SFL 07 | Bad Blood

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SFL 07 | BAD BLOOD PREVIEW
209 ARENA, AMSTERDAM

Xavier: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome BACK to the 209 Arena in Amsterdam!

Styles: It’s great to see everyone rockin’ this arena already, Xavier! Every one of the 21,209 seats are filled and I see how amped everybody is for these fights!

Xavier: Absolutely, Styles! This will be yet another exciting action-packed night that will surely spark some choice words, as well as elation from people who win bets and curses from those who don’t win.

Styles: I bet more people would have better luck with their bets if they listened to me!

Xavier: Maybe, but I don’t keep track of our predictions record because it’s probably not that great, actually.

Styles: Say what you will, I think I do pretty well at predicting fights!

Xavier: We’ll see how you do with the results of this card. Let’s get down to it!

BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION: JO “RUBBER BAND” CHEWY (3-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 FIGHTS)
VERSUS
YAMAOKA YUKINOBU (5-1; CURRENT STREAK: 5 FIGHTS)

Xavier: The 23-year-old Canadian from Toronto represents the UnderGround Fights Enterprise in this contest. He has solid boxing, excellent Muay Thai, good wrestling and a purple belt. Chewy will want to keep this fight standing as much as possible where he can exploit his standup advantage and secure the knockout over Yukinobu!

Styles: When fighters combine for an 8-fight win streak, you know it’s going to be a good one! The 24-year-old Japanese product from Tokyo wants to drag Chewy to the ground and keep this fight horizontal as long as possible! He’s taller and heavier so he can lay more power into his strikes and that’s exactly what he’ll want to do before he secures the takedown he needs to bring this fight into his comfort real. Solid boxing, good Muay Thai, excellent wrestling and a brown belt, specially the grappling, is what brings this win to Yukinobu via submission!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Yukinobu by Submission; Xavier – Chewy by KO

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION: ANGEL “EL JEFE” MORALES (5-3; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
SHEN “LIL SAO” PO (4-2; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: The Stepdads are on the scene with Morales. The 25-year-old Sonora product has solid all-around skills, but for this fight in particular, I think he’ll look to keep the action focused in the standup as long as possible because he doesn’t want to have to spend unnecessary time defending against the grappling skills that Po possesses. While he has a brown belt as well, along with very good boxing, excellent Muay Thai, and solid wrestling, he doesn’t want to risk being outwrestled and losing by decision. Knocking Po out obviously avoids the judges and that sits very well with him! Morales wins by knockout!

Xavier: The 22-year-old Phnom Penh, Cambodia, product steps into battle representing YABAI. He recently had a 4-fight losing streak halted by Ryan Landry so he wants to get back into that winning form as quickly as possible! A little taller and 16 lbs. heavier, Po may very well look to land power strikes in the standup to either try and rock Morales’ chin or stun him at least to set him up for the takedown. Once this fight goes to the ground, Po wraps it up by submission!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Morales by KO; Styles – Po by Submission

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION: AL “THE ARABIAN TEMPLAR” GHOUTI (5-2; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
SHOWTIME SITSONGRIT (4-2; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)

Xavier: I know you normally get amped about inter-alliance battles, but when it’s fellow YABAI members, it’s a little different. The 24-year-old from Drapsaka, Afghanistan, is a grappling specialist but does have Golden Gloves boxing and solid Muay Thai to support his world class wrestling and brown belt! The seven-pound weight advantage he has over Sitsongrit could be the difference maker because it could tire Sitsongrit just enough to allow Ghouti to control the action to lock in the submission he seeks!

Styles: Yeah, man, normally I’d dig an inter-alliance battle but it is what it is. Sitsongrit has Golden Gloves boxing, world class Muay Thai, outstanding wrestling and a brown belt. Look for Sitsongrit to exploit his superior Muay Thai skills to give Ghouti fits with multiple kicks from all angles, and possibly lock him in a clinch to make life miserable for him. Sitsongrit will rely on the slight speed advantage he has to repetitiously punish Ghouti’s legs with kicks while looking to sneak the one head kick he wants to land to daze Ghouti and set him up for the knockout blow!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Sitsongrit by KO; Xavier – Ghouti by Submission

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: ANDRE GALVAO (6-3; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
JASON ROCKS (9-6; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: The 26-year-old Mexican fighter from Sinaloa didn’t look too happy when I saw him earlier this week. His management team has expressed their warranted concerns about that because if his mind isn’t right, this is going to be a very short battle! Galvao wants to get this fight to the ground quickly because he’s badly outmatched in the standup, especially if Rocks is able to secure him in a clinch. Counterattacking and looking for the knockout there is probably his best bet at victory tonight but I just don’t see that happening, Xavier! I know it’s a rare occasion but I think we’ll be on the same page for this fight. Rocks wins this by knockout!

Xavier: That’s definitely not a common occurrence, Styles, so when it does happen, I definitely take a note of it. The 30-year-old from Jangan, China, is technically superior in the standup to Galvao and he’ll look to take full advantage of that fact in this fight! As you said, Styles, if Rocks is able to lock in a clinch, this fight will be a wrap, so look for him to do just that if he can’t score the knockout from distance. He’s the taller and heavier man and that sits just fine with him as he blasts Galvao’s chin with power strikes until he falters. Rocks by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Rocks by KO; Styles – Rocks by KO

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: JACKSON “BLIZZARD” STORM (6-3; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
JAMIE JAMES (4-2; CURRENT STREAK : NONE)

Xavier: Representing YABAI in this battle, Storm steps into battle with some momentum due to winning his last two fights by letting his fists fly, and you can be certain that’s what’s going to occur against James. The 24-year-old from Radiator Springs won’t have a physical advantage in terms of height and weight since both of these warriors are very similar in physical stature. Storm does have a bit of a combat experience advantage so he could lean on that. He’ll have to be wary of James’ kicks and if this fight goes to the clinch, I don’t know if either man has a distinct advantage. However, Storm wins this battle by knockout!

Styles: The 24-year-old from Waterloo represents UnderGround Fights Enterprise, and he brings a solid set of skills into this fight. Very good boxing, excellent Muay Thai, solid wrestling and a brown belt is what he brings to the mix. My money is that James will want to not only keep this fight in the standup, but he’ll also take the chance of locking Storm into a clinch and try to obviously do as much damage as possible while in very close quarters. He has knockout power and will look to exploit that as quickly as possible to avoid having to try and outwrestle Storm. James wins this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – James by KO; Xavier – Storm by KO

Styles: Now we’re into the Top 5 fight of the night!

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: AAPO JUKOLA (11-3; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
JOHN McSULLEY (8-4; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: Yes! An inter-alliance fight! The UnderGround Fights Enterprise member from Nurmijarvi, Finland, brings an excellent MMA record into this fight along with Golden Gloves boxing, solid Muay Thai, outstanding wrestling and a purple belt. He had an 8-fight winning streak at one point in time and he’s not shy about being aggressive or letting his fists fly. On the downside of that brutality, each of his losses have been by way of KO or TKO, so there are questions and doubts about his chin’s ability to absorb much punishment at all. He’s taller and heavier than McSulley and I expect him to try and use that weight to deliver more punishing strikes to get the job done tonight, and if he feels he’s not able to drop McSulley then he can take the chance of locking him into a clinch and trying his luck there, or even going for a takedown if he wants to control the pace and space of this fight, though that’s a bit of a risky proposition Since McSulley is technically just as skilled in BJJ. I think Jukola wins this fight by staying on the outside and only clinching is absolutely necessary to level McSulley with a knockout!

Xavier: The 24-year-old warrior from Old Vegas not only knows he’s a little less experienced, but he know if he loses this fight then he’ll have to hear Jukola talk about it very often. That in itself is enough motivation for McSulley to dig deep and find it in him to pull out this win! In order to do that, he’s going to have to rely on what got him to this dance in the first place: Aggression and knockout power is what he brings to the table, but for him, he’ll need to keep his chin tucked and head moving the entire time, because he’s undeniably suffered some tough losses due to being clocked and put to sleep early! Counterattacking may be the best method of approach tonight because he does have Golden Gloves boxing and very good Muay Thai, along with solid wrestling and a purple belt. He can even make a concerted effort to kick a multitude of times, especially if he can get inside of Jukola’s defenses, and that will enable him to score vital points plus prevent any potential takedowns Jukola may opt to try for. McSulley wins this battle by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – McSulley by KO; Styles – Jukola by KO

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: JAMES “DANGERZONE” STORMCHASER (10-6; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
“OG” SPANKY LOCO (9-5; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)

Xavier: The FinnFighters are on the scene as Stormchaser, cool last name by the way, steps into battle. We have the classic standup versus ground fighter battle here and for Stormchaser, avoiding the ground like it’s lava is the key to victory tonight! He absolutely wants to avoid being taken to the mat as a result of a shoot takedown or a trip takedown from the clinch. Staying active on the outside is what Stormchaser must do, plus it gives him the opportunity to have better footwork and head movement to avoid the various strikes that he’ll see coming from Loco. Stormchaser is slightly taller and heavier than Loco but there’s no real advantage there. Taking advantage of Loco’s aggression is a key aspect of this fight. If Stormchaser can land some timely and destructive counterstrikes to keep Loco off balance, that will be a very good achievement for him! Counterattacking with power is how I see Stormchaser approaching this fight and if he’s able to land enough clean shots then Loco’s chin is going to waver under the pressure and he’ll end up looking at the lights on the ceiling as Stormchaser has his hand raised in victory! Stormchaser by knockout!

Styles: “OG” steps into battle with his trademark purple high-top fade representing The Stepdads. The 25-year-old fighter from Inglewood definitely wants to get this fight to the ground as soon as possible and utilize the black belt skills to make Stomchaser’s life very uncomfortable! Loco has very good boxing, solid Muay Thai and very excellent wrestling to support that black belt, and I think he’ll be aggressive in this fight, particularly in the standup, because he’ll want to do his best to obviously knock Stormchaser out if he can, but if not then look to stun him enough for takedowns to become far easier to manage! Loco has never been knocked out so he may be more brazen with Stormchaser and that could work to his advantage because he could make Stormchaser be more aggressive than he planned to, per se, and cause him to fight Loco’s preferred pace of battle. If nothing else, Loco can always try to lock Stormchaser into a clinch and see if he can land damaging blows from there before taking him to the ground and looking for the tapout. Either way, Loco wins by submission!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Loco by Submission; Xavier – Stormchaser by KO

LIGHT HEAVYEWIGHT DIVISION: SAMMY “MIAMI” BEACH (10-6; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
“THE SHADOW” ARMAND CHRISTOPHE (8-3; CURRENT STREAK: 5 WINS)

Styles: The slightly taller and heavier Beach represents the LEGION OF DOOM in this battle, and it’s imperative he keep this fight in the vertical plane at all costs. The 23-year-old from, big surprise, Miami, brings solid boxing, very good Muay Thai, good wrestling and a blue belt to the mix. In a nutshell, when it comes to Beach, he either wrecks or gets wrecked! His aggressive style and punishing knockouts have made him rather popular with SLF fans and this is his debut in this organization. Unfortunately for him, his fans can’t take bone-crunching strikes for him and that means he’s paid the price four times by getting knocked out or TKO’d. If he lands the power strikes first while keeping his head moving and chin tucked, he’s in business. If he allows Christophe too many clean shots, he may not need to concern himself with Christophe’s ground game because he’ll e staring up at the arena lights! I highly doubt Beach will take any other approach other than applying as much pressure as possible from the moment the bell rings and continue that approach until he blasts Christophe with the one shot he needs for the knockout!

Xavier: The 25-year-old from Anvil brings the Renegade Warriors onto the scene with his entry into the cage. He’s been feelin’ himself since a change in management, and that’s reflected with his 5-fight winning streak! Confidence, trust and belief can go a very long way in this business, Styles, and he’s exuding all three. Yes, he’s a grappling-oriented warrior but don’t forget that he knocked out his last opponent early in the second round before signing his SFL contract. You know he’s putting added pressure on himself to keep that momentum going so he can make an impression in this organization right from the start! Since he can expect all-out aggression from Beach in this fight, Christophe should have the ability to be effective in counterattacking that aggression and maybe even knocking Beach out despite that not being his specialty, if you will. There’s no doubt Christophe wants to get this fight to the ground so he can control the pace and space while being very effective by outmaneuvering Beach before setting him up for any number of submissions at Christophe’s disposal! Christophe wins this battle by tapout and gets to return to his gothic-like castle a happy man!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Christophe by Submission; Styles – Beach by KO

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE: “MASTER” KOBAYASHI JIN (13-4; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
“BEAST FROM THE EAST” SERHEY RISHKINOV (17-4; CURRENT STREAK: 6 WINS)

Xavier: This battle for the Welterweight championship will certainly be intense, if nothing else, Styles! Combining for eight wins in a row, somebody is going to have to start their winning streak all over once the smoke clears from this fight. Add to the mix that these two locked horns previously in UnderGround, specifically at FC 105 where Rishkinov forced Jin to tapout in the middle of the third round via Triangle, and you better believe both men remember that encounter very well. Extra motivation to defeat Rishkinov will definitely be palpable as Jin looks to avenge that loss. A submission specialist, he brings good boxing, very good Muay Thai, solid wrestling and a black belt to this fight. Physically both of these men are quite evenly matched so skill and will are the determining factors here. Jin had a 10-fight winning streak at one point in time so he knows how to use momentum when it’s there. Make no mistake about it, this fight will be a struggle as well a measure of where he stands in this division. Obviously, if Jin wins the championship then he sits atop the proverbial mountain and that’s an indelible feat! Lastly, look for Jin to tenderize Rishkinov’s legs with multiple leg kicks. Jin becomes the champion by forcing Rishkinov to tapout!

Styles: The 26-year-old Russian from Moscow represents LEGION OF DOOM in this title fight and the 6-fight win streak he’s bringing with him to this fight speaks volumes about his abilities in the cage! Toss in the fact he has the psychological edge in this fight because he knows he can defeat Jin, and you have the makings of a warrior in a mission. He’s very popular with SFL fans already because of his aggression, along with his penchant to knock people out! Rishkinov is a very streaky fighter so when it’s going well, he’s quite a force in that cage. He has amassed six wins by TKO and has forced numerous other tapouts, so the guy can get it done in any area of fighting. There are some concerns about his chin’s ability to withstand powerful strikes but that can be solved with very good footwork and head movement. Solid boxing, good Muay Thai, outstanding wrestling and a black belt are what he brings to the table. Since both of these fighters are more at home on the ground, I think Rishkinov will be right at home trying to score a knockout over Jin using counterattacking measures. He knows he has the power to drop Jin but he also needs to make sure he stays away from the clinch because that’s where Jin may be able to take ample advantage of the skills he brings to the table. Rishkinov emerges as the welterweight champion by forcing Jin to tapout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier - Jin by Submission; Styles – Rishkinov by Submission

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE: BLEEDING SPANNER (14-2; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
ALEXIE “BRICK SHITHOUSE” BABINSKI (14-2; CURRENT STREAK: 7 WINS)

Xavier: These two hard-hitting behemoths have identical records for a very good reason. They’re both outstanding fighters and forces to be reckoned with! Spanner, the 26-year-old Irishman from Dublin, recently had an 11-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Alexei Babinski by bleeding out at UnderGround FC 124! He bounced with back with an early second-round knockout of Kilo Maluga and is looking to continue using that momentum. Representing The GBU, he’s a world class boxer with very good Muay Thai, very good wrestling and a brown belt. Aggressive with high-impact strikes, he’s been surprisingly involved in many battles that have boiled down to the judges’ scorecards. He’s won every fight he’s been in that ended in a decision so that’s a testament to his training regimen as well as his abilities and passion! Make no mistake about it. He wants to knock Babinski out so he can not only avenge that loss by TKO I referred to earlier, but to also prove to any doubters that he’s fully capable of bringing serious striking power when the time arises. Since knows what Babinski is capable of, his defensive capabilities will be sharper because he’ll have a far better understanding of what to look out for. Spanner wins this fight by knockout to claim the heavyweight championship and even the series between these two outstanding competitors!

Styles: Slightly taller and lighter than Spanner, the Russian from Kopeysk represents The Stepdads in this battle tonight. As you mentioned, X, Babinski has the psychological edge over Spanner because he made dude bleed like a victim in a slasher film! He also has major confidence due to the fact he’s only been knocked out once and has ended all but one of his fights before they reached the fifth round! That’s destruction and he has bone-crushing power! With seven KO’s and seven TKO’s, he likes to get in the cage, brutalize his opponent, overwhelm them with power then walk out with his hands raised high. With very good boxing, outstanding Muay Thai, solid wrestling and a purple belt, I think Babanski will look to slow down Spanner with various leg and body kicks, and try to land the devastating strikes from the counterattack! Both of them will be very aggressive during this fight because neither one of them wants this to go the distance and put the decision in the judges’ hands. They’re established themselves as men who get the job done and that’s exactly what they’ll want to do here tonight! Babanski will add to his very impressive array of knockout victories by wrecking Spanner’s chin enough times to make the big man tumble to the mat with his eyes wide in shock!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Babinski by KO; Xavier – Spanner by KO

Styles: All right, good people, that’s our time yet again! Thank you very much for allowing us to bring our insight and perspectives to you. It’s our pleasure and we hope you enjoyed the show.

Xavier; It’s an honor and privilege for us to be able to share our opinions with you, and as always we thank the Stoner Fight League as well as Conquer, the outstanding merchandise partner of this organization! On behalf of Furious Styles, I’m Esiah Xavier, signing off. Take care, be well, be safe and we’ll see you at the fights!

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