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 GAMMA #382: CUSTER versus VICTORIO SUMMARY written by Furious Styles
MARCH 16, 2014 WOMBLEY ARENA, LONDON
Hello all you crazy but cool kids, I hope all of you are well and are ready for another review of a tremendous GAMMA event that took place on March 16! This is your man on the scene, Furious Styles, and I, along with ninety-three thousand plus MMA fans witnessed a fantastic night of action! So, per my usual, grab some food and a drink, make yourselves comfortable, and let's get down to business!
MAIN EVENT: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – “PREACHER” JESSE CUSTER (16-3) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM versus JONNY “THE ANGEL” VICTORIO (39-16-1) OF THE FINNFIGHTERS
The Main Event brought the intensity and action that it promised to bring as soon as the match was signed! Early in the fight, Custer let it be known that he wanted to take this fight to the ground, and after a failed clinch attempt by Victorio, that's exactly what Custer did. He then quickly looked to use ground-and-pound to slow down and soften Victorio, but Victorio tried to lock Custer into a guillotine! Custer was far too energetic and his defensive skills too sharp.
That didn't deter Victorio from trying to lock in various submissions but Custer was definitely ready for those, plus he eventually worked himself into a full mount position where he began to land effective strikes from there! Victorio was in a bit of trouble but he managed to defend himself enough to make it out of the opening round, but Custer took the points on the score cards.
Custer began the second round with a lot of energy and again, took the fight to the ground where he was able to continue landing ground-and-pound, sporadically landing very effective combos of shots to the body then an elbow to the head right afterward! Even with a referee standup near the end of the round, Custer took it right back to the mat and finished out the round definitively ahead on the score cards.
Round three came and went with very much the same result and after the round finished, Custer knew he had the fight in hand and Victorio knew he had to finish the fight with no other alternative! When the fourth round began, finally managed to lock Custer into the clinch he had tried to cinch from the beginning and in doing so, he was able to land some punches on Custer. Inexplicably, Victorio let go of the clinch and tried to strike at a distance, enabling Custer to again take him to the mat. Victorio tried very diligently to lock in a submission but Custer was always one step ahead and managed to keep Victorio from doing so. Round four finished and moving into the last round, The final round was fought primarily standing up, which was a bit of a surprise since Victorio would be going for the knockout.
However, Custer managed to avoid serious damage, even when in the clinch, and he eventually took the fight to the mat again where the fight finished and he earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY while maintaining his hold on the Light Heavyweight Title! This fight also earned FIGHT OF THE NIGHT honors, so kudos to both warriors!
Custer keeps rolling right along and EXTENDS HIS WIN STREAK TO FIVE IN A ROW! His next challenge occurs on April 12 in the form of Phil Ivey! Victorio, on the other hand, has a FOUR FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED! He has the opportunity to begin a new streak on April 13 when he squares off against Roger Dunowevil!
WINNER: JESSE CUSTER BY WAY OF UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: Custer by Unanimous Decision
Result: Right on the money!
MAIN CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT EVENT: ALFRED “GRANITEN” HAMMARSKJOLD (22-11) OF TEAM OUTKAST versus MIZUSHIMA “GIANT HEAD” MUROI (19-11-1)
Hammarskjold began this clash by landing a clean left hook to Muroi's jaw! Both men smiled and gave a quick high five, displaying their respect and appreciation, which is great to see. That hook woke Muroi up a little because he landed a couple of solid leg kicks, stuffed a sloppy takedown attempt, and tagged Hammarskjold in the stomach with a solid right cross. That cross seemed to sap Hammarskjold's energy and that was the beginning of the end!
Muroi found the range on his kicks and they really hurt Hammarskjold! He buckled him and that seemed to put Hammarskjold off of his game. Muroi then locked in a tight clinch and went to work on Hammarskjold, landing solid punches and cutting Hammarskjold above the left eye with a sharp, stinging right hook! After more strikes, along with some timely defense from Hammarskjold, Muroi broke the clinch and dropped Hammarskjold with a crushing one-two punch combination! Hammarskjold was dazed and his cut worsened, but Muroi let him stand back up so he could go for the knockout! Muroi waited for his moment and took advantage when Hammarskjold lost focus for a moment, and Muroi again blasted him with a nasty right hook that floored Hammarskjold! The referee jumped in and that stoppage gave Muroi the KNOCKOUT VICTORY! He also earned KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT honors, so well done Muroi!
Muroi pushes his WIN STREAK TO TWO IN A ROW and has time to revel in this victory until his next opponent is announced! Hammarskjold has his TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED so he'll have to work on getting back into the winning groove against his next opponent, once that opponent is determined!
WINNER: MIZUSHIMA MUROI BY KO (PUNCH) IN THE 1ST ROUND
Furious Styles' Prediction: Muroi by KO (Punch) in the 2nd round
Result: Correct winner and method of winning; incorrect round
MAIN CARD LIGHTWEIGHT EVENT: “MAMBO” MR. BLACK (42-21-1) OF THE CAVEMEN ASSASSINS CULT versus JESSE “BUGMAN” WOLFE (25-12) OF THE CHILDREN OF THE LAW OF ONE
The opening round of this battle was a back-and-forth standup war that the crowd ate up and asked for more! Both fighters displayed excellent striking, very sound defense, and a great deal of determination. Black began with chopping away at Wolfe's legs with solid leg kicks that Wolfe definitely felt when they landed. Black was also accurate with some of his punches while showing great movement and agility with his bobbing and weaving. Wolfe seemed to settle in as the round progressed, however, and he began to land timely punches, especially body shots.
Black contributed to slowing himself down by failing with takedowns as well as missing with some combinations. Both fighters left themselves open to textbook counter strikes but it seemed that Wolfe evened things up when Black locked in a clinch near the end of the round but Wolfe was the one to land more clean punches while clinched.
The second round began very well for Black as he landed solid leg kicks, wobbling Wolfe's legs with them, and showing his boxing skills with very accurate punches to Wolfe's face! Wolfe would counter with strong punches of his own and that began to sway the fight as the round progressed. However, I could tell that Wolfe felt the standup fight wasn't getting him anywhere fast, so he took the fight to the ground. Black tried very hard and consistently to lock in a submission but Wolfe looked very comfortable. This continued to be the pattern until the horn sounded to end the round. Both corners urged their respective fighters to step up the pace and if there's an opening, go for the finish! Both fighters kept the fight standing for the majority of the last round, testing the other man's heart with a toe-to-toe affair. Neither man really gained much of an upper hand so it was Wolfe who once again changed the focus of the fight and took it to the ground.
Black attempted more submissions but it was all for naught and the fight finished with Wolfe firmly in control. Once all was said and done it was Wolfe who was awarded the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Wolfe extended his WIN STREAK TO THREE WINS IN A ROW and will next step into the cage to battle against Karl de Groot for the Lightweight Championship! Black had his TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK SNAPPED and has a chance to get back into the winning side of things against the man with two first names, Larry David!
WINNER: JESSE WOLFE BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: Black by Submission in the 3rd round
Result: Waaaaaaay off!
UNDER CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT: TIM “GUNNER” SIN (18-10) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM versus “TURK” JOHNNY BRIT (27-17)
All right, this fight is easy to summarize: Left cross, Brit gets cut above his right eye, that pisses him off, and in return he levels Sin with a brutal right cross that drops Sin! Brit jumps on him like he stole some money and the referee jumps in to save Sin. End of story! Any questions? I thought not. Brit wins by TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT and shakes off a recent loss to TJ Cummings.
Brit battles Lan Mandragoran on April 13 and I can pretty much assure all of you that fight will last longer than eight seconds! Sin has a TWO FIGHT WIN STREAK HALTED and will definitely hear and read about this loss amongst people and social media. Hey, it goes with the territory.
WINNER: JOHNNY BRIT BY TKO (PUNCHES) IN ROUND 1
Furious Styles' Prediction: Brit by KO (Punch) in the 1st round
Result: Correct winner, correct round; incorrect method of winning (but darn close!)
UNDER CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST
“Big” Duncan McAlister (29-22-2) of the LEGION OF DOOM versus “The Body” Jim Janos (22-11-1) of Cavemen Assassins Cult
McAlister started off very well but in rounds two and three, Janos took control and finished strong, enabling him to pick up the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Janos has now WON THREE FIGHTS IN A ROW and next faces Luke Kilpatrick on April 12! McAlister DROPS HIS SECOND IN A ROW so he'll look to break out of his recent funk against Jesse Venturia on April 12!
WINNER: JANOS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: McAlister by TKO (Strikes) in the 3rd round
Result: Not even close!
UNDER CARD MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTEST
Ravi “The Midlands Mauler” Singh (13-8) of Evolution Fight Clan versus “The Hammer” Semmy Kasteel of The Corporation
Kasteel dominated this fight from start to finish, making it very easy for the judges to rewards him the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Kasteel stretches his WIN STREAK TO TWO IN A ROW! Singh finds himself on the wrong side of the Win/Loss column so look for him to turn that around against his next opponent!
WINNER: SEMMY KASTEEL BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: Singh by Submission in the 2nd round
Result: Swing...and a miss!
UNDER CARD MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTEST
“The Fighting Flat Top” Josip Ruzic (38-16-2) of The Legion of Pain versus Juan “Punch” Tamad (14-9-1) of Fighters First Alliance
Ruzic was all business in this fight, taking it the the ground quickly, locking in an excruciating armbar, and forced Tamad to tap out! Ruzic SNAPPED, - no pun intended - A FOUR FIGHT LOSING STREAK and in the process, he earned SUB OF THE NIGHT honors! Tamad falls back into the losing side of life and wants to get that turned around as quickly as possible!
WINNER: RUZIC BY SUBMISSION (ARMBAR) IN ROUND 1
Furious Styles' Prediction: Ruzic by Unanimous Decision
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner of winning
UNDER CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST
“The Fish Out of Water” Marco Polo (13-12) of the Legion Of Doom and Jesse Venturia (30-26)
Venturia punched Polo so hard that I think he knocked Polo back INTO the water! This brutal knockout gave Venturia the KNOCKOUT VICTORY and pushed his WIN STREAK TO TWO IN A ROW! Duncan McAlister will be his next opponent on April 12. THREE LOSSES IN A ROW is what Polo must deal with! Being knocked out in a matter of twenty-three seconds? That's another story in itself!
WINNER: JESSE VENTURIA BY KO (PUNCH) IN ROUND 1
Furious Styles' Prediction: Polo by Submission (Strikes) in the 2nd round
Result: Forget about it!
UNDER CARD LIGHTWEIGHT CONTEST
“WJ” William Joseph (25-12) of Public Enemy versus “Mr. Main Event” Max Power (37-23-2) of the Legion of Doom
Power easily won the first and third round of this fight, but Joseph made a fight of it in the second. Still, it was easy for the judges to reward Power the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY! Power returns to the win column after this victory and on April 13, he will face Sam Shield! Joseph returns to the loss column and doesn't want to stay there long. He has his chance to right the ship on April 19 versus Takanori Gomi!
WINNER: MAX POWER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: Power by Unanimous Decision
Result: 'Bout time I got one right!
UNDER CARD FEATHERWEIGHT CONTEST
“Los Extranjeros Ilegales” Tico Cortez (18-10-1) of the Legion of Doom versus Daiju Kikuchi (9-4)
These two warriors went at it head-to-head and the crowd went wild, especially since it was the last battle of the evening! Kikuchi locked Cortez into a clinch and both men landed some painful, bone-crunching strikes! Cortez cut Kikuchi open on the bridge of his nose with a seriously nasty right knee that should have floored Kikuchi, but he took it very well! Kikuchi gathered himself and rocked Cortez's world with a vicious left uppercut!
After a bit of a struggle between the two, Kikuchi managed to free his right hand and he absolutely leveled Cortez with a thunderous right uppercut! Cortez fell to his knees and Kikuchi was all over him, forcing the referee to step in. Kikuchi earned the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY and was elated in doing so! Cortez has DROPPED TWO IN A ROW and I'm certain he'll discuss possible training changes with his management team! Kikuchi ERASED A TWO FIGHT LOSING STREAK an will battle Ron Sieler on April 12!
WINNER: KIKUCHI BY TKO (STRIKES) IN ROUND 1
Furious Styles' Prediction: Kikuchi by Unanimous Decision
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner of victory
All right good people, that's my time. Thank you again for joining me for this summary of GAMMA #381: Custer versus Victorio! I greatly appreciate everyone who takes the time to review the fights with me and please be on the lookout for the GAMMA #383 Preview, written by yours truly. I hope you enjoyed the action as much as I. Be well, take care...and I'll see you at the fights!
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