2013-10-26
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Heroic 116 Preview

Event Preview: HEROIC 116 Kersikov vs Vitonen
HEROIC
2013-10-26, London, The H2O Arena
Author:

Hello again its “Sunshine” Weston Markson along with my parnta Rudy “The Box” Knife were in the Heroic studios to preview Heroic 116.  Heroic 116 is a really good card with a nice mix of established fighters and up and comers. 


Rudy: Absolutely it is we  have some really great fights for the 20,000 fans who are expected to attend, and for the hundreds of thousands watching at home on PPV we got some good stuff for you too! Uh…lets get on with it “Sunshine” I got places to be.


Weston: A date? Omg Kimura is a lucky guy ;)


Rudy: Yes I have a date tonight thank you now can we get on with this.


MAIN EVENT


#10 "The Ukrainian Zombie" Marko  Kersikov (9-0)  v  Nahka "The Jau Rocha" Vitonen (27-14)


Weston:  The main event for Heroic 116 is a Heavyweight collision between two fighters making their Heroic debut.  Both of these guys are expected to be big stars in the division and for one its going to be instantaneous with a win in their debut.  Kersikov is an undefeated monster who looks to keep his record intact, but his opponent will be his toughest test yet, a true veteran of MMA something Kersikov is untested against could this be the coming out party for Kersikov or will his opponent Nahka Vitonen be the one making a huge impact.  Vitonen has been around for a long time a very successful fighter over the course of his career he now finds himself coming into Heroic looking to do what he didn’t do in his last trip to the cage; win.  With a win he could immediately jump into title contention and with a loss a small setback in his hopes to become Heroic.  So which fighter comes out and puts the heavyweight division on notice?


Rudy:   Weston I think I have an answer for that but first let me talk about these two heavyweight studs.  Both of these fighters are Strikers as we all know by know I love a good striking fight and im pretty sure that’s what we are going to get here.  These two fighters both win 88% of their fights by (T)KO they have the exact same percentage despite the different amount of fights and wins. How these two men get the knockout now that’s a different story.  Kersikov is very accurate his biggest weapons he lands nearly 70% of the time.  Kersikov is also a monster in the clinch he lands nearly 90% of his head punches and 62% of body punches, his dirty boxing in the clinch could be what turns this fight in his favor if he comes out closes the distance and presses Vitonen up against the cage it may negate Vitonen’s power.  Vitonen gets his KO’s by coming out and throwing everything he has into his punches he is primarily a boxer but lands under 50% in nearly all striking categories due to throwing heavy damaging shots.  In a close fight like this it may very well come down to who connects first I cant wait to see how this one turns out.


Prediction:  I think Kersikov stays undefeated in this one with a late TKO.


CO-MAIN EVENT


#4  Naru "Käsi" Jarkko (24-12) v  #5 Furious "Fury" George (21-9)


Weston:  The CO-MAIN EVENT is a lightweight fight between two of the divisions best.  Naru Jarkko and Furious George, who are both coming off a loss, for Jarkko it was a heartbreaking majority decision against the champion and P4P #1 fighter in Heroic.  For George it was a #1 contenders bout against Kenny Floor Jan.  Now both Jarkko and George look to get right back in the title picture with a win. 


Rudy:  What a huge fight between two of the best grapplers in all of Heroic.  I don’t expect this fight to stay standing long with 14 takedowns attempts between the two fighters per fight.  Jarkko has a little more success with his takedowns landing 35% of his takedowns, George not far behind with 29%.  George is a rare red belt and has 14 submissions to his record, but Jarkko is very good on the ground as well he is a black belt with 4 wins by submission.  Expect one of the greatest ground battles in Heroic’s lightweight history this fight is right up Weston’s ally.


Prediction:  Jarkko by decision.


MAIN CARD


#7 "The Dominator" Trent Pope (32-13)  v  Julius "Lights Out" Lawson (27-15-1)


Weston:  The last fight on the main card is a heavyweight fight between Trent Pope and Julius Lawson.  Pope we last saw when he lost a decision in a fight where Rudy promised to kiss by left testicle if it went to the judges.  Pope had his title hopes set back slightly after the loss that snapped an 8 fight winning streak, I know he wants a rematch with Muy Thai who is now the number one contender and if he comes out on top in this one he may be closer to that fight he wants.  Lawson is a former Heroic heavyweight champion and always the ultimate underdog but he is one of the most powerful fighters in MMA history, 25 of his 27 wins have been by (T)KO.  Expect an old fashioned brawl here that ends with one fighter unconscious. 


Prediction: Pope by decision


Oscar Amazon (23-10)  v "Shogün" Lyoto Rua (27-8)


Rudy:  Weston the next fight is more heavyweight action between Oscar Aamazon and Lyoto Rua.  Rua came to Heroic with a lot of expectations, but so far at 0-2 he has fell short of being the contender everyone thought he would be.  Amazon at 1-1 is looking to get a second win inside of Heroic.  The winner of this fight will prove they belong amongst the best in the division, and the loser may take a step back to the middle of the pack.  I think its going to be a great fight with two styles that could take the fight anywhere.


Prediction:  Amazon by decision.


"Turk"  John England (25-12) v  “Painkiller” Mikael Samoth (28-13)


Rudy:  Heavyweights take to the cage when Mikael Samoth and John England meet in the 2nd fight of the main card.  England is well known for his KO power having won every one of his 25 wins by KO, Samoth on the other hand is a takedown machine, he lands 43% of his takedowns, this could be a classic matchup between striker and grappler.  England is a very aggressive fighter who throws his strikes with all of his power, he lands a low percentage but if he hits you it hurts!  Samoth will be looking to counter his aggressive striking with a quick takedown to work for GNP and submissions. 


#8 "Brooklyn's Finest" Barney Lee (27-16-1)  v  #9 Dumbass McWeakhands (33-14-1)


Weston:  The first fight on the main card is a bout between welterweights Barney Lee and Dumbass McWeakhands, both of these guys are undefeated in Heroic.  McWeakhands is 1-0 and Lee 3-0.  Lee has been a bit of a surprise in the division taking out some really good fighters and 3 guys who were ranked at the time.  McWeakhands has had only one fight in Heroic but it was a KO victory over one of the former champions.  I think both of these fighters are set for great things in the future but for one the future will be NOW. 


Prediction: I think Lee takes this one by decision.


PRELIMS


Matt Leach  v  Andy Wilkins


Hunter Hearst Hogan  v  Wesley Templar


Jack Machin  v  Mark Worsely


Christopher McCormick  v  Tarmo Suulas


 

 

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