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UNDERCARD
Craig David v Verne Robinson – 205 lbs
Our first fight of the night is between two light heavyweights from England; Craig David is a Manchester lad while Verne Robinson hails from the southern city of Southampton so there will be some friendly geographical rivalry between the two. Robinson is 28 and is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with an MMA record of 4-3; he has a solid record of securing single and double leg takedowns and is a skilled grappler having being a former division three finalist at the Tycoon World Grappling Championships. His opponent is Craig David, an experienced veteran and a mixed martial artist, equally adept at all phases of the game – he possesses a record of 29-33. However, there is one key thing to note – David is 48 and, judging by his current loss streak, is well past his best. This will be a good learning experience for Robinson but there is no doubt in my mind that he will be coming into this bout as a heavy favourite; I expect the difference in physical fitness will show itself fairly quickly and that Robinson will be able to end the fight via submission sooner or later.
Prediction: Robinson by second round submission.
Luan Oliveira v Fenton Hilton – 155 lbs
Brazilian Luan Oliveira takes on American Fenton Hilton in this battle of the new world. Both are aged 25 and both are looking for their first Slaughterhouse win; Oliveira suffered defeat in his debut against Tank Radovan while Hilton is a new signing. On paper this would look like a wrestler vs. jiu jitsu matchup, however there is key distinction between these two fighters – unlike Oliveira, Hilton possesses a solid standup game with his two prior wins coming from knockout. Rather than wrestle with the Brazilian, I suspect Hilton will look to use his boxing here both to score points and, potentially, to find the KO. Oliveira's best chance to win this bout is undoubtedly through a submission victory; Hilton allowing the heavier Brazilian to take this fight to the ground would only play into his opponents hands and as such he will need to make adjustments to his usual gameplan to prevent opportunities for the counter takedown. I would give Hilton the edge in this matchup due to that added dimension of his striking, but if Oliveira does manage to take the American down the threat of submission will be ever present.
Prediction: Hilton by second round KO.
Markus Woodsmall v Karistokas Thereduuo – 135 lbs
Markus Woodsmall is a wrestler from St. Louis, Missouri; Karistokas Thereduuo is a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and hails from Greece. They will both be making their Slaughterhouse debut in this bantamweight matchup. Woodsmall likes to work out of the clinch and will be looking to keep the Greek up against the fence for the duration of the bout. However, he has shown vulnerability on the ground having being submitted by the much younger Domagoj Glavas in his third MMA appearance and will presumably be actively trying to avoid grappling with Thereduuo who is even more skilled in submissions. Thereduuo gameplan is simple: take Woodsmall to the ground and finish him. But executing this plan may not be quite so simple... the American has excellent takedown defence, with an astonishing ratio of 92.9% of takedowns stuffed over his five previous appearances. Thereduuo is undeniably accomplished in the art of submitting opponents (with three of his past four wins coming in this manner) however if he can't take Woodsmall down this will present a significant problem for him. I think this matchup will be decided on Woodsmall's ability to keep this fight standing and for this reason I would put the American as a slight favourite for this one based on prior performances.
Prediction: Woodsmall by second round KO.
Tank Radovan v Lee Lewis – 155 lbs Title Fight
Our inaugural lightweight title fight will be between an all American matchup as local Vegas boy Tank Radovan takes on Texan Lee Lewis. This will be the third time these two opponents have met with the record currently one a piece. While this will be the first title appearance for both fighters I doubt this one will go into the championship rounds; Lewis won the first fight with a second round submission while Radovan took the rematch with a knockout just four minutes into the bout. Both of these contenders are capable of finishing the fight early and that is surely the expectation here. Radovan is primarily a wrestler but made significant adjustments to win the second matchup between these two and I suspect he will follow suit here and do his utmost to keep the fight standing. It will be interesting to see what improvements Lewis has made since then; he was unable to take Radovan down the last time so this will be a key area in this title fight. Lewis can't afford to allow Radovan to dominate the standup exchanges again so he may adopt a more aggressive strategy to try and force him to the ground. If he proves successful Radovan could well find himself in trouble, however I fancy Radovan to offer a repeat performance of the last fight in this instance – he has both a solid gameplan and (as we have already seen) the ability to execute it.
Prediction: Radovan by first round KO.
Igor Zadarozhni v Raziel Shan – 265+ lbs
Two wrestlers make their debut in this super heavyweight matchup. Belarusian Igor Zadarozhni comes into this bout with an MMA record of 5-6 and will be seeking to improve on that here as he takes on Raziel Shan; the American holds a record of 6-3 but is coming off a two fight losing streak so he is equally as eager to get a win in the books here. Both of these fighters thrive on grinding their opponents down on the floor; with the exception of one decision victory a piece, all of these fighters win have come via KO delivered by ground and pound. Neither of these opponents show much in the way of standup ability so unless one of them has been making substantial improvements in that area I fully expect this bout to be decided on the ground. That said, both fighters tend to be fairly active with their strikes from top positions so this should at least be an entertaining fight for a grappler vs. grappler matchup. Shan will come into this bout as a slight favourite: he possesses a significant size advantage with 10 inches on Zadarozhni in height and perhaps even more significantly a substantial 33 lbs weight advantage which could prove crucial in determining the ground battle.
Prediction: Shan by decision.
Mashrafe Mortaza v Jimi Aldo – 145 lbs
Two new signings from the Island come to meet in this featherweight bout. Mashrafe Mortaza has previously fought in Highland Challengers and is looking to build on his 6-4 record as he takes his game to the next level; Jimi Aldo is 4-5 following a stint with Solitude and will be seeking to improve on that record as he embarks on the next stage of his career. This will be Mortaza's first fight at 145 lbs having previously fought as a lightweight so it will be interesting to see if the change in weight class has any impact here. This is a difficult matchup to call, both of these fighters are skilled in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but both have been submitted on occasion as well. Aldo has shown vulnerability in his standup game but given this is not a particular strength for Mortaza that may not matter here. I strongly suspect this fight will go down to the ground and be determined by whichever fighter has the stronger Jiu Jitsu; very hard to call but if I had to make a prediction Mortaza perhaps has the edge based on his stronger record.
Prediction: Mortaza by second round submission.
Kuula Natsi v Adam Morley – 265 lbs
Finnish veteran and BJJ black belt Kuula Natsi takes on Canadian wrestler Adam Morley in this heavyweight contest. Natsi is an experienced grappler having fought with numerous organisations including IMA, MMA Helsinki, Infinity and UMMA to name but a few; he is 39 but is still capable of competing at a high level having recorded three victories earlier in the year. Morley is 25 and comes into Slaughterhouse following stints with Death Squad MMA, the South America Fight Corp. and ECFC. Both of these competitors tend to win their fights on the ground; Natsi is an accomplished submission artist while most of Morley's victories have come from ground and pound. That said neither of these fighters are one dimensional: Morley has a solid standup game while Natsi's boxing needs to be respected – it's conceivable that one of them may tone back on the takedown attempts and try to score points (or perhaps even a knockout) with their striking given these two are relatively evenly matched on the mat. In terms of size difference there is little between the two; both come into this fight at just under 6'3 although Morley does possess a slight weight advantage. Very tough fight to call and this one could easily go either way.
Prediction: Morley by decision.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Johann Kessler v Franklin Jackson – 170 lbs
Our co-main event of the evening sees two extremely versatile fighters from either side of the atlantic face off as they seek to make inroads into the welterweight division. Franklin Jackson hails from Bakersfield and comes into this bout on a four fight winning streak. In his last Slaughterhouse appearance he won a fight of the night bonus for his sensational stoppage of Papy Abedi – he was rocked early in the first round after a left right from Abedi stunned the American and put him to the floor. A dazed Jackson managed to survive through the first round and delivered a spectacular overhand right to put Abedi out cold just seconds into the start of the next round. We hope to see an equally entertaining fight here.
Kessler is an equally dangerous fighter who excels at slowing opponents down with leg kicks. The Danish mixed martial artist shows a particular penchant for knocking out opponents and the suspicion is that is precisely what he will try to do here by loading up on shots and getting in Jackson's face. However, both of these fighters have very respectable records of 11-2 – finding the finish is not going to be easy for either opponent. This bout may well be decided by stoppage but chances are it won't come early; Kessler and Jackson both possess knockout power but show equally impressive striking defence so maintaining concentration will be crucial. I would give Kessler the edge when it comes to standup and working in the clinch, but if the fight goes to the ground the advantage may well swing in Jackson's favour. The outcome of this fight is anyone's guess, although I'll put this down as a victory for the Dane I certainly wouldn't bet the house on it.
Prediction: Kessler by second round KO.
MAIN EVENT
RP McMurphy v Imperiex Prime – 265 lbs
The main event of the evening sees two extremely talented warriors meet in this heavyweight matchup. These two are amongst the biggest names in the division so a victory here would greatly strengthen the case for a title challenge. “Machine Gun” RP McMurphy is a Canadian boxer/wrestler who has shown excellent ability to take opponents down and grind out TKOs on the floor. He comes into this bout following a big victory over Decker Dogwood at Slaughterhouse 6 and will be looking to continue his winning ways here. The Canadian has made substantial improvements to his striking defence in recent months and at the age of 29 is reaching the peak of his game. He is a former TTFC title holder and will be extremely eager to impress here and earn his right to mount a challenge for the heavyweight belt.
His opponent is one Imperiex Prime, a Greek standup fighter who possesses exceptional knockout power. To illustrate this, all of his victories have come via KO in the first round and all bar one have ended in the first two minutes. Arguably, Prime possesses one of the best right hands in the business – the number of bouts he has been in which have ended by early stoppage is nothing short of astonishing. If there was a record for fights finished in under twenty seconds this man would surely be in contention if not a clear frontrunner. McMurphy's plan will be to take the Greek to the floor, no question about it. While McMurphy has also shown knockout power in the past, I really wouldn't rate his chances in a standup battle between these two particularly highly. Prime has shown vulnerability on the ground in the past so McMurphy is in with a decent shout, but I'm not going to bet against a KO machine of Prime's caliber in this instance. Every second the fight remains standing spells danger for the Canadian and, for all the improvements he has made in dodging and blocking strikes, all it takes is one big punch to connect and that could be all she wrote. Regardless of what happens this should be a thoroughly entertaining fight between two very active fighters.
Prediction: Prime by first round KO.
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