GAMMA: My Dynasty

[WCW Mark]

GAMMA ANNOUNCE FORTHCOMING PPV SCHEDULE

 

MAY

 

Kapur v Foster II

 

Rav Kapur (12-0) v James Foster (35-5-1) - Heavyweight Title

 

The first of my monthly PPV's with North America Prime Select features one of the biggest draws on my Roster. James Foster is going to be looking for revenge for his defeat to Rav Kapur, while Kapur will be looking to prove it wasn't a fluke. This is a great draw as a main event and should get the buy rates in.

 

As part of the new era I'm going to be ending my association with the MGM Grand Casino and instead I'll be taking the show on the road. This might lead to some smaller crowds but I should more than make up for it with my increased PPV income. However NAPS don't want the very first PPV they air to be in front of a small crowd so we hold one last show in Vegas. I'm sure we'll be back in the future but for now this is the farewell show.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Buddy Garner (15-3) v Neil Napier (19-1) - Middleweight

 

With a great main event I don't need to worry too much about the Co-Main, however I want something decent. And that's exactly what this bout rates. Kanchelskis is the next challenger for Dean's title but Napier could put himself second in line with a win here. Garner has already had two cracks at Dean so even if he wins he'll still have some way to go before he gets a title shot.

 

Davey Rushton (5-1) v Seb Morehead (8-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

The rest of the card is pretty bad, this really is a one bout show. Davey Rushton is the ex-champ while Morehead has a good record but lost in his GAMMA debut. Morehead is Canadian and you'll notice a strong Canadian presence on the show as I try to tempt them into buying the first GAMMA PPV available in their country. This only rates as suitable for the prelims.

 

Braulio Moura (24-3-1 NC) v Petey Mack (11-4) - Middleweight

 

Two more fighters coming off a loss, Moura lost to Matthew Dean at GAMMA 42, while Petey Mack's was before the game even started. The move to monthly PPV's will give people like him a chance to get involved but I expect Moura to win this to start the process of rebuilding. Mack is another Canadian so will hopefully helkp the buy rate there.

 

Aaron McBroom (12-4) v Nicholas Bretton (15-5) - Lightweight

 

Two midcard Lightweights, who are both coming off a win on the prelims. By matching them up against each other I'll hopefully create someone on decent momentum that I can use higher up the card, perhaps against Menzel or Hilton. Bretton is yet another Canadian fighter.

 

Jerry Bogdonovich (10-0) v Zane Wybock (9-1) - Light Heavyweight

 

Two fighters with good records and decent momentum make their main card debuts. This is a fight that J-Bog should win, provided he can keep it standing. However Wybock is a decent fighter and I can use him if he somehow gets the better of him.

 

Prelims

 

Adam White (12-1) v Woody Fierstein (11-6) - Middleweight

 

Adam White's rehabilitation continues. He should win this comfortably, but there is a bit of a risk here. Fierstein is on a losing streak and has terrible momentum, so if he somehow wins this I'll have two fighters I can't use productively.

 

Avery Gleeson (6-0) v Dule Bayliffe (6-3) - Lightweight

 

Gleeson is yet to fight for me and I don't really have a suitable opponent so I sign Dule Bayliffe, a boxer who is coming off two wins on the local circuit. I expect Gleeson to win this but if Bayliffe takes it then I'll happily push him instead.

 

George Pickering (8-2) v Teddy Glossop (5-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Glossop lost last time out but I still have faith in him long term. The comeback should start here against the much larger Pickering. Pickering is 35 and on a losing streak so he is definitely drinking in the last chance saloon.

 

Lloyd McAllister (16-4) v Gabriel Gallego (19-5) - Welterweight

 

Both these fighters are coming off a loss, in fact McAllister's was actually to Gellego back in 2000. It was by Dr's stoppage and McAllister gets a chance at revenge here. Gallego is 33 but has the potential to be a useful gatekeeper and I expect him to win this one.

 

Darin Blood (14-7) v Sawyer Hines (7-4) - Welterweight

 

Blood is a decent fighter who is on a bad streak, I want to try and build him back up, at least to a level where he can have a third bout against David Allen. The first two have resulted in Dr's stoppage and a broken jaw so a third bout can definitely be promoted. Hines is back after his drugs suspension and I expect him to lose hear before getting the boot.

 

Norman Pike (17-6) v Frank Sheedy (21-12) - Heavyweight

 

Two low ranked but experienced fighters, they're getting matched up with a view to turning one of them into a useful enhancement fighter. I'd prefer it to be Pike as I think he has a bit more about him.

 

That's the card, too be honest it's not a great one. It rests pretty much entirely on the main event and I have no contingency plan in the case of injury. Not a great start to the new GAMMA era. On the other hand, there are plenty of important fights here and I am developing a number of fighters for the future. Fingers crossed that the main event goes well and the fans and PPV company are happy.

 

 

June

 

GAMMA 49: Morrison v Basora

 

GAMMA 49 sees the show hit the road for the first time since I took over. We visit Kentucky, the home state of Lightweight Champion Sean Morrison.

 

Sean Morrison (31-4) v Luis Basora (22-5) - Lightweight Title

 

With the suspension of Atep of Indonesia I was left a little bare at the top of the lightweight division. Luis Basora is the only credible challenger, unless I want to throw one of the new signings straight into the mix. Something I'd rather avoid. Basora is coming off a points win over Bruce Steven at GAMMA 44 but is still not that well known in the States and he has -1 momentum. Luckily Morrison is a big enough name that he can headline against anyone and this will make a Great Main Event. While the fans may not know Basora the bookies are more than aware of his credentials as a former SIGMA Lightweight Champion and the install him as favourite with odds of (-360) to (+280).

 

Co-Main Event

 

Josh Aldarisio (17-1) v Nathan Chambers (19-3) - Welterweight

 

Aldarisio's previous fight against Rufus Stephens was cancelled due to injury, meaning he hasn't fought since GAMMA 39 in December 2000. He gets a chance here to claim the number one contenders spot as he takes on Nathan Chambers. Chambers is a massive name and is coming off two impressive wins. This rates as a strong main event.

 

Fiyero Lermontov (15-0) v Brandon Sugar (28-5) - Lightweight

 

Lermontov makes his GAMMA debut against former Champion Brandon Sugar. Lermontov was unstoppable at SIGMA but we've seen what has happened to other fighters who have come in with big reputations. That being said, I expect him to get the win here to set up a possible clash with Morrison down the road. This fight is worthy of being on the main show.

 

Leftay Oktay (16-0) v Fatuma Roy (23-9) - Heavyweight

 

The winner of this is pretty much guaranteed a shot at the winner of Kapur v Foster II. Oktay is another unbeaten monster while Roy is coming off a great KO win against Raul Hughes. My only real concern is if Oktay and Kapur both win then will they have enough name value to headline? There's only one way to find out.

 

Guillermo Morales (13-0-1) v Ken Peters (11-2) - Light Heavyweight

 

Peters upset the apple cart last time out, coming in as a late repacement against Derek South and beating him in an awful match. It's time for revenge and I think Morales is the man to do it. His wrestling and strength should prevent him getting taken down and on his feet he should be able to overwhelm Peters. Hopefully an impressive main card debut for Morales.

 

Sutton Ripley (18-4) v Maarten De Vries (17-8) - Middleweight

 

Two National level fighters on poor form face off in a match only deemed worthy of the prelims. I disagree and think that this will be an exciting brawl. Whoever wins should get a decent popularity and momentum boost and should be in a position to either put over a young up and comer, or give a higher ranked fighter a big match.

 

Prelims

 

Marmaduke Chuffnell (4-0) v Peter Windsor (2-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

The hilariously named Marmaduke Chuffnell makes his GAMMA debut against Peter Windsor. Windsor isn't a great fighter but he did pick up a win last time out against Randolph Gilliver so he can be dangerous. This is just a case of trying to prepare some more Super Heavyweights to be ready for TV.

 

Nick Detroit (11-1) v Esteban Vega (8-0) - Middleweight

 

Vega is one for the future and he has great striking skills, I'm not sure about his wrestling at the moment so I'm putting him in against another kick boxer. Detroit is coming off a couple of wins on the local scene, including a KO win against Carson Neuwirth and should prove a good test for Vega.

 

Abe Locke (7-2) v Angus Silversmith (5-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

More Super Heavyweight action as Abe Locke makes his GAMMA debut. Silversmith won is his debut but didn't impress against his hand picked opponent. A tough match up is his punishment. They both have momentum 1 and I'm hopeful that a win here, whoever it is for, will see that increase, potentially making them ready for the main card.

 

Ozzy Bintely (5-0) v Pai Cheng (7-0) - Heavyweight

 

Cheng has been patiently waiting to make his debut for a while, his last fight was cancelled due to injury and his talent is currently wasting away. He faces Brit Ozzy Bintley, a decent striker who is coming off a win against Linton Renn on the local scene. I expect Cheng to win this but if he doesn't then it will be Bintley that I'll take forward.

 

Derek South (14-7) v Bryan Van Den Hauwe (19-6) - Light Heavyweight

 

Both fighters had a shocker last time out against Ken Peters and Bill Cumming respectively. When you have two fighters on such terrible form there's only one thing to do with them, make them face each other to keep their jobs. This is a classic, loser leaves town match.

 

Steve Mason (10-1) v Oliver Fiderer (8-1) - Heavyweight

 

Both these fighters were thrown to the wolves on their debuts, Mason had to fight Kurt McDonald, while Fiderer faced Nate MacReary. They get a chance at redemption here as they face off. The winner could be looking at a decent midcard career, while the loser will be one match off the sack.

 

 

Overall I'm a lot happier with this PPV than I am with GAMMA 48. I've got two good main events and several of the other fights on the card should hold the fans interest. There are also several important match ups going forward, with Lermontov, Oktay and Morales all expected to win.

[WCW Mark]

May 2002

 

GAMMA 48: Kapur v Foster II

 

There are a couple of changes to the card due to injury. Firstly Zane Wybock pulls out of his fight with Bogdonovich. Linfield Ballard steps in, the fight just got a whole lot tougher for J-Bog but if he wins he'll rocket up the rankings.

 

The second change is on the prelims where Franks Sheedy pulls out of his fight with Norman Pike. John Rivero replaces him, he's another fighter with terrible momentum so it's a like for like swap.

 

Prelims

 

Norman Pike (17-6) v John Rivero (14-5) - Heavyweight

 

The round starts with Rivero using his wrestling to clinch and push pike up against the cage, Pike is no slouch either though and he manages to take Rivero down from the clinch. He goes for a couple of subs but can't get them and the round ends. Round 2 is a carbon copy. I'm not sure whether Rivero took them with his work in the clinch or Pike took them with his takedowns.

 

Round 3 sees Rivero take Pike down, Pike gets back to his feet but Rivero slips behind him and hits a german suplex! Somehow Pike gets back to his feet and lands an uppercut which puts Rivero down, Pike can't finish him though and the fight goes to the judges. 29-28, 28-29, 30-27. The winner is Rivero.

 

Result: John Rivero defeats Norman Pike (Split Decision). The match was rated as Decent

 

Darin Blood (14-7) v Sawyer Hines (7-4) - Welterweight

 

Blood gets a quick takedown, takes Hines' back and chokes him out in less than a minute.

 

Result: Darin Blood defeats Sawyer Hines (Submission (Rear Nakd Choke) in 0:58 of round 1). The match was rated as Good

 

Lloyd McAllister (16-4) v Gabriel Gallego (19-5) - Welterweight

 

The two fighters meet in the centre and exchange strikes, Gallego absorbs a couple of kicks and then hits a right uppercut. McAllister goes limp and it's all over.

 

Result: Gabriel Gallego defeats Lloyd McAllister (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:38 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

George Pickering (8-2) v Teddy Glossop (5-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Pickering takes Glossop down at the start of the first, he throws a couple of elbows from guard which open up a cut on Glossop. Pickering moves to side control and starts landing knees to the body. Good round for Pickering.

 

Round 2 sees Pickering take Glossop down again, he gains mount and starts looking for the arm triangle, which he gets on the second attempt. Glossop refuses to tap and eventually passes out. Great win for Pickering but great heart by Glossop.

 

Result: George Pickering defeats Teddy Glossop (Technical Submission in 2:44 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good

 

Avery Gleason (6-0) v Dule Bayliffe (6-3) - Lightweight

 

Bayliffe starts the round well, landing several jabs, however he gets caught on his heels and Gleason takes him down. From there it's only a matter of time and Gleason locks in an arm triangle for the win.

 

Result: Avery Gleason defeats Dule Bayliffe (Submission (Arm Traiangle) in 3:56 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

 

Adam White (12-1) v Woody Fierstein (11-6) - Middleweight

 

Fierstein refuses to touch gloves and it seems to enrage White, he hits a T-Bone suplex and goes for the arm bar while Fierstein is still shaken. Fierstein taps.

 

Result: Adam White defeats Woody Fierstein (Submission (Armbar) in 1:45 of round 1) The match was rated as Good

 

Main Show

 

Jerry Bogdonovich (10-0) v Linfield Ballard (22-9) - Light Heavyweight

 

Bogdonovich is throwing a lot of strikes but they are wild and Ballard avoids most of them, and returns fire with some crisp jabs and kicks of his own. J-Bog keeps swinging though and eventually one of them lands. Ballard goes straight down. Bogdonovich has dynamite in his right hand.

 

Result: Jerry Bogdonovich defeats Linfield Ballard (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:56 of round 1). The match was rated as Good

 

Aaron McBroom (12-4) v Nicholas Bretton (15-5) - Lightweight

 

Bretton is relentless in his pursuit of a takedown, going for 6 in the first round a 4 in the second. All the while McBroom is chipping away at him with jabs and kicks. It finally pays off for Bretton as he hits the takedown in the middle of the second, from their it's a short trip to side control and then an armbar.

 

Result: Nicholas Bretton defeats Aaron McBroom (Submission (Armbar) in 3:58 of round 2). The match was rated as Good

 

Braulio Moura (24-3-1 NC) v Petey Mack (11-4) - Middleweight

 

The bookies can't split these two, having them both at (-110). The first round sees both fighters throwing strikes in the centre of the cage and neither giving an inch. That could have gone either way.

 

Round 2 starts the same until Moura accidentally pokes Mack in the eye. Mack needs a minute to recover and when the fight restarts Moura is all over him. He staggers him and grabs a Muay Thai clinch, from there he lands a couple of elbows, which cut Mack, but just when it looks like Mack is in trouble he scoops Moura up and slams him. Mack spends the last minute of the round on top but that was probably Moura's round.

 

Mack is desperate for a takedown in round 3 and pursues Moura relentlessly. Moura backs up keeping a wide base and then hits a head kick as Mack shoots in. He crumples and it's all over. Fantastic Fight.

 

Result: Braulio Moura defeats Petey Mack (Knock Out (Kick) in 4:18 of round 3. The match was rated as Fantastic

 

Davey Rushton (5-1) v Seb Morehead (8-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

The two fighters come together and start trading shots, it's fairly even until Rushton lands a big shot that wobbles Morehead. Rushton follows up with a big left hook that drops him and the ground and pound puts him away. Rushton is on the comeback trail.

 

Result: Davey Rushton defeats Seb Morehead (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:14 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

 

Co-Main Event

 

Buddy Garner (15-3) v Neil Napier (19-1) - Middleweight

 

It's been a great show so far and whatever is in the air has infected Garner. He comes forward relentlessly, swinging big right hand after big right hand. Napier is back peddling and landing jabs and leg kicks on the counter.

 

By the middle of round 2 Garner is visibly limping and Napier starts to take over. Garner carries on trying to trade but Napier is just too good for him. It's a comfortable win for Napier against an opponent who used some very odd tactics.

 

Result: Neil Napier defeats Buddy Garner (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Decent

 

Main Event

 

Rav Kapur (12-0) v James Foster (35-5-1) - Heavyweight Title

 

Foster couldn't out muscle Kapur last time so this time he tries something different. Rushing into the clinch he pulls guard, dragging Kapur down on top of him. He can't sweep him though and Kapur spends most of the round on top.

 

He tries the same thing in rounds 2, 3 and 4 and all he gets for his trouble is a cut to his forehead from an elbow. He finally manages the sweep in round 3, but Kapur scrambles to his feet immediately.

 

By round 5 the damage to Foster is starting tell, he's limping and the cut to his head it streaming blood. Kapur senses victory and wobbles Foster with a left then a right. Foster staggers backwards and Kapur hits a head kick which puts him down and out.

 

Result: Rav Kapur defeats James Foster (Knock Out (Kick) in 3:45 of round 5. The match was rated as Fantastic

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Well that couldn't have gone any better. I was lucky that none of the injuries I suffered mattered and in some respects they worked out well as Bogdonovich made a real name for himself.

 

I raked in an absolute fortune, not that I was worried about cash before but now it seems like I pretty much have a licence to print money.

 

The prelims went well, Rivero is starting to win me over and he's finally at 0 momentum. Blood, Gallego, White and Gleason all got their expected wins and only Teddy Glossop let me down.

 

The main event was the icing on the cake, Foster's tactics seemed a little weird but it was good to have a decisive finish and the Fantastic rating just topped it off. Kapur is at 99.6% High Regional in the US now, just missing out on going National.

[WCW Mark]

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely give Cupples a shot. He's only just re-signed with BCF so won't sign an exclusive contract at the moment but I'll keep an eye on him.

 

May

 

I've got a bit of an issue with May and June as my laptop crashed and stupidly I hadn't saved the spreadsheet I use. I think I've been able to piece most of it together by going back through the database but I'll probably miss a few bits. Also now I am doing monthly PPV's I'm going to do the world round up on a monthly basis. This means there sometimes won't be any events or news for an Org, in which case I'll just skip them.

 

GAMMA

 

The monthly PPV's are taking their toll on the roster and I sign a few extra bodies. None of them are big names but they should help pad out the prelims and if I match them up right I should get a couple of main show guys out of them in the future.

 

I also poach Mason Archer from ALPHA-1, at (23-6) he has a great record and he already has name value in the States. He's a strong addition to my Heavyweight division.

 

ALPHA-1

 

Carlos da Guia remains unbeaten as he KO's Ieyoshi Yamashita in the 5th round to defend his Middleweight Title for the 3rd time.

 

In the co-main Heikichi Shimizu causes somewhat of an upset, beating Go Yamamoto by unanimous decision.

 

They also make some signings, but I don't have the notes to say who.

 

XCC

 

Willy Bassett continues to dominate the Bantamweight Division, submitting Ollie Reockmetteller in the second to make the third defence of his title. He's High Regional popularity and very close to breaking through to National. XCC are starting to build some stars and generate some momentum.

 

FLB

 

Hold a double main event which sees Paulo Roberto Bezerra beat Anderson Desailly for the vacant Lightweight Title and Leonardo da Costa beat Mario de Souza for the vacant Middleweight belt. However they lose their Heavyweight Champion, Elzo Alves Moura to ALPHA-1. They just can't keep hold of a champion at the moment.

 

SIGMA

 

SIGMA go with Georges Nouri v Lubos Plasil II. Nouri beats him for the second time to claim the Lightweight Title which was vacated when Lermontov left.

 

Classic Cage Combat

 

CCC make numerous signings and now have 17 fighters in each division. They also try and pinch Gareth Ward from me when his contract come up. I'm happy with Ward as commentator and outbid them.

 

They also announce their first ever show, it will be held in Ontario at the end of June and will feature Harv Dennis v Lachlen Bowen for the Heavyweight Title and William Harrison v Terry Catt for the Light Heavyweight Title.

[WCW Mark]

June 2002

 

GAMMA 49: Morrison v Basora

 

This event is my first on the road and sees Sean Morrison defend in his home state. I expect to take a hit on the gate but frankly that doesn't really matter anymore as I'm raking it in off PPV.

 

Sutton Ripley picked up an injury and had to pull out of his fight with Maarten De Vries. Isaiah Monroe steps up to take his place, it's a great opportunity for Monroe to make a name for himself against the former champ.

 

Prelims

 

Steve Mason (10-1) v Oliver Fiderer(8-1) - Heavyweight

 

Mason domiantes the striking, using his height and kicks to keep Fiderer at a distance, he never looks like finishing it but it's a comfortable win. Amazingly, while two of the judges correctly give it 30-27 to Mason one of them gives it 29-28 to Fiderer. Who knows what fight he was watching.

 

Result: Steve Mason defeats Oliver Fiderer (Split Decision). The match was rated as Good

 

Derek South (14-7) v Bryan Van Den Hauwe (19-6) - Light Heavyweight

 

Van Den Hauwe makes good use of the clinch to out strike South in the first, South gets the takedown in the second and promptly takes Van Den Hauwe's back and ends it via Rear Naked Choke.

 

Result: Derek South defeats Bryan Van Den Hauwe (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:52 of round 2. The match was rated as Decent

 

Ozzy Bintley (5-0) v Pai Cheng (7-0) - Heavyweight

 

This is basically three rounds of Cheng holding Bintely against the cage and hitting him. It racks up the points but doesn't do much damage. A comfortable, if dull, win for Cheng.

 

Result: Pai Cheng defeats Ozzy Bintley (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Very Poor

 

Abe Locke (7-2) v Angus Silversmith (5-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

Locke gets an early takedown in the first and spends almost the entire round on top. The ref eventually stands it up and Locke gets the takedown again. This is looking like another snoozer.

 

However Silversmith comes out and gets a takedown of his own in the second, he transitions to side control and goes for the armbar. The difference in this match was that Silversmith took his chance while Locke was happy just laying there.

 

Result: Angus Silversmith defeats Abe Locke (Submission (Armbar) in 2:28 of round 2). The match was rated as being Average

 

Nick Detroit (11-1) v Esteban Vega (8-0) - Middleweight

 

Detroit starts well, landing several good combos, Vega decides he can't win the striking contest and starts looking for takedowns. He gets one but is promptly swept and the scramble sees them back on their feet. Round 1 to Detroit.

 

Round 2 again sees Detroit outstrike Vega,Vega gets a late takedown but it's not enough to win the round. Round 3 is a different story however, Vega gets it to the mat early and with plenty of time to work with he gets the arm triangle submission.

 

Result: Esteban Vega defeats Nick Detroit (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 1:51 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great.

 

Marmaduke Chuffnell (4-0) v Peter Windsor (2-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Chuffnell gets a takedown in every round and beats Windsor up on the deck. A couple of times it looks like he might finish it but Windsor hangs on.

 

Result: Marmaduke Chuffnell defeats Peter Windsor (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

 

Main Show

 

Guillermo Morales (13-0-1) v Ken Peters (11-2) - Light Heavyweight

 

It's a bad match spent mostly in the clinch, both fighters land a takedown and Peters for once seems to want to do something with it, landing several strikes, although none with any real power behind them. Morales takes it 2 rounds to 1, it wasn't pretty but at least he got the job done.

 

Result: Guillermo Morales defeats Ken Peters (unanimous decision). The match was rated as Very Poor

 

Isaiah Monroe (9-0) v Maarten De Vries (17-8) - Middleweight

 

Monroes makes the most of his big chance, swiftly taking De Vries down, mounting him and beating him up until the ref steps in. Great debut, De Vries on the other hand might want to think about calling it a day.

 

Result: Isaiah Monroe defeats Maarten De Vries (TKO (Strikes) in 1:28 of round 1. The match was rated as Good

 

Lefter Oktay (16-0) v Fatuma Roy (23-9) - Heavyweight

 

Oktay shows his versatility here, he deals with Roy's striking comfortably before taking him down when he sees an opening. From there it's an easy job to transition to mount and slap on an arm triangle.

 

Result: Lefter Oktay defeats Fatuma Roy (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 3:38 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

 

Fiyero Lermontov (15-0) v Brandon Sugar (28-5) Lightweight

 

This is a brutal beat down from start to finish as Lermontov dominates Sugar. He lands multiple punches and kicks, wobbling the ex-champ a couple of times and breaking his nose. Sugar is visibly limping by the middle of the second and Lermontov keeps the pressure on him. Sugar eventually goes down to a really nasty leg kick and can't get back up again. The ref is forced to call it off.

 

Result: Fiyero Lermontov defeats Brandon Sugar (TKO (Leg Kick) in 4:59 of round 2. The match was rated as being Great

 

Co-Main Event

 

Josh Aldarisio (17-1) v Nathan Chambers (19-3) - Welterweight

 

Despite his Olympic wrestling background Aldarisio is no match for Chambers who manages to take him down in every round with a success rate of 75%. Chambers doesn't do a lot while he is there but it's enough to win the fight. One judge dubiously gives the fight to Aldarisio, echoing the poor judging from earlier in the night, but ultimately the right man wins.

 

Result: Nathan Chambers defeats Josh Aldarisio (Split Decision). The match was rated as Poor

 

Main Event

 

Sean Morrison (31-4) v Luis Basora (22-5) - Lightweight Title

 

Morrison comes out to a thunderous reception, whilst Basora isn't that well known the bookies make him the strong favourite (-340) to send the fans home unhappy.

 

Round 1 sees Basora using his ability in the clinch to push Morrison up against the cage, he works him over for a while, until Morrison reverses the positions, before Morrison can take advantage though the ref brings it back to the centre, the crowd boo. They go straight back into the clinch but neither can get the upper hand and the round ends. Basora proably just edged that.

 

Round 2 starts and they trade strikes until Morrison gets a takedown into side control. They are both working on the ground, Morrison attempts to pass to mount a couple of times while Basora tries to break free but they nullify each other and the ref ends up standing them up. Again the crowd boo, Morrison definitely had the upper hand there. Round 2 to Morrison.

 

Round 3 sees Basora take Morrison down early with a good hip throw. Again the nullify each other and the ref stands them up. At least he is being consistent. Morrison gets a takedown right at the end of the round but Basora probably took that one due to the amount of time he spent on top.

 

Round 4 again sees Basora working the clinch against the cage, he punishes Morrison for a good two minutes, and again, when Morrison finally reverses it the ref brings them back to the centre. Basora drives Morrison back against the cage again and comfortably takes the round.

 

Basora takes Morrison down early in round 5, but Morrison scrambles and ends up on top. They spend the rest of the time on the ground, with Morrison throwing out short strikes and Basora looking for the occasional submission from his back. The commentator gives that round to Basora, I give it to Morrison but either way Basora has won this one. The judges verdicts come in, 48-47 Basora, 48-47 Morrison, 48-47 Morrison. Basora has been robbed as the judges give the hometown verdict to Morrison.

 

Result: Sean Morrison defeats Luis Basora (Split Decision). The match was rated as Very Poor

 

Post Show Analysis

 

The show was a success, despite having a dull main and co-main events.

 

Pop +3% US, +5% Can, +5.3% Mex

Crit 71% Com 72%

Gate: £1,045,650

Sponsorship: £61,278

PPV: 11,101,440

Merchandise: £8,340

Fighters: -£341,609

Drug Tests: -£28,800

Production: -£108,845

Total: £11,737,454

 

The prelims went pretty much as expected. Van Den Hauwe keeps his job despite the loss as he is still High Regional popularity and only -1 momentum. I think I can squeeze a bit more out of him yet.

 

Vega is still only low regional name value but at 4 momentum and (9-0) it's about time he moved up to the main show, I'll need to keep my eyes open for a suitable opponent.

 

Morales got the win on his debut and Peters is banished from the main show. He still has decent name value so I'd like to get one more fight out of him, if I can find a suitable opponent.

 

Monroe really announced himself with a great win. De Vries can't buy a win at the moment and at 35 he can't have much time left. His momentum is shot but he's still National Name Value and he puts on exciting fights. I'll probably keep using him until he calls it a day, or his popularity drops to regional.

 

Oktay finished Roy swiftly and decisively, he's the obvious next opponent for Kapur, but at Low Regional Name Value I'm not sure if it will work as a headliner. If not I've got some problems.

 

Lermontov was just brutal, he really sent a message to Morrison and the rest of the division with the sort of beatdown that shortens careers. Sure enough Sugar is out for 8 months after the fight and at 32 it's not clear what sort of shape he'll be in when he comes back.

 

Chambers did the job in the Co-Main, I would have preferred a win for Aldarisio as I planned to use Chambers as coach on my reality show. Instead he's probably my next title challenger, provided he recovers in time, this new schedule is murder.

 

Finally the main event, Basora was robbed, but it's just as well as Morrison is the only guy at the top of that division with any name value. Basora won't get a rematch any time soon as the fight was a bit of a dull one, but he made a name for himself and should really be wearing the gold right now.

 

GAMMA News

 

Off the back of GAMMA 49 I rise to High National popularity, I'm now the undisputed number 1 company in the world. The controversy surrounding the title shot and Lermontov's brutal beatdown obviously for people talking. I make a few more minor signings and plan out my next few shows.

 

OMEGA

 

Omega go with another double title match up and both champions lose their belts. Gus Fitzpatrick beats Agustin Gonzalez by KO to take the Welterweight Title, while Karl Halliwell knocks out Wally Bryant in only his second pro fight to take the Super Heavyweight belt. "Playboy" Karl Halliwell is a 21 year old generated fighter. He looks like a brick outhouse in his picture and has a wrestling background. He is definitely one to keep an eye on.

 

SIGMA

 

SIGMA pair up Mugur Boc (11-1) v Stanislaw Lipnicki (17-7) for the vacant Heavyweight belt. Boc's only loss of his career was to Lefter Oktay so now he's out of the way it's not surprising to see him hold gold. His contract is up but at 33 I don't see any benefit to signing him, he could be champ for a while.

 

KDM FC

 

KDM FC Forever 2 sees Yul Tien (3-0) beat veteran Najib Sri Aziz bin Zai (42-12-2). Tien is another generated fighter and as a former national level Muay Thai competitor he has very good striking ability. He is just one of a number of decent Chinese fighters the computer generated and they could be the nation to watch going forward.

 

CCC

 

Classic Cage Combat hold their first ever show, which sees Harv Dennis and Lachlan Bowen go to a 60 minute draw for the Heavyweight Title, the bout was rated as Poor and I bet that was painful to watch. The Co-main on the other hand was over in just 2:11 as William Harrison took the Light Heavyweight belt with a TKO win over Terry Catt. Harrison is just coming into his prime and is another guy I'm keeping a keen eye on.

[WCW Mark]

GAMMA ANNOUNCE UPCOMING SHOWS

 

I plan out the next few shows, as well as the two PPV's I'm going to be holding my now traditional 4th July free to air TV show. This stretches my small roster to the absolute max and I'm really starting to find it difficult to put cards together.

 

GAMMA BATTLE LINES 6: Sharp v Hughes

 

In game this will be forever known as GAMMA Battle Lines 6: Main Event Name after I forgot to change it. We'll pretend that never happened, it was definitely known as Sharp v Hughes.

 

Christopher Sharp (36-13) v Raul Hughes (17-4) - Heavyweight

 

At 38 Hughes is drawing to the end of his career. He's still one of the most popular fighters on the roster and a win here could see him elevated to Title Challenger. Even though Sharp is 33 he still seems to be on the rise, he has a powerful wrestling game and provided he can avoid getting hit on his glass jaw he stands a good chance of winning any fight. He's not quite popular enough to challenge Kapur yet but a win here will go some way to correcting that. This one is hard to call, Sharp should easily be able to take Hughes down and will beat him on the ground, but Hughes just needs one punch to win it.

 

Co-Main

 

Marlon John (14-1) v Spencer Rubenstein (17-6) - Light Heavyweight

 

Rubenstein is coming off the back of two defeats and things aren't going to get any easier as he faces top contender Marlon John. I'll be hoping for a John win here as I can't hold Rubenstein v Herringbone III. This is quite a risky one but I'm confident John will win and a victory over the former Champ will really elevate him

 

Sam Hoynes (8-0) v Kurt McDonald (9-0) - Heavyweight

 

Hoynes is the former OMEGA champion, he's great wrestler and at only 26 he has bags of potential. This will be a tough test for him though as McDonald is unbeaten and has a decent array of strikes as well as strong takedown defence. This one is set up to provide a tough test for both fighters, giving me the knowledge that I can probably start to push the winner.

 

Will Kane (19-3) v Dana Delaney (12-3) - Welterweight

 

Another former champion makes his GAMMA debut, this time it's former BCF Welterweight champion Will Kane. It's been a while coming as he had a 5 month medical suspension when he joined but now it's here I don't want to waste any time as, at 33, he doesn't have a lot of years left in the tank. Delaney looks like a good first opponent. He has High Regional name value and +2 Momentum. He also doesn't look like much of a threat as his skill set is very limited and all he really has going for him is some decent boxing.

 

Taroemon Abukara (10-0) v Noddy Pascow (8-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

Two more debuts as I try to get as many of my new signings on screen and known the the public as possible. Both fighters have been poached from ALPHA-1, but haven't faced each other before. I don't really mind who wins, although given that Pascow is already known in the US I suppose a win for him would be preferable.

 

Prelims

 

Duke Aiona (15-5) v Damien Jones (7-1) - Heavyweight

 

Aiona has always been a dependable midcarder for me in WMMA3, sometimes even rising to the level of title challenger. He was thrown in at the deep end against Lefter Oktay as I needed someone to put him over but now it's time to start building him back up. Jones is a hard hitting but limited brawler, at 33 he probably isn't going to add much to his game going forward, and should provide an entertaining fight and a willing victim for Aiona.

 

Felix Mattherson Jr (8-0) v Joshua Ziegler (9-3) - Welterweight

 

Mattherson is a potential star and one I'm building slowly. He's already beaten Ray Eton and another win should see him ready for his main card debut. Ziegler is a solid kick boxer who shouldn't cause him to many problems. Although that's what I thought when I paired him up against Jonn Wales and he proved me wrong there. Another upset victory will see him being the one to make the step up.

 

Jonn Wales (7-1) v Tyler Lass (9-2) - Welterweight

 

Talking of Jonn Wales, he gets a second chance to make a good impression here. Lass is no slouch and he put in a good performance against Alan Kendall. I make him the favourite here to get back to winning ways and Wales could be looking for alternative employment in the near future.

 

Bruce Steven (20-9) v Moss Gilbert (7-3) - Lightweight

 

Steven is a decent fighter with good submissions and he was unlucky to find himself sacrificed in my efforts to build up Basora. This is a much easier fight and I fully expect him to get back to winning ways.

 

Benny Danare (10-4) v Jackson Mollusck (7-3) - Lightweight

 

Danare is another decent, established, fighter that I'm trying to build back up to main card readiness. Mollusck is his inferior in every way and has pretty much been brought in to do a job to him.

 

 

GAMMA 50: Herringbone v Patinkin

 

My second event for July sees GAMMA reach a half century of PPVs. As such this demands something special and despite my depleted roster I manage to pull it off, booking a double title belt card. Ok so one of the belts is the Super Heavyweight belt but it's still a title.

 

It's tempting to return to Nevada for my 50th, especially after the judging debacle last time out. However I don't want it to look like we're admitting defeat after only one show on the road so instead I head to California.

 

Main Event

 

Lawrence Herringbone (18-1) v Junior Patinkin (18-2) - Light Heavyweight Title

 

Patinkin earned this title shot by beating Heath and Asanovic. He dominated the kick boxers with his wrestling and it will be interesting to see how he fairs against another wrestler. Patinkin is actually the more popular of the two, while Herringbone has the better momentum. Meaning that whoever wins this I'm not going to have the sort of issues I'm having at Heavyweight, or potentially could have had at Lightweight if Basora had won. I don't like the belts changing hands too often though so, if I had to pick one, I'd go with Herringbone. This rates as a strong main event.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Hanley Polter (7-0) v John-James McInleen (5-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

McInleen is only the 12th ranked fighter in the SHW division but none of the others are suitable challengers, being either exports I've brought in with no name value, or fighters coming off a loss. The SHW continues to be a difficult division to book. This only rates as a main show fight, despite the title being on the line, and it's a weak line up for this PPV.

 

Zvonmir Asanovic (32-4) v Anthony LeToussier (14-3) - Light Heavyweight

 

Asanovic is still incredibly popular and a couple of wins could still see him getting a title shot. He was out wrestled on his debut and I don't want the same happening here so I match him up against another Kick Boxer.

Le Toussier is coming off a defeat to Mike Watson but a win here would catapult him up the rankings. Whoever wins I'm hoping for an exciting fight, an impressive KO and a newly reinvigorated challenger.

 

David Allen (17-4) v Alan Kendall (16-4) - Welterweight

 

David Allen broke Darin Blood's jaw last time out and it's given him a reputation as a dangerous striker. Kendall is a good all round fighter who is on a winning streak and a couple more wins could see him with a chance to avenge his only GAMMA defeat against current champion Julio Regueiro.

 

Alex Cole (11-1) v Ashley Ballard (14-2) - Middleweight

 

Both these fighters have a decent record but both need to up their game if they want to stay in GAMMA for long. Cole lost to Thomas Smith on his debut, something that's not as damaging as it first appeared given that Smith now sits at 8 in the GAMMA Middleweight rankings, while Ballard boasts a win over Martin De Vries which isn't as impressive as it first appeared given De Vries' subsequent slide. Ballard then lost to Thomas and a loss for either of these fighters here will likely see them relegated to the prelims for the foreseeable future.

 

Jack Humphreys v Mauel Silva - Welterweight

 

Humphreys is in awful form, losing to Chambers and Sipatov in his last two outings. However he's still popular and sitting on neutral momentum, presumably because of his motor mouth. He'll likely lose again here as I try to redeem Manuel Silva after his loss to Nathan Chambers.

 

Prelims

 

Tank Mau'a (18-7) v Gary Sampson (19-7) - Heavyweight

 

Two veterans of the Heavyweight Division, both have seen their star fall in recent times. Manu'a has been injury plagued since the start of the game and has yet to fight, while Sampson is currently 1-1. Sampson is the more popular of the two and a win for him would be ideal.

 

Zane Wybock (9-1) v Toby Sorkin (10-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Sorkin has two wins under his belt, but despite this he's failed to generate any real momentum and still hasn't found his way onto the main card. Third time is hopefully a charm against a fighter who should test him, without providing a real threat.

 

Irwin Middleton (3-2) v Eric Hughes (4-3) - Super Heavyweight

 

Neither of these fighters are likely to amount to much, at least if one of them is coming off a win he might be useful to put someone else over. The loser will be an an even record and that's not good enough to keep your job.

 

Bart Diggs (9-5) v Drew Jenks (8-4) - Middleweight

 

Both these fighters were brought pretty much as prelim fighters. They both lost on their debuts and now they face each other. One of them will pick up a win, which will earn him a match where the victor will get on the main show, while the other will earn a match where the loser gets canned.

 

Wilson Franklyn (10-2) v Stan Still (8-7) - Heavyweight

 

Franklyn blew his shot at the big time when he was KO'd by Hughes in one round. It's not too late for him to earn another shot though and he should get back to winning ways against Stan Still.

 

Ray Eton (10-4) v Joe Hinccliffe (24-14) -

 

You see what I wrote for Diggs v Jenks, well it pretty much applies here to. They are both coming off a loss and when that loss turns to a streak you end up fighting to keep your job. The easiest way to avoid that it to win here.

[WCW Mark]

July 2002

 

GAMMA Battle Lines 6: Sharp v Hughes

 

I manage to get to the show without any injuries, just as well as I don't have any one spare to step in. My Independence Day show is held in Texas, which should mean that debuting fighter Sam Hoynes gets a good reception.

 

Prelims

 

Benny Danare (10-4) v Jackson Mollusck (7-3) - Lightweight

 

Danare looks good, landing some crisp strikes and generally getting the better of the round, Mollusck gets the takedown as the round closes but the first round is Danare's. Mollusck gets the takedown early in the second, he spends the round on top and does enough to stop the ref from standing them up.

 

Round 3 sees Danare manage to keep it standing and he takes in on points.

 

Result: Benny Danare defeats Jackson Mollusck (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Good

 

Bruce Steven (20-9) v Moss Gilbert (7-3) - Lightweight

 

Gilbert ignores Steven's attempt to touch gloves, that bad sportsmanship riles Steven up and he shoots straight in for the takedown. He gets it, moves to side control and gets the armbar.

 

Result: Bruce Steven defeats Moss Gilbert (Submission (Armbar) in 2:12 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

 

Jonn Wales (7-1) v Tyler Lass (9-2) - Welterweight

 

Wales comes forward throwing kicks and punches, Lass takes a few shots but hits back with some punches of his own. He takes control and drives Wales back with some hard jabs before landing a big right hook which puts him away.

 

Results: Tyler Lass defeats Jonn Wales (Knock Out (Punch) in 4:31 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

 

Felix Mattherson Jr (8-0) v Joshua Ziegler (9-3) - Welterweight

 

Mattherson rushes Zigler and grabs a Muay Thai clinch, he punishes Zigler before taking him down with a hip throw. Zlegler manages to scramble back to his feet but that round was definitely Mattherson's.

 

Round 2 sees Mattherson get the clinch again and this time he cuts Ziegler open with an elbow. He gets the takedown again but can't do a lot on the ground. 2nd round to Mattherson.

 

Round 3 sees Mattherson get an early takedown, he lands some short punches before transitioning. He grabs an arm triangle and Ziegler taps.

 

Result: Felix Mattherson Jr defeats Joshua Ziegler (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 3:42 of round 3). The match was rated as Decent

 

Duke Aiona (15-5) v Damien Jones (7-1) - Heavyweight

 

This is a three round slug fest. Jones looks good throughout, landing more of his strikes and hitting a lot harder. Heputs Aiona down in the second but can't put him away. He doesn't make that mistake in the third where he drops him then pounds him out on the ground.

 

Result: Damien Jones defeats Duke Aiona (TKO (Strikes) in 4:14 of round 3. The match was rated as Great

 

Main Show

 

Taroemon Abukara (10-0) v Noddy Pascow (8-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

Abukara gets an early takedown and he lands some hard shots but loses his position when he goes for an armbar. Pascow lands some strikes but the round ends before he can do any real damage.

 

Round 2 sees Pascow getting the takedown from the clinch, he gets the mount and Abukara gives up his back. He can't can't get the choke but does quite a lot of damage with his fists.

 

Pascow gets the takedown again in the third, but loses his position when he goes for side control. Abukara ends up on top and goes for an armbar. Pascow is forced to tap.

 

Result: Taroemon Abukara defeats Noddy Pascow (Submission (Armbar) in 3:43 of round 3). The match was rated as being Fantastic

 

Will Kane (19-3) v Dana Delaney (12-3) - Welterweight

 

Kane's varied striking is too much for Delaney, he takes the first two rounds and Delaney is visibly limping from the impact of all those leg kicks by the end of the first.

 

Delaney limps out for the third and Kane is picking him apart, suddenly Delaney unloads with a right cross that puts Kane down. He jumps on him and lands several shots before standing again, he's obviously worried about Kane's ground game. Kane comes forward and Delaney hits a one two which staggers him. A right hook puts him down and Delaney follows up on the ground. This time he doesn't stand up and the ref has to step in. What a shock.

 

Result: Dana Delaney defeats Will Kane (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:55 of round 3). The match was rated as Great

 

Sam Hoynes (8-0) v Kurt McDonald (9-0) - Heavyweight

 

Hoynes comes out to a great reception, the home town hero certainly has the crowd behind him. They meet in the centre of the cage and start striking. McDonald is using his feet and fists and is too quick for Hoynes. He definitely takes the first round.

 

Round 2 sees Hoynes go for the clinch instead. Despite being the lighter man he is able to keep McDonald trapped for most of the round and lands a lot of strikes on the inside. Hoynes is happy to do it stick to the clinch in round 3 and takes it comfortably.

 

Result: Sam Hoynes defeats Kurt McDonald (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Co-Main Event

 

Marlon John (14-1) v Spencer Rubenstein (17-6) - Light Heavyweight

 

This is three rounds of clinch, bar round 2 where John gets the takedown. Rubenstein can't cope with John's wrestling and it's a comfortable win for John.

 

Result: Marlon John defeats Spencer Rubenstein (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Main Event

 

Christopher Sharp (36-13) v Raul Hughes (17-4) - Heavyweight

 

Sharp is wary of Hughes' striking and ties him up against the fence. He roughs him up on the inside until the ref grows bored and moves them back to the middle. Hughes takes advantage and lands a left hook which has Sharp wobbling all over the shot. It's possible his jaw is broken! Sharp shoots for the taking down on instinct alone. He gets it and spends the last 30 seconds smothering Hughes.

 

Sharp comes out for the second, perhaps it wasn't as bad as the commentators thought. He goes straight for the takedown this time, unwilling to give Hughes a chance to hit him again. He mounts Hughes and forces the ref to step in.

 

Result: Christopher Sharp defeats Raul Hughes (TKO (Strikes) in 2:05 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great.

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop +1% US

Crit: 77% Com 69%

Gate: £686,795

Sponsorhip: £51,294

Ads: £1,113,000

Merchadise: £9,770

Fighters: -£141,624

Drug Tests: -£24,000

Production: -£35,948

Total: £1,659,287

 

The show gained me a little popularity and also made a profit, both of which are nice. However the results were a mixed bag.

 

The prelims went well, although Aiona's loss was a surprise. Wales looks like a bust as Lass finished him easily.

 

Abukara v Pascow went better than I could have expected, whilst I would have preferred a Pascow win I'm happy enough with Abukara taking it. The fact it got a Fantastic rating was a bonus.

 

Delaney v Kane on the other hand was a disaster, Kane is the second big money Welterweight I've signed and just like Manuel Silva he blows it. His momentum is gone, his popularity is still low regional and at 33 he doesn't have a lot of time to build himself back up.

 

Hoynes got the win, but it's a shame he couldn't finish his opponent. He looks like one for the future though.

 

John did his job and got the win. Rubenstein just can't seem to deal with wrestlers.

 

The Sharp win is bad short term but probably better long term as he has more longevity than Hughes. However it looks like that shot to his jaw did some damage as he's out for 6 Months.

[WCW Mark]

GAMMA 50: Herringbone v Patinkin

 

 

 

Prelims

 

Ray Eton (10-4) v Joe Hinchcliffe (24-14) - Welterweight

 

Hinchclffe puts Eaton down with a straight right, he lets him get back up and puts him down again. This time he follows up and ends it on the ground.

 

Result: Joe Hinchcliffe defeats Ray Eton (TKO (Strikes) in 1:40 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

Stan Still (8-7) v Wilson Franklyn (10-2) - Heavyweight

 

Franklyn does what is expected of him, engaging Still in a brawl. He puts him down with a hard right and lands several big shots on the ground.

 

Result: Wilson Franklyn defeats Stan Still (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:58 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Bart Diggs (9-5) v Drew Jenks (8-4) - Middleweight/B]

 

Jenks takes Diggs down in the first and almost puts him away a couple of times with some hard shots. Diggs hangs on though and makes it to the second. He keeps it standing in the second but he's on rubbery legs a couple of times, Drew is dominating. Diggs ups the pace in the third and the leg kicks are starting to tell as Jenks is barely mobile. However he still manages to out strike Diggs and takes the fight 30:27, 30:26, 30:27.

 

Result: Drew Jenks defeats Bart Diggs (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good.

 

Irwin Middleton (3-2) v Eric Hughes (4-3) - Super Heavyweight

 

Middleton gets a takedown and Hughes ends up face down on the mat. Middleton grabs a choke and it's all over.

 

Result: Irwin Middleton defeats Eric Hughes (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:33 of round 1). The match was rated as Good

 

Zane Wybock (9-1) v Toby Sorkin (10-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Sorking clinches and pulls guard, he goes for a guillotine off his back and ends it.

 

Result: Toby Sorking defeats Zane Wybock (Submission (Guillotine) in 1:27 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

Tank Manu'a (18-7) v Gary Sampson (19-7) - Heavyweight

 

They come together in the ring and Manu'a, using all his strength, scoops Sampson up and slams him down. He smothers him against the ground until the ref is forced to stand them up. Sampson gets the better of the rest of the round, resisting several takedown attempts, but it goes to Manu'a.

 

Round 2 is mostly spent in the clinch but Manu'a works harder and takes the round. He gets a trip takedown in the third to seal the round and the match. Not a great way to end the prelims

 

Result: Tank Manu'a defeats Gary Sampson (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Very Poor.

 

Main Card

 

Jack Humphreys (25-11) v Manuel Silva (18-1) - Welterweight

 

Humphreys takes Silva down and beats him up on the deck for a good few minutes, the ref eventually stand them up, which gives Silva a chance to get a few strikes in, but that round belonged to Humphreys.

 

Humphreys defends against Silva's strikes well at the start of the second, he bides his time and then shoots in. He gets the takedown again and spends the rest of the round beating Silva up. It's going from bad to worse for the Brazilian.

 

Silva lands some good strikes in the third but gets taken down one more time. The match is over at that's surely all three rounds to Humphreys. The judges hand in their scores: 29-28 Silva, 29-28 Humphreys, 30-27 Humphreys. Justice is done, even if it's only by split decision.

 

Result: Jack Humphreys defeats Manuel Silva (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Alex Cole (11-1) v Ashley Ballard (14-2) - Middleweight

 

Ballard comes out throwing kicks and punches, Cole ducks under a head kick and takes him down. He spends the rest of the round in control and takes the it comfortably.

 

Ballard manages to keep it standing in the second, he's really mixing it up, throwing strikes from all angles and making life really difficult for Cole. He lands a big right kick to the head and Cole crumples.

 

Result: Ashley Ballard defeats Alex Cole (Knock Out (Kick) in 2:29 of round 2). The match was rated as Fantastic

 

David Allen (17-4) v Alan Kendall (16-4) - Welterweight

 

Allen and Kendall go all out, Allen is throwing punches while Kendall is mixing it up a bit more. Allen gets the best of it though, landing a number of damaging shots and eventually putting Kendall down. He can't finish him though and Kendall survives.

 

Kendall hasn't recovered and Allen puts him down with a pair of hooks. He dives in but Kendall grabs guard and pulls Allen in close. Allen lands enough strikes to keep the ref from standing them up and Kendall needs a finish in the third.

 

Delaney continues to dominate and lands three hard shots in a row. Kendall goes down and this time Delaney doesn't follow up, he knows it's over.

 

Result: David Allen defeats Alan Kendall (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:58 of round 3. The match was rated as being Good

 

Zvonmir Asanovic (32-4) v Anthony LeToussier (14-3) - Light Heavyweight

 

Anthony LeToussier starts off confidently throwing a variety of punches and kicks, including some nasty spinning kicks to the body. LeToussier stands up to it though and lands a nice head kick that wobbles Asanovic. LeToussier throws a big right hook which puts Asanovic down and he dives in to finish him on the ground. That's the second big shock of the card.

 

Result: Anthony LeToussier defeats Zvonmir Asanovic (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:20 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

 

Co-Main Event

 

Hanley Polter (7-0) v John-James McInleen (5-0) - Super Heavyweight Title

 

Polter takes McInleen down and starts to beat on him, McInleen gives up his back and Polter slips an arm under his chin. He goes for the choke but McInleen defends well, so Polter goes back to hitting him. Once he's softened him up enough he goes for the choke again and this time gets it.

 

Result: Hanley Polter defeats John-James McInleen (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:50 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

 

Main Event

 

Lawrence Herringbone (18-1) v Junior Patinkin (18-2) - Light Heavyweight Title

 

Herringbone clinches and pushes Patinkin up against the cage, he works him over on the inside before the ref brings them back to the middle. This time Herringbone shoots and takes Patinkin down. He gets mount and Patinkin gives up his back, the buzzer goes and the round ends, just as it looked like Herringbone might get the finish.

 

Round 2 doesn't get much better for Patinkin, Herringbone picks him up and slams him down. He moves to mount and starts landing shots, Patinkin rolls over and Herringbone goes for the choke. He can't get it and instead clamps on a leg triangle. He rolls to his back, dragging Patinkin with him and then goes for the choke again. This time it's successful

 

Result: Lawrence Herringbone defeats Junior Patinkin (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:41 of round 2). The match is rated as being Decent

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop +0.7% US, +5.0% Can +5.3% Mex

Crit: 76% Com 69%

Gate: £1,665,918

Sponsorship: £69,393

PPV: £9,996,960

Merchandise: £9,666

Fighters: -£267,144

Drug Tests: -£28,800

Production: -£109,734

Total: £11,336,259

 

The PPV take was down but North America Prime Select are happy enough. The popularity gain in the US is minimal, but that's fine as I'm not ready to go to International level yet (I'm currently High National 74.5%).

 

The prelims, as usual, worked out fine. With the only disappointment being Manu'a's win over Sampson. Despite the win he's still -2 momentum and Mid Regional popularity, meaning he's still only good for the prelims.

 

Humphreys v Silva did not go as planned, however despite the loss Silva jumped to mid regional name value and his momentum is neutral so it's not necessarily all over for him. The problem is that he obviously can't deal with wrestlers and he's in a division full of them.

 

Ballard did well and picked up Fight of the Night and Knock Out of the night. Cole on the other hand has two loses in a row and will next fight on the prelims.

 

Dave Allen surprised me as well, he dominated Kendall and that's two good wins in a row. He'll get a match he stands a 50/50 chance in next time out.

 

Asanovic is another one who had a shocker. I thought that he'd take this one but he got completely outclassed by LeToussier. That win pushes LeToussier right up the rankings and he is a legitimate contender now.

 

The two title fights went to plan and it's good to see both champions defending. Polter is only a couple of points away from hitting National popularity and it might not be long before he can headline an event in his own right, if he only had a decent challenger.

 

GAMMA NEWS

 

I sign a few more fighters to bulk up my roster, I'll introduce them as and when they fight. However two who deserve a mention here are Gyokusho Fujimoto and Nilton Fantoni.

 

Fujimoto has a record of 13-2 and has just beaten Terron Cabal. ALPHA-1 were obviously lining him up for a title shot and this will hurt them. He has fantastic striking skills and takedown defence and his only real weakness seems to be in the clinch. Nilton Fantoni was FLB's new Light Heavyweight Champion and has great wrestling and BJJ. He's only 27 and has a record of 11-0, making him one for the future.

 

I release Stan Still, Eric Hughes, Jon Silvers and Benoit LeVoir (I did those last two a while ago but not sure if I mentioned it).

 

ALPHA-1

 

ALPHA-1 hold Warriors of the Ring 5. The headline match sees Tomoji Takaoka (7-1) pull off a shock win over Palmer Lette (24-6-2) to take the Super Heavyweight Title. The undercard is stacked and sees Jonathan Huang beat Genki Shinashi and Goyokusho Fujimoto beat Terron Cabal. Cabal is 1-3 since the game started and his aura is crumbling.

 

XCC

 

XCC go with Machado v Everett for the Featherweight Title. Everett wins by 4th round KO. In the Co-Main Lamont Banner continues his tear through the Featherweight division, beating Philip Ziskie for the second time.

 

FLB

 

FLB crown a new Light Heavyweight Champion in Nilton Fantoni, and promptly lose him to me. They probably can't afford to bid against me as the South American economy has collapsed. I see bad times ahead for them.

 

BCF

 

Fritz Phipps (9-1) takes the Heavyweight Title from Carter Potter (20-5) by split decision. Phipps isn't as popular as Potter but he's only 25 and could be a long term star for BCF.

[WCW Mark]

With July over it's time to announce my next few PPV's.

 

GAMMA 51: Dean v Kanchelskis

 

GAMMA 51 will be held in New Jersey, I expect a wild crowd for this show. This is show is all about the main event, which sees Matthew Dean face possibly his toughest challenger yet for his title.

 

Main Event

 

Matthew Dean (38-5) v Fjodor Kanchelski (16-0) - Middleweight Title

 

This bout is rated as a Superb main event and it needs to be as the rest of the card is pretty terrible. Hopefully this will carry the PPV though and keep the network happy.

 

We all know what Matthew Dean can do, he's out wrestled everyone who he's faced so far and his only loss in GAMMA came at GAMMA1. However Kanchelskis is one guy he won't be able to out wrestle and it will be interesting to see if he can adapt. Kanchelskis is only Mid Regional popularity but he has +5 momentum and combined with Dean's popularity and momentum this is one of the most anticipated main events I've put on. I do have a couple of concerns though, the first is that this is likely to be a dull clinch fest, and if either of them get it to the mat it probably won't be much better. The second is that I may have an issue if Kancelskis wins, especially given the number 1 contenders match I have lined up for the next PPV. Still I can't pass up this match and it may do record business for me.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Goncalves Cassaro (10-0) v Ross Smith (10-1) - Lightweight

 

Given that the main event will sell the show, but threatens to be terrible, I'm looking for some exciting matches on the undercard. Ross Smith is capable of delivering excitement as he picked up match of the year last year for his bout in XCC against Sammy Newton. He makes his GAMMA debut against another debuting fighter, Goncalves Cassaro. Cassaro has 5 wins on the South American local circuit and is a BJJ specialist. The match is rated as being suitable for the prelims, or just scraping onto the main show. And this is the second most popular bout on the card!

 

Aleksei Chekhov (23-5) v Mike Watson (13-2) - Light Heavyweight

 

I need fireworks and I think these two can deliver. Both love to come forward and strike and I don't think this one will last long. They're both coming off a loss however and this, combined with Chekhov's relatively unknown status means that this only rates as suitable for the prelims.

 

Efren Luat (8-0) v Zsolt Hargitay (11-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

These are the 3rd and 4th ranked Super Heavyweights in GAMMA so the winner of this is pretty much guaranteed a title shot. Hargitay is more popular and on better momentum so with any luck it will be him.

 

Thomas Smith (10-3) v Tora Mizwar (23-8) - Middleweight

 

Smith has been on great form with wins over Adam White, Alex Cole and Dexter Darling. This bout is really here as insurance against something happening to Kanchelskis, at which point Smith can step up. If something happens to Dean then I'm in trouble.

 

Mizwar is a powerful wrestler but he is susceptible to submissions, as evidenced by his loss to JJ Reid. He's favourite to win this one but Smith is making a habit of upsetting the odds and it wouldn't shock me if he did it again.

 

Kel Ryan (6-1) v Yoshikazu Inamoto (11-6) - Super Heavyweight

 

Ryan had a Fantastic fight against Hanley Polter and a Great one against Eric Hughes, while Inamoto had a Great fight on the local scene and a Good one against Terry Shakespeare. With that sort of track record I hope they can put on an exciting one here to open the show.

 

Prelims

 

Given that most of the fights on the main show are only worthy of the prelims, you must be wondering what rubbish I'm putting on the prelims.

 

Cooper Richardson (14-5) v Gideon Navarro (8-0) - Welterweight

 

Richardson is on a winning streak after beating Delroy Rhodes at GAMMA 47. Gideon Navarro is a Submission specialist with 3 wins on the local circuit. I'm looking for Navarro is impress on his debut but Richardson's record and momentum is good enough that he can feature on the main card in the future.

 

Glenn Pimm (34-13) v Kendall Tracey (10-3) - Light Heavyweight

 

Tracey is a decent fighter and he should be able to get back to winning ways against the veteran. Pimm will hopefully lose this one and then be out the door.

 

H M Menzel (15-6) v Brendon Job (6-1) - Lightweight

 

Both these fighters are coming off a win and this match will allow one of them to build even more momentum. Menzel is more popular but Job is younger and with better momentum so whoever wins here I'll be happy.

 

Delroy Rhodes (12-1) v Callum Henson (22-9) - Welterweight

 

Henson is on a losing streak but still has half decent name value. Rhodes only has one loss but he's barely known. Neither are a lot of use to me at the moment, but they could be with a couple of wins. Both can probably survive one more loss but it will put them very close to being sacked.

 

Christian Mountfield (14-7) v Dean Capers (5-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Capers is making his debut, he's a good wrestler but has a terrible stand up game. He's only 25 though so he has plenty of time to learn and his three wins on the local circuit mean he has positive momentum. I don't want to put him in against someone with striking skills for now so Mountfield is the ideal opponent. Mountfield picked up an unexpected win last time out so again it's one where I don't mind who wins.

 

Carl Chenoweth (6-1) v Clifton Curry (6-1) - Lightweight

 

Both these fighters picked up a loss last time out. It's looking like neither of them will likely ever amount to much but I want to give them every chance. By making them face off against each other I'll hopefully eliminate the weaker of the two and give the better one a deserved win.

[WCW Mark]

August 2002

 

GAMMA 51: Dean v Kanchelskis

 

First off, sorry for the slow updates, work is crazy at the moment. This weekend though I finally get to run Dean v Kanchelskis and see if Dean can retain against probably the best wrestler he's ever faced.

 

The build up to the event was remarkably hassle free, with the only injury being to Clifton Curry forcing the cancellation of his fight with Carl Chenoweth.

 

Prelims

 

Dean Capers (5-0) v Christian Mountfield (14-7) - Light Heavyweight

 

Capers closes and clinches, he lands a lot of short punches on the inside and when he grows bored of that he takes Mountfield down. He can't finish him but he dominates all three rounds for an easy win.

 

Result: Dean Capers defeats Christian Mountfield (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Delroy Rhodes (12-1) v Callum Henson (22-9) - Welterweight

 

Both fighters spend all three rounds standing and trading, Rhodes is landing more consistently and with a greater variety of shots whereas Henson seems to be focusing on leg kicks, his plan to slow Rhodes fails and Rhodes takes the win 3 rounds to 0.

 

Result: Delroy Rhodes defeats Callum Henson (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Great

 

H M Menzel (15-6) v Brendon Job (6-1) - Lightweight

 

This bout sees a wrestler v a submission artist, it's perhaps surprising then to see it standing for all three rounds. I guess Menzel doesn't want to take it to the deck and Job doesn't think he can take Menzel down. He probably should have tried it though as he is comprehensively outstruck on his feet, going down to a hard hook in round 3 and losing all three rounds.

 

Result: H M Menzel defeats Brendon Job (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Good

 

Kendall Tracey (10-3) v Glenn Pimm (34-13) - Light Heavyweight

 

Tracey dominates the clinch, taking Pimm down twice and generally roughing him up. He never really looks like finishing it though and it's another one that goes to the judges.

 

Result: Kendall Tracey defeats Glenn Pimm (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Cooper Richardson (14-5) v Gideon Navarro (8-0) - Welterweight

 

This is another one that goes to the judges, although how Richardson survived I don't know. Navarro put him down twice but couldn't finish him on the ground and Richardson hung in for a points loss.

 

Result: Gideon Navarro defeats Cooper Richardson (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Decent

 

Main Card

 

Kel Ryan (6-1) v Yoshikazu Inamoto (11-6) - Super Heavyweight

 

It's Big Baby vs Fat Boy, these guys really need to work on their nicknames. Inamoto takes Ryan down in all three rounds and despite landing 23 power strikes on the ground he can't put him away. There were probably a couple of times the ref could have stopped that but he let it go and the judges are busy tonight.

 

Result: Yoshikazu Inamoto defeats Kel Ryan (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Thomas Smith (18-3) v Tora Mizwar (23-8) - Middleweight

 

Smith comes out swinging, putting all his weight behind every punch he throws. His accuracy leaves something to be desired though and Mizwar is landing with a lot more of his shots. Smith gets a late takedown but the buzzer goes before he can do any damage.

 

Round 2 sees Smith get an early takedown and he softens Mizwar up with some ground and pound before going for the guillotine. Mizwar manages to hang on and eventually breaks free. He pulls Smith in close and eventually forces the ref to stand them up. They come together to strike and from out of no where Mizwar lands a monster uppercut. It's all over, we have our first finish of the night.

 

Result: Tora Mizwar defeats Thomas Smith (Knock Out (Punch) in 4:43 of round 2. The match was rated as Fantastic

 

Efren Luat (8-0) v Zsolt Hargitay (11-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

Three rounds of clinching sees Luat win a very dull fight. However I'm not sure this win will give him a number 1 contender fight after all. It was terrible.

 

Result: Efren Luat defeats Zsolt Hargitay (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Very Poor

 

Aleksei Chekhov (23-5) v Mike Watson (13-2) - Light Heavyweight

 

Both fighters demonstrate their striking skills but also demonstrate their ability to defend as a lot of the strikes thrown are blocked or avoided in the first. They start to land a bit more in the second and Watson stuns then drops Chekhov with some hard shots. He goes for the finish on the ground but can't get it and Chekhov survives.

 

Fired up by the previous round Chekhov come out blazing, this time it's Watson's turn to go down as Chekhov lands a bit uppercut. Chekhov dives in and lands several hard shots, forcing Watson to give up his back. Chekhov keeps throwing but Watson hangs on and it goes to the judges, who give the win to Watson. Chekhov can feel aggrieved as I think a lot of refs would have stopped it in that final round.

 

Result: Mike Watson defeats Aleksei Chekhov (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

 

Co-Main Event

 

Ross Smith (10-1) v Goncalves Cassaro (10-0) - Lightweight

 

Neither fighter seems keen to take this to the ground and we have three rounds of striking. Smith is the more skillful, using his jab to set up his right, whereas Cassaro just seems to be looking for that one punch KO. He doesn't land often and when he does Smith's chin is equal to it. Smith takes all three rounds and then calls out Lermontov, careful what you wish for.

 

Result: Ross Smith defeats Goncalves Cassaro (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Good

 

Main Event

 

Matthew Dean (38-5) v Fjodor Kanchelskis (16-0) - Middleweight Title

 

Dean takes the first round comfortably, he keeps his distance and works the jab, racking up points but not doing any real damage. A clever change from his normal tactics.

 

Round 2 sees Dean decide to try and out wrestle Kanchelskis, he closes the distance and clinches and Kanchelskis immediately goes for the takedown, in fact he goes for 6 in a row! He finally gets it and takes the round.

 

Dean doesn't seem to have learned from his mistake as he initiates the clinch in rounds 3, 4 and 5. Kanchelskis takes him down each time, eventually scoring 6 of 11 takedowns. It ends up being a comfortable win for Kanchelskis against a champion who got his tactics all wrong.

 

Result: Fjodor Kanchelskis defeats Matthew Dean (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop +4.6% US +5.3% Can +5.3% Mex

Crit: 72% Com: 95%

Gate: £2,312,408

Sponsorship: £71,753

PPV: £19,824,000

Merchandise: £10,108

Fighters: -£195,507

Drug Tests: -£26,400

Production: -£112,758

Total: £21,883,604

 

This event smashed it. I got my highest ever commercial rating and the profit is almost double my previous best. Despite the number of fights that went to the judges I manage to score a decent critical rating to.

 

The prelims all went well, with my favoured fighter pulling out the victory each time. The only disappointment was Kendall Tracey who tested positive for recreational drugs and has his match ruled a no contest. He denies it but still has to take a 12 month ban.

 

Inamoto's win puts an end to any hopes of me matching up Ryan v Rushton, one of the few non-title matches in the division which held a chance of generating some fan interest. Inamoto remains at Low Regional popularity despite his two wins.

 

Mizwar put an end to Smith's run and he's started to rebuild his momentum after his to to JJ Reid. Smith's loss hurt him but he still impressed and he'll definitely get other chances in the future.

 

Luat v Hargitay was dull and to make matters worse the less popular man one. I'll need to rethink giving the winner a title shot.

 

Watson v Chekhov was exciting but didn't produce the KO I expected. Chekhov was unlucky as although Watson won the first two rounds comfortably he was destroyed in the third and I can't believe the ref didn't step in. Still he is the more popular of the two and he is getting his momentum back after losing to Herringbone.

 

Ross Smith v Cassaro debuted two fighters and I'm glad Smith got the win. He has good name value and momentum and is already one of my top Lightweight fighters.

 

Kanchelskis easily out wrestled Dean to take the title. Despite Dean's long run at champion I don't think I'll be giving him an immediate rematch as there was nothing controversial about the defeat. This gives me a bit of a problem in terms of what I do with him. He's too good to be a gate keeper (he's already beaten nearly every other top fighter in the division) and I decide to move him up to Light Heavyweight. This adds a big name to a division with a fairly unpopular champion, but does significantly weaken by Middleweight division, which now has a champion rated at only mid regional popularity.

 

Rest of the World

 

OMEGA

 

Omega go with Mateo Ruiz v Mauricio de Terreros as their main event. Ruiz is a computer generated fighter with good kick boxing skills. If he can improve his wrestling he could be one to watch. He defeats Terreros here by 2nd round KO. It's good to see OMEGA using homegrown fighters rather than relying on American imports and this event bumps them back up to High Regional.

 

BCF

 

BCF main event with McFadden v Diev. This replaced the previous main event of O'Breen v Morgan, which was cancelled due to injury to O'Breen. Diev takes the win by Rear Naked Choke.

 

KDM FC

 

KDM FC go with Veronika Sablikova v Taniko Uchiyama/ Sablikova retains by unanimous decision. With the demise of WEFF it seems sensible for KDM FC to focus on the women's division as there are plenty of fighters out there to sign.

 

CCC

 

CCC hold their second event, which sees Don Norman fail to become champion in two orgs when he loses by submission to Taye Burnett. CCC have got themselves a potential star as champion and have weakened rivals OMEGA in the process.

 

The Co-main sees Bill Brown win the middleweight title against Chaz Babish, again by rear naked choke.

[Paatero]

I was waiting for you to update this! Kanchelskis is doing really well for you, in my current GAMMA save he lost his debut to Buddy Garner, and in an older one he got released after losing three. He's usually a great fighter but hasn't been able to cut it for me in GAMMA.

[Scottie]

I was waiting for you to update this! Kanchelskis is doing really well for you, in my current GAMMA save he lost his debut to Buddy Garner, and in an older one he got released after losing three. He's usually a great fighter but hasn't been able to cut it for me in GAMMA.

 

In mine he went 1-1, but was caught using PEDs after both fights so I cut him with a record of 0-1 and 1 NC!

[WCW Mark]

Sorry to keep you guys in suspense. I'm hoping that he proves to be a dominant champion for me, I think the curretn game engine is helping him so who knows once that changes.

 

Kapur v Lopes

 

Rav Kapur (13-0) v Gladstone Lopes (16-1-1) - Heavyweight Title

 

The relentless schedule of trying to provide a main event every month is taking it's toll. I'd planned for Oktay to be the one who got the first shot against Kapur but he isn't ready. My other top 5 Heavyweights are; James Foster - Obviously not suitable, Murilo Satinho - I'm building him slowly and he's not fought anyone decent yet, Tim Boyer - on a losing streak, Gladstone Lopes - ex-challenger, coming off a win over Boyer and good enough to put on a strong main event against Kapur. He's the one who gets the title shot. I'll be hoping for a Kapur win here, I don't want the title bouncing around and Kapur is finally building some decent popularity (if he wins this he should go to Low National). Lopes is only Mid Regional and on +1 momentum so finding suitable opponents for him to headline against would be very tough.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Braulio Moura (25-3-1 NC) v Neil Napier (20-1) - Middleweight

 

This is also rated as a strong main event so hopefully it will help make up for the slightly weak main event. This sees the number 3 and number 4 Middleweights face off and the winner will get a shot at the title. I booked this before the Dean v Kanchelskis fight took place and I could have problems if Moura wins as it will see two Mid Regional popularity fighters face off. Fingers crossed for a Napier win.

 

Helio (19-1) v Luke Hilton (12-2) - Lightweight

 

Luke Hilton continues to fulfill the valuable role of midcard stepping stone. I've already used him to introduce Atep Of Indonesia and now it's Helio's turn. Hilton is coming off a win over Truck Gleeson so he can afford a loss. This should be a fairly comfortable debut for Helio against an opponent with decent name value.

 

Sutton Ripley (18-4) v Patrick Thomas (20-5) - Middleweight

 

Two big names in the middleweight division who need to get back to winning ways. One of them will pick up the win here and I've matched them together because I'm hoping their styles will mean an exciting fight and a KO finish. Also, with Ripley's last loss coming to Kanchelskis and Thomas' coming to Dean it will be another way of comparing the talents of the current and ex-champion to try and see just how good Kanchelskis really is.

 

Murilo Satinho (12-0) v John Rivero (15-5) - Heavyweight

 

Rivero has been on good form but hasn't really faced anyone with talent, he does so here in the form of Satinho. I'm continuing my slow build of Satinho and this is a fight he really should win. If Rivero upsets my plans then that will just be one more reason to hate him.

 

Dexter Darling (19-6-1) v Stuart Strange (18-4) - Middleweight

 

Two more middleweights in need of a win, Darling is more popular and higher ranked but two years older and coming to the end of his career. I'll be expecting a Strange win that should help boost his popularity and momentum making him someone I can use again.

 

Prelims

 

Matas Fialkowska (4-0) v Terry Shakespeare (4-2) - Super Heavyweight

 

This should hopefully be a win for Matas as I build towards debuting him on the main show next time out.

 

Chesney Brightman (7-1) v Holden Strant (9-4) - Middleweight

 

These two fighters have both picked up 3 wins on the local circuit and it's earned them a GAMMA debut. They are both pretty awful but I can use the winner to put someone else over.

 

Teddy Glossop (5-2) v Frank Paul (10-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

I had high hopes for Glossop when he joined but he's now on a losing streak. He gets a chance to turn it around against the number 5 ranked SHW in the division. Paul has decent wrestling skills, which has proved Glossop's weakness in the past so I'm not sure who will win this one.

 

Adrian Swall (7-1) v Datsakorn Pratoomwong (6-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Two more fighters making their GAMMA debuts, Pratoomwong has 5 victories on the local circuit, while Swall hasn't been able to get a fight due to a lack of shows in Australia. Both fighters look fairly balanced on paper, but, at 33, Swall will never amount to anything more than a midcarder, while at 23 Pratoomwong has potential. However I'm secretly wishing for a Swall win as I'm not sure I can handle a future where I have to repeatedly type Pratoomwong.

 

Tom Essy (5-0) v Tyrone Malik (8-0) - Middleweight

 

Two more debuts, both these guys have some popularity in the US and could move onto the main card sooner rather than later. I predict a win for Essy.

 

Kurt McDonald (9-1) v Ozzy Bintley (5-1) - Heavyweight

 

After sacrificing him to Sam Hoynes McDonald deserves an easier fight. He gets a chance to get back to winning ways against Ozzy Bintley, who doesn't offer much apart from his fantastic physical skills.

 

Round Up

 

Apart from the Main and Co-Main events every fight on this card is only suitable for the prelims. That didn't seem to matter last time out so I'll be interested to see what sort of numbers we do. The lack of Headliners is worrying and I put it down to a combination of growing quickly and also the number of good but unknown in the US fighters I've brought in. Hopefully, long term, as the cream rises to the top, this issue will fade away.

[WCW Mark]

September 2002

 

GAMMA 52: Kapur v Lopes

 

The card is unchanged from when I announced it and we're coming live from Ohio for GAMMA 52.

 

Prelims

 

Kurt McDonald (9-1) v Ozzy Bintley (5-1) - Heavyweight

 

McDonald mixes it up a bit, but mainly seems to be focusing on reducing Bintley's mobility by landing repeated leg kicks. By the end of the fight Bintley can barely walk but he landed enough punches in the first two rounds to outscore McDonald two rounds to one.

 

Result: Ozzy Bintley defeats Kurt McDonald (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Great

 

Tom Essy (5-0) v Tyrone Malik (8-0) - Middleweight

 

Malik closes for the clinch and takes Essy down in the first, he stays on top until the ref stands them up and he takes the first round. He tries to do the same in the second but Essy keeps it standing before tripping Malik for a takdown of his own. It's one round each going into the third.

 

Again Malik clinches and both fighters desperately look for the takedown. Essy finally gets it and takes the round and the bout.

 

Tom Essy defeats Tyrone Malik (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

 

Adrian Swall (7-1) v Datsakorn Pratoomwong (6-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

The first half of round one is spent striking, although neither of them manage to land much. Swall gets a takedown and spends enough time on top to take the round. Round 2 again sees Swall get the takedown but Pratoomwong scrambles and ends up on top. This time he spends most of the round on top and it's one each.

 

Round 3 sees Swall get a very late takedown, but it comes after Pratoomwong spends most of the round winning the standing battle. It's a very close round and the judges are divided, 29-28, 28-29, 30-27 in favour of Swall.

 

Adrian Swall defeats Datsakorn Pratoomwong (Split Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Teddy Glossop (5-2) v Frank Paul (10-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Round 1 is spend standing and Paul surprises everyone by coming out on top. He gets the takedown in the second and goes for the Rear Naked Choke. For the second fight in a row Glossop passes out rather than tap and Paul picks up the victory.

 

Frank Paul defeats Teddy Glossop (Technical Submission at 2:46 of round 2). The match was rated as Decent

 

Chesney Brightman (7-1) v Holden Strant (9-4) - Middleweight

 

Strant's Karate is no match for Brightman's wrestling and Brightman dominates the first two rounds, getting the takedown and hitting some heavy ground and pound. Something changes halfway through the second though and it looks like Brightman may have broken his hand. Instead of capitalising in the third Strant seems to mentally collapse and Brightman takes an easy points victory.

 

Result: Chesney Brightman defeats Holden Strant (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as average

 

Matas Fialkowska (4-0) v Terry Shakespeare (4-2) - Super Heavyweight

 

Shakespeare comes out swinging but Fialkowska defends well and doesn't get caught that often. Still first round definitely went to Shakespeare. Round 2 goes the same way but Shakespeare is starting to look really tired. Fialkowska needs a finish though.

 

He gets it comfortably, Shakespeare is too tired to resist and Fialkowska takes him down from the clinch and taps him out with an armbar.

 

Result: Matas Fialkowska defeats Terry Shakespear (Submission (Armbar) in 1:27 of round 3. The match was rated as Decent

 

Main Show

 

Dexter Darling (19-6-1) v Stuart Strange (18-4) - Middleweight

 

Strange softens Darling up in the clinch in round 1, he doesn't have it all his own way though as Darling is able to use his wrestling to stop Strange taking control completely. Round 2 sees Strange step it up a gear, hitting a T-Bone Supplex and a German Supplex when Darling tries to get to his feet. He ends the round having taken Darling's back and he was surely going to finish him with a bit more time.

 

After round 2, round 3 is a bit more sedate. Strange gets another takedown but seems happy to ride it out for a points win.

 

Result: Stuart Strange defeats Dexter Darling (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Murilo Satinho (12-0) v John Rivero (15-5) - Heavyweight

 

Rivero tries to clinch but finds that Satinho is more than his equal. Satinho uses his clinch control to land some big elbows and cuts Rivero open.

 

Round 2 sees Satinho get the takedown. He doesn't do much though and the ref stands them up. Rivero rushes in and gets a belly to belly. That round could have gone either way.

 

Satinho keeps his distance in round 3 and peppers Rivero with jabs. Rivero gets a late takedown but Satinho probably did enough to clinch it.

 

Result: Murilo Satinho defeats John Rivero (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Sutton Ripley (18-4) v Patrick Thomas (20-5) - Middleweight

 

Thomas came in 1lb overweight for this fight. Not the end of the world but hopefully he won't make a habit of it. They engage in a striking battle and Thomas shows he has the better skills, making Ripley miss and landing some hard counter shots. He puts Ripley down at the end of the round but can't follow up.

 

Round 2 again sees them stand toe to toe and strike. Thomas unleashes a monster right which sees him break his hand on Ripley's jaw. It doesn't matter though as Ripley is out cold. Thomas calls out Dean post fight, seeing as Dean has moved to Light Heavy that's probably not going to happen. Or maybe it will if Thomas can't keep his weight down.

 

Result: Patrick Thomas defeats Sutton Ripley (Knock Out (Punch) in 0:42 of round 2. The match was rated as being Great.

 

Helio (19-1) v Luke Hilton (12-2) - Lightweight

 

Helio takes the early advantage, rattling Hilton with a head kick and then putting him down with a punch. He dives in but can't finish him, he does spend the rest of the round on top though and takes the first round.

 

Hilton decides he can't stand and trade with Helio and rushes in at the start of the second. He pushes Helio up against the cage and racks up over 100 punches in the clinch to take the round.

 

He tries to do the same in round 3 but Helio catches him coming and and rattles him. Hilton spends the next minute on the back foot as he tries to recover. He eventually gets the clinch and pushes Helio up against the fence for the rest of the round. He lands more punches but doesn't do any real damage. Will the judges prefer the power of Helio or the volume of punches thrown by Hilton. 29-28 Hilton, 29-28 Helio, 29-28 Helio.

 

Result: Helio defeats Luke Hilton (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Co-Main Event

 

Braulio Moura (25-3-1 NC) v Neil Napier (20-1) - Middleweight

 

Both fighters are working the jab well but Moura is able to follow most of his up with hard right crosses. One of these eventually staggers Napier and Moura follows up with a hard right hook for the win.

 

Result: Braulio Moura defeats Neil Napier (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:23 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Main Event

 

Rav Kapur (13-0) v Gladstone Lopes (16-1-1) - Heavyweight Title

 

Lopes tries to keep Kapur at range with a couple of jabs but Kapur just walks through them. He lands a left hand and a right head kick and it's enough to put Lopes down. Kapur follows him to the ground and swiftly puts him away.

 

Result: Rav Kapur defeats Gladstone Lopes (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:40 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop +3.7% US +5.3% Can +5.3% Mex

Crit 70% Com: 81%

Gate: £1,647,184

Sponsorship: £70,871

PPV: £11,894,400

Merchandise: £10,439

Fighter: -£169,876

Drug Tests: -£28,800

Production: -£105,995

Total: £13,318,223

 

The double main event did it's job and the Commercial Rating of 81% is very good. Despite having a few more finishes the Critical rating of 70% is my lowest since GAMMA 46.

 

The prelims were a mixed bag. I didn't expect Bintley to win and Swall was also a bit of a shock. Fialkowska struggled until that final round and Glossop is only hanging onto his job because there are so few Super Heavyweights worth hiring. On the plus side Frank Paul got back to winning ways and showed he is still a force to be reckoned with.

 

Stuart Strange picked up the expected win against Dexter Darling. Darling still has decent name value but is likely nothing but a prelim jobber from here on.

 

Satinho got the win but didn't really impress. Worse still he is still at Low Regional popularity. The slow build will continue.

 

Thomas did very well and showed he isn't finished yet. The call out of Dean combined with him coming in overweight is interesting but I'm going to keep him at Middleweight for now.

 

Helio didn't impress, but he managed to get the all important win. He's definitely not ready for a title shot though.

 

Moura's win means I lost my favoured option for the next shot at Kanchelskis. Moura will likely get it instead but Thomas is an option if Moura isn't popular enough.

 

Finally Rav Kapur's win was dominant and exactly what I had hoped for. He is doing a good job of establishing himself as the divisions top dog.

 

Other GAMMA News

 

Apart from GAMMA 52, September also saw the start of GAMMA: The Contenders. A reality TV show, in a similar mold to Clash of the Titans before it.

 

The show sees 16 of the best unsigned Lightweights from around the world compete. The winner will get a shot at the GAMMA lightweight championship.

 

I decide it's time for a reality TV show. I sign up a number of unemployed Welterweights, Lightweight and Featherweights to compete, with the thinking that once it's over I can move the Welterweights up a division and prevent the Lightweight division from being totally flooded. The Featherweights will stay in the Lightweight division for now and will build their name value ahead of the debut of the Featherweight Division next year.

 

The coaches are Bobby Brubaker and Jack Humphreys. They both have good marketability and with Humphreys coming off a win hopefully the match between them will do some business. I was originally going to go with the two ex-champs, Chambers and Brubaker but Chambers through a spanner in the works by winning his number 1 contender bout.

 

The roster for the show is:

 

Beau LuPone (9-2)

Brock Youdale (7-2)

Craig Hulme (8-0)

Eli Harris (10-5)

Freddie Lomax (10-0)

Ikeda Kenkichio (10-0)

Irving Braun (9-0)

Jefferson Mndawe (5-0)

Landon London (5-2)

Nigel Collett (8-2)

Owen Oggleberry_Pipp (9-2)

Quincy McGarry (7-2)

Robbie Lynn (6-0)

Ryder Myllart (7-1)

Timmy Dukes (5-0)

Tyson Rechslatter (9-2)

 

It's a pretty mixed bag of fighters, they all have good records but some are pretty terrible and have just padded their records against local fighters.

 

Weeks 1 and 2 sees Ikeda Kenkichi beats Jefferson Mndawe in a Fantastic fight and Timmy Dukes beats Ryder Myllart in a Good fight. Craig Hulme stole both shows with his antics.

 

The Rest of the World

 

ALPHA-1

 

Warriors of the Ring 6 sees Noach Van Der Capellen defend his Welterweight title for the third time, this time against Fukusaburu Hirano, while Hassan Fezzik picks up another win, this time against Elzo Alves Moura. With 4 wins in a row it surely can't be long before he gets another title shot.

 

XCC

 

Darren Southall made his first defence of his Lightweight Title by beating Ralph Concannon by Unanimous Decision. As both XCC and Omega lightweight champion he's starting to build a name and may be one I look to poach in the near future.

 

FLB

 

Vitor de Melo (10-1) defeats Ilson de Lima by 1st round submission to claim the vacant Heavyweight Title.

 

SIGMA

 

Soldo v Kurri III sees Kurri take the trilogy and the Light Heavyweight Title. It's only by split decision though so there may be one more in this rivalry.

[CGN91]

Love ur Dynasty! Rav Kapur is a great champion, in my game he won the belt against Fezzik and lost the belt in the rematch with the "Big Bad One".

 

Fjodor beats Dean? Wow! In my game Fjodor is so f'n inconstant, he never beats a Top 10 ranked guy!

[WCW Mark]

Thanks, Kapur is a beast but I'd be happy to see him lose the title. Then I can move him up to Super Heavyweight and finally have a champion who can draw there.

 

It's the first time I've signed Kanchelskis but he's doing great for me so far. With a wrestling stat of 95.8% and strength of 100% I think he'll be hard to beat in the current game engine.

 

GAMMA 53: Regueiro v Chambers II

 

Julio Regueiro (25-1) v Nathan Chambers (20-3) - Welterweight Title

 

Despite picking up three wins since the game began Chambers is still on zero momentum. Despite this he is without a doubt the number 1 contender for the Welterweight belt. He lost the title in 1996 to Regueiro so the rematch has been a long time coming and the draw is Superb. This should do similar numbers to Dean v Kanchelskis.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Guillermo Morales (14-0-1) v Jerry Bogdonovich (11-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Given the popularity of the main event I can afford to put anything on the rest of the card. Not that I have a lot of choice, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a non-title match which doesn't rate as only being worthy of the prelims. I need to create some new stars quickly.

 

This match is an attempt to do that, both fighters on on decent streaks and are Mid Regional popularity. My hope is that a win will push the victor up to High Regional and possibly put them in line for a number 1 contenders bout.

 

Yevgeni Sipatov (29-9) v Gabriel Gallego - Welterweight

 

This fight serves two purposes, first it makes sure I have a reserve fighter to step in if something happens to the main event and second it should continue the story of Sipatov getting one last shot at the title before he retires. I expect him to get a comfortable win here against, although Gallego has never fought Chambers or Regueiro so if he wins then it's not a disaster. This will probably be a pretty dull one.

 

Bruce Steven (21-9) v Jake Keane (26-4-1 NC) - Lightweight

 

Keane was derailed by his no contest with Atep and needs to get back on track. He's been ready to fight for a while but I've been waiting for the right opponent. Bruce Steven is a decent fighter with good name value but he shouldn't be able to beat Keane.

 

Marmaduke Chuffnell (5-0) v Angus Silversmith (6-0) - Super Heavyweight

 

More Super Heavyweight action as I try to make this division matter. Both fighters are undefeated so a win will see one of them progress and the division edge that bit closer to having fighters people will actually pay to see.

 

Benny Danare (11-4) v Bud Brockett (11-3) - Lightweight

 

Both fighters have picked up a couple of wins on the prelims and have earned a place on the main card. The winner here will go on to be sacrificed against Keane, or Atep or one of the many other amazing but unpopular lightweights I have at the top of the division.

 

Prelims

 

Norman Pike (17-7) v Frank Sheedy (21-12) - Heavyweight

 

On a card where every fight, bar the main, only rates as being suitable for the prelims what makes a so bad it is actually on the prelims. How about a combination of poor skills, poor name value and a losing streak. Pike is the better fighter but they'll be a big weight difference, which may give Sheedy a chance. However I expect him to lose to put Pike back to winning ways.

 

Woody Fierstein (11-7) v Carl Ratcliffe (22-7) - Middleweight

 

Another two fighters on losing streaks, I'd prefer a Ratcliffe win as he is the most salvageable of the two, whatever the result here, I expect both of them to be seeking employment this time next year.

 

Aaron McBroom (12-5) v Dule Bayliffe (6-4) - Lightweight

 

I originally signed Bayliffe to appear on my reality show but ditched him when better fighters became available. Instead he gets to put McBroom here and it's likely that his stay with GAMMA will be a short one.

 

Steve Mason (11-1) v Damien Jones (8-1) - Heavyweight

 

Both these fighters still have a role to play in the Heavyweight division if they can pick up a couple of wins. Mason is younger and probably the better all round fighter but I like Jones' style and he got a big win over Aiona last time out. The winner here should be ready for the main card next time out as this fight was only a whisker away from getting on it this time.

 

Carl Chenoweth (6-1) v Clifton Curry (6-1) - Lightweight

 

Two young fighters who are both coming off a loss. I need to continue to build my Lightweight division and for that I need not just stars but people who can put on a decent performance against the big names. A win here will be a step towards that role.

 

Budiman Lie (7-0) v Charlie Oakley (7-0) - Middleweight

 

Two fighters making their GAMMA debuts after picking up multiple wins on the Local Circuit. I can't see much of their stats and don't really know much about either of them. This is a test fight to see what sort of ability they have. I'll probably be doing this with a few of the lesser known fighters over the next 12 months, with a view to matching them up against each other and one emerging victorious and ready for the main card.

[WCW Mark]

<div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>October 2002</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p>

</p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>GAMMA 53: Regueiro v Chambers ii</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p>

Coming live from Alabama it's the much anticipated rematch between Julio Regueiro and Nathan Chambers. It's been so long coming that Regueiro has had time to lose the title and win it back again in between. Let's hope for an epic fight worthy of the hype. But first the rest of the rubbish I'm asking fans to endure to get to the main event.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Prelims</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Budiman Lie (7-0) v Charlie Oakley (7-0) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Oakley uses his wrestling to bully Lie up against the cage, before sweeping his legs and taking him down. He takes Lie's back and swiftly chokes him out. </p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Charlie Oakley defeats Budiman Lie (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:11 of round 1). The match was rated as Great</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Carl Chenoweth (6-1) v Clifton Curry (6-1) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Chenoweth lands a couple of hard strikes before Curry moves into the clinch. He lands a big elbow which cuts Chenoweth. Chenoweth breaks free and lands some more shots but a counter punch from Curry opens up the cut even more. The ref calls the doctor over but he's happy to let the fight continue. The rest of the round is spent at striking range and Chenoweth puts Curry down just as the round ends, saved by the bell.</p><p> </p><p>

Round 2 again sees Chenoweth put Curry down, he tries to follow up but soon realises he can't finish it on the ground and stands back up. Unfortunately for him he gets caught in the clinch Curry controls the rest of the round.</p><p> </p><p>

Round 3 and Curry needs a finish, his corner are trying to fire him up but he's just staring at the floor. Sensing his opponents weakness Chenoweth comes out blazing and puts Curry down with a hook. He waives him to his feet and finishes him with a highlight reel head kick.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Carl Chenoweth defeats Clifton Curry (Knock Out (Kick) in 2:26 of round 3). The match was rated as being Fantastic</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Steve Mason (11-1) Damien Jones (8-1) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Jones spends the whole fight coming forward and swinging, while Mason backs up and lands his shots on the counter. Jones is missing with most of his shots but he catches him with one in the second which puts Mason down. Round 3 sees Mason switch his tactics and go for a takedown. He gets it and takes Jones' back, swiftly finishes him.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Steve Mason defeats Damien Jones (TKO (Strikes) in 4:58 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Aaron McBroom (12-5) v Dule Bayliss (6-4) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

This is 3 rounds of McBroom holding Bayliffe up against the fence and hitting him. Somehow he fight gets a Good rating.</p><p> </p><p>

Aaron McBroom defeats Dule Bayliffe (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Woody Fierstein (11-7) v Carl Ratcliffe (22-7) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Another clinch fest sees Fierstein take all three rounds, the crowd on growing restless though.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Woody Fierstein (11-7) defeats Carl Ratcliffe (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Norman Pike (17-7) v Frank Sheedy (21-12) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Sheedy smothers Pike to take the first round and tries to do the same in the second. However Pike takes him down and once on the ground his skills become apparent and he swiftly finishes it.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Norman Pike defeats Frank Sheedy (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:55 of round 2. The match was rated as Average</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Main Card</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Well the prelims started off well but ended badly. Let's hope that's not an omen.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Benny Danare (11-4) v Bud Brockett (11-3) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Well the main card definitely doesn't start with a bang. Brockett uses his wrestling to control the fight, it's a comfortable win but not one that impressed anyone. This prelim saw wrestler v BJJ and was supposed to foreshadow the main event. Let's hope we don't have a similar result.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Bud Brockett defeats Benny Danare (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Very Poor</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Marmaduke Chuffnell (5-0) v Angus Silversmith (6-0) - Super Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two wrestlers sees a lot of grappling and failed takedown attempts. Silversmith finally takes Chuffnell down in the third and finishes it. A good end to a poor fight.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Angus Silversmith defeats Marmaduke Chuffnell (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:12 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor.</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Bruce Steven (21-9) v Jake Keane (26-4-1 NC)</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Keane lands several hard strikes which put Steven down, he can't finish it on the floor though and Steven rides out the rest of the round. He gets put down again in the second but again has the ground skills to survive when Keane follows him to the ground. Round 3 again sees Keane demonstrate his striking when he puts Steven down for a third time. This time there's no need to follow him up as he's out cold.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Jake Keane defeats Bruce Steven (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:21 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Yevgeni Sipatov (29-9) v Gabriel Gallego (20-5) - Welterweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

The main show finally got going last fight and now I wheel out Sipatov to try and ruin it. Sipatov surprises me though by taking Gallego down in the first and actually doing something. He lands several hard shots and almost puts him away, however the round ends just as Gallego looks like he might be done. Rounds 2 & 3 see Sipatov revert to type and he grinds away a dominant points victory.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Yevegni Sipatov defeats Gabriel Gallego (Unanimous Decision) The match was rated as being Decent</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Guillermo Morales (14-0-1) v Jerry Bogdonovich (11-0) - Light Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Bogdonovich just can't defend the takedowns from Morales, as Morales lands 4 out of 5 takedown attempts. He defends well on the ground though and Morales looks ineffective from the top. It goes to the judges score cards and it's a comfortable win for Morales.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Guillermo Morales defeats Jerry Bogdonovich (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Poor</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Main Event</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Julio Regueiro (25-1) v Nathan Chambers (20-3) - Welterweight Title</strong></p><p> </p><p>

We've seen wrestlers dominate so far tonight and Chambers continues the pattern, pushing Regueiro up against the cage and taking him down. Regueiro however shows the difference between a decent submission artist and an elite practitioner and he goes for a Kimura, he locks it in and the fight Chambers waited 6 years for is over in less than a round.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Result: Julio Regueiro defeats Nathan Chambers (Submission (Kimura) in 2:58 of round 1. The match was rated as being Good</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Post Show Analysis</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Pop 2.6% US, +5% Can, +4% Mex</p><p>

Crit 64% Com 95%</p><p>

Gate: £2,159,220</p><p>

Sponsorship: £74,322</p><p>

PPV: £19,824,000</p><p>

Merchandise: £9,116</p><p>

Fighters: - £174,770</p><p>

Drug Tests: -£28,800</p><p>

Production: - £114,626</p><p>

Total: £21,748,462</p><p> </p><p>

The PPV does some monster figures, making only slightly less profit than Dean v Kanchelskis, mainly due to a slightly smaller gate. The popularity gains were't as large and I put that down to the number of dull fights. Thankfully the main event got a good rating.</p><p> </p><p>

The prelims all did their job, with the only real disappointment being Fierstein's win. Chenoweth in particular looked good and he's now picked up two Great ratings and one Fantastic rating in his three fights. I'll try and pick a suitable opponent for him next time out with a view to getting him main show ready.</p><p> </p><p>

Brockett didn't gain any momentum as a result of his win due to the dull manner of it, at least he went up to High Regional popularity and he now has three wins in a row. He's a possible opponent for Atep of Indonesia's first comeback fight.</p><p> </p><p>

Silversmith went up to Mid Regional popularity and the division is slowly improving.</p><p> </p><p>

Keane got back on track with a great KO win. Steven is decent but will probably never ascend past his current level.</p><p> </p><p>

Sipatov continued his relentless rise up the rankings, the dull manner of his wins though means he's still at minus 1 momentum though.</p><p> </p><p>

Morales needs a couple more wins and he could be ready for a title shot. Bogdonovich needs protecting a little more, I should be putting him up against strikers only as he can't defend a takedown and he'll give me an exciting fight against the right opponent.</p><p> </p><p>

The main event saved the show, not just in terms of popularity but it was also one of the most exciting fights on the card. Regueiro showed why he is a two time champion and he can headline against pretty much anyone on the roster. I'm not sure where Chambers goes from here. He's good enough to beat most of the fighters in the division but won't get another title shot while Regueiro is champion.</p><p> </p><p>

I'll put up the rest of the news later as I've not got time now, there's a fair bit to report as my reality show has started. I'll also hopefully let you know what the next couple of cards are.</p>

[WCW Mark]

October 2002

 

GAMMA

 

Weeks 3, 4, 5 & 6 of GAMMA The Contenders takes place. Eli Harris (10-5) beats Tyson Rechslater (9-2) by TKO in a great match, Nigel Collett (8-2) defeats Robbie Lynn (6-0) in a Good fight. The show also saw Irving Braun and Beau LuPone at each others throats. Week 5 saw star of the series so far, Craig Hulme beat Quincy McGarry by submission in a Great Match and week 6 saw Irving Braun settle his row with Beau LuPone by beating him by Unanimous Decision. The show is also leading to several friendships, Ikeda

Kenkicho and Landon London become friends, while Jack Humphreys takes Brock Youdale under his wing.

 

Craig Hulme generally stole the show, although it seems to be suffering from generally dull training and backstage moments.

 

ALPHA-1

 

Sukarno remains goes to 30-0 by defending his Lightweight title against Fumiaki Hayashi. The show scores a whopping 95% Commercial Rating. This show raises them to High National, although they are still number 2 in the world.

 

Omega

 

Halliwell v St Pierre sees Karl Halliwell fail in his first defence of his Super Heavyweight Title as he loses by submission to Jimmy St Pierre (2-0) a computer created fighter with a High Level background in wrestling.

 

On the prelims "The Undertaker" David Ferrer lives up to his name by killing the career of Lucius M Banks in his first ever match. Banks retires after his submission loss.

 

BCF

 

Seth O'Breen continues to establish himself as the natural heir to Jake Keane's Lightweight throne as he beats Doug Hansen for the second time. I'm not sure why Hansen got a second chance after getting beaten comprehensively in their last fight in 2001. I'm not sure a single win over Gordon Idle gave Hansen much claim to a title shot. BCF are really short on Lightweights though and Hansen is still their second best ranked one, even after this second loss.

 

SIGMA

 

Jason Dalglish wins the Featherweight Title, beating Colm Dee by Submission in the first. The title was vacant after Snorri Gunnarsson testing positive for drugs after his last fight to Dalglish.

 

KDM FC

 

Jeffery Wu (2-1) beats (Shaiming Lu (3-0) in a Fantastic fight in the main event of a show which scores an 81% Critical rating. The Co-main event of Yoshiro Makamori (12-3) v Kei Maki (9-0) also scored a Great rating as Makamori ended Maki's undefeated streak by 1st round arm triangle.

 

CCC

 

OMEGA Welterweight champion, Gus Fitzpatrick adds to his growing reputation by also clinching the CCC title. Beating Bruno Epps by first round submission. At 26 and 9-0 Fitzpatrick is definitely on my radar.

[WCW Mark]

<p>I'll be running two events in November, GAMMA 54: Morrison v Lermontov and, just like last year, I'll be running my free to air Thanksgiving Day spectacular. I've just about got enough available fighters to cover both events but I have a feeling it might come back to bite me later on as I'm really stretching my roster thin.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Battle Lines 7: LeToussier v John III</strong></p><p> </p><p>

This event will be coming live from Massachusetts and will be broadcast on C.A.N.N.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Marlon John (15-1) v Anthony LeToussier (15-3) - Light Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

I was planning on using John as the next title challenger for Herringbone, but this is literally the only main event worthy fight I can put on. I'll be hoping that whoever wins this one they aren't out for long as I don't have any other title challengers lined up. I'm predicting a comfortable win for John.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>David Allen (18-4) v Felix Mattherson Jr (9-0) - Welterweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

This rates as worthy for the main card, or maybe headlining the prelims and as such this makes it the second most hyped fight on the card. Allen is in good form, having beaten Blood and Kendall since the game started. Mattherson has two prelim wins and he's making his main card debut on free TV to try and boost his popularity.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Spencer Rubenstein (17-7) v Ricky Heath (16-6) - Light Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Rubenstein has been treading water since losing his title with two loses and a single win. He's still Mid National name value though and if he can build a bit of momentum he should be a valuable part of the roster. Heath has two loses in a row and I expect this fight to make it three.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Wilson Franklyn (11-2) v Jaco Landeweerd (8-0) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Landeweerd finally makes his GAMMA debut after his previous fight was cancelled due to injury. I've deliberately matched him up against a striker to try and produce an exciting fight and to give him a chance to show his skills without getting smothered. Franklyn is a tough hard hitter and I think this fight could go either way.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Nicholas Bretton (16-5) v Avery Gleeson (7-0) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Both fighters are on winning streaks and whoever wins here will solidify their position in the Lightweight division. Sadly for them that probably just secures them a fight against one of the high quality, but unpopular, Lightweights I have at the top of the card. Still it's a living.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Nate MacReary (8-0) v Pai Cheng (8-0) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two unbeaten Heavyweights get bumped up to the main card. But have good skills, although I'm a bit worried they may negate each other. Still it's a chance for one of them to pick up a win in front of a national audience and boost their value to me.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Prelims</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Gary Sampson (19-8) v Oliver Fiderer (8-2) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Both fighters are on a losing streak, Sampson is more valuable to me though and I'd like to give him a couple of winnable prelim fights, with a view to getting him some momentum and getting him back on the main show, even if it's just to put someone else over. He is comfortable favourite here.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Irwin Middleton (4-2) v George Pickering (9-2) - Super Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Both these fighters are coming off a win and another one should see them back on the main card. Pickering has the better record but Middleton is six years younger so he's probably the one I'd prefer to pick up the win.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Conrad Bueller (6-0) v Nathan Ronald (7-0) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two unbeaten Middleweights get a chance to prove themselves. Their both strikers so we'll hopefully see a KO here. A loss here isn't the end of your shot at the big time, but it will be a blow.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Randolph Gilliver (6-3) v Abe Locke (7-3) - Super Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two more Super Heavyweights which need a couple of wins to get back on the main card. Locke is 6 years younger than Gilliver and has more of a future, but Gilliver has better momentum and a win here might be enough to get him main card ready. As such I'll be happy whoever wins.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Nick Detroit (11-2) v Barrett Fforde (7-5) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Fforde is one loss away from the sack after loses to Vega and Mizwar. I think Detroit should be able to hand him that loss, hopefully picking up his first GAMMA win. Neither fighter has a lot of long term upside though, so this is just about creating a jobber with some momentum.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Milton Pinotti (9-0) v Jeffrey Foxworthy (10-0) - Welterweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two more unbeaten fighters looking to earn a shot at GAMMA success. Both have a lot of local show wins but none against name fighters and this will be a chance to see what they've got. They both look pretty dreadful though so this might be their only chance of picking up a win in GAMMA.</p>

[WCW Mark]

<div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>GAMMA 54: Morrison v Lermontov</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p>

GAMMA 54 is another PPV anchored by a single fight. Again though the draw value is rated as Superb and it should be enough to ensure another big night. The card is coming from Washington.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Sean Morrison (32-4) v Fiyero Lermontov (16-0) - Lightweight Title</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Lermontov is unbeaten in his MMA career and finds himself the title challenger despite only having one fight in his GAMMA career. That fight was a brutal beating of former champ, Brandon Sugar, and it was enough to make him the number one contender. Morrison's name value (High National) combined with Lermontov's momentum (5) is enough to make this a Superb main event, so I expect similar numbers to Dean v Kanchelskis and Regueiro v Chambers. This fight is a gamble as a Lermontov win may mean I'll struggle to find someone popular enough to Main Event against him.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Adam White (13-1) v JJ Reid (27-7) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

White has redeemed himself from his loss to Thomas Smith with two pre-show wins. It's time for him to get back on screen and JJ Reid is a good opponent. Reid is a GAMMA veteran, whose only in game loss is to current champion Kanchelskis. At 33 his career is probably winding down and this should be a winnable fight for White against a name opponent.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Leon Banks (33-14) v Tank Manu'a (19-7) - Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Both fighters are coming off a prelim win. They have decent name value and I'd like to ensure one of them gets a televised win before I use them to put a younger fighter over. It'll be back to the prelims for the loser.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Darin Blood (15-7) v Tyler Lass (10-2) - Welterweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

I'm trying to build Blood, with a view to putting on Blood v Allen III at some point in the future. However that doesn't mean I'm going to make it easy for him, just not too hard. Lass has a mixed record but decent all round skills and this should be a tough test for Blood. </p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Taroemon Abukara (11-0) v Davey Rushton (6-1) - Super Heavyweigh</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Abukara has a great record and ok skills but isn't really known in the US, while Rushton is the former champion, looking to get a rematch. As such, whoever wins this one I'll have someone I'll have someone I can justify giving a title shot to.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Esteban Vega (9-0) v Ashley Ballard (15-2) - Middleweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Vega is a fighter I'm keen to try and build, he has a lot of power in his strikes, he's young and, now I'm being shown in Mexico he could be an important draw for me. Ballard is an exciting kick boxer whose only loss came to Patrick Thomas. This is a real test for both fighters and will hopefully be an exciting opening fight for the PPV.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Derek South (15-7) v Zane Wybock (9-2) - Light Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

South continues to get favourable treatment from me and gets another fight he should be able to win. Wybock is a nothing fighter who already has a loss to Sorkin and he should pick up another L here.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Bailey Kim (2-0) v Aiden Weinstein (4-2) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

These are two fighters I signed for the reality TV show but decided not to use as I picked up better options.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Kevin Sponge (2-0) v Clinton Kent (3-0) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Two more fighters I signed for the reality TV show. The winner here will probably face off against the winner of Kim v Weinstein.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Vince Dahl (2-0) v Jackson Mollusck (7-4) - Lightweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Vince Dahl was another fighter I signed for the tournament but didn't use. He gets a chance of picking up a debut win against Mollusck who has already proved himself to be a jobber against Benny Danare.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Joe Hinchcliffe (25-14) v Rich Robinson (10-0) - Welterweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Robinson makes his GAMMA debut after picking up a number of wins on the Local Circuit. Hinchcliffe has rebounded from his loss to Delroy Rhodes and has a chance to get on a winning streak here. The winner of this bout should be ready for the main show next time out.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Joel Petty (5-0) v Trevion Chymes (15-12-1 NC) - Light Heavyweight</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Petty is a promising 21 year old Scottish Fighter who has picked up 5 wins on the local circuit. He's no where near main card ready but he should get a win here. I'll be taking him my time with him to see how he develops.</p>

[WCW Mark]

November 2002

 

GAMMA Battle Lines 7: LeToussier v John III

 

Sampson v Fiderer had to be cancelled due to an injury to Sampson, he's 39 next month so hardly surprising he's picking up the odd knock here and there. It was too late to book a replacement fight so I go into the show with 6 main card and 5 prelims.

 

Milton Pinotti (9-0) v Jeffrey Foxworthy (10-0) - Welterweight

 

Pinotti lands a couple of hard punches, including one which rocks him. Foxworthy goes for a takedown, gets it and swiftly finishes Pinotti on the ground.

 

Result: Jeffrey Foxworthy defeats Milton Pinotti (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:07 of round 1). The fight was rated as Great

 

Nick Detroit (11-2) v Barrett Fforde (7-5) - Middleweight

 

After an exchange of blows Fforde takes Detroit down, he swiftly mounts him and locks in an armbar. It's all over.

 

Result: Barrett Fforde defeats Nick Detroit (Submission (Armbar) in 3:26 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

 

Randolph Gilliver (6-3) v Abe Locke (7-3) - Super Heavyweight

 

Locke pushes Gilliver up against the cage and tries to work him over. Gilliver out wrestles him though and takes him down. He rocks him on the ground with some hard strikes but can't finish him.

 

Round 2 sees Locke try to clinch and again he gets taken down, Gilliver goes for a couple of guillotine attempts before switching it up and finishing it with a Kimura.

 

Result: Randolph Gilliver defeats Abe Locke (Submission (Kimura) in 4:21 of round 2). The match was rated as Decent

 

Conrad Bueller (6-0) v Nathan Ronald (7-0) - Middleweight

 

Ronald comes in, landing a combo followed by an uppercut which puts Bueller down. He follows up on the ground and it's all over.

 

Nathan Ronald defeats Conrad Bueller (Knock Out (Punch) in 0:35 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

Irwin Middleton (4-2) v George Pickering (9-2) - Super Heavyweight

 

Middleton moves into the clinch, he works Pickering over until the ref moves them back to the middle. Middleton moves straight back to the clinch but Pickering hits a belly to belly and shifts to mount. He goes for an arm triangle and it's all over.

 

Result: George Pickering defeats Irwin Middleton (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 4:40 of round 1). The match was rated as Good

 

Main Show

 

Nate MacReary (8-0) v Pai Cheng (8-0) - Heavyweight

 

This is three rounds of clinching, MacReary tries and hits a couple of takedowns but doesn't do a lot on the ground. He comfortably wins the first two rounds though and Cheng looks completely deflated. MacReary doesn't really take advantage though and he seems happy enough to clinch for the points victory. Not the most exciting start to the PPV.

 

Result: Nate MacReary defeats Pai Cheng (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Very Poor

 

Nicholas Bretton (16-5) v Avery Gleeson (7-0) - Lightweight

 

Bretton goes for a takedown, which Gleason stops by grabbing the cage. The ref docks a point and Gleason goes for another takedown which he gets. He moves to side control and finishes it with a Kimura.

 

Result: Nicholas Bretton defeats Avery Gleason (Submission (Kimura) in 2:19 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Wilson Franklyn (11-2) v Jacco Landeweerd (8-0) - Heavyweight

 

They fighters meet in the middle of the cage and trade strikes. Franklyn lands a hard strike which leaves Landeweerd looking shaky and he then puts him down with a big right. He can't finish him though and the round ends.

 

Round 2 sees Franklyn putting Landeweerd down a couple of times with big rights but again he can't finish it. Round 3 is a little quieter but Franklyn is the superior fighter once again and he takes the round and the fight.

 

Result: Wilson Franklyn defeats Jacco Landeweerd (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

 

Spencer Rubenstein (17-7) v Ricky Heath - Light Heavyweight

 

The fighters circle and exchange strikes, Heath is hitting with jabs but Rubenstein is landing with jabs, hooks and kicks. It's a right hook which stuns Heath and Rubenstein lunges in and knocks him down. He shows the killer instinct which made him champion and finishes him off with some big shots on the ground.

 

Result: Spencer Rubenstein defeats Ricky Heath (Knock Out (Punch) in 4:27 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

David Allen (18-4) v Felix Mattherson Jr (9-0) - Welterweight

 

Allen hits several crunching shots and puts Mattherson down, he can't finish him though but it's a good round for Allen. Round 2 and 3 again sees Allen down Mattherson with some hard shots. Mattherson goes for a couple of submissions from the bottom but never really looks threatening.

 

Result: David Allen defeats Felix Mattherson Jr (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Marlon John (15-1) v Anthony LeToussier (15-3) - Light Heavyweight

 

John hits a takedown every round and completely nullifies the striking game of LeToussier. LeToussier shows excellent defence from his back and despite John working hard he can't really put LeToussier under any pressure. It's a comfortable but unexciting win for John.

 

Result: Marlon John defeats Anthony LeToussier (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop 2.6% US

Crit 64% Com 78%

Gate: £663,250

Sponsorship: £50.359

Ads: £1,356,800

Merchandise: £9,035

Fighters: -£94,392

Drug Tests: -£26,400

Production: -£36,112

Total: £1,922,440

 

The show is generally a success and gains me a reasonable amount of popularity as well as making a profit. Results wise, the prelims had a few disappointments, Fforde, Gilliver and Pickering all won, which wasn't the ideal result and obviously losing the Sampson v Fiderer fight meant I lost the chance to turn things around for Sampson.

 

MacReary v Cheng was a terrible fight. MacReary has been a mixed bag so far with two very poor fights and one Great one, at least he's winning though and looked pretty dominant. Both of Cheng's fights have been very poor and I'm unimpressed with his mental collapse at the end of the second. He'll be back on the prelims for at least the next two fights.

 

Bretton looked good and now has three wins in a row, the win puts him up to 10th in the lightweight division and he will be fighting someone a lot better next time out.

 

Franklyn and Allen both did well and landed hard shots, but it's disappointing that neither of them managed to finish their opponents.

 

Rubenstein got back to winning ways and with the latest patch he should remain a top contender. He needs Herringbone to lose the title though before he gets another shot so he'll just be used as a gatekeeper for now. Heath has three loses in a row, admittedly all to good opponents and he has very poor momentum now. He'll get a winnable fight on the undercard next time out.

 

John won, which was a relief as LeToussier wouldn't have made such a good opponent for Herringbone. John is out for a couple of months which isn't too bad but means they'll be a bit of a delay before I can set up Herringbone's next defence. Hopefully I can find something to fill the gap.

[WCW Mark]

GAMMA 54: Morrison v Lermontov

 

There are no changes to the card so lets get straight on with the show. I should point out that I ran this card last night, before I downloaded the latest patch so it's being run on the old fight engine. GAMMA 55 onwards will be on the latest patch.

 

Prelims

 

Joel Petty (5-0) v Trevion Chymes (15-12-1 NC) - Light Heavyweight

 

This one is over pretty quickly, Petty gets a suplex, slips behind Chymes and gets the choke on the second attempt. Good debut for the kid from Scotland.

 

Result: Joel Petty defeats Trevion Chymes (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:01 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Joe Hinchcliffe (25-14) v Rich Robinson (10-0) - Welterweight

 

The first round is all standing and is pretty even, with Robinson perhaps just edging it. The second round is anything but even as Robinson gets a belly to belly, transitions to mount and rains down bombs. That's the second debut victory of the night.

 

Result: Rich Robinson defeats Joe Hinchcliffe (TKO (Strikes) in 2:06 of round 2). The match was rated as Good

 

Vince Dahl (2-0) v Jackson Mollusck (7-4) - Lightweight

 

This is a less impressive debut but Dahl still picks up the win. He takes Mollusck down a few times but can't do any damage on the ground and keeps getting stood up. Mollusck gets a couple of takedowns of his own but again all he can do is hold Dahl there and the fight ends up going to the judges. That was a bit of a snoozer.

 

Result: Vince Dahl defeats Jackson Mollusck (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Poor

 

Kevin Sponge (2-0) v Clinton Kent (3-0) - Lightweight

 

This match will definitely continue the trend for debut wins but will also see a debuting fighter pick up a loss as well. The buzzer goes and Kent immediately gets a takedown, Sponge manages to scramble to his feet and he gets takendown again. Kent lands some big shots but can't finish it and Sponge survives to round two.

 

He might as well not have bothered as he gets taken down again and this time Kent is able to put him away.

 

Result: Clinton Kent defeats Kevin Sponge (TKO (Strikes) in 2:58 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good

 

Bailey Kim (2-0) v Aiden Weinstein (4-2) - Lightweight

 

Kim uses a combination of clinching and takedowns to comfortably take all three rounds. He never looked like finishing it though.

 

Result: Bailey Kim defeats Aiden Weinstein (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Average

 

Derek South (15-7) v Zane Wybock (9-2) - Light Heavyweight

 

South is the big favourite here (-950) and he shows why as the fighters meet in the centre of the cage. South softens Wybock up with a couple of jabs before flooring him with a big uppercut. He doesn't bother following up, he knows this one is all over.

 

Result: Derek South defeats Zane Wybock (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:25 of round 1. The match was rated as Good

 

Main Card

 

Esteban Vega (9-0) v Ashley Ballard (15-2) - Middleweight

 

Vega's hands are lightning quick and he's very elusive, striking then moving away before Ballard can land a shot. About halfway through the first Ballard changes tactics and starts going for leg kicks every time Vega comes in. He's landing with more of these, but is still getting tagged with plenty of punches. First round goes to Vega but it will be interesting to see what impact those leg kicks have as the fight goes on.

 

Vega starts throwing some kicks of his own in the second and again he's proving more accurate. By the end of the round it's Ballard who is limping after receiving several hard leg kicks and it's hard to see where he goes from here.

 

Ballard needs a finish and he's reduced to throwing big haymakers in an attempt to get the KO. He can't land though and Vega continues to work the leg. Ballard can barely walk and Vega darts in and lands a head kick which puts him down. He follows up to the ground but the buzzer goes before he can do any damage. The judge's scores reflect the dominant performance with two of them scoring it 30-26.

 

Result: Esteban Vega defeats Ashley Ballard (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Decent

 

Taroemon Abukara (11-0) v Davey Rushton (6-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Abukara is a massive favourite here (-970) but Rushton is no respecter of the odds and he comes in swinging. A big right hook puts Abukara down and Rushton follows up. He lands a couple of shots before standing back up. Abukara climbs to his feet and is swiftly put down again with an uppercut. This time he isn't getting back up and it's all over.

 

Result: Davey Rushton defeats Taroemon Abukara (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:31 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Darin Blood (15-7) v Tyler Lass (10-2) - Welterweight

 

Blood and Lass stand and trade and Blood is definitely getting the better of it. Lass rushes him and pins him against the cage. He works him over but the round probably went in favour of Blood.

 

Blood doesn't give Lass the chance to cinch in this round, coming in with two hard lefts and a straight right that wobbles him. Blood lands a big right hook that puts him down and he follows up to the ground. However when he tries to gain mount Lass sweeps him and ends up on top. He stays there for the rest of the round and I'm not sure who won that one.

 

Blood clearly isn't sure either and decides not to leave it in the judges hands. He lands a big hook, again putting Lass down and this time he finishes him.

 

Result: Darin Blood defeats Tyler Lass (TKO (Strikes) in 1:02 of round 3). The match was rated as being Good

 

Leon Banks (33-14) v Tank Manu'a (19-7) - Heavyweight

 

Manu'a has a big weight advantage and he uses it to control the clinch, he takes the first two rounds, Banks manages to avoid the grasping hands of Manu'a in the 3rd and lands some good strikes but he can't crack Manu'a's chin and Manu'a picks it up on the score cards.

 

Result: TankManu'a defeats Leon Banks (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Decent

 

Adam White (13-1) v JJ Reid (27-7) - Middleweight

 

Round 1 sees both fighters engage is an exciting striking battle,White gets the upper hand and takes the round. Round 2 again sees them striking and White manages to put Reid down. He follows up to try and finish him, this could be dangerous as Reid is dangerous off his back, however they nullify each other and the ref stands them back up.

 

Reid's corner try to fire him up, telling him to go for the finish, but he doesn't seem to hear them and just stares at the floor. The fighters stand and trade again and again White dominants before finishing Reid with a brutal head kick.

 

Result: Adam White defeats JJ Reid (Knock Out (Kick) in 3:35 of round 3). The match was rated as Good

 

Sean Morrison (32-4) v Fiyero Lermontov (16-0) - Lightweight Title

 

Round 1 is spent in the clinch, with Morrison landing a lot of shots and generally controlling it. He can't get the takedown though, despite trying on a couple of occasions but he takes the round.

 

Round 2 sees Morrison continue to pursue the takedown and this time he gets it, he smothers Lermontov and takes the round comfortably.

 

Round 3 again sees Morrison go for the clinch, but this time Lermontov trips him and ends up on top. Morrison doesn't look comfortable on his back but Lermontov can't do much damage, he took the round though.

 

Rounds 4 & 5 see Morrison get the takedown and ride it out for the points win.

 

Result: Sean Morrison defeats Fiyero Lermontov (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop 2.6% US, +5% Can,+4% Mex

Crit 69% Com 95%

Gate: £2,298,275

Sponsorship: £75,721

PPV: £19,824,000

Merchandise: £10,082

Fighters: - £238,411

Drug Tests: -£28,800

Production: -£112,040

Total: £21,828,827

 

It's another show which does a monster commercial rating and improves my popularity as well as raking in a massive amount of cash.

 

The prelims went well again with the right people picking up wins.

 

The main show also went well. Vega looked good and if he can pick up a few more wins he could be a potential star for me. Rushton put himself back in title contention with an impressive KO and Blood continued his good form.

 

I would have preferred a win for Leon Banks, as he is more popular than Manu'a and his fights tend to be more exciting, however I wasn't too worried who won that one.

 

Adam White overcame a tricky opponent with ease and got a highlight reel KO into the bargain. He's ready for the next step up and I'll pick his next opponent carefully.

 

Morrison did his thing in the main event, however I don't think we've seen the last of Lermontov's ambitions to take the title and it will be interesting to see if the latest patch makes any difference if they meet again. Morrison's next opponent will be the winner of GAMMA Contenders and that's a fight I expect him to win. Lermontov rejoins the chasing pack and will need more performances like the one against Brandon Sugar to rebuild that killer aura.

 

Global News

 

GAMMA

 

GAMMA The Contenders sees Brock Youdale beat Owen Oggleberry-Pipp and Freddy Lomax beat Landon London in the last bouts of the first round. It also sees Oggleberry-Pipp and Collett become friends, while Youdale, after befriending Humphreys also buddies up with Brubaker. As a fighter who is a natural Welterweight this could get difficult when he moves up to that level. Craig Hulme was once again the star of both shows.

 

The first of the quarter finals sees Brock Youdale eliminate the most entertaining man on the show, Craig Hulme, while the second one sees Nigel Collett advance at the expense of Timmy Dukes. I also get a mention that there was some cringworthy segments with the case, I assume as a result of the entertaining Craig Hulme taking a back seat after his elimination and some people with less personality coming to the fore.

 

XCC

 

Lamont Banner finally wins the XCC Featherweight Title with a first round KO over Wallace Everett. The unbeaten fighter is now Low National popularity and is probably XCC's biggest star.

 

FLB

 

Affonso Villar claims the vacant Light Heavyweight Title by beating Arthur Franco. I'm not sure what Franco had done to earn a title shot in the first place and this seems like it was a fight put together just to ensure the belt ended up on one of FLB's biggest stars. With Roberto Aldez having left for ALPHA-1 it's hard to see any of their current crop of Light Heavyweights beating him.

 

That's it, for what was generally a fairly quiet month.

[WCW Mark]

GAMMA Announce - GAMMA 5: Kapur v Oktay

 

First thing to point out, this was booked before the latest patch but will be run after it. So some of the fight choices I make are based on the old engine, I'm not sure how the new one will pan out yet, apparently it's weakened wrestlers and the clinch, which probably needed doing but means all those strikers who have dropped down the rankings may be due a comeback. We'll see how it goes.

 

This is my final event of the year and I go back to Nevada, I'll probably aim to do this each year to make a big deal of my New Years Eve show. As such I'm putting the Heavyweights in the spotlight we see Rav Kapur defend his title for the third time this year, against another unbeaten fighter in Lefter Oktay.

 

Rav Kapur (14-0) v Lefter Oktay (17-0) - Heavyweight Title

 

Oktay claimed the SIGMA Heavyweight Title pre-game but left before defending it. He's then had two fights in GAMMA, which have raised his name value to Low Regional and his momentum to 5, the hardcore fans obviously know him but the general public don't. Kapur is also sitting at 5 Momentum and is Low National popularity. Between them this is rated as a Great Main event. I could have real issues if Oktay wins as his popularity is so low. Kapur has the edge in striking and size but Oktay is the better wrestler. I'm not sure how this one will go.

 

Co-Main Event

 

Rafael van der Moot (14-1) v Linfield Ballard (22-10) - Light Heavyweight

 

Once again, every fight bar the main event is only rated as suitable for the prelims, however this hasn't been an issue so far and this is allowing me to give some of my up and coming stars the chance to make a name for themselves. Van der Moot is a lethal kick boxer and I want to try and push him. As such I've been keeping him away from wrestlers and putting him in against other strikers, however I'll probably test him against a wrestler next time out. Ballard is no slouch but he's not in the same class as van der Moot and he's coming off two losses. This will likely be number 3 and at 36 it's really only his name value and the fact his fights so far have all been exciting which is keeping him around.

 

Noddy Pascow (8-1) v Zsolt Hargitay (11-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Hargitay is coming off a loss but is still ranked as the number 2 SHW in GAMMA. He needs to pick up a couple of wins though before he can be considered as a title contender again. Pascow lost on his GAMMA debut and doesn't have much in the way of skills. But the fact he has Mid Regional name value (which is pretty decent for this division) means he is a useful fighter. I don't expect him to win here though and this will hopefully see the much younger Hargitay on the road to recovery.

 

Gideon Navarro (9-0) v Dana Delaney (13-3) - Welterweight

 

Navarro is another of the new breed of fighters who I'm starting to push. He earned a main show appearance with a prelim win over Cooper Richardson and this is his big chance to make an impression against the man who beat Will Kane in a shock KO back at Battlines 6. It's wrestler v boxer and when I booked this I felt that Navarro was a strong favourite. Now though I'm not so sure. However another win for Delaney would see him shoot up the rankings and earn a bout against a more established competitor. As such I'm happy whoever wins this one.

 

Nilton Fantoni (11-0) v Dean Capers (6-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Faltoni has great wrestling and submissions but little in the way of striking. He's only 27 though and has great momentum so just needs to establish a bit of name value to start working his way on to a title shot. Capers is a decent wrestler and only 25. I don't expect him to win this one, but he'll have plenty of time to make a comeback with some prelim bouts, and if he does pull off a shock win this could be the making of him.

 

Fatuma Roy (23-10) v Gyokusho Fujimoto (13-2) - Heavyweight

 

Another GAMMA debut for one of my new breed of fighters, Fujimoto has brutal kick boxing skills but poor wrestling. His lack of name value is also an issue. I match him up with veteran Fatuma Roy, whose wrestling probably isn't good enough to trouble him and who, at 35, needs to start passing on some of that name value.

 

Prelims

 

Truck Gleeson (25-8-1 NC) v Moss Gilbert (7-4) - Lightweight

 

Gleeson is a decent kick boxer with good name value, who's been subjected to some very tough opponents in Jake Keane and Luke Hilton. As such he still has a lot to offer if he can just pick up a few wins. I put him in against Moss Gilbert, who is an inferior striker and doesn't have the wrestling skills of Gleeson's last two opponents.

 

Matias Perez (5-0) v Ruben Gomes (6-0) - Heavyweight

 

These are two young computer generated Heavyweights who really only here to bulk out the roster. At least by putting them in against each other I guarantee a win for one of them and he can be used to put someone else over at a later date. Perez is the better of the two and he outweighs Gomes by 59lbs (Gomes appears to prefer fighting at Heavyweight, despite having a max weight of 206 lbs) so I predict a Perez victory.

 

Drew Jenks (9-4) v Mily Golovanov (10-1) - Middleweight

 

Golovanov is a tough wrestler, who has 5 wins on the European local circuit, although none against name fighters. He'll get a proper test here against Drew Jenks, another wrestler who has decent skills and potential.

 

Ken Peters (11-3) v Christian Mountfield (14-8) - Light Heavyweight

 

Neither of these guys will ever amount to much, Peters has decent skills but is so dull that I'll never give him the chance to gain much momentum. That being said he does prove a useful test for rookie fighters so I won't be too gutted if he wins here, which he probably will.

 

Keith Plaice (17-7) v Tyrone Malik (8-1) - Middleweight

 

Malik is a useful guy to have around, he's from the world of pro-wrestling so I assume he can do a job on the microphone and at only 26 he could be a useful midcarder for years to come. Keith Plaice is a kickboxer and I booked this expecting Malik to win comfortably, probably using his clinch game to grind out victory.

 

Buddy Garner (15-4) v Petey Mack (11-5) - Middleweight

 

I like both these fighters but they've both had some tough matches, including a loss each to Neil Napier, and as such they find themselves opening the prelims. One of them begins the road to recovery here.

 

This is definitely a show where I'll be hoping for a number of fighters to pass the torch to their younger opponents. Of course it could go horribly wrong and I could see several of my hopes for the future suffer severe set backs, however I've done my best to book them in testing but winnable match ups and I've got every hope they'll come through it.

[WCW Mark]

December 2002

 

GAMMA 55: Kapur v Oktay

 

Plaice v Malik is off due to an injury to Malik, there wasn't really anyone able to step in so I'm down to 5 prelim fights. The main card is fine though. This will be run using the latest patch so it will be interesting to see what impact that has.

 

Prelims

 

Buddy Garner (15-4) v Petey Mack (11-5) - Middleweight

 

Round 1 sees both fighters content to stand and strike, it's pretty even until Mack lands a hard right which puts Garner down. He follows him to the ground but Garner quickly ties him up and the round ends.

 

Round 2 again sees them stand and strike and again sees Garner put down. It's late on though and the buzzer goes before Mack can do any damage.

 

Round 3 sees Garner finally go for a takedown, which he gets. Garner goes for a leg but Mack blocks it and goes for a submission of his own, wjhich Garner block. Garner goes from guard, to half guard, to side control with ease and goes for the Kimura, it's all over with just 11 seconds left.

 

Result: Buddy Garner defeats Petey Mack (Submission (Kimura) in 4:49 of round 3. The match was rated as Great

 

Ken Peters (11-3) v Christian Mountfield (14-8) - Light Heavyweight

 

Ken Peters does his thing for three long dull rounds.

 

Result: Ken Peters defeats Christian Mountfield (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Very Poor

 

Drew Jenks (9-4) v Mily Golovanov (10-1) - Middleweight

 

The first round is all standing and is too close to call, the second is all standing again, until Golovanov steals it with a takedown in the dying seconds. The third round see Jenks get the takedown and the round, so it all comes down to how the judges see the first. 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 - Golovanov.

 

Result: Mily Golovanov defeats Drew Jenks (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Average

 

Matias Perez (5-0) v Ruben Gomes (6-0) - Heavyweight

 

At 265 lbs Perez is 64lbs heavier than his opponent. He takes advantage, putting his weight behind his punches and putting Gomes down. He follows up and smothers his opponent, however in the final seconds of the rounds Gomes secures and arm triangle and it's on tight. The buzzer goes before Perez is forced to tap.

 

Round 2 again sees Perez flatten Gomes and follow him to the ground, he smothers him again and despite some good work from Gomes the ref stands them back up. Two rounds to Perez.

 

Perez is starting to flag and the commentators wonder if it is due to his big weight cut, I might well move him up to Super Heavyweight in that case. It doesn't stop him from swinging though and he lands a hard uppercut that puts Gomes down again. He follows up, straight into a triangle choke and he's forced to tap. Gomes picks up a win after being battered for the majority of the fight.

 

Result: Ruben Gomes defeats Matias Perez (Submission (Triangle with Armbar) in 2:44 of round 3). The match was rated as being Good

 

Truck Gleeson (25-8-1 NC) v Moss Gilbert (7-4) - Lightweight

 

The odds on Gleeson are (-1200) and he shows why with a confident performance. He spends two rounds softening Gilbert up, during which Gilbert barely lands a strike, before putting him down and out with a big hook near the end of the second.

 

Result: Truck Gleeson defeats Moss Gilbert (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:36 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good

 

Main Card

 

Fatuma Roy (23-10) v Gyokusho Fujimoto (13-2) - Heavyweight

 

Roy comes forward swinging but Fujimoto uses his reach and kicks to keep him at a distance and punish him. He eventually staggers him with a right cross and then puts him down with a head kick. He lets Roy stand back up and lands a left hook followed by a right hook and it's all over. Roy is KO'd and didn't land with a single strike that fight.

 

Result: Gyokusho Fujimoto defeats Fatuma Roy (Knock Out (Punch) in 4:08 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

 

Nilton Fantoni (11-0) v Dean Capers (6-0) - Light Heavyweight

 

Fantoni grabs a clinch and manages to drag Capers to the ground on the second attempt. He goes for an arm triangle, which he gets but Capers pops free just as it looks like he would need to tap. Fantoni then moves to mount where he goes for an armbar, but loses position and Capers ends up on top. The round ends before he can take advantage.

 

Round 2 sees Capers get the takedown this time, he controls Fantoni for the majority of the round and lands a number of short strikes. He goes for a sub late on but never really looks like getting it and the round ends.

 

Going into round 3 it's one round each and Capers goes for the early takedown looking to seal it, he can't get it though and Fantoni sweeps his legs and puts him down. He gets side control and then mount and starts landing shots. Capers gives up his back and Fantoni finishes it with a rear naked choke.

 

Result: Nilton Fantoni defeats Dean Capers (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:02 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Gideon Navarro (9-0) v Dana Delaney (13-3) - Welterweight

 

Navarro lands an early takedown, mounts Delaney and sinks in an armbar. It's all over in the first round.

 

Result: Gideon Navarro defeats Dana Delaney (Submission (Armbar) in 3:07 of round 1). The match was rated as Great

 

Noddy Pascow (8-1) v Zsolt Hargitay (11-1) - Super Heavyweight

 

Hargitay starts off well but blows up about halfway through the second. Pascow takes him down and does some damage and we go into the third at one round each.

 

Round 3 sees Pascow take him down again and he manages to mount Hargitay, he can't finish him though and the fight goes to the judges. One of the judges gives it to Hargitay but justice is done as the other two award it to Pascow.

 

Result: Noddy Pascow defeats Zsolt Hargitay (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

 

Co-Main Event

 

Rafael van der Moot (14-1) v Linfield Ballard (22-10) - Light Heavyweight

 

I expected this one to be an exciting striking battle and they don't disappoint. They stand and trade and it's pretty even until Ballard lands a superb head kick which puts van der Moot down. He dives in and lands some big strikes but can't finish him and we go to round 2.

 

This time it's van der Moot with the decisive head kick and Ballard goes to the ground. van der Moot gets side control and then mounts Ballard. He lands several big strikes and Ballard goes limp, great win for van der Moot.

 

Result: Rafael van der Moot defeats Linfield Ballard (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:37 of round 2). The match was rated as Good

 

Main Event

 

Rav Kapur (14-0) v Lefter Oktay (17-0) - Heavyweight Title

 

Kapur starts off throwing kicks and punches from all angles. He lands several hard shots to the body and then puts Oktay down with a head kick. He waves him back to his feet and spends the rest of the round beating him around the ring. The commentator scores that as a 10-8 for Kapur.

 

Round 2 sees Oktay rush in and clinch, he pulls guard and wraps his legs round Kapur to stop him escaping. Kapur seems comfortable on top and stays there, using his size to keep Oktay pinned. Despite several attempts Oktay can't shift him and that round probably goes to Kapur as well.

 

Kapur comes out blazing and puts Oktay down with two jabs and a hard right. He follows up to try and finish it but stands up when it becomes obvious that Oktay is defending himself. Oktay clinches and after a struggle manages to pin Kapur against the cage, that was the closest round so far.

 

Round 4 sees Oktay come out tentatively while Kapur is looking for the big finish. Kapur is throwing a lot of big strikes but Oktay is slipping them and landing counter jabs, they are scoring points but not really doing any damage. That was probably Oktay's best round so far though and he takes it on points.

 

Round 5 and Oktay needs a finish, however it's Kapur who comes forwards, clearly not content to just take it on points. He lands a hard right, which spreads Oktay's nose all over his face and staggers him. Kapur follows up with a lunging right and it's all over. Oktay is out cold.

 

Result: Rav Kapur defeats Lefter Oktay (Knock Out (Punch) in 0:55 of round 5). The match was rated as Good

 

Post Show Analysis

 

Pop 2.6% US +5% Can +4% Mex

Crit 70% Com 94%

Gate: £2,835,513

Sponsorship: £70,140

PPV: £19,116,000

Merchandise: £11,142

Fighters: -£0

Drug Tests: - £26,400

Production: - £113,234

Total: £21,893,161

 

That was another success, the Commercial rating is down slightly, but not as much as I expected given that the main event was only great instead of superb. It was also the best critical rating I've had since Kapur v Lopes.

 

The fighter payments aren't showing correctly as I don't appear to have paid out anything. It does show up properly on my main accounts though.

 

In terms of results, it was pretty much perfect. Fujimoto, Fantoni, Navarro and van der Moot all made names for themselves, not just winning but also finishing their fights. Pascow winning was a bit of a surprise but it's fine. Hargitay got off to a good start in his first two fights but has struggled since then and it might be that his lack of cardio is too big a weakness.

 

The main event was superb, Oktay tried a number of different tactics but couldn't make any of them really stick. Kapur showed that he is a killer and he went looking for that finish even when he was safely ahead on points. He's shaping up to be a very good champion.

 

I know it's only one event but the new fight engine seemed very good. There was a lot less clinching and a lot more variety to the ground game. I had a lot more finishes as well, which is always pleasing. Obviously on card isn't enough to make any judgments but first impressions are good.

 

The rest of the world round up will take a little longer than usual as it's the end of the year so I'll be looking at the end of year awards, the rankings and examining how I did against the targets I set last January.

[WCW Mark]

December 2002 - Rest of the World

 

ALPHA-1

 

Jin Katou faced Tadamasa Yamada for the fifth time. Katou took the win by first round KO to capture the belt and go 3-2 up over Yamada. That's surely the end of this feud.

 

The Co-main event saw Palmer Lette blow his come back fighter after losing the Super Heavyweight Title, losing by first round submission to computer generated fighter Kimi Hashimoto. Hashimoto is now 4-0, with all wins coming in Alpha-1. An ex national Judo competitor he could be one to watch.

 

OMEGA

 

William Harrison beat Terry Catt for the CCC Light Heavyweight Title back in June and he's now taken his OMEGA LHW Title. That's two loses in a row for Catt and he'll need to regroup. Harrison on the other hand is now 12-0 and a double title holder. I decide to put in a contract offer as he's 29 and on +5 momentum. Further victories in Canada and Mexico aren't really going to increase his value to me so it seems like it's time to see if he can step up to the big leagues.

 

The Co-Main event sees Bill Brown hand Gavin Marshall his first loss to defend his Middleweight Title. Brown is another double title holder and another one who deserves a chance in the big leagues. I offer him a 4 fight contract.

 

BCF

 

Rob Baines makes the second defense of his Middleweight Title beating Tucker Plumm by 5th round submission. Baines is one of BCF's biggest stars and the good news for them is that, at 35, he's of no interest to me so he'll probably see his career out with them.

 

SIGMA

 

Sigma close the year with Jankovic v Hristov. Janokovic makes the first defense of his Welterweight Title out clinching Hristov in an awful match.

 

KDM FC

 

Kanji Togo, the number 2 Bantamweight in the world, defends against Pipob Jakkuprasat while two computer generated women, Jun Fu and Rowena Chen clash in the co-main event.

[WCW Mark]

2002 - End of Year Review

 

Awards

 

Fighter of the Year - Rav Kapur (15-0) - GAMMA

 

Kapur takes the award for the second year in a row. With KO wins over Foster, Lopes and Oktay it's hard to argue with this and he is becoming a franchise player for me.

 

Company of the Year - GAMMA

 

It's good to win this as I wouldn't want ALPHA-1 to clinch it two years in a row. I'm number 1 in the world and I had the heaviest schedule of any company. I think I deserve this.

 

Rookie of the Year - Roberto Santos (3-1) - OMEGA

 

Santos is a 27 year old Mexican fighter who was a national level wrestler before taking up MMA. He has wins over Frankie Geddon, Julio David and Solomon Salas, with his only blemish being a submission loss to Rogelio Quesada.

 

Show of the Year - GAMMA 48: Kapur v Foster II

 

A Fantastic rated main event is probably the reason this clinched the award. Although a Fantastic win for Braulio Moura over Petey Mack and a Great win for Davey Rushton over Seb Morehead will have helped. The event scored a critical rating of 84% and a commercial rating of 80%.

 

Female Fighter of the Year - Emi Nagano (12-0) - Unemployed

 

3 Wins over local fighters shouldn't really qualify you for fighter of the year. It will be interesting to see if KDM FC snap her up and give her some real challenges.

 

Team of the Year - American Cage Fighters

 

Josh Aldarisio, Junior Patinkin, Osmosis Benn and Raul Hughes are the most high profile members of the camp, but Matthew Dean, Neil Napier and Patrick Thomas are all visiting members. William Harrison is also a member and perhaps a few of my fighters will be able to have a word in his ear about joining GAMMA.

 

Fight of the Year - Toroemon Abukara v Noddy Pascow - GAMMA

 

Two Super Heavyweights I poached from GAMMA debuted in a Fantastic Fight on this free to air TV show. Hopefully that will have made fans out of some of the casual viewers who tuned in.

 

Worst Fight of the Year - Dominykas Jankovic v Filip Hristov - SIGMA

 

The award no promotion wants to win, but it's particularly bad when you win it for the main event in the final show of the year.

 

Knock Out of the Year - Artak Gevor KO's Ezio Gnocchi - SIGMA

 

At least the fans who bought Jankovic v Hristov got to see the knockout of the year as Artak Gevor won a Fantastic fight by second round KO.

 

Submission of the Year - Taroemon Abukara Submits Noddy Pascow - GAMMA

 

Abukara's armbar was the best submission of the year, it's a shame for him that he got KO'd by Davey Rushton in his next fight.

 

Main Event of the Year - Rav Kapur v James Foster II - GAMMA

 

Kapur seals his star status by claiming the main event of the year for his second clash with Foster.

 

Upset of the Year - Moore Swick bts Glenn Michaels - BCF

 

BCF claim this award for the second time in a row, proving that anything can happen in BCF. He overcame odds of -630 to +500 to claim it.

 

Company Review

 

GAMMA

 

I set myself 7 goals at the start of the year, how did I fare?

 

Remain Number 1 in the world - I stayed number 1 through out the entire year and I can count this one as a success.

 

Move to a monthly PPV schedule - I managed this, but it was difficult at times. I'll count this as a success but I'll need to create more stars to keep this up.

 

Improve the Super Heavyweight and Lightweight Division - I definitely feel that I made steps in the right direction in both of these divisions. The Lightweights have a dominant champion in Morrison, while the upper card is stacked with talented but unpopular fighters such as Lermontov, Keane and Helio. Atep of Indonesia will come back from from his drugs ban next year and I've managed to get fighters like Bud Brockett, Nicholas Bretton and HM Menzel onto winning streaks. I've also got a fair bit of new blood thanks to the reality show.

 

The Super Heavyweights proved more of a struggle. There isn't really anyone to sign and I only have 21 fighters in the division. Polter is a respectable champion but can't headline an event yet and he's probably my biggest name in the division. I'll count this target as a partial success.

 

Book less far in advance - I managed to do this, I'm still booking about 3 shows in advance but that's only 3 months rather than 6 due to my monthly PPVs. This means my fighters are fighting more often, which is good for the undercard but the champions are fighting too often, making it hard to create decent challengers. A partial success.

 

Get a new PPV deal - Mission accomplished, I'm now showing in Canada and Mexico as well as the USA and I have more money that I know what to do with.

 

Start preparing for a Featherweight Division - I've managed to sign several Lightweights who will be able to drop to Featherweight when I start the division. However I didn't really manage to push any of them and I won't be in a position to start the Featherweights this year. I'm going to call this one a fail.

 

Run a reality TV show - I managed this and I'll be putting the final on my first show of 2003. It didn't really have the impact I'd hoped for though as neither of the finalists seem to have improved their popularity much and everyone else has lost their momentum.

 

Overall there were more successes than failures and I'm happy with my progress. However I do have some concerns, the biggest isn't really one of my making and I'm not sure what I can do about it as it's due to two factors outside of my control. Firstly, due to the opening of CCC and OMEGA a lot of the unsigned American fighters have gone to Mexico and Canada, where they are facing other named fighters, making it difficult to get on a decent streak. In addition, even when they do win, they aren't gaining any popularity in the US.

 

Secondly. the demise of WEFF released a large number of female fighters onto the American Local scene. Most of these are still there and aren't moving over to KDM FC. As such a lot of the fights on the American Local scene are women's fights, with most cards featuring around 75% women's matches.

 

These two factors combined mean that there aren't a lot of American males fighting in the US outside of GAMMA, and there certainly aren't any building streaks against local fighters to improve their momentum and name value. This means I have to look at creating my own streaks for the younger fighters on my prelims.

 

My targets for 2003 are:

 

1) Hold some non Title main events.

 

I need to be able to headline with fights other than my title fights as I can't carry on creating a new challenger every 5 months. Foster is my most popular fighter, despite his losses but the fans don't seem all that interested in seeing him main event so I'll need to try and get him back to winning ways. Matthew Dean is another popular ex-champion who should be able to main event against the right opponent, while Nathan Chambers and Jack Humphreys give me some options at Welterweight. My biggest problem is that a lot of my more popular fighters are on low momentum and as such can't draw at the moment. By the end of the year I want to have held 3 PPV main events which aren't title matches.

 

2) Hold another Reality TV Show

 

The Super Heavyweights need a boost and this seems like the best way to do it. I'll probably run it in the second half of the year.

 

3) Build some young stars

 

I have 13 fighters with Mid National or better name value and all of them are 30 or over (Kapur and Chambers are the youngest at 30). By the end of the year I want to get at least 4 fighters under 30 to Mid National popularity. This might be tough as I only have 4 under 30 at Low National, and two of those will be 30 by the end of the year.

 

4) Cut the Chaff

 

I currently have 194 fighters on my books and the Middleweight and Lightweight divisions are the most bloated with 38 and 42 fighters respectively. I want to be able to keep signing up and coming fighters and giving them chances on the prelims and to do that I'll need to ditch some to. There are a few on losing streaks and I want to start cutting some of them. I'll be looking to drop to be at around 36 fighters in each division (except Super Heavyweight where I don't think this is realistic) by year end, so it's pretty much a one in one out policy from here on.

 

5) Boost the Super Heavyweights

 

While some of the divisions are bloated this one is under strength with only 21 fighters in it. There isn't anyone worth signing available at the moment so I'll be looking to the reality show to pad out the league.