Down the Pub: “The Real Deal” Preview
International Flare Continues
Pedro Wrobel Jul 1, 2005
Gerald Strebendt
vs. Vitor Ribeiro
Although a massively intriguing match-up and one of the bouts most talked about in the forums, this is objectively a really strange match for Cage Rage to book. The UK has a long tradition of boxing and the London crowd have in the past proved vastly more attracted to brawls than they have been to technical ground fights. Gerald Strebendt and Vitor Ribeiro are both ground specialists and their battle is almost certain to hit the ground and stay there.
Gerald "The Finishing Machine" Strebendt (8-5) returns to Cage Rage
for the first time since he dropped his lightweight title to
Jean Silva at Cage Rage 6.
The UFC veteran, fighting out of the 10th Planet jiu-jitsu camp, is
a tough, experienced fighter who has faced many of the best names
at his weight, including Sean
Sherk (lost), Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett (lost), Josh Thomson (lost) and Jean Silva (1-1).
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (11-1) is considered by many to be amongst the top candidates for the elusive “pound for pound" prize. The Brazilian is a BJJ wizard from the Nova Uniao camp. Ribeiro has fought and beaten many top names like UFC veteran Ivan Menjivar, and SHOOTO favorites Ryan Bow, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and the tough-as-nails Norwegian, Joachim Hansen.
Nilson de Castro vs. Curtis Stout
Chute Boxe regular Nilson de Castro (10-7) makes his European debut against the newly monickered Curtis "Bang 'em out" Stout (9-6). This has the look of a typical Cage Rage fight with both men clearly enjoying their striking game.
Stout is the bigger man and he must be the favorite coming in. Both men are on a two-fight winning streak but Stout's tight, technical style should match up well against de Castro's furious aggression. A Chute Boxe fighter can never be counted out but I'd expect Stout to take this one. Since de Castro has never actually been knocked out before, I'm going to pick this one as a win by decision for Mr. Stout.
Travis Lutter vs. Matt Ewin
UFC veteran and Lion's Den representative Travis Lutter (5-2) should have the advantage over Matt "The Hardest" Ewin (13-5-1) from big-stage experience alone. Lutter is a weird one. He's a BJJ black belt who was choked out by Matt Lindland but knocked out kickboxer Marvin Eastman.
I must admit that if this fight had been made a year ago I'd have picked Ewin to win it, but the Englishman doesn't look like the same fighter since his loss to Damien Riccio at Cage Rage 8. Ewin had always impressed me with his calm, technical, methodical style but his disorganized performance against Riccio in their rematch at CageWarriors looked like the product of an unfocussed mind.
My heart says that Ewin rediscovers himself and takes this but my head says that the BJJ black belt will prove too much. I'll go reluctantly with my head and pick Lutter by submission in the third.
Mark Epstein vs. Matthias Riccio
I love these two. Mark "The Beast" Epstein (7-7) looks like a baddy in a Guy Ritchie movie. He looks like a movie thug complete with scowly face and stocky frame. Famous for his "cast iron chin," Epstein fears nobody in the cage and is at his best when standing toe-to-toe throwing massive haymakers.
Matthias Riccio (4-8) could have the same description. Slightly shorter, Riccio is another tough, fearless brawler who loves to throw down.
The difference between these two is the ground, where Riccio is probably the more comfortable of the two. That said neither of them likes going down there, so this will be a swing-a-thon with either man liable to kiss the canvas. This being the case, I'm going with Epstein, just because he's bigger and, "Cyborg" fight aside, probably has the slightly better chin.
Brad Pickett vs. Jordan Miller
Brad "One Punch" Pickett (2-1) is a lot of fun. The east ender always brings a crowd of fans with him and is guaranteed a good cheer. And why not? He's got a distinctive look (the trilby) and everyone loves the Chas and Dave theme tune he always comes out to. Pickett is a Cage Rage fighter through and through: an aggressive striker from the Elite camp who is trying desperately to get himself a ground game.
On Saturday he takes on the inexperienced Jordan "The Hitman" Miller (0-1), whose pro debut was in April this year. Miller was a last-minute replacement for the highly regarded Manchester-based fighter, Steven "Widge" Milward. Milward would have been a good test for Pickett, whereas Miller just looks outmatched. I hope this isn't the case but given that I know nothing about Miller, I'll pick Pickett to take the TKO victory in the first.
The Under Card
Phil "The Gladiator" Norman (3-0) takes on UKMMAC welterweight champion Darren Guisha (4-0) in a 170-pound clash. Guisha has been the much more active fighter of late, stringing together some impressive wins. Look for him to take the victory here, probably by TKO in the second round.
Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate (5-4-1) takes on Chute Boxe's Fabio Piamonte (0-1) in a light heavyweight clash that really should be higher up the card. The tall, lanky Diabate is an excellent kickboxer but his relative lack of wrestling and ground skills has held back his MMA career. Piamonte's only pro fight took place six years ago (a loss to Dutch lunatic Gilbert Yvel) and unless he's improved significantly Diabate will probably take this, possibly by decision.
Tom Blackledge (3-2) was originally scheduled to fight Herb Dean but after the latter pulled out, he takes on Alan Murdoch (1-1) instead. Blackledge's experience should be the difference here with the Wolfslair fighter taking the victory by TKO.
Rick "Just the Trick" Andrews (2-1) takes on the wrestler Tony "T" Thompson in the second of two opening welterweight clashes. Andrews is the local lad, a well-rounded fighter from the Elite gym and he should be the favorite here, although he is likely to have some trouble with the wrestler. It will be interesting to see how he copes. I'll pick Andrews to take the decision.
Dave Lee (3-1) takes on Jason "Bad Ass" Barrett in the opening welterweight bout. Lee is a very slick ground fighter from the Ze Marcello/BTT camp, whose last outing was a 43-second submission over Rick Andrews at Cage Rage 10. He will be the favorite ahead of the Elite gym's Barrett. Lee by submission (triangle) in the first.
Although a massively intriguing match-up and one of the bouts most talked about in the forums, this is objectively a really strange match for Cage Rage to book. The UK has a long tradition of boxing and the London crowd have in the past proved vastly more attracted to brawls than they have been to technical ground fights. Gerald Strebendt and Vitor Ribeiro are both ground specialists and their battle is almost certain to hit the ground and stay there.
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Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (11-1) is considered by many to be amongst the top candidates for the elusive “pound for pound" prize. The Brazilian is a BJJ wizard from the Nova Uniao camp. Ribeiro has fought and beaten many top names like UFC veteran Ivan Menjivar, and SHOOTO favorites Ryan Bow, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and the tough-as-nails Norwegian, Joachim Hansen.
Although Strebendt is good, this is close to being a no-brainer for
me. "Shaolin" Ribeiro has faced and beaten the tougher competition,
whereas Strebendt has struggled at this level. Don't get me wrong,
the American is good but the Brazilian is great. Ribeiro is not
always a finisher but on this occasion I can see him pulling out
the submission (almost certainly an arm-triangle choke) in the
third round.
Nilson de Castro vs. Curtis Stout
Chute Boxe regular Nilson de Castro (10-7) makes his European debut against the newly monickered Curtis "Bang 'em out" Stout (9-6). This has the look of a typical Cage Rage fight with both men clearly enjoying their striking game.
Stout is the bigger man and he must be the favorite coming in. Both men are on a two-fight winning streak but Stout's tight, technical style should match up well against de Castro's furious aggression. A Chute Boxe fighter can never be counted out but I'd expect Stout to take this one. Since de Castro has never actually been knocked out before, I'm going to pick this one as a win by decision for Mr. Stout.
Travis Lutter vs. Matt Ewin
UFC veteran and Lion's Den representative Travis Lutter (5-2) should have the advantage over Matt "The Hardest" Ewin (13-5-1) from big-stage experience alone. Lutter is a weird one. He's a BJJ black belt who was choked out by Matt Lindland but knocked out kickboxer Marvin Eastman.
I must admit that if this fight had been made a year ago I'd have picked Ewin to win it, but the Englishman doesn't look like the same fighter since his loss to Damien Riccio at Cage Rage 8. Ewin had always impressed me with his calm, technical, methodical style but his disorganized performance against Riccio in their rematch at CageWarriors looked like the product of an unfocussed mind.
My heart says that Ewin rediscovers himself and takes this but my head says that the BJJ black belt will prove too much. I'll go reluctantly with my head and pick Lutter by submission in the third.
Mark Epstein vs. Matthias Riccio
I love these two. Mark "The Beast" Epstein (7-7) looks like a baddy in a Guy Ritchie movie. He looks like a movie thug complete with scowly face and stocky frame. Famous for his "cast iron chin," Epstein fears nobody in the cage and is at his best when standing toe-to-toe throwing massive haymakers.
Matthias Riccio (4-8) could have the same description. Slightly shorter, Riccio is another tough, fearless brawler who loves to throw down.
The difference between these two is the ground, where Riccio is probably the more comfortable of the two. That said neither of them likes going down there, so this will be a swing-a-thon with either man liable to kiss the canvas. This being the case, I'm going with Epstein, just because he's bigger and, "Cyborg" fight aside, probably has the slightly better chin.
Brad Pickett vs. Jordan Miller
Brad "One Punch" Pickett (2-1) is a lot of fun. The east ender always brings a crowd of fans with him and is guaranteed a good cheer. And why not? He's got a distinctive look (the trilby) and everyone loves the Chas and Dave theme tune he always comes out to. Pickett is a Cage Rage fighter through and through: an aggressive striker from the Elite camp who is trying desperately to get himself a ground game.
On Saturday he takes on the inexperienced Jordan "The Hitman" Miller (0-1), whose pro debut was in April this year. Miller was a last-minute replacement for the highly regarded Manchester-based fighter, Steven "Widge" Milward. Milward would have been a good test for Pickett, whereas Miller just looks outmatched. I hope this isn't the case but given that I know nothing about Miller, I'll pick Pickett to take the TKO victory in the first.
The Under Card
Phil "The Gladiator" Norman (3-0) takes on UKMMAC welterweight champion Darren Guisha (4-0) in a 170-pound clash. Guisha has been the much more active fighter of late, stringing together some impressive wins. Look for him to take the victory here, probably by TKO in the second round.
Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate (5-4-1) takes on Chute Boxe's Fabio Piamonte (0-1) in a light heavyweight clash that really should be higher up the card. The tall, lanky Diabate is an excellent kickboxer but his relative lack of wrestling and ground skills has held back his MMA career. Piamonte's only pro fight took place six years ago (a loss to Dutch lunatic Gilbert Yvel) and unless he's improved significantly Diabate will probably take this, possibly by decision.
Tom Blackledge (3-2) was originally scheduled to fight Herb Dean but after the latter pulled out, he takes on Alan Murdoch (1-1) instead. Blackledge's experience should be the difference here with the Wolfslair fighter taking the victory by TKO.
Rick "Just the Trick" Andrews (2-1) takes on the wrestler Tony "T" Thompson in the second of two opening welterweight clashes. Andrews is the local lad, a well-rounded fighter from the Elite gym and he should be the favorite here, although he is likely to have some trouble with the wrestler. It will be interesting to see how he copes. I'll pick Andrews to take the decision.
Dave Lee (3-1) takes on Jason "Bad Ass" Barrett in the opening welterweight bout. Lee is a very slick ground fighter from the Ze Marcello/BTT camp, whose last outing was a 43-second submission over Rick Andrews at Cage Rage 10. He will be the favorite ahead of the Elite gym's Barrett. Lee by submission (triangle) in the first.
