2014-01-30
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SPNY 151: Insano vs Danze Preview by R. George

Event Preview: SPNY 151: Insano - Danze
Steel Penn - ICON
2014-01-29, New York, Hard Knocks - New York
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SPNY 151: Insano vs Danze Preview

Good evening and welcome to the Hard Knocks Arena here in New York City where we are about to begin SPNY 151, a 10 fight MMA rules card featuring the very important Heavyweight clash between recently deposed champion Felipezoom Insano and fellow contender Billy Danze, as well as the Featherweight title defence of Joaquim Antunes against Dean Hall. For those of you who like the big men 4 fights tonight will match up Heavyweights, in addition to the main even the fight between Iivana Jalo and Viljo Laine should be a cracker.

Main Event: Heavyweight

Felipezoom Insano 27-9 (6-1 SPNY) vs Billy Danze 15-7 (1-0 SPNY)

I question if perhaps Insano now regrets calling out Light Heavyweight contender Richie McCaw to challenge for his Heavyweight crown as the smaller man caused one of the biggest upsets in SPNY history by defeating Insano by submission. That loss brought to an end not only Insano’s title reign but also a 9 fight winning streak that included some of the biggest names in world MMA. Insano’s striking has generally been so good across his career that his grappling weaknesses haven’t been exposed often, McCaw found the gap he needed to exploit and I am of the opinion that Insano will have to be very careful to avoid going to ground in this one because Danze is light years ahead in the grappling stakes.

Danze is one of the truly elite grapplers in SPNY and a decent boxer to boot, he has a bit of a weakness against Muay Thai fighters, especially in the clinch, but even so he is a very dangerous prospect. It’s a shame to simplify such a good match up to this, but Danze’s brief tonight will be to take Insano down at any cost, there is no point standing and banging with the superior boxer any longer than he needs to and he has this fight won if he can get it to deck.

Most people are expecting Insano to bounce back and instantly demand a shot at the winner of the upcoming McCaw vs Waitzel fight, but this match up does not bode well for Insano at all; Danze by submission.

2: Heavyweight

Iivana Jalo 13-7 (SPNY Debut) vs Viljo Laine 41-20-2 (2-1 SPNY)

A few people I’ve spoken to seem surprised at how much of a fuss I’ve been making over Jalo given he comes to SPNY with a 13-7 record that doesn’t exactly suggest world beater, but if you haven’t seen him fight before expect this match up with Laine to really show his goods. When you match two strikers together reach and power come into the equation far more than in a striker vs grappler match up. Tonight Jalo will enjoy 3 inches of reach which will give him a distinct advantage, add in his ability to outwork opponents across 3 rounds and his 25lbs weight advantage and the powerful punches he has thrown in early fights and I think he has a very good chance of making a statement tonight.

Laine has been a knockout specialist as far back as I can remember, the only issue is that as he has aged he has also become easier to knock out. He has that all or nothing style that makes him so popular with fight fans wanting to see a war, but he has left himself in the position if he doesn’t land one flush early he is likely to be picked apart by the younger fighter tonight.

I like Jalo by KO in the 2nd round.

3: Heavyweight

Jon Snow 15-9 (1-1 SPNY) vs Matt Mattews 9-3 (3-2 SPNY)

Snow may well be regretting taking this fight as I see him outgunned in every aspect. Both fighters prefer submission grappling as their offence, but the younger fighter Mattews is probably the better grappler. Should Snow try to keep it on its feet to avoid Mattews on the ground, I feel Mattews probably shades him in the stand up as well. Snow must control the top position if he is to win this fight as I can’t see him sweeping Mattews given that Mattews is 40lbs heavier and a very strong wrestler.

Mattews to win by TKO.

4: Heavyweight

Jonah Hex 19-11 (0-2 SPNY) vs Hoy Nelson 25-22 (1-7 SPNY)

The matchmakers have given two out of form fighters the chance to show their wares in a match up between two Muay Thai fighters with very different styles. Hex’s height intimidates opponents to come close to cut down his reach advantage only to have him dominate in the clinch. Nelson prefers to strike at range with flashy head kicks, while he probably throws too many to make them as effective as they could be when he lands one flush not many fighters have the constitution to keep going.

I like Hex’s ability to control the position a little too well for Nelson to be able to unleash; Hex by KO.

5: Middleweight

Kenny Monday 24-16-2 (12-7-1 SPNY) vs Kos Pellegrino 20-4 (1-0 SPNY)

In a rematch that really had to happen after Pellegrino’s split decision win at SPNY 145 we will see if either fighter has made the adjustments necessary to dominate this fight. I wonder if the pro-Monday crowd influenced judge Dean Styles whose scorecard indicated he felt Monday didn’t lose a round while both the other judges saw the fight in Pellegrino’s favour. A feeling that he was hard done by and a very good relationship with the fans should see Monday come into this one with plenty of motivation. Pellegrino will know he has to defend the takedown better to win this fight, in the 2nd round of their first meeting he looked unable to compete on the ground, while in the 1st round it was perhaps his ability to make Monday look like he wasn’t causing any damage that won him the fight.

I like Pellegrino by decision, but feel that to really prove himself he needs to start to find a way to finish fights.

6: Featherweight Title

Joaquim Antunes (c) 5-0 (5-0 SPNY) vs Dean Hall 5-4 (4-3 SPNY)

Antunes brutalised Semerkhet over 4 rounds to claim the title but somehow failed to finish the fight, given that Semerkhet only cleanly connected with two strikes all fight many were questioning the decision of the referee to let the fight continue. Should he get this fight to ground he will probably be able to dominate Hall, but he does not want to be caught in a clinch tonight. Antunes has worked hard on his boxing over the last couple of weeks but I don’t see this as the fight he needs to try to keep standing for the first time in his career.

Hall is an unusual fighter given he is a clinch specialist without a Muay Thai or boxing background. His punches aren’t all that accurate and he doesn’t land many but the ones that have landed have had an amazing amount of power. So far in his career however he has really struggled on the ground which suggests that Antunes’ dominant wrestling ability will be the key to this fight. If Hall can force the clinch Antunes will have his chin tested for the first time, but if Hall is taken down the fight is effectively over.

I like Antunes to get Hall into a bad position on the ground and defend his title with a TKO.

7: Middleweight

King Ahkenaton 10-16 (0-2 SPNY) vs Rasheed Willis 13-11-1 (9-9-1 SPNY)

Ahkenaton is a wrestler with good ground & pound and enough boxing talent to be a threat on his feet. Against a submission grappler like Willis I’d prefer to see him keep things standing tonight. Although his record isn’t great he always comes out looking to stop fights by TKO and hopefully that will win him some fans tonight. Willis comes into this fight out of form and out of shape which is truly disappointing given his long term relationship with SPNY fans. Having the crowd on his side is unlikely to make up for his lack of fitness and that should make this a great chance for Ahkenaton to make a statement and prove he is better than his record suggests.

Ahkenaton by KO.

8: Featherweight

Ryan Blankinship 2-1 (2-1 SPNY) vs Jerome Pierre Louis 2-0 (1-0 SPNY)

Blankinship is a boxing convert who has limited defensive abilities and looks nervous in the clinch. That said he has time to develop those skills especially at the low levels he is currently fighting where his strong punching counts for a lot. Louis has shown good submission grappling skills so far, but as he moves up the rankings will need to decide whether he focuses on improving his wrestling to better control the ground positions to set up his submissions or whether he works on overcoming his striking deficiencies. For this fight though, a strong takedown and a quick showing of brown belt vs white belt should be enough.

Louis will simply be too good on the ground; Louis by submission.

9: Featherweight

Joshua Zieg 1-1 (0-1 SPNY) vs Thelonious Skunk 4-3 (4-3 SPNY)

Zieg is an accomplished boxer but was soundly outworked and a little timid in his SPNY debut. He will have to be better tonight to be able to beat the out of form Skunk. Skunk for his part stormed to the vacant Featherweight title only to falter, and since his initial 3-0 streak has gone 1-3. A win tonight is essential for him to steady his faltering confidence. Skunk comes across as the bigger threat with his Muay Thai clinch and ground & pound skills on the ground, but whether or not he can overcome his confidence slump will be the determining factor of this fight.

Skunk is out of sorts, but I don’t think Zieg has the experience to capitalise on it and his lack of versatility will hurt him. Skunk by decision.

10: Featherweight

Tommy Rudabaker 1-2 (0-1 SPNY) vs Arnost Paskalev 1-1 (0-1 SPNY)

On paper Paskalev’s wrestling is better than Rudabaker, but I really like Rudabaker to spring an upset tonight. I was really not impressed with Paskalev’s defence on the ground in his last fight and unless he can catch Rudabaker in a submission I feel as though he will end up mounted and tapping out under Rudabaker’s ground & pound. Paskalev’s takedowns will probably see him on top early, but if he doesn’t get an early finish I think he will be out grappled badly.

Rudabaker by TKO.

 

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