2013-09-01
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Williams Camp, REVO 8 - Review

Editorial by Jolon Williams

Williams Camp, REVO 8 - Review

 

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to REVO Access, where we present to you the rundowns of each and every REVO event before anyone else! REVO - 8 though ... where do we even begin? A practically sold out crown roared in approval as the card delivered precisely what it promised. All out excitement and, as expected from REVO competitors, a plethora of definitive finishes. In what was predicted to be one of REVO's most successful events to date, the glass ceiling was completely shattered as the fighters left their all in the cage. But don't take our word for it .... let's begin the rundown.



Mario Eikmeyer versus Kelly Rhodes

 

 

When we offered up our humble opinions on this fight in our preview, we claimed that Rhodes would probably be able to gain the upper hand on his feet and avoid the ground at all costs. What we did not realise, was exactly how much he would dominate. Whether it was due to Eikmeyer's overzealous and numerous to the point of predictable takedown attempts, Rhodes would play the matador in the cage, avoiding more attempts than one could count on all digits combined ... (trust me, we tried) ... and demolish Eikmeyer with astounding precision, not missing a single significant shot against a haplessly defenseless Eikmeyer. Eikmeyer would be busted open early on in the first round with a nasty elbow in the clinch, but the blood would only seem to increase his fervour, and he would go after Rhodes with tenfold aggression, even scoring a takedown soon after and, as suspected, putting on a strong showing for himself once on the mat. Rhodes would manage to sweep Eikmeyer several times and obtain a dominant position, but would soon once again find himself the victim of Eikmeyer's superior mat skills and a rough display of ground and pound. However, Eikmeyer's cardio simply would not hold up, and by the second round, it seemed as though he had already tired himself out. Unable to finish Rhodes in the first round in a timely manner, he would find himself as nothing more than a punching bag, as Rhodes would refuse to fall for the same hand twice. With Rhodes dodging his attempts to take the fight once again to the mat, Eikmeyer would spend the rest of the two rounds taking an unenviable battering, and the judges would eventually score the fight for Rhodes in an unquestionable decision victory. What a way to start the night!

 

Owner Gradings

 

Mario Eikmeyer - D-

 

While he knew he had to take the fight to the mat, and did so with a religious fervour, fact of the matter is that a little more calm inserted into his gameplan would have probably done Eikmeyer a lot more good. His over aggression and the fact that he tired himself out so quickly left him as nothing more than a canvas for Rhodes to practice his art upon. Every time Eikmeyer tried to close the distance, Rhodes would simply scoot away and land yet another nasty strike in the process. Honestly, I'm surprised Eikmeyer made it the full three rounds.

 

Kelly Rhodes - B+

 

While he had an unfortunate first round, his gameplan came into full effect from the second round forward, and his patience was rewarded in full. The only negative was his inability to properly finish a barely standing Eikmeyer off. Other than that? Golden.

 



Eyelove Fucked Up versus Thiago Sanchez

 


With both men entering the REVO cage with a past few fights that they'd rather forget, the stakes were high in this fight, as it would establish which fighter could obtain a firm foothold in the REVO welterweight division. Unfortunately for Eyelove, it became abundantly clear early on that this individual would not be him. Only having the time to score a single strike before Sanchez closed the distance, Eyelove would opt to clinch up with Sanchez .. an unwise decision. Sanchez, being the superior grappler, quickly turned the situation towards his own advantage, and pulled guard, where his wrestling prowess soon came into play. While Eyelove would manage a few seconds here, and a few seconds there of a slight comeback, the majority of the first round would go Sanchez's way, and right before the first bell would ring, a particularly vicious strike would find it's way through Eyelove's guard and daze him significantly, only managing to retain his consciousness due to the end of the first round. Entering the second, Eyelove was still looking rather discombobulated, but would make a slightly better account for himself nevertheless, this time showing Sanchez a bit of his own striking prowess. However, a couple of minutes in, Eyelove would once again make the mistake of clinching up with Sanchez, and again, he would find himself dragged to the mat. This time, Sanchez was determined to end the fight, and his aggression was unmistakable as he pounded Eyelove out for the better part of two minutes before gaining mount. The beginning of the end for Eyelove, all it took from there was a couple more well placed blows, and the referee would step in in favour of Sanchez, calling an end to the bout due to an unresponsive Eyelove. Winner via TKO, the debuting Sanchez!

 

Owner Gradings

 

Eyelove Fucked Up - D-

 

While he fared a lot better than I thought he would on his feet, fact of the matter is you don't try and outgrapple a grappler, and that's precisely what Eyelove tried to do. Closing the distance between a grappler of your own accord is a suicide wish, and Sanchez delivered accordingly in that regard. Eyelove's dropped to 0-2 now here in REVO, and he's definitely going to want to pick up the pace.

 

Thiago Sanchez - B

 

He knew what he wanted and went after it constantly. I don't think he landed a single strike on his feet, to be honest, and he might face more dire consequences against a better prepared opponent in that regard, but here, he capitalised on his opponent's mistakes effectively, and once on the mat, asserted his dominance in an unmistakable manner. A clear-cut finish is definitely a good way to make an impression on one's debut.

 



Strike Hearth versus Diego Brandao

 

 

Diego Brandao is a dangerous guy. But to Hearth's credit, he withstood Brandao's onslaught for the first minute whilst on his feet, where Brandao was relentless and aggressive, per his usual strategy, eventually capitalising on a missed jab and scoring a takedown. Unfortunately, we did also mention that Brandao had a bit of mat ability as well, and while we predicted that Hearth could have this one in hand if he got this one down to the mat due to his superior grappling skills, Brandao pulled out a surprise triangle, catching Hearth unawares soon after the takedown as he tried to negotiate a better position, and, much to the crowd's surprise, forced a hapless Hearth to then tap, only a couple minutes into the round. Whether it was a lucky submission, or Brandao's experience coming into play, Brandao has nevertheless managed to maintain his own little legacy of never letting a fight go to the judge's hands in his own twenty fights and counting. Seriously, that Brandao is one dangerous guy.

 

Owner Gradings

 

Strike Hearth - C

 

Can't fault him too much. He knew where he needed the fight and sought it out aggressively, even withstanding Brandao's powerful strikes long enough to get the takedown. I don't know if he let his guard down, if Brandao was better on the mat than anyone could have suspected, or a mixture of both, but Hearth was caught by surprise and Brandao didn't let him get away with it. Unfortunate, but Hearth's professional and organisational debut ends in a loss.

 

Diego Brandao - A

 

Have to give it to Brandao. He knows what he's good at, and he sticks to it. Relentless and aggressive striking to begin with, he gets taken down, and he's still trying to finish the fight at every opportunity. His kind of fighter isn't usually very successful, but Brandao has something that makes it work for him. Probably be best for any future opponents of his, to not underestimate him.

 


Jeremy Stapleton versus Sergei Karkov

 

 

I know we said Brandao is a dangerous guy ... and he is, make no mistake. But Stapleton made a case for himself in a bid for the title for REVO's own most dangerous man as he put on another striking clinic at REVO - 8 against Sergei Karkov. Actually, I'm not sure if you could call it a clinic at all, in reality. He landed three strikes. Three. But then again, that's all he threw, and even more importantly, that's all he needed. Remember how he finished his first fight in 32 seconds? Well, he took longer this time. By one second. 33 seconds, and Karkov was out like a light. The Russian native spent those 33 seconds, trying desperately to get the fight to the ground. Actually, he was doing that for maybe the first half of those 33 seconds ... almost as though Stapleton gave him a start-off handicap. After he had attempted three takedowns and failed, Stapleton launched into gear, landing a body shot, a body kick and a vicious head kick in quick succession ... the latter of which would connect with Karkov's neck with a vicious crunch that reverberated throughout the arena, and promptly turned the lights out for the unfortunate Russian.

 

Owner Gradings

 

Jeremy Stapleton - A+

 

Yeesh. That kid doesn't mess around, does he? I like it though, I like that kid. His two wins have barely taken a minute combined, if that isn't power, I don't know what is. Nothing to say whatsoever here. Ace.

 

Sergei Karkov - D-

 

Fight didn't last long enough for an overly accurate grading for Karkov, but the three successive takedown attempts at the beginning definitely didn't make things any more difficult for Stapleton.

 



Andrzej Wrzeszczycki versus Epeli Nailatikau

 

 

3 and a half years ago, there was a fighter. A fighter who had an impressive career going, undefeated at 13-0 and still going strong. Until, that is, he disappeared. But, at REVO - 8, in the MAIN EVENT .... he returned! And what a fight it was, ladies and gentlemen. With all three rounds closely contested, it was anyone's guess who the victor would be ... but we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's rewind things a little.

 

Nailatikau would launch right out of his corner, simultaneous to the bell, clearly eager to get the fight underway. Indeed, Nailatikau's aggression would show itself throughout the bout, but Wrzeszczycki would counter his opponent's passion with a calm attempt to simply dictate the pace, rather than allow such aggression to overcome him as well and force him to fight at Nailatikau's pace. Constantly impending Nailatikau by halting him in the clinch, only to then break the clinch after landing a couple of strikes, it was clear that Wrzeszczycki had no intention of allowing Nailatikau to control the fight. The fight would see the mat a couple times in the first round as well, initiated by both fighters, but not much would take place, and the first round would close with no clear-cut dominance from either competitor.

 

The second round would see a slight change of pace from both fighters. Not keen to allow Wrzeszczycki to utilise the same tactics over and over, Nailatikau would make it a point this time of evading Wrzeszczycki's clinch attempts, avoiding the Polish native's grappling reach on several occasions and maintaining a distance, all the while landing strikes of his own in the process. This, in turn, would force Wrzeszczycki to change his own pace, and once he finally managed to get the fight into the clinch, he would keep it there, landing strikes at his own pace whilst attempting to simply control Nailatikau, wear him down, and take the fight to the mat, something he would eventually succeed at towards the end of the round. Once again, as the second round came to a close, neither fighter truly appeared ahead, and the fight was still up in the air.

 

The third round would see Wrzeszczycki revert back to his old tactics, and perhaps fatigue had set in for Nailatikau, but he would prove unable to evade Wrzeszczycki's grappling as effectively as he had in the second round. He would still make a case for himself, landing strikes and certainly refusing to make things any easier on his opponent, but as the round came to a close, with neither fighter succumbing to the other, the decision would fall into the hands of the judges. The crowd was silent as the judge's held up their scorecards, revealing the victor to be .... Wrzeszczycki! Despite a close fought three rounds, the decision was unanimous, no doubt brought on by his ability to dictate the pace and slow Nailatikau down where Nailatikau had wanted otherwise. A masterful display by both fighters, the main event was an absolute treat, and there is no doubt in this writer's mind that the fans went home content and buzzing from the excitement. Just another night here at REVO though folks, the number one source for entertainment in London, assured! If that wasn't good enough, the next card is none other than CAMP WARS! I for one, am looking forward immensely to seeing which camp can emerge victorious this time around and how the Williams camp will respond to the humilation it suffered in the first meeting. With all the titles on the line to boot, this Camp Wars is shaping up to be an outright spectacle, and as much as I find it hard to believe anything topping tonight's excitement ... I'm going to keep my fingers crossed!

 

Owner Gradings

 

Andrezj Wrzesczycki - A

 

Highly unorthodox tactics ... yet apparently in this case, highly effective! He dictated the pace of the bout, that much was evident, and the judges clearly scored for him in favour to that, as I'm fairly certain that as far as pure striking went, Nailatikau had the upper hand. No, it was Wrzesczycki's grappling, which helped him dictate the fight as an overall, that earned him the victory. Still undefeated, and highly impressive.

 

Epeli Nailatikau - A-

 

He lost, but for once, it wasn't due to a bad gameplan or mistaken tactics. He put on an excellent showing. I questioned the takedown attempts against a superior grappler, but other than that, his striking was excellent, he knew what he wanted to do, it was the right thing to try and do, and he would have managed it and probably won as well, if Wrzesczycki hadn't seen it coming and strategised against it. An excellent fight to watch, tremendous display from both fighters, I honestly had no clue who was going to win it.

 

*****BREAKING NEWS!

 

Hard in training still for his upcoming title fight at Camp Wars, Glyde took a little time out to address his opponent for the already highly decorated card.

 

Owen Glyde :

 

'Grats on your win Powell. Guess you had to get it right the second time around, huh? But since I beat Coogan, and he beat you, doesn't that already make me the winner by default? Whatever the case, I assure you that you won't be fighting a store display manakin like you were against Ibarra. Just in case you got a little too comfortable with that kind of opponent, I assure you, you try and step in close with me? I'll knock you out. Somehow get it to the mat? I'll sub you out. Hell, I'll cinch in a triple decker pecker wrecker on you WHILE pounding you out, and get a submission and a KO at the same time. Makes no difference to me. Don't make any plans to spend that bounty money, you're not getting it.'

 

Strong words from the champion. Geoffrey Powell has the opportunity of being the first man in line to try and claim both the bounty of £100000, as well as the privilege of being the first ever inductee into the REVO Hall of Fame, should he emerge victorious at Camp Wars. Has he got what it takes? Only one way to find out, ladies and gentlemen, and I think you know what that is. Order Camp Wars from your local sports station now, don't miss this opportunity!

 

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