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 TROID’S NEXT TOP FIGHTER!
Round 1
Arena: The Underground (1,000)
Date: 20th August 2014
Merch Partner: Bad Man Clothing (Rio)
Hey everyone and welcome to the first round of fights in the Troid’s Next Top Fighter! competition. We have gathered 20 managers, who will each be represented by their own fighter, for one of the biggest wars in recent tycoon history. All the fighters qualify for the featherweight division, so expect a lot of fast paced action as we see them all due battle with each other. 19 fights stand between each of the fighters and stardom. With some huge prizes on the line for all fighters in this competition, we know that they will all be raring to go, as our month long wait for the first round is finally over. The fighters have all been talking smack to each other all month long, so it is finally time to see who can back up those words, and who will flounder under their own expectations.
FIGHT #1
Conor McCracken vs Jim Cain
“The Cork Convict” has shown he can talk smack with the best of them, not he just needs to prove his worthiness in the cage. Hailing from my own town of Cork City, McCracken has a pitbull like determination, showing no signs of backing down from a fight. His opponent hails from Denmark, and we all know that Eastern and Northern European fighters can be some of the best strikers in MMA. Jim Cain has relatively kept to himself, showing he feels confident in talking his smack in the cage rather than outside of it. He has shown some very good technique in his striking, which he will look to make good use of in taking on McCrackens BJJ Brown Belt. With this being the first round, there is no telling what we will see, so my prediction is purely one of location.
PREDICTION: McCracken to win via Submission in Round 2
FIGHT #2
Gregor MCconnor vs Timothy Christopher
I expect to see a very good striking matchup between these two. MCconnor has been a man of few words in the smack talk, but always has a clear point. He will knock you out! He has improved his ground game in preparation for the later rounds in the tournament, but has made sure he doesn’t neglect his striking for this bout. MCconnor favours using his Muay Thai to batter his opponents, and he will be experiencing the same against fellow Muay Thai specialist Timothy Christopher. Christopher has already had a fight, where he used it to find out those all-important hiddens. He may be a bit unhappy with his inexperience, but he will still be looking to fight on and pick up a win here against MCconnor. We don’t know much about Christopher, but we know he has a solid Muay Thai game, which will be interesting to see in this fight.
PREDICTION: MCconnor to win via (T)KO in Round 1
FIGHT #3
Sammy DeStefano vs Junior Singh
Another striking fight here, as Chicago native Sammy DeStefano takes on Manchester born Junior Singh. DeStefano prefers to let his fists do the talking, and has shown promise in his boxing ability. He takes on Muay Thai fighter Junior Singh. With no real knowledge of either fighter at this stage, we don’t know what to expect. All we know is that someone is gonna get knocked the hell out!
PREDICTION: Singh to win via (T)KO in Round 3
FIGHT #4
Alvy Singer vs Geralt of Rivia
This is the most hyped fight on the card we have, after a spell of back and forth between the two. Alvy, formerly known as Deviant Waters before the gods stripped him of his power, and Geralt absolutely loath each other, and Geralt will be disappointed not to be able to slay his opponent when he had his powers. Alvy will be looking to use his newly found legs to kick or knee his opponent to oblivion. Since having his tentacles, fins, or whatever the guy had taken away, Alvy has had a lot of work to do to adjust. Geralt however, will feel more confident in using his wrestling to take on an opponent with legs, rather than whatever the guy had before. We finally get to see our first wrestler in the tournament, and I predict him to come up trumps!
PREDICTION: Geralt of Rivia to win via (T)KO in Round 1
FIGHT #5
Billy Balls Jr. vs Ethan Kent
I like the look of this battle a lot! Balls Jr. has a solid boxing game, and has worked incredibly hard on his wrestling, and is nearly on par with Kent in that department. He outshines his opponent in the striking department though, so it will be interesting to see what Kent’s plan of attack is. Kent has very good boxing and wrestling, but I do not fancy his chances in striking with Balls Jr. He will need to take this fight to the floor asap or he will be sunk by his opponents boxing.
PREDICTION: Balls Jr. to win via (T)KO in Round 1
FIGHT #6
Yuri Boshtok vs Mr Evil
Ah, this brings back memories of the Cold War. Actually, I wasn’t alive then so never mind. We have Boshtok, a fighter from Ukraine, fighting Mr Evil, who seems to be from Hilo and the USA. In reference to the Cold War, Boshtok will be looking to show that Ukraine has a little superpower if its own, and the crazy thing is, this guy trains and was born in the middle of Chernobyl. I don’t know if the guy will mutate in the middle of the fight, but anyone who trains in radiation is a grade 1 badass in my book. I have heard that Mr Evil adopts a very different training regime, as he trains among the monks at a high Buddhist temple in Hilo. With concentration, devotion, and clarity of mind, Mr Evil is looking to prove that he is a dominant fighter in the tournament, and prove that living the simple life can get you places.
PREDICTION: Boshtok to win via Unanimous Decision
FIGHT #7
Sebastian Scrooge vs Joe The
Sebastian Scrooge has a devastating ground game, showing very good wrestling as well as having a purple belt. He will be confident about being able to win fights on the ground, and he will face his first test when he takes on BJJ Brown Belt, Joe The. We don’t know much about either fighter, but given that Scrooge has superior wrestling, I feel he will be able to get a dominant position easier to finish his opponent.
PREDICTION: Scrooge to win via Submission/(T)KO in Round 1
FIGHT #8
Keyni Rossi vs Oliver Heath
Another case of Wrestler vs Wrestler. Both fighters have solid wrestling, but as we all know, wrestlers hate to be put on their backs. I expect whoever gains the takedown to be able to use his position to win this fight, but it is hard to choose who will get that. With Rossi improving his striking, I am betting on Heath having worked on his physical and grappling game so I believe he will achieve it first.
PREDICTION: Heath to win via (T)KO in Round 1
FIGHT #9 – Co-Main Event!
Jimmy Doyle vs Commander Shepard
An interesting matchup here, as Doyle takes on Shepard. Doyle has a good muay thai background, while backing that up with a BJJ Purple Belt. I am not sure where he plans on taking the fight, and that could be the crucial factor in this fight. Shepard is a wrestler, but we don’t know much apart from that. He could either use that to take the fight to the floor, or he could use it to dominate in the clinch. It will be an interesting fight, and one that could earn Fight of the Night honours.
PREDICTION: Shepard to win via (T)KO in Round 2
FIGHT #10 – MAIN EVENT!
Charles Carlyle vs Little Yoshi
Our main event features two of the more reserved fighters in the tournament. Carlyle has a good wrestling game, while also showing signs of improving his boxing and his BJJ. I expect him to try to take the fight to the floor and smother his opponent, while looking for a way to KO him. Little Yoshi has shown a solid combination of boxing and wrestling, and is improving his BJJ a bit. If he keeps up improving like this, he could be a solid force for any opponent to overcome. I expect this to be a very good fight between a wrestling specialist and a jack of all trades so to speak.
PREDICTION: Yoshi to win via (T)KO in Round 2
Well that is our preview for the event which will take place shortly. With very little info to go on, it will be interesting to see the results. Another interesting point will be who the managers replace, and who look like they will last the entire tournament. Be sure to look out for our Review of this event, as well as our Bi-weekly interview with the manager of one of our seasons competitors!
- Grant Brophy (GBK16)
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