2013-08-16
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BFT - 228: Atsushi vs Mazzarri 3 PPV! Preview

Event Preview: BFT-228: Atsushi vs Mazzarri 3
Blunt Force Trauma
2013-08-18, Sydney, Bondi Outdoor Arena
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 BFT - 228: Atsushi vs Mazzarri 3 PPV! Preview


 
After a great forray into the Pay-Per-View waters, BFT is back and looking for Mazzarri and Atsushi to settle their scores over the belt. We've also got a plethora of former champions and title hopefuls looking to stake their claims for belts in their weight classes. Men Like Titus "Tko" Kahoohalphala, Jermaine Choake, Guilherme Alves, and Jake Shields are all looking to show what a former BFT champs brings into their fights. Others like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, and Josh Barnett are looking to solidify themselves as top contenders. Tune in August 18th to see these men fight at the Bondi Outdoor Arena in Sydney, Australia. Without further stalling, let's start talking about what's going down on the card. 
 
Heavyweight - This cards starts off with a man who has never seen the judges score cards "The Freak" Brock Lesnar (8-1, BFT 5-1) fights hardened BFT vet Peter "Rhino" Tyzzkling (14-27, BFT 11-22)
 
"The Freak": Brock Lesnar started off his career going 3-0 in CS before hitting things up in BFT. In his debut, he lost to Kim Boshesh. He rebounded on his current 5 fight winning streak, including his first submission victory against Alistair Overeem and a revenge knockoug against Kim Boshesh. He's really tearing things up and with another win he could be looking at some big fights in his future. 
 
"Rhino": Peter Tyzzkling amassed a 3-5 record before making his way into BFT, in the organization's second event. He many not have the best record ever seen. But he comes in and looks to kill it. He's fought against everyone who really hopes to take the belt. He has some serious victories against Kim Jong Dong and Jason Kill. He's fought Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Josh Barnatt, Laguna Lunairs, Steve Tompkins, and Hagen Germanicus.
 
Evaluation: Tyzzkling has strong advantages on the feet, and Lesnar has a good advantage on the mats. Lesnar only goes for takedowns at the distance, with 69% accuracy. Tyzzkling tends to land 2 strikes per match. The clinch isn't much of an active place for either fighter. On the ground, Lesnar sticks 55% of his transitions and 85% of his strikes. He really will be the more dominant fighter on the mats, assuming the fight can get there. 
 
Bottom Line: Honestly, I think Lesnar should have this one. He has the skills to brign this to the mats and from there he can get the finish. Maybe in the first?
 
Welterweight - A clash in former BFT Champs occurs when the ex-Middleweight Champ Damian Nitschke (21-14-1, BFT 21-14-1) fights the ex-Welterweight Champ Jake Shields (18-13, BFT 16-11).
 
Damian Nitschke: The more recent champ of the two, Damian Started his professional career here in BFT. He made his debut in thevery first event and has stuck around ever since. He started off going 3-1. He had a streak of 0-4 soon after before going 4-0! At this point, he was 7-5 with 6 BFT of the Night awards! He went 2-6-1 while alternating between Welterweight and Middleweight, which including losing twice to Jake Shields and going 0-1-1 with Axel Whitecoat. Following his win with Heath Ledger, he stuck with Middleweight. He went on a bit of a streak before taking a set back from Ryan Clarkson, but hopped right back on the horse. He went on to win 6 fights in a row, including a knock out over the champ Amir Khan, gaining him the BFT Middleweight Belt. He went on to lose it to Hermio Junior soon after. He won 3 more fights in a row and appeared to be close to another title fight, before getting knocked down by Tarik Gibson. He now looks for his first victory against Jake Shields in a return to Welterweight, possibly with the hopes of gaining another belt.
 
Jake Shields: He didn't start in BFT like his opponent, but Jake Shields knew he was destined for something more. He started his career at 1-1 before challenging for his first title at MXC. He lost the fight, but it was a flash knockout. It could have happened to anyone. He went on to win one more fight in MXC before finding his way to BFT. It appeared that Sheilds had gone straight for success; after losing his first fight in the promotion, he won 3 in a row, including Super Hans (the Welterweight Champ). He had a few rocky streaks going on, with a 4-3 record in his next 7 fights. But he found his grove getting a four fight win streak and earning the belt against Hepatitis See. He went on to lose it against Super Hans in the next fight, however. He's gone 4-3 in his last 7 again, and hasn't been able to string 3 in a row since he got the belt. But he certainly knows how to perform in the ring. He has won all of his fights by way of submission. He has also acrued quite the bonus collection pile. He has gotten from BFT 3 Fight of The Night Awards and an outstanding 11 Submission of the Night awards. Although he lost his last one against Curtis Sharp, a win over Damian would be outstanding going towards going for the title again.
 
Evaluation: Neither guy has much going for them in terms of striking, and both men have been known to get hit. The interesting thing is seeing who can bring the fights to the mats. At the distance, Nitschke has the better takedowns (45% to 15% success), while in the clinch it is much closer (Nitschke 11% to Shields 17%). On the ground, they are ever closer. Shields seems to have the slight edge in every department (transitions: 42% to 39%, Strikes: 46% to 37%). He certainly has more wins by submission at 18-6, and fewer losses by submission at 2-3. Both guys are dedicated grapplers, however, and anything can happen.
 
Bottom Line: This would be a great fight for either guy to have their stand-up on display. On the ground, it is an extremely rough for both guys. I think that when it hits the mats, Shields can take it. 
 
Light Heavyweight - The former TCA and BFT Light Heavyweight Champion Shananigan Lurendrejer (15-4, BFT 10-3) fights a guy with 2 BFT bonuses to his name and is 4-1 in his last 5 fights Master Enki (7-5, BFT 6-4)
 
Lurendrejer: After going 1-1 in the QFC, Lurendrejer hit TCA. He won his initial fight there, won the belt, and defended it twice before heading to BFT. He won two in a row, before losing to Tony Twister. He rebounded against Drasek Riven and Antoine Wallace to fight "Tko" for the belt; a fight he went on to win. He defended his belt twice before losing it to Dallas MacMillan. He won 3 fights in a row before losing in his third match against "Tko". He's looking for a rebound to get him closer towards the title again.
 
Enki: Enki also went 1-1 in the QFC before signing to an organization: BFT. He started off with a disheartening 0-3 in BFT, all 3 losses by TKO. He had a fire lit under him afterward, going 4-0. That streat was stopped by Titus "Tko" Kahoohalphala. He's won his last two against Bulgelene Gossables and Mukassa Jones. He's looking for a key victory to send him in title trajectory. 
 
Evaluation: The two men seem prett equal on the ground, but Enki seems to have the slight advantage on the feet. On the feet, Enk is the more accurate of the two. He lands roughly 5 head punches per fight at 59% accuracy. On the other hand, Lurendrejer lands roughly hald of all the kicks he throws in every fight (thrown 1 head kick per fight, 10 leg kicks per fight, and 2 body kicks per fight. Lurendrejer has the better takedown accuracy at 60% compared to Enki's 10%. Neither man has done much work in the clinch. On the ground, Lurendrejer is a hard worker. He hits roughly 3 transitions per fight (compared to Enki's 2), and throws, on average, 21 strikes per fight! (compared to Enki's 2). Enki is the only one between the two of them that has a submission victory, and Lurendrejer is the only one between them who has a submission loss. But can Enki do it to Lurendrejer?
 
Bottom Line: I think Lurendrejer has the work ethic to take this fight. He has been on top of the mountain before and I think that he will contest for the belt at least once more before he calls it a career. 
 
Heavyweight - Rising Star with 7 BFT Bonus to his name "The Warmaster" Josh Barnett (10-2, BFT 10-2) fights the former BFT Heavyweight Champion who wins (and loses) most of his fights by cuts Laguna "Buzzsaw" Lunaris (16-3, BFT 16-3)
 
"The Warmaster": Barnett jumped into the BFT Heavyweight pool against January Kwiecinski. He lost it in a brutal KO in the second round. Since then, he hasn't seen the second round. He won seven fights straight by submission (4 by Kimura, 3 of those wins getting Submission of the Night) against opposition like Peter Tyzzkling and Alistair Overeem. He lost his next fight to Joe Kimura by... armbar. He bounced back by submitting the person to give him his first defeat, January Kwiecinski, as well as Frank Mir (For his first KO victory) and Alistair Overeem. He's fought some of the best in BFT, but can he handle the next level?
 
"Buzzsaw": Laguna made his debut at BFT - 68, carving him up and finishing him off in the second round. He went on to cut up and beat all of his opponents for the next 5 fights including Joseph Mageramsky and January Kwiecinski. He went on to beat Steve Tompkins by cut. He then lost the belt to Hagen Germanicus... by cut. He went on another tear, defeating his next 8 opponents, all of which had gotten cut through out their fights. He has since fallen on tough times, hitting a 1-2 patch, all finished by... cut. You can imagine why the nickname fits so well. Will he be able to rebound and compete for BFT gold once more?
 
Evaluation: Barnatt has the advantage in most disciplines. The biggest discrepancy is in the clinch, which Lunaris is soundly the better. At the distance, neither men have really thrown much, so don't expect much of the fight to take place there. The only things to happen at the distance are Barnett's 50% accurate takedowns and Lunaris's 15% accurate leg kicks. When we hit the clinch, Lunaris becomes the boss. He hits about 9 elbows per fight with 48% accuracy, with a few knees peppered in. But if it hits the mats, Barnatt has the significant advantage. Besides being two belts higher that Lunaris, he has 9 of his 10 victories being by submissions.
 
Bottom Line: It's submissions versus elbows. If either guy gets it to their expertise area, they take it. Simple as that. Who gets it there first? I'll take Lunaris on that one. 
 
Middleweight - Middleweight Contender for CFA and Supremacy's Middleweight Belts Ben Zanotto (13-5, BFT 6-2) gets in against recent BFT Middleweight Contender "Panther" Darren Sparks (15-11, BFT 6-2)
 
Ben Zanotto: Ben Zanotto found himself fighting in both CFA and Supremacy before making way to BFT. He started out his career at an outstanding 6-0, but lost his first fight to Jimmy Bjj for the CFA title. He went to lose to Josef Dellal in CFA, then beat him in Supremacy. He went on to lose the next title shot he had against Jimmy Bjj. He started off with a bang against Elijah Paris, before getting dropped against Lucas Rodriguez. He won his next 3 in a row, before losing to Miau Subsi by submission. He has since beaten Gary Barlow and Deigo Delo Santos by TKO within 2 minutes of the first round. He's looking to take it to the next level, but Darren Sparks is standing right in front of him.
 
Darren Sparks: Sparks started his career off at a 3-6 record before making his way to Valhalla. Once there, he really started to have success, making his mark with a 5-1 record. He hit the road againm going 1-2 before his BFT signing. He lost his initial fight against former titlist Damian Nitschke. After that, he won 5 fights in a row garnering a title shot against Chev Chelios. He lost it, but rebounded with a win over Richie Yang. After getting so close to the title, he must want a second chance at it. 
 
Evaluation: Sparks has clear advantages in the striking department and the BJJ area. But Zanotto could very well find victory in his wrestling skills. Lands more strikes per match, but Zanotto has a 60% success rate with his takedowns at the distance. In the clinch, Zanotto (although the lower skilled Muy Thai fighter) throws more strikes per match at roughly 3 per fight to Sparks's 1 per fight. Neither guy has good takedown offense from the clinch. Zanotto has never attempted a submission on the mats, but makes up for it with his strikes. He throws 14 strikes and lands 55% of them. Sparks throws roughly 1 strike per fight on the ground, but attempts 3 submissions per fight. 
 
Bottom Line: Both men certainly have the means to take the fight, but Sparks has more methods he can win the fight. That being said, I think that Zanotto will do this. He is a fantastic wrestler and he keeps the pressure on throughout the fight. 
 
Main Card!!
 
Welterweight - The Main Card starts with a clash betweeen former BFT Welterweight Champs when "The Kraken" Jermaine Choake (20-8, BFT 12-3) fights Guilherme "Buscape" Alves (20-10, BFT 16-8)
 
"The Kraken" : Choake started his career off in SFC. He made a strong first impression by wininng 4 fights in a row. He went on to lose his next two and get dropped by the organization. He hit a bit of a rough spot, hitting th QFC up before heading over to PS. There he sent a mixe 2-2 before signing with BFT. From then on out, he saught success. He won 3 fights in a row, all bonus winning fights, to then go on and win the title and fight of the night in his first go around with Alves. He defended it against Super Hans and Pat Smalls bedore losing it to Hepatitis See. He also had a go around with Akihito Tatsuhiko Jr. in there. He went on to win his next 4 fights, including Chev Chelios (2x) and Tatsuhiko, only to lose to the current champ, Super Hans. Jermaine then went to get 2 submission of the night performances against Ball Sack Jr. and a Middleweight victory to settle the score with Akihito Tatsuhiko Jr. With his eyes set on the title, will he be able to over come Alves again?
 
"Buscape" : BFT home grown. He began his career here in the open weight division at BFT - 16 going up against Miguel Miramontes. He took that fight, as well as his next 5 before losing to the welterweight champion, Pauli Painija. But he went on to win his next 3 in a row and then take out Abu Davee for the Title. After a successful defence against Akihito Tatsuhiko Jr, he went for and won a super fight against Richard Nixon at BDU 94. One more defence against Ricco El Suave, and he went off to lose a fight with Eiji Kawashima at REF. When he came back, he found himself winning his third fight against Akihito, but lost to the fellow Hall of Famer, Matt Miller, for the 155 belt. From there, he became much of a traveler, in weight classes and organizations. He went 4-5 including a 4 fight losing skid. He planted his roots back into BFT and went 1-1 in the lightweight division before moving back to the welterweight division. He had a huge knockout over Ball Sack Jr., but then a hard fought submission loss ot Jake Shields. He wants to get the win to get back into that championship form, but does he have it in him now?
 
Evaluation: These guys are really close in skill level. Like REALLY close. The more significant thing between the two of them is their body sizes. Choake will look massive compared to Alves. He is 17 cm taller, and his natural weight is 11.5 lbs heavier. On the feet, Alves is the much more active fighter. Choake seems to be much more interested in taking the fight to the mats. Neither guy really has remarkable accuracy in any point on the feet. In the clinch, though, Choake has a 6% increase in success of his takedowns (reaching 35% accuracy). Alves has a 61% success rate with his head punches in the clinch, roughly landing about 2 shots per match from there. He also has a 43% takedown success rate. On the ground, Choake averages 4 transitions per match with 52% accuracy (Alves is at 3 strikes per match and 42% accuracy). He also has more successful strikes on the ground, at 10 strikes per match and 66% accuracy (Alves is at 10 strikes per match and 43% accuracy). Choake also averages at 4 submission attempts per match to Alves's 3 per match. Of these guys 20 wins, Choake has 11 wins by submission to Alves's 13 wins.
 
Bottom Line: Both guys seem to be studs on the ground. I'd love to see how it plays out on the feet, but I think they'll hit the mats. We'll have to wait and see. It's a round call, but Choake seems to be on a roll right now. I think he can take it.
 
Heavyweight - The former Bellum Heavyweight Title Challenger who has won both of his BFT fight in the second round Gunnar Jensen (14-4, BFT 2-0) fights the 53 fight veteran and hot new BFT acquisition hailing from Poland "The Great Bear" Aleksander Ivanov (33-20, BFT 1-0)
 
Gunnar Jensen: Jensen started as a hot shot going 4-0 in his fights before losing to Luigi Megani for the Bellum Heavyweight title. He won his next three before suffering a loss to Albino Leffe. Then he strung together another 4 wins before going 1-2 to Anrie McDougie, Jimmy Rogers, and Corey Birthday. Dispite his performances there, he had found his way to BFT and was impressive at that. He opened with a second round submission against Pete Tippin, gathering him a Submission of the Night bonus. He went and won a gigantic Head Kick KO against Kim Jong. If he keeps on this track, he could certainly find his way to a title shot. How long will it take? I dunno. But his impressive victories certainly are not hurting his case.
 
Aleksander Ivanov: "The Great Bear" has worked hard to establish himself in the sport. After going 2-1 in the QFC, he made his way to the Canadian Martial Arts Association. His 4-3 record was alright, and he even went 1-1 after that. He hit thr roads some more racking up a 5-4 record before hitting the QFC once more. He went and made an impressive 5-2 before finding his niche in CFC. He started off going 2-2 before being able to put together a 4 fight winning streak. He lost his next 3, but was able to win his last fight in the org (impressively at that). He traveled around for a little while (mostly at BDU and SPFT) gathering a 5-4 record, and using that to start an impressive streak. He tore through Right Pound, scoring 3 submission victories, which lead him to BFT. He was able to get a nice victory against Diziz Sparta and knocking him out with one second left in the second round. That made 5 in a row for "The Great Bear". This could be his strike at a title, something that has avoided him throughout his career. But he's never had a 5 fight winning streak either.
 
Evaluation: A look at their raw talents show that it's close on the feet, with Jensen having slight advantages there. But Ivanov seems to have much better ground skills. On the feet, the numbers don't lie. 11 to 7 strikes land in favor of Jensen on average between the distance and the clinch. Jensen's accuracy is higher all around, but Ivanov has been known to take a punch or two. Their takedown offences are very similar. Jensen averages at 24% standing and 8% in the clinch, where as Ivanov has 28% standing accuracy and 14% accuracy in the clinch. On the ground, Jensen doesn't have high transition or strike success. Meanwhile, Ivanov stays active on the mats, but Jensen has face more active people on the mats. But not everybody has the same kind of conviction that Ivanov does at grappling.
 
Bottom Line: Ivanov has a lot of experience. He more than doubles the amount that Gunnar Jensen has had. It is a matter of Jensen bringing the fight to Ivanov. This is certainly a winnable fight for Jensen, but he has to make sure never to let his gaurd down against the tough opponent. I have Ivanov to take this one, but it's hard to stop a steamroller.
 
Light Heavyweight - Three time BFT Light Heavyweight Title Contender looks to stake his clame at the title for a fourth time Titus "Tko" Kahoohalphala (13-7, BFT 11-7) fights The former BFC Middleweight Champion Trinidad Suarez(14-7, BFT 2-2)
 
Titus: He started his fight career going 3-0, including his first BFT fight against Alex James. He lost to Drasek Riven in his next fight, but went on to take 3 victories in a row. He fought against then Champ Ken Tentheros, and lost a hard grappling match. Another stinging loss followed against Shananigan Lurendrejer, but two more wins had him fighting for gold again. This time it was for the vacant belt against Lurendrejer again; Shananigan was able to walk away with gold once more. A spotty record occured against stiff opponents, like Jake the Snake and Dallas MacMillan, before hitting two in a row. He lost in his third attempt for BFT gold in a rematch against Dallas MacMillan. After this faile attempt he strung two victories together (better than all of the other times where he lost after the title shot) against Mauricio Rua and acquired his first victory against Shananigan Lurendrejer. Always so close to the title, "Tko" could be finding himself on top of the mountain soon. But how many more chances can he get? 
 
Trinidad: Although he is realtively new to BFT, he certainly has had experience fighting. Trinidad was able to string his first 5 wins together before getting his first loss, but two months later, he was on the road to success. In his second fight in BFC, he was able to acquire the title against a rough Max Snozynsky. After defending it 3 times, he lost it to Tyr Asgaard, he went 2-2 after that fight to get himself into BFT. He lost his two initial fights to tough competition in Antoine Wallace and Shananigan Lurendrejer. He bounced back without standing knockouts against Bob Saddi and Mauricio Rua. He seems to be in good order to be a champ once more, but the question isn't when he'll get to the title. He's fighting in a weight class higher than he normally does and could be underpowered for the division. Is that the case? Or has he made the adjustments to be the champ in another weight class?
 
Evaluation: Saurez seems to be at a disadvantage in this fight in most places except the clinch. The differences in striking and wrestling were close, but "Tko" looks like he has a slight advantage. Titus is the more active striker, out doing Trinidad at 2.4 strikes per fight to 0.9 strikes per fight. Interstingly enough, neither fighter appears to have never thrown a kick in any of their fights... so yeah, don't expect any. Their takedown offense was not too close, at 50% to 27% at the distance in favor of "Tko" and 33% to 9% also in favor of Titus, but the more impressive stat was his takedown defense. "Tko" has been taken down in every one of his fights. On the ground, Titus is the more active transitioner and striker, but that isn't the only important thing. Suarez has a very high striking offense on the ground at a resounding 71% average. Neither of them have submission victories to their name, but that doesn't help with who is better at them, huh? 
 
Bottom line: It appears that Titus should have this one in the bag, but you just straight up can't count out Suarez. He's been winning against guys bigger that he's used to and looks like a mad man on a mission. He knows a win over "Tko" will be huge for staking a claim at the title. And "Tko" knows that this win is an important one for himself.
 
Co-Main Event - Heavyweight - Currently riding a 12 fight winning streak "Big Nog" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (12-1, BFT 10-0) fights the former DUFF, CS, CFA Heavyweight Title holder, CFA Super Heavyweight Title Holder, and BFT Heavyweight title Contender "Fat pig" Kim Jong (16-5, BFT 3-3)
 
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: He started off in SPFT. He lost his first fight out of the gate, to Matt Mitrione. He went off to finish his SPFT contract at 2-1, with both wins submissions. He came into BFT and started off unquestionably well. Every fight he has been in since joining BFT has been finished in the first round. In fact, his average fight time in BFT is 2:09. After stringing wins against the likes of Punch Drunk, January Kwiecinski, Brain Damage, and Kim Boshesh, "Big Nog" created a huge buzz around him with three back to back BFT Submission of the Night victories over Shogun BDown, Alistair Overeem, and Peter Tyzzkling. A win over former champ Laguna Lunaris on BFT's first PPV event was his last, and it was a great one at that. It's hard to deny "Big Nog" getting a wack at the title with a victory over his next opponent.
 
Kim Jong: Although Kim Jong has only had a 21 fight career to date, he is about as seasoned as they get. In his fifth fight, he found himself fighting for the DUFF Heavyweight Title. He went on to win and defend the CS Heavyweight Title. He had straight title fights until he lost to Hagen Germanicus in his BFT premier fight. He followed it with a BFT submission of the night performance over Steve Tompkins. Although he has had a shaky record since then, Kim has always brought the fight. All he needs is a good win to be right back into title contention, and stopping "Big Nog" would certainly get him moving in the right direction.
 
Evaluation: As with most "Big Nog" fights, he has got to get it to the ground. Kim Jong completely out classes him on the feet. Now then, Antonio has roughly 47% takedown success; meanwhile, Kim Jong lands on average 20 strikes per fight. Between his devastating strikes on the ground to his slick transition skills, Antonio can handle the fight on the ground regaurdless of where he ends up on the ground. Really a classic case of grappler vs striker.
 
Bottom Line: Kim Jong needs to keep his takedown defense up and be active while striking in order to take this one. If Nogueira gets it to the mats, it'll be all him. I think Nogueira has found a way to take it to the mat every time, and I believe he does so again here. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira takes another fight, making it 13 in a row and stakes a claim to fight for the title.
 
Main Event - Lightweight Title! - Lightweight Champion "Kana" Kuroda Atsushi (24-6-1, BFT 16-5-1) looks to defend his title for the 7th and looks to get his first win in 3 attempts against the former Lightweight BFT Champ (who never actually lost his belt) "Mace" Enrico Mazzarri (12-0-1, BFT 11-0-1).
 
Kuroda Atsushi: He started his career here at BFT, going 1-1 in the open weight division, before moving on to FCD. He started off there by getting 2 decisions before loving by armbar to Luis Felipe. After that, he went on an outstanding 6-0 run, with a pair of wins over Janek Kochanowski, which lead him back to BFT. He opened with a strong performance against Manny Pacquiao before dropping two decisions, including the first loss again st Enrico Mazzarri. But that fueled him to go on another 3-0 run to fight Enrico Mazzarri once more, this time for the BFT lightweight title. He fell short this time, in the fifth by knockout after a hard fought fight. But he still never gave up. He fought to a 4-0 streak before fighting Sergi Cosixen for the vacant Lightweight title. He went on to defend his title 6 times against the likes of Victor Bonifacio (3x, one of which being a draw), Samuel Vimes, Johnny Woo, and Sergei Cosixen. He had two fights which were not for the belt withing that time frame, which helped evlove his popularity. He had a difficult fight against Mohammed Ul Haq, who was the former Boomerang! Lightweight Champ, and a gigantic victory over the Welterweight Champion Super Hans, headlining BFT's first ever PPV. This was Super Hans's first loss in a year. Although he hasn't beaten Mazzarri yet, this role that Atsushi has been on has really given him the winnability factor.
 
Enrico Mazzarri: Enrico Hopped on the fight scene with a solid 3 round fight ending in an TKO with four seconds on the clock. That gave him his ride into BFT. He went on to go undefeated in his next 9 fights. Fighters like Fenton Meeks, "Fishbowl" Chaowanungkarn, Johnny Woo, and Pedo Bear had no answer for him. He fought Kuroda for the empty Lightweight Belt, and went on to defend it against Hussak Claw and Samuel Vimes before mysteriously disappearing. He has been out of action since the Vimes fight, almost 10 months ago. This could either have been a time for him to vastly improve his fight skills, or has left an opening for Mazzarri to lose his first professional fight. We'll soon know which it is. 
 
Evaluation: Both guys have the same general game plan. They want the fight to hit the mat. At the distance, Kuroda has proven to be the more active of the two. In particular, he has been known to throwdown 13-14 kicks per fight. With a 57% land rate for his leg kicks, you know if things stay standing Mazzarri will feel it. The key difference, however is in their takedowns. Mathematically, Enrico has the better takedowns. He averages at 64% takedown average, while Kuroda sits at 46%. Neither fighter has done much in the clinch, but their takedowns show the same story as the distance. Kuroda has a 43% takedown accuracy, while Enrico has 100% accuracy from the clinch. Then we look at the ground. It is interesting to note that both men like to throw the ground and pound from the top position. Enrico averages at 15 landed ground strikes per match with 60% accuracy. Kuroda averages 9 strikes landed per match with a 52% accuracy. Enrico also seems to have the better defence of strikes on the mats. When the scrambles hit, however, either man can get to where they want. Both men have similar accuracy with their transitions (Enrico at 39% and Kuroda at 33%). Although both men have submissions to their name, Atsushi is the only one to taste defeeat by that way. Well defeat at all really.
 
Bottom Line: It will be a fantastic match, but all signs point to Mazzarri. Will he be able to live up to it come fight night? Or will Kuroda be able to capitalize on the long absence that Enrico has had? We'll know soon enough.

 

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