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Revolution XC 5
King of Smack!
Before I go on with the review, I would like to apologize to Don Julio Cesar Chavez. In my review for Revolution XC 4, I implied that Chavez might be actively avoiding a fight with Peter Potter. This was stupid on my part. I hate it when media outlets try to twist the facts to make a story that gets more internet traffic, and I should have been a more honest reviewer, and I should have done more research into what was going on. MMA is a brutal sport, and it requires a certain level of bravery in order to get into a cage with another grown man, or woman I don’t judge, who wants to hurt you in order to make money. Fighters deserve more respect than they seem to get, and I’m going to try to provide fair and balanced reviews from now on to show my respect. Whether you’re 100-0 or 0-100, Mixed Martial Artists are the toughest people in sports, you got to give credit to people who are willing to have an occupation where they are guaranteed to be hurt.
Enough of me though, let’s get on to the event, which took place in front of 13,381 people who got to witness 3 title fights, including Don Julio Cesar Chavez looking to go 2-0 over former champ Peter Potter, Dominate Light-Heavyweight Champion Kaleva Vettenranta taking on Gleb Zheglov, and perhaps most anticipated (and unexpected), Nate Gonzalez, representing Compton and all alterations of the F-word, taking on “Elvis the Fighter” himself, Hop Sing Jung. Is that it, HELL NO! We’ve got Heavyweight Champion Papa Shango going up to Super-Heavyweight for a super fight with Alfonso Cabral, and a #1 Contender’s fight between Ukko Metso and Andy Fitzgerald in the Middleweight division. Without further ado, let’s get to the windpipe crushing, strike central highlights, and comeback kid moments that can only be found in Revolution XC!
Kaedo Neal vs Jerry Smith
Middleweight MMA Action
Kaedo Neal is under the same management team as the Gonzalez brothers and Kid Kudi, a great, if controversial group of friends to have. However, at only 18 years old and now 5-0 after an impressive second round TKO, Neal is a prospect on the rise, and might be a headlining act sooner than later. As for Smith, he did alright, landing more strikes even getting a couple of takedowns against Neal. However, Kaedo hit harder and when it mattered, finishing Smith off in the second round. The Australian falls to 1-1.
Konor McGregor vs Igz Kincaid
Welterweight MMA Action
Dang, this is why it’s not not a good idea to go to the ground with a brown belt in BJJ. A McGregor takedown was followed up soon afterwards with a beautiful armbar by Kincaid, who is 3-0 in his career so far. McGregor goes back to the drawing board with a record of 2-2, essentially being on the .500 mark.
Blue Kandle vs Vito Scaletta
Welterweight MMA Action
After a fight of the night victory against Count Foo, Scaletta continued his winning ways with a first round TKO of Blue in the first round with only 4 seconds left on the clock. Scaletta dominated in both the clinch and in the stand up, as he battered his wax inspired (even I’m not sure what I just typed), opponent with strikes until he could take no more. Scaletta is now 7-1, an impressive record, while Kandle suffers his first loss after going 4-0 in his previous fights.
Fernando Ruiz vs Katsu Kazuhiro
Welterweight MMA Action
Katsu Kazuhiro is apparently a descendant of an actual samurai family. I won’t front, that’s pretty badass. Too bad it didn’t help him in this fight. Other than some minor clinch work, this was all stand up for the whole 1:37. It ended with a brutal uppercut from Ruiz that separated Katsi from his conscience and dropped him to 5-3. Fernando is now 8-2 and the Rio de Janeiro native seemed comfortable in his RXC debut.
Pyry Kontio vs Walton Kunz
Featherweight MMA Action
This ended up being a lot closer than I expected. While Kontio ultimately ended up victorious, Kunz had a competitive first round in which he actually reversed position and got on top of Kontio. However, Finland’s Favorite Featherweight (That’s my personal nickname for him shut up) brought the hammer into round two with dominant ground and pound. Kunz’s record in now 9-7 while Pyry earned another chance at the Featherweight championship. His record sits at 13-5 after a two fight losing streak.
Kavela Vettenranta vs Gleb Zheglov
Light-Heavyweight Championship Fight
Vettenranta might be the most dominant champion in our entire organization. He’s got the skills to pay the bills in a division that can’t seem to keep up. He savaged Zheglov, who fought and lost to Ukko Metso in a middleweight fight previously, with a takedown and a Kimura that forced a tap out in 1:38 of round 1. Zheglov, now 12-4, will stay at Light-Heavyweight for a little while longer while Kavela, who sits at 14-4, awaits his next defense. One can hope the next person he fights will put up at least a bit of a struggle.
Nate Gonzalez vs Hop Sing Jung
Lightweight Championship Fight
Oh let the controversy begin. The highly anticipated Championship encounter ended in a questionable decision in favor of Jung. The clinch was where Jung seemed most comfortable, as he held up Gonzalez up close several times. However, Gonzalez landed significantly more strikes and even got a takedown. However, Jung, now 18-7 won via unanimous decision, getting scorecards of 48-47 and 2 50-45 scorecards. Thank God these two are having a rematch soon, because Gonzalez, who is 11-4, needs a shot at redemption.
Ukko Metso vs Andy Fitzgerald
Middleweight MMA Action
Dang, what a fight and what a beatdown from Fitzgerald. Andy earned a title shot in dominant way by beating down Metso in near perfect fashion. And when I say perfect, I mean he only missed 1 combo. Everything else was a homerun shot and the fact that Metso managed to go into a third round is quite impressive. He didn’t last long, as the finish came 5 seconds into round 3 after dropping Ukko with a left hook and follow up ground and pound. Metso, after 2 straight wins, is now 14-4. Fitzgerald will be looking for revenge against current champion Rocco Antonio Saffredi, and he’ll be bringing a 12-3 record into their third encounter.
Papa Shango vs Alfonso Cabral
Super-Heavyweight Super Fight
That’s right folks, we got a superfight on our hands, as heavyweight champion took on Alfonso Cabral in the co-main event of the evening. Cabral would make the master of the Shango Tango regret his decision within a round. He dominated the clinch game and punched Shango until he ultimately wilted under the pressure, bringing his record to 20-3. Shango didn’t lose his belt, but his record is now 13-4.
Don Julio Cesar Chavez vs Peter Potter
Welterweight Title Fight
40 seconds. That was the time it took for Chavez to pull guard, lock in a triangle, and force the former champ Potter to tap out. 40 seconds. Honestly I’m still in shock. I expected a close, back and forth fight, but Chavez showed his championship savvy and proved that his position as one of the best in the world. Don Julio’s record now sits at 13-4, while Potter will look to rebound from this loss and improve his 15-4 record. Still in shock from this.
Post Fight Bonuses
Fight of the Night- Andy Fitzgerald vs Ukko Metso
This wasn’t really a typical fight of the night. Most would hear that and think of two dudes whaling on each other and not worrying about damage. In this case, Fitzgerald wailed on Metso while not being concerned with the damage he was causing. Props to Ukko for remaining standing, but this was all Andy.
Knockout of the Night-Vito Scaletta
I got a good feeling with this Scaletta kid. He’s 2-0 in RXC and 2-0 with post fight bonuses. Both indicate that Vito has the potential to be a major player in this sport. His extinguishing of the previously undefeated Blue Kandle is an additional good sign.
Submission of the Night-Don Julio Cesar Chavez
40 seconds. I’m still lost on that. Chavez proved to be a true champion with a first round triangle choke submission over former champion Peter Potter in the main event of the night.
Conclusion
RXC might not have sold out University Park, but 13,381 attendance ain’t nothing to sneeze at. There were surprise finishes, controversial outcomes, and a look into the future of the sport. If you enjoyed King of Smack, then you’ll look forward to RXC 6, where Issumater Tariaksuq will defend his featherweight championship against Pyry Kontio and in the Main event (as of this writing time) Hop Sing Jung will defend the Lightweight championship against the man he just “beat” for the title in Nate Gonzalez. I can’t wait for that fight, and a week (or however long a week in MMA Tycoon time is) has never felt so long.
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