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If your New Year's resolution was to watch more exciting all action MMA battles then you have come to the right place. After the fantastic success of Steel Penn ICON:LV's Christmas debut we bring your more thrills and spills to bring in the new year. The year of ICON:LV starts now!
Welterweight: Rock 'Taijutsu' Lee (1-1) vs Kevin 'GroundnPound' Coonaments (3-2)
Rock Lee will be looking to return to winning ways against Kevin Coonaments after being on the end of a frustrating decision loss to Herb Green on Christmas Day. Lee is a dangerous headhunter who mixes up power shots with combinations well and has defensive grappling that belies his White Belt status. In Kevin Coonaments he meets a dangerous ground and pound fighter desperate to avoid a third straight defeat. Despite his name and skills the Bennington native has found most of his success off his back or when on the defensive. The problem for him here however is that Lee has no intention of putting him on his back unless it's in an unconscious state.
Prediction: With size and style advantages in his hands look for Lee to frustrate Coonaments for 15 minutes, chipping away with his full striking arsenal.
Featherweight: Adam McGrath (2-0) vs Graeme 'Stank' Campbell (4-1)
When fighters started signing on the dotted line here at ICON:LV there was one fight in the featherweight division that everyone wanted to see, and this was it. A battle of two ruthless submission artists with a taste for first round stoppages. On paper Campbell is the better grappler but when the cage door shuts and the fists start flying the colour of your belt can often count for very little. McGrath has better hands not that he will want to showcase them, as this is a battle of ego as much as battle of BJJ.
Prediction: This has all the makings of a great contest but Campbell's counter grappling style should see him through here as a he catches McGrath coming with a choke late in round 1.
Light Heavyweight: Nissan 'Gtr' Fairtex (1-0) vs Freddy Lee (1-0)
17 year old Black Belts are a rare breed but Freddy Lee is one such fighter. Lee is patient in top position and decisive when the opportunity arises. His stand up and more importantly his chin are yet to be tested and doing so must be Fairtex first goal in this one. Put fist to face and see how calm Lee is then. Fairtex showed his takedown defence was well tuned and that allowed him to display his violent striking abilities. As powerful as he is technical with his punches, Fairtex looks like the kind of destructive and aggressive fighter that fans love and that spells bad news for Freddy Lee.
Prediction: Fairtex takedown defence is perhaps slightly better than Lee's takedowns. With that in mind Fairtex will make this a short and painful night for Lee, winning by KO in round 1.
Bantamweight: Bruce Lee (1-0) vs Gabriel 'DaBeast' Douglas (1-1)
It's difficult to gauge a fighter accurately after a single fight, there just aren't enough numbers to crunch, but these are the three significant ones we know about Bruce Lee; 1,2 and 5. Lee has had 1 fight, thrown 2 punches and fought for only 5 seconds. So what do we know? He is accurate and technical and a must see fighter after only 1 fight. The improvements in Douglas between his first and second fight were phenomenal. He was a stationary target who got kicked to pieces in his debut, when he did close the distance he was landing single shots without much sting. Fast forward to fight two and his punches game in combinations and his movement made him look like a different fighter. His accuracy was sensational and this Douglas needs to turn up if he is to defeat Lee. Accuracy and footwork are his best weapons here because if he gets caught on his heels Lee will turn out the lights early again.
Prediction: We know Douglas can go 3 rounds so he needs to drag this one out, slow down the pace and control distance, if he doesn't he may find himself separated from consciousness brutally. This is a coin flip, Lee by TKO late in round 1.
Lightweight: Viet 'Maokhamphiou' Lights Out (1-0) vs Key 'Always Smooth' Stone (0-1)
Everyone loves a rematch and Key Stone will feel he has something to prove after submitting to strikes last time they met. Maokhamphiou executed his gameplan perfectly against Stone, playing matador for the first couple of minutes, darting out of the way of tie ups and stuffing takedowns before letting his hands go and busting open the tiring Stone. When round 2 began he went back to lighting up Stone and it became a question of when the end came rather than how. When stone ate a big left that put him on the cage there was no coming back and the crisp strikes kept on coming. As the more well rounded fighter it will be fascinating to see what changes Stone makes. Utilising legs kicks to keep Maokhamphiou at bay and then countering his combinations with better timed takedowns seem his best bet. You could see his takedowns coming from space last time and he needs to hide his level changes better.
Prediction: Stone has not had enough time to add the necessary strings to his bow. Lights Out by striking finish in round 2 again.
Welterweight: Darko 'The Creazy Wolf' Markovic (1-0) vs Nilz 'Achtung' Artzing (1-0)
Darko Markovic was more of a Lazy Wolf in his last fight employing text book lay and pray. I hope that was nerves in his first outing against a 4 fight veteran because a man who lands 5 strikes a fight is not exactly a must see fighter. In Artzing he faces off with another fighter with a lot to do to improve his reputation as a fighter to see. Artzing was perhaps a little fortunate to pick up the victory in his first fight, employing an equally dull lay and pray style. This fight is the one to skip to make your sandwich.
Prediction: Markovic for all his faults was the more active fighter last time out believe it or not. He was also more effective in his takedowns. Markovic by decision.
Middleweight: Jonathan 'Beast' Vinyard (1-1) vs Deco 'Glass Knee' Early (0-0)
This fight is a nightmare to break down. What we know about Vinyard is that he has looked unstoppable against an inferior grappler and awful against a superior one. So which Vinyard will turn up here against a complete unknown quantity in Early. What we know about Early is that he is Scottish.....that's it. The word out of his camp is that he likes to grapple as well but in jiujitsu top trumps Brown beats Blue and thus it would be wise to control distance and chip away at Vinyard on the feet. If it turns into a striking contest it could well be a messy and untidy affair that could go either way.
Prediction: We know Vinyard can grapple and that's more than we know about Early. Vinyard by submission in round 2, but only because I have to make a prediction.
Featherweight: Jack 'The Tank' Harris (2-1) vs Bruce Shashia (2-1)
QFC Tournament semi-finalists clash in the fight they both wish had been the final. These two fighters are near mirror images of each other; same age, same style, same record. Where they differ is in size. Jack Harris is a ludicrously tall featherweight, he would be a freakish heavyweight and this has to affect his skillset and his cardio. With Shashia's wrestling and Harris' balance Bruce should find it easier to enact his takedown heavy gameplan, once down he can put the American through the grinder.
Prediction: Harris will be dangerous off his back but Shashia should have enough about him to avoid the danger and bully 'The Tank' to a unanimous decision.
Light Heavyweight: Investitor Gradnje (2-0) vs Randy 'Speedy' Gonzales (2-2)
Undefeated Serbian submission specialist Investitor Gradnje looks to make waves in the Light Heavyweight division that looks ripe for the taking in the wake of Agnar Gorm's shock defeat at ICON:LV 1. At just 18 and with 2 impressive victories to his name Granje may be the dark horse in a deep division. Randy Gonzales will not be taking him lightly as he looks to kick on from a patchy start to his career by taking that 'zero' from next to the Serbs name. Gradnje has looked to avoid stand up situations at all costs thus far and this favours the superior wrestler Gonzales. Although the smaller man he should be able to dictate if and when this hits the mat, in top position he is a capable and dangerous submission hunter and a real threat to Gradnje's unblemished record.
Prediction: We have seen virtually no striking from the Serb who might be running into a brick wall in the stockier Gonzales. Look for Gonzales to take a second round submission of the tiring Serbian.
Featherweight: Janusz Bomba (0-1) vs Brian 'Cold Blooded' Fury (1-1)
Janusz Bomba looked pretty slick against Graeme Campbell before finding himself fending off the jiujitsu ace on the mat. His hands were quick and he showed he can land a leg kick or two should the mood take him. Both of these things he will want to show a lot more of when he takes on the Belgian Fury. Fury got beaten in the clinch in his debut and then won with the clinch in his second outing and he will look to fight this battle in the clinch. We know that Fury can keep his output up for 3 rounds but we have seen the slicker striking from Bomba so look for Fury to turn this into a brawl, the messier the better for the Belgian who knows how to stick to a gameplan.
Prediction: Bomba can hurt Fury but the Belgian is durable and relentless and should steal a narrow victory.
Preview written by Halam Walker
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