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 Honour Fighting Championships presents
HFC 26 Johnson vs Money (874658)
November 26, 2016
At The Underground - London
Author: Master Po
Under Card:
John Brown vs John Jones - 265+ lbs
John "Rumble" Brown is making his MMA debut. He has been training under a new manager in the Tycooniverse, Hank Sambo. At this early stage in his career Brown has focused primarily on his striking skills and is growing more and more competent in boxing and Muy Thai. Opposite him in the cage will be John "Virus" Jones who is also training under a newer manager, Gerard Lee. Jones has been focusing on elements of his ground game while also working some Muy Thai. Jones is 1-1 with 1 KO and has obvious KO power. In this opening bout of the event I give him the edge due to experience that can only be gained inside the cage.
Prediction: Jones TKO (Strikes) round 2.
Willem Van Der Weegh vs Daniel Hayden - 265 lbs
Van Der Weegh is an 18 year old that has wonderful wrestling skills. He is at 1-2, and naturally some 30 lbs heavier than his opponent Daniel Hayden a British boxer/BJJ practitioner. Hayden is also an 18 year old who shows a great deal of promise at this early phase in his career. He displays top notch striking stringing together effective combinations. The future for Van Der Weegh looks bleak at best. I'm thinking if he loses this one it may be in his best interest to embrace his life long dream of becoming a medical marijuana farmer. Hayden has a slight edge in experience, a sizeable edge in management and training, and a landslide edge in raw talent and ability. I'm concerned for Van Der Weegh's well-being.
Prediction: Hayden KO (Punches) round 1.
Phil Ure vs Jack Smith - 265 lbs
Phil Ure comes into this fight with a MMA record of 2-0 with 2 Submissions. He has a purple belt in BJJ and has a good background in wrestling. He is looking to take a step up in competition here facing Jack Smith who has a MMA record of 4-2 with 4 Submissions. Smith has a purple belt in BJJ as well. Both fighters have a limited grasp on striking abilities, Ure working aspects of Muy Thai, while Smith has been implementing boxing techniques into his repertoire. These fighters are basically mirror images of each other with the exception in experience. Smith has 6 fights under his MMA belt with Ure barely scratching the surface in 2 fights with less than a minute of total cage experience. The fight would be otherwise hard to call, but given the experience levels, I have to lean toward Smith given his track record.
Prediction: Smith Submission (Armbar) round 1.
Chris Conley vs Demian Maia - 170 lbs
Conley has had an up and down career, literally. He started his career with Honour winning his debut, then losing a title shot vs Calypso, then coming back with another win, and another loss. He has definitely been involved in some entertaining fights with 3 of the night awards. Two of those coming in victories and one in his most recent fight which he lost by TKO. He will need to bring his proficient boxing and purple belt BJJ with him against Maia, a purpble belt submission artist who has had more success so far in his MMA carreer. Maia stands at 4-1 with 4 Submissions. His only loss came against Reed Money who was the last guy Conley fought...and lost in the same TKO fashion. Maia is an entertainer as well with 2 of the night awards. I feel that Maia has the experience and skill advantage. If Conley could manage a win here it would be shocking.
Prediction: Maia Submission (Triangle) round 1.
Main Card:
Sergey Chernishev vs Renato Ibanez - 155 lbs
Chernishev the 18 year old wrestler with a blue belt in BJJ has made strides in his boxing techniques. Sergey, the "Fly," as his friends and family call him, is at 2-1 with 2 KOs, utilizing a ground and pound style we all know and love. Renato Ibanez is 2-1 also but with 1 Submission. Ibanez is more of a point fighter. He has the edge here in BJJ with a purple belt, but the Fly has the edge on him in wrestling. It's not hard to visualize this fighting making its way to the ground in short order. From there things get a little tricky. My gut feeling is that Chernishev's ground and pound will be too much for Ibanez, but Ibanez being the superior BJJ fighter, could possibly land some counter submission if the Fly gets too ambitious. Like I say, "I guess that's why we have the fights."
Prediction: Chernishev TKO (Strikes) round 2.
Anthony Joshua vs Freddie Adam - 265 lbs
This looks like a completely lopsided match up on paper. Joshua is one of the most experienced fighters in the Honour Fighting Championships organization. His MMA record is 6-1 with 6 KOs. He has only been past the first round in 1 of his 7 career fights. He's a finisher if I've ever seen one. The Chosen One displays respectable boxing with elements of Muy Thai built upon a wrestling base. He will be looking to sprawl and brawl against Freddie Adam the brown belt BJJ fighter. Adam is not like your typical BJJ submission artist. He has natural KO power and has used it successfully in his last two fights. Adam started his career within Honour losing his first fight by a decision. Since then I believe his team has ironed out any wrinkles in their training and tactics to better use his heavy hands in a ground and pound format. He has won his last two by TKOs due to cuts. One would assume cuts from ground strikes would be results of elbows, but this isn't the case. Adam is gashing faces with closed fists. That's a peculiarity to say the least. This is a big time step up for Adam. I think too big.
Prediction: Joshua TKO (Strikes) round 1.
Twist Calypso vs Takomi Saka - 170 lbs
Calypso is ranked 7th in the entire Honour organization. He boasts an MMA record of 6-1 with 5 KOs. He won the vacant 170 lb title way back in HFC 6, then successfully defended it 3 times at HFC 10, 13, and 16. Sadly his championship run came to an end at HFC 20 where he lost a grueling decision to current 170 lb champ Dwayne Johnson. When you go undefeated and never taste that agony of defeat the first loss can be a huge test. Calypso has shown the heart of a lion coming back true to his form winning yet another fight by TKO in his brutal clinch. The Japanese Playboy, Takomi Saka, attempting to show he is a force to be reckoned with by taking a substantial leap in level of competition. Saka is 2-0 with 2 KOs. He is a Muy Thai fighter with a good upbringing in wrestling . He has KO power and/or ability, but his tragic flaw may prove to be his tendency to get cut, which may be a little higher than your average fighter. Everything points to Calypso that is ranked 7 for a reason. Saka is the fighter with something to prove. Can he do it?
Prediction: Calypso TKO (Strikes) round 2.
Co-Main Event:
Random Fighter Three vs Peter Faup - 265 lbs Title
Three captured the Heavyweight title from Antonio Silva at HFC 15 where they headlined the event. Three has defended that title twice successfully by submitting Dave Laston at HFC 20, and in a rematch with Antonio Silva by way of TKO (Cut). Random Fighter Three, the wrestler with a blue belt in ju-jitsu, and a touch of Muy Thai, is set to defend again facing Peter Faup who is no pushover. Faup is much more of a stand up guy with strong boxing and Muy Thai skills, but he has been training hard in BJJ and has achieved a blue belt. Oddly enough with Faup being more stylistically suited to striking his MMA record is 4-2 with 1 KO and 2 Submissions, so he is sneaky on the ground. Things could get tricky on the ground where this fight is sure to end up. This is a case where it could really go either way. I believe this will come down to who has the best tactics so management is in play here more than usual.
Prediction: Fighter Three TKO (Strikes) round 1.
Main Event:
Dwayne Johnson vs Reed Money - 170 lbs Title
The fight everyone will be waiting for on the edge of their seats is a great matchup between two heavy hitters with a combined MMA record of 8-1 with 7 KOs. Reigning champ Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is sitting pretty at 4-0 with 3 KOs. His attributes are strong boxing with a strong wrestling base. Your run of the mill sprawl and brawler who started his career in the Honour organization and has taken all comers. Training at FIERCE gym under Josh Matthew they have found a recipe for success that is working for them at the moment. Reed "Manlow" Money is next up for Johnson. Manlow has wonderful boxing and was a top notch wrestler at the collegiate level in his country Sweden. He has set up shop in London under manager Altin El Topolino honing his MMA skills at London MMA Club a reputable gym. Usually I like to go with numbers and the math suggests that Johnson should be favored here slightly just on the priciple that he has yet to lose. However, I feel that the one question mark that presents itself in regards to Johnson is his chin. It appears to be solid by all accounts, but is it enough to withstand Money's big right hand coupled with a very specialized striking attack? The same question could be posed at Money. Is his chin enough for Johnson's power? This makes this fight a matter of who finds range and gets off first.
Prediction: Money TKO (Strikes) round 1.
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