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A very happy Christmas from here at the Liberty Dome in New York City, where we will be celebrating by watching 10 MMA rules fights for SPNY 141. My wife doesn’t seem impressed that I’m here to watch Lolo Delaroca fight fellow leading Bantamweight contender Andrey Tutov instead of at her parents place for dinner, but I’m certain her mother will enjoy the free time to criticise me for being absent as much as I enjoy watching Welterweight contender Phan Tran Le take on Tiao Macale. As always head on over to Steel Penn NY Bookmakers if you fancy a bet on any of tonight’s fights.
Main Event: Bantamweight
Lolo Delaroca 23-8-1 (7-2-1 SPNY) vs Andrey Tutov 9-5 (3-0 SPNY)
Delaroca’s plans to demand a rematch with Buzz Cloltran after their title fight ended in a majority draw were thrown into disarray after his shock loss to Raimo Pukki at SPNY 129. With world class Bantamweight fighters few and far between at the moment there is talk of SPNY closing the division, if that is the case this fight may well determine who gets a final shot at Cloltran’s title before the division is closed. A truly elite grappler, Delaroca will know that should he take Tutov down he will be odds on to win this fight. While most of us know Delaroca more for his ground & pound offence, tonight I suspect that if he is able to finish the fight it will come by submission rather than knockout.
Tutov is a world class boxer coming into tonight’s fight on the back of 5 straight wins making him well and truly the form favourite for this fight, and if the fight stays on its feet Tutov should totally outclass Delaroca. Yet to really develop a fan following, I wonder if his inability to consistently provide big finishes in his fights has something to do with that. Despite his lack of popularity with the fans one thing is clear; a win tonight would make him undisputedly the No. 1 contender in the Bantamweight division.
I like Tutov by decision tonight.
2: Welterweight
Phan Tran Le 15-6 (5-2 SPNY) vs Tiao Macale 51-18-1 (1-0 SPNY)
Le comes into this fight off 3 straight wins and is hoping that a win tonight will see him officially named the No. 1 contender for Tomi Atomi’s Welterweight crown. To do so he will have to see off legendary fighter Tiao Macale. Le is one of the best clinch fighters I’ve had the chance to watch, and whilst he lacks versatility on the ground he is up against a striker tonight and is unlikely to have to worry about being taken down. Le is 13 years younger with a 2 inch reach advantage that he will have to use all of to avoid Macale.
A win tonight would move the 39 year old Macale into equal 4th position in career wins amongst active fighters worldwide. His TKO of Darrell Miles in his SPNY debut was his 51st career win and showed that there is still enough left in his tank for him to be a real threat in the Welterweight division. Tonight though he will be in for a struggle style wise, giving up 2 inches reach means he will have to move closer to Le and risk being bundled into a clinch which is the one place he does not want to be in this fight. It’s amazing to think that Macale has knocked out more opponents than Le has fought.
As much as I am in awe of the career record of Macale I see this match up favouring the younger Le, Le to win by decision.
3: Light Heavyweight
Bobby Tupperill 22-21 (2-1 SPNY) vs Adolfo Dias 14-5 (7-1 SPNY)
Tupperill is an honest journeyman fighter who has been exposed time and again for lacking any true offensive abilities other than submission grappling. If he is able to take Dias to ground he has a good chance of submitting him, but in his career to date Dias has been very difficult to take down and Tupperill will be badly outmatched while the fight remains standing. Dias returns to SPNY after a stint fighting in Eastern Europe and will enter the cage at Light Heavy for the first time in his career; if pre-fight rumours are correct he has had a torrid time making weight and may be below 100% condition come fight time. Dias might not need to be conditioned for 3 rounds however because history has shown that a single head kick from him is enough to end a fight.
I think Dias’ struggle to make weight will mean Tupperill is in with a real shot of an upset win, Tupperill by submission.
4: Heavyweight
Asko Vilenius 11-8 (2-1 SPNY) vs Jacob Ford 19-15 (2-2 SPNY)
For the most part I expect this fight to be a boxing match, Ford may initiate a clinch and Velenius may look for a takedown, but both fighters are most comfortable striking at range. For mine the deciding factor won’t be Ford’s slight reach and obvious experience advantage but his chin. Vilenius has won all 11 of his career wins by knockout, and Ford has been knocked out 12 times in his career.
Vilenius by knockout.
5: Light Heavyweight
Haloti Gnata 17-7 (14-7 SPNY) vs Clay Wilkinson 17-10-1 (7-7 SPNY)
For a mid level fighter Wilkinson features in a lot of “of the night” awards with 4 submission and 1 fight of the night appearances in his SPNY career. Unfortunately I have my doubts over his fight fitness tonight which doesn’t bode well for his chances of throwing off his 2 fight losing streak. A versatile fighter capable of winning by any method, he also seems to have to ability to lose by any method. Gnata boxed his way to an unsuccessful title shot and then lost to another contender straight up afterwards. Those two losses probably put him out of touch for a shot at the vacant title in the foreseable future but this is a must win fight to remain in the rankings.
Gnata by knockout.
6: Heavyweight
Hoy Nelson 25-21 (1-6 SPNY) vs Jon Snow 14-9 (0-1 SPNY)
For those of you who remember Nelson’s early career at the now defunct MMM Elite his form since joining SPNY must be heartbreaking to watch. Known as a world class Muay Thai fighter before entering MMA his ability to stop a fight with a head kick made him one of the most feared Heavyweight’s in the world, but amazingly he hasn’t stopped a fight with a head kick in any of his last 30 fights. Nelson’s plan tonight will be to keep this fight standing and hopefully bring back those lethal kicks we once saw. Snow will desperately want to fight this on the ground but will also have a useful 3 inch reach advantage in the stand up. If he effectively uses that reach advantage and his good leg kicks he should be able to keep Nelson on the back foot until a takedown opportunity presents itself and move in for the finish. In 46 fights nobody has ever submitted Nelson, but Snow has a good chance of it if he gets Nelson to the ground tonight.
Snow has a slight edge match up wise in this, but I fancy the Nelson of old to come out and finish this by knockout.
7: Lightweight
Christian Jacobs 17-14 (9-9 SPNY) vs Mohsen Mosaddegh 8-3-1 (SPNY Debut)
More than a few fight fans will feel sentimental with Jacobs entering the ring for his 19th SPNY fight; Jacobs is a former SPNY champion and one of the few remaining fighters who fought at SPNY 1. While his recent form isn’t great, just 2 wins from his last 6 starts, Jacobs remains a tricky prospect on the ground and is not a push over on his feet. I feel his career may have been far more successful if he was able to finish more fights. Mosaddegh will be fairly evenly matched with Jacobs on his feet and on the ground, but should have a distinct advantage in the clinch and I would be surprised if he did not attempt to make the most of it. Having made some waves early in his career Mosaddegh appears to have faltered a little in his development and an outing against an experienced campaigner in Jacobs should answer a few questions.
Jacobs by decision.
8: Heavyweight
Mamoru Takamura 6-8 (1-2 SPNY) vs Hiruku Matah 10-6 (8-4 SPNY)
Takamura is one of those all or nothing fighters that it can be thrilling to watch but it doesn’t translate into a very successful career. Heavy punches will be thrown from the outset tonight and if one lands flush it could be an early finish, but Takamura has very little by way of defensive abilities and will be quite exposed. Matah is a submission grappler through and through and the first 13 fights of his career all finished by submission (10-3). However, in his last 3 fights Matah has been found out by some of the heavier hitters in SPNY and will be nervous against the power we know Takamura has. As long as Matah gets this to ground I like his chances to finish Takamura by submission for the first time in his career.
Matah by submission.
9: Middleweight
Bon Joy 20-8-1 (1-1-1 SPNY) vs Nick Folingus 11-10 (2-3 SPNY)
Joy is a very strong Muay Thai boxer and will fancy his chances of improving his SPNY record against submission grappler Folingus tonight. While Joy lacks the power for single shot knockouts his ability to outwork his opponents has led to him winning quite a few fights by attrition and that’s how I expect him to come into tonight. Folingus will continue to struggle in his career because he can’t submit an opponent he can’t get to ground and his takedowns are just not good enough to compete at the top level with the limited striking abilities he has. I can’t see him taking Joy down which to me suggests he will be out of his depth in this fight.
Joy by decision.
10: Featherweight
Anthony Demarco (Professional Debut) vs Niko Virtanen 0-1 (SPNY Debut)
Demarco makes his debut tonight and I honestly don’t know what to expect from him, he hasn’t been active as an amateur boxer or kick boxer, he wasn’t on his high school wrestling team, and the bio his manager gave us when he signed on said he has only just started training BJJ. In addition to that he has been receiving only the most basic level of instruction from a rather mediocre training camp. For his sake I hope he has some latent talent or else he could be well over his head. Virtanen’s pro debut showed that he was completely out of his depth but hopefully he will have learned enough that night to guide him to victory tonight. Like Demarco he receives only the most basic of instruction and I am told only trains part time. I have doubts over the fitness of both fighters coming into this fight.
My lucky coin says Virtanen by decision, but neither fighter looks convincing to me.
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