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There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on
-Robert Byrne
Four finishes baby, that’s what I like to see. The story of ROV 31 was leaving it out of the judges’ hands. The night started with the prelims where not one judge was actually needed as all of the fights ended in (T)KOs or submissions. The main card then gave five solid fights, with four of those puppies ending in finishes, ‘twas a beautiful sight. Some statistics: The event rating was a 174.53. The arena didn’t sell out, instead having an attendance shy of 3K at 2607. Altogether, the fighters were paid $168,000. Arnie Armstrong won KO of the night, Stephan Walter submitted his opponent into sub of the night, while Tony Ramos vs Eddy Edwards won fight of the night. Now, let’s get to a review of the main event.
265+ Title: Arnie Armstrong def Qasim Barakat via TKO (Punches) at 2:36 of Round 2
It was the clinch game that made the difference in this fight. It was the clinch game that helped Arnie Armstrong defeat Qasim Barakat and take the Super Heavyweight title for himself. The fight started up with action right away, as the fighters started trading shots from a distance. After about a minute of things, Armstrong brought the fight into the clinch where he was able to dominate things. Armstrong was the one that kept busier throwing headshot after headshot, although he didn’t land quite as many as he probably wanted to. Barakat mixed up throwing shots with trying to escape the clinch. He was more successful at landing strikes than distancing himself, as Armstrong was able to keep him in the clinch, minus one hiccup just before the third minute, and that hiccup turned out to be nothing as Armstrong was able to clinch it back up about 30 seconds after it was broken. The rest of the round stayed up close. Armstrong continued to out strike Barakat, eventually rocking him at the 6th minute with a nice hook to side of his head. Round two was much the same, with the fighters staying on the outside for a minute, this time however Barakat was the one that moved it into the clinch. This time in the clinch, each fighter was able to defend pretty well. Both Armstrong and Barakat had some issues landing shots. Halfway past the second minute however, things changed. Armstrong was able to push Barakt back a bit and landed a huge uppercut. Barakat tried to close the distance back up, but Armstrong was too much for him. He landed some more strikes and the ref was forced tos top he fight, crowning Armstrong the new champion. The fight rating was a 50 percent, some BS to me as I thought this was a pretty good fight where each fighter tried to stay as busy as possible. In the clinch, Armstrong landed 25 of 94 head punches and 10 of 18 body punches while Barakat landed 22 of 61 shots. Armstrong will next defend his title against Dick Army on 6/27 while Barakat still has his fight under offer. I tried to reach each fighter for a comment. Arnie Armstrong answered me. I’m still waiting on Qasim Barakat.
Stremphf: How does it feel to be champion?
Armstrong: It feels great man and I don't plan on giving it away anytime soon. I've dominated every fight in devastating fashion and earned the org trophy 'KO machine'. Remember the name Arnie "Double A" Armstrong because one day I will be the world no.1!
Stremphf: What was the difference in this fight that led you to victory?
Armstrong: Not much was different for my game plan in this fight, I went out there to strike and clinch up. He did better than I thought in the clinch department and at one point even managed to cut me. Blood doesn’t scare me though so I kept grinding it out and eventually everyone falls to the power of these biceps (kisses his guns).
Stremphf: What’s next for Arnie Armstrong?
Armstrong: What’s next for me? Well apparently some tool called Dick Army.
He seems very confident in himself. After this fight, he has no reason not to be.
265+ Ibs: Dick Army def Peter Sutcliffe via TKO (Strikes) at 0:21 of Round 2
The co-main event was dominated by Dick Army, who earned himself a title shot after this victory. The first minute and a half saw each fighter trading shots. Army moved things into the clinch where he was able to start controlling the fight, much like his future opponent in the main event of tonight’s card. The first clinch up actually didn’t go that well for Army, as he was only able to land one elbow before Sutcliffe broke it. However, Army was able to clinch up shortly thereafter where he softened Sutcliffe up with a nice mix up of strikes. Just before the end of the round a hook to the head rocked Sutcliffe and it was pretty much all but over from there. Twenty-one seconds into the second round Army threw a huge right hand that knocked Sutcliffe down. After 10 seconds of Sutcliffe trying to survive, Army threw a crazy uppercut that led to a barrage of strikes that ended this one. The fight had a rating of 57 percent. Sutcliffe was only able to land six strikes in the standup and two in the clinch. The victor landed 20 strikes in the standup, a good mix of them too, and 14 in the clinch. As I mentioned earlier, Dick Army will go headstrong into a fight against newly crowned 265+ champion Arnie Armstrong. Peter Stucliffe will take on Buliwyf Chrsitianson on 6/20.
145 Ibs: Carl Sheppards def George North via TKO (Strikes) at 0:18 of Round 2
Another fight that barely made it past the second round, Carl Sheppards was able to get the better of George North in this one. This was actually a pretty close fight at first. Sheppards was able to out strike North, but just by a little bit. North focused a bit more on his legs by landing majority kicks for his strikes while Sheppards was all about the head punches. Sheppards tried to close the distance throughout the first round. He was successful one time out of eight, but that one time was only for about a second, as North was able to easily get out of it. The first round ended not knowing who the clear winner of it was. If things continued that way, the judges were going to have a difficult time determining who’d be victorious. Thankfully, the judges were not needed. The second round came and went in 18 seconds. After some traded shots, Sheppards rocked north with a nice shot. He then cracked his jaw with a good right and threw North back against the ropes. Sheppards continued the barrage of strikes that eventually dropped North and forced the ref to intervene. This fight received another middling rating at 52 percent, which I again disagree with. As I said before, Carl Sheppards was all about the head punches, connecting on 14 of 28. He also had four body shots to go along with those. George North landed five punches and 17 kicks. They were not enough for him though, as Sheppards got the best of him and will move up the featherweight ladder.
145 Ibs: Tony Ramos def Eddy Edwards via Decisioin (Unanimous)
Both fighters wanted it: a chance at the featherweight title. It was within their grasp, just one victory away. It was Tony Ramos that dominated his way into the shot. He controlled the fight and had his way with Edwards. He was never in danger except with one submission attempt Edwards threw at Ramos from his back in the first round, but Ramos defended it very easily. Whether it was through takedowns or the clinch, Ramos was able to control the fight and keep it where he wanted it, save some referee standups. In the first round, it took about a minute for Ramos to trip Edwards into a takedown. He didn’t do too much on the ground except try to gain position. Edwards obviously battled back and it led to them just switching up positions every now and then. There was a submission attempt by Edwards, as previously said. They remained on the ground until the referee stood them up. The round ended with some standing strikes traded. The second round was all about the clinch. Ramos initiated it just after the first minute and stayed there the rest of the round. The third round was much the same, Ramos clinched up at the beginning and kept it there, dominating and striking his opponent at each opportunity. The fourth and fifth round featured less clinch and more outside striking. Ramos was able to land a takedown and clinch up for a little bit during the last rounds. Ramos easily won every round except the last, where he kind of took it easy. However, one judge still gave that one to him. Overall, Ramos won it 49-46, 49-46, and 50-45. He landed 26 of 57 strikes standing up. He was able to land two of seven takedown attempts and four of 10 clinch attempts. In the clinch Ramos destroyed his opponent. He landed 44 of 76 strikes and was able to trip his opponent one time into a takedown out of three. On the ground he landed two of seven strikes. Eddy Edwards completed 19 of 54 strikes standing up and was unsuccessful in 10 tries for takedowns. In the clinch he was not able to land any strikes that he threw at Ramos. He did not land any strikes or complete any submissions on the ground. With these stats, it is clear that Ramos completely earned this one. This fight won fight of the night honors for these two. Tony Ramos will eventually face Troll ShitBrickHouse for the 145 title. Eddy Edwards fought out his ROV contract. It is unknown whether he’ll be back or not.
205 Ibs: Stephan Walter def Waclav Szbrjcik via Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:49 of Round 1
The veterans duked it out for close to a round in this one as Walter came away with a nice submission victory. It took just a matter of seconds for Walter to takedown Szbrjcik. After a couple missed strikes by Walter, Szbrjcik was able to reverse things and get on top. He tried a few submissions with none being successful. There were some strikes thrown from Szbrjcik while Walter stayed patient looking for an opportunity to sink in a submission. That moment came at around 3:40 when Szbrjcik relaxed a bit and a window opened up for a triangle choke. After loosely getting one set up, Walter was able to sink it in, forcing Szbrjcik to tap. It was his one and only submission attempt, as one is all that he needed. The fight rating was a 30 percent. Szbrjcik threw two body kicks and landed five of nine strikes from the ground. Walter did not throw a strike in this fight. He landed one takedown and, as I just said, one submission attempt. That submission attempt gave Walter submission of the night honors. Neither fighter has another fight set up. It is unclear what these fighters will decide on whether they come back or call it a career.
I hope you guys enjoyed my review. As always, comment to me on the forums or through a message if you have any questions or concerns or whatever. Until the next article from me, PEACE OUT MOTHERF****RS.
--Donny Stremphf
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