|
 On June the 13th of 2015, The original Global Association of MMA™, managed by Mentor Corleone (3503), presented GAMMA#487 Stefans vs Gustavsson for the 89,757 GAMMA fans in attendance at the LA Memorial Colosseum, as well as thousands of fans watching from all over the world. GAMMA#487 was proudly sponsored by GREEN!160, providing nutritional products from Las Vegas.
The event featured the very much anticipated debut of Gunnar Gustavsson, who was to face Ted Stefans in the three round main event of the evening. The co-main event saw Fernando Prado putting his lightweight title on the line in an exciting rematch against the former champion Krystian Wojnasiewicz. A total of eight other magnificent fights accompanied them on the card. I’m Nick James, and this is your review of GAMMA#487 Stefans v Gustavsson. Full details can be found at http://www.mmatycoon.com/orgeventpublic.php?EvID=830868
Undercard
Middleweight Bout - Craig Rave (78157) Def. Arstan "The Bold" Selmy (196913) via Unanimous Decision
The first fight of the evening pitted the 59 fight veteran Craig Rave against Arstan “The Bold” Selmy. The two BJJ Black Belts instinctively tried to get the fight to the ground, with Selmy landing a first round takedown and Rave scoring second and third round takedowns. Between the two fighters there was a total of nine failed submission attempts, with Rave eventually scoring a unanimous decision, due to his lengthy top control, picking up his 34th victory and showing that at 39 years old, he still has what it takes to compete with the youngsters.
Lightweight Bout - "Lightning Kid" Atlas Kivi (134572) Def. Jeff Gorden (143166) via Unanimous Decision
“Lightning Kid” put on a masterful grappling performance in his 11th fight in GAMMA. He did a superb job of controlling the clinch, as well as defending Gorden’s relentless efforts to take him to the canvas. It wasn’t until the fourth minute of the final round that Gorden would gain top position, only to find himself being swept by Kivi, capping off what has to go down as a poor performance. All judges scored the contest 30-27 to Kivi. After the fight, Gorden’s manager Jake LeBeau (96053) decided to part ways with him. Since then, Gordon has come under new management and will be fighting in GAMMA Contenders.
Featherweight Bout - "The Balled Of" Speedy Atkins (175107) Def. Fourie Du Preez (225967) via Unanimous Decision
The third bout of the evening featured Fourie Du Preez making his GAMMA debut agaist a very tough opponent in Speedy Atkins. Atkins controlled the fight from the distance as well as in the clinch, which was more than enough to earn the 33 year old his third victory in GAMMA via unanimous decision.
Light Heavyweight Bout - Jaako Meritähti (226114) def. Calvin Johnson (137439) via Rd 1 TKO (04:31)
The next fight featured another young prospect in Jaako Meritähti, facing a stiff challenge in knockout artist Calvin Johnson. Meritähti looked to bring the fight to the clinch early, where Johnson had no answer for his barrage of punches. After nearly a whole round of dominating the clinch, Meritähti landed a solid right hook, dropping Johnson who could not recover, giving Meritähti the first finish of the evening by way of TKO, showing that he is definitely one to look out for in the years to come. Johnson found himself without a manager after the fight, but is now being managed by Gerbert Bryant (84742) in preparation for his next fight.
Heavyweight Bout - Jon "Bones" Pegas (129570) def. Jules "Bad Ass Mother Fucker" Winnfield (211191) via Rd 1 KO (3:20)
The penultimate bout of the undercard saw veteran Striker Jon Pegas face Jules Winnfield. Pegas put on a dominant performance in what was his second fight in GAMMA, showing off his capability of striking from a distance. After opening up a severe cut on the head of Winnfield and scoring two knockdowns, Pegas landed a well-timed superman punch to the jaw of Winnfield, knocking him out cold. This win extends Pegas’ record in GAMMA to 2-0, showing the world that he is one to watch in the heavyweight division. Winnfield on the other hand, has now lost six of his last eight fights, but at 27 years old, he has plenty of time to improve his game and turn things around.
Welterweight Bout - "Rip" Rufus McTearson (186694) def. Hamad Al Zahran (183610) via Unanimous Decision
The undercard’s final bout saw Rufus McTearson make his 14th GAMMA appearance against Hamad Al Zahran, who was making his GAMMA debut. McTearson was keen to utilise his striking advantage over Al Zahran and landed an array of punches and kicks. What was potentially more impressive than McTearson’s standup game was his defensive wrestling. Despite being taken down four times, he did not allow Al Zahran to land anything and defended against five submission attempts. This was enough to give McTearson a unanimous decision victory in the eyes of all three judges, sending Al Zahran back to the drawing board in preparation of his second GAMMA appearance.
Main Card
Lightweight Bout - Josiah "the Spaceman" Bartlet (207713) def. Wolfram Stelzer (198888) via Unanimous Decision
The first fight of the main card saw Josiah Bartlet face Wolfram Stelzer. Josiah Bartlet, representing LoHoo Crew, came into the fight with a record of 14-7-2, with six of those wins coming under his current manager Cause McDubree (17807). Stezler, representing the LEGION OF DOOM, came in with a similar record of 13-9-1, with all 23 of his fights being managed by his current manager Hans Ulrich Krafft (14933). While both fighters were only making their second GAMMA appearances, they have both found success in other organisations in the past, with Bartlet holding the now inactive Hilo Fight League belt and Stelzer having held the slightly more prestigious Montreal Fight Night Belt at 155.
The fight entered the clinch fairly early in round one after some unsuccessful strikes and a failed takedown attempt from Stelzer. After landing a few shots, Bartlet found himself on his back in half guard, but defended very well until the referee called for the stand-up. Barlet then displayed his dominance on the feet, landing a few shots at distance and in the clinch before scoring a takedown. He found himself in the butterfly guard of the BJJ Black Belt Stelzer who scored with a quick sweep and then controlled Barlet on top for the remainder of the round.
The second round began with a very even striking contest, followed by a takedown by Bartlet into the guard of Stelzer, where he landed some ground and pound, defended an Armbar attempt and then passed into half guard. From half guard Bartlet nearly secured a Kimura before being stood up by the referee due to inactivity. It did not take long for the fight to return to the mat with the wrestling standout and BJJ brown belt, Bartlet, pulling guard from the clinch. After eating some ground and pound, Bartlet showed off his own butterfly guard, using it to land a scissor sweep to close the round.
The final round began almost immediately with a take down by Stelzer. After defending an Omoplata, Stelzer found himself in side control, but did not capitalise on it before the referee called for a stand up due to inactivity. A much more aggressive Bartlet looked to land some strikes on the feet, but his reach disadvantage made it hard for him to land anything aside from leg kicks. Perhaps frustrated by Stelzer’s elusiveness, Barltet landed a takedown. After some battling over position, Bartlet found himself defending against a triangle choke and then passing to side control, where he held Stelzer for the remainder of the fight.
The judges scored the bout 30:28, 30:28 and 29:28 in favour of Josiah Bartlet who was booed out of the cage after giving an arrogant post-fight speech. Looking back at the fight, some increased activity on the ground could have worked wonders for Stelzer, which is something he and his manager will undoubtedly work on in preparation for future fights.
Featherweight Bout - Kira "Gaijin" Miyata (205443) def. "The Worlds Most Dangerous" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (218431) via Rd 1 KO (03:59): Knockout of the Night
The second main card bout pitted Kira Miyata against Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The 28 year old Japanese American, Miyata, made his much anticipated GAMMA debut, coming in as the last WFC featherweight champion and a record of 16-8, with eight wins coming by way of submission. His opponent, a 26 year old Iraqi making his fourth GAMMA appearance. Al-Baghdadi came in with a similar record of 15-7 and some serious knockout power with 13 of his wins coming by way of KO/TKO. Both fighters represented the LEGION OF DOOM, with Miyata being managed by Alika Webb (62511) and al-Baghdadi being managed by GSP's Illegitimate Son (79001). In addition to this similarity, both men are former WFC champions, but never fought in that organisation.
The fight commenced with al-Baghdadi immediately going after Miyata with some strikes. The submission specialist Miyata seemed to want to show that he could hold his own on his feet with the knockout artist al-Baghdadi and landed a few good shots, but was ultimately coming off worse than al-Baghdadi in exchanges, which was not helped by his prominent reach disadvantage. To the surprise of many, Miyata did not attempt any takedowns throughout the first round and seemed determined to bang with al-Baghdadi. Towards the end of the round, Miyata landed a crisp combination of punches to the head and body, which left al-Baghdadi rocked. al-Baghdadi then threw caution to the wind, which perhaps wasn’t the best approach, as Miyata managed to slip a left hook and land a devastating hook of his own to secure a knockout victory over the knockout specialist al-Baghdadi, shocking GAMMA fans all over the world in his GAMMA debut.
Miyata seemed lost for words in his post-fight interview, perhaps a little shocked by the atmosphere created by the 87,757 screaming fans in attendance, but was very gracious in his victory and remembered to thank his fans. Miyata’s astounding knockout victory was enough to earn him KO of the night honours as well as a future tittle shot against the featherweight champion Meat Beater (174503).
Lightweight Title Bout - Fernando Prado (181926) def. Krystian "Wojna" Wojnasiewicz (159688) via Majority Decision: Fight of the Night
The co-main event of the evening was the much anticipated lightweight championship rematch in which Fernando Prado would defend his title against Krystian Wojnasiewicz after beating him for it GAMMA#481 in what was his GAMMA debut. The Rio de Janeiro native and LEGION OF DOOM representative, Fernando Prado, could be described as a decision machine with him winning his last eight fights by way of decision. Although many fans think he is a boring fighter, it’s hard to argue with the tactics his manager Whymer Van Mastodon (40116) has him using, as he entered this tittle rematch with an undefeated record of 11-0. His opponent Krystian Wojnasiewicz from Poland, representing Polish Eagles’ Nest, is quite the opposite with 21 of his 27 wins coming by way of KO/TKO. Wojnasiewicz is no stranger to title fights as his 6 bouts prior to this one were for the GAMMA belt and he has had an astounding 19 championship fights, out numbering his number of non-title fights, with a title fight record of 12-6 and a total record of 27-10. It is also interesting to note that Wojnasiewicz came into the Prado fight 10cm taller, leading to a sizeable reach advantage and with an extraordinary weight advantage, something manager Pawel Ufcowski (52087) would have liked to see him use to his advantage.
The two fighters began the fight with a lot of volume, both looking to land an array of different strikes. It became obvious very early on that Prado had no intention of going to the ground with Wojnasiewicz who is a BJJ black belt. Prado looked to be getting the better of the striking, and was finding a lot of success with leg kicks, potentially trying to weaken Wojnasiewicz takedown ability. Prado did not seem to need anything to help him avoid takedowns however, as he had no trouble thwarting the two thrown by Wojnasiewicz.
The story of round two was very similar to round one. The fight stayed on the feet and both fighters looked to land a diverse range of strikes. Prado, however, was much more dominant in this round, and really looked to work the body of Wojnasiewicz and continue chipping away at his legs. After potentially losing the opening two rounds, Wojnasiewicz needed to buck up his ideas and get some offense going in the last three rounds if he was going to get his belt back.
The third round finally saw Wojnasiewicz get his hands on Prado, initiating a clinch on the counter. Prado defended well though and broke out of clinch in less than a minute, going back to striking where he was dominating the fight. Perhaps it was something his corner men said to him, but Wojnasiewicz seemed really motivated in this third round and came out on top of the striking after the clinch until eventually clinching again. From the clinch, Wojnasiewicz scored a takedown into Prado’s guard, where he help position until a stand up, just before the round ended.
Round four began with Prado dominating on the feet and defending Wojnasiewicz attempts to clinch. Near the middle of the round, Wojnasiewicz managed to get in the clinch up against the cage, for less than ten seconds before Prado found a way to break. Prado continued to work his strikes, but was caught by a takedown towards the end of the round. Wojnasiewicz tried to land with some ground and pound, but Prado defended well until the end of the round.
It was looking like Prado had three rounds to Wojnasiewicz’s one going into the final round, showing that Wojnasiewicz could have quite possibly needed a finish. Wojnasiewicz got the clinch early and landed some strikes, but couldn’t hold it for long. The rest of the round was kept at a distance by Prado, defending takedown and clinch attempts and probably coming out a little ahead in a very even striking contest to finish the fight.
The judges scored the bout 49:46, 48:48, and 49:46 for the winner by majority decision, Fernando Prado. Prado seemed to win a little more convincingly than that in my eyes, but that is MMA sometimes. Following his victory, Prado thanked his fans all over the world for their support.
Light Heavyweight Bout - Gunnar "Knoke Støvkost" Gustavsson (134470) def. Ted Stefans (182837) via Unanimous Decision
The main event saw Norwegian 36 year old Gunnar Gustavsson face 31 year old Ted Stefans from Iceland. Both men can be considered to be knockout artists with a combined total of 36 victories via knockout between them out of a total of 49 wins. This fight marked Gustavsson GAMMA debut, which was much anticipated by fans across the world. Gustavsson brang with him a record of 23-7 and was to fight for the first time under the management of Whymer Van Mastodon (40116), representing the LEGION OF DOOM. Stefans on the other hand, came into the fight as an 11 fight GAMMA veteran in his first fight since losing the Light Heavyweight championship to Charles LaFontier. Stefans came into the fight representing GRABTHE.INFO and a record of 26-10, with all of his fights happening under the management of Thor HGH (24686). Although Gustavsson has held championships in other organisations, they do not compare to the GAMMA belt, which he would no doubt want to claim and beating Stefans would be a pretty good way to kick off his run.
Both fighters were keen to display their striking abilities as the first round kicked off, with both fighters throwing a variety of punches and kicks. From early on, it could be seen that Gustavsson was the more aggressive fighter and was displaying a much higher output and was working in leg kicks with his hands very nicely. Aware that he was losing out from distance, Stefans looked to bring the fight into a clinch, but Gustavsson wanted nothing of it and defended well. In the fourth minute of the round, Stefans landed his most significant strike so far, cutting Gustavsson with a straight right. This did not deter Gustavsson as he kept pushing forward and dominating the round.
Gustavsson really showed his class in round two, completely dominating the stand up action. As the round came to a close, Stefans must have been wondering how he could change things up to get the finish he would need to win the fight.
The beginning of the third round was much like the second, with Gustavsson winning the striking battle. After failing a first clinch attempt, Stefans managed to clinch with Gustavsson midway through the round. Stefans having worked on his clinch game, thought he would have an advantage in the clinch, however, Gustavsson managed to land more strikes before eventually breaking the clinch. Once out of the clinch, Gustavsson went back to what he had been doing, to see the round out.
There were no surprises from the judges with them all scoring the bout 30:27, giving Gunnar Gustavsson a win in his GAMMA debut and show that he is a threat to everyone in the division. Before leaving the cage, Gustavsson gave a heartfelt thankyou to all of his fans for keeping him motivated. This fight was to be Stefans’ last in the organisation and now hopes to find success elsewhere.
That bout capped of a wonderful evening of fights, stay tuned for GAMMA#488.
Review by Nick James (104699)
Article views:
114
» Donate to this author |
