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 Lucas Silva Jr (5-2) Vs Walter Mattos (8-6) - Middleweight
Two guys struggling a bit at the bottom of the table. Lucas lost his debut last time out, while Mattos has a lot of experience in HG but hasn't won a fight at Middleweight. Neither man is expected to be cut if they lose, but really they will be very close to the chopping block if it happens.
Yoshi Twister (6-7) Vs Eduardo Sanchez (7-2) - Bantamweight
Twister fought in Choke and World Combat so he's obviously a guy we'd like to see do well. On a 3 fight losing streak however, this is probably his last chance to bag a win in Highland Games for the time being. Under new management, Sanchez is gonna have to break this 2 fight skid after going 2 straight in HG. He's expected to win this, but there's a chance he'll be released if he can't get past Twister.
Tadeusz Cymek (6-2) Vs Frank Lopez (7-4-1) - Middleweight
This is turning out to be a morbid start to the card, but Cymek will also be released if he fails to pull this one off. Lopez had a very solid streak snapped by Itshak Rabinovitch last time out, and now he'll be looking to take that experience and move past it. Lopez might be a good prospect for the future but he'll need to win these kind of fights for that to ever come to fruition.
Karl Heinz Bauser (7-5-1) Vs Rimario Gracie (8-8) - Light Heavyweight
When he KOed Gerald James with a head kick, then submitted Alejandro Vasquez in his first two HG fights, I thought Karl was headed to be a killer. He's lost his last two, to fairly solid guys, but really it has shown us that he's not ready for that level of competition. Rimario just can't be cut. Every time he needs a win to stay signed, he gets it. With that trend, I'd expect him to lose this one and win his next.
Alfonso Bebeto (8-7) Vs Joe Durham (9-4) - Light Heavyweight
After a brief stint in Legacy, Bebeto is back in his home org. Like his stablemate Rimario, he's another guy who's never been able to win the big fights. Durham joined us with just one loss to Hughtavious Mingo in World Combat, so he was looking like a big star. Unfortunately, after winning his first two HG fights, he's dropped his last three. Not many fighters get an opportunity to drop 4 and stay signed so this is make or break time for the Englishman.
Christopher Wilt (8-6) Vs Artjom Fjodorow (9-7) - Heavyweight
Talk about a fall from grace. Wilt went from 4-1 in HG, the last of which being a submission win over Keijo Virtanen, to losing his next three. No one expected that kind of drop from a guy looking as bright as Wilt, but now he's taking a drop in the level of competition and should be able to turn it back around. Artjom is 1-3 in HG and would be released with a loss here. He's got solid boxing but his weak chin hasn't done him any favours. With only one sub loss, that might save him fighting Wilt.
Viktor Zakhar (7-4) Vs Jackson Munoz (8-3) - Lightweight
Two rapid KO wins has added a bit of hype to Viktor's resume here. This is a decent jump in competition but if he's been able to finish the fights so quickly in his recent outings, he has a good shot of doing it again here. Jackson's a former kickboxer and can finish fights as well. You know this one isn't going to a decision and someone's getting stopped, and whoever wins should be looking at maybe taking a step up in the near future.
Dominance Zelditeez (14-8) Vs Long Wang (10-2) - Bantamweight
Generations clashing here. Dominance has never looked close to getting a second shot at the title, but he's always been a tough opponent to get past and is the ideal gatekeeper for the division. This is his 14th fight for the organisation showing how long he's been a relevant name to compete with. Although a newer name to the org, Wang is making his 9th trip to the HG cage so he's not exactly out of his depth here. After winning an independent tournament, he joined the company and has only stumbled when facing top level competition. Although he's at a disadvantage experience wise, expect him to make a statement here.
Eugene Sandov (11-6) Vs Dandy Swanson (9-6) - Heavyweight
1-1 in HG, Sandov is a striker who fought for a long time in Las Vegas Prizefighting. While he's not expected to be looking at a shot at gold any time soon, Sandov could make a home for himself in HG if he manages to score wins in positions like this. Swanson came out of nowhere in HG and is an instant fan favourite. After a fairly lack lustre career in Tradition, he joined HG wth a 6-6 record. Not only did he instantly score two first round KOs, but in his last fight he actually locked up the incredibly elusive Triple Decker Pecker Wrecker. Yes....the TDPW!!! Putting four together would get Swanson a crack at a big name in the division so he'll be hungry to shock us once again.
Rodrigo Rojas (15-9) Vs Marcus Warring (9-6) - Middleweight
It's not our biggest card of all time but at least we have a solid main event. The original 205 HG champion Rodrigo Rojas is coming off of just the third title fight of his career, in which he was defeated by Middleweight Champ Massimo Benvenuti. Rojas has been considering retirement for a little while now and is only really interested in being a "gatekeeper" to the up and coming talent while his contract lasts. He might want to go out on a high, but Marcus Warring wants to spoil the party. Marcus is only 2-5 in HG, but the former Openweight Champion in CFC has been fighting at a very high level since joining. Fights against Renato Gracie, Itshak Rabinovitch, Pyotr Korobeikin, Oleg Bartowski, Jon Askren and Angel face will have given Warring a tonne of experience. Not quite as much as Rojas, who's shared the cage with Eirikur Adalsteinn, Rice Aroni, Massimo Benvenuti three times, Massimo Paterno, Grant Morrison, Jonah Sorentino, Massa Hurmaaja, Razor MuayThai, Itshak Rabinovitch and Jon Askren. Yes, I get that I'm padding this out by name dropping. Shut up. Rojas wants to end his career well, but Warring wants to build towards something bigger and is desperate to pick up an important win. Both will be gunning for it, but I reckon the more experienced former champ will be the favourite on the bookies' score cards.
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