Icon Fight Night 2 Preview

Editorial by Jake Scott

Good afternoon Los Angelinos, it's a sunny day in Southern California as usual, but that doesn't matter because it's time to stay inside on your couch and watch the preview show for ICON Fight Night 2, presented by Revolution XC. Fight fans in Venice Beach will be treated to a nine-fight night of cage fighting violence this Friday, headlined by a lightweight title bout between two familiar foes in the form of the popular "Elvis the Fighter" Hop Sing Jung and accomplished Dutchman Alexander Vermeer.

265+ lbs - "Soul Absorber" Kenshiro Kakashi (debut) vs. Marko "Project" Oconner The first bout on the card features the promotion's new superheavyweight division in a classic striker vs. grappler matchup. Both fighters are making their pro debuts, but the American O'Connor was a Golden Gloves champion in his native Wisconsin as well as a high school wrestler while the Japanese Kakashi is a traditional jiu-jitsu practitioner believed to possess a high-level submission grappling game. This will all come down to distance, as Oconner has to keep his smaller opponent from clinching and taking the fight to the ground or he's likely to be tapped out in short order. At this weight class though, he won't have to do it for long. Prediction: Marko Oconner by 1st round KO 145 lbs - Derrick "Pretty Boy" King (4-2-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) vs. Alberto "Roca Roca" Silva (2-2-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) Two competitors relatively young in this sport face off in their first matches under the Revolution XC banner. It's been a roller coaster ride for "Pretty Boy" King so far as the American has tasted victory four times at the regional level but been savagely knocked out in a pair of vouts against the older Santana Blaze in his forays up the competitive ladder. His opponent, Alberto Silva, is a skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor from Brazil who has seen all his fights finish in the first round, by victory or defeat. King isn't a finisher and has reportedly been dumped by his management team in the leadup to the fight, which has to be demoralizing, so I expect "Roca Roca" will find a way to break him before the final bell. Prediction: Alberto Silva by 2nd round submission 205 lbs - Arturo "Bad Boy" Vidal (5-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RXC) vs. Saif "Fatty" Swaleh (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-1 RXC) A somewhat curious rematch, the Chilean Muay Thai specialist Vidal used his predictable-but-effective gameplan to deliver a steady diet of clinch elbows en route to a clear unanimous decision over the Bahranian Swaleh the last time out. That's not to say the bout is entirely a mismatch as the Arab boxer certainly has the striking chops to knock out his younger opponent if he can keep the fight at a distance. That said, smart money is on a repeat of their first encounter. Prediction: Arturo Vidal by unanimous decision 135 lbs - Antonio Diaz (2-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) vs. Dan "Diesel" Sergeant (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) Two young men who have never tasted defeat in their careers will make their RXC debuts in the next bout here in the bantamweight division. Stockton native Tony Diaz has decisioned both his professional opponents with a varied striking attack, choosing volume and precision over knockout power but making victory look easy nevertheless. His opponent in this bout has some striking skills himself but is unlikely to have any avenue to victory through striking, instead he'll try to use his superior wrestling to bring the fight to the ground where he's a stifling, if not especially ferocious, presence. Prediction: Antonio Diaz by split decision 135 lbs - Lamb "of" God (debut) vs. Carlito Brigante (2-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) Keeping it in the lower weight classes, this match will also feature two fighters new to the RXC cage and one new to professional MMA entirely. The debutante goes by the moniker "Lamb of God" and appears to have a strong wrestling base, although whether he's more of a ground-and-pounder or dirty boxer remains to be seen. His opponent is fellow American Carlito "Malo" Brigante, a well-rounded kicking specialist signed off the strength of two straight victories including a highlight reel head kick KO. Brigante has some skill, but his tendency to lead with his chin might be his downfall here. Prediction: Lamb of God by 1st round KO 185 lbs - Leonardo Leite (5-3-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RXC) vs. Adam Grigorian (6-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) The main card leads off with the much anticipated RXC debut of undefeated Armenian prospect Adam Grigorian, an 18-year-old phenom who has already proven his mettle against high-level competition in the New York and has become familiar to RXC fans without even stepping into the cage thanks to his online war of words with fan favorite Nick Gonzalez. The Revolution matchmakers have no intentional of babying their new acquisition however as Brazil native Leonardo Leite is a high-level BJJ competitor who has ended all five of his MMA victories by forcing his opponent to tap. Four of those submissions have come in the first round, including forcing a painful looking verbal submission from Justin Sane in his RXC debut last month. Grigorian has faced skilled grapplers before, but none with wrestling as good as Leite, and that might make for a rude awakening. Prediction: Leonardo Leite by 2nd round submission 145 lbs - Michael "The Hurricane" Carter (6-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) vs. Walton Kunz (9-7-0 MMA, 0-2-0 RXC) Another hot young prospect competing for the first time under the RXC banner, Michael Carter fell short in his bid to unseat the undefeated Alexander Koreshkov last July, being smothered by the superior grappler and in the process tasting defeat for the first time himself. The well-rounded Toronto-born wrestler remains a tantalizing talent however and may soon be back to headlining cards, particularly now that he's competing at 145 pounds to maximize his size and strength advantage. That should serve him well tonight against the much smaller German submission specialist Walton Kunz, a mercurial talent who remains winless under the RXC banner thus far. Kunz is a good boxer and would likely have the advantage on the feet but he has nowhere near the wrestling ability to keep the bout there and has shown little inclination to strike in his career, particulary after being finished in his last two bouts. Prediction: Michael Carter by 2nd round TKO 155 lbs - Takumi "Sunrise" Takeshi (8-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RXC) vs. Nik "Lake Effect" Snow (2-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RXC) Another lauded prospect debuting for RXC, the 20-year-old sushi chef-turned fighter Takeshi features a well-rounded game that has allowed him to finish all eight of his victories, five by knockout and three by submission with his only defeat coming several years ago in his debut as an untrained teenager. He was most recently the Professional League MMA lightweight champion but he faces his toughest opponent yet tonight in the granite-chinned Snow, a freak athlete with an advanced game for his age and likely the advantage in most areas of the game. If Snow has a weakness, it's in experience as has competed only twice despite having been training for some time, and if Takeshi can exploit his edge there or perhaps in the wrestling department he might be able to eke out a victory. Prediction: Nik Snow by split decision 155 lbs - (C) Hop Sing "Hyun Ae" Jung (19-7-0 MMA, 3-2-0 RXC) vs. Alexander Vermeer (16-4-1 MMA, 2-1-0, RXC) And finally, the main event of the card will feature the diminutive Korean champion Hop Sing Jung against the fantastic Dutch boxer Alexander Vermeer. Both men laid claim to #1 P4P at different times on The Island as Vermeer racked up an impressive highlight reel of striking finishes - including two savage first round knockouts of Jung under the Island FC banner - and finishing as the season runner-up at the 145 pound division. The suave submission wizard Jung meanwhile began his Island career with eight consecutive victories - including a first-round rear naked choke over Vermeer. Jung is no stranger to bad blood having just spent ten minutes in the ring with Nate Gonzalez, and he's surely eager to draw the career ledger even against his old opponent here. Jung excels at bringing the fight to the mat with his judo base, but his reliance on bullying his way into close quarters without offering his opponent any real danger on the feet has left him vulnerable to counter-punchers, as Vermeer could attest two out of three times. For the Dutch striker who has beaten his opponent senseless in 14 out of 16 victories, the road to victory is clear - use his vastly superior reach to maintain distance and wait for the chance to tag Jung's jaw. The math might favor Vermeer, but "Elvis" is at the top of his game right now and looks great at 155 pounds, so I have a feeling he may pull off the upset. Prediction: Hop Sing Jung by 1st round submission

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