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 Welcome to the Liberty Dome in New York for SPNY 121. Tonight’s card will bring you an assortment of interesting stories, the headline event is the Heavyweight clash between former champion Earnest Abe and the in form Frenchy Fuqua, should Fuqua win he is expected to be installed as No. 1 Heavyweight contender. The semi-main event is the Middleweight eliminator bout between Anti Satosari and Robert Van Winkle with the winner scheduled to fight Alexei Surov as the main event at SPNY 124. Also featuring on tonight’s packed card is the first Featherweight title defence for Thelonious Skunk up against Tony Frank.
Main Event: Heavyweight
Earnest Abe 17-4 (7-2 SPNY) vs Frenchy Fuqua 27-22 (3-0 SPNY)
Former SPNY Heavyweight champion Earnest Abe is desperate to prove he deserves yet another fight against Shane Waitzel and made a good start to rebuilding his reputation with a 40 second TKO win in his last fight. One of the most devastating boxers I’ve seen in MMA, Abe has the ability to throw a lot of punches with good accuracy without sacrificing the power needed for a single punch knockout. I was surprised to see how easily Abe cut in his last fight and I’ve been able to find out from his camp if that was an old cut that hadn’t fully healed or if that may be a weakness I hadn’t noticed in the past.
Fuqua lines up in his 50th career fight tonight with the promise of a shot at the SPNY Heavyweight Title should he bring off the win. Still undefeated since joining SPNY, when he arrived I brushed him off as an out of form veteran grappler with a weak chin who was overly reliant on getting a submission to win. His form since has been nothing short of stunning; back to back knockout of the night wins with his boxing on display rather than the wrestling I knew him for. A much more versatile fighter than Abe, he will have the advantage of being less predictable as well as knowing that he should have a massive edge on the ground.
Fuqua’s recent form suggests he deserves to be the favourite for this one, but I can’t see him having the defence to hold Abe out for 3 rounds if he stays on his feet. His recent improvements in his boxing should make Abe wary, but for Fuqua to win this one he will have to go back to his roots and win it on the ground. Can Fuqua afford to eat 5 or 6 heavy shots from Abe looking for the takedown? In my opinion no, Abe by KO in the 1st.
Semi-Main Event: Middleweight
Anti Satosori 26-11 (6-1 SPNY) vs Robert Van Winkle 18-8 (1-0 SPNY)
4 wins in a row and 6 of his last 7 have installed Satosori as the No. 1 Middleweight contender, but with Surov currently injured we see him in this official eliminator fight rather than a title fight. A kick boxer known for his vicious elbows from the Thai clinch Satosori has the ability to find a knockout in any situation whilst on his feet. Defensively he is a competent grappler, but very rarely looks to finish a fight on the ground.
Van Winkle arrived at SPNY with a reputation being a brilliant grappler more adept at grinding out a decision than finishing a fight. Van Winkle’s work rate on his feet will ensure he stays ahead on the judges scorecards, but I can’t see him truly putting Satosori in an uncomfortable position unless he gets the fight to the ground. He can also expect little support from the crowd; his grinding style has won him few fans compared to the spectacular head kicks and flying knees to knock opponents out that we see from Satosori.
Van Winkle is probably the more skilful of these two fighters, but he lacks the ability to finish fights. On the ground Van Winkle will be able to grind out the win on the scorecards easily, but on his feet he will be at risk of being knocked out at any moment. Satosori will know to expect takedown attempts from range and in the clinch and will look to counter these with body kicks and knees. I like Satosori by knockout late in the 3rd.
3: Heavyweight
Felipezoom Insano 22-8 (1-0 SPNY) vs Hiruku Matah 10-4 (8-2 SPNY)
Insano makes his long awaited return to MMA tonight; geared up with a new manager and a new training camp. I’m not entirely sure what to expect from him tonight; now 33, the last time he fought was a week before his 31st birthday. My memory of him was as a brilliant boxer who was always only seconds away from a knockout, evidenced in the fact 21 of his 22 career wins came by KO. Anyone who remembers him in his prime will be excited for his return tonight.
Amazingly, Matah’s last win that didn’t also carry a submission of the night award came back before Insano’s temporary retirement started. Defensively, Matah is one of the worst MMA fighters I’ve ever seen. He compensates for this fairly effectively by being so good at takedowns that his opponents don’t have time to strike him on their feet, and by generally finding such a dominant position on top on the ground to stop his opponents being able to strike or submit him. Having said that in his last fight he appeared almost defenceless when Thorpe landed a sweep and was powerless to stop the ground and pound.
Matah was regarded as a rising star having won his first 7 SPNY fights but has hit a snag with 2 losses in his last 3 fights. His opponents are wise to the fact that his entire strategy is to land an early takedown and go directly for a submission. Should Insano keep the fight standing I would assume he would still have what it takes to find the knockout and win, but with such a long layoff it’s impossible to be sure if he has the ability physically to compete. This could go either way, but I feel that Matah by submission is where the smart money is.
4: Middleweight
Vic Thory 12-4 (10-4 SPNY) vs ZaZa Mutombo 7-1 (6-1 SPNY)
When these two met at SPNY 107 Mutombo came away with a unanimous decision. The crowd didn’t like the decision, but I felt that had more to do with Thory being a crowd favourite than the decision being wrong. Well tonight his demands for a rematch have been met and Thory has the chance to prove that he is better than Mutombo. Thory is one of the best sprawl and brawl fighters in SPNY with almost perfect takedown defence and heavy punches that finish fights early. In his most recent fight he won his first ever decision, taking the fight to the ground and dominating with ground and pound for the first time in his career. Tonight it will be interesting to see if he brings that strategy into the fight to give him the edge he lacked in their first meeting.
Mutombo will look to repeat his success in their last fight by keeping his range with kicks and tying Thory into clinches. In all I feel that Mutombo’s higher work rate give him a very good chance of winning this fight even if he is unable to get the stoppage. It’s always confronting going into a rematch that your opponent has demanded, you may have won that first fight but there is now pressure on you to prove you deserved to and win more emphatically this time.
Thory will know he needs to win this to justify his demands for a rematch, and his last performance suggests he may actually be a more versatile fighter than we have seen in the past. It will be interesting to see if he repeats that against Mutombo who has never been taken down in a fight. I still believe the judges got it right last time, and as much as I believe Thory will come across stronger in this fight I can’t see him winning. Mutombo by decision.
5: Heavyweight
Krayzor Windfather 31-21-1 (4-3-1 SPNY) vs Billy Pilgrim 13-11-1 (2-2-1 SPNY)
Windfather returns tonight for his first fight since losing his title rematch to Earnest Abe at SPNY 98. Long before his extensive MMA career began Windfather represented Canada at the Olympics for his wrestling, and in the time since then has remained one of the best grapplers in the world. Once this fight hits the ground expect him to explode. Pilgrim has the ability to come up with a big knockout, but has been exposed as being too reliant on a knockout to win. In his 6 career fights that have gone the distance he has won just 1.
I predict Windfather to land a takedown early, then the only question left to me is will he finish this by KO or by Submission. Personally I favour KO in the first.
6: Heavyweight
Jacob Ford 17-14 (0-1 SPNY) vs Jacob Moonra 15-3 (4-2 SPNY)
I tried to start a rumour that Moonra had demanded this fight for the right to be the only Heavyweight in SPNY to be called Jacob, the rumour didn’t stick but the fight is going ahead anyway. Ford had a sensationally start to his MMA career with 8 wins by knockout in his first 8 fights, since then he is 9-14 having been knocked out 11 times. A world class boxer with no real defensive deficiencies, I’m at somewhat of a loss to explain his extended run of poor form and current 4 fight losing streak. Moonra is an exceptionally well rounded fighter who looks his best in mount throwing ground and pound. While he has a very strong record, his early career didn’t have enough big name opponents to get the accolades he probably deserved.
Ford will know he needs to avoid the takedown at all costs to win this one and I don’t think he can do it. Moonra by KO in the 2nd.
7: Featherweight Title
Thelonious Skunk (c) 3-0 (3-0 SPNY) vs Tony Frank 2-1 (2-0 SPNY)
Inaugural SPNY Featherweight champion Skunk is in his first title defence tonight. With foundations in both kick boxing and wrestling, he will strike at range and clinch, but is most effective with ground and pound from mount. The 21 year old is probably a natural Bantamweight, and so far has yet to show that he has knockout power, but his ability to outwork his opponents 5 or 6 strikes to 1 right through to the final bell has been enough to get unanimous decisions in every fight so far.
Frank is another undersized Featherweight and is primarily a wrestler. His preference is also to get into the top position on the ground and strike setting this fight up to be about who can control the top position on the ground. While Skunk will probably be the more active fighter, from what I’ve seen Frank may well be the more efficient.
I think Frank’s stronger takedowns will see him get the top position on the ground, and from what we know of these two fighters that should be enough to see him through. Frank by decision.
8: Featherweight
Luka Jelavic 3-0 (2-0 SPNY) vs Jason Aldean 3-1 (2-1 SPNY)
With all 3 of his career wins coming by way of knockout, Jelavic will know that another win tonight may well put him in line to be the next title challenger. Still only 19, Jelavic is a brilliant wrestler with improving boxing skills. Expect strong takedowns and vicious ground and pound. Aldean will have the edge on the feet, but looks like he may be almost helpless against Jelavic on the ground. Aldean has a solid body kick in his arsenal, but may be hard pressed to use it with Jelavic primed to take him down early.
I favour Jelavic to take Aldean down early and finish this by KO before the end of the 1st.
9: Featherweight
Ahmad Christopher 1-0 (1-0 SPNY) vs Simon GM 1-1 (1-1 SPNY)
If his debut is anything to go by we can expect Christopher to throw constant strike that have little to no power in them. While he will land enough to get some points on a scorecard, he doesn’t look in the slightest able to finish a fight. GM looked deadly on his feet, and defenceless on the ground in his earlier fights. If the fight stays standing his extra power should be the edge, and I don’t see anything in Christopher’s repertoire to suggest this will go to ground.
GM by KO.
10: Featherweight
Jaxon Marcus 0-0-1 (SPNY Debut) vs Dutch McQueen (Professional Debut)
Marcus may have been unlucky with the judges to only draw his debut fight, whilst he threw less strikes he landed more, but the lack of power in the striking counted against him. McQueen I know only as a boxer, so I assume that if this fight stays standing he may have the edge. He has no real grounding in grappling however, so may well be vulnerable if Marcus scores a takedown.
This one is open for the taking, but I saw no killer instinct in Marcus so my vote is for McQueen by KO.
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