2013-11-28
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SPNY 131 Preview by R.George

Event Preview: SPNY 131: Atomi - Madrigal 2
Steel Penn - ICON
2013-11-20, New York, Liberty Dome
Author:The Dictator

Welcome back to the Liberty Dome here in New York City for one of the biggest title rematches in recent history, at SPNY 106 Tomi Atomi put his Welterweight Title on the line for the first time against Julio Madrigal and won with an armbar submission in the first round.  Since then Atomi has defended his title another 4 times and tonight will look to record his 6th successful defence.  Madrigal has bounced back with 3 straight wins to earn his rematch and tonight will look for redemption.  Earlier on the card I’m most interested to see how Rocco Stupka rebounds from his recent loss to Insano when he takes on Jacob Moonra tonight.

 

Main Event: Welterweight Title

Tomi Atomi 23-5-1 (8-0-1 SPNY) vs Julio Madrigal 18-7-1 (6-1 SPNY)

 

Atomi can boast of having the longest current winning streak of any SPNY champion having now won his last 8 fights.  Extremely versatile he is an offensive threat on his feet with very good boxing and solid kick boxing skills, on the ground he has useful ground and pound and is a submission threat as Madrigal found out in their last fight.  His only true weakness is he lacks an offensive arsenal in the clinch.  Atomi perhaps would have drawn the recognition he now has much earlier in his career but for the fact he has won a large proportion of his fights by decision and struggled to win over fans.

 

Madrigal is a dominant wrestler and very good submission expert but lacks the stand up skills of Atomi, which is why it was such a shock to see him fall to a 1st round submission in their first fight.  Many observers, myself included, had predicted Atomi to attempt to keep the fight standing for as long as possible on his way to grinding out a decision.  Madrigal has much more dangerous ground and pound than Atomi, but will be hard pressed to stay in the top position to throw it during this fight.

 

I see Atomi coming away with the win, but I suspect Madrigal will shore up his defence a little more than in their first fight and it will go the distance.

 

2: Welterweight

Sir Jecht 17-13 (SPNY Debut) vs Ronaldo Silva 23-11 (2-2 SPNY)

 

Jecht will make his debut with a 7 inch reach advantage against a fighter notoriously weak against kick boxers, don’t expect this to become much of an issue however as all reports suggest he is a wrestler not a stand up fighter.  From what I have seen of Jecht he is a brilliant defensive grappler who has the ability to grind out a win with ground & pound from the top position, with the added bonus his grappling is so good very few are able to sweep him.  His weakness is his chin when striking on his feet.

 

Silva has had a mixed bag of results since his arrival at SPNY, but bear in mind that both his losses came against Atomi who is quickly challenging Shane Waitzel for the title of pound for pound No. 1 in the org.  A black belt in BJJ, Silva is also an extremely good boxer, and may disregard his reach disadvantage and usual prowess on the ground in an attempt to exploit the weak chin of Jecht.  On thing is for sure, he does not want to end up on the bottom tonight.

 

I see a case for both fighters being able to exploit their advantages in this fight, but I like Silva to bounce back with a KO win tonight.

 

3: Heavyweight

Jacob Moonra 15-4 (4-3 SPNY) vs Rocco Stupka 17-13 (0-1 SPNY)

 

The self styled “Mr Magic” Moonra has had a rude awakening in SPNY, arriving with the record 11-1 he expected to shoot straight to the top of the division only to be found out by the higher level of competition.  Whilst he perhaps can brag to be the most well rounded fighter in SPNY’s Heavyweight division, he does not have the edge needed to dominate.  Tonight when he is looking for an advantage I suspect it will come in the clinch.

 

Stupka will have an edge with his boxing and will look to use his 4 inch reach advantage to get him home.  Stupka has a reputation for getting an early knockout, but Moonra has shown a fairly decent chin until this point.  The thing Stupka will have to be careful of is his history of cutting easily during a fight, should he be taken down and receive some ground and pound a cut could spell the end of his night.

 

Stupka to win by knockout has a nice ring to it for me.

 

4: Middleweight

David Ludher 13-14 (2-2 SPNY) vs Vartan Mamikonyan 10-6 (1-0 SPNY)

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for guys like Ludher, he shows a lot of heart, is willing to fight anyone, packs a heavy handed (if wayward) punch, but really isn’t all that talented.  Inaccurate punching and an inability to take a punch have limited what would otherwise have been a promising career, nine 1st round knockout wins just don’t look as impressive when you remember he has six 1st round knockout losses as well.  Mamikonyan is a very good jujitsu fighter but lacks technique in almost all other aspects of his game.  Should he get Ludher to ground he will probably have a very good chance of submitting him, but if Ludher connects with one of those wildly telegraphed combinations he throws it will be lights out for Mamikonyan.

 

Mamikonyan will tie Ludher up in a clinch, pull guard, and work for the win on the ground; Mamikonyan by submission.

 

5: Middleweight

Trey Anastasio 13-6 (1-0 SPNY) vs Boris Ivanovic 25-11-1 (1-4 SPNY)

 

Anastasio is a strong grappler who has never really developed a striking technique.  This limitation will always leave him as a mid level fighter, but one who can entertain a crowd with his submission abilities meaning that no opponent is ever safe in the cage with him.  Fans who remember Ivanovic’s early career when he was regarded as one of the top Light Heavyweights in the world will be hoping his recent win to end a 5 fight losing streak means he will be back on the up.  The heavy handed Russian can also boast that he has never been submitted which will make the task even harder for Anastasio.

 

If Ivanovic can land a few big shots early this could go either way, but I fancy Anastasio to be the first to ever submit Ivanovic.

 

6: Lightweight

Mac Hansen 25-18-1 (11-8 SPNY) vs Tarquin Fortune 5-2-1 (2-1-1 SPNY)

 

A recent loss to Christian Jacobs to end a 4 fight winning streak has seen Hansen’s credentials as a title contender take a hit.  Tonight he is given the chance to restate those ambitions against the inexperienced Fortune.  Hansen will have a distinct advantage on the ground, and while Fortune may be the better striker his lack of power will make it hard for him to stop Hansen.  That suggests to me that even if Fortune does land some early shots Hansen will get the takedown and dominate at some point.

 

Hansen by TKO seems fairly likely to me.

 

7: Lightweight

Christian Jacobs 17-13 (9-8 SPNY) vs Reza Katebi 7-7 (5-6 SPNY)

 

Whilst Katebi enters this one as the underdog he will remember that when these two last met at SPNY 91 he came away with a unanimous decision.  Despite being regarded as a little boring to watch sometimes, Jacobs maintains a strong following with local fight fans having been on the original SPNY card.  Very good skills with his striking and on the ground are unfortunately not paired with much power and he relies heavily on getting a decision to win.  Katebi can stand and strike but is by far at his best on the ground working for submissions.  I don’t expect Jacobs to lose another decision to him on his feet, so for Katebi to win he has to get to ground.

 

I’m not convinced Katebi is in fighting shape coming into this, I see Jacobs by decision.

 

8: Welterweight

Toby Jay Wadenah 19-8-2 (1-1 SPNY) vs Alysian Karalis 18-18 (2-3 SPNY)

 

I’ve never understood why Karalis prefers to stand and fight given his skills on the ground, 5 submission wins and a brown belt in BJJ should suggest that grappling might be better for him.  Wadenah has thrown off a 5 fight losing streak and his boxing and clinch skills will see him dominate if Karalis does not take this fight to ground.  How well Karalis can find the takedown will determine the outcome of this fight.

 

Karalis seems to be lacking in confidence so Wadenah to take a decision win.

 

9: Welterweight

Kadian Aitkens 6-5 (1-1 SPNY) vs Taneli Maija 7-4 (7-4 SPNY)

 

If ever Aitkens needed an early punch to land tonight is the night, to put it simply, if this fight hits the ground he is done.  Maija relies entirely on his skills as a BJJ black belt to submit opponents, while that has left him wide open when he can’t find the takedown, Aitkens abilities are almost entirely limited to boxing.  Aitkens is yet to be submitted but he has never faced a submission expert quite as good as Maija.  Having been knocked out in all 4 of his losses though, the question to ponder is how many shots from Aitkens can he take before he is out?

 

I like Maija to make it 4 wins in a row, given his last 3 have also netted submission of the night wins I wouldn’t bet against him getting the award again tonight.

 

10: Light Heavyweight

Tomasz Adamek 18-24 (4-9 SPNY) vs Steve Rogers 34-20-1 (SPNY Debut)

 

I haven’t heard official word on this one yet but I suspect that both these fighters may be cut after tonight’s card.  Whilst he is a nice bloke, whatever Adamek was going to achieve in MMA, he already has.  Coming off 5 straight losses all by KO, Adamek is at risk of entering the all time MMA hall of fame for most knockout losses if he doesn’t quit soon.  Rogers has had a long and fairly successful career, but he is now 40, and is not in prime fighting condition.  While Adamek is limited in skills, Rogers is so far past his prime I can’t see him competing tonight.

 

Adamek by submission in what I truly hope is a final farewell for him.

 

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