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Empire: 7 is rapidly approaching, and while the card features one main event, there are some other storylines worth watching, too. Most of the undercard sees debuting fighters, so I will briefly discuss those fights before focusing on the important ones.
In an opening matchup between a pair of 18 year olds making their Empire debuts, I’ll take the overall stronger fighter, Jamaican Trevor Barnes, over the Moroccan Hadr Bari by unanimous decision.
The next fight is another set of debuts, but this one is only one round. In a fight that will likely only last one of the five minutes planned, I’ll take Muay Thai specialist Aydan over Panamanian Machado by TKO in the 1st and only round.
In the third straight set of debuts, two 18 year old Brits fighting out of London will battle it out. I’ll take another Muay Thai specialist in Saint George by TKO in the 1st round over his opponent Abbot.
The fourth fight of the evening is a matchup of two Empire veterans. Michael Turner is 2-0-0, and I expect him to continue his winning streak by defeating the 1-2-0 Eddie Miles by unanimous decision.
After a brief break, we see another pair of Empire debuts in match number five. Manny Duran is the second Panamanian on the card, and he is the second Panamanian I am picking to lose, this time to the Nigerian Mia by submission in the 2nd round.
Yet another matchup of Empire debuts awaits in the sixth fight of the card, in which I expect 18 year old Costa Rican Samuel Sanchez to continue the trend of Central American losses when he loses to the older Scotsman Freddie McDowe by majority decision.
Now onto the more exciting matchups, as 25 year olds Ken Mokoto and Jerome Biggs face off at 205 lbs. Mokoto is a very one-dimensional fighter, always looking for takedowns and submissions, but he will likely struggle against Biggs, who is a much superior wrestler and boxer. Biggs should win as long as he stays upright. I have him scoring a KO in the 3rd round.
The next fight is a matchup of two debuts vying for the top challenger spot at 145 lbs. The Italian Golami is a marginally better boxer, which is how I expect this fight to be fought. If it goes to the ground, Golami should have an advantage there as well. I think Golami wins comfortably by unanimous decision.
In another fight between potential title contenders, this time at 205, Max Payne faces Hunter Broderick. Payne may be a strong boxer, but will be outclassed on his feet by the younger Broderick, so his only hope may be to get a submission off a fighter who is a stronger wrestler than him. I think Broderick wins by TKO in the 2nd round in a cakewalk.
Finally, the main event is the much-anticipated super-fight between super-heavyweight champion Buster Gruff and 205 lbs champion Hatebreed Rebel. Rebel, who is moving up to fight “The Bully Goat” after starting his career 7-0-0, faces a much tougher challenger than he has previously faced in his Empire career. Rebel’s two previous opponents, Eddie Miles and Max Powers, are each 1-2-0, which may not prepare him for the 6-1-0 Gruff. While Rebel has not exactly faced stellar competition, the same goes for Gruff as well, as his previous fight does not look as good following Danconia Jr.’s loss to Howard. Stylistically, the Australian Gruff is a strong boxer whose wins have all come by a knockout of some variety. However, his one loss came by submission, the method by which six out of Rebel’s seven wins have come. In this fight, Rebel is looking to become the undisputed King of Empire, securing the belt at the two heaviest weight classes while remaining undefeated at that. Meanwhile, Gruff is looking to continue as the champion at his division and stake his claim as Empire’s top dog. In what I believe will go down as a hard-fought match, I think Gruff’s experience in the super-heavyweight weight class will prevail in a tight majority decision.
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