|
 Lebowski Island Achievers 2: The Bums Lost
Event Preview
265 lbs
265 lbs - Bubba Hoskins (1-0-0 MMA) vs. Joey Gomez (1-0-0 MMA)
The first bout of the night is a heavyweight collision between a pair of decorated wrestlers, each victorious in their professional debuts. The American Bubba Hoskins is a former Division I college wrestling champion from Minnesota who was dominant in his first fight, taking down his opponent in every round and connecting with regular punches and elbows from top position. He will have a weight advantage over his opponent, the Mexican Joey Gomez, but will give up several inches of reach while also trading some speed for strength in the matchup. Gomez needed only two minutes to submit his grappling novice opponent in his debut, but in this case both men are much more evenly matched on the ground. That might result in a fight played out largely on the feet, or more of a stalemate on the mat, but either way a judge's decision seems the most likely conclusion.
170 lbs
Baraka Obamacare (debut) vs. Jack "Money Money" Matthew (0-1-0 MMA)
Change is here, whether you can believe it or not, as the Kenyan striker Baraka Obamacare prepares to make his debut, competing for the first time as a professional and under the LIA banner. His opponent is not the most imposing on the roster as Australian dirty boxer Jack "Money Money" Matthew has already announced that he will retire from the sport, win or lose, calling into question his motivation for this bout. On the other hand, his decision to retire followed an embarassing submission loss to a more experienced ground fighter, a result that's unlikely to be repeated Saturday night as Obamacare has a clear preference for battling it out on the feet.
265 lbs
Jack Infamous (debut) vs. Custo Lombardo (1-1-0 MMA)
Another clash of heavyweights will continue the preliminary bouts as the colossal striker Custo Lombardo attempts to bounce back from a disappointing knockout against debuting Canadian grappler Jack Infamous. A decorated BJJ competitor, Infamous is also a former high school wrestler and is reputed to have worked on his boxing before transitioning to the pro game, so he may not be a total pushover on the feet either. He'll still be at a disadvantage their to former Spanish Olympic boxing alternate, who also boast a fairly well-rounded ground game, although nowhere on the level of his opponent. The towering European will hope to score an early knockout as his chances of avoiding a takedown for fifteen minutes seem slim and his chances of avoiding having one of his lanky limbs caught in some kind of submission if it does hit the mat seem even slimmer.
145 lbs
Alex Maia (debut) vs. Sarah "Rush" Rykkelejr (1-1-0 MMA)
This card has been a bit star-crossed in terms of fighter motivation as Brazilian clinch specialist Alex Maia has shockingly announced his likely retirement following this bout, citing difficulty with the weight cut. It is still possible he might be convinced to return to the sport by some other management team, but one questions if he'll have trained adequately to face Danish grappling wizard Sarah Rykkelejr. Although "Rush" has dealt with questions about his chin, particularly following his debut where he was finished early in the first round, the determined ground fighter proved his doubters wrong in his last bout as he dominated his opponent on the mat en route for a quick rear naked choke victory. He'll definitely want to get to the mat again tonight, as Maia will be no match for him there having none of the BJJ training that might be implied by his national heritage.
265 lbs
Chris "All-American" Weidman (1-1-0 MMA) vs. Snake "Escape" Dickskin (1-0-0 MMA)
Back to the heavyweight division, and back to fighters who actually know they want to be here as a pair of big New Yorkers make their LIA debuts. "All-American" Weidman came out surprisingly flat in his last bout and was blown away by the superior workrate of his opponent, fellow LIA competitor Duke Nelson, but the heavy-handed boxer remains a talent to watch as he demonstrated in his debut for Deserted Fighting where he punched out an opponent with a reputation for a granite chin in less than two minutes. I actually thought his opponent was dead, but it turns out Snake Dickskin is still alive and kicking, or at least punching. A dirty boxer by trade, Dicksin may be too much to handle in the clinch, so Weidman may be better off out-fighting than taking the risk of engaging "Escape" at close range.
170 lbs
Sativa "420" Sensei (1-0-0) vs. "The Last Nazi" Andreas Weitzman (1-0-0)
In a welterweight affair we see a clash of opposing ideologies with pot-soaked Eastern mysticism from Nepalese stoner Sativa Sensei playing the role of good against the unfortunate political affiliations of "The Last Nazi". Both men are grapplers primarily, and both submitted their opponents in their debut, although their skillsets aren't entirely identical. Wietzman is a purist (perhaps unsurprisingly) and should have stronger wrestling than his opponent, while Sensei has at least rudimentary boxing and might pose a danger to his opponent in the standing phase. Both seem equal on the mat with Sensei preferring an aggressive approach, throwing many submissions at the wall and waiting for one to stick while Weitzman is more methodical about working his way to a high-percentage finish.
265 lbs
Jim "Island Fighters Suck" Jones (2-1-0 MMA) vs. Eric "The Exterminator" Sloane (1-0-0 MMA)
The main card kicks off with a clash of heavyweights, both of whom have enjoyed success early in their Island careers. The American Jim Jones - no relation, as far as I know, but I wouldn't take any Kool-Aid he offers you just in case - boasts perhaps the most lethal kicks in the promotion but is no slouch in the boxing department either. None of his fights have made it out of the first round as he followed up a fair of trouncings with a loss at the hands of current Lighthouse headliner Cloud Strife. His opponent is Australian kickboxer Eric Sloan, as pure a striker as you'll find on the Island and undefeated after turning his opponent's face into a horror show with vicious clinch elbows in his debut. An early favorite for Fight of the Night, this bout features two men capable of landing a variety of fight-ending techniques and should keep the fans on the edge of their seat as a result.
185 lbs
Nam "The Fifth" Ho (3-0-0 MMA) vs. Nicolas Nico (2-0-0 MMA)
The main card continues with the only middleweight fight of the night, a striker-on-striker matchup with a good chance to produce a highlight reel finish. Undefeated Korean boxer Nam Ho is a sprawl and brawler of the old school, using a strong wrestling base to keep the match standing so he can pick his opponents apart with precision power punches. None of his three opponents has survived even a minute in the Octagon, an impressive feat against any level of competition even if his opponents are winless. Facing him will be the German dirty boxer Nicolas Nico, who hasn't been quite as quick a finisher but has still gotten the job done by TKOing both of his previous opponents. Nico has been very aggressive in bullying forward into the clinch so far in his career, a tactic that could prove very risky against a power-punching outfighter like "The Fifth" Ho, but if he can survive long enough at a distance he has the skillset to take over at close range. One way or the other, one of these two will most likely be sent to the canvas.
170 lbs
Dick Mahoney (3-1-0) vs. Ronaldo "BJJ King" Souza (2-0-0)
The co-main event tonight may very well serve as a title eliminator as the winner will be well positioned to face the winner of the next bout. That could prove particularly sweet for the American Dick Mahoney, whose only professional loss came at the hands of one of those men, Mattheus Knorr, and who would certainly appreciate an opportunity to avenge that setback. Of course, that would be getting ahead of current opponent, grappling specialist Ronaldo "BJJ King" Souza. For the Brazilian, a victory here would cement the high-level credentials he already established by becoming the Deserted Fighting welterweight champ in his professional debut. Souza's wrestling is his strongest suit as he has relentelessly achieved top position and worked to the back to lock in his preferred rear naked choke, while Mahoney is a power puncher who prefers to obliterate his opponents at close range. He might want to run and gun tonight however as he lacks the jiu-jitsu chops to deal with Souza on the ground and would expose himself to the Brazilian's powerful takedowns if he willingly enters the clinch.
170 lbs Championship Fight
Matheus Knorr (4-0-0 MMA) vs. Raphael "Hide" Lima (3-0-0 MMA)
Two of the top pound for pound fighters on the Island will square off for this main event, looking to become the inaugural Lebowski Island Achievers welterweight champion. Bahamanian Mattheus Knorr is one of several islanders looking to defend the region's honor in the ring and earned his title shot with a streak of four consecutive submission victories. Now, they do come with a caveat that three of four were against the same winless Korean wrestler, but the Island is small and competitors sometimes hard to come by, not to mention he was most dominant against his other opponent. As the record would indicate, Knorr is a pure grappler, combining strong wrestling with a wily and dangerous submission game. In this he is not dissimilar to his Brazilian opponent Raphael Lima as "Hide" is perhaps slightly less accomplished as a submission grappler but is likely the superior wrestler. He has faced slightly more difficult competition but is slightly less experienced, making this a very difficult fight to call.
Article views:
163
» Donate to this author |
