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 Gladiator Fighting Championship returns home to Hard Knocks Arena on Saturday night and returns with a bang. GFC will crown its first champions in two weight classes. Both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles will be up for grabs in what promises to be one of the most stacked fight card that GFC has presented yet. Here's a look at the fight line up:
Middleweights Bobby Tupper V (8-7) and Jonny Utah (15-19) will start off the action. Tupper V has won four of his last five fights and will be making his GFC debut. Tupper V is a very accomplished boxer who is very well rounded and is no slouch on the ground either. He is a very adaptable fighter who will do whatever it takes to secure the win. Utah has gone the distance in each of his three GFC fights, picking up one win along the way. Utah is a pure puncher who likes to stand and bang. He has been to decision twenty one times in his career. He has excellent endurance and cleary looks to stay on his feet and outpoint his opponents. It would be a safe bet to believe that this one could go all three rounds.
The second fight will be a welterweight fight pairing Tony Danza (23-18-1) and Anton The Jew (3-0). Danza is a highly experienced fighter whose skill set is best suited for grappling. The BJJ brown belt has scored seven wins by submission and is coming off of a solid decision win. The Jew is undefeated in his short career but he has shown tremendous skill already. The Jew prefers to do his dirty work in the clinch and has achieved remarkable success in close quarters. Will the experience of Danza prove to be too much for The Jew, or will the upstart younger make a name for himself with a signature win?
Another undefeated fighter will take to the cage in the third fight when James Bowens (6-0) takes on Shane MacLain (9-10-1). Bowens is a tremendous grappler who has won all six of his fights by way of submission. His intentions are quite obvious, but none of his opponents have been able to stop him. MacLain is 1-1 in his time with GFC. He tends to look for the takedown and work ground and pound and has even picked up a few wins by submission. He has shown a vulnerable chin in his career. MacLain will likely need to keep his feet if he wants to survive this one.
The fourth fight will be an interesting battle between two fighters with very different and distinct fighting styles. Dominic Borowiec (5-2) will be making his GFC debut and looks to make a statement with his Muay Thai skills. Borowiec has a reputation for dealing punishing kicks and using strong clinchwork to overcome his opponents. Keha Anoki (4-1) entered GFC undefeated but found himself on the wrong side of a TKO in his debut fight. Anoki is determined to atone for that loss and turn in an impressive win.
Lightheavyweights Kosmo Kramer (17-7-1) and Raian Baaden (20-11) will take center stage in the fifth fight. Kramer is a Muay Thai specialist with exceptional clinch work and vicious elbows and knees. Kramer has won two straight and is looking to piece together a lengthy win streak. Baaden is a fantastic wrestler who prides himself on his ground and pound skills. Baaden has lost three straight fights and is setting foot in the GFC cage for the first time. Baaden is a grinder who likes to get his opponents on their back and then suffocate them like a wet blanket.
In another middleweight battle, Payakaroon Bot (9-3) will welcome GFC newcome Eric Castle (16-12). Bot is a master of the clinch game. He is clearly very powerful and has picked up all of his career wins by KO or TKO. Once Bot gets his opponents latched into the clinch, the end is typically near. Castle is a grappler who leans heavily on his takedowns and ground and pound. He will need to stay out of the clinch and get Bot to the ground to have a successful debut.
A couple of very talented welterweights will battle in the seventh fight. Cooper Abreu (7-1) is an absolutley vicious ground and pound specialist. All seven of his career wins have come by way of KO or TKO. With excellent takedowns and heavy hands, Abreu is extremely dangerous. Attempting to send Abreu back to Los Angeles with another loss on his record, Pete Daniels (13-6) will be looking to build on his most recent win. Daniels also has shonw impressive ground and pound skills but his boxing prowess is much stronger than that of his opponent. I would anticipate Daniels looking to outstrike his opponent and keep things standing.
The GFC middleweight title will be on the line when Auron Almasy (14-8) meets Dmitry Belov (9-2). Almasy is an incredibly powerful striker with top notch boxing skills. Twelve of Almasy's career wins have come by KO or TKO. Riding a two fight win streak, Almasy will be looking to wear championship gold for the first time in his career. Belov has won seven of his last eight fights and simply wants to put another mark in the win column and hoist the belt. Belov has an extremely high rate of success with his takedowns and works his opponents over with heavy doses of ground and pound. This one is shaping up to be a good one.
The co-main event pairs light heavyweight Bobby Tupper III (18-18) against Terry Smith (8-4). Tupper III is a BJJ brown belt with an eye popping eightteen submission wins. His track record speaks for itself and his strategy is no secret. Smith comes into the cage as a heavy handed boxer with knockouts on his mind. Clearly, Smith will need to stay on his feet and punish Tupper III with punches. Each man will have a unique agenda and time will tell which fighter prevails.
In the main event, the GFC light heavyweight champion will be crowned. Ansgar Axelsson (11-2-1) and Puppy Love (19-12) will bring an astouding amount of talent into the cage in search of the gold. Axelsson scored a tremendous first round TKO in his GFC debut and moved right to the front of the line for a title shot. He is a tremendous and versatile striker who is equally adept and hurting is opponent with both his hands and feet. Axelsson has solid knockout power and can end the fight at any time with one massive strike. Love is one of the most gifted boxers in the division and has wrestling skills that are equally as strong. Love will take what his opponents give him and will either beat them up standing or put them on their back and go to work pounding them out. These two warriors are sure to please the crowd in this main event.
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