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 Prince Idowu (3-1-0) vs Royal Pain (5-1-0) – 155lbs
We start the night off with a lightweight bout of Idowu against Pain. I think it's safe to say Idowu is not the kind of fighter that likes to fight for decisions.
All of “The Future King's” fights ended in the first round. He has shown to be a dangerous striker everywhere, finishing guys on the feet, or taking them down to unleash some hellish ground and pound. Even in his sole loss, he almost knocked his opponent out, but got caught in a triangle when he dove in to finish him.
Royal Pain is not a guy to be that careless against though. The brown belt from Peru has racked up five submission wins already, four of those in the first round. Because of that threat Idowu will look to keep the fight standing. That's easier said than done though. Pain has some very strong takedowns, scoring a takedown in all but one of his fights and hitting half of the takedowns he attempts.
Nate Gonzalez (6-0-0) vs Richard Machan (3-0-0) – 155lbs title
Two undefeated fighters go at it for the Island Combat Lightweight Championship.
Nate is an submission ace, coming out of Compton. So far, his tactic has always been very clear, limit damage on the outside, get to the clinch, then to the ground and then submit you opponent. Judging from his past fights, it seems to be working. The outspoken fighter has aqquired a cultfollowing of fans already, most of them drawn by his brazz behavior on Buzz, and if he does not win the title, we might see a riot in the stadium.
Looking to play spoiler is Richard Machan. Calling “Roller” an Mma fighter might be a bit of a stretch. In all three of his fights, Machan has not hit his opponent with any standing strikes.
No, the ground is where Machan thrives. Once there, he mixes up strikes and submissions in high volume. He does not try to pass often, prefering to just keep pressuring his opponent with attacks, until evantually he succumbs. Because of this strong groundgame, Gonzalez might be forced for this first time in his carreer to actually try to keep the fight standing.
Issumatar Tariaksuq (7-1-0) vs Walton Kuntz (8-3-0) – 135lbs title
Next up already the second titlefight of the evening. Tariaksuq might be the only fighter on the Island who wins most his fights by decision. That's not because he doesn't have the power, but his style is tailor made for it. Issumatar has two layers of offence.
On the outside he never throws a punch, but slows his opponent down by throwing a high volume of accurate low- and bodykicks, sometimes throwing a high kick for the real damage. If he's met with a better striker, he will move the fight to the clinch, where he unloads with elbows, sapping more energy from his opponent. Because of this, Tariaksuq has never lost the last round of a fight, often even scoring 10-8 cards.
Walton Kuntz is the complete opposite of Tariaksuq, having finished all his fights. Kuntz is primarely a boxer, but finishes most his fights by submission.
He uses his boxing to close the distance, and once in the clinch, makes sure to quickly pull guard. It's not the safest game for Kuntz, he had to submit twice, but his oppurtunistic grappling can give any fighter fits. We'll see who comes out on top in this clash of styles.
Carlos Newton (8-2-0) vs Don Julio Cesar Chavez (5-2-0) – 185lbs title
Former champion Carlos Newton is trying to win the title once again.The Canadian submission ace lost his title at Top Dog to Gleb Zheglov, but gets the chance to redeem himself now. Newton never throws strikes, but waits patiently from the outside, till the moment he can hit the takedown. From there he stays very mobile, often improving position, and attacking his opponent with strikes and subs, till they are too exhausted to defend his subs.
Cesar Chaves prefers the outside. A top class boxer, he peppers his opponents with strikes from the outside. If his opponent manages to close the distance, he will pull guard and work from his very strong guard. That is not a place where he wants to be in this fight though.
Jake Belcher (8-2-0) vs Hop Sing Jung (10-3-0) – 170lbs title
Two former champions are back to contend for a title once again. Jake Belcher is one of the few that has been champion in both Island FC and Highland Island, and he will be looking to add another championship to his record.
“The Talent's” game is based on his takedowns, which are some of the best in the division. From there he attacks with both submissions and ground and pound. His submission game is more for diversity than actually dangerous. The real danger comes from his ground and pound, where he unloads heavy elbows and punches.
Hop Sing Jung is also a former champion, but not in the 170lbs division, but in the 145lbs division. He is one of the top 145 pounders on the Island, only losing to former Island FC Champions Vermeer and Babajide, and now he wants to claim the 170lbs title too.
He has a huge task ahead of him though, Belcher seems to be his equal on the ground and has a whopping 30lbs on him when walking around.
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