Geoff Blurwood Vs. GAMMA - A Struggle From Within

[Generic Heel 104]

Another last Saturday night comes, and another GAMMA pay per view comes with it. Once again, rather than chasing women, I'm going to be hunched over a keyboard typing about welterweights. Ah, I should introduce myself. I'm Geoff Blurwood, owner, creator and main writer for blurcat.com. I'm at the local sports bar, Champs, with my friend and fellow Blurcat writer Greg Maclean to do a recap for the show. We didn't get to the top of the world of MMA reporting simply on the strength of our crazy forums posters. Budweiser and hot wings are also key. Fortunately, we talked them into purchasing a wireless hub on the strength of our regular purchases and a little financial motation along the way, so we can run the site remotely. After reviewing the card one more time with Greg and making sure our predictions and review was online, our attention was turned to the now starting telecast of the 41st GAMMA pay per view in history. [quote]"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ryan Wayne here with Garth Ward here in Kyoto, Japan, presenting you GAMMA 41, headlined by Sean Morrison versus Callum Henson in what should be a great fight for the GAMMA Lightweight championship and Julio Regueiro defending the Welterweight title against Nathan Chambers. Garth, this should be a great card!" "Right you are, Ryan. We have some great matches on the undercard as well, including John Rivero facing Anthony LeToussier plus - watch out for this guy! - Lefter Oktay facing Thomas Smith and some other great matches! First up is Jackson Gray and Scott Gillespie in lightweight fight. Now in this match..." "Sorry to cut you off, Garth, but I'm receiving word from the production area that before the first match... yes, if I understand this correctly, GAMMA co-owner and booker, the head honcho for matches, Matt Tripp is going to give what I'm told to be a short speech on future of GAMMA." "Quite all right, Ryan. Though you can never predict exactly what this guy's going to say!" Matt Tripp walks to but stops at the top of the entrance ramp with a microphone in his hand. Hesitatingly, he begins to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, the past nearly five years here in GAMMA have been tremendous. We've managed to get the greatest roster in the world and revolutionate the world of mixed martial arts. However, some people just have to try and ruin the ride. Not to name names, Mark Wallace, but some people seem more focused on making money more than serving our fans with the best product around. I'm damned sick and tired of dealing with prima donna old farts in seven piece suits and trophy wifes who intend to ruin the careers of guys like Lefty Oughttabe. I'm still going to own my half of the company - I'm not going to let..." In the middle of Tripp's diatribe, a production assistant attempts to nonchalantly calm Tripp down. "Nononono, you go back behind the set chumpstain, I got stuff to say here. I'm Matt Tripp, dammit! Do you know who I am? Matt Tripp! Matt Tripp! You think I just watch these matches? I'll keekeemurry you so quick your arm will spin. And let me tell you what I did with your mother's arm last night..." As the microphone is shut off remotely, and with a definite deer in the headlights look on his face, "chumpstain" backs towards the ramp entrance, followed to the back by Tripp. The camera cuts back to Wayne and Ward, both of whom have looks of disbelief on their faces. Ryan Wayne speaks first. "Well, Garth, I guess you didn't know just how unpredictable Matt would be tonight..." "Ryan, I think that was the most awkward thing I've seen since my uncle tried to hit on his underage cousin at the last family reunion. The sooner we talk about the card, the better this will be for all of us." "Right you are, Ryan. Now our first match is in the lightweight division, with the young Scott Gillespie trying to continue making a name for himself against Jackson Gray..."[/quote] I look over at Greg, and I can tell by the look on his face he's just as shocked as I am. "Greg, did Matt Tripp just go on live pay per view in their first show in front of a Japanese crowd and go on a drunken rant against his fellow co-owner?" "My friend, either he did or Champs put something new in their hot wing sauce." I shake my head, wondering for the thousandth time what made me think this job was such a great idea in the first place. "I'm going to need another round before the first match is through..."

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edit [quote="Geoff Blurwood"][B]FALL OUT FROM KYOTO MELTDOWN MATT TRIPP OUT AS BOOKER, WILL STILL OWN 50% OF GAMMA[/B] I just got word from a good source in GAMMA that after last night's disastrous incident involving a (possibly) inebriated Matt Tripp, Tripp has agreed to resign from the position of booker for GAMMA. He will not be forced to sell the 50% portion of the company that he owns, but his relationship with Mark Wallace is obviously strained. An official press release should be issued within the hour, with updates coming as appropriate. Full results will be updated shortly.[/quote] [quote="Geoff Blurwood"][B]FULL RESULTS FROM GAMMA 41[/B] Sean Morrison successfully defended his Lightweight Title for the eleventh time and Nathan Chambers became the NEW GAMMA Welterweight Champion! For full results, look below! Scott Gillespie beat Jackson Gray via unanimous decision (*) Peter Bracewell defeated Brandon Sugar via unanimous decision (*) Milton Harvey beat Rav Kapur via unanimous decision (*) Mugur Boc defeated Gary Sampson by TKO 14 seconds into the third round (**) Eddie Whelan beat Brian Barnes by unanimous decision (*) Fernando Amaro beat Thorbjorn Rekdal by unanimous decision (**) Zvonimir Asanovic beat Percy Catcher by knockout 4:39 into round two (***) Dan Halvorsen defeated Bixente Fontaine with a TKO 3:32 into round two (**) Lefter Oktay beat Thomas via knock out 0:21 into round two (***) John Rivero beat Anthony LeToussier by knock out 1:57 into round one (****) Nathan Chambers won the GAMMA Welterweight Championship via TKO 4:35 into round two against Julio Regueiro (***) Sean Morrison successfully defended his GAMMA Lightweight Championship against Callum Henson, winning via TKO 4:30 into round one (**)[/quote]

[Imerak]

Good start, I'll definitely be reading.

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[quote="Blurcat.com"][B]Future of GAMMA Revealed![/B] [B]Blurcat Heavily Affected![/B] I typically don't post stories from my personal life on Blurcat, on the forums or more especially on the news portion of the site. This isn't Livejournal. It's the leading source of MMA news in the world, not a report on what I have for breakfast each day. That being said, I must relax this rule today. Read on and you'll soon understand why. I apologize in advance for the length. Monday morning, I went to my day job as a computer programmer. Not nearly as fun as writing about MMA, but there just isn't enough action in the realm of the sport to generate the money I need to do that full time. Around 2 p.m., I see I missed a call on my cell phone. Oddly enough, I don't recognize the number, since all my calls on this phone come from either Blurcat staff, my employeer or a tipster from one of the MMA numbers. I check the message and get a bit of a surprise... "Mr. Blurwood, this is Jeff Laxman, from the corporate office for Wallace International. If you could please give me a call back at your most immediate convenience, it would be greatly appreciate." I re-listen to the message, jot down the number given and type it into Google. It looks legit. Warily, I call the number. After being transferred by a secretary, I reach Laxman - and get the surprise of my life. "Yes, Mr. Blurwood? Matt Tripp and Mark Wallace have a business proposition that they would like to propose to you, in person, in Houston, Texas." Thinking on my history at Blurcat, I realize that I've had numerous run-ins with these two. I personally offended Mark Wallace when I received through a source documents that stated early on Wallace planned to use GAMMA as a tax shelter, though Wallace states he has changed his view on the organization since. Tipps has made several statements to me and my staff members in interviews established to be on the record that have come back to haunt him, most notably that Gunnar Nilsson was a talentless hack, Jeff Carlton didn't deserve to fight MMA and that Hassan Fezzik would never amount to anything in MMA. For all I knew, their propsition involved James Foster teaching me Ground and Pound the hard way, on my skull with his fists. Naturally, I asked for more information on what exactly would be involved with this. Once I received the answer, I was shocked. And on the first flight to Houston. I didn't meet with either Tipps or Wallace, or Jeff Foster for that matter. I met with their lawyers, who told me that due to Saturday's events, a growing dispute between the two GAMMA owners had reached a head. The two nearly came to blows after the show in Kyoto. They realized that, if they wished to continue GAMMA as a profitable operation - something they certainly wanted to achieve - they would need to remove themselves from the day to day operation of the company as soon as possible. The problem came about in naming the third party that would handle such a role. Wallace ixnayed Foster, saying an active fighter should not fill such a role. Tipps 86'ed any and all members of Wallace's corporate family, questioning their love of MMA. They realized they needed someone who was knowledgeable about running a business and mixed martial arts. Their request that Adam Ryland fill the position was rejected, as he stated he was too busy running Microsoft. This left them what they felt was one last option: me. So, I am announcing that effective today, January first, 1998, that I am stepping down from the head of Blurcat and assuming the role of Booker and President of Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts. Effective today, I have also sold all of my portions of Blurcat to Greg Maclean to prevent any sort of conflict of interest that could arise. My time at Blurcat has been some of the best in my life. I appreciate the work that every single member of our staff has put into it and the support from each and every member of our reader base and forums. While I will no longer be involved in the day to day operations of the site in any role, I will of course check the site and forums regularly. I would like to take this opportunity to make two announcements. First of all, we are holding a television special on Monday, January 15, 1998 in Tokyo, Japan, and our monthly pay per view on Saturday, January 27, 1998 in San Diego, California. More importantly, effective today, GAMMA will be creating a Women's division. We're currently in negotiations with about 30 great fighters who will fill this division and lead it to success, though not all 30 will be hired. I believe this will change American MMA for the better. For the last time, thank you for reading Blurcat. Geoff Blurwood[/quote] I clicked send and then boarded the plane to Houston so I could set up my office at corporate headquarters.

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I reached my new office and the first thing I did on my computer was pull up good old Blurcat.com. I saw they posted my letter of resignation and my last article. Ironically, the article was written before I received that fateful phone call. [quote="Geoff Blurwood"][B]State of GAMMA Address by Geoff Blurwood January 1, 1998[/B] Another year has come and gone, and it’s time to provide analysis for the world’s top promotion in GAMMA. We’ll do this division by division, and then tie it all together at the end. The Heavyweight division is quite possibly the strongest in GAMMA at this time. At the top of the headp is Tim Boyer, who has won his last five fights, enabling him to claim the Heavyweight championship from Shane Gilchrist in less than a minute of action. New signee Stratos Papaioannou will receive a title shot in the near future, though Lefter Oktay will likely be prepared first and as such will get the first shot. Gilchrist and James Foster both have legitimate arguments for future shots, and Steve Mason is one big win away from establishing himself as a top contender. Thomas Smith is just a step behind Mason, while Raul Hughes looks like a perpetual challenger for a second reign in the near future. Frank Sheedy has surprisingly climbed the ranks, though I still hold skepticism that he’s a legitimate contender as his biggest win is against Eddie Whelan. That’s a nice win, but Whelan’s not on the level of anyone else mentioned in this paragraph. Completing the top ten is Mark Bicknell, who has a streak similar to Sheedy’s. Wins against Robun Yamazaki and the recently released Vincent Chapin are nice back to back, but fail to establish title contendership. Of note is that Tony McCall, a former champion, and Rick Stanley, a living MMA legend, have both fallen out of the top ten. Both obviously need to win matches in the near future to establish they are not spectacles in the ring. [B]Heavyweight Champion - Tim Boyer (21-3-2) Heavyweight Championship history[/B] Tim Boyer defeated Shane Gilchrist via first round knock out, May 1997 (one defense to date) Shane Gilchrist defeated Tony McCall, November 1996 (one defense) Tony McCall defeated Raul Hughes, August 1996 (no defenses) [B]Heavyweight Rankings[/B] 1. Tim Boyer 2. Stratos Papaioannou (23-5, three straight wins) - last fight, decision victory against Hughes, 7/97 3. Lefter Oktay (10-2, back to back wins) - last fight, 3rd round KO victory vs. Smith, 12/97 4. Shane Gilchrist (16-4) - last fight, submission victory over Hughes, 11/97 5. James Foster (19-4) - last fight, TKO loss to Boyer, 10/97 6. Steven Mason (7-2, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win versus Stanley, 11/97 7. Frank Sheedy (12-8, back to back wins) - last fight, TKO win versus Whelan, 10/97 8. Thomas Smith (11-4) - last fight, loss to Oktay via KO, 12/97 9. Raul Hughes (15-4, back to back losses) - last fight, loss to Gilchrist via submission, 11/97 10. Mark Bicknell (10-4, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Yamazaki, 9/97 11. Milton Harvey (11-10, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Kapur, 12/97 12. Eddie Whelan (12-4) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Barnes, 12/97 13. Fatuma Roy (18-8) - last fight, KO loss vs. Smith, 10/97 14. Garry McSweegan (14-6) - last fight, TKO loss vs. Mason, 9/97 15. Tony McCall (22-7, back to back losses) - last fight, KO loss vs. Smith, 8/97 16. Rick Stanley (21-11-3, back to back losses) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Mason, 11/97 17. Robun Yamazaki (17-8, back to back losses) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Bicknell, 9/97 18. Aleksander Ivanov (3-0) - last fight, KO win vs. Sampson, 10/97 19. Mugur Boc (6-2) - last fight, TKO win vs. Sampson, 12/97 20. Brian Barnes (10-8) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Barnes, 12/97 21. Gary Sampson (18-16, four straight loses) - last fight, TKO loss vs. Boc, 12/97 22. Rav Kapur (5-3) - last fight, unanimous decision loss to Harvey, 12/97 On the Light Heavyweight side of things, Mike Watson fulfilled his promise after some struggles in late 1996 by winning the GAMMA title for his division. Unexpectedly, that win didn’t come against Zvonimir Asanovic or Anthony LeToussier. Instead, it came against the unheralded Leon Banks. After leaving ALPHA-1 at the end of 1996, he debuted in GAMMA… with a loss against recently dethroned Asanovic. Not to be stopped, he beat John Rivero and Ricky Heath, earning a shot against LeToussier for the belt. He impressed the judges enough on August 28, 1997 to overtake LeToussier and claim the belt. Watson, however, wouldn’t leave it up to the judges when his chance came. Just 1:42 into the first round of Banks’ first defense, he stopped that title reign and started his own. Now, Watson has a target on his back. John Rivero’s currently the top contender, thanks to back to back wins against LeToussier and Asanovic. Former champs Asanovic, Banks and LeToussier round out the top five and can all be counted on to get future shots. JJ Reid is a promising young gun, but he needs to get a breakout victory before he makes the next step. Petey Mack looked like a promising contender, but consecutive losses slowed his chase. Inejiro Chiba, a ALPHA-1 expatriate, jumped right into a loss against Mack and will need to impress GAMMA management before he moves forward. Jerry Bogdonovich, thought to be hired solely for the point of excitement and looked at as a one trick pony with the power of his punches, surprised many by defeating Petey Mack. Continuing that will make an unexpected impact in GAMMA. Bryan Van Den Hauwe looks like a champion, but has been far too inconsistent to succeed. Outside of the top ten, the biggest story is Christopher Sharp. Scouts say he is great with his ground and pound and has decent skills while standing, but he has lost six straight matches – including a TKO loss to Nick Detroit, who was fired for being a disappointment. Sharp’s alents are the only thing that keeps him employed. [B]Light Heavyweight Champion - Mike Watson (8-3) Light Heavyweight Championship history[/B] Mike Watson defeated Leon Banks via TKO at GAMMA 40: Watson vs. Banks, November 1997 (no defenses to date) Leon Banks defeated Anthony LeToussier, August 1997 (no defenses) Anthony LeToussier defeated Zvonimir Asanovic, October 1996 (two defenses) Zvonimir Asanovic defeated Roberto Aldez, December 1995 (two defenses) [B]Light Heavyweight Rankings[/B] 1. Mike Watson (8-3, three straight wins) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Banks, 11/97 2. John Rivero (13-2, three straight wins) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. LeToussier, 12/97 3. Zvonimir Asanovic (15-4) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Catcher, 12/97 4. Leon Banks (15-6) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Watson, 11/97 5. Anthony LeToussier (17-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round KO vs. Rivero, 12/97 6. JJ Reid (15-3) – last fight, won via submission vs. McFadden, 9/97 7. Petey Mack (11-3) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Chiba, 10/97 8. Inejiro Chiba (20-6, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Mack, 10/97 9. Jerry Bogdonovich (9-7) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Mack, 8/97 10. Bryan Van Den Hauwe (14-10) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. Smit, 10/97 11. Harry Milne (21-10) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Nick Detroit, 11/97 12. Ricky Heath (11-6) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Banks, 6/97 13. Lenny McFadden (11-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via submission vs. Reid, 9/97 14. Percy Catcher (8-3) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. Asanovic, 12/97 15. Owen Hyde (5-1) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sharp, 10/97 16. Elgar (11-7) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sharp, 8/97 17. Christian Mountfield (5-4, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. Rivero, 7/97 18. Faas Smit (8-4, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round KO vs. Van Den Hauwe, 10/97 19. Christopher Sharp (9-7, six straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Hyde, 10/97 In 1997, three men held the Middleweight Championship – and all stand in the top four of the Middleweight rankings. Maarten De Vries made history as the first two-time GAMMA Champion when he took his right foot and smacked it upside golden boy Buddy Garner’s dome 1:23 into the latter’s first defense. Garner went to the ground and his belt went around De Vries’ waist. De Vries looks to be a strong champion in the division, but will face strong competition. Garner, in spite of that loss, is still a very tough competitor and might be the one to score revenge against MDV. Davis Spyrou is also on the path to the championship, though his recent loss to Patrick Thomas doesn’t help matter. Dan Halvorsen hasn’t run out of steam yet, but he may not have enough left in the tank to get the title. Patrick Thomas continued to improve with experience, as does Andrew Rush and French-stereotype breaker Bixente Fontaine. Fernando Amaro and Jim Carpenter hope to utilize their experience and get the belt, and Matthew Dean is undoubtedly hungry for one more run with the belt. It may be that De Vries’ biggest enemy isn’t any of the above, but is in fact his own fragility. He nearly had to forfeit the title after he won it from Garner due to a leg injury, but GAMMA’s governing board determined the amount of time he would be out would not cause him to miss a match and allowed to keep the strap. This may not be the case if – or when – there’s a next time. [B]Middleweight Champion - Maarten De Vries (17-5) Middleweight Championship history[/B] Maarten De Vries defeated Buddy Garner via first round KO at GAMMA 36, July 1997 (no defenses to date) Buddy Garner defeated Davis Spyrou, April 1997 (no defenses) Davis Spyrou defeated Matthew Dean, October 1996 (two defenses) [B]Middleweight Rankings[/B] 1. Maarten De Vries (17-5, four straight wins) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. Garner, 7/97 2. Buddy Garner (14-1) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Dean, 10/97 3. Dan Halvorsen (26-13-2, back to back wins) – last fight, won via second round TKO vs. Fontaine, 12/97 4. Davis Spyrou (16-6) – last fight, loss via third round KO vs. Thomas, 11/97 5. Patrick Thomas (10-3, three straight wins) – last fight, won via third round KO vs. Spyrou, 11/97 6. Fernando Amaro (18-5, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Rekdal, 12/97 7. Jim Carpenter (21-5-1) – last fight, won via third round TKO vs. McAllister, 10/97 8. Bixente Fontaine (13-7) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Halvorsen, 12/97 9. Matthew Dean (14-5) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Garner, 10/97 10. Andrew Rush (14-3) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Strange, 10/97 11. Linfeld Ballard (13-10) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Acid, 11/97 12. Carl Ratcliffe (12-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Fontaine, 10/97 13. Stuart Strange (11-7, three straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Rush, 10/97 14. Neil Napier (8-3-1, back to back wins) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Atteveld, 10/97 15. Thorjborn Rekdal (4-2-1) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Amaro, 12/97 16. Ashley Ballard (8-3, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Drew Jenks, 11/97 17. Richard Smith (11-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Thomas, 9/97 18. Greg Atteveld (15-15, five straight losses) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Napier, 10/97 19. Gary Acid (0-1) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. L. Ballard, 11/97 Welterweight Julio Regueiro looked like he would build a resume as a dominant champion that would cause comparisons with Sean Morrison’s similar dominance in the Lightweight division. Unfortunately, Regueiro lacked kryptonite and Black Superman disrupted his plans. Nathan Chambers, a tremendously talented young fighter, pulled what may have been the upset of the year when he upended Regueiro’s reign via TKO at the end of 1997. Still, if you look at them overall, I would have to give Regueiro the slightest of advantages in the ring. Chambers is great, no question about it, but Regueiro put together one of the greatest runs ever with a GAMMA belt. I eagerly look forward to their rematch, regardless of the stakes or site. No other young guns have jumped into the fray, but there are veterans galore. Giovani Silva, Joe Hinchcliffe, Geoff Cahill, Ichisake Miyagi, Jack Humphreys all form an impressive list. Dominykas Jankovic, new to GAMMA, lurks on the outside looking in along with Ray Eton, Alan Kendall, Luis Basora and the yet to debut and undefeated Gabriel Gallego. Someone may step into the top five from the underside of 28 during1998, but it hasn’t happened yet. [B]Welterweight Champion - Nathan Chambers (11-1) Welterweight Championship history[/B] Nathan Chambers defeated Julio Regueiro via second round TKO at GAMMA 41, December 1997 (no defenses to date) Julio Regueiro defeated Jack Humphreys, June 1996 (five defenses) [B]Welterweight Rankings[/B] 1. Julio Regueiro (15-1-1) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Chambers, 12/97 2. Nathan Chambers (11-1, back to back wins) – last fight, win via second round TKO vs. Regueiro, 12/97 3. Giovani Silva (24-11, back to back wins) – last fight, win via unanimous decision vs. Jankovic, 10/97 4. Joe Hinchcliffe (15-6) – last fight, loss via third round KO vs. Regueiro, 6/97 5. Geoff Cahill (24-15) – last fight, loss via third round TKO vs. Regueiro, 9/97 6. Ichisake Miyagi (17-9, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Gillespie, 10/97 7. Jack Humphreys (15-6) – won via submission vs. Luis Basora, 9/97 8. Dominykas Jankovic (11-5) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Silva, 10/97 9. Doug Hansen (18-6) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Van Der Capellen, 9/97 10. Ray Eton (10-4, back to back wins) – won by unanimous decision vs. Van Der Capellen, 11/97 11. Peter Bracewell (21-10, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sugar, 12/97 12. Alan Kendall (12-5, back to back wins) – last fight, won via third round TKO vs. Carsley, 11/97 13. Gabriel Gallego (12-0) – yet to debut in GAMMA 14. Luis Basora (9-2) – last fight, loss via submission vs. Humphreys, 9/97 15. Noach Van Der Capellen (12-7) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Eton, 11/97 16. Randy Carsley (8-3) – last fight, loss via third round TKO vs. Kendall, 11/97 17. Brandon Sugar (7-5, three straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Bracewell, 12/97 18. Eli Harris (1-2) – won via unanimous decision vs. Dana Delaney, 11/97 Finally, GAMMA’s Lightweight division can be summed up in two words: Sean. Morrison. He may not have a nickname, but he has lots of talent in the ring and one of the most amazing streaks in history – eleven successful defenses since he gained the belt. With a record like that, you just need to be called a legend. GAMMA’s problem, though, is that this amazing athlete doesn’t have an equivalent to truly show his talent against. The Lightweight division is deep in the number of qualified challengers, but the strength of these challengers is less than impressive. Jason Dalglish, Charles Stiles, Ricardo Fernandes, Marko Prochazka, Marcus Speed, Callum Henson, Mario de Souza, Lukas Mellberg, Edson Edmilson, Luke Hilton, Bruce Steven, Scott Gillespie and – whew! – Beau Gorshin could all make decent arguments for a title shot. The issue? None of them can truly separate themselves from the rest. Recent signings of Fernandes, Prochazka, Mellberg and Edmislon may make the difference and step forward, but until that happens, the only real question is how long does Morrison want his defense streak to range. [B]Lightweight Champion - Sean Morrison (18-3) Lightweight Championship history[/B] Sean Morrison defeated Giovani Silva via second round TKO for the vacant belt, February 1995 (11 defenses to date) [B]Lightweight Rankings[/B] 1. Sean Morrison (18-3, seven straight wins) – last fight, first round TKO win vs. Henson, 12/97 2. Jason Dalglish (13-4) – last fight, win via third round KO vs. Edson Edmilson, 8/97 3. Charles Stiles (12-4-1) – last fight, unanimous decision loss to Morrison, 8/97 4. Ricardo Fernandes (17-8, back to back wins) – last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Speed, 11/97 5. Marko Prochazka (12-4) – last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Linderman, 11/97 6. Marcus Speed (8-1) – last fight, loss unanimous decision loss vs. Ricardo Fernandes, 11/97 7. Callum Henson (8-3) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Morrison, 12/97 8. Mario de Souza (15-10, back to back losses) – loss via third round TKO vs. Fernandes, 9/97 9. Lukas Mellberg (11-2, back to back losses) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Chambers, 10/97 10. Edson Edmilson (14-8, back to back losses) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Henson, 10/97 11. Luke Hilton (7-4, back to back wins) – win via first round TKO vs. Yoshida, 10/97 12. Bruce Steven (8-3) – win via unanimous decision vs. O’Donnell, 10/97 13. Scott Gillespie (6-2) – win via unanimous decision vs. Jackson Gray, 12/97 14. Beau Gorshin (24-17) – win via unanimous decision vs. Malcolm O’Hearn, 9/97 15. Malcolm O'Hearn (6-4-1) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Beau Gorshin, 9/97 16. Sadahige Yoshida (3-2) – loss via first round TKO vs. Luke Hilton, 10/97 17. Shawn Lewis (0-0) – yet to debut professionally Matt Tripp and Mark Wallace have built a dynasty in the world of American MMA that is absolutely unrivaled. They have a great heavyweight division and nearly great middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. Their lower two divisions are weaker, though. Granted, the welterweight is pretty solid, but the lightweight division needs fixing before any chance of having a truly epic battle with Sean Morrison as a lightweight is wasted. In the grand scheme of things, though, their issues are quite minor. Sources state that they’re clearing at least ten million dollars a month, even when breaking into new territories, thanks in no small part to their great PPV figures. They have a semi-regular television special that airs on eight networks around the world. If they can overcome what talent issues they do have and the rumored personal issues between themselves, there’s no reason to believe GAMMA will not be very successful for years to come.[/quote]

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I've received a request to share the booking sheet I use for rankings, so I've attached it to this post. With my rankings, I just order fighters by their current reputation. If there are multiple fighters with the same rep, I then compare their winning streak. If [I]that[/I] should be the same, I compare their record in their last five fights. If they're still tied, I just make a judgment call by reviewing their fight history, skills, how exciting they are and so on.

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Current GAMMA rankings I'll be using this post to keep track of the current rankings in GAMMA. Heavyweight Champion - Tim Boyer (21-3-2) Heavyweight Championship history Tim Boyer defeated Shane Gilchrist via first round knock out, May 1997 (one defense to date) Shane Gilchrist defeated Tony McCall, November 1996 (one defense) Tony McCall defeated Raul Hughes, August 1996 (no defenses) Heavyweight Rankings 1. Tim Boyer 2. Stratos Papaioannou (23-5, three straight wins) - last fight, decision victory against Hughes, 7/97 3. Lefter Oktay (10-2, back to back wins) - last fight, 3rd round KO victory vs. Smith, 12/97 4. Shane Gilchrist (16-4) - last fight, submission victory over Hughes, 11/97 5. James Foster (19-4) - last fight, TKO loss to Boyer, 10/97 6. Steven Mason (7-2, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win versus Stanley, 11/97 7. Frank Sheedy (12-8, back to back wins) - last fight, TKO win versus Whelan, 10/97 8. Thomas Smith (11-4) - last fight, loss to Oktay via KO, 12/97 9. Raul Hughes (15-4, back to back losses) - last fight, loss to Gilchrist via submission, 11/97 10. Mark Bicknell (10-4, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Yamazaki, 9/97 11. Milton Harvey (11-10, back to back wins) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Kapur, 12/97 12. Eddie Whelan (12-4) - last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Barnes, 12/97 13. Fatuma Roy (18-8) - last fight, KO loss vs. Smith, 10/97 14. Garry McSweegan (14-6) - last fight, TKO loss vs. Mason, 9/97 15. Tony McCall (22-7, back to back losses) - last fight, KO loss vs. Smith, 8/97 16. Rick Stanley (21-11-3, back to back losses) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Mason, 11/97 17. Robun Yamazaki (17-8, back to back losses) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Bicknell, 9/97 18. Aleksander Ivanov (3-0) - last fight, KO win vs. Sampson, 10/97 19. Mugur Boc (6-2) - last fight, TKO win vs. Sampson, 12/97 20. Brian Barnes (10-8) - last fight, unanimous decision loss vs. Barnes, 12/97 21. Gary Sampson (18-16, four straight loses) - last fight, TKO loss vs. Boc, 12/97 22. Rav Kapur (5-3) - last fight, unanimous decision loss to Harvey, 12/97 Light Heavyweight Champion - Mike Watson (8-3) Light Heavyweight Championship history Mike Watson defeated Leon Banks via TKO at GAMMA 40: Watson vs. Banks, November 1997 (no defenses to date) Leon Banks defeated Anthony LeToussier, August 1997 (no defenses) Anthony LeToussier defeated Zvonimir Asanovic, October 1996 (two defenses) Zvonimir Asanovic defeated Roberto Aldez, December 1995 (two defenses) Light Heavyweight Rankings 1. Mike Watson (8-3, three straight wins) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Banks, 11/97 2. John Rivero (13-2, three straight wins) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. LeToussier, 12/97 3. Zvonimir Asanovic (15-4) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Catcher, 12/97 4. Leon Banks (15-6) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Watson, 11/97 5. Anthony LeToussier (17-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round KO vs. Rivero, 12/97 6. JJ Reid (15-3) – last fight, won via submission vs. McFadden, 9/97 7. Petey Mack (11-3) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Chiba, 10/97 8. Inejiro Chiba (20-6, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Mack, 10/97 9. Jerry Bogdonovich (9-7) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Mack, 8/97 10. Bryan Van Den Hauwe (14-10) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. Smit, 10/97 11. Harry Milne (21-10) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Nick Detroit, 11/97 12. Ricky Heath (11-6) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Banks, 6/97 13. Lenny McFadden (11-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via submission vs. Reid, 9/97 14. Percy Catcher (8-3) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. Asanovic, 12/97 15. Owen Hyde (5-1) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sharp, 10/97 16. Elgar (11-7) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sharp, 8/97 17. Christian Mountfield (5-4, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. Rivero, 7/97 18. Faas Smit (8-4, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round KO vs. Van Den Hauwe, 10/97 19. Christopher Sharp (9-7, six straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Hyde, 10/97 Middleweight Champion - Maarten De Vries (17-5) Middleweight Championship history Maarten De Vries defeated Buddy Garner via first round KO at GAMMA 36, July 1997 (no defenses to date) Buddy Garner defeated Davis Spyrou, April 1997 (no defenses) Davis Spyrou defeated Matthew Dean, October 1996 (two defenses) Middleweight Rankings 1. Maarten De Vries (17-5, four straight wins) – last fight, won via first round KO vs. Garner, 7/97 2. Buddy Garner (14-1) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Dean, 10/97 3. Dan Halvorsen (26-13-2, back to back wins) – last fight, won via second round TKO vs. Fontaine, 12/97 4. Davis Spyrou (16-6) – last fight, loss via third round KO vs. Thomas, 11/97 5. Patrick Thomas (10-3, three straight wins) – last fight, won via third round KO vs. Spyrou, 11/97 6. Fernando Amaro (18-5, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Rekdal, 12/97 7. Jim Carpenter (21-5-1) – last fight, won via third round TKO vs. McAllister, 10/97 8. Bixente Fontaine (13-7) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Halvorsen, 12/97 9. Matthew Dean (14-5) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Garner, 10/97 10. Andrew Rush (14-3) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Strange, 10/97 11. Linfeld Ballard (13-10) – last fight, won via second round KO vs. Acid, 11/97 12. Carl Ratcliffe (12-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Fontaine, 10/97 13. Stuart Strange (11-7, three straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Rush, 10/97 14. Neil Napier (8-3-1, back to back wins) – last fight, won via first round TKO vs. Atteveld, 10/97 15. Thorjborn Rekdal (4-2-1) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Amaro, 12/97 16. Ashley Ballard (8-3, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Drew Jenks, 11/97 17. Richard Smith (11-7, back to back losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Thomas, 9/97 18. Greg Atteveld (15-15, five straight losses) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Napier, 10/97 19. Gary Acid (0-1) – last fight, loss via second round KO vs. L. Ballard, 11/97 Welterweight Champion - Nathan Chambers (11-1) Welterweight Championship history Nathan Chambers defeated Julio Regueiro via second round TKO at GAMMA 41, December 1997 (no defenses to date) Julio Regueiro defeated Jack Humphreys, June 1996 (five defenses) Welterweight Rankings 1. Julio Regueiro (15-1-1) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Chambers, 12/97 2. Nathan Chambers (11-1, back to back wins) – last fight, win via second round TKO vs. Regueiro, 12/97 3. Giovani Silva (24-11, back to back wins) – last fight, win via unanimous decision vs. Jankovic, 10/97 4. Joe Hinchcliffe (15-6) – last fight, loss via third round KO vs. Regueiro, 6/97 5. Geoff Cahill (24-15) – last fight, loss via third round TKO vs. Regueiro, 9/97 6. Ichisake Miyagi (17-9, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Gillespie, 10/97 7. Jack Humphreys (15-6) – won via submission vs. Luis Basora, 9/97 8. Dominykas Jankovic (11-5) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Silva, 10/97 9. Doug Hansen (18-6) – last fight, loss via second round TKO vs. Van Der Capellen, 9/97 10. Ray Eton (10-4, back to back wins) – won by unanimous decision vs. Van Der Capellen, 11/97 11. Peter Bracewell (21-10, back to back wins) – last fight, won via unanimous decision vs. Sugar, 12/97 12. Alan Kendall (12-5, back to back wins) – last fight, won via third round TKO vs. Carsley, 11/97 13. Gabriel Gallego (12-0) – yet to debut in GAMMA 14. Luis Basora (9-2) – last fight, loss via submission vs. Humphreys, 9/97 15. Noach Van Der Capellen (12-7) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Eton, 11/97 16. Randy Carsley (8-3) – last fight, loss via third round TKO vs. Kendall, 11/97 17. Brandon Sugar (7-5, three straight losses) – last fight, loss via unanimous decision vs. Bracewell, 12/97 18. Eli Harris (1-2) – won via unanimous decision vs. Dana Delaney, 11/97 Lightweight Champion - Sean Morrison (18-3) Lightweight Championship history Sean Morrison defeated Giovani Silva via second round TKO for the vacant belt, February 1995 (11 defenses to date) Lightweight Rankings 1. Sean Morrison (18-3, seven straight wins) – last fight, first round TKO win vs. Henson, 12/97 2. Jason Dalglish (13-4) – last fight, win via third round KO vs. Edson Edmilson, 8/97 3. Charles Stiles (12-4-1) – last fight, unanimous decision loss to Morrison, 8/97 4. Ricardo Fernandes (17-8, back to back wins) – last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Speed, 11/97 5. Marko Prochazka (12-4) – last fight, unanimous decision win vs. Linderman, 11/97 6. Marcus Speed (8-1) – last fight, loss unanimous decision loss vs. Ricardo Fernandes, 11/97 7. Callum Henson (8-3) – last fight, loss via first round TKO vs. Morrison, 12/97 8. Mario de Souza (15-10, back to back losses) – loss via third round TKO vs. Fernandes, 9/97 9. Lukas Mellberg (11-2, back to back losses) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Chambers, 10/97 10. Edson Edmilson (14-8, back to back losses) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Henson, 10/97 11. Luke Hilton (7-4, back to back wins) – win via first round TKO vs. Yoshida, 10/97 12. Bruce Steven (8-3) – win via unanimous decision vs. O’Donnell, 10/97 13. Scott Gillespie (6-2) – win via unanimous decision vs. Jackson Gray, 12/97 14. Beau Gorshin (24-17) – win via unanimous decision vs. Malcolm O’Hearn, 9/97 15. Malcolm O'Hearn (6-4-1) – loss via unanimous decision vs. Beau Gorshin, 9/97 16. Sadahige Yoshida (3-2) – loss via first round TKO vs. Luke Hilton, 10/97 17. Shawn Lewis (0-0) – yet to debut professionally

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News updates from the first week of January in GAMMA. [quote="Mike Dunn of Blurcat"][b]GAMMA Resigns Anthony LeToussier, John Rivero[/b] Reliable sources have reported that GAMMA has resigned two key parts of their Light Heavyweight division with "Live Wire" Anthony LeToussier and "Ripper" John Rivero. LeToussier is signed for seven fights over two years at $100,000 per fight, the same amount as a win bonus. Rivero re-upped for seven fights at two years at $50,000 per fight, once again with the same amount as a win bonus.[/quote] [quote="Josh Hughes][b]GAMMA launches women's division![/b] Under the guidance of Geoff Blurwood, GAMMA has decided to form a women's division and with the organization's power have already signed 14 fighters within a week's time. Those signed most notably includes April Watson and Rachel McGuinness. A complete list is below: April Watson (13-5) Christine Jameson (2-0) Clare Peyton (3-0) Gianna Russo (2-0) Haley Croft (5-0) Henrietta Stein (9-4) Jocelyn Hescott (7-5) Kimie Igarashi (0-0) Kristen Page (7-3) Lora Hayes (2-1) Rachel McGuinness (9-2) Sarah Cooper (0-0) Thea Higgins (2-0) Umeka Fujiwara (2-0) [/quote]

[Rathen4]

How do you know when someone will be 'ready' ?

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I assume you're referring to the field on the Excel sheet. If they're injured, suspended or resting on the first of a month, they won't be "ready" that month. Otherwise, they are and will be available for booking. I use the first as the break point since my PPVs always run on the last Saturday of the month, so this allows me plenty of time to have the fighters prepped and ready to go for the event.

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Mora GAMMA news from the first Sunday of January... [quote="Greg Maclean, Blurcat"][b]CARD FOR GAMMA EXPLODES ANNOUNCED[/b] GAMMA has released their schedule for the next episode of their special, GAMMA Explodes. The show will take place in Tokyo, Japan on the third Monday of January and will be headlined by Mike Watson defending the GAMMA Light Heavyweight Championship against Jerry Bogdonovich. Sources report that it was originally planned for Mike Watson to defend the Light Heavyweight Championship next month, when John Rivero would be rested from his last match. However, pressure to headline the televised show with a big match caused that plan to be scrapped and Bogdonovich to receive a title shot that is being questioned by some. The full card is below. Mario de Souza vs. Malcolm O'Hearn Richard Smith vs. Neil Napier Faas Smit vs. Christian Mountfield Joe Hinchcliffe vs. Dominykas Jankovic Garry McSweegan vs. Tony McCall Charles Stiles vs. Luke Hilton Ray Eton vs. Allan Kendall Carl Ratcliffe vs. Ashley Ballard Steve Mason vs. Mark Bicknell Jerry Bogdonovich vs. Mike Watson for the GAMMA Light Heavyweight Championship[/quote] Predictions are welcomed, of course.

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One more bit of news going into the next episode of "GAMMA Explodes"... [quote="Blurcat Staff"] News out of GAMMA headquarters is that Owen Hyde has resigned with the company for six fights over 16 months. He'll be paid $7500 a fight, with the same amount as a win bonus. [/quote] Everyone made weight for their matches. I'm going to run a predictions contest for GAMMA explodes. The person with the most correct guesses gets to name the next hire for GAMMA. [quote]Mario de Souza vs. Malcolm O'Hearn Richard Smith vs. Neil Napier Faas Smit vs. Christian Mountfield Joe Hinchcliffe vs. Dominykas Jankovic Garry McSweegan vs. Tony McCall Charles Stiles vs. Luke Hilton Ray Eton vs. Allan Kendall Carl Ratcliffe vs. Ashley Ballard Steve Mason vs. Mark Bicknell Jerry Bogdonovich vs. Mike Watson for the [b]GAMMA Light Heavyweight Championship[/b] [b]Tie-Breaker![/b] Guess the time of the quickest stoppage on this show. The closest person gets the edge.[/quote]

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One last attempt to get some predictions going... [quote]"Welcome to another episode of The Crackdown on The Blurcat Radio Network. I'm your host, Josh Hughes, and we have a great episode lined up for you. Like advertised, we will be speaking with GAMMA Heavyweight Eddie Whelan, who beat Brian Barnes in his last fight out, and BCF and Alpha-1's Darin Blood who is 4-1 as a professional. Unfortunately, JT De Hooker will not be joining us tonight, as he's out with an illness, but to make up for that I pulled a few strings to get a special guest. "Now with GAMMA and joining us from the other side of the table for the first time is the founder of this web site, Geoff Blurwood." GB: "Thanks, Josh. It's great to be back, though I apologize that it'll be fairly short." JH: "Now, Geoff, tonight is an episode of GAMMA Explodes and you've got a pretty big fight lined up as the main event with 8-3 Mike Watson defending his Light Heavyweight Championship against 9-7 Jerry Bogdonovich." GB: "Exactly. Jerry upset Petey Mack his last time out by KO and Bogdon is really good with his hands when he's standing, so that could give Watson a problem." JH: "This will be Watson's first title defense since he won it from Leon Banks back in November and he's on a three match winning streak." GB: "Right, and Watson is looking really strong going into this. The great thing about it is that he's just 23, so he has a very long career in front of him and should be a regular star for GAMMA for years in the future. I think he's just as good a striker as Bogdonovich is when standing, but he's also a great ground and pound guy. Watson is the favorite going into this for good reason, but with Bogdonovich's punching power, anything could really happen." JH: "In your semi-main event, you have a heavyweight fight between Mark Bicknell and Steven Mason. What do we get to look forward to with this match?" GB: "Mason is a great stand up fighter, who can take people out with punches or kicks and can knock people out, like he did Garry McSweegan back in September. He's a great star here in America and I think that if he can stay healthy he'll be a future champion contender, especially if he can continue to perform like he did in his domination of Rick Stanley in November. He has two huge problems he has to work on - first of all, it seems he can't stay healthy. He also needs to improve his game when he's on the ground, as right now he's just not very good and if he does get taken down, all he can do is try to get back to his feet - he can't mount an offensive and he can't defend. "Mark Bicknell, a rising star from Britain, is a polar opposite of Mason. Bicknell isn't that good standing, but when he takes his opponent down, he can use his strong ground and pound ability. He's trying to win his third straight fight, which would do a lot to push him up the rankings." JH: "GAMMA Explodes will be eight different networks, including America Sports 1, The Pop! Network and All Japan TV. Check your local listings. Moving on, you have a Pay Per View coming up at the end of January." GB: "Right, on the last Saturday of the month, we'll have a show in Los Angeles headlined by Patrick Thomas challenging Maarten De Vries for the Middleweight Championship. We'll also have a heavyweight match up with Shane Gilchrist fighting Stratos Papaioannou and in the welterweight division, Ichisake Miyagi faces Giovani Silva. We'll be releasing the full card tomorrow in a press conference." JH: "That sounds like a great card and we'll definitely be covering the show's announcements tomorrow in depth. To get your opinion onto a big bit of news recently, ALPHA-1 had Hassan Fezzik lose for the first time in his career against Eien Kawano, dropping his Heavyweight Championship to him. Where do you think he ranks right now in MMA, pound for pound?" GB: "To be honest, I'm still shocked by that loss - I didn't think Fezzik would retire undefeated, since ALPHA has a strong heavyweight division, but I never would have guessed he would lose to Kawano. Still, he needs to be in the conversation for the best fighter in the world. Not to sound like a homer, but personally I think it's very close between our own Tim Boyer, who has beat James Foster, Shane Gilchrist and Rick Stanley consecutively, and Sean Morrison, whose last loss probably came back in middle school for him. Fezzik is very, very good, an unquestionable Hall of Famer and someone I'd love to see in GAMMA." JH: "You seem to have started a bit of controvery when you decided to start a women's decision. What made you do this?" GB: "Well, the simple fact that there are a lot of talented female fighters out there. I believe we've started a good foundation of a women's division and I'm very eager to see the results of these signings. We picked up some great talent and I'm very much looking forward to " JH: "What do you say to critics who state women shouldn't fight?" GB: "Well, that's a pretty sexist thing to say, isn't it? To rule out a career for someone just because of their gender? If they're compentent and able to fight, I see no reason to not allow them to. Karen Curtis, Jenny DeNeuve, Sayoko Ebisawa - they're all greatly talented performers and there's no reason to keep them from falling their dream if they have the talent for it." JH: "Finally, one question - if there's any worker out there you'd like to see GAMMA have, who would it be? GB: "To name just one would be really hard, but I'd go with Hassan Fezzik. There's no one out there that combines his marketability and talent." JH: "Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll be back soon." GB: "I'll do what I can. Everyone tune in tonight! Later."[/quote]

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And a card preview... [quote][B]GAMMA EXPLODES PREVIEW[/B] Mario de Souza (15-10) vs. "Zodiac" Malcolm O'Hearn (6-4-1) de Souza is coming in with two consecutive losses, while O'Hearn lost his last time out as well, so this is going to be a very important match for both of these fighters. The best part of O'Hearn's fighting game may be his athleticism, which is quite good, though he's not particularly adept at striking or submissions. de Souza focuses on taking his opponents down and making them tap out, which is something O'Hearn isn't very good at defending. As de Souza is an athletic equal of O'Hearn, I would be shocked if de Souza doesn't dominate this match with take downs and eventually win by submission or decision. Richard "The Shooter" Smith (11-7) vs. Neil "The Islander" Napier (8-3-1) Smith is coming in with two straight losses, while Napier is riding a two match winning streak. Napier is a good standing striker, mainly with punches, and is solid on the ground with either strikes or submissions. He is particularly dangerous in the clinch though. He's decent at takedowns and strong at striking his opponents. Smith is just a mediocre striker and is not good on the ground, which makes this an easy prediction of Napier winning, likely by TKO. Faas Smit (8-4) vs. Chrisitan "The Tiger" Mountfield (5-4) Smit is on a two match losing streak, as is Mountfield. Mountfield is a good stand up fighter which is mostly based around his ground and pound game. Smit is mostly a stand up fighter, though he also has average submission skills. This should be quite an even match, with both fighters very motivated due to their recent losing streaks. I'll go with Smit in this case due to his greater experience. Joe "The Hitman" Hinchcliffe (15-6) vs. Dominykas "Slamkovic" Jankovic (11-5) Both Hinchcliffe and Jankovic lost their last match, so this will be important for them to regain their momentum. Jankovic has a very good ground and pound game which he hopes to utilize for a victory, while Hinchcliffe is predominantly a good stand up fighter. The obvious question is if Jankovic will be able to take Hinchcliffe down and accomplish anything with it. I believe he will - Jankovic wins via TKO. Garry McSweegan (14-6) vs. Tony "The Spider" McCall (22-7) McSweegan lost his last match, which was against Steven Mason, while Mason has lost two straight. McCall, a former Heavyweight Champion, is a great puncher and great standing wrestler, though just average with a grounded oponent. McSweegan is also a strong puncher, but also brings a great ability to strike a grounded opponent. If he can manage a takedown on McCall, that'd be a difference maker. However, I think McCall's better all around game will make the difference. I'll go with a decision to McCall. "Rogue" Charles Stiles (12-4-1) vs. Luke "The Hillbilly Hammer" Hilton (7-4) Stiles, coming off a loss to Sean Morrison for the Lightweight Championship, is a good standing striker, mostly using his kicks , and is also good at achieving takedowns. He's really known for his world class submissions, which is something Hilton will definitely want to watch for. Meanwhile, Hilton has won his last two matches and is noted for being a good striker when standing and great at striking while on the ground. He also loves to work in the clinch. While Stiles is a very good fighter, I have to go with Hilton here via TKO. Ray "The Enigma" Eton (10-4) vs. "Flash" Alan Kendall (12-5) Eton is riding momentum from two straight wins, as is Kendall. Kendall is a great puncher and can suddenly and quickly knock anyone out at any time, aided in part by his long reach. He is not good at all on the ground. Eton is more of an all around fighter, with solid talent while standing in both strikes and takedowns, along with some passable submission work. Still, I think Kendall will use his superior punching to his ability and get a stoppage victory. "Mr. Awesome" Carl Ratcliffe (12-7) vs. Ashley "The Tiger" Ballard (8-3) Ratcliffe and Ballard have both lost two straight matches. Ratcliffe is a good puncher and doesn't have bad kicks or knees and is also good at striking downed opponents. Ballard's also a good striker, both with punches and kicks. Both are roughly equivalent physically, so for me it comes down to experience - a match up that favors Ratcliffe. "Urban Cowby" Steve Mason (7-2) vs. "The Muscles From the Midlands" Mark Bicknell (10-4) Both Bicknell and Mason are riding a two match winning streak, including a huge victory over Rick Stanley his last time out. Mason is a great striker with both his hands and feet, though he is not a very good attacker on the ground. Meanwhile, Bicknell's strength is mainly with his ground and pound, but he is not a good standing fighter or has any submission capabilities. I will side with Mason here due to his great striking ability. GAMMA Light Heavyweight Championship: Mike "The Calgary Assassin" Watson (8-3) vs. Jerry "The Dockland Destroyer" Bogdonovich (9-7) In the main event, we have challenger Bogdonovich coming off a win against Petey Mack, while Watson rides a three match winning streak and has won five of his last six. Watson relies on his great standing striking ability with punches and, to a lesser level, kicks and a world class striking ability to prone opponents. He also has good elbows when in the clinch. Bogdonovich, meanwhile, is a one trick pony with his ability to knockout opponents with punches. Unless he's able to catch Watson with a surprise punch, it doesn't look likely that we'll see a title change tonight, so I will side with Watson with a stoppage victory.[/quote] I plan on posting results for the card tomorrow night around 9 p.m. EST, so if you actually want to do predictions, get them in before then!

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With the new patch out, I've decided to shut this down due to the fact that the saved games will no longer be compatible. I will hopefully relaunch this down the line, once I get a new game set up and so forth.