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 SLAUGHTERHOUSE 9 PREVIEW
UNDERCARD
Decker Dogwood v Colin Hardin Jr – 265 lbs
Dogwood comes into this fight seeking to rebound following a loss against the much vaunted wrestler RP McMurphy while Hardin is looking to chalk up his first win in Slaughterhouse after defeat on his debut. Dogwood is a pure standup striker who predominantly relies on his punching power to win bouts with the occasional kick thrown in for good measure; Hardin is a versatile mixed martial artist and is equally adept at fighting on his feet as he is on the ground.
There is substantial age difference between these two – Dogwood is a very promising prospect but is still only 19, Hardin might not possess the most flattering record but at the age of 28 has a considerable amount of experience on his opponent. Hardin will come into this fight as a favourite – he is more than capable of winning this bout both standing up and on the floor. That said, Dogwood will have a puncher's chance of pulling off an upset here – all of his wins thus far have via knockout and the older American will need to be wary of the youngster's capabilities.
Prediction: Hardin Jr by second round KO.
De Janeiro v Moka Moka – 155 lbs
New signing De Janeiro is an immensely talented submission specialist, he is currently undefeated and on a nine fight winning streak (with all of his victories coming via submission). The Armenian will face ground and pounder Moka Moka here who is fighting in both his Slaughterhouse debut and his appearance under new management. This is potentially Janeiro's toughest matchup to date and it will be interesting to see if he can step up here and maintain that undefeated record.
Janeiro likes to clinch up with his opponents before taking them to the floor and I would expect him to continue with that winning strategy here. It's worth noting that a number of his opponents have taken him to the ground in the past only to find themselves on the wrong end of a submission; Moka's too likes to shoot for the takedown but in this instance may choose to rely on his standup instead.
His boxing isn't world class but he is a competent enough standup striker to pose Janeiro some problems; if he can use his wrestling knowledge to keep the fight standing in the clinch he is in with a good shout here. Extremely difficult fight to call, Moka will probably need to play away from his natural tendencies to win this one but his wrestling should keep him alive for long enough to take this on decision if Janeiro does succeed with the takedown.
Prediction: Moka by decision.
Count Chocula v Jacob Mollie – 145 lbs
Algerian boxer Count Chocula takes on American wrestler Jacob Mollie in our third fight of the night. Mollie is a promising prospect at 19 and showed great takedown offence in his first Slaughterhouse appearance against Bruce Wayne, however in this instance I really don't rate his chances particularly highly. Stylistically this matchup is a potential nightmare for the young American – not only is Chocula a far more proficient boxer than Mollie, the Algerian also possesses solid wrestling.
Chocula's main vulnerability appears to be submissions but as Mollie is still a white belt in Jiu Jitsu this doesn't seem like a particularly likely avenue for victory. At 27 years of age and possessing a 13-5 record, Chocula has the clear advantage in experience as well. Perhaps Mollie will shock us and embarrass the older fighter, it certainly would be a major upset for the cards – personally I don't see it happening, but stranger things have happened both before and after noon.
Prediction: Chocula by first round KO.
Gabe Christianson v Hugo Lewis – 185 lbs
Two of the biggest names in the middleweight division meet for the first time in what should be a close fought affair. Lewis is coming off the back of a draw with Parker Phoenix, the current middleweight champion, and a victory here would put in him in immediate contention for another title challenge. Christianson is a new signing from Synchronicity and is looking to make it five wins in a row as he seeks to make a name for himself in Vegas.
Both of these fighters are immensely talented and versatile and as such it is difficult to predict where this bout will take place – Christianson is an extremely accurate striker while Lewis can be very dangerous in the clinch, both of these opponents mix in leg kicks with their boxing to good effect and both are very competent on the ground. Takedowns are within the realm of possibility but I think these two will play to their natural tendencies and keep the fight standing – both are more than capable of knocking opponents out. You'd be as well tossing a coin to guess the outcome of this fight, but if I had to make a prediction I'd give Christianson a slight edge due to his experience of competing at a higher level than Lewis.
Prediction: Christianson by decision.
Parker Phoenix v Kenneth Wayne – 185 lbs Title Fight
Phoenix came close to losing his title in his last outing with Hugo Lewis and he faces another tough challenger here. Former Syn/Evo mixed martial artist, Kenneth Wayne is a highly skilled boxer/clinch fighter and has won numerous titles in the past at both welterweight and middleweight including; X: Cage Fighting, Confliction MMA, MLC and Troid. Both of these fighters are solid wrestlers in addition to their outstanding standup, but chances are they will keep this bout standing for the duration – between them they have six fight of the night and six knockout of night awards so we hope to see an entertaining exchange here.
There is a substantial age difference between the two, Phoenix is still only 24 while Wayne is 35 with a lot more fights under his belt (38 MMA appearances to Parker's 15) – Parker has sustained less damage over the years but that added ring experience could prove valuable to Wayne in this bout. A very tough test for the title holder and I think Wayne has what it takes to win the belt with a late knockout.
Prediction: Wayne by fourth round KO.
Carlos Machado v Elijah Parker – 265+ lbs
Carlos suffered defeat against the Machado brothers' nemesis, Otocanin Zmija, in his last MMA appearance and is eager to return to winning ways against Muay Thai specialist Elijah Parker in this super heavyweight matchup. Like his brother, Carlos is a Jiu Jitsu practitioner who excels at finishing fights via submission – he has a similar approach in that he rarely looks to trade shots, instead preferring to shoot for the counter takedown and put his Jiu Jitsu skills to good use on the ground.
Elijah Parker is a new signing for Slaughterhouse and this will be his first fight under new management. Parker is a skilled standup fighter who is dangerous in the clinch – he has shown tremendous accuracy with his kicks but doesn't throw them with enough regularity to cause serious concern to his opponents, this may be an area that his new management will look to improve upon.
Parker does have a four inch height advantage but apart from that these two are fairly evenly matched despite the stylistic differences – Machado is 8-2 while Parker possesses a 7-3 record, the weight differences between the two are fairly negligible. This matchup will primarily be decided by the tactical considerations given their opposing disciplines; I quite like Parker's chances here, his wrestling is competent enough that he should be able to keep the fight standing in the clinch but if Machado does manage to take him down that could spell instant trouble for the American.
Prediction: Parker by first round KO.
Peyton Rudger v The Sumo – 265+ lbs
Two wrestlers from opposite sides of the globe meet in our second super heavyweight bout of the evening. Rudger is 26 and hails from New York city, he comes into this fight on the back of a swift win over Eli Frankham in his Slaughterhouse debut and is looking to record his tenth career victory here. Sumo is also 26 and comes the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, he is a new signing and comes into this fight unbeaten as he notched up two quick wins in his previous two MMA appearances.
Rudger is an accomplished inside fighter with all nine of his knockouts coming from within the clinch; Sumo is a classic ground and pounder with both of his prior wins coming in this manner. I don't see either fighter significantly changing their gameplan here – neither fighter has a particular edge on the outside so I suspect they will stick to what they know best. There is less tape on Sumo so there is more potential for him to mix it up but in this instance I'm going to go with the more experienced fighter – Rudger's wrestling background should help him to avoid sustaining significant damage from Sumo's ground and pound and for this reason I think he'll take this one.
Prediction: Rudger by second round KO.
Sungwon Jung v Donald Evans – 205 lbs
Both of these fighters impressed in their last Slaughterhouse outings so we look forward to an exciting fight here. Korean Sungwon Jung is a talented standup fighter with a penchant for knocking opponents out, while Evans impressed the crowd at Slaughterhouse 6 with a sensational stoppage of Kocoa Ebone by way of a perfectly timed right hook which put Ebone out cold. Both opponents like to stand and trade shots so keep your eyes on this one because there is the potential for fireworks.
Physically Jung and Evans seemed to be relatively evenly matched, both stand at around 6'3 and the weight difference between the two is negligible – in technical terms there are also a lot of similarities, they both like to target the head in search of knockouts while throwing leg kicks to keep opponents at bay. Jung perhaps has the edge in this matchup as he is the more accurate striker (landing 54.7% of strikes attempted on the outside to Evans' 49.8%) and has the slightly more extensive record but all things considered this could be a close one.
Both strikers have knockout power and, especially at this weight level, there is the potential for a single punch to dramatically change the outcome of this bout. I'll put this one down as a win for Jung, he has strung up some impressive victories in Slaughterhouse with his only loss coming against the extremely talented Hughtavious Mingo and I think he has what it takes to continue his winning form here.
Prediction: Jung by second round KO.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Kuma Nelson v Stew Sauced – 205 lbs Title Fight
Kuma Nelson (a.k.a. “The Lucid Nightmare”) features in his third successive title defence against talented Irish boxer Stew Sauced. Sauced comes into this bout following a big victory over young prodigy Saiyan Southbrook – this will be his third matchup with Nelson with the record so far one a piece. Sauced was victorious the first time these two met thanks to a majority decision but suffered defeat in the rematch with all three judges scoring the contest in Nelson's favour. Neither fighter made particularly major adjustments in the second fight and I don't see that being the case here either; both will look to trade shots on the outside and with the durability these two showed in their previous matchups I would expect this one to go the distance.
There is little height or weight differential between these two although Nelson is the more experienced fighter and with two successful title defences will come into this one as a slight favourite. Both of these fighters possess knockout power (Nelson has notched up 18 wins via KO in his career thus far while eight out ten of Sauced's victories have come in this manner) so a finish is not entirely out of the question; concentration will remain an important factor – if hands start dipping to the waist as the fighters tire that could spell danger for either of them. I like Nelson's chances here – he clearly outfought Sauced the last time these two met and with his title on the line that should bring out the best in him. Regardless of the outcome this should be a very entertaining fight as these two warriors engage in an all out standup war.
Prediction: Nelson by decision.
MAIN EVENT
Tommy Grunge v Hughtavious Mingo – 205 lbs
The biggest name in Slaughterhouse makes his debut here as he takes on former WC/EFC Light Heavyweight Champion Hughtavious Mingo. Tommy Grunge is lauded as the greatest kickboxer of modern times having retired with a 20-0 record to focus on MMA, he is still undefeated following brief stints with EVO and Synchronicity and is looking to maintain his winning record here with a victory over his younger opponent. Hughtavious Mingo is just 23 years of age but has already set the world of mixed martial arts ablaze with impressive stoppages of the likes of Sungwon Jung and Robert McCall – he already has notched up five title fight appearances and a win for the youngster tonight would be a huge personal accomplishment to add to his already impressive resume.
As his kickboxing background might imply, Grunge is truly a sensation when it comes to standup exchanges – his work on the outside is nothing short of phenomenal and he shows elite level Muay Thai from within the clinch. Mingo is a talented boxer who is equally adept at working inside and out. The likelihood of this bout going to the floor is virtually nil; barring a dramatic change in gameplan due to injury or other unforseen circumstances, both of these fighters will look to turn this into a battle of striking attrition. Mingo is perhaps the more aggressive standup fighter in this one; in all of his previous Slaughterhouse appearances he has come out guns blazing and may well follow suit here.
Grunge is a slightly more nuanced fighter – he has shown both the ability to deliver huge counter punches and controlled aggression when the situation merits it. Grunge also has the added dimension of his kicking, an area Mingo tends to avoid and that could well give him an advantage in this matchup. Either way a fantastic fight awaits us and we eagerly look forward to the most hyped matchup in Slaughterhouse to date.
Prediction: Grunge by third round KO.
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