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 It's an honor to write another preview for StrikeForce Union, one of hottest fight organizations in sport today. StrikeForce Union 22 will be taking place August 21st 2016, as always in beautiful London at the Hard Knocks Arena. The card will feature undefeated fighter and my personal favorite fighter on the SFU roster, Ramon Gracie. He will be looking to defend his Welterweight Championship against Juan Carlos Aymara. There are so many other great fights on this card, you can't miss this one.
As stated above, the Main Event will be Ramon Gracie (11-0) Vs Juan Carlos Aymara (5-0). I've done previews for Ramons fights before and I;ve said it once before and I'll say it again, I'll follow anyone in the Gracie family, the sport would not be where it is today without the Gracie's. Ramon has stood out recently being one of the best current Gracie's competing today, he's coming in 11-0 with 9 of his 11 coming by submission.
No surprise there as that's his main focus when he's in the cage, always looking for the sub, he will have it cut out for him and he will be facing a real threat come fight night as he fights undefeated newcomer, Juan Carlos, who is a knockout artist finishing all 5 of his wins by KO 4 of them in the first round.
He is a force to reckon with when you're standing in front of him, if Carlos can stuff the takedowns and survive the subs, he has a real chance of upsetting the champion and walking out with the gold.
My prediction: I think Gracie will do what he always does, and that's securing the takedown, passing guard, grinding out Carlos until he eventually gets the sub.
The Co Main event moves on to the Lightweight Division, Rupert McCaffrey (2-3) will be taking on Jeff Roberts (12-3) Now many of you are probably wondering why these two are going at it again, these two guys last fought on SFU 17 with Roberts taking the victory by kimura. After the fight Rupert verbally attacked Jeff until eventually Jeff had enough and agreed to whoop his ass again, will Rupert prove the his loss was a fluke? Or will Roberts do exactly the same and dominate the fight?
My prediction: If you want me to be honest, I do think the last fight was a fluke, but that's just because Jeff has never won by submission before, he showed a lot of improvement but as we all know Jeff comes in looking for a knockout, it was a fluke that Rupert didn't get Knocked out. Jeff will secure the KO within the 1st round.
Moving on down the card. Featherweight fighter Noam Nystrom (3-3) will be facing Christian Battle (7-4) This should be an exciting fight for the fans as both of these men are so talented in the octagon and I think have a long future in the division. Both of them are quick and have been training for this fight like its a championship fight. Battle has an excellent BJJ background which he is always looking to put to use in the cage, 6 of his 7 come by submission, currently he holds a Brown belt under London MMA gym. Nystrom is a former champion here in SFU so he feels no pressure stepping in the cage, as we all know he has a dominating wrestling background that he's hoping to put to work as he will be looking to shrug off the submission attempts and secure good ground and pound positions.
My prediction: I think the former champion Noam will easily defend the submission attempts from battle and I don't think he will get the finish but I think he will secure the decision win on fight night.
Staying in the 145lb division Saad AbdUllah (1-2) will be going up against Joao Ricardo Bordignon Miyao (7-1) Joao Ricardo will be looking to get another submission win on fight night as all 7 of his wins come by submission, right now the word is that he Ricardo can win on fight night he will be next in line for the Featherweight Championship. Personally I don't think his path to the championship looks to hard going up with the likes of Saad, the not so popular fighter will be looking to even out his record and make it 2-2 and hopefully getting his career back on the right track. I don't think he's going to have a good night though as both of his losses have came by submission he doesn't really have a ground game and that spells terrible trouble when you're in there with someone like Miyao.
My prediction: Miyao by 1st round submission.
Fans will also get to see this amazing Lightweight fight, Phil Leotardo (4-5) will be taking on Joe Dirt (11-7) another striker versus submission artist matchup that I'm sure will not let the fans down. Joe Dirt will be looking to get another submission win on fight night, man is a monster on the ground. He is a highly decorated brown belt, it won't be long before he earns himself his black belt. Phil has had a rough career so far but still, all 4 of his wins have come by KO. We give Phil the best of luck come fight night as he looks to get his career back on the right path with a KO over Joe Dirt.
My prediction: I hate to say it but Joe Dirt will more than likely get the sub early, I'm guessing 1st or 2nd round.
Moving on down the card we have a series of Bantamweight fights, Jamiril Cragla (5-2) will taking on newcomer Victorio Faber Jr. (0-1) Although Faber is coming off a tough loss, he showed that he is no scrub, he has a nice all around skill set and I think the man has a bright future here in StrikeForce Union. Cragla will be looking to make a quick turn around and hopefully break the losing streak, last fought on SFU 21 and taking a rough submission loss. He will be looking to to test Fabers hands and brawl it out on fight night.
My prediction: I think Faber will secure the upset win. I'm not sure how he will get it done on fight night but I am confident in his skills and the ability to get the job done.
Next up we have Aaron Rodgers (4-2) fighting Nino Brown (3-0) Nino is an exciting newcomer who is looking to stay undefeated but he will have his work cut out for him in the cage facing Rodgers. Aaron will be looking to stand and bang and test the chin of his opponent as always. I love this kind of fights because it's so hard to call because at this weight the hand speed is insanely fast and the power isn't always there but with these two men that is not the case, most of the wins of these guys records come from KO so if we see someone smashing face first into the canvas on fight night it will not come as a shock.
My prediction: I think Brown will continue to build up the hype train and steamroll Rodgers in the later rounds.
Going back to the Lightweight division we have Alfonso Garrett (5-3) taking on fan favorite Inmate Seven Nine Zero Four Two (4-1) Coming off a rough loss against the champion, Inmate will be looking to shut the lights out of his opponent and hopefully get another title shot, he has been training so hard for this fight and he is treating it like it is the championship rematch. Garrett knows all about his opponent and what he brings to the table, he says he will not be the one to stand in front of Inmate, as he will be looking for the submission victory. We don't know what was wrong with Alfonso but in a recent interview he seemed really down and just not there, we hope that isn't the case on fight night.
My prediction: I think Inmate will be taking the victory on fight night, maybe he will get a nice KO and earn himself another shot at the title.
The Middleweight division will have some spotlight as Angus Bryant (6-4) faces Bjarni Agnarsson (2-0) in a much needed fight for Bjarni, he is on a roll as he starts his career off with an amazing fight and a win over Bryant will fuel the hype that much more. Bryant is looking to snap his 2 fight losing streak come fight night, we never know when Angus is going to show up, when he's on he's on, and when he's not it's not good. He will have to be 100% focused on fight night to be able to secure the win.
My prediction: I hope Bjarni gets the win, I think Angus is a wonderful talent but sometimes he just doesn't show up and that's not good for a fighter, it shows he's not fully committed. Bjarni has showed with his work that he is in it for the long haul and wants nothing more than to stay undefeated.
And to kick off the card we have another Bantamweight fight for you as Bill Grady (3-3) will be taking on popular fighter Wictor Johanessburgson (5-1) Wictor is coming off a rough loss, his last fight he was KOed by Troy Palmer in devastating fashion breaking his undefeated streak. He was broken after the fight but is making a quick turn around now that he got back in the gym and is changing things in his camp he looks more focused than ever. Grady said that Wictor was a B**** for crying about his loss and that he needs to learn how to take it on the chin. He also went on to say that he will continue Wictors losing streak by making him tap out on fight night.
My prediction: Tough one to call, but I think Wictor will get back on track for the Bantamweight Championship with a win on fight night.
And there you have it ladies and gentleman, what a card this will be. Once again, it's always an honor to write these previews for SFU. One of my favorite companies who put on incredible fights. Buy your tickets now while they last they are almost sold out! The event will be this Saturday August 21st, 2016. At the Hard Knocks Arena in London. As always M.O. Fight Wear will be providing fight gear and merchandise for this card. Do not be the one to miss out on this card.
Preview by Mr. Manager
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