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 On Top Of The World - Live from the Hard Knocks (3000) : Attendance - 3000 : Event Rating - 426.88 : PPV Sales - 44,024
Welcome:
Known to be the pinnacle of The Island MMA scene Revolution Island looks to bring you the very best this season has to offer with not one but six title fights tonight live on PPV, without further a-do let's get into it fight fans.
265lbs : Brock Lesnar v Marc Shelton
Age: 27 Age: 27
Height: 180 cm Height: 190 cm
Weight: 280 lbs Weight: 235 lbs
Record: 15-0-0 (WWWWW) Record: 10-3-0 (LWWLW)
As the sun sets for what will be one of the final times at Revolution Island the clouds stacked up above the beautiful downtown skyline of The Island, it was silhouetted only by the magnificent 90 feet tall billboard hailing tonight's main event between undefeated 15-0-0 TKO artist Brock "Samson" Lesnar one of the most popular men to ever walk the planet defending his 265lbs title against the 10-3-0 "Spitfire" Marc Shelton in a rematch following his heartbreaking second round TKO (Cut) stoppage at Bloody Bloody Island on the 1st of March, he will be seeking to put to rest any doubts that his first round nod was a fluke as he looks to live his dream and take home the title to London, England.
Fight:
It's fair to say in the opening moments of this encounter Marc Shelton did not look himself tonight with lazy uppercuts easily countered by Lesnar's outrageously remarkable striking, it was clear to see that both men were been cautious to start but Lesnar was the first to reach his comfort zone and start pressing the assault with extreme prejudice, faking high and swinging low Shelton saw that coming and avoided it with ease but a powerful looking uppercut managed to catch Shelton square on the jaw leaving a nasty cut that will need attention later.
As the first minute of the round drew to a close Shelton set about making a mark on the judges score cards seeking to plough his fists into Lesnar's stomach in hopes of slowing him down but was responded to with a solid right hand that stumbled Shelton onto the back foot. Knowing his limits Shelton showed his intelligence backing off to reconstitute himself, always circling away from the towering Lesnar who stalked down his opponent until the cage became a corner and Lesnar was able to effect his mandate of pain on the challenger.
Lesnar connected with a number of stiff shots to the face at one point looking to have broken Shelton's nose but a quick nod of acknowledgement to the referee signaled he was fine to continue but the onslaught continued with Lesnar countering Sheltons sloppy body shot attempts with a crisp right hand that took Shelton off his feet, predatory Lesnar wasted no time in following up with a catastrophic overhand right that hit like the hand of god to retain his title.
Winner - Brock Lesnar by way of KO (Punches) : Fight Rating 64%
265lbs : Macho Man v Rostam Xerxes
Age: 27 Age: 27
Height: 180 cm Height: 197 cm
Weight: 280 lbs Weight: 290 lbs
Record: 14-0-0 (WWWWW) Record: 8-3-0 (WLWLW)
As if cut from the same cloth as Brock Lesnar his team mate Macho "Randy" Savage has been on a similar path of war dismantling every opponent that has ever stood in front of him, a credit to his camp The Highland Network and top manager Ivan Drago. Back in February 2017 his opponent Rostam Xerxes was vanquished in an spookily similar circumstance to our main event's circumstances when a TKO (Cut) stoppage in the 3rd minute of the very first round put the breaks to his title hopes, following a sensational super-man style KO punch at Tycoon Typhoon against John Smith on the 26th of February Rostam Xerexs had only one opponent in mind and proceeded to call out the Macho Man, a proposition the Savage one did not decline.
Fight:
Failing to hit his target with an off balance right hand in the augural seconds of the bout Xerxes was quick to re-adjust his footwork knowing the importance of proper weight distribution when fighting top level strikers, but not before taking a straight counter to the face for his troubles that left him with a minor wound across the bridge of the nose giving Macho Man the opening he needed to enforce a clinch and start squeezing the oxygen from Xereses lungs with unforgiving shot to the body. Xerxes working defensively managed to block a significant amount of strikes until eventually forcing his way out of the clinch and back towards the centre of the octagon.
After a brief exchange in the middle of the cage Mach Man once again used his impressive strength to dictate the fight into the clinch, this time with more urgency garnering a standing ovation from the audience as he grinded out strike after strike on an almost helpless Xerses who by this time had suffered the effects of his minor cut wound developing into a fairly serious gash that was most certainly going to require extensive medical attention after the fight win or lose, it was at this moment covered in the blood of Xerxes that Macho Man had enough of slipping around and took a step back as if to power up his finishing move in a video game and clobbered Rostam Xerxes with a mighty uppercut knocking him out cold!
Winner - Macho Man by way of KO (Punch) : Fight Rating 67%
145lbs : Harry Baals v Brock Lesnar
Age: 27 Age: 27
Height: 185 cm Height: 184 cm
Weight: 155 lbs Weight: 154 lbs
Record: 12-0-0 (WWWWW) Record: 15-5-0 (WLLWW)
In what will be the third encounter between these 2 men with Harry Baals previously picking up win's in both fights via KO (Punches) in the very first round. One has to admire the tenacity of the "WWE Super Star" Brock Lesnar, when faced with the desire to once again hold championship gold around his waist, mostly known for his exciting ground game Lesnar will need to overcome Baals incredible takedown defence having scored just single successful attempt out of 10 in the last fight if he's to successfully punish the champion.
Fight
Both fighters came into this looking to out-play the other with a counter strategy leaving much to the desire of the fan's tonight who wanted to see more aggression but they were not to be disappointed once the action got underway as Baals picked up his pace and went to work on Lesnar, following up with a horrifically timed attempt to pull guard Lesnar landed flat on his back in an almost comical display as Baals simply turned and walked away refusing to follow Lesnar to the ground.
By the time Lesnar had situated himself and returned to his feet he was caught unaware and completely unprepared as his opponent rushed towards him with a flurry of strikes one more furious than the others, a lightning right hand that rocked Lesnar sending the audience into a roar of excitement and followed up with a thunderous right hand spinning Lesnar to the canvas, this time not wanting to leave anything to chance Baals jumped down into the mount and began to emphatically state a claim to the 145lbs title as the referee peeled him off the unconscious Lesnar.
Winner - Harry Baals by way of TKO(Strikes) : Fight Rating 79%
155lbs : Derek Pappalardo v Frank Dux
Height: 175 cm Height: 182 cm
Weight: 167 lbs Weight: 158 lbs
Record: 10-3-0 (WLWWL) Record: 10-4-0 (WLWWL)
As he prepares for what will be the trilogy fight between the three time 155lbs champion Derek Pappalardo and former title holder Frank Dux we are reminded of the storied history these two men have established in the cages of Revolution Island, first meeting at the 4th of December 2016 at the Island Nation event Frank suffered an uncharacteristic loss to KO (Punches) in the 51st second of the very first round sending him back down the rankings, their second meeting would take place at Super-Saturday on the 24th of December seeing Frank Dux pull a submission victory 1:47 into round 1 after Dux scored a vital takedown attempt and finished with a well-executed triangle securing the lightweight title.
The lightweight division been one of the most competitive in the organisation saw the title swap hands to both Doo Hoo Jung and Masa Hattori over this period but the focus would always return to Derek or Dux, this one's for all the bells and whistles and it promises to be the definitive showdown in lightweight combat sports.
Fight:
This one had all of the expected components of his predecessors as Pappalardo clearly wanted to knock Frank Dux out early connecting with a monstrous jab right down the middle that made the challenger reconsider his life choices for a second but never the less persisted in pressing his agenda scoring an excellent takedown into side control in response and following up with a savage knee to the belly as he advanced from the side into the mount, the referee seemed to feel some cage holding had taken place and warned both fighters to cease and desist as Dux failed to land numerous strikes as Pappalarado attempted to stay as tight to Dux's chest as possible to reduce the incoming blows effectiveness.
Sensing that this was his time Frank Dux released the pressure in his hips allowing Pappalardo some movement and waited for him to try and escape, as Pappalardo moved to break free Frank spun around his loose arm and converted into an armbar attempt forcing the champion to tap out in just fifty-six seconds of the very first round.
Winner - Frank Dux by way of Submission (Armbar) : Fight Rating 93%
185lbs : Buck Brown v Oluwale Bamgbose
Age: 27 Age: 19
Height: 188 cm Height: 184 cm
Weight: 198 lbs Weight: 177 lbs
Record: 14-1-0 (WWWWW) Record: 7-1-0 (LWWWW)
Considered to be one of the brightest BJJ prospects globally young Olouwale "The Holy War Angle" Bamgbose fighting out of the VALOR camp has set a high standard early in his career displaying a wide ranged of ways to finished an opponent on the ground, his only loss via TKO (Strikes) at Island Massacre on the 4th of March against 185 stalwart Ludwig Von Mises he accepted this late replacement fight without reservation against what many consider to be a vision of Olowale's future the otherwise incomparable Buck "Moose" Brown a man some claim to be the most complete ground fighter on The Island, holding 12 submission victories despite holding the humble rank of purple belt it is his exceptional wrestling that gives him the advantage, if you have a passion for the ground game this ones for you fight fans!
Fight:
Patiently waiting for the opportunity to counter the wiley veteran Buck Brown was always looking to take this fight to the ground but to his surprise once he forced eager Ouwale Bamgbose into the clinch it was Bambgose that proceeded to try and establish himself in the dominant role, deciding to take a step back and consider his options Buck broke out of the clinch and circled to the outside maintaining range with his notable reach advantage trying to figure out how to handle the much faster Bamgbose, what followed was a game of cat and mouse with Buck instigating the clinch often to test the waters and then retreating back to the safety of his reach advantage before Bamgbose could react.
To the shock of the live audience Bambose was able to secure a well place trip takedown into half guard mid-way into the first round but found himself on attack from the bottom when Brown attempted a kimura that looked fairly dangerous but failed to get the intended result, Brown did however manage to get back full guard before Bamgbose scrambled for a log briefly before giving up and maintaining his position, the referee started to consider standing these two up at this point but Brown feinted with a triangle attempt before switching to an armbar, not wanting to be taken out like so many before him Bamgbose rolled with it trying to escape but alas he was eventually forced to admit defeat and tap before permanent damage could be done.
Winner - Buck Brown by way of Submission (Armbar) : Fight Rating 37%
205lbs : Jan Urzu v Dan Couture
Age: 27 Age: 27
Height: 185 cm Height: 189 cm
Weight: 215 lbs Weight: 223 lbs
Record: 10-2-0 (WWLWW) Record: 9-1-0 (WWLWW)
The final title bout of the night brings champion, decisive striker Jan Urzu back into the cage with Dan Couture a man he had previously lost the title as the new year's celebrations went on into the night at Let's-Party-2017 on the 31st of December 2016, eventually resecuring the title on the 11th of February 2017 via TKO (Strikes) from Brooks Summers it was clear Jan Urzu still wanted Couture to put to rest questions raised by the loss and proceeded to call Couture out at every possible media opportunity, eager to take another shot at the gold Couture accepted while issuing the warning that he intended to finish the job he started back in December. It seem's very likely that two men will walk into the cage but only one will walk out unassisted.
Fight:
Ordinarily champion Jan Urzu like's to maintain a distance on the outside and calculatedly work and opponent until he's ripe for the finish but Dan Couture was not going to sit around and wait to see a sequel to his previous fight with Urzu and set a pace unprecedented previously in his career catching Urzu by surprise in the early moments of the bout landing directly into the clinch what followed was a very even affair with both men scoring well with the judges with Courture focused on scoring body shots and Urzu immediately answering back with his own until a graze across the champions eye was busted open partiarlly obsecuring the sight from his right eye momenterally before Urzu used his opponents back to wipe his face against clearing most of the blood away.
Couture not content to simply do well in this fight looked increasingly frustrated at Urzu's consistent chin as he tested repeatedly with jaw-dropping strikes that jerked Urzu's head backwards to audible gasps from the arena until finally it appeared one massive uppercut had finally rocked the champion but Couture looked stunned that this had not finished him and almost stalled himself believing the referee was about to call the stoppage allowing Urzu a temporary respite before ultimately been steam rolled into the side of the cage and unloaded upon by Couture, at this point it was clear Urzu was out on his feet as Couture screamed abuse at the referee for not having stopped the fight sooner the champions body fell to the floor with an ominous thud.
Winner - Dan Couture by way of TKO(Strikes) : Fight Rating 51%
265lbs : Yaser Khalafa v Mantis Joniis
Age: 26 Age: 25
Height: 195 cm Height: 196 cm
Weight: 250 lbs Weight: 250 lbs
Record: 8-7-0 (LLWWL) Record: 5-0-0 (WWWWW)
Making his Revolution Island debut tonight is successful amateur fighter Mantis "Bunny" Joniis looking to mark out his territory against long time 265lbs competitor Yaser Khalaf, one-time challenger to tonight's main event champion Brock Lesnar. Yaser Khalaf has shown an ability to finish opponents or be finished. This do or die mentality has lead to some of the most exciting bouts in Island history and this one has all the makings of a great fight.
Fight:
Lot's had been said going into this fight about the exciting Mantis "Bunny" Joniis exciting striking ability and solid wrestling credentials however in the opening moments of the fight it seemed Joniis's balance had betrayed him fumbling his footwork leading to a nasty uppercut from Khalafa that marked Jonii's for the first blood of the bout, as if overcome with a bloodlust Khalafa instinctually pounced with another crisp jab to the body and following up with a beautiful combination of strikes sending Joniis hurtling to the ground.
Khalafa careful to not step out of his comfort zone encouraged Joniis to return to his feet and positioned himself to finish the fight once he did with a brutal left hook knocking Joniis out cold. The fan's in the arena tonight really appreciated that one and are showing Khalafa their love on mass, this young fighter just made a name for himself.
Winner - Yaser Khalafa by way of KO(Punch) : Fight Rating 100%
185lbs : Flusha Wrecker v Neigh Tuh
Age: 25 Age: 25
Height: 185 cm Height: 183 cm
Weight: 185 lbs Weight: 198 lbs
Record: 5-0-0 (WWWWW) Record: 5-1-0 (WWWWW)
Well versed in the arts of Muay Thai Flusha "The Ronnquist" Wrecker has score four TKO victories in his first five fights in exciting fashion on the amateur circuit and now steps onto the main stage for the first time against up coming all-rounder Neight Tuh, after a slow start to his career following a submission loss to Raul Gutierrez it was clear that Tuh had to take his BJJ to the next level and having successfully attained his blue belt he returned to take Raul apart with a brutal armbar submission, since then using his ground game as a base he has developed a lethality to his standup that makes this fight one to watch.
Fight:
In what became a three round decimation Flusha Wrecker lived upto his name dismantling an almost vacant Neigh Tuh who despite his promise early in his career seemed somewhat star struck by the grandeur of tonight's event and was seemingly dazzled into a state of shell shock after the opening flurry of strikes he received from Wrecker in the opening seconds of the bout, pursuing the ever popular clinch and destroy ethos Wrecker gave credence to his name crushing his opponent with over sixty landed body shots during the fight absolutely rag-dolling his opponent at will.
Between the second and third round there seemed to be some consideration from Neigh Tuh's camp as to if they should allow him to continue, following the fight we got a moment to speak to a member of his team who suggested their maybe underlining medical issues at play here but never the less Neigh did return to continue the bout and in a show of respect for Flusha reached out to touch gloves before nodding and returning to his almost accepted fate somehow gutting it out for another round but never the less suffering an expected fate.
Winner - Flusha Wrecker by way of Unanimous Decision : Fight Rating 39%
185lbs : Optimo Primo v RJ MacReady
Age: 26 Age: 27
Height: 186 cm Height: 186 cm
Weight: 195 lbs Weight: 185 lbs
Record: 6-4-0 (LLLWW) Record: 3-4-0 (WLWLL)
Claiming that "Optimo Primo is NEXT!" perennial Revolution Island fighter "Big Mac" RJ MacReady has never shied away from competition having faced some of the best 185lbs has to offer, willing to take risks that sometimes lead to his downfall and sometimes lead to moments of greatness are the hallmark of this fighter while much the same can be said for his opponent the self-proclaimed "El número uno" Optimo Primo fighting out of Comoros a little-known volcanic island off the coast of east Africa. Both men bring to the table excellent standup with Primo touted for his KO power and MacReady known for both his determination and ability to eat no less than 5 big mac's in a single sitting this one has the makings of an explosive match-up.
Fight:
Cutting RJ almost immediately utilising his excellent jab to maintain optimal distance from his opponent, executing with the ferocity of a viper Optio Primo's strategy of staying to the outside and picking RJ apart seemed to be working until the "Big Mac" dug deep and summoned all of his strength to force Primo up against the side of the cage and into the clinch, from this position RJ is a natural and combined with his impressive strength lead to an almost immediate snap suplex straight out of the pages of a wrestling magazine from the 80s! like a truck hitting a wall Primo was slammed into the canvas clearly struggling for air afterwards Primo recovered his senses quickly and scrambled to secure a kneebar on RJ who seemed momentarily to be caught up in the moment, reacting quickly enough to avoid disaster RJ was able to reverse into side control and advance to side mount in quick succession.
Desperate to use the position to his advantage Primo attempted eleven more submission attempts all expertly fended off by RJ before eventually been shaken off and rolled over as the "Big Mac" decided it was time to get up and return to his clinch plan, imposing his will we finished out the round with a dominate RJ MacReady standing proud having survived the best Primo had to offer on the ground and answer back Prmo's early dominance standing up during the final seconds of the round.
Coming out of the corners for round two RJ timed well his clinch before setting in with an onslaught of body shots designed to destroy the will of his opponent and sap his resolve to continue, failing to score a crucial upper cut attempt Primo suffered a devastating hook to the side of the head that spelled his downfall as it was followed up with strike after strike until finally, it was all over.
Winner - RJ MacReady by way of TKO(Strikes) : Fight Rating 47%
155lbs : Paul Harris v Dimi Karalopolous
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Age: 25 Age: 27
Height: 173 cm Height: 170 cm
Weight: 163 lbs Weight: 165 lbs
Record: 3-0-0 (WWW--) Record: 3-0-0 (WWW--)
And in our first fight of the evening we have fresh of a decision victory over Gaga Kaka at Bloody Bloody Island on the 1st of March 2017 wrestler Dimi Karalopolous vs debuting Paul Harris, both men have a propensity to favour a well-executed takedown followed up with barrages of ground and pound we can expect this one to be over quickly one way or another as both men will be seeking to finish impressively on this night of nights.
Fight:
Dominating the early goings Harris asserted himself into his comfort zone, the clinch and effectively controlled his opponent while looking repeatedly for the takedown, to Karaopolous's credit he showed good defensive posturing and consistently beat Harris's attempts to take him to the ground. During the second minute of the fight it seemed Harris had paid a heavy price for having tried so many times to score a takedown looking visibly winded he found himself on the receiving end of a swift trip into side control and proceeded to get lighted up with vicious ground and pound to close out the round for Karalopolous.
Harris was quick in trying to return to the clinch in the second round but Karalopolous used his sensational positioning to avoid the engagement and kept the pressure on with persistent takedown attempts until finally he managed to drive through into the guard and continued how he left off during the closing minuet of the first round, peppering his opponent with lethal strikes from a postured position questions were raised if Harris was indeed defending himself or not at one point before Karalopolous perhaps tired from all of the exertion decided he was content to lay and control his opponent for a little longer than the referee was comfortable with, leading to a standup. Immediately following was another successful takedown and a continuation of what must have been drilled into this young fighter 100 times during camp due to the sensational way he's executing his game plan tonight the barrage of ground and pound would continue with hints of submission attempts worked in to this time keep things busy, another round for Karalopolus.
Noticeably from his facial expression sitting in his corner Harris was very aware he needed to finish to win this fight and came out with the intentions to do so ducking a spinning back kick and defeating Karalopolous's routine takedown attempts that followed with thunderous counter right hands, this was not the same fighter we had seen in the previous rounds, this was a warrior intent on winning this battle at all costs and to hammer the point home he struck with a successful takedown of his own into half guard and quickly advancing to the mount with desires to return the punishment he had received up until now.
Strike after strike Harris did all he could to finish the fight but unfortunately for him the clock ran out on his valiant struggle, resulting in this one going to the judges for tonight. In what many will consider a heavily controversial result the judges called it 28:28 favouring a draw much to the crowd's dismay, it was very clear in the building that while the fan's respected Paul Harris's heart in the final round overall the fan's felt Dimi Karalopolous had done enough to secure the fight in the first two rounds.
Winner - N/A by way of Draw : Fight Rating 43%
The Aftermath:
FON - Brock Lesnar vs Marc Shelton
KON - Macho Man
SON - Buck Brown
Thank you all for joining me this week as it's been a real frill to guest write for the very best The Island has to offer Revolution Island and it's fantastic management, next week's event
on the 22nd of March look's set to be another great show with 135lbs champion Rod "The Wad" Stiffington Jr vs Malig Hunt in a VALOR camp showdown!
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