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 So, it's been 7 years since I got to have a first event preview. Highland Games 1 featured Barney Gumble, Light HeavyWeight and Jake Theodorou, 3 names that would become synonymous with the brand over the next two years. But that's in the past. This is all about looking to the future, and that begs the question; which of these names will become synonymous with the new Highland brand on this Island season?
Heavyweight - Mike Cozad (0-0) Vs Malcolm Scobie (0-0)
So who is Mike Cozad? That's the real question. In late 2020, the world came to know a man by the name of Mike Cozad. "The Plumber" as he was known, was a man of vast wealth and connections to the vicious world of online pseudo-gambling and gaming. Mike would compete once under his manager Aydan, before splitting ways. His flamboyant persona whimpered as he signed up with Darren Russell of Combate fame and left our screens with a 1-3 record. Now, manager Aydan claims he is back, however sporting a 0-0 professional record. Surely the MMA commissions wouldn't allow this? Right? Many are speculating whether Aydan is running the Fake Diesel scam. When your biggest and brightest prospect leaves, you stuck the same nickname on another and tell him to go out there and do all the same moves. But maybe, just maybe, this is the real Mike Cozad. Ready to come back and show everyone what he promised last time out.
Malcolm Scobie, he fights for manager Callum McGregor. Callum McGregor owns Highland. Oh no, it's a set up? You can relax. If there's one thing that you can get to know about me, is that my ability to set sliders and build fighters is on par with Aydan's ability to keep Mike Cozad for more than one fight. I dread to look at what my record is of fighters that I created, but I can assure you, it's not pretty. Well, what can I tell you about Malcolm Scobie? Absolutely nothing. Seriously, did you expect me to come up with an original backstory for the 50 guys I created? This will be the case throughout this thread, so you can get used to me having absolutely nothing to say about my own guys.
Welterweight - Kubia Conn (0-0) Vs Shug Skinner (0-0)
Before we discuss Conn, we have to discuss Al Van Dal, his manager. Al managed several Highland fighters in the past. Luna Ploy and Gunnar The Eastern Assassin would fight for Highland Island in Season 5, Paul Maul would fight for Solitude in Season 4 but switched to Highland Games after the season going 6-4 and perhaps best of all, Lou Hole fought as far back at Highland Games 3 on Season 3 of The Island and after a long hiatus from the org, returned to unsuccessfully challenge Jon Askren for the Welterweight belt. Al had fighters on all 3 season The Island featured, competing both for the main organisation and and it's rivals, he was always a presence worth noting. Kubia Conn is one of two fighters Al has on The Island this season, both signed with Highland.
Shug is another of my fighters, with the worst name I think I've ever seen. Me and Al have went head to head twice before. George Alvarez Jr would take out Lou Hole at Highland Games 16, while 2 years later Paul Maul would gain revenge as he defeated Ty Semerad at Highland Games 190. I didn't create George or Ty, so it stands to be seen whether or not creating a fighter or building one will give Al the edge in this contest.
Light Heavyweight - Eder Teixeira (0-0) Vs Rustam Tsubekov (0-0)
Hard to really say anything about this, other than the fact that myself and Matheus Da Costa might be the only two managers to have a losing record clashing with each other on the first card. Eder gets bonus points for having his second name spelled correctly (the first i is the killer), while Tsubekov gets points deducted for being literally the result of me banging my hands against the keyboard until something vaguely Russian appeared.
We have a classic striker Vs wrestler affair, so whether or not Rustam can get it down is going to be the entire story of how this one plays out.
Featherweight - Sahara Sam (0-0) Vs Anwar Rinda (0-0)
Egypt Vs India; the legendary rivalry that goes back many centuries, pitting religion, culture and history against one another.
Alright, I don't know. Either Egypt and India actually do hate each other or I'm going to spark a rivalry that will only end in bloodshed. Either way, I'm scrambling for something to say about these Featherweight fighters. It's looking like Anwar is a submission guy...wait...actually.....no....never mind...he's a big big striker. Sahara, I suggest you don't even try and defend the takedown, it's a waste, stand and gang homie. Could you guess Anwar is my guy?
Sahara wants to sprawl and brawl, damaging the beautiful face of my Indian stallion.
Light Heavyweight - Ludwig Lachmann (0-0) Vs Biscuit Oliva (0-0)
There we go, two guys with some history I can actually talk about.
Ludwig is managed by Rodrigo Rojas, who had an extremely clever and intelligent fighter name in Rodrigo Rojas. Rodrigo was the first Highland Games Light Heavyweight Champion, winning the belt in November 2014. He would drop to Middleweight and eventually challenge for the belt there as well, and when the org when down he had competed for the promotion an incredible 25 times. Manager-Rodrigo would go on to have several fighters in Highland Games, perhaps with James Krause having the most success amongst the others. A true legend of the promotion, it's amazing to see his name back on the team sheet.
Unfortunately for Rodrigo, he's drafted another long time member of the Highland brand. Scottie 2 Hottie managed John Pinaglabanan, a Bantamweight who competed for the belt on two occasions and perhaps a bit shocking for me when researching this, John actually competed for Highland Games on two more occasions than Rojas, fighting 27 times which makes him one of the longest serving fighters of the old promotion.
It's going to be great seeing which of these two legends comes out on top. From what I can tell, they've never met each other before, with Rodrigo focusing on the larger weight classes and Scottie only really having a Bantamweight. They finally come together under the Highland banner, and who's going to come out on top?
Welterweight - Mike Albatross (0-0) Vs Clive Hansen (0-0)
I wasn't even trying with the name "Clive Hansen" was I?
There isn't a lot of history to bang on about here so I guess a quick rundown of the match up. Both fighters seem to rely on a muay thai base, so you have to wonder if the gameplan will be for them to work in the clinch like many other Island legends. I'm wondering because I genuinely don't remember, I chucked out Clive Hansen in half the time it's taken me to write this sentence.
It looks like Clive has a small bit more about his boxing than Mike, who focused his additional training in his wrestling.
I'm imagining these guys are gonna tie up quickly and try and rip each other's eyebrows off in the clinch. Who needs eyebrows anyways?
Heavyweight - Captain Chaos (0-0) Vs Jake Dredd (0-0)
Two veterans of the game, and neither with a single old school Highland fighter to talk about? What kind of bullshit is this? I'm taking this as a personal insult!
Dredd is hailed from the Western Sahara, which I thought was a desert? I wonder if he knows Sahara Sam from earlier on the card. He's clashing with Captain Chaos, a nightmared fueled clown from...eh...Soa....Tomea?....Principle....ehh, yeah, that place. The Soa Tomea Principle mafia will be turning up to The Island in full force, and all 3 natives will be cheering hard to see their beloved clown dispose of Dredd.
Dredd is managed by Chuck, the promoter of Synchronicity. That's really impressive, and I can only imagine having the experience to witness how Callum McGregor runs a promotion will be of massive benefit to Chuck, who will surely use this experience to benefit his own promotion.
Lightweight - Rob Cervantes (0-0) Vs Chico Maki (0-0)
Rob is managed by Jason "JBOMB" Smith, a nickname I'd be willing to bet my house that he gave himself. He's up against Al Van Dal's Chico "Blackhawk" Maki. Al managed several Highland fighters in the past. Luna Ploy and Gu....wait I've already did this.
Rob is gonna want to bring this one to the ground and slap on those Purple belt level submissions, while Maki is gonna want to keep it standing and land those Superb (10) punches...it's really hard to sell a fight between two 0-0 fighters here guys.
Heavyweight - James Dredd (0-0) Vs Boyd Fitzgerald (0-0)
James, a natural Light Heavyweight fighting at HW because he's such a beast and not at all because I sent the wrong contract in, clashes with Gabriel Lobo's Boyd Fitzgerald. I expected not to have too much to say, so I checked Gabriel's profile to see if he had any fighters with me before......he only managed Massimo F'ing Paterno. I'd like to take this moment to express my anger to Gabriel for releasing Massimo before the Season 3 Island tournament. Massimo was one of our original top guys, making a statement at Highland Games 4 by locking in a Brabo Choke. While guys he fought, such as Massimo Benvenuti, George Morrison and Rodrigo Rojas, went on to become legends when the promotion moved to London, Massimo never made it off The Island and failed to cement his legacy.
It's brilliant to see Gabriel back and hopefully we can see Boyd go on to make a similar statement that Massimo did, but up against Chuck's James Dredd, a fighter designed entirely to finish fights wherever it goes, he's got his work cut out for him.
Welterweight - Auric Gallahad (0-0) Vs Aslak Maitonaama (0-0)
Hey, it's the fight I didn't add because I jumped the gun and did a breakdown before I was ready. Auric Gallahad is a fighter from good stock, back to the warriors of old. However the downside of warriors of old is MMA developed into a professional sport at the end of the 1980s, so the bloodline's experience of shield play and arrow shooting is not quite as relevant.
Auric is going to be giving up some weight to Aslak Maitonaama. Aslak's manager, Zeneral Manager, is no stranger to the Highland brand. On Season 3 of The Island, his fighter Dillen Aspen split between HG and AFL. He would later field Punchers Change in Highland KT and Highland Games during and following the Season 5 Island season.
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