Breakdown CES MMA 38

               

CES MMA brings a fight card that boasts two Main Events in the Featherweight Division to Foxwoods Resort Casino on Sept. 23^rd. Sean Soriano vs Levan Makashavili and Calvin Kattar vs Chris Foster Co-Headline the event, scheduled to air live on AXS TV.

               

Twenty-six year old Sean Soriano is in his second stint with CES MMA. Last time (2/3/12) He KO’d Lee Metcalf in just :34 (1^st round) while on an 8-0 streak that resulted in a three fight run with the UFC. Soriano lost his latest fight (3/25/16) by TKO in the third (1:25) to Thomas Webb at Legacy Fighting Championship LFC 52. Last November he stopped, by first round KO, (3:21) Josh Quayhagen at LFC 48. He has finished seven of his nine wins (4KO/TKO). He takes on Oceanside New York’s, Levan Makashvili.

               

Featherweight, Levan Makashvili also fought in the UFC. After splitting a pair of split decisions (1-1) and a Majority Draw with Damon Jackson earlier this year (1/30) the UFC released “The Hornet”. He responded well in June (10^th) with a Unanimous Decision victory over Ryan Sanders at CES MMA 36. Makashvili is 8-2 with three wins by KO/TKO.

               

Calvin Kattar is on a seven fight win streak, dating back to a 3/26/10, a Third Round (4:05) TKO of Jeff Anderson. “The Boston Finisher” earned his name by finishing nine of his fifteen wins (6KO/TKO). He is currently on a run of five straight decision wins. This is Kattar’s third fight with CES, he won a split decision at CES MMA 34 (4/1/16). He faces Middletown, Connecticut’s Chris “Cassius” Foster.

               

Foster is 5-2 in his last seven fights. Five of “Cassius’s” nine wins are by way of KO/TKO. The Featherweight earned a UD win over Vovka Clay at Bellator 153 (4/22/16).

               

Bantamweight, Rico Disciullo is coming off a First Round (4:34) KO slam of Jake Constant at CES MMA 35. Fighting out of Peabody, Massachusetts, Disciullo had an extensive amateur career to accompany his 6-0-1 record as a pro. In addition to his four fights with CES Rico has also competed for Bellator three times, including a First Round (1:21) KO of Glenn Allaire at Bellator 98 (9/7/13) in his Pro debut. He takes on Twenty-two year old, David Garcia.

               

The 3-1-1 Garcia is coming off a Second Round (4:08) TKO of Josh Longood (8/19/16) at Justified Defiance Fight Series 2. Garcia is competing in his fourth fight of 2016, including a First Round (2:24) Kimura Submission of Raymond Yanez on April 16^th.

               

The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 contestant, Pat Walsh is on a two fight win streak, a pair of UD victories: Tyler King at WSOF 24 (10/17/15) and his last fight with CES (8/14/15) over Jesse Mc Elligot. “The Beast of the East” went 1-1 in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division. He is currently 7-2 with four wins by decision. He faces Thirty-Eight year old, Carlos Zevallos.

                The 3-3 Zevallos hasn’t competed since a UD win over Charles Moreland (8/9/14). The Floridian’s has won a fight by each: Decision, TKO/KO and Submision.

                Submission kings meet when 5-3 Brandon Seyler faces 6-4 Kody Nordby. Seyler has finished each of his five wins (4 Subs) including a Rear Naked Choke of Dillard Pegg in the First Round (1:46) last fight (5/7/16). Nordby has six Submission wins of his own. He went on a three fight reign (June 15-Jan 16) of finishing each opponent by RNC in the first round.

                Also competing: 4-0 Carlos Candelario has two, First Round finishes in 2016: a Submission (1:16) at CES MMA 36 (6/10) and a :31 KO at CES MMA 34 (4/1). He takes on 2-1 Brandon Warne, who is fresh from a First Round Submission (:34) win of his own, at NEF 21 (2/6/16).  

Breakdown UFC Fight Night 94

               

State Farm Arena Hidalgo, Texas will house UFC Fight Night 94. Lightweights Dustin Poirier and Michael Johnson face off in the Main Event Saturday Sept. 17^th.

               

Since his move up from the Featherweight Division, Dustin Poirier has gone 4-0, including 3 first round KO/TKO stoppages. At UFC 199 he halted Bobby Green’s evening at 2:53 (first round) in the “Diamond’s” latest fight. The Twenty-seven year old’s record is 20-4, with sixteen stoppages (10 KO/TKO).

               

Michael Johnson hasn’t competed since his second consecutive loss, at UFC on Fox 17 (12/15/15) when he lost a Unanimous Decision to Nate Diaz. The fight that propelled Diaz’s momentum with a collision with Connor McGregor (yeah that fight). Prior to a Split Decision loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 73 (8/8/15) Johnson had rattled off four straight wins against the LW division’s top talent: Barboza (2/22/15), Lauzon (8/17/13), Tibau (12/28/13) and Guillard (3/8/14). Expect Johnson to fight like his job is on the line against a Freight Train on a roll in Poirier.

              

  In the Co-Main Event a pair of highlight reel strikers square off when Jacksons MMA’s Derek Brunson meets TUF 17 Finalist, Uriah Hall. With a record of 15-3, Brunson has never looked sharper. The Thirty-two year old is coming of three straight, first round KO/TKO wins (Ed Herman 1/31/15, Sam Alvey 8/8/15 and Roan Carneiro 2/21/16). He is on a four fight win streak.

               

Uriah Hall is 2-5 in fights that go to decision, but luckily he has won ten by early stoppage. “PrimeTime” is coming off a Unanimous Decision loss to Robert Whittaker (11/14/15). Prior to that he stopped both Gegard Mousasi in :25 of the second round (9/26/15) and Oluwale Bamgbose just 2:32 (first round) into their contest (8/8/15). Brunson and Hall combine for fifteen career KO/TKO’s, building up to what should be a stand-up clash in the MW division.

                Evan Dunham has been competing in the UFC since 2009, he has gone 10-6 in his sixteen fights with the organization. He hasn’t fought since last Dec when he earned a UD over Joe Lauzon at TUF 22 Finale (12/11/15). Dunham went 3-0 in 2015, all Unanimous Decisions (Ross Pearson 7/18, Rodrigo Damm 1/3 and Lauzon). He faces a fighter with ten career KO/TKO’s and making his UFC debut in Rick Glenn.

                Rick Glenn is 18-3 with fifteen stoppages. He is currently on a three fight win streak, two by KO/TKO, including an Oct. 2015 second round (1:27) KO of Adam Ward at WSOF 24. Glenn has won nine of his last ten (loss to WSOF FW Champ Lance Palmer) with only two decisions. Glenn is moving up from 145lbs to face Dunham in the Lightweight Division. Look for a clash of styles here.

               

Kicking off the night’s action on UFC FightPass with Alejandro Perez VS Albert Morales. Mexican Bantamweight, Alejandro Perez has TKO’d his previous two opponents: he stopped Ian Entwistle in the first round (4:04) with punches at UFC FN 86 (4/10/16) and a devastating leg kick to Scott Jorgensen caused an injury that halted their fight 4:26 in the second round at UFC FN 78 (11/21/15). “El Diablito” faces Carson California’s Albert Morales.

               

Morales is making his UFC debut. He has competed for Bellator, WSOF and most recently RFA where he KO’d Mario Israel in the opening :20 (first round) earlier this year at RFA 38 (6/3/16). “The Warrior” has finished five of his six wins (3 submissions). The first fight of the night may save the undefeated Morales from the jitters many fighters describe when making their UFC debuts.

For the full fight card go to: ufc.com

Breakdown Bellator 161

Heavyweights, Cheick Kongo and Tony Johnson are scheduled to meet in the Main Event of Bellator 161, in HEB Center Cedar Park, Texas on September 16^th 2016.

The 6’4” Kongo is entering his ninth fight with Bellator, he has gone 6-2 to date. He is coming off a pair of decision victories over Alexander Volkov (6/26/15) and Vinicius Kapple de Queiroz (2/26/16). The hard hitting, Forty-one year old has finished sixteen of his twenty-four victories, twelve by KO/TKO.

At 10-2 Tony Johnson is still building his name. The Texan has finished half of his victories by TKO/KO. Johnson looks to add Cheick Kongo to an already impressive list of past wins. The list includes: Alexander Volkov by Split Decision (4/10/15), Former UFC HW Champ, Tim Silvia by 3^rd round TKO (5/31/13), and current UFC HW Phenom, Derrick Lewis at BFC 46 by Unanimous Decision. At Bellator 148 (1/29/16) Johnson stopped Raphael Butler by TKO with only :36 remaining in the third round of his most recent fight.  

Thirty-nine year old Bantamweight, Joe Warren enters the Bellator cage with a record of 13-5 with 9 wins by decision. Warren looks to rebound after being choked unconscious at Bellator 151 (3/4/16) by Darion Caldwell. Getting back to Texas might just be what Warren needs. Last September he earned a UD win over LC Davis at Bellator 143 in Hidalgo, TX. A tough guy to beat in a three round contest, Warren’s five losses have all come by stoppage (2KO/TKO, 3Subs). He faces Gothenburg, Sweden’s Sirwan Kakai.

Kakai is also coming off a loss at Bellator 151, dropping a close Majority Decision to Joe Taimanglo. “Zohan” has finished ten of his twelve victories (6 submissions), but all four of his losses have been by decision.

A pair of undefeated female Flyweights will battle it out when Moscow Russia’s Anastasia Yankova faces Boise, Idaho native Veta Arteaga. Yankova has finished all three opponents by submission. She caught the last two in first round arm bars. At Bellator 152 (4/16/16) she snared Anjela Pink’s arm in the opening 1:35.

The Twenty-eight year old, Arteaga has won both of her pro fights by decision thus far. In May she outpointed Jackie Vendenburgh at Bellator 155.

Derek Campos is no stranger to the Bellator cage, he has fought inside of it nine times previously (5-4). In his most recent affair he KO’d Melvin Guillard just :32 into the second round at Bellator 149 (2/19/16). “The Stallion” has five wins by TKO/KO five by Sub and another six by Decision. He takes on fellow Lightweight, DJamil Chan.

Chan is on a seven fight win streak, dating back to 2/16/13 a first round :18 TKO of Angelos Zampakikas. In fact eight of his ten finishes have come in the first round, including his Bellator debut earlier this year (4/22) at Bellator 153, when he stopped Richard Patishnock in the first round.

The rest of the fight card can be seen at: bellator.spike.com

Breakdown Legacy FC 59

                Two hometown Middleweight fighters will headline Legacy Fighting Championship 59, Sept. 16^th at the Arena Theater in Houston Texas. 11-7 Isaac Villanueva will face fellow Houstonian, 7-0 Trevin Giles in the Main Event.

               

Isaac Villanueva is riding a three fight win streak, including his last effort at LFC 55 earning a Unanimous Decision win over Brandon Farrar. The Decision was only the second time “Hurricane Ike” has let a bout slip to the judges’ decision, in 18 fights. He has finished nine of his eleven wins by KO/TKO. This past February at Bellator 149, Villanueva allowed the clock only 42 ticks before stopping Richard Knepp’s night by TKO and a month earlier (1/15/16) he thrilled the crowd at Fury Fighting 9 with an opening round KO of Husan Mohamed at 1:08.

               

Undefeated, Trevin Giles has stopped all seven of his opponents to date (3 KO/TKO, 4 Subs). This is Giles fourth fight with LFC, in March he sub’d Brendan Allen by rear-naked-choke (1:47, 2^nd round) at LFC52. In Giles most recent bout, Josh Clark fell to the same fate in the 2^nd round (1:10) in the Main Event at RFA 41 (7/29/16). With fighters that own such impressive finishing skills, these two local fighters should draw the attention from MMA fans everywhere.

               

In the Lightweight Division, Justin Reiswerg has finished eight of his nine career wins, six by Submission. “The Wolverine” last appeared under the Legacy banner at LFC50 (1/22/16), when it took him only 1:43 (1^st round) to sink in a rear-naked-choke on Jonathan Harris.  The Twenty-eight year old has had a tough go as of late, 1-3 in his last four, but he’s always a threat with his proven submission game. He faces Jason Langellier.

               

Langellier comes in with a perfect 4-0 record, 3 KO/TKO and 1 Sub. “Slim Reaper” is fighting in his fourth LFC event, all previous have been halted due to Langellier’s strikes. Most recently a first round knee stopped Jeremiah Jones (1:19) at LFC55. “Slim Reaper’s” only pro fight outside Legacy also accounts for his sole submission win, a first round anaconda choke earned him the victory at Bellator 149.

                Baton Rouge Bantamweight, Chris Pham has finished each of his four wins (3 subs, 1 KO). Always dangerous, Pham has struggled lately, winning only one in his last five attempts, but that win, a :28 KO of Aaron Williams at Cage Rage 22.

                Pham faces Houston’s Domingo Pilarte. “Anointed” is on a two fight win streak. Last time out (10/09/15) the Twenty-six year old collected one of his three submission wins with a first round arm bar (2:04) of Javier Obregon at Fury Fighting 8.

                Staying in the Bantamweight Division, winner of his last four, Houston’s Colin Wright looks to improve his 4-2 record. At Fury Fighting 10 (4/8/16) Wright earned his third submission win with a first round Triangle choke of Edward Longoria (2:43). Wright takes on Twenty-two year old, Adrian Yanez. Yanez won a Unanimous Decision over Ryan Hollis at Bellator 149 for his first career decision win. Yanez also has two wins by TKO and one sub.

Also scheduled for the Main Card: 135lbs. 3-0 Randy Mc Cullough takes on 4-3 Mike Trinh, 205lbs. 10-10 Chad Cook Vs 3-1 Danny Orr. To view the entire fight card www.legacyfights.net

Wonderboy, GSP, Diaz? Who Should Woodley Face Next

Wonderboy, GSP, Diaz? Who Should Woodley Face Next

By now you’ve probably seen the video of Tyron Woodley telling Stephen Thompson that he isn’t interested in putting his newly acquired belt on the line versus “Wonderboy”, stating he is interested in big money fights, mentioning Nick Diaz as a potential opponent. T-Wood dropped that bomb on Thompson, just moments after dropping Robbie Lawler, in the first round, to become the Welterweight Champion. On the UFC 201 Post Fight Show on FS-1 Thompson awkwardly asked Woodley for the title shot (Thompson previously picked Lawler to win the fight). Woodley instead suggested Thompson face Lawler in a number one contenders fight.  

                It’s not likely that Nick Diaz will get a title shot following a suspension after testing positive for marijuana metabolites following his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 183 (1/31/15). The suspension, originally: five years and $165,000, was reduced following a Diaz appeal, to 18 months and 100,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The suspension was lifted on August 1^st, 2016, so Diaz is eligible, but having lost his last two fights at 170lbs (St-Pierre 3/16/13 and Condit 2/4/12) and the loss to Silva, ruled a No Contest (following a failed pre-fight drug test by Silva) it will be hard to sell Nick as a worthy challenger.  

                Enter GSP. In December of 2013 George St-Pierre, the UFC’s most dominant Welterweight Champion of all time, announced that he would vacate his title and take some time off from the sport to handle personal affairs. According to Tyron Woodley, St-Pierre is interested in a return to fight for the belt with the new champ. A fight with GSP, returning from a three year hiatus, will provide Woodley with his best option for a big money fight. St-Pierre is one of the sport’s biggest draws of all time and it would be difficult to suggest he doesn’t deserve it. GSP beat his last twelve Welterweight opponents. The last time he lost was to, The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Matt Sera at UFC 69 4/7/2007. At Thirty-five years old, St-Pierre is still young enough to improve on his 25-2 MMA record.

                Since entering the Octagon at UFC 143 (2/4/12) Stephen Thompson has gone 7-1 with five TKO/KO wins. Three of those finishes have come by head kick. As the name would imply, “Wonderboy” is impressive. He ended Jake Ellenberger’s night with a spinning hook kick (7/12/15) and seven months later TKO’d former WW Champ, Johny Hendricks with a first round wheel kick at UFC FN 2/6/16. In his last affair, Thompson earned a five round Unanimous Decision over Rory MacDonald, proving he has the endurance to compete for the strap.

                The Diaz fight won’t likely materialize. Just about everyone not named Thompson would prefer to see Woodley face GSP, but if St-Pierre decides against a comeback, “Wonderboy” is likely the next challenger to the 170lbs crown.  

Deserving or not, Woodley is No Joke

Deserving or not, Woodley is No Joke

Fresh on the heels of the colossus bicentennial event, dubbed UFC 200 the Ultimate Fighting Championship brings their show to Atlanta, Ga for UFC 201 on July 30^th 2016. Tough to not appear lackluster compared to its predecessor, this event features less of the sports house-hold names.

Many have criticized Welterweight title challenger, Tyron Woodley as an unworthy opponent for Champ Robbie Lawler. Woodley hasn’t competed since his Split Decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum, 1/31/15.  Also “The Chosen One” beat his biggest UFC name to date, Carlos Condit, when a leg kick caused an injury that halted the fight.

However, make no mistake, Woodley is a dangerous opponent for any Welterweight; ask UFC Veterans Dong Hyun Kim, Josh Koscheck or Jay Heiron all of whom Tyron finished in the first round via punches. The 48-0 High School Wrestler trains at American Top Team, the same team as Champion Robbie Lawler.

Many fans are interested in seeing Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson take on Lawler. The former 20-0 Kickboxer has finished seven of his thirteen MMA wins by KO/TKO. In June Thompson beat Rory MacDonald by Unanimous Decision. Prior to that he stopped former Champ Johnny Hendricks (2/6/16) and Jake Ellenberger (7/12/15) both in the first round, earning performance bonuses for each effort. Fans will have to be patient, the dynamic striker will likely be the division’s next challenger.

Before Lawler can even consider a possible match-up with Thompson he must first beat  Woodley on Saturday. “Ruthless” has been in some battles for the WW strap. In March of 2014 he lost a close Title fight to (then champion) Johnny Hendricks, before beating Ellenberger (5/24/14) and Matt Brown (7/26/14) in order to earn a second shot at the gold, all in the same year. In December 2014, Lawler beat Hendricks by Split Decision to become the undisputed King of the WW division. In July of 2015 Lawler defended his belt against Rory MacDonald in a violent match that saw both competitors hurt before Lawler finally put MacDonald away in the fifth round. In January 2016, he out-gutted Carlos Condit in a close Split Decision victory.

No doubt the Thirty-four year old can bring it, but will the accumulated damage of his 27-10-1 career finally catch up with him? I think not, yet. Lawler’s grit and experience in five round wars will prevail, coupled with Woodley’s long absence from competition, Lawler will likely do what Robbie does: bite down on his mouthpiece and battle. Woodley's best chance is to end it early, winning a five round fight against Lawler is a tough order. Lawler's cardio gets stronger in later rounds and Woodley's heavily muscled build has gassed in the past.

Victory FC 50 at the Kansas Expo-Center in Topeka Kansas offers a fight card that is sure to thrill. The May 21^st event features two championship belts on the line. In the Main Event, Heavyweight Knock Out artists, Abe Wagner and Daniel Gallemore will bring their combined ten TKO/KO finishes to the cage. In the Co-Main Jarred Mercado puts his Featherweight Title on the line when he faces 14-1 Alexandre Pimental.

If the name Abe “Hurricane” Wagner sounds familiar, it’s likely because the 36 year old was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter, Season 10. He lost his first fight to Jon Madsen and was eliminated from competition early. The Nebraska native hasn’t competed since a 4/25/14 no contest versus Rob Mitchell. Prior to that Wagner lost three straight, but his last win was in a Victory cage (7/30/11), a first round Rear-Naked Choke Submission over Justin Grizzard. Also in 2011, “Hurricane” TKO’d the former two-time UFC HW Champion, Tim Sylvia in only thirty-two seconds at Titan FC 16. Wagner has finished nine of his ten wins, six by KO/TKO. Wagner takes on Emporia, Kansas’, Daniel Gallemore.

This is Gallemore’s first fight with Victory FC. “Big Kansas” has only been to a decision one time, his pro debut back in 2011, a Unanimous Decision loss to Alex Huddleston. Since, he has gone 4-2, all KO/TKO. In 2014 Gallemore collected a pair of TKO wins under the Bellator banner, a second round (4:33) finish of Gzim Selmani (10/24), and a first round stoppage only 0:20 into the match versus Frederick Brown (3/21).

The Victory FC Featherweight Title fight, features Victory new-comer, Alexandre Pimental. In Pimental’s fourteen wins, eight have been by Submission and two by KO/TKO, his solitary loss was delivered by a third round KO (1:51) courtesy of Rick Glenn at WSOF 2. “Pulga” has won his last two by submission: in September he caught Rafael da Silva Alves in a second round Guillotine Choke (2:54) and back on 10/26/13 he cinched a Triangle Choke around Jade Porter’s neck.

Jarred Mercado, the more active fighter, is competing in his second fight of 2016. On January 29^th he took Alonzo Martinez’s back and submitted him via RNC in the second round (2:15) at VFC 47 to win the Victory FW belt. “Shutout” is riding a two fight win streak and has also competed at 135lbs.

In the Welterweight Division, 6-2 Maki Pitolo is the winner of five straight, including two wins by Sub and two by TKO. The Hawaiian fighter is fresh off a second round (2:21) TKO of Andrews Nakahara on April 1^st at VFC 49. Pitolo takes on twenty-six fight veteran, Justin Guthrie. The Thirty-five year old finished Steven Mann with a Brabo Choke (2^nd 1:09) at Bellator 138 (6/19/15) last time out.  

In the Lightweight Division, Twenty-five year old, Yuri Villefort has already competed in Strikeforce and the UFC. His November 21^st first round TKO (1:40) of Doug Jenkins, snapped a five fight skid. At 8-5 Villefort is looking to build momentum, following his January VFC debut, when he KO’d Kenneth Glenn with a late first round knee (4:15). He faces twenty-three fight veteran, Cody Carrillo. Carillo is also coming off a first round win at VFC 47 with a 0:32 Guillotine Choke of Sean Wilson. That was Carillo’s second, opening-minute win in a row, he TKO’d Shakir McKillip in just 0:26 in September.

What else to watch for: 7-2 Chuka Willis takes on 3-0 Justin Overton in the FW Division. Twenty-five year old Willis is on a three fight win streak, including 2 TKOs. Undefeated Justin Overton holds all three wins by Submission in the first round. The former Army Ranger’s longest Pro MMA fight to date went 2:28 before Dalton Goddard tapped (7/18/15).

Victory FC 50 Streams live on UFC FightPass Saturday May 21st.