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 Jake Theodorou (3-0) Vs Joel Nicola (3-0) – Light Heavyweight
This is a fight with very real title implications. It’s definite that the winner of this fight will compete for the inaugural Highland Games Light Heavyweight Title. The opponent thus far is unconfirmed, but one of these guys will absolutely be competing for the strap in their next fight.
Starting with Jake, there are few fighters out there who can be as predictable and as unstoppable. We all know what Jake wants to do. He’s going to go in there, try and put you on your back, and pound you into submission. Sounds easy to counter right? Then how come every single opponent he’s had has been stopped in the first round? He’s done it to strikers, he’s done it to grapplers. He’s done it at Middleweight, he’s done it at Light Heavyweight. Will he do it again? It’s very easy to imagine that he does.
Standing in the way of that is Joel Nicola. When you talk about explosive fighters, you don’t get through that conversation without mentioning Joel. In his main event debut for Highland Games, Joel secured a victory in his fight by Flying Knee, earning Knockout of the Night. In MMA, every single fight starts standing. If you’re across that cage from Joel Nicola, and you’re in striking range, there is a gigantic possibility that you’re going to be looking up at the lights with dazed eyes within the next few seconds.
Your guess is as good as mine as to who wins this fight. Both fighters have seen nothing but dominate success since making their debuts. I think one thing that would scare me is that Nicola suffered a cut in his last fight. It was just a slight nick from a punch, but if Theorodou does manage to get the fight to the ground and begins unloading that patented ground and pound, I have a feeling that Nicola will be stopped by way of cuts, following in the footsteps of his stable mate Diamond Andy.
Massimo Paterno (5-2) Vs Ramulus Artemis (2-0) – Middleweight
Massimo enters the cage as the most experienced fighter signed to Highland Games. Massimo might well be one of the most experienced fighters on the entire Island.
Massimo is a submission specialist. Outside of a flash KO loss in his 4th fight, Massimo has seen every single fight in his career go to the ground. One fight ended in a submission loss to a BJJ purple belt. A note to everyone in the world, if you’re not a BJJ purple belt, don’t take this man to the floor. Massimo’s grappling skills are almost unmatched. He finds the position and knows when the right time to go for a submission is, and 4 of his 5 victories ending in submission, there’s a reason why I’ve wrote the word submission so much thus far.
Artemis is the definition of an exciting fighter. The undefeated prospect comes into the fight as one of the most proven kickboxers in the company, probably second only to Thor Heyendahl. Ramulus uses his leg kicks to chop his opponent down from the base, and mixes it up to dangerous headkicks. Artemis went the distance in his debut, showing a high workrate with no signs of cardio deficiency. In his second fight, Ramulus landed a devastating headkick and followed it up with strikes to finish the fight.
One thing that has to be scary for Artemis is that he has been taken down by fighters who probably don’t have the same level of wrestling that Massimo has. I think he needs to land hard and fast if he wants to walk away with the victory. Otherwise, Massimo will take his 6th professional victory.
Mitchell Thompson (2-1) Vs Grey Blanchard (1-1) – Heavyweight
Thompson is fighting out of Bjorn O’Donnel’s experienced group of fighters. If there’s one thing Bjorn knows, it’s how to build fighters, and with Mitchell Thompson, he intends for there to be no difference.
Since making his debut, Thompson has won two and lost one. On face value, it would seem as though Mitchell Thompson is a boxer, but for the New Yorker, boxing is something he falls back on. Thompson’s gameplan is to get his opponent in the clinch and land uppercuts and hooks to beat his opponent down. If they can shake him off, they stand a chance, but this is no easy task as his former victims would reveal.
Standing in his way is Grey ‘The Hale’ Blanchard. Grey’s problem is stamina management. I am told that just 3 days out from the event, he hasn’t taken any time off from training. This will likely cost him massively in the event.
Grey’s only loss comes to fellow HG fighter Alexey Juralev. Predominantly a grappler, Blanchard looks to take opponents down and advance to an advantageous position. The crowd might not like his controlled style of fighting, but Grey is content to suffer through the boos if it means he can walk away with a victory.
Danny Jonas (1-0) Vs Matheus Dubin (1-0) – Light Heavyweight
Danny Jonas made his Highland Games debut in the inaugural event, defeating JB Hendricks with some knees from the clinch. Once Jonas secured that thai plum, opponents must get out of there instantly or face his full striking arsenal.
The win over Hendricks earned Jonas Fight of the Night honours, and I know for a fact that Jonas has his sights firmly set on a second stoppage victory at Highland Games 4, and a potential title challenge down the line.
Matheus Dubin is another one of those fighters brainwashed by Maxwell Rodriguez. I don’t know how he does it, but he manages to convince fighters to legally change their name to match those of their potential opponents. It’s bizzare. Even more bizzare is that both Matheus Dubin’s in the MMA world are currently signed to Highland Games. No doubt we will see Dubin Vs Dubin before long, but Matheus has a stiff challenge ahead of him in Jonas.
Matheus has impressive Judo which offers a great assist to his top notch BJJ Purple Belt. He wants to take the fight to the ground through wrestling or Judo, and once there he expects to finish as soon as possible.
The interesting thing to me in this fight is if Matheus can take the fight to the ground from the clinch. His judo is impressive, but can his Judo negate Jonas’ muay thai?
Handjong Mc Vetrol (1-1) Vs Johny Isla (1-1) – Light Heavyweight
Handjong, well his parent’s must have hated him. Mc Vetrol is one of the few fighters to have grown up on The Island, so he has the home field advantage.
In his professional career, Mc Vetrol has taken on Highland Games competitors Antonio The Sparta and Eirikur Adalsteinn.
Handjong is a very active striker, usually head hunting in order to get the fans behind him. He may not be the most technical fighter in the world, but you can be sure that he’s trying to take your head clean off your shoulders and with the power he possesses, he just might do that.
Johny Isla also faced the wrath of Eirikur Adalsteinn in his career. Both of these fighters are veterans of the now defunct Chaos, so they will have crossed paths with some guys who eventually made their way to Highland Games.
Isla can fight anywhere, but his bread and butter is most likely the clinch. He wants to get on the inside and land some of his punches, but he can leave himself opened as he searches to tie up and that could very well be the downfall for him in this fight.
Nelson Frazier Jr (1-0) Vs Jonah Takalua (1-0) – Heavyweight
Frazier wants the clinch, while Jonah likes to box at range. This will be decided by Frazier’s ability to secure the clinch, or in turn Takalua’s ability to resist it.
Ernest Faber (1-0) Vs Pedro Sales (1-0) – Light Heavyweight
Both want to keep it standing, but an 18 second KO for Faber in his debut means I have to expect him to have another impressive stoppage win.
David Sekou (0-0) Vs Jack Sock (0-1) – Middleweight
Because Sekou doesn’t have a master skill to fall back on, I think Sock will take this by submission.
Rice Aroni (0-0) Vs Vlad Drago (0-1) – Light Heavyweight
Like the above, Drago’s mixed skillset could be his downfall. If Aroni tries to take it down, I think Drago might get the sub, but on the feet it should be a fairly interesting and even contest.
Domingo Rojo (0-1) Vs Razor MuayThai (0-1) – Middleweight
Yet another of ZyD’s crew enters the cage. If Razor looks to the takedown instead of the clinch, I have Rojo taking the fight by submission. I think Rojo might give up the position for the sake of grappling and will get stopped if he does.
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