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 Highland 30
Odd Job vs Dick Winters
Ladies...Gentleman...Highland 30 is back with what promises to be a night filling the fight fans dreams of finishes after finishes. Undefeated fighters advancing their careers while others take steps back. The welterweight title is on the line as two phenomenal submission artists go at it and numerous potential contenders for various belts compete. This entire week has a ton of up and fights and promises to be non stop excitement. My name is Tycoon Hec and I am not entirely sure my predictions are 100 percent this time but after careful review, and if forced to put money down, the predictions I have made are what I think we will see. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!
Odd Job vs Dick Winters
Welterweight title
The newly crowned welterweight champion of Highland, Odd Job (4-0) will be taking on his fellow teammate and sparring partner Dick Winters (4-0) this Sunday night in a battle that is fully expected to be an intense grappling match. Both fighters who have pretty poor form when it comes to striking, have no qualms with settling their issues on the ground to discover who is not just the best welterweight at Acme training but in Highland overall! Odd Job, who has just recently won his title against Maurice Tillet in a grueling guillotine last Sunday, feels completely prepared to step back in the cage against another submission specialist in Winters. Dick, who has submitted 3 of his 4 opponents, in the first round, believes he will be able to secure the chokes to and provide Job with his first loss. When it comes to the ground game it is no question that Winters prefers to be on top position.Winters has a tendency to transition all the way to mount but has no problem with locking in submissions from guard or the back as well. Job has a desire to be on the top position too but has no qualms with being off his back where he has submitted some of his dangerous opponents. I reached out to Eli Pump the BJJ coach at Acme and he shared with me that both of these fighters roll with each other every Wednesday and due to that frequency in sparring these guys know each like the back of their hand. They know each other's tricks and preferences and they also know where they are weak and both fighters will look to exploit that. The ranking in the belt does not seem to concern Winters as he has already defeated a purple belt in his career and believes that Job will tap before the end of the 5th round. A curious thing to note is that we have yet to see Odd Job defend a submission. No one has ever attempted a submission on him, and for his sparring partner Winters to be the first to do that seems as if it is a victory in itself. On the other hand, we have seen Winters carefully defend submission attempts from a purple belt fighter in the past however the level of skill is honestly quite wide. The question we have to ask is does the aggressive ground game of Odd Job prevail or will Winters show that Job has no defensive grappling ability.
Prediction: Dick Winters pulls off a stunning submission from mount late in the third round.
Enzo Williams vs Hank Pecker
Middleweight Match-up
Perhaps the most experienced fighter not only in Highland but in the Island overall is Enzo Williams (6-1). The highly experienced and underrated Enzo is a middleweight submission specialist. His opponent in Hank Pecker (2-1) is a dangerous submission artist in his own right. The blue belt out of Cozad considers that he can win this fight through submission or through ground and pound. Pecker who is massively precise with his ground and pound will find a home with his punches and potentially be the second guy to finish Enzo on Sunday night. The fight really comes to who is on the top position. Peckers ground and pound game is too strong but if he does not transition and sits in guard he can be in serious trouble with Williams. Whereas Enzo has the wondrous ability to force anyone to submit but we are also quite aware that he has been knocked out before and Pecker has hands of steel. Enzo has been training at Walter J. Abramowitz center for bigness steadily improving in each aspect of his game but rumors are that he is been focused not only on his striking defense but the weights as well seeking to control and dominate Pecker. Fight Fans are in for a treat for as most believe this fight will kick off with immediacy and end before the end of the first round and I would have to agree.
Prediction: I believe Pecker gets the takedown but Williams works submissions off his back securing the win.
Vai Crackudo vs Grover Montoya
Middleweight Match-up
Honestly, my favorite fights are always undefeated fighters going at it. Two guys looking to take the other's zero is a fascinating feature. Vai Crackduo (2-0) a middleweight warrior with stones in his gloves, seems to be meeting his clone in Grover Montoya (2-0). Both fighters have insane knockout power. Crackduo has yet to go past the first round in a match and hopes he can put the fight away early. When comparing both fighters competitions it is quite difficult to understand who is truly the better striker. Crackduo has not fought guys with the skill sets of striking and had poor accuracy in his strikes with one of them. On the other hand, he knocks out fighters once he touches their chin. Montoya on the other hand seems to get the edge in the clinch and in distance with his opponents but it's not his ferocious knockout power that puts them away as much as it is his overwhelming consistency with landing strike after strike. A missing element that we have yet to see from Crackduo is his clinch game. A dominant wrestler and thai fighter who only has been seen punching his opponents is quite confusing. From what we have seen leading up to this matchup, it is fair to say this is Crackduo’s toughest test as a martial artist going against a guy who seems to be successful in all areas of combat and the highest level of striking that Crackduo has ever seen. Grover is facing a very similar challenge in regards to striking. His opponent who possesses dynamite in his hands will swing and land with bad intentions. Both of these aggressive fighters are certainly aware of the others' skill set and for their sake have a proper defense prepared.
Prediction: I believe Grover keeps this fight on striking distance and defends most of Crackduos strikes.
Harry Henderson vs Jens Neustadt
Bantamweight Match-up
When strikers meet with submission fighters we can always be on the edge of our seat until the magic happens. Harry Henderson (2-1) is a bantamweight submission terror defeating his last two opponents in the first round. One of his opponents he put in an arm triangle while the other was put into an Americana. The “Bigfoot” has a high takedown percentage and will aim to bring Jens down come Sunday night. Jens Neustadt (3-0) is an unbeaten bantamweight hailing from Berlin holding two knockout victories over opponents who really should have never stepped in the cage. Coaches at acme believe that the white belt game of Jens will pave the way for an additional submission win for Henderson in the beginning of the first round and it is quite easy to see their point. Jens who does not appear to be bothered by all the random predictions about this Sunday Nights fight does not feel Henderson will get him to the ground but should he be able to, Jens will be able to get back up. The Smash coaches preparing Jens feels that his ground game is too good defensively and he wont be stopped. Knowing full well Henderson will rush in with a takedown and continue to lock one in until he gets it, the coaches at smash expect some solid counter shots to be placed on Henderson's jaw. Fight fans are hoping to see a strong contender emerge for an eventual match-up with the living legend that is Noel Diaz.
Prediction: Jens Neustadt presses this fight in the clinch and punishes Henderson while stuffing the takedown attempts.
Archie Laird vs Franko Getaldic
Light heavyweight Match-up
In the first match on the main card, fight fans are treated to another striker versus grappler match up between two unbeaten fighters who hope to walk away with a performance bonus of some sort. Archie Laird (2-0) a wrestler with a purple belt in BJJ stomps his opponents on the ground with violent ground and pound but getting the fight to the ground against Franko Getaldic (1-0) may prove to be too tough for the “Grazy Irish”. It only took Franko 30 seconds in his first fight to put away another purple belt. Landing a high amount of punches in the first 30 seconds fight fans are excited to see this aggressive 25 year old return to action Sunday night. Fans of Getaldic have taken to buzz to remind viewers that Laird does not always complete his takedowns and due to that inconsistency they believe Franko will not only stop those takedown attempts but stop the hype train that is Laird. The question is if Franko destroyed a mediocre talent in striking in his last fight within a minute, what would he do to a fighter who has no striking game at all? Laird and his fans and coaches share no concern over the latest buzz as they recognize his past opponents held up a very strong wrestling defense game, stronger in fact than what we know of Frankos, and Laird was still able to get them down on the mat and wreck them. We know both of these fighters hold such skill in their fists but where they get to use that is the question. Latest betting reports have seen +500 to this fight ending within the first round and honestly, you would have to agree with the oddsmakers, this fight will probably end by the first.
Prediction: Franko looks like a young Mike Tyson and his sparring partners at Island gym have properly prepared him for what will be an explosive path to victory.
Fighter Spotlight
“Anal Bread” Jorge Assvidal (2-0)
Lightweight Fighter
Jorge is a knockout artist formerly under the management of Ibrahim Camara who has since departed MMATycoon. Despite losing his manager and no longer involved in a regular training regime, Assvidal is a dangerous threat to anyone on the Island at lightweight right now. I am super interested to see not only how he performs without his manager but also who he signs with for management next!
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