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 EVO is proud to present EVO 124: Absolute EVO on 22 Oct 2014 and taking place in Wombley Arena, London. This card is gonna be a huge card as there are three title fights on the line and the 265 lbs title bout between Simon Williams and Rinky Spider is headlining the event. With three title fights on the line and many stars in this card, I believe this card is having tons of hype behind it and every fight fan is getting insane for it!
170 lbs bout: Rufus Soderberg (22-12) vs Oswaldo Sanchez (33-14-2)
First fight of the night we have a 170 lbs battle between 16 fight veteran in EVO Soderberg and the former Syn’ 170 lbs champion Sanchez. Soderberg challenged the EVO title once but right now he is suffering a two fight losing streak and those two losses are by strikes. Soderberg will need to use his sensational wrestling and black belt level Jiu-Jitsu to help him getting out of the streak. Soderberg is an extremely skilled ground fighter who has accurate takedowns, technical submission game and nasty GnP from mount. With diverse attacks on the ground, Soderberg favors submissions more and he has 9 submission wins in his book so it’s enough to make Sanchez respect his ground game. Sanchez himself is a well-rounded fighter who has world class striking, elusive wrestling and great dirty boxing. He loves to mix things up to beat up his opponents so maybe it will cause some trouble to Soderberg because Sanchez has more stuffs in his toolbox. I think Sanchez can use his striking or dirty boxing to beat Soderberg but he can steal rounds with those takedowns too. As I said before, Soderberg’s ground game will make Sanchez respect but let’s don’t forget Sanchez only tapped to his foe once in his career so let’s don’t worry about his ground game. Maybe respect means just avoid trying to tap Soderberg out. With Sanchez’ well-rounded gameplan, actually I can see him knocking Soderberg out with his striking. Soderberg has been finished by strikes twice recently so I believe Sanchez will utilize this situation to score a TKO win.
Prediction: Sanchez by 2nd round TKO
135 lbs bout: Chan-Sung Jung (36-12) vs Konrad Kurze (35-21)
This fight is between the #4 ranked 135 lbs fighter Jung is facing the former EVO 135 lbs champion Kurze. After a close loss against Rafa Silva, who is fighting for the title in the same card, Jung is looking to rebound himself against the former champion. Jung is a well-rounded fighter who has KO power and ability to tap guys out. He has 13 wins by strikes and 10 wins by submission so he can pose a lot of threat to Kurze with his well-rounded game. Kurze himself is a submission machine, he has 15 wins by submission so maybe he can make Jung thinks twice before he wants to take this fight to the mat. Anyway Jung’s submission defense is world class. He has never been tapped to anyone so Jung will be extremely confident on the ground. As a fighter who lost to world class fighters frequently, Kurze may lose some confidence fighting with Jung but I can Kurze handle the ground battle very comfortably. However, Jung is gonna use his heavy hands to knock Kurze out. Kurze has 16 losses by (T)KO. He lost 4 of his last 6 fights by way of TKO so Jung’s power is enough to finish him. For Kurze, he need to take this fight to the mat asap to expose Jung’s weakness: the ability to deal with counter wrestlers. Anyway, as a world class fighter, Jung won’t let Kurze to stick the gameplan against him and he is gonna try to knock Kurze out before Kurze wants to take him down. Lacking endurance, Kurze will be in trouble against a well-rounded heavy hitter early in the fight. After he survives and hits a counter takedown in the first round, Jung will catch the time and finish him by strikes.
Prediction: Jung by 2nd round TKO
205 lbs bout: Gegard Mousasi (31-10-2) vs Nemanja Prijovic (24-9)
This fight is the third meeting between two legend killers. Mousasi beat Womba twice and Prijovic beat Womba once and Budo Rei twice. Talking about their second meeting, Prijovic was dominating the fight with his world class striking and dirty boxing before he got taken down and tapped to a kneebar in the fifth round. This time Prijovic will need to show that he won’t get taken down and tap again. He need to try his best to avoid the ground battle and keep it standing. Mousasi used to be a KO artist but he turned to a submission wizard after he is managed by Lock Down. He has the ability to tap anyone out especially he has a submission victory over Womba. Mousasi will need to take this fight to the ground more accurately. Don’t forget Mousasi outworked by Prijovic for 4 straight rounds and he got KO’d by Prijovic in their first meeting. Mousasi has amazing striking but his chin doesn’t help him in this fight. He need to avoid the clinch attacks by Prijovic to increase the chance to take him down too. Mousasi was also outclassed in the clinch so the only way Mousasi can beat Prijovic is take this fight to the ground. Maybe Prijovic thinks the second fight was a fluke win for Mousasi, Prijovic should never underestimate Mousasi’s ground game and must be really cautious while throwing shots. While on the ground, Prijovic should control the action and try to get back to his feet. I understand Prijovic can be the one who can beat Mousasi twice and I believe this time Prijovic can win this fight just like how he did to Mousasi in their first two meetings. Not saying Mousasi’s win was a fluke but I believe Prijovic will be more cautious this time and outstrike Mousasi for five rounds. Mousasi couldn’t take Prijovic down for a long while during their second meeting so I think Prijovic can keep the fight standing for the most of the time and beat him.
Prediciton: Prijovic by Unanimous Decision
170 lbs bout: Tomi Atomi (34-10-2) vs Stanley Burrell (25-9-2)
This is a battle between the ground specialist Atomi and the striker Burrell. This fight is gonna be intriguing because both guys have really different styles. Atomi loves to take guys down and tap guys out and Burrell loves to use his striking to knock people out and use his clinch to brutalize his foes. With 12 wins by submission, Atomi is gonna try his best to take Burrell down and use his wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to frustrate him. Burrell has two tactics in his striking: distance striking and dirty boxing, I believe Burrell will use his clinch more to avoid being taken down and tire him out. All of Atomi’s fights were gone to the distance since 19th April so I can see Atomi’s tactic is to take guys down and outwork them. Burrell will need to clinch with Atomi to avoid getting taken down especially he had lost to some fighters who are good at takedowns just like Atomi. I believe with Atomi’s ability he can take Burrell down at will but Atomi relies on countering so I think Burrell will hit him with some good shots standing or in the clinch before Atomi can get a takedown. I don’t think Burrell can KO Atomi and I believe Atomi will pull guard when he is pinned against the cage and sweep him so Atomi will win this fight by decision with his counter takedowns, submission attacks and some guard pulling tactics.
Prediction: Atomi by Unanimous Decision
265+lbs bout: Tiny McGee (30-17) vs Declan Sweeney (25-8)
Two huge guys are ready to bang! McGee is looking for a victorious EVO debut with his extremely scary KO power and his counterpart Sweeney who welcome him to the biggest stage of the MMA world is looking for 5th straight win inside the EVO cage. They are strikers who just want to kill each other in the cage and don’t care getting killed. Both men scored 53 (T)KOs in their 55 combined wins so this fight won’t go to Cecil Peoples’ hands. Both men are having tons of power so who is winning the fight? It’s a toss up. Anyway, McGee got (T)KO’d 7 times in his 17 losses and Sweeney got (T)KO’d 7 times in his 8 losses so I believe McGee has a better chin than Sweeney. Sweeney is winning four in a row but his chin is still a question especially he is fighting McGee who finished 29 of his 30 victims by strikes. I understand this type of fight is all about who lands a clean shot first but McGee’s chin is better than Sweeney so I think both men is gonna exchange bombs but McGee will be the first to drop Sweeney. Sweeney is the former #2 and the current #7 in the division but I can smell an upset. McGee will pull off a huge win with a first round TKO stoppage.
Prediction: McGee by 1st round TKO
265 lbs bout: Constantine Titanus (26-5-1) vs Leonardo Ferreira (23-7)
The former EVO 265 lbs champion Titanus is fighting the former EVO 265 lbs title challenger Ferreira. Both men are KO monsters as McGee and Sweeney. Titanus is the former #3 in the division and Ferreira is the former #1, #2 and #3 in the division so this fight is gonna be high quality and exciting as hell. Titanus only lost to the current 265 lbs champion Simon Williams who is headlining the main event in the same card in EVO so he definitely will looking for beating Ferreira up to prove that he still has the ability to challenge the title again. Titanus has 24 wins by strikes in his 26 wins and Ferreira has 18 wins by strikes in his 23 wins so another fight that will end by a KO. Both men are KO machine and Titanus’ KO rate is higher than Ferreira but Ferreira has two big TKO wins against Gun Slinga and Willy Stoppers so Ferreira seems like he has more credit in this case. Anyway, none of Titanus’ opponents are slouches. I think it’s hard to decide who is winning this fight but I know all of Titanus’ 5 losses are by way of (T)KOs so Ferreira has better chin. With same level of striking, this fight maybe all about their toughness, experience and power. Ferreira has better toughness and also has more experience beating some top guys. I go with Titanus with power advantage. I believe both men will be hurting each other but I think the tougher one Ferreira will come out as a victor. I can see him TKOing Titanus late in the first round after a slugfest.
Prediction: Ferreira by 1st round TKO
170 lbs world championship: Bowser Stormcrow (27-4) vs Pluto Palhares (39-7)
The 170 lbs world title bout is on the line! This is the first title fight in this event of three title fights. The reigning and defending world champion Stormcrow is looking for his second title defense and third title wins in EVO. The champ is winning 8 in a row including win over Jorge Junior. The challenger Palhares is coming back to EVO after he earned the CWFL title. As the former EVO 185 lbs champion, Palhares is challenging the EVO title for the 4th time. Palhares is going to stop Stormcrow’s notorious winning streak. Anyway, Stormcrow won’t allow him to claim his belt because he is an absolute beast. He is an amazing with KO power and the ability to outstrike top fighters. Look how he outstrikes Jorge Junior for 5 straight rounds. This fight proved that Stormcrow is the best striker in EVO 170 lbs division. Not only he is a beast, he is a beast of iron. He had never been finished in his 31 fights career so it is gonna be a long night for Palhares. As the former #2 P4P of the world, Palhares will need to prove that he still has the skills to become a P4P fighter again. Actually Palhares has all the skills to become a champion. He has great striking and technical ground game and he doesn’t mind to mix them up. He has 13 wins by (T)KO and 6 wins by submission so he is a tough challenge for the champion. I believe Stormcrow can win the standup battle because I believe he is the best striker in the division. He won’t knock Palhares out but he will outstrike Palhares because Palhares has a granite chin, he had never been finished by strikes. On the ground, I believe it’s Palhares’ world. Anyway, Stormcrow isn’t afraid of any kinds of submission attacks so I can see Palhares can control him on top. I believe Palhares can claim Stormcrow’s title actually because maybe he may lose a close standup battle, don’t forget Stormcrow was dominated by some wrestlers before. I believe Palhares can ground him for five rounds despite losing the standup battle and eventually wins a close UD.
Prediction: Palhares by Unanimous Decision to become the new 170 lbs world champion
135 lbs world championship: Kauko Partio (43-19-2) vs Rafa Silva (38-5-1)
The current P4P #1 of the world and the reigning, defending EVO 135 lbs and 145 lbs champion Partio is looking to defend his 135 lbs title for the first time against Silva, again. Partio beat Silva in their first meeting by razor close Split Decision to claim the 135 lbs world title and he would love to stop Silva again to keep things perfect. Silva is the former EVO 135 lbs champion and his lone loss in EVO is against Partio. After the close loss against the P4P #1, Silva would like to prove he has the chance to beat the best of the world. Actually the commentators had Silva won the fight and Silva dominated the standup, Partio dominated the ground. As the best of the world, Partio will make sure he can take this fight to the ground asap and avoid the standup battle. Silva actually showed his excellent takedown defense and world class striking for 2 rounds in the close match so he must make sure his takedown defense is consistent enough to stop Partio’s takedowns and outstrike him at will. I believe it’s gonna be a razor close fight as their first meeting. I know Silva should’ve won the first fight but the fight was over and Partio was declared as the winner so this time Silva should guarantee that he can convice the judges to nod for him. Silva wants to win this fight so bad but I think Partio is going to win this fight again but a close, close one. Partio is going to win the ground battle and Silva is going to win the stand up battle again but I know judges favor a fighter who take guys down and remain on top position. This fight will go as the same as their first meeting and Partio will remain the best fighter in the world by a razor close Split Decision
Prediction: Partio by Split Decision to remain the 135 lbs world title.
Co-main event
205 lbs bout: AJ Hearts (35-9) vs Tiago Renato (21-2)
This is the co-main event of the evening ladies and gentlemen! The newly crowned 205 lbs champion Hearts is going to face the current #1 in 205 division and P4P #2 Renato who is also holding SPFT and Syn’ 205 lbs title right now. Please be reminded that this fight is a non-title fight but this is a huge fight for the champion. Hearts will need to utilize his top notch wrestling and constant GnP attacks to secure the victory like he did to Esa Tikkanen to claim the world title. His takedowns are nightmare for many fighters so Renato better be careful while standing. Renato is a beast of a fighter. With a nickname “Brazilian MT Machine”, Renato has the best Muaythai in MMA. His ability to mix his punches and kicks up and his KO power is amazing. He has 20 wins by (T)KO of his 21 wins and recently he knocked out former P4P #1 Devin Styles with a brutal head kick. His striking will be a huge threat to Hearts but he should be careful with every strike he is going to land or Hearts will take this opportunity to take him down. Anyway, even though Hearts’ wrestling is dangerous for Renato, Hearts doesn’t have a good enough chin to take Renato’s hard shots. Hearts had been finished by strikes for 5 times. So if Hearts couldn’t take this fight to the ground earlier, Hearts would be in huge trouble standing with the best Muaythai fighter of the world. I believe Hearts can take this fight to the ground but I can’t see him finishing Renato on top. With Hearts’ chin, I believe Renato will finish him with either a punch or a head kick. Renato is just too good in striking and he has a huge puncher/kicker chance. Everything can happen with his KO power.
Prediciton: Renato by 3rd round TKO
MAIN EVENT
265 lbs world championship: Rinky Spider (27-5) vs Simon Williams (33-9-1)
This is the main event of the evening that every fan is waiting for! Two reigning and defending EVO champion is clashing each other! The reigning 265+ lbs champion Spider is looking to be the two-divisional EVO champion against the reigning 265 lbs champion Williams. Both men are two of the best strikers in the heavier division so I believe this fight is gonna be like Crocop vs Hunt! Spider is an absolute beast in 265+ lbs division. He went 8-1 in EVO title fights and successfully defend the title for 7 times. He is a truly dominant champion in the division. His KO power is sensational, he finished 26 of his 27 opponents by strikes. That’s why he is the best 265+ lbs fighter right now. Williams is also an absolute beast. He is undefeated in EVO and he knocked out Constantine Titanus in his third fight in EVO to claim the world title. He is also riding a 11 fight undefeated streak currently and scored 10 (T)KOs in those 11 fights. That’s a crazy streak man. Both men are KO monster and I believe this fight won’t go to the distance because they’re gonna throw bombs and someone must go down. Spider seems like he has better chin because he got finished by strikes 3 times in his 5 losses and Williams got finished by strikes 6 times in his 9 losses. Against many top strikers in Ernesto Oliveira, Leonardo Ferreira, Antonio Manoel, James Proudstar and Daniel Silva and managed to finish them is impressive as hell. And he didn’t get KO’d standing with those beasts so I think Spider has a very underrated chin. Williams also beat Renzo Machida twice and Constantine Titanus too but Spider showed that he has way more experience fighting and beating top strikers than Williams so I believe Spider can beat Williams to become the two-divisional champion in EVO. Spider has amazing KO power, better chin and his experience. I believe those elements are enough to grant him a TKO victory. Williams is a beast I must admit but Spider is just a better beast, tougher beast than him. Spider can stand with everyone in the heavier division so I am confident that he can stand with Williams all night long, and finish him.
Prediction: Spider by 2nd round TKO to become the new 265 lbs world champion and the two-divisional world champion.
I can’t wait for this event! See you guys on Wednesday night!
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