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After a long wait, the Empire Grand Prix is finally here. The bracket is full of entertaining fighters, so I will spend a short amount of time highlighting each matchup.
In the tournament opener, Flilipino muay thai specialist Rounin Hashima faces off against Brazillian wrestler Tyson Abreu. Both are incredibly one-dimensional fighters, so it will depend on if Abreu can take “Darui” down enough to get the win on the scorecards, while avoiding a knockout in the clinch. I think Abreu will get just enough done to win an awful unanimous decision.
After that, we see a matchup of nearly identical debuting fighters in Darius Rucker and Danny Peterson. Rucker, a strong boxer who shares a name with a singer, looks to avoid “Drowning” in his fight against a similarly strong boxer in Peterson. However, I think Peterson will end up saying “Goodbye Girl” when he leaves Rucker “Only Lonely” in the octagon with a face looking like a “Cracked Rear View” after a 3rd round TKO.
Enough with the Hootie & the Blowfish puns, and onto the international matchup between teenagers Bonner and Park. The 19 year old Bonner is the much stronger boxer, but struggles massively on the ground. Meanwhile, Jung Ho Park out of Busan is a similarly strong muay thai fighter, but is not nearly as good of a boxer. I think the Irishman will take this one by 1st round KO.
Next up is Manhattan native Ernesto “Lights Out” Powers facing off against the Belgian 19 year old Huckleberry Flint. Not much is known about Flint, as his hometown is listed as f, Belgium, but he is 1-0-0 with a submission victory. Powers is making his professional debut, and I think he will struggle on the ground, which is where this one will be fought. I think Flint will take this one by submission in the 2nd.
The fifth fight of the evening is between Croat Dario Balic and Puerto Rican BJJ specialist Damian “The Devil” Molina. Molina is an incredible force on the ground, but that may not mean much against a proficient wrestler in “Dragi” who should be able to stuff takedowns. I expect the man from Split to take the fight into the clinch and dominate from there in a one-sided fight ending by TKO in the 2nd.
In fight number six, we see the Turkish Ergun Cerrahoglu face off against Aussie Rony Stark. Stark will look to “Leave a Mark” on the ground as his nickname would suggest, but Cerrahoglu is the stronger fighter on their feet. While Cerrahoglu should be one of the tournament favorites on paper, he has struggled thus far in his grappling and MMA careers. I think Stark will score the upset in an ugly unanimous decision.
In the penultimate first round matchup, Icelandic fighter Jax Sigthorsson faces Las Vegas native Jim “The Grim” Reefer. Sigthorsson, a 1-0-0 BJJ specialist hailing from the capital of Reykjavik, will look to win this one by submission on the ground, while Reefer is a 0-1-0 boxing and wrestling specialist who will look to stay on his feet. Despite this, I think Sigthorsson will be able to get the submission he needs in the 1st.
In the final fight of the first round, we see the 3-0-0 Ricardo “Monkey Style” Morra Jr. face Tokyo native Akihiro Imanari. Morra Jr., arguably the tournament favorite, is a skilled muay thai specialist, which is unsurprising given he is from Thailand. While Imanari is the stronger fighter on the ground, Morra Jr. is just too well-rounded for Imanari to deal with, so I expect Morra Jr. to win by unanimous decision.
In the two non-tournament fights of the night, I see Arnold Kallas defeating Simon Slade by submission in the 1st. Similarly, I expect Corsair Light to successfully defend his belt against Steve Barnes by submission in the 1st. It should be an exciting night, one that managers from all over are looking forward to.
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