him see stars?
(HIYP) odds: Anderson "The Spider" Silva -203, "JJ" Jimbo Jones +163
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For a finale, we present the Main Event, a heavyweight championship fight between the reigning champion Dongdong Wong (10-2) and the challenger Lalbon Turu Rapthlaka (5-0).
The young undefeated challenger Rapthlaka is a ground fighter who specializes in ground and pound. The more experienced champ Wong is a powerful Muay Thai fighter who will look to keep the fight standing and clinch up. Rapthlaka is a real force on the ground, landing over 75% of his ground strikes. The problem for Rapthlaka will be Wong's exceptional take down defense, Wong has never been taken down from the clinch in over 20 attempts, and only once outside the clinch in over 15 attempts. Wong has never been tested against a good ground and pound fighter, so if Rapthlaka does manage to get the take down and work his ground it is still unknown how successful he will be. Will the undefeated youngster Rapthlaka be crowned as our new heavyweight champ, or will Wong use his experience to retain his belt?
(HIYP) odds: Dongdong Wong -203, Lalbon Turu Rapthlaka +163
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