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Gooood evening ladies and gentleman, this is John Brawler bringing you a preview of Valhalla 66: Tokyo.
I have to say, I'm pretty excited about this upcoming card with an expected 7000 screaming fight fans looking to fill the Saku Dome this saturday the 23rd of june..Some big fights happening on this one and very high expectations from fighters and their fans. Lets get this preview under way shall we?
Sanjay Singh (0-0) vs Frank Mir (1-0) 205lbs
First off we have Sing in his debut fight against Mir, witch he'll be looking to win and impress the management of Valhalla. He's a wonderful wrestler and it looks like his stronger game but we can see he's been working on his standup skills so we could see him looking to trade strikes with Mir. Mir has feeble standup skills but a medicore ground game, he's pretty much well rounded at everything but not great at anything. He has 1 win via submission in his amateur career with his blue belt so he'll have an advantage if Singh takes him to the ground.
Reem Davey (2-1) vs Hayden Hitman (1-1) 265lbs
Davey really is a remarkable boxer and a proficient wrestler going 2-1 in his amateur career and his only loss coming from a controversial UD loss to Hiro Oshioki. Davey will be looking to stand and bang with Hitman and maybe work some dirty boxing in the clinch. Hayden Hitman would have respectable standup skills with a bit of wrestling history as well as just earning his bjj blue belt.. I think hitman will look to stand and bang to prove he's a better striker than davey,he might even look for takedowns and use his blue belt to his advantage.
Possu Jokinen (0-1) vs Patrick Hiramatsu (3-2) 155lbs
Next up we have young Jokinen looking to challenge another one of our young guys Hiramatsu.. Jokinen has a competent standup game but a wonderful wrestler as well, he also just earned his purple belt in bjj witch makes him very dangerous on the ground, top or bottom.. Jokinen will probably be looking to take this fight to where he is comfortable and that's in full mount delivering a beating, he could also look for submissions.. Patrick Hiramatsu is only a competent wrestler but has a respectable standup game, I think Hiramatsu will be looking to sprawl and brawl at all cost to win this fight as he Doesn't have the ground game to compete with Jokinen.
Yutaka Shinto (2-1) vs Bryant Whitaker (2-0) 170lbs
Shinto is a wonderful boxer with a respectable wrestling background and after going 2-1, we can tell he likes to sprawl and brawl and will take on any striker or grappler, this kid has heart for years. Infact he wouldn't tap to Genma Satome after getting caught in a triangle choke, it took hours before he woke up again but is very proud he didn't tap. Shinto will have his work cut out for him again though as Whitaker is a really strong wrestler and is 2-0 in his amateur career. Whitaker will be looking to get this fight down to the ground so he can try to take advantage of Shinto's weak ground game and hopefully finish this fight.
Blink Deathgrip (7-5) vs Crash Archangel (7-5) 205lbs
These two warriors met each other at the very start of their careers and met again back at Valhalla 52. Both times Deathgrip has come away with the win via submission. The are both 7-5 and are ranked pretty much as high as each other so we'll see them faceoff for a 3rd time.. Deathgrip as always will be looking to use his strong wrestling to get the fight to the ground and make use of his bjj purple belt. Archangel is no doubt a sprawl and bralwer with absolutely remarkable wrestling to stuff takedowns and a respectable boxer, I think Archangel has been training hard to make quick work of his opponent this time round.
Atraeu Nelson (8-2) vs Tony Stark (8-2) 170lbs
Nelson is a submission specialist with a brownbelt and respectable wrestling and will no doubt be looking to get a takedown on Stark and work in a submission from there. Stark doesn't have such a great ground game but is no joke when it comes to striking as proven with all 8 wins coming via T(KO) so Nelson will have his hands full, or should I say face full Starks fist's.
Damien Thorne (9-4) vs Ba Lil IV (7-2) 205lbs
Wow, what a matchup we have here, this fight has been talked about for weeks and I'm sure it's going to deliver. We have Thorne who is an exceptional boxer with a sensational wrestling game with a brownbelt, does it get more all rounded than that? Then we have Lil IV who is a wonderful wrestler with a blackbelt! It will be very interesting to see how this fight pans out, will Thorne look to stuff Lil IV's takedowns and chop him up with leg kicks to open up an opportunity to land his big right or a massive uppercut to finish his opponent off? Or will he look for a takedown himself and try to pound out victory? We'll have to wait and see.. Ba Lil IV seems to be working on his standup skills but is a pure grappler with a blackbelt under Z.Gracie so I'm sure he'll be working for takdowns and looking to control the fight from a dominant position and look to capitalize on any chances of a submission finish.
Ricky Sparks (9-1) vs Juan Tamad (5-1) 155lbs
Here we go again, another exciting grappler vs grappler. Sparks has a sensational wrestling background and has had no problems with getting his takedowns and man handling his opponents in the past and I think he'll be looking to do exactly that come fight night as he fights for a contender spot. Tamad on the other hand has really good submissions skills with his bjj purple belt and exceptional wrestling to back it up. This fight will hit the ground within the first 30 seconds, if Sparks gets the takdown, he could find himself in trouble as Tamad will work for any submission he can, but if Tamad gets the takedown I think he'll try to advance to a dominant position and control the pace until the right time comes to lock in a submission.
Co Main Event. Mickey Mouse (10-5) vs Kazushi Sakuraba (10-5) 170lbs Title Fight
The skills of these two men are so close, nobody could call this fight. This is also for the vacant 170lbs title so we'll see a new welter weight champ come out of this.. Although their skills are hard to tell apart, they both have different gameplans. Micky Mouse likes to stand and bang for a bit then try to take it to the ground and work in some GnP until the ref steps in or will look for submissions where ever he can. Sakuraba, this guy needs medication because he will run at you like a mentally ill escapee and look to power slam you to the ground. He has so much energy that he is relentless with his takedowns and submissions. This again, will be another hard fight to call but will produce some exciting results.
Main Event. Bigfoot Silva (15-3) vs Jim Steel (5-1) 265lbs Title Fight
Here we have our current heavyweight champ Silva looking to defend his title after wining it, losing it, then wining it back again against Robert Hernando. Silver is a sensational boxer with some great KO power to go with it, he has a wrestling and bjj background but he's mainly a striker and happy to keep it standing. The challenger is Jim Steel, Steel is an absolute remarkable striker with a strong ground game, I think we could see him strike with Silva for a while but he'll probably look to take the fight where he has an advantage and will look for submissions and ultimately beat the champion and become the champion. This is a big step up for young Steel as Sliva is becoming a vet to Valhalla but I personally think Steel has what it takes.
Well, that's it folks, I want to thank all fighters participating on this card. It should be a great event! Until next time, take care.
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