|
 Joker Leto v Steve Tierney – 155lbs
Two rookies will be clashing in the first fight of the evening. Joker Leto is making his MMA debut. The American training in Tokyo comes from a boxing background, but still looks really green. For his debut he’s fighting one weightclass higher than usualy. He fights one of his gymmates, Steve Tieney from Ireland. Tierney has fought once in his carreer, losing to Deck Chair at “KOTB Challengers 11”. Since he also as a boxing background, this fight should stay on the feet. His experience and size will probably trump Leto though, and that’s why:
Prediction: Tierney
Harvey Dent v Hanzo Changchien – 205lbs
Two guys with both one fight will compete in the next event. Harvey Dent made an amazing debut, knocking out his opponent in 1:31. He has great dirty boxing and a fantastic chin, and should try to get this fight in the clinch. Hiss opponent, Hanzo, comes from a pure wrestling background. In his first fight for KOTB, he took his opponent down and cut him open. Changchien takedowns are near unstoppable, but his groundgame could use some work. Based on previous experiences Dent should get the win, but I’m going with the upset;
Prediction: Changchien
Chong Yeung v Hector Reyes – 265+lbs
Next up are two guys in the SHW-division. Yeung is making his debut here. He is a rather one-dimensional fighter, who will be trying to shoot in from the distance and finish the fight with ground and pound. Reyes is quickly becoming a veteran at KOTB, already going for his fourth fight, even though he has been with the org for a bit over a month. He can both strike and wrestle with the bests. Skillwise, Reyes is far ahead of Yeung, but his cardio doesn’t seem like the best and he looks te be out of shape coming in to this fight. Once again, I predict an upset.
Prediction: Yeung
Ryo Takajiri v Pablo Esposito – 155lbs
Honestly, this should be over quick. Takajiri is the former Division 4 TWGC winner. His grappling is one of the best in the division. That grappling experience hasn’t really translated to mma though. In QFC, he got submission after submission, even hitting one poor fella with a Triple Decker Pecker Wrecker, but since joining KOTB he’s on a three fight losing skid. This fight should change that though. Esposito has lost his last 6 fights. His grappling is really good too, but it seems like the poor soul lacks the drive to fight anymore. I hope he makes weight, cause he’s not looking too good right now.
Prediction: Takajiri
Celio Aravinda v Augusto Azevedo - 135lbs
Next up, two of the lightest guys are set to compete in a rematch. Aravinda is a good boxer with solid bjj, making his debut in the last fight against Azevedo. Azevedo is a KOTB original, fighting all his fights in KOTB. He started his career good, only losing to the champ, Chris Karter, but lately things haven’t been going so smooth. The last fight saw Augusto take down Celio really quick, so we’re probably in for a repeat of that. Azevedo should be able to win this one, but he’ll need to come with a better tactic than last time.
Prediction: Azevedo
Psycho Thrillstompers v Vlad Putin – 170lbs
Thrillstompers vs Putin is another rematch on this card. Putin is Thrillstompers sole loss. After that Thrillstompers won two in a row. Putin was unbeaten till he me Thrillstompers for the first time, but after that got ko’d in just 12 seconds by Dan Howson. Now they meet again. The battle itself is the classic grappler vs striker battle. I think the result will be the same this time.
Prediction: Putin
Peter Pan v Vinicius Costa – 145lbs
Two guys coming of a loss meet in this fight. Pan is the former RSF champion, but couldn’t win in his KOTB debut. Costa has been with KOTB for a bit longer, starting of 2-0, but losing his last match to Randhawa. Costa probably is the more skilled fighter, but I have to go with the experience of Pan.
Prediction: Pan
Lucas Campos v Walood Kassab – 170 lbs
Two fighters going different directions meet. Campos is an incredibly allround fighter, but lately hasn’t been able to get much wins, going 1-3 in his last 4. Kassab however, after a rocky start of his carreer, has managed to win three in a row. Campos should be skilled enough to win where ever it goes, but how much off a hit has his confidence taken after those three losses. That’s why I’m going with;
Prediction: Kassah
Hugo Boss v Mario Barrera – 205lbs
Boss and Barrera are two of the most promising fighters in the lhw division. Boss is a wrestler turned boxer, who excels at using his wrestling base to keep him upright so he can hunt for the KO. He spent most of his career in twisted and immediately picked up a win once he joined KOTB. Barrera is a KOTB native with excellent Muay Thai. The winner of this fight probably only needs one more win to fight for the title. Both fighters prefer to keep the fight at range, so we’ll see what prevails, Boss’ boxing or Barrera’s kickboxing.
Prediction: Boss
Sandu Lungu v Harry Milne – 265+lbs
And with that we arrived at the main even of the evening. On one side we have the Hall Of Famer, the former champion, Lungu. Lungu looked unstoppable as champion, but Tito Griffin has beaten him twice in a row, and now he’s looking to get back on track to another title shot. He’ll have to go through Milne though. Milne is an excellent grappler, but really has been working on his striking in the last months, and he might be able to go strike for strike with the former champ. It’s a risk, but I’m going for the upset once again.
Prediction: Milne
Article views:
127
» Donate to this author |
