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155lbs: Grogory Damkratov vs Khali Wolvhammer
This will be a fun fight between two guys who like to throw leather; both mainly prefer to box and hit incredibly hard for Lightweights, it will most certainly be Survival of the Fittest. It wasn't so long ago that Damkratov ruled this division with an iron fist; and both these guys are more or less the same fighters now as they were at that time, so it would be interesting if it turned out that Wolvhammer could have beaten him all along. Whilst their skills are most definitely close; I believe the better chin and Iron will of the former champ will be enough to earn a victory in what could be a FOTN contender.
Prediction: Grogory Damkratov via TKO (Round 3)
170lbs: Alonzo Trotter vs Jim Dangle
It seems as though Alonzo Trotter has fallen a long way from the days where he was a bona fide contender in the Welterweight Division. However; it is important to remember that the only two guys he lost to are currently no.1 and no.2 in the division. Perhaps it was his rants against Chael Mir the org owner; or perhaps the failure to impose his considerable skillset in his fights, that has led to his current position. This fight looks good for him though; against journeyman Welterweight Jim Dangle, who is dangerous in the clinch but has little else to his game. Trotter can win this more or less any way he wants; but I think he reverts to his power striking to clip Dangle early and follows up for the finish to get himself back in the mix.
Prediction: Alonzo Trotter via TKO (Round 1)
265lbs: Brutus Leagatius vs Jarome Patches
On the face of it; an up and comer off of a loss, vs a contender on a 3 fight win streak, this should be a no brainer right? But no; stylistically it's an intriguing fight. When Leagatius humbly turned down a rematch with Otto Dahl; I'm not sure if he was expecting such a tough matchup with so little to gain. On the face of it; he is the more well rounded fighter and the more skilled fighter; boasting excellent kickboxing skills and knockout power with some solid TDD to compliment it. Patches is a skilled wrestler with a nasty clinch game; which is very difficult to get out of once he catches people in it. I see Leagatius lighting Patches up with an assortment of straight punches and leg kicks from the outside; but at some point in the fight, Patches will establish a clinch and start beating Leagatius up. I believe it wil be 1-1 going into the final frame; and if Patches can score a takedown, the top control points could spell trouble for Leagatius. However; my money is on Leagatius finding just enough to beat Patches to the punch and defend any shots in order to secure a close victory.
Prediction: Brutus Leagatius via Unanimous Decision
265lbs: Heavy Rain vs Rayko Oswald
On paper; in terms of experience, and probably ability, Heavy Rain has this fight won. However it isn't that simple. Rain won his last fight impressively; stuffing the takedowns of an out of sorts Jarome Patches before finishing him in a 1st round slugfest. Before this however; he was left staring up at the lights within the first round of both of his last 2 fights. After looking like such a promising contender and winning the Heavyweight Rumble on The Rocks Tournament, Rain failed to win the title, instead being annihilated by Otto Dahl, he was then upset in a first round finish by Brutus Leagatius. All of this makes me think we can't sleep on Rayko Oswald; the guy has not yet been tested; but what we do know is that he is a good boxer with savage power. Now if Rain can get this to the clinch; he should have his way with Oswald and grab another win, but I have a gut feeling telling me he's gonna get clipped before he can do this. Instead of extending his win streak; Heavy Rain will be used to create another contender in a shallow division.
Prediction: Rayko Oswald via KO (Round 1)
MAIN EVENT:
205lbs: Jimmy Ryan vs Quintus Octavian
It's finally here! After months of hatred and abuse from these two; they will finally get it on tonight! A quick timeline; it all started after Ryan lost his first fight to Jonas Lofmark, Octavian labelled the effort pathetic, referring to Ryan as "chinless" and "heartless". Ryan responded by asking if Octavian wanted to fight him and told him to focus on his own fights. The rivalry piped up again in the build up to Octavian fighting Joao De Silva in the Rumble on The Rocks Final at 205lbs. Octavian accused Ryan of having "special treatment" due to Ryan's manager NorthernNinjas' affiliation with Chael Mir. He also implied that Ryan was an easy fight for champion Jonas Lofmark, whereas he would be the one to expose Lofmark. Ryan then responded by calling Octavian his biggest fan and saying that he had never turned down a fight; he also accused Octavian of "crying" for undeserved title shots, and called him out, saying he'd fight him even if Octavian lost to De Silva. The trash talk all went a little quiet after this; as Octavian would go onto lose two consecutive fights, and the future looked bleak for him.
However; after Jimmy Ryan worked his way into another title shot with 3 consecutive knockout victories; Octavian had also had somewhat of a resurgence, beating both Murphy Stanns and Anthony Johnson. Jimmy Ryan was again unsuccessful in his bid for the title; despite almost finishing the champ with a head kick, and Octavian went back to work. He said that the title effort ranked right alongside the first one as the worst of all time; chopping at Ryan on Buzz. Now that the deal has been signed and the fight made; ironically the talk has all gone a bit quiet, with the biggest noise made being Jimmy Ryan vowing to shut Octavian up once and for all.
Now that the timeline is out the way; let's break down the fight itself. Jimmy Ryan has obscene power; he basically took Pollo Tropical's soul when he knocked him out; he also almost knocked out undefeated champion Jonas Lofmark. Jimmy Ryan is deadly; and he is adding some lethal kicks into his game as we saw in the aforementioned loss; he is a tough matchup for anybody in the division.
Octavian has had his ups and downs; we know his skills and his weaknesses. That's where this fight get's interesting; he has struggled with people who want to take him down or to clinch with him, so wrestlers/grapplers. Jimmy Ryan does not fit this mould at all; and Octavian is the best boxer in the division, so it will be interesting to see what he can do against someone who is willing to stand and trade with him. We may see Octavian let his hands go in this one. The intrigue here is; if Octavian wins he will be 5-3 in MMA, but he may very well get a title shot. The reason for this is that the champion Jonas Lofmark has a chance to break a record in his next defence, he would break the record of 6 consecutive title defences in SP ICON with his 7th defence. Lofmark has already beaten JDS, Jimmy Ryan, Anthony Johnson and Pollo Tropical, in many ways these are the originals of the division. For the majority of the time SP ICON has been a 300K org, these guys were here and were pioneers of the division. Quintus Octavian is the last one of those originals; so a win over him would mean Lofmark has basically cleared out an entire division, ready for the next "generation" to get shots at the title. Plus; beating Jimmy Ryan is beating the perennial no.1 contender in the division, another point to strengthen Octavian's case.
In terms of how I see the fight going; I see it being a stand up war, both guys will win rounds and get their licks in. They will both hurt each other along the way; ultimately I will go with the safe option in Jimmy Ryan; as he has simply defeated slightly better competition. It will be probably the most beat up he's ever been in his career before but I see his power taking over at the end. Octavian can win this fight; but he would need to perform better than we have ever seen him do in order to do that; he has an edge in submissions, but this fight won't go there, Jimmy Ryan via late haymaker.
Prediction: Jimmy Ryan via TKO (Round 5)
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