Good evening, Island fight fans, and welcome to another event preview for Revolution Island.
Coming to you live from The Underground this Friday we have ten more exciting bouts presented by Darkness Clothing and Taco's Tiki Bar, home of the Big Stiffy!
The Island season is starting to heat up with twice-weekly cards going forward here at Revolution Island, so get ready to meet some new future household names.
Here's everything you need to know about Rev Island Let's Bang 1.
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155 lbs - Emmitt Brown Jr. (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI) vs. Phil Morris (debut)
The son of a disgraced nuclear physicist currently being held at Gitmo for his alleged involvement with a Libyan terrorist organization, "Doc" Brown Jr. stumbled in his debut but looks to get back on the right track here in his quest to restore the family name.
A proficient striker with a Muay Thai background, Brown's biggest concern here will be the risk of falling prey to a submission for a second time as his rookie opponent is a decorated brown belt on the Los Angeles competition jiu-jitsu scene and has enough boxing acumen to avoid embarassing himself in that phase of the game as well.
Phil Morris lacks any real wrestling background to support that skillset, but with his level of submission acumen he won't need more than a smidgen of opportunity. It's a tough draw for the man they call "Doc", but one way or the other, if my calculations are correct you're going to see some serious shit.
Prediction: Phil Morris by 2nd round submission
185 lbs - Dab Daddy (debut) vs. Mel Neelin (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
Both men in this middleweight tilt are still looking for their first win, Mel "KO" Neelin because he fell short three weeks ago against Bobby Brown (himself currently fighting for a title) and Dab Daddy because he has yet to make his pro debut.
Neelin is a grinder, primarily a puncher on the feet but with an excellent wrestling base that allows him to excel in the clinch and at keeping the battle standing, his previous bout excepted. He gets a chance at redemption here as this will be a similar matchup for him; Dab Daddy isn't totally lost on the feet but his area of expertise is definitely his jiu-jitsu and he should have little difficulty tying Neelin in knots if he can bring the Australian to his back. Both men have good cardio, so expect a tightly contested bout even if it reaches the late rounds.
Prediction: Dab Daddy by 3rd round submission
205 lbs - Rico Dimelo (debut) vs. Sylvester Stallone (debut)
Two men new to the world of professional MMA will face off here as Sylvester "The First Black Belt" Stallone makes his debut against one of the omnipresent Dimelo brothers. The 20-year-old Rico has a very similar skillset to Stallone, excelling up close and preferring to keep the fight on the feet, but he is the less travelled man by a significant margin having none of the top-level competitive experience that Stallone gained as an amateur kickboxer these last few years. This will be a significant hill for him to climb, and an even sweeter victory to taste if he can climb it.
Prediction: Sylvester Stallone by unanimous decision
205 lbs - Daichi Nomura (debut) vs. Jimmy McPaddy (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
The boxing coach for Bushido light heavyweight champion Sam McCullen, Scottish power puncher Jimmy McPaddy didn't set the world on fire in his successful debut but he did cruise to victory, stifling his physically imposing opponent in the clinch and dominating him with short strikes.
He may not be so willing to engage up close in this bout however as the trend of striker/grappler matchups continues with Japanese traditional jiu-jitsu practitioner "Okami" Nomura making the transition to pro MMA here accompanied by a long reputation for grappling prowess.
McPaddy will have the clear advantage on the feet, but with years of focusing only on his chosen craft of boxing will he have made the necessary adjustments to keep from being taken down here? He'll have to land a clean shot standing that puts out Nomura's lights, and he'll have to do it fast.
Prediction: Daichi Nomura by 1st round submission
170 lbs - Hugo Dimelo (debut) vs. Grognak the Barbarian (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
Another fight, another Dimelo brother - an observer would be forgiven for wondering if half this Island isn't related to the Dimelo family. One of the more highly-touted prospects to bear the name, Dimelo has the combined wrestling/muay thai background that seems to be all the rage these days and will most likely want to try to win this fight up close and personal.
That's because Grognak's ability to punch from a distance is nearly unmatched in the division as he showed with a dominant decision victory in his pro debut. A defensively-oriented fighter, the Barbarian is known more for his ability to avoid being knocked out than to land devastating blows of his own, making the most likely outcome here being a tight and difficult-to-score bout between two evenly-matched opponents.
Prediction: Hugo Dimelo by split decision
265 lbs - Jamason Brown (1-0-0 MMA, 1M-0-0 RI) vs. Greg Monson (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
We move now to the heavyweight division for what many fight fans expect will be the continued rising of a star as colossal knockout artist Jamason Brown makes his second appearance in the Revolution Island cage against well-rounded but seemingly-overmatched 21-year-old American Greg Monson.
Known as "Terror", Monson was single-minded in his efforts to get the fight to the ground in his pro debut and suffered a barrage of punches for his efforts, eventually being knocked out cold near the midpoint of the round.
Similar aggression here may well yield similar results as the Uzbekistani-trained Brown has an excellent wrestling base and showed off the power in his hands when he pounded out Bigg Easy with second round clinch strikes at Revolution Island Night 1.
Prediction: Jamason Brown by 1st round KO
155 lbs - Anthony Jay Bronie (1-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI) vs. Slow Learner (debut)
The notorious A.J.B. (he loves it when you call him Big Bronie) is more famous for taking damage in the cage than dishing it out but the 25-year-old New Mexican seems to have finally abandoned the penchant for brawling that made his amateur career such a lesson in self-destruction.
He wasted no time engaging with the superior boxer Karlos Kulina at Island Night 1, disposing of the Hawaiian with an armbar in less than sixty seconds, and seems to be a much more dangerous fighter now that accumulated damage has forced him to rely more on his jiu-jitsu.
He shouldn't meet much resistance if he attempts to duplicate that on Saturday as the 18-year-old Albanian Slow Learner is an Olympic alternate as a boxer but has next-to-know cross training at this point in his career.
Prediction: Anthony Jay Bronie by 1st round submission
205 lbs - Karol Rudszewski (debut) vs. Tyler Jensen (2-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
The main card continues with two fighters in their first bouts with Revolution Island and what looks likely to break up the run of grappling with a striker on striker bout.
Denver native Tyler Jensen is undefeated thus far on the Island, combining dangerous kicks at a distance with a powerful dirty boxing game up close to cruise past both of his opponents, while the Polish boxer Rudszewski has a more conventional sprawl-and-brawl skillset.
Both men should be quite evenly matched, but Jensen has showed off an excellent chin in his bouts thus far and Rudszewski's is yet-untested, so one would have to give the edge to the more experienced man.
Prediction: Tyler Jensen by 3rd round TKO
265 lbs - Tommy Rosario (1-1-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI) vs. Prince Tycooner (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
In the heavyweight co-main event we havy two heavy hitters facing off in a bout almost certain to end by knockout. The Spaniard Rosario bounced back from a submission loss in his pro debut to devastate Polo Dimelo with elbows, forcing the Canadian to tap out in the first round of their match at Island Fight 1. Rosario remains predictable but effective while his opponent Prince Tycooner is a bit flashier.
The American striker was fantastic in his debut, knocking down his opponent three times in under two minutes before finishing him with a smashing uppercut. Perhaps more tellingly, he did so while consistently avoiding his opponent's attempts to clinch, a strategy he'll almost certainly have to lean on heavy again on Friday.
Prediction: Prince Tycooner by 3rd round TKO
155 lbs - Anthony Pettis (2-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI) vs. Eddie Alverez (1-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI)
The fireworks seem certain to continue in the main event as two of the heaviest hitters on the entire Island collide in a lightweight matchup that could easily be a title fight if belts had been instituted yet in the promotion. "Showtime" Pettis was a major acquisition for Revolution Island after blowing out both of his opponents with first round punches, never even suffering as much as a bruise to show for it. Meanwhile, his opponent Alverez was the breakout star of Island Fight 1 where he was awarded Knockout of the Night for his fourteen-second KO Johan Hegg, landing a punch so devastating that the 25-year-old Swede has reportedly retired from the sport altogether.
Both men are boxers primarily, and while both are also capable wrestlers it is unlikely that we see a moment of this bout contested on the feet, although the clinch could be a difference maker. It's as close to a coin flip fight as you'll ever seen, but make no mistake, one of these men is going to hit the canvas.
Prediction: Anthony Pettis by 1st round KO
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That's it for now, but don't forget to tune in soon for our preview of Revolution Time To Fight, and don't forget to watch Talk to Taco, preferably while drinking a Big Stiffy in your new Darkness fight gear!
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