2015-01-20
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Highland Games 42 Preview

Event Preview: Highland Games 42
Highland Games
2015-01-15, The Island, Hayashi's Lounge - The Island
Author:Callum McGregor

First Attempt (4-1) Vs Judah Seraphim (3-1) – Middleweight

First Attempt suffered an upset loss to Chizoba Obama before joining Highland Games. Previous to that, the Salem native has went 3 straight, all of which coming by first round submission. In his debut for Highland Games, Attempt returned to form with a 50 second triangle choke over Winston Graham.

This will be the first time Judah Seraphim steps foot inside the HG cage. Despite many of his siblings having fought for the promotion, Judah has not yet competed under its banner. In his pro debut, Seraphim wad dominating Harkeem Slaughter before a lapse in focus in the last round. 3 first round stoppages since then prove that Judah is not someone to mess with.



Matt Couture (2-1) Vs Hulk Hogan (2-1) – Light Heavyweight

Both Couture and Hogan are coming off of their first professional losses.

After a second round KO of Patrick Dean at Highland Games 22, Couture surrcame to Talon Axel’s kickboxing over the scheduled 15 minutes to take a decision loss. He has since switched his management team.

Hulk went 2-0 on the regional circuit before being taken out in just 50 seconds against Hughtavious Mingo at the 30th Highland Games event. After such a devastating loss, Hulk might well need to take this one home or he might find himself in the unemployment line before the weeks end.



Eamon Dougherty (2-1) Vs Carl McGregor (2-0) – Middleweight

After going 2-0 against low level fighter Tyler Ellis, Eamon Dougherty was submitted by Jace Phillips at Highland Games 30. Now in his second outing, the BJJ Purple Belt feels that he was taken over by the grand stage in first fight and this will be his crowning moment where he demonstrates the full range of his techniques.

Carl “Python” McGregor is perfect in his career thus far, submitting Liam Jax in his debut and going the full stretch against Aqueel Haji in his second fight. McGregor is an all-rounder, but his lack of a specific skill might prove to be a downfall for the Englishman as he moves forward in his mixed martial arts career.



Zakari Moss (7-3) Vs Frank Pravola (7-3) – Bantamweight

Zakari Moss and Frank Pravola are two of the more experienced 135ers in the organisation. With 20 fights between them, both men share identical records at 7-3.

Zakari has just one fight inside Highland Games; a loss to now retired Greedy Assfister. Previous to this however, Moss was the Bantamweight Champion in UltimateXC and is one of the few men to hold a victory over Griegorij Dudkov. If Zakari doesn’t make a statement here, he could well find himself in the unemployment line come Monday.

After winning two in Highland Games, Frank took on Serge Ibaka for the inaugural Bantamweight Championship in a losing effort. In his next fight he was stopped in under one and a half minutes by Ne Hi. This fight will be crucial for Pravola to stay near the top of the division, and a loss would likely rent him a room in last chance saloon.



Ryan Beltshazar (3-0) Vs Mustafa Shabazz (4-1) – Lightweight

Ryan Beltshazar has made it three straight, defeating all of his opponents with his unique style of boxing and jiu jitsu. When he last made the trip to the cage, Ryan scored the upset with a Triangle Choke over the then undefeated Budak Poyo. Now with his feet wet in the HG 155 division, Beltshazar will be eyeing up Don Killuminati’s belt, hoping that one day he’ll be ruling the roost over the Lightweight division.

Looking to stop that from happening is Mustafa Shabazz. 3-1 in Highland Games, Shabazz is no stranger to the bright lights that the big stage brings. His one loss came by TKO to the current champ, Killuminati. Shabazz, a submission specialist, has made it known that he feels the loss was a fluke and is willing to prove it should he get the opportunity to share the cage with his former foe once again.



Chiyono Fuji (4-1) Vs Mase Force (6-2) – Heavyweight

Chiyono Fuji does one thing; he makes the fans go nuts. This HG original has picked up 4 post fight bonuses in 5 fights, the most of anyone in Highland Games. Fuji utilizes an excellent boxing game to cause major damage with impactful punches. Fuji is riding the momentum from his biggest win to date, a one round stoppage victory over former title contender Christian Long. Fuji also shares the quickest stoppage in the company history, his 5 second KO of Rashid Kurmally at Highland Games 1.

Looking to continue his run at the top of the division is Mase Force. A clinch fighter, Force has been able to defeat his opponents with close range punches up against the fence. If he is able to get Fuji in the phonebox, then it’s very easy to see a situation where Force is able to bang up his adversary, potentially getting his third straight win by stoppage.



Skunk Asap (5-2) Vs Wo Fi (6-3) – Light Heavyweight

Skunk Asap, the brother former AFL Welterweight Champion Ska Asap, is coming off just his second professional loss. After a victorious Highland Games debut over Joel Nicola, Asap succumbed to the elite ground pressure of Jake Theorodou. To be able to achieve his dream and follow in his brother’s championship footsteps, a win in this fight is absolutely essential for the Djiboutian.

Wo Fi has been lingering around the upper level of the division for some time, but whenever he tries to challenge a title contender, Wo Fi has fallen short. After a devastating knockout in his debut over Hanjong Mc Vetrol, Wo Fi has also defeated Jaymz Hetfield and Bob Schilling. Losses to top 5 Rodrigo Gracie and current Highland Games 205 kingpin LightHeavy Weight have saw Wo Fi struggle to become a standout. A win here will be a massive step towards that.


Rice Aroni (5-1) Vs Ludko Struja (5-2) – Light Heavyweight

Just over one month ago, Rice Aroni was on top of the world with a victory over Rodrigo Rojas to capture the Light Heavyweight Championship. In his first defence, he was cut bad by LHW and stripped of his championship belt. Outside of his one loss, Aroni was been dominant with his devastating striking. Aroni remains an elite contender within the division, and he absolutely fancies himself to avenge his loss at one stage before the season is over.

Another man who tasted defeat at the hands of the champion is Ludko Struja. A 5 win streak in Highland Games led to the Croatian earning a shot at the belt, where he too was cut by LHW’s slicing elbows. The wrestling game of Ludko is top notch and none of his 7 opponents have been able to stay off of their backs.

This is a striker Vs grappler contest, and if Ludko can’t take Aroni down then the fight will finish by knockout for the former champ.



Clinton Offley (8-1) Vs Jason Barrett (5-1) - Heavyweight

For a long time, Clinton Offley has been one of the best heavyweights on The Island. The team mate of current number 1 in the division, Pedro Lazaro, Offley might be able to earn himself a title shot in this contest depending on his partner’s success in the match. Offley has one loss to Gunnar McGregor for the UltimateXC title. Since then, Offley is 3-0 with his wins being over Magnus Cross, Mib Louie and Amine Nesquik, all of whom are some seriously legitimate fighters. In his only two Highland Games contests, Offley has earned two Submission of the Night honours in addition to Fight of the Night. Offley could be just one fight from competing against Gumble and his title, so you know he’ll be bringing his A game in this one.

Jason Barrett was stopped in his last contest against Mib Louie. This loss comes after 5 destructive contests which saw 5 men become rendered unconscious at the hands of Barrett’s outstanding boxing ability. It was expected that Barrett would have a number one contenders fight against Alexey Juralev had he been victorious, but the shot has now went to Louie. Now, Barrett will attempt to destroy Offley like he has to the majority of his opponents.



Razor MuayThai (6-1) Vs Aleksandar Mihaylov (5-1) – MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

And now it’s time for the main event of the evening.

Razor MuayThai will defend his Middleweight Championship against Aleksandar Mihaylov.

Razor joined Highland Games as a 0-1 rookie. He had just come off a disappointing loss to Jonah Sorentino and the future didn’t look too bright for the ZyD fighter. Looking back, everyone was thinking ahead of themselves. Razor MuayThai bounced back with 6 outstanding knockout victories, two of which have earned him Knockout of the Night post-fight bonuses. Razor has been outstanding with his muay thai kickboxing in Highland Games with several top fighters falling at his feet. Massa Hurmaaja was unable to make even one defence of his titles when he ran into Razor, and now the champ will attempt to do what his foe was unable to do.

At Highland Games 26, Aleksandar Mihaylov lost for the first time since his professional debut, to Razor MuayThai. Aleksandar’s career was looking so promising but the one round stoppage set him back big time. Since then, Aleksandar has had a pair of second round victories over Matthew Michaels and George Alvarez Jr, the first of which being hailed as Fight of the Night. Aleksandar is absolutely adamant that their first contest as a fluke, and has made it known that no matter what his opponent throws at him, he will walk out of the arena as the new Highland Games Middleweight Champion.

 

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