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Tonight we have some of Highland Games’ biggest prospects going toe to toe, but the column inches are all going towards the return of LightHeavy Weight, the most popular and successful fighter in the organisation’s history. The undercard has several fighters looking for redemption and with a lot of eyes on this card, they should be poised to make a few statements.
Filip Wieclaw (2-2) Vs Manny Pacquiao (2-1) – Lightweight
Filip has went 0-2 since joining Highland Games so you really have to consider this his last chance to save his career. He hasn’t taken his training seriously enough yet and it appeared as he stepped on the scales yesterday that once again he was out of shape. Pacquiao may have lost his first HG fight, but he looked solid doing it and has the boxing ability to make opponents pay for their mistakes. I imagine that he’ll be a heavy favourite coming into this one.
Angel Adriel (1-1) Vs Carlixtro Guerrero (1-1) – Heavyweight
We saw these men make their debuts in the heavyweight tournament, both losing in the first round. Angel was destroyed by Luca Dominiguez while Carlixtro was outclinched against Darren Brooks. Both have brought one back since and putting together a two fight win streak would be major for either man at this stage in their careers.
Renato Gracie (7-5) Vs Daniel Maier (3-1) – Middleweight
It’s bad to see Renato so low on the card considering the level of opponent’s he’s lost to. He’s yet to be defeated by someone who hasn’t proven to be an extremely capable competitor, and this would be the first if he can’t walk home with a win tonight.
Daniel is up against it here but he’s keen to show everyone that he will never buckle under pressure. All 4 of his fights have went to a decision, proving that he understands the MMA game and has the cardio to make it that far. We’ve actually been hearing reports out of his camp that he’s been sick leading up to this fight, so let’s see it that has an impact on his stamina.
Roan Jenkinson (3-0) Vs Timothy Simpson (4-1) – Light Heavyweight
Roan The Monster Jenkinson has some extremely scary power and he’s knocked out three straight opponents with a single huge punch. He brings nothing fancy to the table, but he doesn’t need it when he’s got such fight ending abilities.
Timothy Simpson is also making his promotional debut and he boasts a fairly well rounded game. With a strong wrestling base, he wants to keep fights standing and use an efficient and technical boxing game to wear opponents down quickly before getting a stoppage.
Fumihiko Fukuoka (3-0) Vs Peter Green (4-1) – Middleweight
A puncher with some alright clinches, Fumihiko is undefeated thus far in his professional career. He’s stopped all of his opponents to date including a close fight with Soloman Grunday at HG 73 in his last outing.
Peter Green is a capable wrestler and up until his last fight with Pat Rachi, he was able to use his ground and pound game to dominate opponents. Since Fumihiko was taken down several times against Gundy, Green will have a lot of confidence to bring one back here.
Rocky Balboa (7-1) Vs Chocolate Mousse (7-4) – Light Heavyweight
You don’t get the opportunity to sign prospects who shine as brightly as Rocky Balboa so often, but we managed to do it and he’s ready to prove that the hype is justified. The former G-Co 205 king has outstanding boxing and has shown that if his opponent wants to tie up, he is able to land damaging blows in close as well.
Chocolate Mousse is a Highland Games veteran who’s scored some really solid wins over the duration of his career. He also likes to stand and trade and outside of a fight with James Helm, he’s always been successful at defeating opponents in a boxing match. I feel that this one has Fight of the Night written all over it.
Clark Kent (8-1) Vs John Smithing (4-1) – Middleweight
Clark Kent is an extremely exciting addition to the Highland Games Middleweight division, boasting a very impressive 8-1 record. Clark has one goal in a fight; winning by ground and pound, and when that situation arises he’s absolutely vicious with his top game. Every single fight Clark has had has found its way to the floor, showing the elite level wrestling game he possesses.
John Smithing is coming off of a Fight of the Night and Submission of the night performance against Flavio De Carli. Smithing adjusts to his opponent’s gameplan, trying to take them out of their element and working their weaknesses against them. He’s shown himself to be capable with his submissions, but you have to think that Kent will be have the BJJ advantage in this one.
Superman Vs Starman, this should be fun.
Mairbek Krylov (7-2) Vs James Helm (10-5) – Light Heavyweight
It’s fantastic to see the man they call Vodka Rage back in a Highland Games cage. Following 2 highly impressive Highland Games fights, in which he scored a win over the number 1 contender for the 205 belt Ludko Struja, Krylov signed for Choke where he went 1-1. Now he’s back, and if he’s capable of beating a man like Struja, he’s capable of becoming an absolute top contender, potentially challenging for the strap one day.
While Krylov is just returning, James Helm never left. He’s been right there in Highland Games since the early days and with a huge right hand to boot, James Helm has never been a fighter you want to stand and bang with. His only unavenged losses are to wrestlers (or the current champion) so he’ll be happy to be given an opponent who’s interested in standing and trading with him here tonight.
Benny Askren (10-4) Vs Alexey Juralev (11-4) – Heavyweight
Benny has always been somewhat of a question mark throughout his career. Some wins were huge, some losses were damaging, but he’s always been here and has always been a real threat in the division. Benny is coming off of the biggest victory of his life, a rapid first round stoppage of Keijo Virtanen, someone he’d been bested by before. Askren has a solid clinch game and has been able to use that to put a beating on some of Highland Games’ rising stars throughout his promotional 11 fight career.
Perhaps the scariest striker of all time in Highland Games, Alexey Juralev has back and he’s ready to get back to smashing opponents. It’s insane that he’s never earned a title shot before considering that at one stage he was on a 5 fight winning streak, but right at the last moment someone has managed to catch him off guard. It would appear that the kickboxing game is a weakness for Juralev, while in a straight shootout, he’s capable of knocking out any man on the planet. A win in this fight would hopefully secure Juralev a title shot, depending on the decisions of Gumble or Lazaro after their World Combat clash, and Alexey is positive that he’d be able to achieve his dream and walk out as the champion.
Ludko Struja (13-5) [+463] Vs LightHeavy Weight (21-2) [-876] – Light Heavyweight Championship
The champion comes into this fight as a gigantic favourite, but how could he not? Not only has he got 10 title defences, not only is he a Highland Games Hall of Famer, not only is he facing a wrestler and has only been taken down once, but over all of this he also has a dominant round 1 stoppage over Ludko Struja, his opponent tonight. All of this is reflected in the huge difference in the betting line, but what we’re overlooking is the streak Ludko Struja is currently on.
Ludko was always a solid guy. He went on a 5 fight winning streak to earn his first title shot, beating some fairly decent guys. Following this, it was up and down. Losses to Skunk Asap and Mairbek Krylov, two solid guys, kept him from getting back to that level, but he bounced back with an okay run in the tournament. It’s since then that Ludko Struja has emerged as one of the best around. He upset everyone with a first round stoppage of longtime top contender Jake Theodorou. He also took out Rodrigo Gracie in the first and scored a late stoppage over Handjong Mc Vetrol. Ludko has had a career resurgence and has fully earned this title shot.
So how does Ludko rewrite history? It’s simple; take this fight to the ground. LightHeavy Weight is the better striker and uses his punches very well to secure his patented clinch. Ludko is going to have to take him down and do it quickly. On the mat, Ludko has some fantastic ground and pound and could cause some real problems for the champion. For LHW to force lightning to strike twice; business as usual. Land his jab, take the clinch early, first round TKO due to cuts.
Ludko has beaten guys we didn’t expect him to beat, including LHW’s training parent. I wonder if he’s made enough adjustments to be established as a legitimate threat in this fight.
Back in the Camden Conference Centre once again for what should be a fantastic show. Highland Games is looking to bring itself back into the top 10 organisations in the world and we might just see that happen tonight.
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