2013-08-05
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HMMA 98 preview

Event Preview: HMMA 98 Laputa v Slinga
HEROIC
2013-08-03, London, The H2O Arena
Author:

Hello fight fans its me again “Sunshine” Weston Markson along with my partner Rudy “The Box” Knife, were here for the HMMA 98 preview show.  Earlier today we thwarted an attempted invasion of the HMMA studio but all is well now and business is as usual.  HMMA 98 takes place in London’s The H2O Arena where on Saturday the 3rd of August 20,000 HMMA fans will lay witness to some great fights on a stacked card. 


Rudy:  That’s right Weston this card has several fighters that are ranked in their weight classes, these are all guys who could be just a few wins away from a title shot or closer!  There are former champions and Hall of famers on this fight card as well.  This is going to be big and im excited for the action.  As far as those chumps that attempted to invade the studio and do the HMMA 98 preview….better luck next time.


MAIN EVENT

#4 Kirk Laputa (19-5) v  #5 Gun Slinga (15-7)


Weston:  The main event of HMMA 98 is a heavyweight fight for position in the division.  Two highly ranked fighters one of which will continue their path towards a title shot the other finds himself once again looking at others get opportunities he missed out on.  4th ranked Kirk Laputa has had two fights in HMMA both were 2nd round TKO’s now his third trip to the HMMA cage he finds himself ranked very highly in the division with big opportunities knocking on the door, standing in his way is HMMA veteran Gun Slinga.  Slinga has for long been one of the most promising up and coming prospects in the heavyweight division sitting at 6-2 his record is one that few heavyweights have his impressive record is only overshadowed by the level of competition he has faced.  His only two losses come at the hands of a former HMMA heavyweight champion, and the current reigning champion.  Some pundits have said Slinga is a top 5 heavyweight gate keeper, a guy who will determine if a fighter is going to become champion or not some day, but I think this young stud is just getting going and very soon will prove he is more then a championship gatekeeper. 


Rudy:  Weston I actually agree with you, I think at some point Slinga will be HMMA’s heavyweight champion.  When he first came to HMMA I didn’t know what to think but quickly an opionion was formed and he is one of the biggest forces in the division.  I feel the same about Laputa it may be to early to tell if he is destined for greatness here but so far he is building a resume to suggest so.  I know one thing when these two fight Saturday its going to be a close back and forth battle, they are so evenly matched up its really hard to determine who has  the advantage where.  I cant ever remember either of these fighters going for a takedown so we can just throw that out its not going to happen ….at least I highly doubt it.  Both of these guys are elite strikers,  Laputa has a little more accuracy in his strikes but by a slim margin, both fighters are very dangerous they have one strike ending power combined these two have 34 wins and out of those 34 wins 28 have been by (T)KO, that is over 80%!  With stats like that its easy to predict one of these guys is getting knocked out.  If you were to ask me where I think this fight is decided I would say I think the clinch is going to have a lot of bearing on this fight, we could even see a (T)KO starting from there as both fighters have employed clinch tactics in the past.  Laputa has one of the most impressive clinch games in the heavyweight division he is very versatile and shown an ability to dominate his opposition from there.  Slinga has also shown he can have a good clinch game.  He averages 17 strikes per fight from the clinch which is almost as much as his total from strikings range.  This is going to be a great standup battle that ends when one chin can no longer withstand the punishment.  So whose chin gives first?


Prediction:  I think Slinga takes this one by late (T)KO


CO-MAIN EVENT


#3 Kaka Pheu Pheu (11-2-1)  v #5 Noel "The Duke" Smith (13-10)


Weston:  The CO-MAIN EVENT of HMMA 98 is a light-heavyweight battle between former champion Kaka Pheu Pheu, and Noel “The Duke” Smith.  Smith’s last fight was his HMMA debut against Zoran Miloshevich who at the time was ranked in the top 5 of the division.  Coming right in and upsetting Zoran sent shockwaves throughout the division and garnered the interest of the divisions elite.  Wanting to move closer towards title contention Smith signed up to fight recent champion KPP who is out to prove he deserves another chance at the champion Nate Barnes, KPP has already stated he wants a rematch with the champion who took his title just a few short weeks ago with a win here he most likely earns that title shot and the opportunity to prove he should still be champion. 


Rudy:  Oh this is going to be a fantastic fight.  KPP is a true “jack of all trades” he can fight anywhere he chooses, whether it be standing and trading or on the ground, and he has had great success doing this with 4 wins by (T)KO and 4 by submission, his opponent Noel Smith is similar he also has the ability to fight anywhere, although his submission credentials are not quite as good as KPP’s he is  still very good on the ground particularly if he gets on top of you where he will reign down  strikes, he lands right around 50% of his ground strikes,  so he doesn’t mind missing as long as he is staying busy.  I am expecting a good all-around fight here where when one fighter is getting the better of the other the one behind changes tactics to swing it in his favor.


Prediction:  I think this one is a long battle I have KPP by decision.


MAIN CARD


#10 Igor "Rat-a-tat" Tatov (27-16) v  #7 “Turk” John England   (24-10)


Weston:  The last fight on the main card is a heavyweight fight between two fighters ranked in the bottom half of the rankings, #10th ranked Igor Tatov takes on 7th ranked John England.  For one a win could improve them to the upper half and a loss could temporarily put them on the outside looking in.  This is John England’s first trip to the HMMA cage, but a storied career he has had and wants to continue inside of HMMA.  England has been a champion, and is even a HoF member of another organization.  If he is able to manage the same success here in HMMA he could go down as one of the greatest heavyweights ever.  Tatov has been in HMMA for a while and has had really good success only loosing to top 5 competition.  Sitting at 4-2 Tatov feels with his age its do or die time.


Rudy:  Another solid fight here that will most likely end in a knockout.  I say this because Tatov has won 19 of his fights by (T)KO and John England in 24 wins has won 24 times by (T)KO.  That’s not a mistake yes 100% of England’s wins have been by (T)KO.  Now Tatov is the more well-rounded fighter  offensively he can and does work in takedowns and submissions so its possible we see Tatov avoid the power of England and work for takedowns in this one, England has been taken down from standing range 43% of the time but once the fight hits the ground his defensive BJJ skills really take over, but are they good enough to stop Tatov from having his way with him?  We will find out.  Standing England swings for the fences, he puts everything he has into every shot this can be seen with his striking accuracy which is in the 40% and below range for every strike except leg kicks.  Tatov may have an advantage there in that he will land more strikes his accuracy is over 50%, and England also allows a lot of strikes to be landed to himself particularly head punches which he eats 80% of the time.  This will be interesting to see how this one plays out.


Prediction:  England (T)KO.


#8 Jay Hunter (18-9) v  #9  Mike Tyson (20-10-1)


Weston:  The next fight on the main card is a welterweight fight between former Lightweight champion Mike Tyson and Jay Hunter,  By now everyone knows the story of Tyson he has had a great career in HMMA former lightweight champion, the first man to ever beat John Saunders, and a potential Hall of fame resume, but Tyson has decided to embark on a new path, one that could land down the road with him being HMMA’s welterweight champion.  A change in weight classes is just what he feels is needed to make another run at glory.  For Jay Hunter this is his third trip to HMMA’s cage, having split the previous two fights this is the an important fight because it could tell us where his spot in this division is.  Will he win and move upwards towards bigger and better things or will he take a loss and be in the middle of the division? 


Rudy:  You know Weston these two guys are amazing.  Two guys who are both elite strikers and grapplers.  Statistically Tyson is the more accurate fighter with both his takedowns and his standup, but Hunter has shown something Tyson has not, and that is the ability to submit people.  Tyson despite having a diverse attack doesn’t seem to do much  with takedowns other then stay busy with GNP, while Hunter has dangerous GNP and submission skills.  Tyson has a knack for winning close decisions, and even though statistically more accurate he doesn’t have as much power or finishing ability as Hunter, for that reason one may say Hunter is the more dangerous fighter.  Whatever happens this will be an entertaining fight.


Prediction:  Tyson by decision


“Painkiller” Mikael Samoth (27-12)  v  Johnny "Handsome" Turk   (23-14)


Weston:  The next fight is another heavyweight fight between two fighters who are surprising everyone in the division.  Mikael Samoth, and Johnny Turk.  Now long ago both of these fighters looked like they were on the downswing of their career, but both have managed to turn it around and are starting to turn heads with two fight win streaks.  One of these two fighters will move on to bigger and better things, most likely find themselves ranked, and be on a three fight win streak when this one is over,  the other has a small blip in their resurgence. 


Rudy:  One can make an argument for either of these fighters winning this one.  Both of these heavyweights are dangerous, Samoth is more versitle having six fights by (T)KO, and seven by submission.  While Turk has won 19 fights by (T)KO and 2 by submission.  What’s crazy is how long these two have been around, there is nearly 80 fights between the two of them.  If you look at the game tape you find that Turk doesn’t attempt many takedowns, but when he does he gets them having landed nearly 50% of his takedowns,  while Samoth has attempted more takedowns per fight he lands a slightly less percentage coming in around 45%.  Standing both men have the ability to get it done, although Turk is the more accredited striker landing nearly 55% of all strikes, and finishing most of his fights by first round (T)KO.  I am really excited for these two fighters, one of them is taking a big step up here.


Prediction:  I think Turk takes this one by (T)KO


Agaton Piaskun (14-6-2)  v  Gabe Faber  (20-9)


Weston:  The first fight of the main card is a light-heavyweight brawl as Gabe Faber makes his second appearance inside the cage to take on Agaton Piaskun.  Both fighters are coming off a loss,  for Piaskun it was a minor setback after a 4 fight win streak.  For Faber it was losing his HMMA debut.  I think both of these guys have the potential to do big things here in the division and this fight could be what propels them to do so. 


Rudy:  Piaskun’s biggest weapons are his leg kicks, takedowns, and GNP.   He uses them all brilliantly, the kicks slow down his opponent, the takedowns are set up by this, and then the GNP finishes them off.   He lands his takedowns 47% of the time that’s almost every other takedown that lands.  With those kind of abilities its usually him that dictates where the fight will take place.  Faber is a striker he is good both at striking range and in the clinch.  He lands an astonishing 77% of head punches from the clinch.  He also averages almost 15 head punches and 13 leg kicks per fight these are his two biggest weapons that he will look to use against Piaskun.


Prediction:  Piaskun 3rd round TKO


PRELIMS


French Toast  v  Joe Ball


Lasi Kukko  v  Bruce Lee


Jim Beam  v  Gugo Ograni


Peter Comradi  v  Seppo Kneeigeninen


 

 

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