Malevolent 12: Tolls vs. Ericsson PREVIEW

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Here we are again. You, me. Them. It's fight time again with Malevolent in Vegas and another 10 top notch bouts are coming your way courtesy of Max Power and the Malevolent crew. Today will see 3000 fans pack into Hard Knocks arena to watch both up and coming and established mixed martial artists get their fists in each other's faces. As a special treat we have the middleweight title on the line as Tolls looks to defend his title once more. Come with me, K-Rad, as we take baby steps through each of the fights on the card:

Brett Helix vs. Kiser "Death Scorpion" Sosa
Middleweight

Two new fellows look to offset disappointing starts to their professional careers with an opportunity, draw aside, to notch up their first ever professional victory. This should be an interesting bout as Helix has the wrestling to keep it standing and the boxing to knock Sosa out, the question will be whether or not he has the experience and the game plan to make it happen or whether or not Sosa's superior, but still underwhelming, kickboxing will allow him to use kicks effectively or even worse somehow manage to put his purple belt to work. I personally don't expect this fight to go to floor unless Helix really messes up so I am expecting Helix to be able to rack up a KO win here tonight.

Chad "Chainsaw" Cox vs. Avan "The Hero" Strash
Light Heavyweight

Two fighters who have been busy trying to make names for themselves in their short careers are "Chainsaw" Cox and "The Hero" Strash. Cox has proven himself to be highly capable at turning lights out, thanks to a high level proficiency in boxing whereas Strash is almost equally qualified to strike but has just been outmatched in his previous 2 bouts. A 7cm height advantage will make "Chainsaw" even more dangerous that he already appears but Strash is no stranger to hitting big and hasn't yet been knocked out despite 4 losses to his name and I think his extra experience will allow him to knock out Cox.

Santa "Weihnachts" Schwein vs. Spyde Radic
Middleweight

The veterans are hitting the card early tonight with "Weihnachts" Schwein taking on Radic as both men look to turn around some average recent form. It should be an interesting standup battle as "Weihnachts" is an elite boxer with many a KO to his name whereas Racid, despite boxing well himself, is more a Thai style fighter although his real ace will be his ability to ake Schwein down and submit or pound him out thanks to superior jitsu skills. The question will be whether or not Radic's jaw holds out long enough for him to make this happen. I am going to back Radic to successfully submit Schwein for the win here despite the voice in the back of my mind saying Schwein has leathal fists.

Christian "Bobo" Vieri vs. Livingston Barclay
Heavyweight

We move into heavyweight territory with two men that feature mixed records and very poor form of late. "Bobo" Vieri has lost 2 in a row now, Barclay has lost 3 and both men will be looking at this as an opportunity to redeem themselves and their records. Both men are fine strikers, although it is Barclay who holds the advantage here, which coupled with slightly better energy and morale levels as well as a 9cm height advantage, is going to make him very dangerous indeed. Both men have a lot of KO wins to their names but "Bobo" has all but 1 loss via KO as well and I think this weakness of jaw is going to allow Barcley to knock him out.

John Triton vs. Jynkka Levanen
Light Heavyweight

The final undercard bout of the night showcases two men who both rely on their submission grappling as their prime weapon and this is going to result in an interesting fight as both men have good wrestling, making takedowns difficult, and both men also have brown belts making submissions difficult. This leads me to believe we may well see a standup striking battle between two men who are not natural hitters. If this is the case, Triton looks to be outmatched by Levanen's more balanced standup game and 5cm extra height. A small difference but enough I think for Levanen to out strike his opponent and claim a decision win.

Joey Rodinerio "little Eddie" Bravo vs. "The Indestructible" Matt Black
Light Heavyweight

The final light heavyweight bout of the night, and the first fight of the overcard sees "Little Eddie" Bravo try to continue on from the win in his last fight which reversed a 5 fight losing streak but it will be a tough ask as he takes on the big striking "Indestructible" Black and his Thai boxing mayhem. Bravo will take solace in the knowledge he has the superior wrestling and if his timing is good enough he should be able to counter Black's famous headkicks to secure a takedown which allows his blackbelt an easy submission win, but the question is whether or not he can avoid those headkicks. Black is yet to be submitted whilst Bravo has shown he is able to be knocked out so I am tipping "Indestructible" to claim another knock out win here.

Johnny "let it" Rain vs. "Father" Ezekiel Ambrose
Middleweight

Two middleweights with nearly identical records, "Let It" Rain and "Father" Ambrose throw down next up and what separates these two men is the sheer amount of knock outs Rain has notched up, despite being the vastly inferior standup striker in comparison to Ambrose. With that said, Ambrose is the superior wrestler and submission grappler too so this will be a great challenge for Rain to see whether or not his heavy fists can end Ambrose before Ambrose ends him. Both men are coming off losses in their last appearances, however Rain's was against the champ and he hasn't let this bother him too much. My concern for Rain is that Ambrose has the kicks to wear away at his legs and body and for this reason I feel that Ambrose should be able to eventually secure a KO win.

Koral Creyonte vs. Ruud "God's Gift" Blaylock
Welterweight

Two relatively young fighters who have been making a big name for themselves are Creyonte and "God's Gift" Blaylock, well rounded fighters who nonetheless have various strength and weaknesses when contrasted against each other. Creyonte has the superior wrestling and ground game whereas Blaylock has the standup, although neither man are slouches in either department and both have sub and KO wins to their names. "God's Gift" has lost his last 2 fights and will be keen as mustard to turn this around but Creyonte won't make it easy for him. This is a tough fight to pick as both men have the skills necessary to win and I have a feeling this fight may well go to a decision which I think Blaylock's ability to land a wider variety of strikes effectively should allow him to win.

Max Cooperman vs. Patrick Miller
Heavyweight. Co-Main Event!

A sensational co-main event between two big strikers who I expect to achieve big things within the MMA world. Cooperman and Miller both know how to knock people out, both having won all of their fights via KO and this is a great opportunity for both to show they're able to do it against an equally dangerous opponent. Cooperman is the slightly better trained and more experienced fighter but Miller has been devastating, scoring 3 clear 1 punch knock outs in a row. This is Cooperman's first appearance since losing his title back in M5 but he looks keen to redeem himself and I think this is his chance to put his striking to work against a quality opponent where his Thai advantage should allow him to control Miller and eventually knock him out.

For Whom The Bell Tolls vs. Sonny Ericsson
Middleweight. Main Event TITLE FIGHT!

After 9 fights, including 3 title defenses, Tolls is back once again to defend his title for a 4th time and it is against the very man he took it from originally, Ericsson. Ericsson's only defeat to date came at the hands of Tolls back in the days of Sunday Night Showdown and despite training hard in the interim and racking up a 4 fight win streak he still looks hopelessly outmatched by the weapon of destruction that is Tolls. I really don't expect much of a struggle to be put up here, despite Ericsson's classy Muay Thai, as Tolls has Thai of his own as well as great Western boxing and the ability to take the fight down and submit or pound Ericsson out. Tolls holds all the aces here and I expect him to show it early with another KO win to make it 10 wins in a row.

That's it from myself, K-Rad, and I am looking forward to seeing you all down at Vegas this weekend for the impending destruction which Malevolent is proud to bring you every week!

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