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 HIGHLAND 87 PREVIEW
So, if I’m planning on writing a preview for every single Island fight in the tournament, I guess I’d better shake of the rust, eh?
So, we’re finally at the end of The Island season. That went by QUICKLY. The past 2 weeks have been the longest of them all too because I tried to drop our frequency of events way down just to make sure we could get the highest ratings possible to go out, and as a result it feels like some guys haven’t fought in 17 years. Sorry about that. Obviously post-Island we’ll be on a very consistent 3 events per week schedule.
But alas, enough of all of that. We’re here with the final card of the season, and EVERY SINGLE BELT IS ON THE LINE! Yes, every single one. That’s insane. The fact that every single champ came through injury free after our event on the 6th is wild. The MMA gods want us to smash it out of the part, and we’re here to deliver.
Heavyweight - Titus Lesnar (8-3) Vs Ricky Thompson (9-6)
It’s been a wild ride for former champs taking an unexpected skid, and Titus Lesnar is now going to fight in his third fight with a different manager in a row. The prodigy of Arcalimon The Coach, issues with cuts saw Lesnar lose in two title fights and get released by the legendary manager. Arcalimon’s main rival and Highland Hall of Famer Power Shark next picked up Lesnar, but he took his biggest upset yet, again by cuts, and was again released. Now Darren Russell is ready to have a crack with the wrestling beast, and he goes head to head with Power Shark in that this is a rematch of Lesnar’s last fight.
Ricky Thompson is probably now happy with Highland right now. Ricky arranged a title shot behind the scenes and as the only HW with a win in his last fight at the top level, Callum McGregor said it made sense. However with Needle Dick winning on the undercard of our champ Maro Pjetlic’s last fight, both Maro and Needle wanted a rematch of their epic clash and Ricky was left out in the cold. Without many options, the rematch was set.
Ricky is a fighter’s fighter, and he’s taken his fair share of losses. He struggled early with submissions and has also been KOed on the feet. But Lesnar is a mirror image of Thompson. Both guys that want to take the fight down and unleash brutal ground and pound. It’s a hard one for Lesnar due to his susceptibility to get cut, but if he can get the takedown first, he might be able to show how lethal he is on top, or maybe even catch us all off guard with a submission attempt.
Light Heavyweight – Mara Tantor (7-1) Vs Biscuit Oliva (7-3)
It’s easy to forget just how dominant Mara has been, only because Torhte Finlayson has been such a machine and took him out in the first round. Guys like Neuzvarams Semyorka, Aisland Bounser, Tama Ruiha, Melvin Manhoeff, Space Jesus. He’s really fought the best of the best and with the exception of Finlayson, he’s won them all too. One of the most lethal guys in the division, Mara is looking to go out with a 3 fight win streak and be one of the major players in the tournament, headhunting for the one man to beat him.
That’s easier said then done, especially when you’re facing someone with the killer power of Oliva. Biscuit had shown that he struggled when taking a bit step up, and maybe a little bit of susceptibility to cuts, but the Highland 1 vet recorded his first top of the charts win last time out against Murtaz Vatsadze and has propelled himself towards the top of the division. He feels like this is his moment and Biscuit is ready to announce himself at the top of the division.
This is admittedly a hard as hell fight for Oliva to walk away with, but this is what it takes when you get to this stage and while his improvements are clear as day, this might just be one step too far for the Scottie 2 Hottie managed slugger.
Lightweight – Ed Green (11-4) Vs Kofi Ousmane (8-4)
This card is mental. How am I breaking down an Ed Green fight third on the card? Ed has been in an incredible 7 lightweight title fights in his 15 fight career. An exciting trilogy against Kranckx Diesel, another trilogy with George Russell and a win over the current number one contender Ed Green, they don’t get much more top level than The Detective. A submission master, Green seems to have a specific love of getting a hold of arms and snapping them. Perhaps the most exciting thing about Green is that he’s not exactly impervious to getting hurt. But whether you rock him or not, he’s still most likely getting you down and finishing the fight by submission.
But there doesn’t look to be any of that when Kofi Ousmane is in the ring. Managed by the Highland owner Callum McGregor, Kofi had built a decent reputation around the mid card before going on a surprising rampage in his last 3 fights. Beating former champ Diesel, IXF top dog Marcus Behnder and Rob Cervantes, Kofi is now a top-level competitor and looks to have his sights set on Noel Diaz if he manages to come out with a win.
This will probably be a very hard fight for Kofi as both look to favour the submission, but Green is definitely the more accomplished grappler.
Featherweight Championship – Remi Chavaski (9-1) Vs Reynard Frederick (3-0)
Remi sort of came out of nowhere. He had a very successful run in the middle levels of the division, losing his one title fight to Noel Diaz, but beating Alexander Dulo for the belt at Highland 78 and then defending against Miguel Azevedo Souza in his last outing? Yeah, Remi deserves the gold and everyone sees it.
Some eyebrows will probably be raised at such an inexperienced fighter in Frederick getting a crack at the belt. However when you consider that Waramunt Haber Jr is on a 3 fight streak Jiu Jitsu has been a long standing threat in the middle of the division, the last two wins for Frederick definitely hold up.
Reynard knows how to grapple but he prefers to do his work on the feet, meanwhile Remi Chavaski wants the fight down on the ground asap where he’ll look to make Frederick number 9 in the submission season that is Remi’s fighting career.
Middleweight Championship – Lucas Barbosa (8-1) Vs Hayato Sakuraba (6-2)
It’ll definitely be a rare occurrence that two fighters managed by the same man fight in Highland, let alone with the title on the line. However their manager, Partial Differential Equation King, had requested this fight after Sakuraba won the belt from Cathair McKay. Convinced to take a title shot against Keke Kivi instead, Sakuraba would drop the belt and Barbosa was granted the next one. Barbosa came through with flying colours and with no other top middleweight ready for a shot, the timing sort of made sense for PDEK to pit his fighters against one another.
Two grappling experts, Sakuraba seems to be a little bit more well rounded in MMA while Barbosa might be the better on the ground. Sakuraba might want to keep the fight standing and work his striking a little bit more, but ultimately this fight will spill to the floor and we’ll finally find out who the top man is out of these two submissionists.
Bantamweight Championship – Kazuo Takashi (13-0) Vs Valerio Falto (5-2-1)
They don’t get much scarier than Kaz Takashi do they? The Kyoto, Japan native was initially forced to sit on the contenders bench after a 4 fight win streak due to his team mate Noel Diaz holding the belt. Diaz moved up back in May, and Kaz has more than took advantage. SEVEN, count them, SEVEN title defences of the Bantamweight belt, and add in the IXF Featherweight title for good measure. Perhaps most interesting is Kaz has never had a rematch. Every single guy he’s faced and beat was a fresh challenge, and all but one of them saw the final bell. Kaz truly is one of the most dominant fighters in Island history, and he’s been so dominant that we’ve struggled to actually build anyone up to face him.
Luckily for us, enter Valerio Falto. Falto had a stumble out of the gates in Highland, going 1-2-1, but since then he’s notched up wins by both TKO and submission, demonstrating his versatility. Italy’s Falto has never been submitted, and with 4 finishes out of 5 by tapout under his belt, Falto feels that Kaz has faced inferior grapplers throughout his career thus far and when faced with a fellow black belt, things will look a lot different for the dominant champ.
It’d be hard to get against Kaz here, but if things go how we expect, it will all take place on the floor and you can never count out Falto to pull off a submission.
Lightweight Championship – Noel Diaz (12-0) Vs Liam Murphy (7-3)
I’m not going to do Noel Diaz fight hype the justice that Tycoon Hec will, but I’ll give it my best shot.
I haven’t fully prepared the evidence yet, but it appears that Noel Diaz might be the greatest fighters in Island history. Eight title wins across 3 divisions, no losses, and realistically he should have won the title in his last fight when he defeated IXF champ Gosuke Del Valle. Perhaps even more impressively is that he’s beat the best of the best too. Jobber Joe, two-time IXF BW champ, Remi Chavaski, current Highland FW champ, Souza, Diesel, Green. He’s fought ALL of those top guys, and he’s never looked in major major trouble. This is the top of the mountain, and only those with the best equipment can avoid a big fall.
Lucky Liam is the ultimate underdog. At one stage he was 3-3 in his career, with losses to both Kofi Ousmane and Ed Green from the prelims of today’s card. He didn’t look like the biggest threat, but an insane 4 fight win streak, including wins over KJ Wassermann and Kranckx Diesel, that’s as impressive as it’s going to get. Liam has overcome adversity in his career to earn this opportunity and he doesn’t want to let it slip. He knows the challenge ahead of him, but with 7 submissions to his name, “Lucky” wants to live up to his name.
Welterweight Championship – Adam Shalashaska (13-1) Vs Maurice Tillet (9-2)
This is what drama is all about. Here’s the history lesson;
Shalashaska was 8-0. Two title defences. Fighting the best of the best. Maurice Tillet steps up and finishes him in the opening stanza. New champ. Tillet defends the title twice before getting submitted by up and coming youngster Auric Gallahad. In comes Adam, beating Gallahad for the belt.
Now, it all comes down to this. The only blemish on Revolver Ocelot’s record. The Solid Snake to his…ehhh, Revolver Ocelot (this analogy doesn’t work because Big Boss also beat Ocelot, but I’m gonna get too nerdy and start mentioning the La Li Lu Le Lo any second so I’ll stop).
Tillet is TERRIFYING when he gets on top. Ground and pound unmatched and unrivalled. However, he does have a pair of submission losses to Gallahad and Odd Job, so there is potential to catch him off guard. Shalashaska is a lethal submission threat, originally targeting limbs but recently switching it up to chokes as well. He’s not shy of going the distance and he’s a confident boxer on top.
This fight is insane with a real rivalry under the cracks. Can Adam avenge his only loss and head into the tournament as the reigning champ?
Light Heavyweight Championship – Torhte Finlayson (13-0) Vs Archie Laird (9-2)
Someone who wants to go 5 rounds with me for saying Diaz might be the greatest Island fighter of all time is big Gingy Bear Torhte Finlayson. Just two of his fights have went to the third round, four of them have went to the second round and seven of them within the first fight minutes. No one has even seen the championship rounds against Finlayson, and quite frankly no one has even stood a chance. That’s not to say his opponent level hasn’t been incredible. The former ColMMA champ has beat everyone we have. Lachmann, Manhoeff, Mantor, Yates. Even when someone’s bounced back and made improvements, like Space Jesus getting a rematch or Vatsadze forcing a trilogy, we’re talking mere seconds of improvement if any. Finlayson wants to finish this Island season undefeated, enter the tournament, win it, and go down as the greatest Island fighter of all time.
Archie Laird might be the one man to not get a crack at the title, which is incredible considering how highly rated he’s always been. An amazing five fight win streak to kick off his Highland career still didn’t get him a shot. Two stumbles held him back and now after another 3 on the trot, we’re finally seeing Laird get his crack at the gold. Fighters have earned title shots by beating Archie, but the champ hasn’t earned that claim yet. Archie feels he’s made the adjustments and now’s the time to stifle the plans of Finlayson and end that claim as the greatest Island fighter ever. Is this finally his time to shine?
Heavyweight Championship – Maro Pjetlic (10-1-1) Vs Needle Dick (13-2)
And we’re onto the main event of the evening. Heavyweight has been the most incredible ride of the whole season. Five different champions, but just two have had multiple reigns; Maro Pjetlic and Needle Dick.
Needle was out first champion, which was unsprirising as we all knew the quality of his manager Power Shark. He took out two of our best challengers, Rav Kapur and Koto Show, before getting stopped by Titus Lesnar. That loss fuelled something inside the former champ, seeing him go on a rampage of 6 straight stoppage wins, including avenging his loss to Lesnar. On top of the world once again, in the exact same position he was in his original reign with two defences, Amaru Kawiwasulu shocked the world by stopping Dick in under 4 minutes. We know what he did after his first loss, what will he do after his second?
I could almost copy and paste the exact same for our champ Maro. His manager, Domagoj Rakitic, might not be as well known as Power Shark, but Maro Pjetlic proved history means nothing in this game. Maro won his first championship back in June after a draw in his first opportunity Vs Adrik Mihaylov. Delighted to finally have the strap, he was finally put down by his opponent tonight; Needle Dick. He’d go on an incredible tear, beating Rav Kapur, Hans Holmes and Ricky Thompson, before beating the man who took Dick’s title; Amaru Kawiwasulu.
This division is so intertwined, but here’s what it boils down to. One man has beat the champ Maro ‘Roar’ Pjetlic; Needle Dick. He had some options for his opponents but he only wanted one fight, and that was for the opportunity to prove that HE is the best heavyweight champion we’ve had. Can he do just that, or is Needle Dick set to shine once again when these two meet?
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