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 Hello again everyone, Bob Buckler here, President of the Kings of the Bronx fight organization.
Man, it's been a rough week. Setting up matches for this weekend's event has been quite the ordeal. Fight offers were sitting in mailboxes for days, and people didn't seem to be paying much attention. But now everything is a done deal, right down to the wire!
Here are my predictions for the event. Keep in mind that I intended our main event to feature Butter Bean, but he never responded to my fight offer, so I had to take him out. Also, due to a huge injury, my personal favorite fighter Ivan Drago couldn't make this event. Let's begin.
Arm Bar vs. Zaire Hudson
This may be interesting as Hudson has proven he can knock out opponents or force them to submit. Against Arm Bar, Hudson may want to keep this fight standing if he can, as he has the edge in boxing. Arm Bar will look to tap out Hudson early with his superior BJJ skills, but I suspect Hudson may not be an easy win. This one is gonna depend on Hudson's skill at staying on his feet.
Gary Gravity vs. Steven Johnson
We all remember Gravity's debut fight against John Li. He proved to be a very unorthodox fighter coming out of the gate. This time we know to expect the low kicks, taking the legs away from his opponent. Or at least that's what Johnson should expect. Or perhaps Gravity will surprise us again with a totally different tactic. Johnson is a much better boxer, but hasn't proven to hold any knockout power. I'm giving this fight to Gravity, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he fights this time.
Anthony Messersmith vs. Jhonny Abdu
Messersmith's debut fight could be good. I expect him to take this fight to the ground as he's the better BJJ fighter, but Abdu has a big advantage in the standup game. It's hard to know what to expect with a brand new fighter. Anyone's match.
Sam Talbert vs. Erkesh Shakeev
On paper, Shakeev seems to have the advantage, as he's the more rounded standup fighter. However, Talbert has won both of his fights and Shakeev has lost both of his. Maybe this will be time for Shakeev to prove he's got what it takes. Or perhaps he'll be just another stepping stone for Sam Talbert. I'm giving this one to Talbert, only because he's a proven winner. I've been wrong before.
Dean Cutler vs. Jason Venture
Here is the classic wrestling match. Both fighters are comfortable on the ground and I expect a submission battle here. Cutler won his only fight by decision, but Venture has won 2 fights by submission, so I'm giving him the edge here, even though Cutler has a little more advanced wrestling skills. Maybe that'll be the edge Cutler needs to escape Venture's submissions and obtain one of his own, though. It'll be a good one.
Roy Nelson vs. Gunnar Nelson
The two Nelson's (no relation) go head to head in this one. Props to both of them for accepting this fight at very short notice. And extra special props to Roy Nelson for accepting the fight, as he still has an unhealed cut given to him by Keith Glenn in our last event. It's the same cut that cost him the match. I don't expect it to give him too many problems here, as his opponent is a ground fighter. Roy will want to keep it upstairs, as he's the superior standup fighter. He's not too shabby on the ground either, but Gunnar could definitely take him out if he can keep him on the mat. Both fighters have yet to see a win, and one of them will be walking away from this match pretty happy, I presume. It'll be interesting.
Viktor Hernandez vs. Robert Boone
This one could have been a main event. Both guys are big and tough, and both of them have knocked out opponents in the first round. They are nearly evenly matched on paper. Boone has the slight experience advantage, having had 2 fights to Hernandez's 1. I hope to see a good old fashioned brawl. It could shape up to be the most entertaining fight of the night.
Varg Veide vs. Lucas Lodano
Both guys are wonderful boxers, and I hope to see a great boxing match. Veide has a huge advantage on the ground, but I don't expect that's where he's gonna want to be. Veide is also much more experienced, with 6 fights under his belt, while Lodano only has 1. We haven't seen much of Lodano's standup, and he's supposedly got some KO power behind his punches. If he can beat Veide, it'll be a huge win for him.
Joey Ryan Roberts vs. Jimmy Banjo
Boxer versus Kickboxer. Banjo has a reputation for being a punching bag, until he won a decision against Steven Johnson in the last event. And at least this time he seems to be taking the fight seriously. However, his opponent is Joey Roberts, the man who went 4 rounds with Ivan Drago and barely lost by decision. The untold story to that fight is, Drago came away from that fight with a huge injury, given to him by Roberts, which is why he wasn't able to be in the next event. Roberts took a pounding from Drago for 4 rounds and came away without much more than a scratch, but was able to deliver massive injury in return. How can Jimmy Banjo stand up to Roberts? I underestimated Banjo last time and was forced to believe in a higher power. This time, if Banjo wins, I'll eat my hat.
Keith Glenn vs. Alex Murphy (Main Event)
This was going to be Keith Glenn versus Butter Bean, but the Bean was MIA when I came knocking with the offer. Instead, Alex Murphy stepped up to the plate, as an untested fighter, to go up against the man who had quite a showing in our last event. The last time we saw Keith Glenn, he was sitting on top of Roy Nelson, beating the dog shit out of him until we couldn't even recognize who he was. This time around, Glenn is going up against a guy who knows his way around the mat, or at least we hope so. I don't know if I have a lot of hope for Alex Murphy, after seeing what Glenn did to Nelson. If Glenn unleashes the same beast a second time, I think we'll have a real contender on our hands for top fighter in the organization. But if Murphy comes out and wins his first fight against Glenn, then man, will that be a great way to start a career. I can't wait to see what happens.
Good luck to all our fighters, and hope to see you all watching at the event on saturday!
Bob Buckler
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