|
 FFC 4: Step Up is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by Fortitude FC on May 31, 2014 at Hayashi's Lounge in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(Background)
Fortitude FC is proud to bring you another exciting line-up of fighters. With five former world champions and several old flaming rivalries rekindled, this is one MMA show that you won't want to miss!
In the main event, lightning will strike and thunder will be heard as Diego Sanchez clashes with supreme knockout afficionado Xavier Barbossa.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event, an old fiery rivalry will be rekindled as Andrzej Sternik faces off against the man that ended his KOMMA championship run, Grey Wolf. Both men are hard hitting brawlers so this fight is sure to produce fireworks.
(The Action)
-[Light-heavyweight bout ]: Jaye Wong (1-6) versus Steven Davies (1-0)
-[Preview ]: There is no polite way to say this so I'm going to be blunt: Jaye Wong is an unintentional jobber. He is a victim of poor skill point placement and an even poorer roll of the dice when it comes to hidden traits. A tour of his attempted techniques thrown shows that he is all over the board with his attacks: he punches, kicks, wrestles, etc. This sounds good in theory but when you're at a lower level, more skill points in fewer skills is always the best option. Make yourself dominant in one field and focus on that before moving onto other skills.
Steven Davies is a pure boxer. Unfortunately for him, he really doesn't seem to have much in the way of knockout power and hasn't been trained well enough to compensate for it. At the age of 18, there isn't a lot that he knows how to do yet.
-[Prediction ]: This is going to be an ugly fight that goes the distance. I actually give the edge to Jaye Wong if he will go for the takedown and do everything in his power to keep Davies on the ground. He could even feasibly score a submission here.
-[Bantamweight bout]: Renan Barao (1-1) versus Somulo Mafra (0-2)
-[Preview]: Renan Barao, unlike his real life namesake, started fighting at 25 and is focused almost entirely on his Jiu-Jitsu skills. His takedowns are just good enough to get an unprepared opponent to the ground. However, his overall wrestling is found to be wanting. When I see a fighter designed like Somulo Mafra I assume that he is a clinch fighter with a side of boxing for defense. In this instance, however, he appears to be a pure wrestler that has boxing for defense with no Jiu-Jitsu to keep him afloat on the ground. If he wants to take Barao down, I'm sure that Barao will be more than happy to oblige him. Seriously though, Mafra, remake this fighter as a pure clinch/takedown defense/boxer and you will fare much better, bud.
-[Prediction]: No matter who goes for the takedown, this fight will take place on the ground with Renan Barao scoring his second straight submission victory. Probably in the first round.
-[Light-heavyweight bout]: Ryoto Machida (6-8-1) versus Banjo Sanjo (2-0)
-[Preview]: What we have here is an experienced veteran meeting a young up-and-comer. This is a great fight for Ryoto Machida because if he can keep this fight on the feet long enough, he can start to comfortably drop bombs and put the undefeated streak of Banjo Sanjo to sleep before it can really take off.
Ryoto is extremely well rounded with his chief focus being on his boxing and his wrestling. He may not be a world beater when it comes to his knockout power but I believe he has more than enough thunder in his hands to finish this one.
Banjo Sanjo is your cookie cutter 25-year-old Jiu-Jitsu fighter. In order for one of these to be effective, he will need to spread himself rather thinly and leave a lot of holes in his game. Even if he takes Machida down, I don't see him keeping it there long enough to do anything with it.
-[Prediction]: I think we will be hearing the commentators saying something along the lines of, “That's three failed takedown attempts in a row. That's going to take a lot out of Sanjo”. I do believe that Sanjo will hang in there and maybe score with some wrestling briefly but I think Machida will gas him out and put on a striking clinic. Machida via Unanimous Decision 29-28.
-[Bantamweight bout]: Tadeusz Ostrowski (3-0) versus Tom Jarvis (0-1)
-[Preview]: Tadeusz Ostrowski is an exciting prospect with a perfect 3-0 record comprised of all submission victories. Tad, as I will henceforth refer to him, really seems to be improving which is a huge statement when you start your career at the ripe age of 25. His boxing is coming along nicely and although it is still in its infancy, he may be able to score a knockout in this fight. Tom Jarvis struggled when he faced a tough Muay Thai prospect in his professional debut. If you were going to design an ideal opponent for Tom Jarvis, it would be another grappler that will take him down and test him on the ground. Tad may be that guy but don't be surprised if this one is decided on the feet instead.
-[Prediction]: Tad takes this hands down. He has the superior wrestling and he has a very slight edge in pure boxing as well. Tom Jarvis has dipped into Muay Thai, don't get me wrong, but he spread all of his eggs into multiple baskets upon creation if you will. Tad focused chiefly on his grappling upon creation and is now working his boxing in an effort to improve and keep his winning streak alive. Expect Tad to win this fight and continue his reign of terror.
-[Heavyweight bout]: Roger Howlingate (9-10) versus Bork Laser (1-2)
-[Preview]: Roger Howlingate is a veteran of many leagues. He has competed in BFC and KOMMA. He always seems to be the bridesmaid, just one win away from wearing championship gold. On the feet, he is a very aggressive striker. On the ground he actively advances position and struggles to get free. His one real weakness seems to be against the cage in the clinch. (Un?)luckily for him, he is facing a pure Jiu-Jitsu stylist in Bork Laser. Bork's singular focus in life is to choke the necks and contort the limbs of opponents to make them submit to his will.
-[Prediction]: Unfortunately for Bork, he is facing a heavy handed brawler that isn't completely unfortunate in the field of wrestling. I think Howlingate gets a big knockout win here.
-[Light-heavyweight bout]: Steve Orvel (7-6) versus Henrique Tavares (1-0)
-[Preview]: Steve Orvel is an experienced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler that enjoys a healthy advantage over most of his opponents. He is a stranger to the judge's decision table because almost all of his fights end in some form of stoppage for or against him. Meanwhile, Henrique Tavares is a virtual newcomer to the sport with only one fight under his proverbial belt. One thing that we got to see in the debut performance of Tavares is that he has an incredible amount of heart and is difficult to stop. He got absolutely rocked silly against a dude with vastly superior boxing and he managed to turn it around and actually knock out his opponent instead.
-[Prediction]: This fight is Henrique's to lose. This is an opportunity to make a big statement and say, “I'm here and I'm a threat in the light-heavyweight division”. I think that Henrique's defensive wrestling will be more than enough to keep Orvel at bay and I think the heavy hands of Henrique Tavares will end this fight in the second or third round when Orvel's gas tank begins to dwindle.
-[Heavyweight bout]: Daemon Targaryen (6-0) versus Valentin Ralek (6-0)
-[Preview]: This is a very intriguing match-up between two fighters that got started late in the game and are both premier strikers. With Daemon Targaryen you have a pure heavy-handed boxing stylist and he is facing a hard nosed kickboxer in Valentin Ralek. On paper you have to give this fight to Daemon Targaryen for having the superior boxing. Both men love to throw leather and look for the knockout. If I were in Valentin's corner I would be focusing almost exclusively on the kicks; try to chop Targaryen down and hit him in the body as well. Slow him down and make him miserable.
-[Prediction]: If Ralek had started competing at a younger age and had reached this level through elite training, I would give him a clear advantage in this match-up. However, I have to assume that his striking skills are evenly divided between punches and kicks. Therefore, the majority of the strikes landed will likely be punches which would favor Targaryen.
So yeah I think Targaryen will win this fight via judge's decision. On the feet, I expect it to be relatively even but I think this fight will go into the clinch as well which will be all Daemon Targaryen. Nice name reference, by the way.
-[Bantamweight bout]: John Bzdunek (11-6) versus Tomas Kalnoky (7-3)
-[Preview]: John Bzdunek is a top notch bantamweight fighter. He is a tremendous threat because he is capable of finishing you on the feet throwing bombs or on the ground with submissions. His only weakness, if you will, really is his wrestling skills. Tomas Kalnoky will want to utilize his superior wrestling to smother Bzdunek and make him uncomfortable, and work for a submission.
-[Prediction]: Look, I'm a tremendous proponent of fighters training wrestling to a high level. You can have a guy that focuses mainly on his striking and his jiu-jitsu but that guy needs to be an absolute killer in both facets to be effective. I think that Tomas Kalnoky is going to exploit this weakness and probably get a first or second round submission finish. Possibly even a rear naked choke as Bzdunek tries to roll his way to salvation. I think there are a lot of great fights out there for Bzdunek to win but this isn't one of them.
-[Middleweight bout]: Grey Wolf (11-4) v ersus Andrezej Sternik (6-1)
-[Preview]: Grey Wolf is the premier pure boxing stylist within the FFC middleweight division. He enjoys a comfortable advantage over most of his foes due in a large part to his incredible knockout power but also because he threatens with takedowns and offensive grappling as well. It's that threat that tends to even the playing field and make opponents hesitate before engaging him in fisticuffs.
After going 7-2 on The Island and nearly climbing the ranks into a championship position, Grey Wolf faced a brief struggle to adjust to life on the outside. After suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career, he decided to screw his head on straight and work for a shot at the title. He would earn that shot based on back-to-back destructions of his fellow contenders. He smited Andrezej like it wasn't a problem and claimed the KOMMA championship title.
For Andrezej Sternik, this is an opportunity to prove that the first fight was a fluke and that his KOMMA championship run was legit. To do that, he's going to need to overcome what may prove to be the superior striker in Grey Wolf. He's going to need to pick his shots and avoid getting caught up in a slug fest like he did last time.
-[Prediction]: I think history will repeat itself in that I believe Grey Wolf will put his heavy hands to good use by stopping Andrezej a second time. However, I believe this fight will last a bit longer as Andrezej comes out more cautious rather than rushing into the waiting fists of Wolf.
-[A closer look]
(Grey Wolf)
Record: 11-4
FFC Record: N/ A
Style: Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 6'1
Weight: 195
Career Highlight: Former KOMMA Middleweight Champion
(Andrezej Sternik)
Record: 6-1
FFC Record: 1-0
Style: Boxing, Defensive Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 6'0
Weight: 200 lbs
Career Highlight: Former KOMMA Middleweight Champion
-[Heavyweight bout]: Diego Sanchez (7-3) versus Xavier Barbossa (5-1)
-[Preview]: Diego Sanchez is an extremely high level submission fighter that holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is a two time world heavyweight champion that has proven to be the foil of a man named Drago Kamarad. The reason that I mantion this is because Drago is a world beater that defeats all of his opponents via knockout, much like Diego's current opponent.
Xavier Barbossa is as tough as they come. He is a figher that, win or lose, has never sat on a stool between rounds in a professional MMA fight. This is because he comes out throwing bombs and topples most foes within a matter of seconds. When Mathayus Fane managed to survive the first two minutes of the fight, that was a big deal at the time because nobody else had retained their consciousness for that long.
-[Prediction]: While I can see Xavier Barbossa working his way back up through the ranks by simply being the next toughest dude in the lineup, I don't see how he defeats Diego Sanchez. The big game changer in this fight is the wrestling and I just don't think Barbossa is quite at the level to stop a guy like Diego that will aggressively look for the takedown.
One thing is for sure: if Diego Sanchez tries to counter his way into a takedown off of missed punches from Xavier, he's going to make a liar out of me.
-[A closer look]
(Diego Sanchez)
Record: 7-3
FFC Record: 0-1
Style: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 6'1
Weight: 236 lbs
Career Highlight: Former BFC Heavyweight Champion, Former KOMMA Heavyweight Champion
(Xavier Barbossa)
Record: 5-1
FFC Record: 1-0
Style: Boxing
Height: 6'5
Weight: 281 lbs
Career Highlight: N/A
Event Forum: http://www.mmatycoon.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=43644
Article views:
291
» Donate to this author |
