|
 REHAB FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 3 - A FIGHTERS SCORN
EVENT PREVIEW
With two events now in the books, RFC rolls into the sold out Paddy O’Malleys bar with RFC 3 – A Fighters Scorn on 23/10/2015. As we’ve come to expect, a great night of fights is on the cards.
Fight 1 – Muranda Kibawa vs Michael Fisher – 185lbs
Although primarily a boxer, Kibawa has shown in previous fights that he’s not afraid to take the fight to the ground. However, after finishing his first two opponents, Kibawa didn’t really have an answer for his last opponents clinch game and lost a lopsided decision. With Michael Fisher having far superior muay thai sklls, expect him to look to tie Kibawa up and rough him up inside the clinch. In his last outing, things looked to be going OK for Fisher until the fight hit the ground. Once there, he seemed pretty clueless and was overwhelmed by his opponents ground n pound, eventually being submitted with just one second to go in the second round. Expect Muranda Kibawa to be the aggressor, looking to use his boxing to set up takedowns and submit Fisher. Unless Fisher is able to keep the fight on the feet, either out of Kibawas range or in the clinch. I can see him being on the end of a Kibawa submission. With both fighters coming off losses, both are need of a W to get them back on track.
Fight 2 – Terry McCann vs Paul Hunt – 205lbs
McCann looked pretty impressive in his first outing, transitioning between clinches and takedowns and eventually submitting his opponent. More of the same in his second fight but with a tougher opponent, he gassed badly in the second round and was submitted himself early in he third. With Hunt making his MMA debut, its hard to know what to expect from him but if he can tire McCann out and drag him into the latter stages of the fight, who knows? Otherwise, look for McCann to grind his opponent down early and look for a submission.
Fight 3 – Kim Toresson vs Martin Robinson – 185lbs
Both fighters seem pretty evenly matched on paper but with Toresson making his MMA debut, it’s going to be a tough night for him. Robinson is now two fights into his career and with both fights going to the judges, we know he can go the distance. Although at 1 – 1, Robinson was unlucky not to get the nod in his last fight, losing a close decision. Not the most exciting fighter to watch, Robinsons wrestle/clinch heavy approach is taxing, and effective non the less. If Toresson lets Robinson, or the occasion overwhelm him, he’s in for a long night. His best hope will be to use what striking skills he has and keep Robinson on the outside.
Fight 4 – Jani Lathinen vs Ike Yasuoka – 170lbs
Former muay thai fighter Jani Lathinen makes his MMA debut against former boxer and KO artist, Ike Yasuoka. Those who know Lathinen from his muay thai days will know he possesses a fantastic arsenal of strikes but will he be able to adapt them to MMA and also, has he worked enough on the other aspects of the gam to be able to hang in there? The jury’s still out on whether or not Yasuoka has developed the other aspects of his MMA game as in his MMA debut, he needed only to use his excellent boxing to counter everything his opponent threw at him. Although Yasuoka blasted away the granite chinned Muffin Muncher in just over a minute in his debut, Muncher did manage to score a few leg kicks early on. If Yasuoka is unable to find his range, and keep out of Lathinens, expect Lathinen to chop away at his legs and ribs with his shins, with the occasional rapier like head kick thrown in. Yasuokas best bet is to use his footwork get in and out of the pocket and make use of his superior boxing. This will be no easy task though as once there, Lathinen will try to tie him up in the clinch and work his knees and elbows. This one really could go either way and with little chance of either fighter wanting to take the fight to the floor, we should be in for an awesome fight fought on the feet.
Fight 5 – Fazasi Oyashiro vs Rick Van Buuren – 205lbs
A typical striker vs grappler contest. With Fazasi holding a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, and very little in the way of striking skills, expect him to try to drag Van Buuren to the floor and work for submissions. Van Buuren on the other hand has a solid, well rounded striking game with very limited grappling skill (As was shown when he was submitted in little over a minute at the recent TWGC 7 event in London). I would usually say Fazasi would get the fight to the floor and make quick work of Van Buuren but after seeing his MMA debut, im not so sure. Far superior to his opponent on the floor, Fazasi was unable to take him down and after being dropped twice in the first minute, he was taken down, beaten up and picked back up and slammed into unconsciousness. He was however, facing an opponent 75lb heavier than him. Still, unless Van Buuren can land something big early on, Fazasi should pick up a quick submission and get his career back on track.
Fight 6 – Vidak Korenko vs Erling Koch – 265lbs
With both fighters being strikers and neither possessing any real ground skills. It’s pretty safe to assume this fight will be played out on the feet. Koch is making his MMA debut so we have little information by which to judge him. What we do know from his amateur boxing days is he knows how to throw a punch. Korenko has (apparently) got the finest muay thai in the world (according to his manager/brother, Viktor Korenko). This is a hard one to call but if Koch can, or has, developed a gameplan which involves taking Korenko down, chances are he will get the W. Korenko (269lb) will walk into the cage on fight night with a 30lb plus weight advantage which, if used properly, could stifle and wear his opponent down but in his MMA debut, He was taken down, beaten up then submitted by a guy weighing just 155lbs!!!
Fight 7 – DJ Bate vs Markku Haapasolo – 135lbs
18 year old DJ Bate is making his pro MMA debut on the 23rd after an unbeaten, 12 fight amateur career. If he can make the transition from amateur to pro, and adapt his stunning muay thai to fighting with no pads or gloves on, we can expect great things from him. His opponent, Markku Haapsolo, also 18, had an equally impressive amateur career, losing only once in 10 fights with 9 (T)KOs. Haapsolo made his pro debut in the recent QFC 551 tournament, falling way short against a decent wrestler. He was taken down and pounded out after just 1m 26 seconds of the first round. The outcome shouldn’t be the same this time out as Bate mostly relies on his muay thai but if both these young kids are going to make it in the pro game, they’re going to have to work on their grappling because as we know, in modern MMA, you can be the best striker in the world but if you don’t know wrestling or jiu-jitsu, you’re going to get taken down, pounded out or submitted.
Fight 8 – Derek Flood vs Murha Puro – 155lbs
Derek Flood is a massive favourite going into this fight. Riding high after an 18 second (T)KO in his MMA debut, Flood should come away with the W. Puro, making his MMA debut does have the skills to trouble Flood on the feet, A muay thai practitioner since he was 8, Marho Puro has a good arsenal of strikes as he showed in the open workouts. Whether he can take those strikes into the fight remains to be seen. The difference in this fight is Floods boxing and his purple belt in jiu-jitsu. While flood is able to match Puro on the feet, Puro is no match for Flood on the ground. Expect Flood to dictate where this fight takes place and if he feels he can’t beat Puro on the feet, he should have no problem in taking him down and submitting him.
Fight 9 Co Main Event – Kyson Dale vs Peter Lake – 205lbs
With both fighter pretty evenly matched on paper, this should be a fairly close fight. Kyson Dale goes into the fight 1-1, losing his last fight, Peter Lake is 2-0, though many feel he lost his last fight, the judges gave him the nod. Although seemingly overmatched in his first fight, Peter Lake employed a wrestle heavy gameplan to frustrate and shutdown his opponent, who was riding a 3 fight win streak. Lake attempted a whopping 21 takedowns yet landed only 4 strikes on the ground, choosing to play it safe and basically, lay and pray. The same could be said when he got into the clinch. Once there, he chose to stall, throwing no strikes at all. He was booed by the crowd through out the fight but squeaked through for a split decision win. Although using the same tactics in his second fight, he was a little more active when he got the fight to the floor or in the clinch, attempting some ground n pound and even a couple of submissions. His opponent however, was way more active as when the fight got into the clinch or hit the floor, it was him instigating the exchanges while also attempting his own submissions. Although outworked, the judges felt Lake had done enough to get the decision to the dismay of the crowd who again, booed throughout. Although Kyson Dale likes to clinch, he is far more active than Lake when he gets there. In his debut, Dale used his punches to close the distance and get into the clinch. Once there, he used some beautiful knees and elbows to open up 2 nasty cuts either side of his opponents head. Just after a minute into the second round, Dale landed a thunderous uppercut that sent his opponents eyes to the back of his head, showing he has KO power. Rather than play it safe, Dale called for tougher opponents from then on and was duly matched up with Filip Hrgovic, a submission specialist riding a 4 fight win streak. It was too much too soon for Dale and the gap in skills was apparent from the outset. He was duly submitted just 3 minutes into the first. Although coming off a loss, Leland Leatherwood had seen enough of Dale to bring him into RFC. After a loss, fighting someone like Lake is the last thing you need. His stalling, lay and pray style frustrates and makes fighters hesitant to engage for fear of being taken down and laid on. Kyson Dale seemed upbeat about his chances though. He’s confident he will outwork Lake in the clinch or on the ground. When it was put to Lake that his style was boring, he replied angrily “To all you pussies out there, this is what I do, and if you can’t stop me, I’ll do it to you too”. Expect more of the same from Lake, I can’t see it working against Dale though. He has the ability to match Lake wrestling/clinch work and as we’ve not really seen how Lake reacts to being hit, I have a feeling he won’t like it and will look for a way out. Rather than engage, I think Lake will be happy to try to counter anything Dale comes at him with, be it takedown attempts or strikes. If Dale catches him though, it’s lights out for Lake.
Fight 10 Main Event – Wade Wilson vs Marcus Pereira – 265lbs.
The nights main event sees 275lb, 225cm man mountain, Wade Wilson taking on 303lb (yes, 303lb!) judoka, Marcus Pereira. With standout performances in RFC 2, American Slasher and Axyl Hawke have established themselves as contenders for the inaugural RFC heavyweight strap. Both these guys are going to have to produce something special in order to put themselves in the mix. In his last fight, Wade Wilson showed some nice jiu-jitsu skills in his fight with Chen Lang. With both fighters slapping submission attempts on the other throughout the first round, it was Lang who turned it on in the second round. After failing in a guillotine attempt from mount, Lang pounded on Wilson, who was unable to escape, until the referee was forced to step in to save him from further punishment. Pereira on the other hand, needed only 14 seconds to submit 300lb wrecking machine, Thanasis Konstantoulakis. Taking Konstantoulakis down with ease in the opening seconds, using his weight and superior jiu-jitsu, Pereira transitioned to side control and slapped on a beautiful kimura. Konstantoulakis, seemed unfazed and using brute strength, tried to power out. Pereira was having none of it though and shifted his hips slightly and cranked Konstantoulakis’ arm so hard, he screamed in agony, tapping furiously on Pereiras back. The fact Wilson had problems escaping from under a much smaller opponent last time out doesn’t bode well going into this fight. Pereira will make himself as heavy as possible on the night and use his weight to smother Wilson and submit him. The only hope Wilson really has in this fight is to avoid Pereiras takedowns, keep the fight on the feet and chip away him in the hope he will tire chasing him down. That’s not going to be as easy as it sounds though as for a big guy, Pereiras surprisingly agile and explosive. He’ll look to get a hold of Wilson early on and take him down where it’s almost guaranteed he’ll smother and submit him which if you ask me, is the more likely outcome.
Article views:
202
» Donate to this author |
