For those of you who are interested, Legeno was also in the movie "Snatch" and recent UK gangster film "Hell to Pay." None of this affects his fighting talent, of course, but from the available evidence (his exciting but technically dire battle with Alan Murdoch at CR 14), what Legeno brings to the table is heart, size and a hell of a lot of enthusiasm.
Facing Legeno is another colorful character in the sometime-mulleted shape of Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa (30-23-8). A former pro wrestler, Minowa is the exact opposite in terms of experience, having fought anyone and everyone since making his professional MMA debut in 1996.
The massive size disadvantage is nothing new to the plucky and charismatic Japanese, who has already fought heavyweights such as Travis Fulton (draw), Semmy Schilt (Pictures) (lost), Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) (won) and Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) (won).
Once again, I think the deciding factor here is going to be experience. Minowa has plenty and Legeno has plenty to learn. Again, Legeno may land a lucky strike but a sane punter would put his money on the smaller man.
Jean Silva (Pictures) vs. Paul Daley (Pictures)
It may be a cliché but in this case it's true: Jean "The White Bear" Silva (11-4-3) comes into this fight at a crossroads. Having shone in the UK circuit since making his debut back in mid-2002, Silva finally earned himself a dream trip to Japan to face the awesome Takanori Gomi (Pictures).
Despite a vicious assault from his Japanese opponent, Silva managed to hang tough and took arguably the best lightweight in the world to a decision. This may not have been a bad thing, but Silva's next fight was much less impressive with Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) demonstrating his vast technical superiority over his Brazilian compatriot en route to a dominating victory by arm-triangle choke.
Silva now finds himself at the bad end of a two-fight losing streak and he’ll be extremely keen to put that right. To do this, he'll have to face down the proverbial hungry young wolf.
Paul "Semtex" Daley (8-3-0) is a real talent. Despite his youth, Daley has fought many of the best fighters in the UK at his weight, including Lee Doski (Pictures), Xavier Foupa-Pokam (Pictures), Jess Liaudin (Pictures), Abdul Mohamed (Pictures) and Paul Jenkins (Pictures).
Known and nicknamed primarily for his striking, Daley has worked hard to improve his all-around game, and recent bouts have showcased this improvement. In his last match, at Cage Rage 14 against Joey van Wanrooij, Daley showed his ability to use his strength to take down and dominate his opponent. It may not have been pretty but it was a much more mature and measured showing from the youngster.
This is an interesting match-up. The size and strength advantage sit with Daley, who is cutting to make the Bushido lightweight limit. Although both fighters are accomplished strikers, the knockout power belongs to Daley. On the ground Silva, as a BJJ black belt, is the clear favorite.
The question is whether "Semtex" has the submission savvy to stay out of Silva's clutches long enough to land the lethal blow. I think he does and this is his night to prove it. Daley will be a big star one day and this just may be the start of that road.
Travis Lutter (Pictures) vs. Jose Landi-Jons
UFC veteran and Lion's Den representative Travis Lutter (Pictures) (6-3) is a strange beast. He's a BJJ black belt who was choked out by Matt Lindland (Pictures) but knocked out kickboxer Marvin Eastman (Pictures). In his one previous appearance in the UK, the deceptively relaxed Lutter made things look easy, submitting Matt Ewin (Pictures) before the Englishman seemingly had time to start.
Former Chute Boxe fighter Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons (21-9-0) is a living legend, blazing a trail through the old-fashioned vale tudo tournaments in Brazil with his unmistakable gangly Muay Thai style. The Cuban-born fighter's feud with Jorge Patino (Pictures) is the stuff of MMA legend, and serves to highlight the aggressive and unpredictable nature of his character.
Inside the cage, "Pele" obviously has the all the technical and physical gifts that he needs to succeed but something tends to hold him back in the big fights. A lack of focus in his latter years at Chute Boxe and since leaving that team is a possibility (Landi-Jons did not win a match between mid 2001 and early 2005). “Pele” went 2-0 last year, however, and will be hoping to get 2006 off to a flying start.
This is a difficult one to predict. My heart says "Pele" is back, but my head says that Lutter's methodical game will carry the day. The American may be primarily a grappler, but his win against Eastman shows that he also knows how to throw down. That said, “Pele” has fought big tough grapplers before, so he may find a way to take Lutter out.