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Feral Combat 19 hits the Hard Knocks Arena in London, England tomorrow, headlined by a light heavyweight title fight and featuring several other key match-ups. From the prelims all the way up through to the main event, this card is stacked, and it is a pleasure to preview it for you. I am Ernie White, giving you a closer look at the action.
Our main card starts is kicked off by former lightweight champ Alan Oro (9-4 MMA, 5-4 FC) looking to get back on the road towards the title against Kogata Munoz (7-2-1 MMA, 2-1 FC). Oro is coming off a “Fight of the Night” decision loss that was so tightly contested that no two judges had the same scorecards. Unfortunately for Oro, they all went to Ejay Shazad, crowning him the new champion. Shazad has since lost the belt to Danny Castillo, the man Oro beat to claim the vacant belt in the first place. To earn a re-match, the well-rounded fighter must first defeat the highly touted grappler in Munoz. Oro’s ground game is light years behind Munoz’s, but the same can be said about Munoz’s striking. Clearly, whoever can implement their game plan more effectively will have a clear way to victory in this fight.
Prediction: Kogata Munoz via (T)KO, round 3.
Light heavyweight submission artists Will Dickinson (13-5 MMA, 7-5 FC) and Wilsooooon James Da Silva (10-6 MMA, 2-0 FC) met a long time ago, and it was Dickinson who walked away with the victory. He scored takedowns in each round, and controlled the tempo of the fight from there to earn a unanimous decision win. However, both men have made vast improvements in their games, and have both since earned their BJJ brown belts. On the ground, this is a very evenly matched contest. However, recently Dickinson has shown much more improvements in is striking than Da Silva has, and that should be the deciding factor in this fight.
Prediction: Will Dickinson via decision.
Former champion Montgomery Nagendra (13-10 MMA, 5-1 FC) meets former top contender Dima Huxley (12-9 MMA, 2-2 FC). Nagendra debuted in Feral Combat with a unanimous decision victory over future champ Edgar Hoover. Nagendra went on to win the belt and defend it successfully. However, his second defense was a re-match with Hoover, and he suffered a lopsided defeat that ended with a fifth round TKO. Huxley also has a history with Hoover, suffering two submission losses to the champ. This is the first time these two will meet, and both of them are just dying to get another crack at Hoover. None of Huxley’s 21 professional fights have gone the distance, and all 12 of his victories are by (T)KO. Nagendra has shown a more well-rounded approach, scoring 7 (T)KOs and 3 submissions in 13 wins. Both men have suffered 6 TKO losses a piece, and this match could be decided on who’s chin holds up longer.
Prediction: Montgomery Nagendra via TKO, round 3.
Highly touted light heavyweight king Edgar Hoover (14-4 MMA, 4-2 FC) will attempt to defend his title for the second time against one of Feral Combat’s most active fighters, Frederick Barbarossa (17-9 MMA, 10-6 FC). Barbarossa holds the Feral Combat records for most fights, most wins, and most KOs. He has fought at heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight during his time in Feral Combat. He came up short in two previous heavyweight title fights, and gets a third shot at light heavyweight, where he has gone 3-1 in his past 4. Meanwhile, after dropping his first two FC fights by decision, Edgar Hoover has finished four straight, claimed the title, and brought himself up the rankings to become the third best fighter pound-for-pound in Feral Combat. Barbarossa needs to get his hands going early in this fight; otherwise the well-rounded Hoover will likely be able to take advantage of the vast gap in the two men’s grappling abilities. If Hoover can get this fight to the mat, his blue belt challenger will have no match for his brown belt level jiu-jitsu.
Prediction: Edgar Hoover by submission, round 2.
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