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 Bushido 7: Zhang vs. Westerberg
Main Event
Featherweight Bout
Lei "Payday" Zhang (2-1-0, 2-0-0) vs. Gunnar "Mountain" Westerberg (2-1-0, 2-0-0)
The Main Event is one to look out for as two of the brightest prospects in the Featherweight division will battle it out to prove who is more deserving of a shot at the Champion.
In the division's #3 spot sits Lei Zhang, a Muay Thai specialist from China and he will face the man currently in the #5 seat, the Swedish Boxer Gunnar Westerberg. A match between these two has been lingering on the horizon for a while, as the two have previous fought alongside one another on two different occasions, once on Bushido
1: Jones vs. Seung-Jin, and a second time on Bushido 4: Whitehouse vs. Schmidtt, with each man winning on both appearances. Zhang employed a similar game-plan in both of his previous wins, where he aims to pull his opponent into a clinch and work them over with vicious elbows until they crumble. When not clinching, Zhang opts to use kicks instead of punches. Westerberg on the other hand fights very differently,
as he uses his fantastic movement and Boxing skills to dip in and out of range, striking his opponents from a distance at all sorts of awkward angles. This fight will be a definite stand up battle, where both men will be looking to use both their speed and power to prove which has has the superior stand-up abilities.
Zhang has reportedly posted on social media, stating that he "won't just win, I'll put this guy away, KO of the Night style" whilst also stating that he does not mind what currency he receives the bonus in.
Westerberg has also gone online to call Zhang a "little brat" that "looks like a drug dealer" so it will be interesting to see how and if this apparent animosity is put to bed.
Co-Main Event
Middleweight Championship Bout
Carlton Landford (2-0-0, 1-0-0 1 NC) vs. Michael "Iron Mikey" Amanatidis (4-0-0, 1-0-0)
The Co-Main Event of the evening is one of extreme importance, as it will lead to the crowning of Bushido's very first Middleweight Champion, and the winner will be the third person to hold a Bushido belt.
Carlton impressed management with his dominant victory over the then undefeated prospect John Anderson, back on Bushido 4: Whitehouse vs. Schmidtt after sadly being denied the chance to fight on the company's very first event due to his opponent not making weight. "Iron Mikey" was spotted by company scouts after they had witnessed him tearing through the St. Petes regional scene, where he finished three men early, one by a 16 second headkick knockout. Landford is a Muay Thai specialist at heart, although he possesses a diverse skill-set and does not appear to be quite exceptional at any particular discipline.
His opponent, Amanatidis is also a Muay Thai practitioner and he is reportedly better at it than Landford, though the rest of his Martial Art knowledge seems questionable. The winner of this fight will see themselves be the first to sit on the golden throne of the Middleweight division, but will have little time to rest as men like Larith Shun, John Anderson, and Benson Whyte will be knocking at their door. Do not miss this!
Featured Fight
Super-Heavyweight Bout
Ryan Riggs (4-0-0, Debut) vs. Holly "The Tank" Stackhouse (3-1-0, 1-0-0)
This featured fight is between two super-sized super-heavyweights as undefeated Aussie Ryan Riggs takes on fellow countryman Holly Stackhouse.
Fresh off of an impressive 16-man tournament win in his hometown of Sydney, Riggs will be looking to ride that momentum as he makes his Bushido debut this evening, with a win over his opponent.
Opposite him will stand the absolutely monstrous Stackhouse, who measures in at 7 feet tall and 300 lbs, who is by no means an easy foe. Riggs is a pure Wrestler that hasn't sharpened his knowledge in other disciplines, and he is known to work on taking his opponent down, then proceeding to finish the fight using his devastating ground and pound.
"The Tank" is a very different fighter as he is a Boxer, with relatively good Muay Thai abilities too, and little to no grappling experience. It is important to note that Stackhouse has been taken down before by a Wrestler not close to Riggs' level, so unless he has worked upon his defensive skills, he could find himself in a world of trouble once again.
Striker vs. Grappler, Boxing vs. Wrestling. Interesting match-up.
Featured Fight
Welterweight Bout
Hans Schmidtt (4-1-0, 0-1) vs. Erick "Zombie" Darko (2-1-0, 1-0-0)
The second fight of the Main Card will see two men that have fallen on hard times as of late, enter the ring once more for a shot at redemption. The German, Hans Schmidtt made his company debut with a shot at the vacant 170lb title as he headlined the event
Bushido 4: Whitehouse vs. Schmidtt - which saw him knocked out in the second round, after a poor performance. Darko made his company debut on Bushido 3, where he would quickly submit his opponent in the first round. Cockiness saw him fight another two times in the space of 5 days, but his luck ran out as he stepped into the octagon unprepared and found himself finished within two minutes of his third fight.
Scmidtt is a Boxer, who has found incredible success within the clinch, but appears to have extremely poor accuracy outside of it as he misses almost every shot he throws. The young American is a very different fighter, as his skills come in the form of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and only weak knowledge in the other disciplines.
Darko aims to take the fight to the floor where he can then search restlessly for a submission, only time will tell if this method will be successful against Schmidtt. Will "Zombie" earn more money for his rap career, or will the German show his Panzer strength once more, with a win this evening.
Opening Fight
Lightweight Bout
Billy "Mr. Handsome" Bird (1-1-0, 1-1-0) vs. Jimmy "Baby Hunt" Hunt (Debut, Debut)
The opening bout of the Main Card will see the return of Bushido familiar face Billy Bird as he looks to earn his second career win, against the company newcomer Jimmy Hunt. Bird made his debut way back on the organisation's flagship event as he knocked out his opponent in the very first round despite coming into the fight as the underdog.
Soon after, the two met again for a rematch and things did not go in "Mr. Handsome"'s favour, as this time he quickly fell to the mat. Hunt on the other hand has never stepped inside the ring or cage except in training, so we will be looking forward to see how he performs under those bright lights. Bird is a Boxer with a slight knowledge in Wrestling, who aims to mix up his attacks with both strikes from a distance as well as takedowns.
Hunt seems to have a similar set of abilities according to scouting reports, with his background being Boxing, and in addition he has also earned a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Judging by the fact that Bird reached for takedowns in his second fight with Leto, one can imagine that he may try to employ a similar strategy to his striking-specialist opponent this evening. A win for "Baby Hunt" may kickstart his career, and one for Bird will put him back in the win column. This will surely be a fun fight to start the Main Card with a bang.
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