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SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIGHT NIGHT 2 PREVIEW
UNDERCARD
Maui Built v Dominick Snooze – 135 lbs
Hawaii boxer Maui Built meets Californian wrestler Dominick Snooze in this bantamweight matchup. This will be Built's first Slaughterhouse fight, his one previous MMA appearance ended with a convincing decision victory over Dwayne Michaels (with all three rounds unanimously being scored 10-8 in his favour). Similarly his opponent is still in the early days of his career; Snooze possesses a 1-1 record in MMA although he has previously also fought in the World Grappling Championships. His last appearance in Slaughterhouse resulted in the first loss of his career as he struggled to break free from the clinch. Built seems to prefer to work on the outside however so this may be less of a problem for Snooze here. Ultimately this matchup will come down to Snooze's ability to take this fight to the floor. He struggled to find takedowns in his last Slaughterhouse outing so I would anticipate this is an area he has been working to improve on in training. That said Built showed tremendous takedown defence in his last fight so I don't expect the Californian to have an easy time of it. From what we have seen so far of these two, Built should have a significant upperhand when it comes to striking – he connected with a ridiculous amount of shots in his first appearance although was unable to find the finishing touch. Chances are this one will go to a decision with Built scoring the points thanks to his superior standup.
Prediction: Built by decision.
James Franklin v Craig Nice – 145 lbs
James “Anaconda” Franklin is a Jiu Jitsu purple belt coming off two successive victories and is looking to make it three in a row against US boxer/wrestler Craig Nice. The American is currently 3-5 and is desperate to break a four fight losing streak despite showing great promise earlier in his career. For both of these fighters takedowns are an important staple of their game so the expectation here is that most of this fight will take place on the mat. Although the tape on Franklin is limited, he has shown tremendous success in securing the early takedown and immediately moving for submissions so Nice will need to be wary if, or rather, when he does find himself on the floor. Nice has shown himself capable of winning with submissions of his own, in particular the kimura, but as his Jiu Jitsu isn't quite on the level of Franklin this may not be a route to victory here. Nice's best chance of winning this fight is standing up, however given his natural tendencies and the proficiency of Franklin's takedowns he may not have that option for long.
Prediction: Franklin by first round submission.
Nyffe Pehmytkudos v David McFadden – 185 lbs
McFadden certainly isn't having an easy time of it in the middleweight division. After suffering losses to two difficult opponents, Walter Black and Maddox Rayborn, he faces another tough matchup here. Nyffe Pehmytkudos is a well rounded mixed martial artist who can finish opponents in multiple ways, he is also coming off two successive losses but the Finnish veteran still remains a dangerous opponent to face. McFadden, a Muay Thai kickboxer, will need to step up his game here if he wants to record his first win at Slaughterhouse. The only encouraging thing about this matchup for McFadden is that his opponent is now 42 and perhaps is starting to show signs of decline, so if the Scotsman can use finesse alongside his kicking to keep Pehmytkudos at a distance he is in with a decent shout of breaking that losing streak. However, the Finn is going to present a constant danger for McFadden – if Pehmytkudos sees the opportunity to take the fight down he will most certainly take it and use that as a platform for submissions or simply ground and pounding his way to victory. McFadden can win this if he remains patient and wears Pehmytkudos down over a period of time, however I suspect the experienced veteran will bring the pressure early and disrupt his opponents gameplan before he has an opportunity to implement it.
Prediction: Pehmytkudos by second round KO.
Striker Accurate v Markus Woodsmall – 135 lbs
Striker Accurate is a talented Muay Thai practitioner who has a big problem in avoiding submissions. Fortunately for him, Woodsmall is a Jiu Jitsu white belt so that shouldn't be an issue here. What will be an issue however is Woodsmall's ability in the clinch – an area Accurate has shown a particular vulnerability in past fights. All things considered, I really don't like this matchup. It will be entertaining for the fans no doubt but I see only one victor here. Accurate is making his Slaughterhouse debut here and with a 1-5 record would probably be far better off facing someone who isn't coming off a two fight win streak where he absolutely dominated the competition. Maybe Accurate will prove me wrong here, but I'd happily put a large amount of money down that Woodsmall will win this fight and he will win it in the clinch.
Prediction: Woodsmall by first round KO.
Liam Lee v Percy Schmeiser – 170 lbs
Now this is what I call a matchup. Liam “Ground Master” Lee faces off against Percy Schmeiser in this welterweight contest. Despite Lee's nickname this will be an occasion where he most emphatically does not have the advantage on the ground. Schmeiser is an elite wrestler and a red belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, his standup game should be respected but it is not a particular strength of his. Lee is a Jiu Jitsu brown belt who shows a particular talent for demolishing opponents in the clinch. He will want to avoid going to the ground here at all costs. This is a fascinating tactical matchup – Lee will want to turn this into a boxing match but will need to be careful should he decide to go into the clinch, Schmeiser has a good takedown success rate (44%) and closing the distance on him could play into the Canadian's hands. While the fight remains standing Lee will have the advantage, the one thing the Indonesian will bank on is that he has shown good takedown defence in the past so he will want to continue that pattern here and punish Schmeiser the second he tries to shoot for the single or double leg. I think Lee's Jiu Jitsu is skilled enough to avoid being submitted should he find himself on the ground (in twelve MMA appearances he has never been on the wrong end of a submission) but nonetheless if he does find himself on his back Schmeiser will waste no time in grinding out a victory. Both of these opponents are making their debut here so will be keen to make the most of the occasion.
Prediction: Lee by decision.
Igor Kusilutka v Armani Cabrera – 170 lbs
Who said the cold war was over? Russian Igor Kusilutka takes on US mixed martial artist Armani Cabrera in our second welterweight bout of the evening. Both of these fighters are exceptionally well rounded – Kusilutka likes to use his boxing to set up the takedown while Cabrera likes to operate out of the clinch where he can either use his knees to wear an opponent down or drag them to the mat depending on how the fight is going. Both fighters have excellent durability: Kusilutka has a great gas tank while Cabrera has never been knocked out in his career. This fight has all the makings of a great contest – neither fighter has any glaring weaknesses making this an extremely hard bout to call. Ring IQ will be an important factor here as the ability to adapt to the fight as it unfolds will be paramount. While they may think they know what to expect from the other, both opponents are more than capable of mixing it up and it will be interesting to see the respective gameplans of these two and how they change over the course of the fight. Kusilutka does possess a two inch height advantage but whether this is enough to give him the upperhand in standup exchanges remains to be seen. Realistically this fight could easily go either way, but if you put a gun to my head I'd probably put Cabrera as the slight favourite purely based on his previous record.
Prediction: Cabrera by decision.
Lou Marx v Aristotle Polidori – 205 lbs
Marx vs. Aristotle, and no I'm not talking about a battle of the philosophers. Both of these fighters are dangerous ground and pounders – Melbourne's Lou Marx is a new signing from Imperial fight org and is keen to start his Slaughterhouse career with a win over UK wrestler Aristotle Polidori. Aristotle impressed us the last time out by grinding out Craig David with a late stoppage in the third round and will be looking to continue his winning ways here. The problem with this particular fight is that these two may well cancel each other out due to their similarities in style – both of these fighters are excellent wrestlers so they may struggle to inflict as many ground strikes as they might like. There are two factors which may be key in determining the outcome here; firstly whoever scores with the takedown first will be at an instant advantage due to being in top position, and secondly whoever can outbox the other has a good chance of swinging the bout in their favour. Both of these factors seem to favour Marx – he has the more impressive takedown success rate and Polidori has appeared vulnerable to the counter takedown in the past, on the striking front Marx is an accurate but not overly aggressive puncher so that could well help to sway the judges should this go to the scorecards. Polidori's chin has been questioned on occasion but whether Marx possesses the knockout power in his right hand remains to be seen. Submission attempts are a possibility but I think these two will be too well versed in grappling for that to be a likely outcome.
Prediction: Marx by decision.
Walter Black v Howard Stern – 185 lbs
Another fight between two grapplers – Walter Black is a classic ground and pounder fighter while Howard Stern is a Jiu Jitsu black belt who excels at finishing fights via submission (with eleven of his thirteen wins coming in this manner). Both of these fighters are 1-1 in Slaughterhouse and are just under the top echelon of fighters in the middleweight division so a win here would be an important stepping stone in moving towards the top of the rankings. Both of these fighters gameplans are straightforward – Black will look to grind his opponent down from top positions while Stern won't mind working off his back as long as he comes up with the submission. It is possible that we could see one fighter choose to work off his feet instead, of the two Stern probably has the edge – he has delivered some damaging shots in the past, both from within the clinch and on the outside. Black has looked particularly vulnerable in the clinch before so this is one area Stern might look to exploit, the bad news for Stern is that in eleven MMA appearances Black has never been submitted so he may well need to alter his strategy here if his opponent doesn't appear to be too generous on the ground. Difficult fight to call – on the ground I would give the edge to Black so it will be up to Stern to make some modifications to his usual strategy if he is to win this one.
Prediction: Black by third round KO.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Thor Boschat v Reijo Rento – 265 lbs
Our co-main event of the evening sees two fighters who specialise in knocking opponents out clash in this heavyweight bout. Boschat hails from the small channel island of Jersey, aside from being a tax haven the most notable thing about Jersey is in fact Thor Boschat himself. Thor exclusively fights on the outside where he can use his boxing and that straight right in particular to full advantage. By contrast, Finnish born Reijo Rento likes to mix it up – he will take opponents into the clinch, drop them to the ground or stand and trade shots – whatever it takes to secure the path to victory. He is a former Umbrella/LFC heavyweight/super heavyweight champion and he has notched up four knockout of night awards over the course of his career. His standup might not be quite on the same level of Boschat, but make no mistake he is one dangerous opponent to face.
Boschat's approach to this fight is simple: stay on the outside, avoid any attempts by Rento to close the distance and connect with that straight right to put the Finn's light out. However, implementing this gameplan is going to be anything but simple. Rento has a fantastic chin and while he might struggle to take Boschat to the floor, getting him into the clinch is a much more realistic strategy for the big Finn and from there he can use his dirty boxing to grind him down. This fight will be another test of Rento's durability, Boschat is particularly noted for his excellent stamina, but when it comes down to it I think Rento will emerge victorious one way or another.
Prediction: Rento by second round KO.
MAIN EVENT
Victor Sweet v Hannu Haapana – 135 lbs
Uruguayan grappler Victor Sweet will take on Muay Thai clinch fighter Hannu Haapana in our main event of the evening. Both of these fighters are new signings from the Island and will be looking to make the most of their opportunity to shine as they take centre stage in Fight Night 2. Sweet is 8-4 in his MMA career so far and prior to his second round exit in the Island he had a very successful career at Solitude where he claimed three submission of the night bonuses. Although he is still working to obtain his brown belt, Sweet's trainers have been full of praise for his Jiu Jitsu – all eight of his previous victories have come via submission from a whole range of positions. His opponent for this fight is a deadly in the clinch, in particular keep an eye out for Haapana's vicious elbows which he will throw early and often the second he gets into range. Haapana is also dangerous on the outside, he will use a range of strikes to keep his opponent at bay – in particular watch out for his kicking which will be an important tool here in forcing Sweet to keep his distance.
As with any standup vs. ground fighter matchup the takedown will be key here. Sweet's takedown success rate is respectable (43.3% over his previous 12 fights) but he might it difficult here – Haapana has only ever been taken down once in sixteen appearances and that was several years ago. Likewise Haapana has never been submitted, although given he isn't particularly noted for his Jiu Jitsu this is probably more down to the fact that he rarely ever ends up on the ground. With all that said, if Sweet does manage to take Haapana to the floor he could find himself in a world of trouble. I'm not sure Haapana has faced a submission artist of Sweet's caliber so this will certainly be a big test of his grappling abilities should his takedown defence fail. Ultimately I think Haapana will emerge victorious here, he can use his balance to keep the fight up against the cage should he choose to go into the clinch. Sweet's ground game is going to be a constant threat here but as long as Haapana keeps a cool head this is his fight to lose.
Prediction: Haapana by second round KO.
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