Superfight – Main event: Mr Ward (15-7) Vs. Denny "300" Prokopos (15-3)
In the main event we have an added attraction in the dwarf and professional fighter Mr Ward taking on the much taller Denny Prokopos, but even though Prokopos has thirty centimeters on Ward, they still weigh in the same, which should give you an idea of Ward’s build. Both fighters are coming in on winning streaks and are extremely likely to go for the finish on the ground, seeing as they have a combined record of twenty-one submissions to their credit.
Mr Ward’s strengths and weaknesses: Mr Ward is a BJJ black belt and has finished all, but three of his fifteen victories by submission, many of which have been in the first round, making him exceptionally dangerous to fight on the mat. He is also a veteran of twenty-three fights and knows full well how to handle himself in the cage. However, his chin has been called into question, and six of his seven losses have been by knockout, so if Prokopos is able to unload a flurry against Mr Ward he may very well lose.
Denny Prokopos’ strengths and weaknesses: Prokopos has only been stopped by strikes once and has a granite chin, this will most likely not phase Ward however, seeing as he is mainly a submission fighter, but Prokopos is no novice on the ground, he has a BJJ brown belt and nine submission victories to his credit, and to top it off, his wrestling is on a different level compared to Ward, my tip to Prokopos would be to get on top and lie perfectly still to earn a decision.
Heavyweight – Co main event: Lucius Corvinus (3-0, Holmgang debut) vs. mike "whitetiger" nike (5-0, Holmgang debut)
The co main event also features two excellent submission fighters, both twenty-five years old, both undefeated, both with a BJJ brown belt, and both have won all their fights via first round submission. The fight has fight of the night written all over it. Nike came into MMA with an extensive grappling record which showed as he walked through increasingly though competition, now that he is taking the step on to the big stage he is finally facing someone who can match his grappling pedigree, it will be interesting to see how this fight turns out.
Heavyweight: James "Agent 007" Bond (2-1, Holmgang debut ) vs. Ryan "Natural Light" Couture (2-3, 0-1 Holmgang)
Bond is a Russian kick boxer who throws big bombs with nasty intentions, and he is excellent at it, but it takes more than good hands and knockout power to be a successful mixed martial artist, when you consider grappling to be as threatening to your manhood as cross-dressing. So while he Is dangerous standing, if taken down he is easy prey for anyone who has attended a BJJ class. And that Ryan Couture certainly has, although his wrestling is subpar, he has a blue belt in BJJ and a win via armbar, if he can get the fight to the ground before Bond connects flush he will win.
Lightweight: Ramazan Sahin (2-1, 1-1 Holmgang) vs. Antti "Junior" Lahdenpera (2-0, 1-0 Holmgang)
Ramazan Sahin is a decent submission wrestling hailing from Turkey, the twenty-five year old has so far had three fights where he has gotten himself two submission wins before getting grinded down in his last fight. His opponent Antti Lahdenpera is undefeated, but will have a job of beating Sahin, his main weapon is his grappling experience that comes with a BJJ blue belt, which might come in too short considering Sahin is a far more experienced grappler.
Middleweight: Jeramiah Rose (Professional debut) vs. "22" Kari Makkonen (Professional debut)
In this matchup both fighters promises to stand and bang, Jeramiah Rose comes from a kick boxing background where he was decently successful in the amateur circuit, while Makkonen will rely on his Muay Thai to end his fights. Holmgang owner Jack Walian said that he was expecting nothing less than fight of the night from the hungry youngsters.
Lightweight: "Neck-CRANK" Akuhisa Kimyas (2-0, Holmgang debut) vs. "Fame 'n Fortune" Lemmy Mercury (Professional debut)
Lemmy Mercury is not given an easy fight in his debut, he is going up against 2-0 submission wrestler Akuhisa Kimyas who has never gone past the first round, but Kimyas has the perfect background to deal with Mercury, as he has competed in amateur tournaments in both wrestling and boxing in the past, if his sprawl holds up the Japanese Akuhisa Kimyas will be in massive trouble.
Middleweight: Lothario De Luca (1-0, Holmgang debut) vs. "S.S" Aleksey Tarakanov (Professional debut)
Lothario De Luca’s professional debut was a good one, he showed his powerful ground and pound finishing his opponent in the first round, if his Holmgang debut is going to be as successful he needs to get Aleksey Tarakanov down too, because if he stands with this improving Muay Thai fighter he will be in trouble, but if he gets it down his wrestling background is sure to tip the scales into his favor.
Heavyweight: Ana "Konda" ali (1-0, Holmgang debut) vs. Przemyslaw "Maly" Nowak (4-1, 0-1 Holmgang)
There seems to be an influx of ground fighters in Europe, these two have similar backgrounds, but Nowak is the more experienced grappler with his brown belt, and beinga five fight veteran, compared to Ali who has a purple belt and only one MMA fight, all the same, I think Ali will be the one getting the takedown, and from there, it’s hard to tell whether he will ground and pound or go for submissions.
"The guy with the big name" Jose Maria El Gumbala del Hoya con Queso (Professional debut) vs. Jonsku "Pallo" Shaker Boy (0-1, 0-1 Holmgang)
It’s hard to tell what Jose Maria’s gameplan is going to be against Shaker Boy, he seems to be a jack of all trades trying to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses, so I would bet his gameplan involves getting the takedown, which against a boxer of Shaker Boy’s caliber is not a dumb idea. In his debut, which unfortunately was a loss, shaker boy showed great resilience as he withstood a barrage of ground and pound throughout the fight, and I bet he hopes to be allowed to stay on his feet for a bit longer this fight, as boxing is his obvious bread and butter.
