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 GAMMA #383: WILLIAMS versus McGINLEY SUMMARY
MARCH 23, 2014 LOS ANGELES COLISEUM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
What's crackin' everyone!? I hope all of you are well and you each enjoyed the tremendous night of action you witnessed! This is Furious Styles on the scene in Los Angeles as the events of GAMMA #383 have concluded and everyone is catching their breath while discussing what they witnessed. So without further ado, grab your favorite drink, a hefty snack, jump on your smartphone, laptop, tablet, or what have you...and let's get down to business!
MAIN CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT EVENT: SIMON WILLIAMS (34-8-1) OF CONVICTED INC. versus ANDERSON McGINLEY (18-5) FOR THE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
The night of fights started off with a bang and no one had any complaints about that at all, well except perhaps the brave gamblers who put their money on the wrong fighter of course! This battle between a well-established veteran in the ring and a fighter who has climbed the ladder of success quite well is a battle that many will speak about for a long time! I have no doubt Williams' fellow Convicted Inc. members congratulated him on an excellent fight against a troublesome opponent. After a quick kick and jab from McGinley, Williams took this fight to the ground and that's where it stayed, much to the dismay of McGinley. With his height advantage and storied chin, he wanted to keep the toe-to-toe situation as long as possible, but Williams was far too determined and skilled to keep at bay!
Williams was able to control the action well enough to land some effective ground-and-pound, even tagging McGinley with a brutal left elbow and a vicious right swinging punch, but McGinley was able to absorb the damage and hang in there! The half guard allowed Williams to maintain solid positioning and prevent McGinley from escaping or standing. McGinley got what he wanted in the second round but Williams dominated him, especially when landing hard punches and kicks to McGinley's body that slowed him way down, sapped his energy, and left him a far easier target! Williams was able to use great footwork and body movement to avoid serious damage from McGinley while outboxing him.
Williams blasted McGinley with a right hook that shocked McGinley and opened up a cut above his left eye! That seemed to dishearten McGinley and Williams stepped up the pressure! Mixing up the body and head shots, Williams had McGinley completely off balance and McGinley, fatigued, made the mistake of relaxing a bit too much. Williams tagged him with a right hook that further opened up that cut plus really hurt McGinley! McGinley lost focus for a moment and that was all Williams needed to level McGinley with a crushing right cross to the same area of the temple that made McGinley crumble to the mat like a sack of potatoes! Williams won the fight by KNOCKOUT, retained a hold of the Super Heavyweight title, and told McGinley that despite their age difference and his considering retiring, McGinley wasn't in his league! His knockout was also the KO of the Night!
WINNER: WILLIAMS BY KO (PUNCH) IN ROUND 2
Furious Styles' Prediction: Williams by KO (Punch) in Round 2
Result: Right on the money baby!
MAIN CARD SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT EVENT: TJ CUMMINGS (32-20) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM versus “KNIGHT ERRANT” SELLUS GRAVIUS (18-6) OF THE LEGION OF PAIN
Cummings is a veteran of many, many fights in the MMA world and has defeated some very good fighters, no doubt. However, in this battle, he was giving up quite a size advantage with both height and weight, and that proved to be too much to handle once all was said and done. The only way I saw Cummings winning this fight is if he was able to stick and move the entire time and wear Gravius out.
Cummings did his best to do exactly that but he wasn't able to land any strikes due to Gravius' defensive ability plus his long limbs kept Cummings off balance. Even worse for Cummings, he absorbed an accidental knee to the groin! Gravius apologized and obviously felt bad, but Cummings used all five minutes to collect himself while every man in attendance groaned and held themselves in understanding. Once the fight resumed, Gravius was all business! His boxing ability really befuddled Cummings and hurt him badly. A counter left-hook opened a cut above Cummings' right eye and that seemed to distract the veteran. Cummings was able to land a few clean punches and kicks but they didn't phase Gravius at all, and Gravius not only landed very effective punching combinations, but two solid head kicks, knocking Cummings down with the first, further opened up the cut on Cummings, even when he partially blocked the second one!
Gravius later locked Cummings into a clinch and he further opened up that cut with a short but crunching right cross then later with a stinging left hook! Cummings was in serious trouble and he knew it. He managed to hold on until the end of the round but was definitely struggling to regain his senses. The second round was target practice for Gravius! After punishing Cummings with a savage left leg kick, Gravius dropped him with a surprisingly quick one-two-three punching combo that took Cummings by surprise! Down he went but Gravius let him stand up again. Cummings showed heart and tried to fight back, but a booming right uppercut dashed any comeback hopes, knocking Cummings out and mercifully ending the beating! That KNOCKOUT VICTORY earned Fight of the Night honors!
WINNER: GRAVIUS BY KO (PUNCH) IN ROUND 2
Furious Styles' Prediction: Gravius by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner and round (at least I got something right!)
MAIN CARD LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT MATCH: ADIS DJURDJEVIC (21-11-2) versus “AK-47” KALESH NIKOV (23-13) OF THE LEGION OF PAIN
Fights between two very good veterans are always of great interest because a lot of strategy goes into these types of fights! Each of these proven warriors knew that one mistake could cost them because their opponent knew how to capitalize on each opportunity. However, holding back too much would cost them points on the score cards and that could prove detrimental as well.
Nikov knew that Djurdjevic was a very highly skilled fighter but that didn't deter Nikov from formulating an excellent fight plan that he executed beautifully! A lot of credit goes to Djurdjevic because as usual, he put on one hell of a fight and he made Nikov earn every single bit of success he had during this battle. Djurdjevic came out swinging and Nikov knew he had to get the fight to the ground to have any measure of success! Djurdjevic popped Nikov a good one with a very solid left cross that cut Nikov above his right eye! This seemed to inspire Nikov to get the fight the ground as soon as he possibly could because that's exactly what he did.
Both men struggled to gain any control or land any damaging blows while on the ground, but Nikov was able to maneuver himself enough to land some ground-and-pound strikes that scored the vital points on the judges' cards. Heading into Round 2, Djurdjevic wasn't able to take full advantage of the fight while it was standing, and inexplicably let go of a clinch after he prevented a takedown. That breaking of the clinch, in my opinion, lost him the second round, because while clinched, Djurdjevic was doing very well for himself by landing punches to the head and body of Nikov.
He decided to relinquish the clinch and took the fight to the ground where both warriors again struggled to gain any real advantage over the opponent! Nikov was the busier fighter and his submission attempts swayed the judges to award him the points for that round. Nikov was a house of fire when the third round began and he simply overwhelmed Djurdjevic! After taking him to the ground, Nikov very aggressively positioned himself to land some punishing ground-and-pound on Djurdjevic! It was simply too much for Djurdjevic and he couldn't prevent the damage from being done! Nikov dropped one seriously nasty bomb of a right elbow and turned the lights out on Djurdjevic! That earned him the KNOCKOUT VICTORY and the adulation of the crowd!
WINNER: NIKOV BY KO (STRIKES) IN ROUND 3
Furious Styles' Prediction: Nikov by Unanimous Decision
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner of winning (I'm glad I don't gamble much)
MAIN EVENT FEATHERWEIGHT UNDERCARD MATCH: “THE WHORESON” LIK ALOTADIK (14-4-1) versus SUN “SOLDIER REBORN” RA (31-18-1) OF GRABTHE.INFO
In a nutshell, this fight turned out to be a clinch war because both of these fighters are very good Muay Thai practitioners! Many in attendance expected Ra to be able to manipulate Alotadik with his battle experience, but Alotadik's energy and determination were the deciding factors in this fight. After Ra was able to slice a cut open above Alotadik's right eye with a quick left elbow, Alotadik turned up the pressure, especially in the clinch. This fight went to the ground early but didn't stay there long because both of these fighters wanted to outdo the other in the standup game. Alotadik's constant pressure and aggression caused the judges to give him the points on the cards and thus, Alotadik won this contest by UNANIMOUS DECISION!
WINNER: ALOTADIK BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Furious Styles' Prediction: Alotadik by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner of winning (Did I mention it's difficult for me to guess the outcome of these fights?)
UNDER CARD FEATHERWEIGHT MATCH: KEAST KANN (31-26-1) versus “THE KING” DANIEL MOREIRA (20-12-1) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM
As expected, this battle went to the ground early and it was won on the ground! Both of these men let it be known that they wanted to make the opponent quit or get knocked out at their own game, and that was the ground game. Both warriors had their opportunities to end the fight by way of submission, but both of them are too skilled to be locked in submissions easily. Kann reverted to the reliable ground-and-pound attack and was able to finish the fight with a TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT VICTORY in the second round!
WINNER: Kann by TKO (STRIKES) in Round 2
Furious Styles' Prediction: Kann by TKO (Strikes) in Round 2
Result: Well lookie here, I got another one right on the bullseye!
UNDER CARD MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH: GLENN CARSON (26-14-1) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM versus CHARLIE “DARKNESS” MURPHY (14-8) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM
Murphy did his best to keep this fight standing and he even popped Carson with a nice right head kick that opened up a cut on the bridge of Carson's nose, but Carson was determined to get this fight on the ground and he was able to do execute that plan of attack!
However, Murphy and his outstanding defense caused the referee to stand both fighters twice in the opening round and Murphy also prevented Carson from causing much damage to him, frustrating Carson just a bit. However, Carson relied upon his experience and kept a level head despite the judges seeing Murphy as the dominant fighter in the opening round.
Carson would not be denied though, and after locking in a clinch, he took the fight to the ground where his red belt capabilities allowed him to lock Murphy in an excruciating Triangle Choke that was too much for Murphy! Carson earned the SUBMISSION VICTORY and was very appreciative of the crowd's reaction as well.
WINNER: Carson by Submission (Triangle Choke) in Round 2
Furious Styles' Prediction: Murphy by TKO (Head Kick) in Round 2
Result: Correct winner and round; incorrect method of victory (2 out of 3 ain't bad!)
UNDER CARD WELTERWEIGHT MATCH: MAREK KOLTUN (10-6) OF THE POLISH EAGLES' NEST versus “SUPERFLY” JIMMY SNUKA (18-7) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM
This fight was all Snuka from start to finish! There was even a point in time when Koltun took this fight to the ground and he was lucky that the fight wasn't ended right then and there! Snuka's technique and desire simply overmatched Koltun and Snuka proved to be too much for him to handle. Snuka cinched in the Guillotine and finished the fight in the third round! Snuka's SUBMISSION VICTORY also earned him Submission of the Night honors!
WINNER: Snuka by Submission (Guillotine) in Round 3
Furious Styles' Prediction: Snuka by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1
Result: Correct winner; incorrect round and method of victory (Doh!)
UNDER CARD FLYWEIGHT EVENT: “TERRIBLE” TYRONE TORNADO CPW (26-11-1) OF GRABTHE.INFO versus HONG KONG PHOOEY (21-15-1) OF GRABTHE.INFO
These two combatants gave the crowd a very exciting stand up war that the crowd ate up and asked for more! Excellent boxing, Muay Thai, defense, footwork...you name it and they showed it. Problem for Phooey was, CPW showed it much better than he did on all the judges' cards. CPW definitely earned the UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY in this fight!
WINNER: CPW by Unanimous Decision
Furious Styles' Prediction: Phooey by KO (Punch) in Round 2
Result: Not even close!
UNDER CARD LIGHTWEIGHT EVENT: SHO “TOSHINDEN” SHINJO (22-15-2) versus SAM “FIDEITO” STOUT (30-26) OF VALHALLA
Shinjo set the tone of this fight early by cutting Stout over his left eye with a right kick despite Stout partially blocking it! Shinjo kept up a high energy output throughout the fight and Stout's only good moment was a shocking left head kick that dropped Shinjo as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer! Stout thought Shinjo may not be able to beat the count but he managed to get back up, much to the chagrin of Stout, and Shinjo finished the fight strongly, earning the UNANIMOUS DECISION victory!
WINNER: Shinjo by Unanimous Decision
Furious Styles' Prediction: Shinjo by Submission in Round 3
Result: Correct winner; incorrect manner of victory (Is it time for me to go yet?)
UNDER CARD LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT MATCH: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (17-14) OF ACME – ST. PETERSBURG versus “THE PURPLE STRIPE” PIERRE TRUDEAU (22-10-1) OF THE LEGION OF DOOM
After Beefheart cut Trudeau above his left eye with a nasty right elbow, Trudeau locked in and dominated the rest of the fight! Trudeau wouldn't let Beefheart have any breathing room and he wore him down as the fight progressed. Trudeau saw the opening he was looking for and pummeled Beefheart with a series of hooks that Beefheart just couldn't stop. As a result, Beefheart ate canvas and the referee stopped the fight, awarding Trudeau the TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT victory!
WINNER: Trudeau by way of TKO (PUNCHES) in Round 3
Furious Styles' Prediction: Trudeau by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1
Result: Correct fighter; incorrect method and round (I need to get this turned around by the time I make my next round of predictions. Sheesh!)
Okay good folks, once again the time has come for me to end this summary so I can get moving on to the next venue. Thank you very much for joining me and I do appreciate all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to review the action with me. I hope all of you have a great week and keep your eyes open for another preview in the very near future. Take care, be well...and I'll see you at the fights!
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