2013-10-01
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EVO 24 Preview

Event Preview: EVO 24: Wise vs Hunt
EVOLUTION (288K+)
2013-09-26, Los Angeles, LA Memorial Colossuseum
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Evolution 24 ‘Wise vs. Hunt’ Preview

Randy: “We’re back for another edition of Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 24 ‘Wise vs. Hunt’ which comes to you live from the LA Memorial Collossuseum on Thursday September 26th, 2013. A great night of fights as Evolution brings a 5 round contest for the 170lbs championship in its main event as Dennis Wise returns from the ITFL tournament and takes on the champion Merik Hunt. EPL Season 6 champion makes his debut tonight in the co-main event of the evening when he takes on BJJ red-belt and winner of 3 straight Rainer Varvaskoukku. Also fighting on the main-card at featherweight is Barry Scott when he takes on Jason Griffin to kick off the main-card portion of the evening. Sandwiched between those is a heavyweight fight between Josh Williams and Mitchell Stehling and a light-heavyweight fight between Theo Atlason and Jake Orange. I’m joined here by my guest tonight former IMMA 170lbs champion and a former #1 p4p fighter Sinuhe Egyptian. Thanks for coming on the show."

Egyptian:"Thanks Randy! Sweet to be here."

Randy: “Rumor has it this card is going to be bitter-sweet for the Gutz camp as win or lose Anton Chigurh plans on retiring. I was wondering if you could confirm that rumor being a teammate and close friend of Anton’s?”

Egyptian:" That is true. I personally feel little stunned. We have been training together at Gutz Gym for ever. I was so happy when he became p4p #1 and it made me better fighter too. You know.. I started to believe that its there for me too. I wouldnt won "Fighter Comeback of the Year 2012"-award without Anton."

Randy: “Has he talked to you all about his reasons for calling it quits? If so I was wondering if you could possibly elaborate on the decision?”

Egyptian:"He couldnt do that decision himself. Mr Gutz did it for him. Chigurgh is a warrior. He just goes hard very time even in training. So believe me we have had some grazy gym wars at Gutz Gym! Ninja Monk and Public Enemy are all so like that. But it just broke him eventually. He seems to be much slower and weaker now. And he has some kind of head trauma too.."

Randy: “Let’s talk about you a little bit here. You’re a former champion in the organization and had a bit of a rough stretch losing to close decisions to Renan St. Juste in super-fights between two orgs champions and then dropped a 3rd straight fight and your title to Merik Hunt. How frustrating was that time period for you?”

Egyptian:"They were all very close fights but at the end my hand was not raised. If you fight at the level where I fight you have to accept that difference in winning and loosing is sometimes marginal. They were all great fights vs great fighters."

Randy: “I know after a few of those losses you and your manager were very happy with a recent trend in MMA where guys are really using a lot of counter takedowns to their advantage and laying on their opponents. Why are you so unhappy about this trend?”

Egyptian:"I dont think thats something that fans want to see. It has been like that allways. If you watch my first lost to Jafar and my second to Nansen you get the idea. Jafar fight was classic but rating in Nansen fight was horrible."

Randy: “Now you didn’t have to worry about the takedown so much in your last fight against Khanom Tom but you were able to overcome it in the two wins prior to that. What kinda adjustments did you make in order to adapt to the recent trend?”

Egyptian:"Today I know what to expect when I face wrester. After that its easy."

Randy: “Obviously Mega Jug doesn’t keep me included in the match-making or anything but it looks like you’re right back in the title hunt with 3 wins in a row. Do you have any idea what’s next for you? What would it mean to you to get another shot at Merik Hunt for the title?”

Egyptian:"I dont think Merik will win Wise but if he does he is just another opponent. I know what to do if we fight again."

Randy: “Now I know this might seem like a strange question considering your career is still going so well but you’re 35 yrs old now, you have 61 professional fights, do you ever think about hanging it up ever? How many fights do you still have left in the tank?”

Egyptian:"Its hard to say. These days this fighting game is much harder and people seem to age faster playing it. I think I have one good run to that P4P #1 spot in me and after that its over."

Randy: “Well I wish you luck in whatever time you have left and good luck at getting your title back. Are you ready to move on and check out these great fights?”

Egyptian: "Lets roll."

Jason Griffin (21-11-1) vs. Barry Scott (27-12-1)

Our main card kicks off with a great match-up between two fighters when Jason Griffin takes on Barry Scott in a featherweight contest. Griffin made his debut in Evolution by defeating Takanori Gomi in a light-weight fight before dropping to 145lbs and fighting former Empire featherweight champion and a guy formerly ranked the #1 featherweight on the planet in Cormac Maguire. He could add another formerly ranked #1 in the weight class to his victims list if he can beat Barry Scott in this fight. Griffin likes to throw a lot of kicks to the leg and body in order to set up his high kicks and his punches. He also likes to push forward and try to get his opponents back against the cage where he can work an effective clinch game against the cage. It’s no secret that Barry Scott is going to try to force his opponent backwards and land his punches and kicks to set up the takedown as the recipe for success in this fight will absolutely be putting Griffin on his back early and often. Scott has already been taking his contracts with the organization one fight at a time because he knows retirement is just around the corner. If he were to drop this fight and make it 4 losses in his last 5 fights I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a post-fight retirement speech from him. Griffin has shown the ability to keep fights standing in the past with a career 81% success rate stuffing his opponent’s takedowns so whoever wins that battle likely wins the fight.

Randy: I’m really pulling for Barry Scott in this fight because I always worry the next loss is going to lead to his retirement so he’s my sentimental favorite in this fight but I have to pick Jason Griffin. He’s shown the ability to sprawl and brawl against top wrestlers in the past and I think he’ll keep this standing enough to win striking and clinch game and take a close 29-28 unanimous decision victory.”

Egyptian:If one thinks about retirement there is allways reason for it. I think Griffin will make it easy for Scott to do what ever he wants to do. If Scott wants to win this fight its there him to take. And I think he still wants it

Mitchell Stehling (44-19) vs. Josh Williams (25-15)

Next on the card is a heavyweight fight scheduled to go 3 rounds when former IMMA HW champion Mitchell Stehling looks to make it 2 in a row when he takes on Josh Williams who has dropped two straight fights after winning in his Evolution debut. Stehling has been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride over his last 10 fights trading wins and losses pretty close to every other fight. Mitchell is a very skilled kick-boxer who likes to use his heavy hands to set up his grappling exchanges. Stehling likes to tackle opponents against the cage where he can work an effective dirty-box game and work for the takedown. Mitchell also has excellent takedowns landing on 42% of his takedown attempts in his career. He’ll look to come out and get this fight to the mat where he should have a clear advantage over his opponent. Josh Williams is an extremely heavy-handed kick-boxer stopping 23 of his 25 career victories by TKO or knock-out. Williams likes to lead with his kicks to keep his opponents at the end of his punches where he can use his reach advantage to land big blows while not taking any shots in return. Both of these fighters have been knocked out 15+ times in their career so durability is a bit of an issue for both fighters. I’d like for both of these guys to come out hard and heavy in an attempt to be the first fighter to land a big shot as this fight is very likely to be finished in the early rounds.

Randy: “This fight is really a toss-up if you ask me. Stehling has more ways to win the fight and if he can work his takedowns early in this fight I think he’ll take the early lead and run with it to the end-zone and finish Williams inside the distance. On the other hand all these fights start standing and in a battle of 2 fighters with iffy chins I tend to lean towards the guy who has better knock-out power and I would give the edge to Williams in that department. If he can land heavy shots before Stehling is able to drag him to the mat it could be a short night. I’ll take Stehling just because he’s been at this level longer and I think his experience and grappling ability will carry him to victory.”

Egyptian:"To honour Anton Chigurgh I will actually flip a coin for this. Lets agree Stehling is heads. (Egyptian flips a coin) Well.. It looks like the most that Mitchell Stehling has ever lost on a coin toss is this fight. So William is your winner."

Theo Atla Son (27-8) vs. Jake Orange (34-13)

The next fight on the card is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the light-heavyweight division when former IMMA 205lbs champion Theo Atla Son looks to continue his upward climb in the division with a 2nd straight victory when he takes on the red-hot Jake Orange who is 11-2 in his last 13 fights which included a 7-1 record inside the Empire cage. Atla Son is a very talented muay-thai striker who likes to lead with his punches but mixes in a lot of leg kicks as he pushes forward and tries to tackle his opponents into his thai-plumb where he will throw lots of punches and knees to the head and body. Atla Son has fairly good knock-out power finishing over 70% of the victories in his career by TKO or knock-out. Jake Orange has been on quite a roll in his career of late and brings a 4 fight winning streak into this fight. A win over a former champion like Atla Son would be a significant boost to Orange’s title hopes. Orange is also a very talented muay-thai striker who throws a lot of leg kicks mixed in with his punches to the head and body. Orange is also very adept in the clinch and like most fighters from the River camp enjoys taking fights into that position. This fight should be a terrific back and forth striking battle and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these two spend significant time in the clinch position. The winner of this fight will take a giant step towards getting a title shot in the near future.

Randy: “This should be a very entertaining fight and is my pick for early FOTN honors. These two will stand and trade both planting and throwing heavy blows. It’ll be interesting to see which fighter will take the center of the cage as both enjoy pressing forward and leading in the striking game. If this fight gets to the clinch position I am going to favor Orange. I think Jake takes this fight and climbs into the top 3 in the world rankings at 185lbs. Expect to see this guy fighting for a title sometime in the near future.”

Egyptian:"I know this. Both of these would get murdered if they enter the gage with Public Enemy. But in this fight I see Superfoot beating Orange so bad that he doesnt know yellow from red.

Rainer Varvaskoukku (19-9-2) vs. Domingo Perez (25-9-2)

Our co-main event is a featherweight fight scheduled to go 5x5 min rounds when BJJ red belt Rainer Varvaskoukku takes on winner of season 6 of EPL and a fighter making his Evolution debut tonight in Domingo Perez. Varvaskoukku has been on quite a roll lately winning 5 of his last 6 fights including 3 in a row and 2 of those fights were submission victories over former world champions. Rainer is a very high level wrestler and looks for any and every opportunity to get fights to the ground where he will work his ground strikes to set up his submissions. Varvaskoukku is also a BJJ red-belt and while he prefers to stay on top and work aggressively he’s proven in his last two fights by submitting two high level grapplers in Barry Scott and Matt Miller with a version of triangle chokes that he is equally as dangerous from the bottom with his submissions. Domingo Perez really turned his career around in the ITFL tournament only losing 2 out of his 15 fights in the tournament and after a bye in the 1st round of the playoff closed the deal winning his last two fights and taking home the prize and the cash. Perez is a little looser on the feet than his opponent typically and isn’t afraid to push forward behind his strikes to try to get fights to the ground. Perez is also a high level wrestler but has seemed to struggle stuffing takedown attempts in his career with only a 59% success rate. Perez will either keep this fight standing or look to get the takedown before his opponent does and get to a dominant position where he can neutralize the submission attempts from his opponent. The winner of this fight should move themselves right in with the top contenders and potentially find themselves fighting for a title in the near future.

Randy: “I am taking Varvaskoukku in this fight. He’s just looked terrific lately and his last 3 fight specifically have really impressed me. I think Perez will get the better of this fight on the feet but Rainer will eventually get him down and chip away with his ground and pound. Perez lands a sweep at some point and chooses to stay on top and regrets the decision when he finds himself tapping out."

Egyptian:"Varvaskoukku will have both hooks in and then go for toe-hold for submission. Thats the level his bjj. Its out of this world. (Varvas=toe koukku=hook in Finnish

Dennis Wise (32-9-1) vs. Merik Hunt

The main event of the evening is a 5 round fight for the Evolution 170lbs championship when Dennis Wise makes his return to the organization after competing in the ITFL tournament. He challenges the champion Merik Hunt for the title in his first fight back and this fight should be a great match-up. Wise only loss in the ITFL came to current semi-finalist and a man on a 17 fight win streak in Tweedle Dee. Wise was part of the winning team in the tournament and had an impressive 11-1-1 record during his time in ITFL. Wise is an elite kick-boxer who pushes forward behind plenty of punches and kicks throwing his punches to the head and body but sticks to mostly low kicks to the leg and body. Wise also likes to tackles his opponents into the clinch position where he will throw strikes with all of his limbs and he is deadly accurate with all of them. Hunt has successfully defended his title twice since losing in a super-fight to Pluto Palhares. Hunt likes to mix in leg kicks with his punches but his bread and butter is his grappling game and with Olympic caliber wrestling he is great at dragging fights to the mat landing on 42% of his career takedown attempts. Hunt is very aggressive and very accurate with his ground strikes when he’s on top of you and is great at holding opponents down for long periods of time when he gets them to the ground. Hunt is also a BJJ black-belt but only has 1 submission victory in his career so I doubt he’ll be able to catch Wise sleeping. Whichever fighter can dictate where the fight takes place likely walks away the winner in this fight and will be taking home the gold while the loser will have to get back in line with the rest of the top contenders in the division.

Randy: “Tough fight to pick if you ask me. Typically I like to go with the wrestler because the ability to dictate where a fight takes place is absolutely huge in this business. Wise beat a few good wrestlers in ITFL like Veron, Beck, Voda and TWGC champion Pete Wentz so he’s shown that he can get the job done against good wrestlers before. None of those fighters are on par with Merik Hunt and Wise did lose a rumored gym session with Rodalgo to lose his spot in the individual tournament but who knows if that’s even true. I say Wise finds a way to win this fight and take home the belt.”

Egyptian:"My pick is all so Wise. He will go hard and Hunt doesnt have the chin to play that game."

Randy: “Another terrific night of fights put on by Evolution and it all concludes with the 170lbs championship on the line. I know that Mega must be thrilled that Dennis Wise is back in the fold. Since we still have a little time do you mind if I ask a few more questions Sinuhe?”

Egyptian:" Go."

sly you’ve beaten a lot of big names over the years. Bruce Lee, Pete Doherty, Gomer Pyle, Henry Lucas and Sam Hall just to name a few. Which is the biggest victory in your career?

Egyptian:"When Sam Hall and I fought we knew that winner was going to be ranked as #1 P4P.

Randy: “You’ve also been on the losing end of some of those big fights losing close decisions to Otso Jokinen and Renan St. Juste two times and also losing your title in a close decision to current champion Merik Hunt. Which of those losses stung the most and if you could fight any of those guys again which one would it be?

Egyptian:"I think loosing that final round in that second fight vs Otso felt bad. I came so very close in that second time. It was split decision. And for some reason I could not land leg kick to save my life. 5/22 was horrible for me. All so first lost vs Renan was interesting.. We payed lot of cash to get rematch but for some reason Gutz told me to pull guard in clinch. That was not smart at all.. If I could choose I would go for Renan one more time.

Randy: “I’d love to see any of those fights. I want to thank you again for spending some time us and answering my questions as well as previewing this great card with me. Come again sometime will ya?”

Egyptian:"I would love to come back."

Randy: “This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution’s countdown previews for Evolution 25 ‘Hirvonen vs. McDermot 2’ Good night everybody!”

 

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