|
 We’re back once again, this time for Highland Games 56. Our main event tonight will be the third encounter between Grant Morisson and the Middleweight Champion Massimo Benvenuti. Also vowing to sell out Hard Knock is our co-main event competitors, both looking to challenge for a title in their next fight, Benny Askren and Mase Force. Without further ado, here’s the line-up this evening.
Lister Man (4-3) Vs John McEnroe (6-7) – Middleweight
After losing all of his first three contests, Lister Man bounced back with four straight stoppages. With spectacular muay thai and some devastating head kicks, Lister Man can KO anyone in that cage.
Another man who turned his career around after a disappointing run is John McEnroe. McEnroe fell an embarrassing seven fights with just one victory. It’s hard to know what made him keep going, but we’re all glad he did. McEnroe has won his last 5 fights, including an impressive win over experienced independent fighter Hell Filipovic.
Both guys have turned a lot around to get to this point, but a loss will send them back to the bottom of the division.
Dillen Aspen (6-3) Vs Budak Poyo (4-2) – Lightweight
Aspen’s first 6 fights were stoppage victories and it was looking like Aspen might have been something special in the lightweight division. Unfortunately, 3 straight losses has sent Dillen into a downwards spiral. A loss in this fight would likely see Aspen be released from the company, but a win would perform a much needed 180 on his professional career.
Budak seems like a talented wrestler with the ability to grapple and work his jiu jitsu. An unimpressive 1-2 in Highland Games makes it hard for Poyo to claim any momentum at this stage, so it will be very interesting to see if he is able to get back on winning ways here tonight.
Devin Jaqquard (4-1) Vs Brett Iowa (4-2) – Bantamweight
“Silverback” Devin Jaqquard is coming off of his first professional loss, and I know that it was devastating for the bantamweight. Joining Highland Games after 4 straight victories, including stoppages over Addict Yo and Ronald Raygun, it was all looking bright for Jaqquard until a 54 second upset loss to Lee Kagawa ended the streak. Devin is a great striker and a superb wrestler, and he plans to show his opponent that here tonight.
Brett Iowa has made it 4-2 in the independent circuit before signing for Highland Games. A loss in his last fight takes a lot of shine off of this opportunity for the 22 year old American, but with a solid background in wrestling and experienced to boot, Brett Iowa is looking forward to making a splash in the 135 division.
Saladin Hussain (7-4) Vs Hakeem Slaughter (6-4) – Middleweight
Saladin has a lot of experience as a professional mixed martial artist with 11 fights under his belt. After a highly successful independent campaign, Hussain dropped 2 fights in Ultimate XC including a title fight against Grant Morrison. 2-2 in Highland Games and a shift in management, Hussain knows what it takes to win a fight and plans on demonstrating that here tonight.
Another guy with a long history of competing behind him is Hakeem Slaughter. He’s been utilizing a background in wrestling to lock horns with some talented fighters for a while now, but with a 1-2 record in his current organisation, Hakeem might find himself in a very precarious position if he leaves the ring with a loss here tonight.
Alfonso Bebeto (4-2) Vs Hughtavious Mingo (5-2) – Light Heavyweight
I have to say, it’s been a hell of a time trying to get a hold of Harriet Marshall to book fights, but fortunately we have Bebeto scheduled for action this Thursday night. Alfonso Bebeto hasn’t fought in over a month, but with all 4 of his victories coming by way of submission, it’s no surprise what gameplan the brown belt Brazilian is going to bring with him to the cage.
His opponent is Hughtavious Mingo, a capable boxer with a history of knockouts. Losses to Eduardo Massa Alcantara and Saintly Fish have made it hard for Mingo to reach the top of the division, but it’s undeniable that West Monroe native has power in both hands, and if he can keep this one standing, it’s highly anticipated that he can get a second straight victory.
Massimo Paterno (9-5) Vs Big Tree (7-1) – Middleweight
Once amassing an impressive 8-2 record, Massimo Paterno was hailed as one of Highland Games’ greatest competitors. Going 3-0 with a rarely seen Brabo Choke over Ramulus Artemis behind him, Paterno was going in against follow Massimo, the current champion Benvenuti, in his first ever title fight. Unfortunately, Massimo was defeated in the contest, but what’s more notable was that he lost his next two, even getting submitted by Rodrigo Rojas. With a win over Tyron Silva to get him back on the scoreboards, Paterno looks to once again become a contender in the Middleweight division.
Across from him is Big Tree. One of the former ZyD fights without a manager at the moment, Tree has just one professional loss, also to Benvenuti. The biggest achievement thus far in Tree’s career is finishing his UltimateXC career as the final Welterweight Champion. Earlier in his career, Tree was a standout with stunning striking, winning twice by spinning backfist and once with a superman punch. Since joining HG, Tree has went the distance in all three contests, so a knockout win would be huge for him here.
Aleksandar Mihaylov (5-3) Vs Yip Kai Man (7-4) – Middleweight
Aleksandar Mihaylov has seen better times in his career. Duel losses to Razor MuayThai, one of which being a title shot, and then another loss to Big Tree put Mihaylov down in the rankings. With Razor now officially leaving Highland Games, strangely fighting at Heavyweight elsewhere, it might be the opportunity that Aleksandar was looking for to get himself right up there towards the title.
Another man looking to turn fortunes back in his favour is one time AFL Welterweight Champion Yip Kai Man. After an impressive 6 fight winning streak, things have not been looking so great for the Chinaman. Kai comes with some dangerous kickboxing, but although he’s a solid competitor, emerging victorious here tonight is a must for him to continue his career.
Calvin Brooks (8-3) Vs Mamad Mouba (5-2) – Lightweight
Another former champion on the card tonight with Calvin Brooks. Calvin had won 5 in a row before challenging Sniper One for the Attack Fight League 155 strap. Brooks won by submission, as he had done in all of his professional bouts. A decision loss in his next fight to Jeffery Lebowski, followed by a submission upset to Papa Shango, and Brooks couldn’t believe his career’s u-turn. Since then, Brooks has went 2-1, losing to our current champion Gottlieb Hiebknecht in his last fight. Brooks class is very evident, and he’s really looking to prove himself amongst the Highland Games lightweight ranks here in his debut.
Mamad Mouba, also known as “The Real King”, is the reigning World Combat Champion. After the early success of his big brother, Ali Mouba, Mamad wanted to give Highland Games a run for it’s money. He entered, eyeing up a potential champion Vs champion showdown if he was able to win his first opponent; JJ Lycka. Unfortunately for the youngster, Mouba was defeated over the course of rounds, dropping his second loss in his career. The WC Belt holder will be looking to return WC as a winner, or if he decides to stay with Highland Games, make a run at Gottlieb’s 155 belt.
Mase Force (8-2) Vs Benny Askren (6-2) – Heavyweight
When Mase Force first joined HG, he was coming off of the first loss of his career and didn’t have the motivation behind him yet. To make matters worse, he didn’t make it out of the first round when he took on Stefan Struve in his first fight.
Really, Force was lined up to be a divisional gatekeeper. He had went the distance in 4 of his 6 fights and has lost his last two. How wrong could we be? Since then, Force has become a motivated machine, winning 4 straight including Amine Nesquik and Chiyono Fuji. Earning a 5th consecutive win would be gigantic for Force’s career, and he reckons he would be able to be the one to top Gumble if he manages to get to that position.
Challenging Force for that right is “Funky” Benny Askren. Askren has been overlooked for quite some time, but after 8 Highland Games fights with a 75% win rate, Askren is certainly one of the more experienced and long lasting guys we have in the organisation today. For the first time in his career thus far, Askren is on a 3 fight high, but this will certainly be his biggest challenge yet. One thing to look out for is Askren’s ability to cut people open inside the clinch. Between Askren and LightHeavy Weight, these men have taken more blood from their adversaries than Count Dracula, and Funky Ben will want to do the same thing here tonight.
Massimo Benvenuti (14-1) Vs Grant Morrison (11-3) – Middleweight Title Fight
This is it, the main event of the evening and the highly anticipated third fight between two of the greatest European fighters located on The Island.
To start, we’ll look into the history of these two fighters a little bit.
In September 2014, both fighters currently stood at 2-0. Both had two first round finishes coming into the independent clash so no one expected it to last long.
Benvenuti landed a few shots early, and Morrison didn’t look like he had gotten out of first gear. Just 20 seconds into the fight, Benvenuti landed a huge straight right and knocked Grant Morrison out. Benvenuti remained an undefeated rising prospect, while Morrison’s chin had several sceptics doubting it.
One month later, both men signed for UltimateXC, which at the time was The Island’s number one organisation. Although Massimo was 4-0 while Grant currently had a record of 4-1, it was the latter which was granted a title shot. Grant took on Saladin Hussain, knocking him out in under 2 minutes and becoming the first UXC Middleweight Champion.
On October 22nd, both men competed on the WAR Wednesday card. Morrison was main eventing against a superb fighter in Massa Hurmaaja while Benvenuti was third on the card, fighting another solid guy in Jonah Sorentino. Benvenuti wasn’t happy about this. He had defeated Morrison in just 20 seconds, yet was a supporting act for Grant’s title reign.
Grant defeated Hurmaaja to defend his title on cuts, while Massimo went the distance for the first time in his career, taking a unanimous decision.
UltimateXC went down and both men became free agents. In November, both signed on the dotted line to become official Highland Games competitors. Massimo defeated Renato Gracie and Nestor Shufrich, both in the second round, while Grant beat Patrick O Riley in the first. Morrison’s record had went to an impressive 7-1, while Massimo was 8-0. Almost identical records with one main difference, Massimo Benvenuti had defeated Grant Morrison.
They were the number one and two fighters in HG which led to a gigantic encounter at Highland Games 18’s supershow. Massimo Benvenuti Vs Grant Morrison 2, for the first Highland Games Middleweight Championship. After a first round in the clinch, where the judges clearly scored Morrison the winner, Massimo rocked Grant with a combination before stopping him with some devastating blows. Massimo had done it. He was the new Middleweight Champion and held two wins over Morrison.
Since then, both guys have had strong careers. Massimo dropped the belt to Massa Hurmaaja but in his last fight stopped Razor Muay Thai to take it back.
Morrison also lost to Massa, but had went on a four fight winning streak, knockout out some of the top contenders in the Middleweight division to get here.
So that brings us to now. Morrison wants this fight and he wants it BAD. He has proven time and time again how great he is as a competitor and this will be his fourth title shot thus far. The man who’s stood in his way of greatness has been Benvenuti, so this is a very important fight for him to avenge his losses.
Benvenuti is very confident coming into this. He knows he can hurt Morrison and thinks it’s only a matter of time before he does it once again. He has one loss in his career, and with a win here he’d likely stifle any future contest against Morrison again. Massimo could be the best fighter on The Island, and every win is important for him to solidify that fact.
There we have it. 10 great fights here tonight and it’s expected that we will have bags of fantastic finishes. There is only one way to know what will happen, tune in to watch it live!
Article views:
226
» Donate to this author |
