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 ROAD SMESHES SMASH CHAMP | RANKED #2 P4P | COMBATE VS SMASH
Raate Road (29-4-1, #2 P4P) defended his Welterweight championship by smeshing SMASH Welterweight champion Kaki Mountain (23-12-0) at Combate 169 where they quite literally blew the roof off of the Sydney Superdome in some classic Finn on Finn violence, as expected.
Raate Road used a mix of striking and grappling to throw off the rhythm of Kaki Mountain to secure a takedown in the 4th round, advance to mount, and smashed the challenger's face with big strikes.
Despite the dominant performance on the ground from Road, he also showed off his standup game, hitting Mountain with a dramatic spinning backfist in the 3rd round that drew applause from the fans.
TANEYEV STARCHES GARUDA | RANKED #4 P4P | RANDY WANTS NEXT
Valentin "The Hand Grenade" Taneyev (32-14-1, #4 LHW) defended his Light Heavyweight title against "Hands of Shiva" Mantak Garuda (40-14-1) with a big knockout of the night punch, extending his winning streak to 5.
Both these fighters were sauced up, but Taneyev looked extra crispy with his strikes as he countered the over-aggressive Garuda, who just couldn't seem to find the mark. It was clear from the start that both men were head hunting, but it was the Russian that proved to be the better man that night as he countered a lot of Garuda's punches and put him to sleep with a powerful right cross that turned out the lights in the 1st round.
Taneyev's performance got the attention of the #3 Light Heavyweight in the world, Randy Randleman (31-11-0), who quickly signed the dotted line to be his next opponent at Combate 172. Taneyev has seemingly found his strive since joining Bushido Martial Arts in Sydney, but this matchup against the SYN Light Heavyweight championship is expected to be one of his toughest to date.
TOP HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECTS COLLIDE | #1 CONTENDER FIGHT
Nigeria kickboxer Abdul "Fist" Keji (17-4-0) meets Maximilian "The Lion" Bonaparte (16-5-0) in a collision featuring two of MMA's top Heavyweight prospects. Bonaparte usually towers over opponents, standing at 205 cm, but this is one fight that the French fighter won't have the reach advantage in when he goes up against the 225 cm tall Keji.
Keji is a freak of nature that has been with CHECKMATE PRIME MMA his entire career, a career that started at Victory Kickboxing, where he went 2-1 before making the transition to MMA. One thing that he's carried over is elite striking and blistering knockout power. Keji has put his KO power on display in his first two fights under the Combate banner, finishing both his opponents with strikes in the first round.
Bonaparte is a former three-time ENIGMA Heavyweight champion and human highlight reel. He delivered a dominant performance in his Combat debut against a long-time Combate veteran Magnus Von Ver Huevan (28-16-0), in which Bonaparte looked like Heavyweight Mayweather out there enroute to a decisive decision victory. This fight marks only the second time in his 21-fight career that he didn't win by knockout or ref stoppage.
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