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Live from Hayashi's Lounge in Rio de Janeiro Brazil Barbarian Fight Club is proud to bring you the Welterweight Title Tournament opening round. Sponsored by MANGO who brings you the very best in one fifty eight supplements. I feel we should have saved the best for last, as this is the tournament I am most looking forward to. So many stars will be shining bright we may not need lighting. Your tournament competitors will be Andokuhle Congo, Dustin Clare, my favorite Christopher Newton, and the favored to win the whole thing Chiamaka Congo. We are not stopping there with the welterweight showcase though as also in action tonight will be Pedro Marcelo against Rodrigo Ribeiro and two tournament hopefuls who just missed the cut Rajesh Koothrappali taking on TWGC Champion Jared Gracie. There will be a plethora of other fights also taking place as Pedro Fernandes made sure this would be a night not forgotten.
Preliminary Bout Number 1- Heavyweight Fight (265lbs)
Paulo "Paulinho" Vieira (1-2) {0-2} versus Junior "Massacre" Lima (0-4) {0-1}
Both of these heavyweights are on serious losing streaks. Vieira has dropped both of his fights since joining Barbarian Fight Club. He has been losing to fighters that have a more evolved striking game and Vieira was unable to get them to the ground. Lima is having the opposite problem as he has lost half of his fights to ground fighters. Lima does have a strong stand up game so he will obviously want to keep this fight up and coax Vieira into a punching war. Vieira is not terrible on his feet but he is a lot better on the ground than Lima, so he will want to get the take down. This is a tossup but I think Lima gets the win in this one by TKO in the first round.
Preliminary Bout Number 2- Middleweight Fight (185lbs)
Jack "Crazy" Taylor (0-0) {0-0} versus Paul "Gorilla" Silva (0-2) {0-1}
Taylor is making his professional fighting debut right here in Barbarian Fight Club. The word on the street is that he is a good grappler and I know he has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His opponent is a boxer so he will obviously want to get this fight to the ground quickly and look for the submission. Silva has lost all of his fights since turning pro and I am sure he wants to turn it around, but he may have bit off more than he can chew. He is going to need to be ultra-defensive against takedowns as I am not sure he will be able to get off the ground once Taylor gets him down. Silva does have an amazing stand up base and could end up having a tremendous career if he can get a ground game to match. I think Jack Taylor gets him to the ground and submits him in the first round.
Preliminary Bout Number 3- Bantamweight Fight (135lbs)
Tiago "Sensi" Andre (1-2) {1-1} versus Keijiro "Maeda" Junior (0-1) {0-0}
Andre won his first fight in Barbarian Fight Club with a knockout in under a minute, but then he lost his next fight by submission. The track record says good on the feet bad on the ground and that is exactly what his opponent book says. So this will be a standup war and the question becomes will it be at range or in the clinch. Junior will be happy to see another standup fighter as his opponent since in his only fight he was submitted in under a minute. I think if Junior can gain the upper hand in the clinch he could make short work of Andre but Andre will be looking for head kicks so Junior will need to be very careful. I think Andre does fire off a few head kicks and lands one or two for a first round knockout.
Preliminary Bout Number 4- Light Heavyweight Fight (205lbs)
Noob Saibot (1-0) {1-0} versus Vaan "The Fliying Man" Birdwing (2-1) {1-1}
Sailbot showed off his striking skills in and out of the clinch. He also showed us how agile he was dodging and ducking most of the strikes of his opponent. He was unable to finish but the nineteen year old has plenty of time to adjust and improve his game and gear his self towards becoming a finisher. Birdwing is a finisher and he loves the head kicks. In his Barbarian Fight Club debut Birdwing was able to land an amazing head kick knockout in just forty nine seconds winning the fight and knockout of the night award. If Sailbot can avoid the head kicks he will dismantle Birdwing, and Birdwing will want to keep Sailbot far enough away that he can land one of those devastating kicks. From what I have seen from Sailbot I think he will be able to avoid most of the strikes of Birdwing and win this fight by decision.
Preliminary Bout Number 5- Super Heavyweight Fight (265+)
Antonio "Monster" Santos (2-1) {0-0} versus Enzo Tabare "Yoru" Ortiz Silva (2-1) {0-1}
Santos will be making his debut in Barbarian Fight Club I am looking forward to seeing this very large submission specialist. He is two and one and he picked up both of his wins via submission in the first round. He could become a real threat in the super heavyweight division but he will need to get past Silva first. Silva is pretty well rounded fighter but he loves to stand and bang for the most part. His two wins came by knockout with one knockout by head kick and the other by strikes. Even though he does have a ground game he will want to stay away from the mat with the dangerous brown belt Santos. The question is going to be can Santos’s chin hold up long enough for him to get the fight to the ground. I think so as I am picking Santos to win by submission in the first round.
Main Card Bout Number 1- Welterweight Fight (170lbs)
Pedro "The Magician " Marcelo (1-0) {1-0} versus Rodrigo "Brazilian Sensation " Ribeiro (1-3) {0-3}
This will be the first of four welterweight fights tonight and we are inching ever closer to the big double main event. Marcelo and Ribeiro have already fought once and it ended with a unanimous decision win for Marcelo. Marcelo wants to repeat the process from their first fight and get a big win. Ribeiro cannot catch a break to save his life. He has lost all three of his fights in Barbarian Fight Club and he needs to turn it around or is next stop could be unemployment. Unfortunately for Ribeiro Marcelo is better at every aspect of the fight game so Ribeiro is going to need to dig deep and find a way to beat Marcelo. I think Marcelo will win the fight again by decision and Ribeiro will need to rethink his training.
Main Card Bout Number 2- Lightweight Fight (155lbs)
Kevin "Matanza" Dutra (2-0) {1-0} versus Antonio "The Alligator " Gracie (2-0) {1-0}
Dutra is a wrestler with an undefeated record who has out wrestled all of his opponents and won both of his fights by decision. He is very good at point grappling but it seems that he has no stopping power and I don’t see him being able to finish any fights any time soon. Gracie is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he is always looking for a chance to wrap up his opponents and get a submission win. He has one win already by submission and if Dutra looks for the takedown he could have two when the night is over. Dutra will not be able to stand with Gracie as well so it looks like a lose lose situation for Dutra. I am going to pick Gracie to win by submission in the second round.
Main Card Bout Number 3- Welterweight Fight (170lbs)
Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali (2-1-1) {2-1-1} versus Jared Gracie (5-2) {0-2}
Rajesh is going to be really bummed if Newton wins the welterweight title as seems he cannot beat him. Raj is a wrestler and submission specialist which could play into his opponent’s advantage. Raj loves to take the fight to the ground quickly and throw submission after submission at his opponents until they submit. Gracie will be happy to go to the ground with Raj as he is a grappling specialist as well. Gracie will need to win this fight as he came to Barbarian Fight Club with an unblemished record but he has lost both fights since signing the contract with Barbarian Fight Club. Gracie has been working feverishly on his stand up but I don’t think it is refined enough to try and keep the fight standing and I think he will crumble to Koothrappali’s aggressive style. I got Raj winning in the second round by submission.
Co Main Event Main Card Bout Number 4- Welterweight Title Tournament Fight (170lbs)
Andokuhle "Pumba" Congo (3-0) {2-0} versus Christopher "The Wolf" Newton (2-0-1) {2-0-1}
Congo has been running through everyone he has faced so far in his career. He is a clinch expert and loves to use his massive arms to wrap up his opponent and then he starts putting his fist to their head. In his three fights he has been in the cage for less than five minutes and his last two fights both ended in less than one minute. He will have an advantage in the striking over Newton so obviously he will want to keep it standing. Newton is one of the most intelligent fighters I have had the privilege to write about. He is the clear underdog in this fight, but most people do not take into consideration intelligence. Newton said in an interview he will clinch if he cannot get the takedown and that is Congo’s bread and butter, could that be mind games and a survive or has he been working on his clinch work and knows he can score the takedown from there? That is a question we will not find out until the fight starts. I am sure most betting people will be putting their money on Congo, but mine is going on Newton. Newton might be the biggest underdog in the tournament but I am picking him to win the whole thing. I got him winning this fight late in the second round by submission after Congo gets too tired.
Main Event Main Card Bout Number 5- Welterweight Title Tournament Fight (170lbs)
Dustin "Gannicus" Clare (5-1) {2-1} versus Chiamaka "Vuvuzela" Congo (8-0) {2-0}
I always thought of Dustin Clare to be solid fighter, but he propelled himself into the spotlight after defeating Jared Gracie. With fame and fortune come bigger and better opponents like the Congo’s. Clare is the only fighter in this tournament coming in after a loss, since he was defeated by Chiamaka Congo in both of their last fights. Clare was unable to get a takedown and he couldn’t handle the clinch of Congo’s. Everyone should know I am a big fan of Vuvuzela as we spent time together in Helsinki. He might have the best clinch in all of Barbarian Fight Club. His clinch has taken him to an eight and zero record with a two and zero record in Barbarian Fight Club and I think he extends those to nine and zero and three and zero when this one ends in the first round by knockout.
As I said this is an amazing event and it is really showcasing the welterweight division here in Barbarian Fight Club. I feel the welterweight division is the most exciting division in Barbarian Fight Club and this tournament will bring a lot more fans to BFC. I cannot wait till tomorrow night to see exactly what goes down and I will be wearing my Christopher “The Wolf” Newton tee shirt. I will see you all there!
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