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 The first event in the history of Gladiator Fighting Championship will take place this Saturday night at The Palmtree in Las Vegas. A great deal of curiosity surrounds this historic event as Las Vegas fight wonder if GFC will rise to become something special or just another Johnny Come Lately fight org who is here today and gone tomorrow. GFC management is fully engaged and committed to putting a top quality product in front of fight fans, but realizes that the quality of the events will have to speak for themselves.
Saturday's GFC I card is has shaped up to be a good one. A full slate of ten fights has been confirmed and the fighters are ready to go. The card will be headlined by a middleweight battle between Voodoo Hex and Payakaroon Bot while the co-main event will feature a lightweight tilt between Bada Bada and Jean Charles. Here is a closer look at the fight card:
Starting off the night will be welterweights Damian Roshan (25-14-2) and Dingle Berrian (18-6). Roshan is a savvy veteran fighter with over forty MMA fights under his belt. He is an opportunistic fighter who is not afraid to stand and trade punches but also is proficient in his ground game that he is completely comfortable dragging his opponent to the ground and grinding out a win. Like Roshan, Berrian has seen the inside of the cage many times and knows all of the tricks of the trade. Berrian relies heavily on his striking, mostly utilizing punishing kicks were his opponents down. While he has shown flashes of power, he is perfectly content to pick his opponents apart and take a win on via the judges' scorecards. Roshan is riding a two fight win streak while Berrian has come up short in his last two fights. This will prove to be an interesting matchup of two fighters who appear to be headed in different directions of late.
The second fight will be a middleweight matchup between Gorge Junior (16-9) and Jonny Utah (14-17). Junior is a heavy handed boxer who relies heavily on his striking game to get the job done. Twelve of Junior's career wins have come by way of KO or TKO, so he obviously knows how to find the off switch on his opponents. After losing four straight fights, Junior came back strong in his last cage appearance scoring a first round TKO. Junior feels that he has all the tools to be a contender in the GFC middleweight division. Utah has had a very up and down career and is looking to piece together a nice long win streak and find some consistency. Utah is a tremendous boxer in his own right and enjoys going toe to toe and throwing leather. The bulk of Utah's career fights have gone to decision and his knockout power is questionable. If Utah can pick his spots and protect his chin he has a shot to steal a decision, but one wrong move could see Junior deliver a crushing knockout blow.
Maek Houzo (25-20) and Harrison Hansen (4-3) will put their skills on display in the third fight. Houzo enters the cage as an aging veteran who is out to prove that he still has something left in the take. With a tremendous experience advantage, Houzo will attempt to impose his will on Hansen and get the fight to the ground, where he seeks to pound out or submit his opponents. Houzo has shown a suspect chin over the years and has been on the receiving end of fifteen KOs or TKOs. Hansen will be looking to use youth and physical prowess to overcome the veteran. Like Houzo, Hansen is most comfortable making his living on the ground. Hansen seems to favor the submission game over ground and pound. This could turn out to be a phenomenal grappling battle. Will Houzo's experience be able to overcome Hansen's youthful exuberance or will Hansen send Houzo one step closer to retirement?
On paper, Onni Jokinen (12-7-1) looks to be one of the most feared fighters in the welterweight division. His skill set if extremely well rounded but questions have surfaced about the depth of his skills. Is he a jack of all trades and master of none or is Jokinen truly one of the most well rounded fighters to come down the line in some time? History tells us that Jokinen is most definitely a striker first and foremost. He has proven himself to be an very accurate boxer and proficient in the clinch. He stays extremely active in the cage and will certainly make his opponent work. Stepping up to the challenge, Frankie Figgs (6-5) brings a very balanced approach to the cage and will be looking for any chink that he can find in Jokinen's armor. Figgs has won three straight fights and shown some impressive power over the course of that win streak. He throws a very nice mix of punches and kicks and will be looking to keep Jokinen guessing and off balance. Jokinen would have to be considered the heavy favorite in this fight but Figgs could easily put together a solid fight and surprise us all.
Chris Dorh (14-7) has picked up wins in three of his last four fights and looks to add another mark in the win column in his return to the cage after many months away. Dorh is a strong fighter who prefers to use that strength to his advantage by working is opponents over in the clinch and on the ground. A solid jiu jitsu practitioner, Dorh boasts nine wins by submission and is always looking for an opportunity to lock in a submission hold and finish the fight. Dorh's opponent, Brutal Delux (14-12), is no slouch on the ground and feels like he can match Dorh's technique and hold his own. Delux has a distinct advantage in the striking game and has proven himself to be a very accurate striker with heavy hands. Delux will most certainly look to keep the fight standing but will he be able to impose his will on Dorh?
The sixth fight will be a lightweight matchup between GFC's first ever roster member Jesse Wolfe (14-8) and Anthony Kiedis (17-8-1). Wolfe has won three straight fights and shows a phenomenal skill set across the board. He is a versatile striker with a strong chin and good power. Wolfe has worn championship gold before and is looking to do it again. Kiedis is a pure grinder who simply looks to wear his opponents down and outpoint them with stinging, well placed kicks. Kiedis does hold a brown belt in BJJ and can hold his own on the ground if doing some becomes necessary. Kiedis has dropped three straight fights and will be trying desperately to reverse his fortunes against Wolfe.
In the seventh fight, fans will be treated to a classic striker versus grappler match up when Risky Gamble (19-4-1) takes on Tony Danza (22-17-1). Gamble has shown violent knockout power over his career and is arguably the best boxer in the organization. He has won three out of his last four fights and appears poised to be one of the top stars in GFC. Danza is a highly experienced ground fighter whose sole purpose in the cage is to get his opponent to the ground. Danza is comfortable blanketing his opponent and wearing them down or locking in a submission when the opportunity presents itself. Danza has been KO'd or TKO'd eight times in his career and will have to be sure to protect himself or Gamble will starch him in the blink of an eye.
Lightheavyweight James Woods (16-9) enters the cage with a six fight win streak and shows no signs of slowing down. When you think ground and pound, you think James Woods. Woods has no interest in standing up and trading punches, he simply wants to put his opponent on their back and pound them into oblivion. Woods' style is very one dimensional, but he is not at all apologetic about it. Jason Parker (8-6) will step into the cage with one thing on his mind and that's staying on his feet. Parker is a proficient striker and has shown solid skills in the clinch. Six of his eight career wins have come by KO or TKO, so he obviously has the power to end a fight in a split second. The down side for Parker is that he has been knocked out six times in his career and and will have to be sure that he absorbs as little punishment as possible if he hopes to hang with Woods.
The co-main event of the evening features BJJ black belt Bada Bada (19-15) taking on fellow lightweight Jean Charles (10-6). 73 percent of Bada's career wins have come by way of submission. His striking skills leave something to be desired and he doesn't always stand up well to punishment. Bada has lost 12 fights in his career by KO or TKO and it will be imperative for him to fight the fight on his terms and get Charles off his feet. Charles is a fearsome striker with quick hands and feet and a very good clinch game. He has never been submitted but surely will not want to tempt fate on the ground with Bada.
The main event will be a five round contest featuring middleweights Voodoo Hex (11-5) and Payakaroon Bot (7-2). Hex is a pure knockout artist who is trying to get back on track after losing his last two fights. Hex is a top flight boxer with excellent complimentary Muay Thai skills. Hex has scary power and can end a fight with one punch at any given moment. Bot has built a solid reputation in the Vegas fight community as a tremendous Muay Thai sparring partner but has of late had a great deal of success inside the cage in official fights. He has built some momentum and is looking forward to making himself a key player in GFC. Bot has been absolutely deadly in the clinch and confounds his opponents with a dizzying array of knees and elbows. All seven of Bot's wins have come by way of KO or TKO. Given the power and striking prowess of these two warriors, someone getting knocked out is a safe bet.
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