SIGMA - My Diary

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

Long term readers of this forum may remember that I used to run a diary about my GAMMA save. Sadly the laptop I ran it on died and although I got it working again it was only for a brief time and it then gave up for good, taking my precious saved game with it.

I've now got a new pc and some time on my hands so I'm going to start a new diary, however there is no point retreading old ground (although if I did it again there are a lot of things I'd do differently a second time around with GAMMA) so I'm going to choose a different org.

Now you've probably already guessed from the thread title who it is going to be, but as this diary is all about explaining my decision making process and giving you all a behind the scenes look at my booking I might as well go through each Org to explain why I picked SIGMA.

GAMMA - It was actually tempting to redo GAMMA, taking what I'd learnt last time and correcting my mistakes, however it will probably be too similar to my last diary to make for interesting reading so this is probably something I'll do in a private game.

ALPHA-1 - If I'm aiming for a different experience to last time then I probably don't want to be the other one of the big two as it will likely result in a lot of the same hirings as last time out.

XCC and KDM FC - I've grouped these two together as the reason for rejecting them is the same. I want a good spread of weight classes and I don't want to have to start a division from scratch.

WEFF - Like XCC and KDM FC this is just too limiting.

This essentially leaves the three mid level companies. Any of these three are tempting:

BCF - Very tempting as I'm British and I like a lot of their fighters. I also like the close proximity to SIGMA and the wars over talent that are likely to result. They lost out for two reasons, firstly there was an excellent BCF diary on here back in the day (although I can't seem to find it now) and although the style of that diary was very different I don't want to retread old ground and secondly they already have a TV and PPV deal, which, in my mind at least, means they are best placed to succeed when controlled by the AI and they should therefore provide decent competition.

FLB - Another tempting one, they have a lot of strong fighters and I've never been them before. However they are slightly out on their own with no direct competition, which might make it a little dull.

SIGMA - This is the one I've gone for. Again I like the idea of having a direct competitor, also they have no PPV deals, so even though they are currently ranked above BCF I feel they are really the slightly smaller company. I also like the idea of having a featherweight division already in place as I don't want to have to start one from scratch. I plan to run a show per month and the sixth division will help with that. Finally this diary is going to be no frills in terms of presentation (mainly because I'm terrible with things like that and have no idea how to do it) so SIGMA seems a good match for my style.

I'm using the default database and the only amendment I've made is to turn down the minimum number of fighters in each division to zero to prevent loads of new fighters being generated. I don't mind the ones who get generated with a picture and generic bio but in my last game a lot without pictures or a full profile were generated and I never wanted to use them. Hopefully there will still be plenty of fighters to go round, but if a new company opens I may need to look at auto populating, depending on where they are.

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

The Ground Rules

I'm making a couple of rules to work to, well not rules as such, more guidelines so don't be surprised if I bend or break them when needed. Here they are:

1) I don't really want to share fighters, although this is probably unavoidable at the start when I can't offer exclusive fighters, however, where possible I will avoid hiring fighters who are already with another company.

2) No reality show. I like the idea of these but don't really like how they work in game, also they tend to hotshot fighters and I'd rather build them organically.

3) Try to run the company realistically. By this I mean that I won't be deliberately trying to "game the system". If the game lets me do something but it's something that I think just feels off I probably won't do it.

That's about it, so let's crack on with the show.

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

Company Overview

So it's the 1st January 2001 and I'm DL Freeman, owner of SIGMA. First thing to do is distribute my talent points:

Negotiating: 7 - With no PPV I won't have much money to start with and I want to sign a few people up to new contracts. Also, once I grow in size this will hopefully allow me to sign fighters to exclusive contracts a little more easily.

Eye for Talent: 5 - I want to know how good my fighters are but no need to go overboard with this.

Match Making: 6 - I've got a fairly small roster so I don't want to have too many problems trying to pair people off.

Promotion: 6 - Again money will be tight early on and due to the number of events I intend to run I may need a little help in boosting the ratings.

Scouting: 1 - I hardly ever bother using this, is it helpful? Let me know if it's something you use and you find it useful.

Financially I have £2,500,000 in the bank. Which looking at my fighters contracts seems to be plenty, however I have no idea how much money I'll be generating per show, seeing as I'm going to be relying on attendance only. I assume I'll probably be making a loss for a little while.

The first thing to do is try and expand the eyes on my product, while there are no income generating broadcasters interested I do sign a 6 show deal with Sports Tube, they are shown worldwide and will allow me to boost my popularity in the UK, which is the thing that's currently preventing me from signing up with any of the PPV providers that operate in Europe. Paul Falk and Robbie Hesthenal will provide commentary.

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

The next job is to review my roster and see what I've got and where I need to strengthen:

Heavyweights

Lefter Oktay (15-0) is the newly crowned champion, having just taken the title from Aleksander Ivanov in December. Oktay has High Regional Name Value and has +4 momentum. Even though he fought in December, as this is a new game he is immediately available, however I won't be booking him to fight any time soon as it's not realistic (goes back to my rules). He has great wrestling and strong all round skills and at 27 I expect him to be a cornerstone of my division until he gets poached by GAMMA or ALPHA-1.

Grzegorz Boniek (35-5) - The ex-champion is my number 2 contender, again he has High Regional name value and positive momentum. At 35 he is probably winding down a little, something which I hope will put of ALPHA-1, who may be interested in him as he has some name value in Japan.

Stratos Papaioannou (28-6) - Another veteran, he's a little small for a Heavyweight and I may well use him as Oktay's first challenger, before looking to move him to Light Heavy as a gatekeeper.

Aleksander Ivanov (9-1) - Young and highly skilled, the ex-champion should easily bounce back from his loss to Oktay and will be in line for a future rematch if all goes to plan.

Iancu Trailescu (9-2) - A young kickboxer who probably lacks the wrestling and ground skills to make it to the top. However with the right match ups there's no reason he can't have a decent run and if he improves who knows what the future may hold.

Jacco Landeweerd (7-0) - Another young kickboxer who with the right match ups could become a decent upper carder for me.

Roope Kuqi (5-0) - At only 20 years old this guy is a rookie, however his Dad was an MMA pioneer so he's probably been around the business all his life. He has a good all round skill set and is probably the most promising of my young heavyweights. The whole second generation thing also gives him a unique selling point and I hope to make him a star.

The rest of the division is mainly veterans who are on the way down. I need to be careful as some of them could still be dangerous but ultimately their main use will be in trying to boost the other members of the roster.

To boost the division I also put in offers for a few European based Heavyweights.

Bastian Neske (5-1) - A former boxer he has good striking and will hopefully put on some exciting fights. While capable of KOing people, he's probably too limited to be anything more than enhancement talent though.

Josef Jankowski (6-0) - Another strong striker who lacks a ground game. By matching up my strikers against each other I should be able to get a couple of them on a decent run and build them up to the point where one of my more rounded fighters can pick up a good win over them.

Juozas Skerla (7-0) - Another kick boxer, not in the same class as some of my existing ones and a likely early victim for one of them.

Reinhardt Rhett (7-3) - Rhett's dodgy chin hopefully makes him perfect fodder for one of my other strikers and I hope for a highlight reel KO.

Vittorio Pescatelli (5-0) - At only 22 years old and a strong wrestler Pescatelli could be one to watch.

Zsolt Hargitay (8-0) - Normally fighting at Super Heavyweight he adds a unique factor to my Heavyweight division, allowing for David vs Goliath fights for even some of my larger Heavyweights. The fact he has a decent skill set and a great record means he can go straight into midcard.

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

Light Heavyweights

Niko Soldo (17-2-1) - Soldo is one of my only two National popularity fighters and is two time champion. The downside to having such a dominant fighter atop the division is that a lot of the other contenders have already lost to him. Still his loss to Matt Kurri has shown that he is beatable.

Aleksei Chekhov (22-4) - Second in the rankings and a personal favourite of mine dating back to WMMA 2 when he put on numerous Fantastic fights for me. Sadly he's already lost to Soldo so I'll need to look elsewhere for a challenger.

Nicolai Mickiewicz (21-5) - Another favourite of mine, again dating back to WMMA 2. He's also lost to Soldo, but he took him the distance and it was in 1997 so there is the possibility of a rematch at some point.

Dmytro Dargomyzhsky (22-8) - At 36 years old he's a veteran and I need to get the best use I can out of him as quickly as possible. He's never fought Soldo so I think I've just found my first challenger.

Matt Kurri (9-1-1) - Kurri beat Soldo for the title but promptly lost it in the rematch. There will be a 3rd fight somewhere down the line but he's only 25 so no need to rush it.

Faas Smit (37-16) - Despite the vast number of fights he's had he's still only 29. He's another one who's lost to Soldo though so he's out of the title picture for now and is more likely to be used as a gate keeper.

Valentin Taneyev (9-0) - Highly skilled, unbeaten and only 26. This guy is the man I'm looking to long term, provided I can keep him out of the clutches of the big two.

Dag Kreuger (7-0) - Another unbeaten youngster, he's not as good as Taneyev but at only 23 he has plenty of time to improve. One to protect and build for the future.

Emil Karlsson (5-0) - Another unbeaten youngster, he has an intimidating look and is another one I'll be looking to build up.

The rest of the division comprises various veterans and jobbers. Again, although I've got quite a good mix here I'm going to add a few names.

Andoni Olana (6-2) - A 25 year old kick boxer with strong striking skills but not a lot else. He's being brought in to put other people over but he does have the power to cause an upset.

Makhak Kirakosyan (5-0) - At only 21 he has time on his side. I could leave him on the independents for a while but with 5 wins under his belt I think it's time he took the next step up. Another strong striker, he'll need time to develop his grappling.

Markku Mikkola (6-0)- His strong wrestling and decent striking mean he could be a force in the future, probably the best of the six men I'm signing.

Michael Klaughnschue (7-2) - He's got a good record and he's local, that's pretty much ideal for someone I'm planning to use as a can.

Nestor Morozov (24-13-1) - A well known veteran, I'm surprised he's not already at SIGMA. A solid addition to the division.

Rens de Beus (6-0) - 22 year old wrestler who's striking stats seem better than suggested by his profile write up. He'll probably get given a 50/50 fight to prove himself.

Overall a pretty good division with a great champ, some exciting veterans and several good youngsters.

cymru96 · December 10, 2016

Hyped for this! I enjoyed your last diary, especially the fact that you explain why you make decisions, rather than just making them.

I'm actually running a SIGMA game myself right now, albeit with the expanded database. I got a little creative though; I made Dmytro Dargomyzhsky,

Grzegorz Boniek and Stratos Papaioannou a little younger so I had more time to work with them.

Lefter Oktay cleaned house for a while, beating Bert Underberg, Nikita Fedorov, Trandafir Ionut (all from the expanded data) and Papaioannou, before losing to Aleksandar Ivanov, who won three straight following his first loss. Terron Cabal got cut from Alpha, and he might be next in line for a shot, if he can beat the winner of Mugur Boc and Vittorio Pescatelli. That's after Ivanov vs an unbeaten Roope Kuqi.

Oktay didn't want a rematch, because he became teammates with Ivanov. Also, he's quite small for the division, so I dropped him down to LHW, only to lose in a number one contender match with Matti Kurri. Niko Soldo is the champion, but he lost it and won it back from both Nicolai Mickiewicz and Valentin Taneyev. The winner of Jacob Matthaus and Dmytro Dargomyzhsky will fight the winner of Soldo/Kurri, whilst Braulio Moura and Tikhon Diev are sniffing around.

But yeah, enjoyed your work before, and you have a reader here!

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

Middleweights

Fjodor Kanchelskis (13-0) - Another dominating champion, if you read my last diary you'll know that I ended up with Kanchelskis at GAMMA, where he was one of my best fighters. Hopefully he'll repeat that form, although looking at who he's already fought finding credible challengers may be a problem.

Jaromir Grygera (20-5) - The ex champion, Grygera lost the belt to Kanchelskis by 2nd round KO. As such, despite the fact he's ranked second in the division I don't see a title fight coming his way soon.

Fernando Amaro (55-12-4-2) - A high ranked veteran with positive momentum and a good record who hasn't already lost to Kanchelskis. I think that's enough to earn a title shot.

Thorbjorn Rekdal (9-1) - A decent kick boxer whose already had a title shot and come up short.

Ezio Gnocchi (7-1) - He's only suffered one loss, but that was to Kanchelskis so that's probably enough to relegate him to the midcard for now.

Oleg Tariverdiev (8-2) - Also already fought and lost to Kanchelskis.

Luka Hajek (6-0) - Unbeaten youngster, really not very skilled though so he probably won't amount to much unless he's very well protected.

This is definitely the weakest division I've looked at so far. Kanchelskis has already pretty much cleared it out and there isn't a lot of good young talent coming through. Hopefully I can start to remedy this with some signings.

Chaim Alexievich (6-0) - Decent all round fighter. Should hopefully prop up the midcard for years to come.

Franz Ludwig (13-8) - He's coming in purely as a jobber to give someone a fight on the card and hopefully a win.

Jermain McKenzie (7-3) - Another jobber who will hopefully give some experience and a win to a better, younger, fighter.

Maxime Giresse (5-0) - At last a youngster with decent promise. Girese is a Strong wrestler with a judo background. His stand up isn't awful but it will need improvement if he's going to challenge for honours.

Mily Golovanov (5-1) - Another strong wrestler who I should be able to push.

Shaun Dico (5-0) - Only 23 and a decent wrestler and striker. Potentially another young up and comer/

Stephan de Winter (7-0) - A dangerous striker who could build up a decent highlight reel if matched against the right opponents.

Not a great division but if I can get in all the fighters I've targeted I should be able to start pushing some new faces. And if Kanchelskis does lose his title suddenly it will be wide open.

WCW Mark · December 10, 2016

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="cymru96" data-cite="cymru96" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43026" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Hyped for this! I enjoyed your last diary, especially the fact that you explain why you make decisions, rather than just making them. I'm actually running a SIGMA game myself right now, albeit with the expanded database. I got a little creative though; I made Dmytro Dargomyzhsky, Grzegorz Boniek and Stratos Papaioannou a little younger so I had more time to work with them. Lefter Oktay cleaned house for a while, beating Bert Underberg, Nikita Fedorov, Trandafir Ionut (all from the expanded data) and Papaioannou, before losing to Aleksandar Ivanov, who won three straight following his first loss. Terron Cabal got cut from Alpha, and he might be next in line for a shot, if he can beat the winner of Mugur Boc and Vittorio Pescatelli. That's after Ivanov vs an unbeaten Roope Kuqi. Oktay didn't want a rematch, because he became teammates with Ivanov. Also, he's quite small for the division, so I dropped him down to LHW, only to lose in a number one contender match with Matti Kurri. Niko Soldo is the champion, but he lost it and won it back from both Nicolai Mickiewicz and Valentin Taneyev. The winner of Jacob Matthaus and Dmytro Dargomyzhsky will fight the winner of Soldo/Kurri, whilst Braulio Moura and Tikhon Diev are sniffing around. But yeah, enjoyed your work before, and you have a reader here!</div></blockquote> Thanks, it'll be interesting to see how my experience differs from yours. Obviously not having the expanded database will be quite a big difference but feel free to chip in any time to comment on what I'm doing or to let me know how yours went in comparison,

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

Welterweights

Kenneth Toadspew (13-2) - Toadspew is my least popular champion at only Mid Regional popularity. Probably due to the fact he's non-European. His momentum means he can still draw but I'll need to be a bit more careful in terms of making sure his challengers are popular than with some of the other divisions.

Templeton Crumb (21-3) - Having said that the number one contender is another non-European and another fighter with Mid Regional name value. His only Sigma loss was in a title fight to ex-champion Evgeni Medtner and he's picked up two good wins since then, so despite his lack of popularity he's probably still first in line for a title shot.

Evgeni Medtner (23-6) - Talking of the ex-champ, he's ranked 3rd in the division. He's a decent all round fighter although he doesn't excel in any area and he'll be a strong test for any potential challengers. And of course, if Crumb beats Toadspew then Medtner could find himself getting another title shot sooner rather than later.

Jens Halle (16-3) - A reasonable striker who's already lost to Toadspew and as such will likely find himself used as a gatekeeper until Toadspew loses the title.

Alberto Basora (20-8) - Great on the ground but with terrible striking and a dodgy chin it's unlikely that he'll ever be top dog in the division, however he's another decent gatekeeper.

Dominykas Jankovic (12-3) - Another fighter who's already fought and lost to Toadspew. At only 26 years of age though he has plenty of time to get back on track and another title shot is only a couple of wins away.

Ern Fathoui (6-0) - The lower rankings of this division have several decent looking fighters sporting unbeaten records. Fathoui looks like one of the better ones on paper and it will be interesting to see if he backs that up in the cage.

Filip Hristov (5-0) - And finally we have one of the potential stars of the division. Hristov has great grappling and ground skills but at 31 he's a late starter and time isn't on his side. I'll want him to fight early and often to get some more experience under his belt and to also boost his momentum and name value.

Again I look to hire a few extra fighters to pad out the division and look to make them a mix of enhancement talent and actual talent.

Christijan van Belkum (6-1) - The dutch striker falls into the category of enhancement talent. He's not terrible but he doesn't seem to have any grappling skills and I can see him getting taken down by any half decent wrestler. Still he has a decent record and he fills a gap.

Jean-Jacques Levasseur (6-2) - Another reasonable striker who doesn't have much in the way of a ground game. Again though he has a decent record and +2 momentum so I should be able to get a couple of decent fights out of him.

Jules Dupuit (5-1) - Pretty much the same as the last two. At least I should be able to put on a number of exciting undercard fights in this division by matching them off against each other and one of them should emerge with several wins under his belt.

Lev Safanov (5-1) - At last a wrestler. He's not the greatest but at least he offers something different and I can use him to test some of these strikers ground games out.

Marko Prochazka (22-14) - Despite his veteran status Prochazka is ranked relatively low. Still he'll act as a final test for a youngster before they get pitched in against the big boys.

Pavel Radulov (7-1) - A solid all rounder, Radulov doesn't really have any area he excels in, again though he can go up against some of the strikers to test their takedown defence to see if they are ready for the main card.

Ragnar Gunnlaugsson (5-0) - I've signed quite a few mediocre fighters but here is one who may be able to progress to the next level. His striking is substantially better than my other signings and if he can improve his wrestling he could be a force.

Vjekoslav Sarich (5-0) - Another very good striker, at 29 it's probably a bit late for him to improve much but I fully expect him to be able to put away some of the other strikers I've signed and he will hopefully put on some exciting fights.

Wawrzyniec Dygasinski - At 32 he's probably already peaked and that peak wasn't very high. I expect him to lose two fights and then leave.

Willem van Ommen - The only skill where he is above average is weight cutting. This doesn't bode well for a successful career but again he's here to do a job and then leave.

I've signed quite a few fighters to this division but none are cast iron future stars. However by pitting them against each other I should be able to boost at least a couple to decent levels of popularity and momentum.

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

Lightweight

Fiyero Lermontov (15-0) - Lermontov is a beast and he could be champion for a while. Fortunately he's not had fights against to many of my division and as such I should be able to find plenty of challengers for him.

Luis Basora (21-5) - Basora is the ex-champion who lost his title to Lermontov. He was beaten by him again in the rematch so he's essentially barred from the title picture until Lermontov loses the title. He's too good to keep as a gatekeeper so after some deliberation I decide to bump him up to Welterweight, where I hope he can make an impact.

Luka Mellberg (18-4) - Basora's departure leaves Mellberg as the highest rated challenger to Lermontov's title. Skills wise he's doesn't look to be all that and I have a feeling that once he starts losing he may go on a bit of a streak As such it's probably best to get his title shot in early rather than risk a tune up fight.

Georges Nouri - (12-2) - Another fighter who's lost to Lermontov but is too good to be a gatekeeper. He takes the opposite trip to Basora, dropping to Featherweight where again I hope he can prove to be a title challenger.

Lubos Plasil (7-1) - There are a few fighters ranked above him but none who I expect to amount to much. As such Plasil is probably my next hope for a title challenger. He needs a couple of wins after his loss to Nouri but there seem to be plenty of opponents around him he should be able to beat.

Patrick Pedersen (5-0) - My other promising midcarder I'll be hoping that Pedersen's striking can see him pick up a couple of KO wins to move him up the card.

Johan Kavli - Although he only has two fights under his belt Kavli shows a lot of potential. At just 23 there is a lot of time for him to build on his already impressive skills set and he could be a potential star in the making.

After moving two of the biggest names in the division on I'll need to sign some decent fighters, sadly there aren't many on the market and I settle for picking up a number of mediocre ones with the hope of building a few of them up.

Alain Saul (5-0) - Decent striker with reasonable takedown defence. If he can keep his fights standing he may do ok.

Folke Dalen (5-0) - A strong striker but with poor takedown defence, he'll probably only do well against other strikers and will struggle if he goes up against a half decent grappler. Still he's only 22 so plenty of time to improve.

Grigory Kabalevsky (5-1) - A decent wrestler with no striking skills Kabalevsky is the polar opposite of my other two signings so far. It will be interesting to see who can come out on top.

Khariton Litke (5-0) - Another wrestler who can't punch or kick. He;ll be thrown in the mix with the others.

Klaus Greis (5-0) - One more wrestler, although he at least can throw a punch and he may be the best of a distinctly average crop.

Marek Warzycha (10-6) - The obligatory veteran, he's here to provide a young up and comer with a test and he's another one I expect to lose twice and then be gone.

Pentti Rovanpera (7-2) - A jobber pure and simple, he's been signed to rehab one of the other rookies after their first loss.

Xavi Castillejo (6-0) - I've definitely saved the best for last, at 22 I fully expect Castillejo to be a star for years to come.

I've weakened the division at the top but strengthened it at the bottom, long term this should pay off, but short term I may struggle to find title fights for Lermontov.

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

Featherweights

And finally the Featherweights. This is a division I don't have a lot of experience with so it will be exciting to see who is out there.

Snorri Gunnarsson (24-4-1) - My Featherweight champion and the number 2 ranked Featherweight in the world. Gunnarsson has decent skills but his real strengths are his chin and ability to strategise for his opponents.

Lars Bohlin (50-7) - At 34 the ex-champ is nearing the end of his career. He's probably only one big win away from getting a chance to avenge his loss to Gunnarsson and I'll need to carefully consider who to throw him in against.

Manish Khan (11-2) - A good boxer Khan is going to cause me some issues. He's already lost to Gunnarsson but he's difficult to use to boost another challenger as he's always got a good chance of KOing someone. Again he's one who I'll need to be careful with when deciding his next opponent.

Jason Dalglish (19-5) - As someone who's not fought Gunnarsson yet Dalglish would be the perfect opponent for Bohlin as whoever wins it would be a ready made challenger. There is only one problem, hes already fought and lost to Bohlin. This means I'll either need to put him straight in against Gunnarsson or look further down the card for an opponent.

Alvaro Negrado (22-9) - Negrado has already lost to both Gunnarsson and Bohlin, meaning he is useless to me as both a potential challenger for Gunnarsson or as a potential fighter for a number one contender bout. Add to that the fact that I don't even think he's all that good and is 32 and you have a fighter who's career is almost certainly on a downward slope.

Francesco Marazzina (21-8) - He's 34 but he's not fought any of the top dogs and as such he may get one last chance at the big time. All he needs is a couple of wins.

Fernando Peragon - (11-3)Another one who has the potential for a push to the top. Again the fact he's not fought any of the big guns means he only needs a couple of wins to be in the title mix.

Gerrit Dudok (7-0) - His bio says he could be a future champion but I'm not convinced. Still he'll get a fair chance to prove me wrong.

Milovan Ajetovic (6-1) - Another guy with potential but significant gaps in his game that he needs to improve before taking a step up.

Hans Christian Bloch (6-0) - Of all the promising youngsters in this division my money is on Bloch being the one to make it. He has great physical attributes and wrestling and he could be a force to be reckoned with if he can improve either his striking of his ground game.

Heiko Pander (5-1) - Another promising youngster whose career has taken a knock due to a loss against Lars Bohlin, what the previous management were thinking putting a rookie in there against Bohlin I have no idea. Under me he'll be given a chance to rebuild his momentum.

Given that BCF don't run a Featherweight Division I'm going to look to the British Isles for talent as well as Europe, although, given they won't have any name value in Europe I'll probably only pick up one or two. This may be the division that I use to spearhead my approach into the UK at a later date.

Freddy Lomax (5-0) - Brit Freddy Lomax looks like a potential star and I'll be hoping to build on that potential.

Liam O'Donnell (8-3) - He;s pretty much been brought in to be Lomax's first opponent, meaning Lomax can fight someone he's probably familiar with from the British circuit, hopefully making his transition to SIGMA that bit easier, reduces the chance for an upset against someone he doesn't know much about (I know this doesn't happen in game but again this goes back to what I said about trying to book realistically).

Hovhannes Javakhyan (7-0) - A strong wrestler, Javakhyan could prove to be a challenge for a lot of the guys in the division. At 27 he's not quite reached his peak but it's probably not going to be long before he gets there.

Illya Fedorov (5-0) - An exciting brawler who's not all that skills wise. Just what the division needs to boost some of my other fighters.

Ivano Ancic (5-0) - Another striker who is unlikely to trouble anyone with real talent but who should prove to be a good stepping stone for a future star.

Jan Ilic (5-0) - And Jan Ilic could prove to be that star. His powerful striking combined with his decent wrestling should make him a tough fighter for anyone to face.

Krzysztof Bujnicki (5-0) - Another decent striker who is just unlucky that there are much better fighters than him around to push.

Kyril Alyabyev (6-1) - Basically that comment I just made for Bujnicki, well that applies here to.

Nuno Valentino (6-0) - And here is one of those much better fighters I just mentioned. His world calibre BJJ means he should be tapping out a lot of these stikers, provided he can get them to the ground. This may be the man I build my division around in the future.

I'm very pleased with the signings here, there are a few with potential and I can see this division being a strong one in maybe two years or so.

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

With all that out of the way it's time to announce my first card. It will be taking place on the last Saturday in January in Germany (where all my cards will be taking place for the foreseeable future, it seems far more sensible to focus on building up a fan base in one country before travelling round Europe and given that Germany is the biggest economy in Europe it's easily big enough to support a promotion) and will be the first SIGMA show broadcast on SportTube. As the first card under the new era I've packed it out with several exciting fights, but the main event will be........

<div style="text-align:center;">Nick Soldo (17-2-1) vs Dmytro Dargomyzhsky (22-8) for the Light Heavyweight Title</div>

It just had to be Nick Soldo. As my most popular champion he was the only real choice to kick off the new SIGMA era. Dargomyzhsky is the highest ranked fighter who has already lost to him so he was the natural choice for an opponent. Given his chin is suspect (69%) and his striking defence is even worse I'm hoping for an impressive KO win for the champ. Worst case scenario is that Dargomyzhsky takes him down and grinds out a dull win. This is rated as a Great Main Event.

Luis Basora (21-5) vs Jens Halle (16-3) - Welterweight

This is the co-main event. It's rated as a decent main event, meaning I have a ready made replacement if something happens to the main event. Luis Basora makes his debut at Welterweight against established pro Jens Halle. A win here will prove that Basora can cut it at the heavier weight and I'm optimistic that he can take Halle down and tap him out.

Grzegorz Boniek (35-5) vs Stjepan Andric (14-7) - Heavyweight

This should be a comfortable win for the ex-champion and once he's back to winning ways he'll be back in the title mix. Andric has no real skills to speak of and this would be a major upset if he won. This is a potential main event, which means it can step up easily to the co-main if something happens.

Fernando Peragon (11-3) vs Franesco Marazzina (21-8) - Featherweight

Neither of these guys have fought Gunnarsson so it makes sense to pair them up as whoever wins I'll have a potential title challenger. They are both coming off a loss, but still have +1 momentum. They practically look like twins in their pictures but there is actually a 7 year age gap so ideally I'd like Peragon to win as he's got more of a future. This is pretty much a no lose bout for me though.

Johan Kavli (2-0) vs Vladimir Baskov (6-3) - Lightweight

Kavli makes his SIGMA debut against a fighter he really should be beating. Anything other than a win for him here will be a major disappointment.

Prelims

Ezio Gnocchi (7-1) vs Tore Herlovsen (5-3) - Middleweight

Both these fighters are pretty terrible so the prelims is the best place for one of them to try and get back to winning ways. Ideally I'd like Gnocchi to win as he's got better name value and momentum. A loss for Herlovsen will see his SIGMA record go to 1-4 and he'll probably get the chop.

Franak Pavilchenko (12-7) vs Maurice Braudel (8-3) - Lightweight

Two more fighters who need a win. Pavilchenko needs it more as he's also 1-3 in SIGMA and he'll get the axe if he loses here. Braudel will probably keep his job even if he loses but he'll be hanging on by a thread.

Uwe Maier (10-3) vs Bixente Fontaine (9-4) - Middleweight

I've inherited a lot of fighters on losing streaks and here are two more. Despite this it's likely that either of them will survive a loss here, but the pressure will really be on for the next fight.

Benedikt Streit (19-7) vs Colm Dee (14-4) - Featherweight

The final prelim bout sees two more losers face off as I try to get some fighters onto winning streaks. Dee would be my preferred choice here as his record and momentum is slightly better but again it's no big deal either way.

Overall the main card is pretty good with a title fight, two ex-champions, a hopefully fairly evenly matched Featherweight belt and a debut for a potential future star. The prelims are awful, but that was always going to be the case as none of my signings were available in time and it's just a case of putting some fights on to rehabilitate some of my less popular fighters. Ideally I'd like to have 5 main card fights and 5 prelims but I had to settle for 9 fights overall as I just didn't have another prelim fight available that made sense to keep off the main card.

cymru96 · December 11, 2016

Nick Soldo (17-2-1) vs Dmytro Dargomyzhsky (22-8): Soldo has reasonable submissions, so even if he does get taken down, he's still the most likely to get a finish.

Luis Basora (21-5) vs Jens Halle (16-3)

Grzegorz Boniek (35-5) vs Stjepan Andric (14-7)

Fernando Peragon (11-3) vs Franesco Marazzina (21-8)

Johan Kavli (2-0) vs Vladimir Baskov (6-3)

Ezio Gnocchi (7-1) vs Tore Herlovsen (5-3): Tough, both kinda suck.

Franak Pavilchenko (12-7) vs Maurice Braudel (8-3)

Uwe Maier (10-3) vs Bixente Fontaine (9-4)

Benedikt Streit (19-7) vs Colm Dee (14-4)

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

SIGMA: Soldo vs Dargomyzhsky

I managed to get to the event without any issues, in addition I filled that last slot on the prelims with Freddy Lomax vs Liam O'Donnell, hopefully Lomax will win this and gain some popularity in the European region so he can be on the main card next time out.

There have been a few signings by ALPHA-1 and GAMMA which impact on me and I'll cover them after the show, however two are worth mentioning here as they impact on this event. ALPHA-1 have signed Grzegorz Boniek, who fights Stjepan Andric on this card. I thought about cancelling or rearranging the fight but decided to let it go ahead as a send off for Boniek, whose given SIGMA several years of good service. I'm not really worried about Andric losing as I had no real plans for him anyway and the last ever SIGMA match for Boniek should be a good selling point for the event.

The second signing has more of an impact at Luis Basora has signed with GAMMA. As his fight was due to be a tune up fight for a title shot there is no point going ahead with it. Luckily I have a ready made replacement and Luis' brother Alberto steps into the match. He's not as good as Luis but if he wins he has a good chance of picking up a title shot in the future as well.

Prelims

Freddy "The Axe" Lomax (5-0) vs "The Bruiser from Belfast" Liam O'Donnell - Featherweight

Lomax clinches, takes O'Donnell down and taps him out with an armbar. Easy win for Lomax to introduce him to the local fans.

Result: Freddy Lomax defeats Liam O'Donnell (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 1:25 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

"Bulldozer" Benedikt Streit (19-7) vs Colm "The Celtic Warrior" Dee (14-4) - Featherweight

A messy fight spent mostly in the clinch, Streit takes it 2-1 on two of the score cards and 3-0 on the other.

Result: Benedikt Streit defeats Colm Dee (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Uwe "Max" Maier (10-3) vs "Thunder Foot" Bixente Fontaine - Middleweight

Maier knocks Fontaine down in the first, second and third rounds but can't finish him on the floor. Fontaine suffers a broken nose but survives the fight.

Result: Uwe Maier defeats Bixente Fontaine (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Franak Pavilchenko (12-7) vs Maurice Braudel (8-3) - Lightweight

Braudel keeps it standing in round 1 to take it, but Braudel gets the takedown in round 2 to comfortably win that one. Round 3 looks close, with Braudel dominating the early going but Pavilchenko getting the late takedown. Both the commentator and I give the match to Braudel but the judges see it differently. 29-28 Braudel, 29-28 Pavilchenko and the, shockingly, 30-27 to Pavilchenko. The crowd boo as they know they've seen a poor decision.

Result: Frankak Pavilchenko defeats Maurice Braudel (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Good.

"The Centurion" Ezio Gnocchi (7-1) vs "The Ice Man" Tore Herlovsen (5-3)- Middleweight

Herlovsen gets the early takedown and starts beating Gnocchi down, the ref steps in and it's all over.

Result: Tore Herlovsen defeats Ezio Gnocchi (TKO (Strikes) in 2:16 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Main Card

Johan Kavli (2-0) vs Vladimir "The Impaler" Baskov (6-3) - Lightweight

The fight goes the distance, with Baskov getting the better of the striking but Kavli getting a takedown in the second. It goes to the judges who score it 29-28 Baskov, 29-28 Kavli, 30-27 Kavli.

Result: Johan Kavli defeats Vladimir Baskov (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Good

"The Peragon of Virtue" Fernando Peragon (11-3) vs Francesco Marazzina (21-8) - Featherweight

Marazzina gets a takedown and takes the first round, however Peragon manages to keep it standing in the second and picks up the KO with a powerful straight right.

Result: Fernando Peragon defeats Francesco Marazzina (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:15 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great

"Polish Power" Grzegorz Boniek (35-5) vs Stjepan "The Mammoth" Andric (14-7) - Heavyweight

After a brief period where they trade blows Boniek takes it to the floor. From their it doesn't take him long to sink in the armbar for the win. Boniek thanks the fans as they chant "Please don't go" and "Thank you Andric" (only on German).

Result: Grzegorz Boniek defeats Stjepan Andric (Submission (Armbar) in 4:21 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Co-Main Event

Alberto Basora (20-8) vs Jens "Battery" Halle (16-3) - Welterweight

Late replacement Basora gets an early takedown with a judo throw. He can't finish Halle despite several attempts but easily takes the first round. Round 2 is much the same but this time Halle can't fight off Basora and he picks up the win with a rear naked choke.

Result: Alberto Basora defeats Jens "Battery" Halle (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:17 of round 2. The match was rated as being Average

Main Event

"The Gladiator" Niko Soldo (17-2-1) vs Dmytro Dargomyzhsky (22-8) - Light Heavyweight Title

Dargomyzhsky goes for the clinch but Soldo is too strong and forces him up against the cage. He lands several nasty knees and elbows and opens up a nasty cut on Dargomyzhsky which the ref checks but decides it's not too serious.

The next four rounds follow the same pattern and we go to the judges who give Soldo the comfortable win.

Result: Nick Soldo defeats Dmytro Dargomyzhsjy (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Attendance: 932 (for a gate of £82,016)

Critical Rating: 71%

Commercial Rating: 51%

Pop increase:

+3.2% EU

+2.5% Africa, Central America, Russia, Asia, Australia, UK, USA.

+2.0% South America, Mexico, Canada, Japan

Total Income: +£23,308

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

January 2001 - End of the month round up

As you'd expect it's been quite a busy month for signings for everyone, I'm not going to list them all but there are a few which affect me.

Grzegorz Boniek - You already know that the ex-champion has accepted an offer from ALPHA-1. I didn't try to compete with them, at 35 I can't begrudge Boniek a shot at the big time and one last big payday.

Luis Basora - Another one I've already mentioned. He's off to GAMMA, which is annoying but again I didn't compete with them. His brother stepped in an won the fight so I've not been left high and dry and again he deserves a shot at the big time.

Fernando Amaro - ALPHA-1 swooped for Amaro, who I already had booked in to face Kanchelskis in March. He accepted the offer leaving me with a dilemma, should I cancel the fight or risk him winning and then leaving. The decision gets made for me as Kanchelskis picks up an injury and the fight is cancelled.

Iancu Trailescu - Another ALPHA-1 signing, again I don't compete with them. If I'm going to splash out a lot of money keeping a fighter it will be someone better than this.

Zsolt Hargitay - ALPHA-1 put in a last minute offer and he signs with them rather than me, where I assume he'll fight as a Super Heavyweight.

Aleksei Chkhov, Faas Smit, Dmytro Dargomyzhsky all sign with BCF, they are still available to me but I'll need to be careful in terms of booking them and making sure they are available.

BCF also suffer a blow as their ex-heaveyweight champion Stafford Alois goes to ALPHA-1, they are certainly stocking up on passed it Heavyweights.

Elsewhere, GAMMA climb to Mid National Level off the back of Lawrence Herringbone defending his title against Marlon John. KDM FC also run an event, which sees Veronika Sablikova defend her title and become the number 1 P4P female fighter in the world.

Although my event made a profit, overall at the end of the month I lost £82,443. Still with £2.5 Mil in the bank I'm not worried yet. The event itself went well, with Alberto Basora climbing to High Regional Name Value, putting him inline for a title shot and Fernando Peragon improving his momentum and climbing to 4th in the rankings.

Summary

Pros

1) Held my first event, which turned a profit and improved my popularity.

2) Signed a lot of fighters, which has strengthened the lower levels of all my divisions and has hopefully given me a few future stars.

3) Signed my first broadcasting contract.

Cons

1) Lost several big names, including a potential challenger for Oktay and one for Toadspew.

2) Down to just 16 fighters at Heavyweight, I'll need to see if there are any other signings.

3) Forced to share several fighters with BCF.

4) Lost money overall.

Overall I think I'm off to a good start, now for month 2.

WCW Mark · December 11, 2016

The second event under my management is going to be......

<div style="text-align:center;">Kenneth Toadspew (13-2) vs Templeton Crumb (21-3) - Welterweight Title</div>

Welterweight Champion Kenneth Toadspew seeks to make the second defence of his belt against challenger Templeton Crumb. Toadspew is a powerful wrestler, while Crumb has excellent boxing skills. This will be a real clash of styles and while I expect Toadspew to retain I'm happy whoever wins this as they are both equally popular, the same age and both have potential future match ups I can put on. It's rated at High Regional, which is a strong main event.

Co-Main Event

Jacob Matthaus (18-8) vs Daniil Skala (21-7) - Light Heavyweight

To be honest this is a bit of a throw away match up but it's rated as a Decent Main Event so it makes a good back up. I don't really have a long term vision for either of these guys, but there's nothing to stop them forcing their way into my plans if they win a couple. Ultimately though I expect the winner of this one to put someone else over in the near future.

Dominykas Jankovic (12-3) vs Casim Yenkini (11-4) - Middleweight

I've moved Jankovic to Middleweight as I need to create some title challengers, especially with Amaro moving on. Jankovic should beat Yenkini pretty easily to establish himself at Middleweight. This is rated as a potential main event so I can move it up to the Co-Main if needed.

Marco Bernacci (6-2) vs Gerrit Dudok (7-0) - Featherweight

Bernacci is a poweful striker and a win here should put him into the top ten. I've matched him up with another striker to avoid his weakness to takedowns being exposed.

Aleksander Ivanov (9-1) vs Souleyman Ya Konan (11-2) - Heavyweight

Ivanov needs a win after losing the title to Oktay. Ya Konan is also coming off a defeat so one more won't really matter and Oktay should get a comfortable win here to start his road back to a title shot.

Prelims

Alain Saul (6-0) vs Folke Dalen (5-0) - Lightweight

Two of my newly signed fighters face off, both have a background in Taekwondo so I expect this to be a stand up battle. The winner here will likely feature on the main card next time out.

Jan Ilic (5-0) vs Ilya Fedorov (5-0) - Featherweight

This bout sees two brawlers face off, so I'm hoping for an exciting KO. Ilic is the better fighter so it's likely to be him taking the step up next time out.

Jozef Jankowski (6-0) vs Bastian Neske (5-1) - Heavyweight

Two more big hitting strikers face off, I expect another KO finish here and another fighter ready to move up the card.

Andoni Olano (6-2) vs Makhak Kirakosyan (5-0) - Light Heavyweight

Kickboxer vs Boxer as another two fighters make their debuts. The number of signings I've made means the prelims are likely to be pretty debut heavy over the next few cards. Hopefully it will be worth it in the long run.

Shaun Dico (5-0) vs Franz Ludwig (13-8) - Middleweight

Dico has no name value anywhere in the world, I'm not sure if that's an error but it means he needs to fight on the prelims a couple of times before appearing on the main card Ludwig has the experience edge but that's about it and I expect a Dico win.

Overall this is a bit of a transitional card. The main event is strong but the co-main is a bit nondescript, despite it's high appeal, while two of the other three main card fights should pretty much be foregone conclusions. The prelims are interesting, just from the point of view of seeing who comes through with the victory, but the actual results don't really matter, it's just a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff before putting them on the main card.

Oh and here's a summary of the card to make predicting the results easier.

Toadspew vs Crumb

Matthaus vs Skala

Jankovic vs Yenkini

Bernacci vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Ya Konan

Saul vs Dalen

Ilic vs Fedorov

Jankowski vs Neske

Olano vs Kirakosyan

Dico vs Ludwig

cymru96 · December 11, 2016

Toadspew vs Crumb

Matthaus vs Skala

Jankovic vs Yenkini

Bernacci vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Ya Konan

Saul vs Dalen

Ilic vs Fedorov

Jankowski vs Neske

Olano vs Kirakosyan

Dico vs Ludwig

Judoku1819 · December 11, 2016

Toadspew vs Crumb

Matthaus vs Skala

Jankovic vs Yenkini

Bernacci vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Ya Konan

Saul vs Dalen

Ilic vs Fedorov

Jankowski vs Neske

Olano vs Kirakosyan

Dico vs Ludwig

WCW Mark · December 12, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Toadspew vs Crumb</div>

This time I make it to the show without having to make any changes. In addition I've signed another broadcast deal, this time with Continental Sports X1. So as well as being shown around the world on the internet it will now be broadcast on free to air TV in Europe, the UK and Russia, my three key locations. I'm not sure how much extra money this will bring in but the extra exposure has got to be good news.

Prelims

"Tenacious" Shaun Dico (5-0) vs Franz Ludwig (13-8) - Middleweight

Dico eats a couple of shots before getting the takedown, he starts raining down bombs and it's only a matter of time before the ref steps in. Great debut win.

Result: Shaun Dico defeats Franz Ludwig (TKO (Strikes) in 2:13 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Andoni Olano (6-2) vs Makhak "Thunder" Kirakosyan (5-0) - Light Heavyweight

Three rounds of fast paced striking. Olano is the more accurate but his shots lack power, while Kirakosyan hits harder but misses a lot. The judges are split but Kirakosyan picks up the win.

Result: Makhak Kirakosyan defeats Andoni Olano (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Jozef "Pole Ax" Jankowski (6-0) vs Bastian Neske (5-1) - Heavyweight

Jankowski is taller and heavier and he's comfortably outstriking the smaller man. Neske tries to negate the reach advantage by clinching but Jankowski controls that as well. He basically neutralises everything Neske does and grinds out a comfortable win.

Result: Jozef Jankowski defeats Bastian Neske (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as Decent

Jan "Thunderbolt" Ilic vs Ilya Fedorov - Featherweight

After a couple of decisions it would be nice to have a KO to liven things up. Ilic obviously feels the same way, steaming in and landing several hard shots. The last one is a vicious right hook and Federov is out before he hits the ground.

Result: Jan Ilic defeats Ilya Federov (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:53 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

Alain Saul (6-0) vs Folke Dalen (5-0) - Lightweight

The two Taekwondo practitioners put on a clinic, landing round house kicks, head kicks and all sorts of punches. At the end of three all action rounds two judges score it 29-28 to Saul, while the other goes 30-27 to Dalen. Both fighters did themselves proud here.

Result: Alain Saul defeats Folke Dalen (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Great

The Main Card

"The Great Bear" Aleksander Ivanov (9-1) vs "The African Dream" Souleymane Ya Konan (11-2) - Heavyweight

The crowd are still buzzing after that last prelim and Ya Konan comes out blazing, he lands several hard shots but they don't seem to hurt Ivanov. Ivanov ploughs forward, takes him down and taps him out. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Result: Alksander Ivanov defeats Souleymane Ya Konan (Submission (Armbar) in 2:47 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Marco "The Bomb" Bernacci (6-2) vs "The Dutch Master" Gerrit Dudok (7-0) - Featherweight

Dudok drops Bernacci in the first but he's let down by his ground game and can't finish him. He doesn't need to in the second as he rocks Bernacci with a serious of punches before leaving him cold with a right uppercut.

Result: Gerrit Dudok defeats Marco Bernacci (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:04 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great

Dominykas "Slamkovic" Jankovic (12-3) vs "The Super Eagle" Casim Yenkini (11-4) - Middleweight

Jankovic has come in at only 171 lbs. Yenkini takes full advantage of his size advantage, manhandling the smaller man, taking him down in every round and controlling him. Yenkini picks up a shock win and Jankovic will be returning straight to the Welterweight Division.

Result: Casim Yenkini defeats Dominykas Jankovic (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Co-Main Event

"The Hamburg Hammer" Jacob Matthaus vs Daniil "Skull Crusher" Skala - Light Heavyweight

Skala dominates the match when they are standing but Matthas manages to take it to the ground in the first and second. Skala shows good defence though and Matthaus never really looks like finishing him. The final round is a bit of damp squib, with most of it spent in the clinch and we go to the judges for a decision. They unanimously go for Skala and he picks up the win.

Result: Daniil Skala defeats Jacob Matthaus (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Main Event

"The Spew Monkey" Kenneth Toadspew (13-2) vs Templeton "The Body" Crumb (21-3) for the Welterweight Title

Toadspew dominates Crumb with an efficient, if somewhat dull, performance. Crumb just can't keep Toadspew away and we spent the first four rounds in the clinch. Toadspew only really seems to step it up a gear in the 5th, once he already had the fight won as he scores a takedown and goes for a couple of submission attempts. Crumb defends them well but there is no doubt who's won this one.

Result: Kenneth Toadspew defeats Templeton Crumb (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Attendance: 760 for a gate of £66,880

Critical Rating: 70%

Commercial Rating: 37%

Popularity:

Europe: +0.2%

Africa, Central America, Russia and Britain: +1.6%

Asia, Australia, South America, Central America, Canada, USA: + 1.3%

Japan: +1%

Total Income: +£300,262

WCW Mark · December 12, 2016

February 2001 - End of month round up

It's slowed down a bit in terms of new signings, but there are still a few big ones as GAMMA expand their roster, no doubt in response to moving up a size last month. They snatch Reigning Welterweight champion Manuel Silva from FLB and more importantly they sign up Fiyero Lermontov from me. Lermontov is already booked to defend his Title in May and I'm not going to change it. He'll probably retain but I don't think I've got anyone who can beat him and I might as well get one last main event out of him. In the end it might end up being a good thing for the division as he'd pretty much beaten everyone of note. However the next champion is bound to suffer as people compare him to Lermontov.

BCF continue to annoy me as they sign Niko Soldo. This is going to make planning title fights difficult and I'll need to plan well in advance to try and book him as early as possible. The lack of credible opposition in the division makes this difficult though.

I snap up three Heavyweights to help bolster the division.

Libor Pudil (6-0) - He's picked up a win on the local circuit, he's not got great skills but he's strong and may be able to overpower some of the lesser fighters in the division.

Otto Renner (8-3) - Another fighter who has fought and won against a local fighter. Renner is a wrestler with good takedowns and ground and pound. However his complete lack of a stand up game is a major weakness.

Sahan Ozbek (6-0) - A wrestler with a decent all round game. Ozbek shows promise and may well be the best of the three.

Events wise it's all about the Banamweights, Willy Bassett beat Brian Claremont to win the XCC Bantamweight Title. While Sarah Vaughan successfully defended her WEFF belt.

BCF headlined their show with a win for Lenny McFadden against George Laurent while ALPHA-1 ran Da Guia vs Phe Roby for the Middleweight Title. It must have been a brutal match as Roby ended up losing by TKO to a leg kick!

Summary

It was definitely a mixed month. Financially I'm now secure as I made a profit of £170K. However I lost another big name and I've got to share another. The biggest issue though was Jankovic's loss and it serves as a reminder to try and make sure that even when I'm putting on tune up fights I need to make sure that regardless of who wins I have a plan for them. As it is Yenkini has zero momentum (at least an improvement from the -1 he previously had) and a 3-2 record in SIGMA. He can't exactly step in an take the title shot I had planned for Jankovic.

Pros

1) Landed a new TV deal and turned a profit as a result, it was a decent proft to, so even as wages start to creep up (several fighters have had their contracts renewed at more money) I should be fine.

2) Ivanov got back to winning ways and improved his name value to High Regional and his momentum to +2. I'm not sure if he'll get his title shot in his next fight or not, but he can headline a card even if he isn't fighting for the title.

3) I've debuted a lot of new fighters and built for the future.

Cons

1) Talent Raids. Losing Lermontov isn't that damaging but having to share Soldo with BCF is very frustrating.

2) Jankovic's loss. I'm not sure what I'm doing at Middleweight now. Between Amaro leaving, Kanchelskis getting injured and now this the division is a mess.

3) Toadspew didn't improve his popularity or his momentum. I have a feeling he's going to be a difficult champion to build due to his dull style and low initial popularity.

Overall a bit of a dip after a good first month. Let's see what March brings.

Finally well done to Judoku1819 who predicted 7 out of 10 fights, just pipping cymru96 by one.

WCW Mark · December 12, 2016

SIGMA are proud to announce........

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Oktay vs Papaioannou</div>

This was originally going to take place in April, but the mess that is the Middleweight division meant I had to bring it forward a month. That means it's only three months since Oktay won the title, which is a little on the short side but just about believable.

Lefter Oktay (15-0) vs Stratos Papaioannou (28-6) - Heavyweight Title

Papaioannou is my number 2 ranked Heavyweight and a worthy challenger. He's a veteran of the division and this is rated as a Great main event. I'm hopefully building up to an Oktay vs Ivanov rematch but I don't want to do it straight away and this should hopefully be win for Oktay. It may even push him to Low National Popularity as he's currently sitting at 90% High Regional.

Co-Main Event

Georges Nouri (12-2) vs Pedro Alves (13-5) - Featherweight

The Co-main event sees Georges Nouri make his Featherweight debut. I've learned from the Jankovic fiasco and this time he's facing someone who I could at least use if he gets the win. Alves is 4-2 in Sigma and is currently coming off a win with +1 Momentum. He's ranked at 11th in the division. As such he is someone I can afford to throw under the bus, but he's also someone who could feasibly get a number 1 contender bout with a win here. This makes for a potential main event, so hopefully the actual main event doesn't fall apart as this isn't really adequate cover.

Carmelo Rossi (11-3) vs Chrisakis Boutzikos (7-0) - Welterweight

Boutzikos has been on a tear pre-game, sitting at 5-0 in SIGMA. However he's still only low regional popularity and needs to beat someone with some name value. Carmelo Rossi is Mid Regional popularity and he's also on a winning streak. As such, whoever wins this match I'll have a viable contender. Stats wise they look pretty similar, although I favour Rossi slightly. This is also rated as a potential main event, so I do have cover if something goes wrong further up the card.

Lubos Plasil (7-1) vs Milenko Rudonja (19-6) - Lightweight

Plasil was making a name for himself pregame until he came unstuck against Georges Nouri. However with Nouri dropping to Featherweight and Lermontov due to leave in the near future the division is opening up and Plasil could get another shot at the top. Rudonja is ranked 3rd in the division but he has a poor record in SIGMA and he's currently coming off a loss to Luis Basora. He's needs a win to rejuvenate his career, although I don't think he's going to get it here. If he does though he'll automatically be in the title mix due to his high ranking, so once again this is a win/win fight for me.

Roope Kuqi (5-0) vs Murray Darby (12-6) - Heavyweight

Darby is on a losing streak and another loss here will see him relegated to the prelims. Kuqi is hopefully one of my rising stars and a win here, against the 9th ranked Heavyweight will see him pushing for a top ten spot. This is a big fight for the young man and I hope he comes through. Again though, if Darby does win it's not the end of the world, he's Mid Regional popularity and he'll then make a perfectly good jobber for someone further up the card.

Prelims

Hovhannes Javakhyan (7-0) vs Ivano Ancic (5-0) - Featherweight

Two fighters making their SIGMA debuts, Javakhyan is probably the better fighter at the moment, but at 22 Ancic may have more long term potential. Either way, the winner here will be on the main show next time out, while the loser will get at least a couple more chances on the prelims.

Reinhardt Rhett (7-3) v Juozas Skerla (7-0) - Heavyweight

Skerla makes his debt against local fighter Reinhardt Rhett, Rhett is pretty poor and is just the sort of fighter you'd expect to come in when a company wants to give an easy debut to a new signing. Skerla should win this but if Rhett pulls a shock out of the bag then it will be him taking the step up.

Vjekoslav Sarich (5-0) vs Willem van Ommem - Welterweight

Two kickboxers make their debuts, this should be a comfortable fight for both of them as they shouldn't need to worry too much about their opponents trying to take them down. Sarich is the better striker and should get the win here, to set him up for a tougher opponent next time out.

Chaim Alexievich (6-0) vs Jermaine McKenzie (7-3) - Middleweight

This one sees wrestler vs boxer, a bout which should favour the wrestler and I'm hopeful that Alexievich should be able to pick up the win. He just needs to make sure McKenzie doesn't land a lucky punch to pick up the shock win.

Drazen Gabelich (7-3) vs Spiridon Domazos (5-4) - Middleweight

Both these fighters are on pregame losing steaks and it's highly likely the loser here will be let go. The future doesn't look a great deal better even for the winner as they'll be lucky to make their way off the prelims next time out and will probably find themselves facing much tougher opposition.

Overall I'm much happier with this card than I was with Toadspew vs Crumb. The only weakness is that I don't have much planned if something happens to the main event. Whilst their are fights I definitely want to go a certain way, it won't be a disaster in most of them if the underdog wins and every fight on the main card serves a purpose.

Here's the card for any predictions.

Lefter Oktay vs Stratos Papaioannou

Georges Nouri vs Pedro Alves

Carmelo Rossi vs Christakis Boutzikos

Lubos Plasil vs Milenko Rudonja

Roope Kuqi vs Murray Darby

Hovhannes Javakhyan vs Ivano Ancic

Renhardt Rhett vs Juozas Skerla

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Willem van Ommen

Chaim Alexievich vs Jermaine McKenzie

Drazen Gabelich vs Spiridon Domazos

cymru96 · December 12, 2016

Lefter Oktay vs Stratos Papaioannou

Georges Nouri vs Pedro Alves

Carmelo Rossi vs Christakis Boutzikos

Lubos Plasil vs Milenko Rudonja

Roope Kuqi vs Murray Darby

Hovhannes Javakhyan vs Ivano Ancic

Renhardt Rhett vs Juozas Skerla

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Willem van Ommen

Chaim Alexievich vs Jermaine McKenzie

Drazen Gabelich vs Spiridon Domazos

Judoku1819 · December 12, 2016

Lefter Oktay vs Stratos Papaioannou

Georges Nouri vs Pedro Alves

Carmelo Rossi vs Christakis Boutzikos

Lubos Plasil vs Milenko Rudonja

Roope Kuqi vs Murray Darby

Hovhannes Javakhyan vs Ivano Ancic

Renhardt Rhett vs Juozas Skerla

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Willem van Ommen

Chaim Alexievich vs Jermaine McKenzie

Drazen Gabelich vs Spiridon Domazos

WCW Mark · December 13, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Oktay vs Papaionnau</div>

Again I make it to the card without any changes, so let's get straight on with the action.

Drazen Gabelich (7-3) vs Spiridon "Bang" Domazos (5-4) - Middleweight

Gabelich comes out, drives Domazos back into the cage and then slaps on a guillotine for the win. Gabelich rebounds from his loss to Nouri with a confident performance.

Result: Drazen Gabelich defeats Spiridon "Bang" Domazos (Submission (Guillotine) in 1:19 of round 1. The match was rated as being Good

Chaim Alexievich (6-0) vs "The Aukland Express" Jermaine McKenzie (7-3) - Middleweight

Alexievich takes McKenzie down, he swiftly gains the mount and starts pounding away. He lands several hard shots and it looks like he is going to put McKenzie away, unfortunately he misses with one and breaks his hand on contact with the mat, could this give McKenzie a chance to recover? Apparently not, Alexievich guts it out and keeps the beatdown coming, eventually McKenzie goes limp and the ref steps in.

Result: Chaim Alexievich defeats Jermaine McKenzie (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:49 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

Vjekoslav "Cro Con" Sarich (5-0) vs Willem van Ommen (10-4) - Welterweight

The first round is all stand up and Sarich dominates, to the point where the commentator scores is 10-8, Sarich continues the onslaught in round 2 and this time Ommen crumbles.

Result: Vjekoslav Sarich defeats Willem van Ommen (TKO (Strikes) in 1:00 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good

Reinhardt Rhett (7-3) vs Juozas Skerla (7-0) - Heavyweight

Skelra and Rhett stand in the middle and trade blows, the problem for Rhett is that he's landing weak jabs while Skerla is landing hard shots that rock Rhett to the core. After 4 or 5 of these Rhett buckles and a one final massive right hook puts him away.

Result: Juozas Skerla defeats "Lights Out" Reinhardt Rhett (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:12 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

Hovhannes Javakhyan (7-0) vs Ivano "Ace" Ancic (5-0) - Featherweight

Javakhyan spends two rounds in the clinch softening Ancic up, who appears helpless against the grappler. Round three sees Javakhyan determined to finish it as he takes Ancic down and then transitions to mount, before taking Ancic's back. It takes a couple of attempts but he eventually sinks in the read naked choke for the win.

Hovhannes Javakhyan defeats Ivano "Ace" Ancic (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:42 of round 3. The match was rated as being Average

The Main Card

Roope "The Second Generation Superstar" Kuqi (6-0) vs Murray Darby (12-6) - Heavyweight

Darby only weighs 211 lbs while Kuqi is right at the upper end of the weight limit at 265 lbs. However Darby seems to be able to hold his own in the clinch for the first two rounds and looks like he might be taking it to the judges. However Kuqi has other ideas and as Darby closes in at the start of the round he lands a brutal right hook which puts Darby down, he dives in and puts Darby away with a couple of heavy shots on the ground.

Result: Roope Kuqi defeats Murray Darby (TKO (Strikes) in 0:39 of round 3. The match was rated as being Average

Lubos "The Experiment" Plasil (7-1) vs "The Slovenian Rocket" Milenko Rudonja - Lightweight

Plasil rushes in and scoops Rudonja up before slamming him down hard. Rudonja is stunned and Plasil takes advantage by slapping on a Kimura, it looks like Rudonja may have to tap but at the last minute he breaks free. However Plasil isn't deterred and slaps on an arm triangle for the win. Plasil is right back in the title mix with that win.

Result: Lubos Plasil defeats Milenko Rudonja (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 2:28 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Carmello Rossi (11-3) vs Christakis Boutzikos (7-0) - Welterweight

Rossi is the superior wrestler but he seems happy to stand and strike against Boutzikos. I'm not sure this is the wisest strategy as even though they are both landing roughly the same amount of shots Boutzikos is definitely throwing the harder punches. Rossi switches it up in round 3 and goes for the takedown, which he gets at the first attempt. He spend the rest of the round on top and took the third round with ease, he loses overall though and he must be left wondering whether he could have won it if he's gone for the takedown earlier.

Result: Christakis Boutzikos defeats Carmelo Rossi (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Great

Co-Main Event

"The Sharpshooter" Georges Nouri (12-2) vs Pedro "The Wolverine" Alves - Featherweight

Nouri spends the first round keeping his distance and softening Alves up with the jab, he lands an impressive 34 in the first round alone. Round 2 sees him go straight for the takedown, which he gets with a suplex. Alves is dangerous on the ground so this may be a mistake as Alves scrambles and ends up on top. However Nouri locks in an armbar from the bottom and Alves is forced to tap. Solid win for Nouri.

Result:Georges Nouri defeats Pedro Alves (Submission (Armbar) in 4:17 of round 2. The match was rated as being Good.

Main Event

Lefter "The Beast" Oktay (15-0) vs Stratos "Atlas" Papaioannou (28-6) - Heavyweight Title

Another big weight difference as Papaioannou comes in at only 210 lbs while Oktay weights 231. If Papaioannou loses he'll likely drop down to Light Heavy where he'll be fighting people of a similar size.

Papaioannou's strategy seems to be to hit and move, using his smaller size and superior speed to avoid Oktay's fists. Oktay is wise to it though and starts unleashing the leg kicks in a bid to slow Papaioannou down. After two punishing rounds Papaioannou is probably level on the score cards, but he's definitely limping. Oktay turns the heat up even further in the third and Papaioannou crumples to the mat unable to stand. Absolutely brutal.

Result: Lefter Oktay defeats Stratos Papaioannou (TKO (Leg Kick) in 3:29 of round 3. The match was rated as being Great

Attendance: 887 for a gate of £78,056

Critical Rating: 79%

Commercial Rating: 46%

Popularity:

Europe: +2.6%

Africa, Central America, USA, Russia, Britain and Australia: +2%

Asia, South America, Canada: + 1.6%

Japan: +1.3%

Net Income: +£396,259

This was a much better event, the people I wanted to win won, I had good popularity increases and my profit increased. I decide not to move Papaioannou to Light Heavyweight for a couple of reasons. Firstly he's out for 5 months after the beating from Oktay, so there's no need to make a decision now. Secondly the Heavyweight division is still short a few fighters and he might be better served as a gatekeeper here than at Light Heavy, finally, if Ivanov can recapture his title Papaioannou may well find himself getting one last shot at the title. I also look at moving Murray Darby but it turns out his minimum weight is 208 lbs so he's stuck being an undersized Heavyweight.

Finally congratulations to Judoku1819 who predicted every fight correctly, perhaps I need to try and make them a little less obvious going forward.

WCW Mark · December 13, 2016

March 2001 - End of Month Round Up

Firstly I take steps to strengthen the Lightweight Division, moving Lars Bohlin and Mannish Khan up from Featherweight and Templeton Crumb down from Welterweight. This means the top end of the division is now loaded and as all of them already had losses to the reigning champions in their division this should be a much better use of them. Talking of the Lightweight division, I cut Spirodin Domazos, who is 2-4 in SIGMA and 5-5 overall with -3 momentum.

ALPHA-1 snap up BCF's Light Heavyweight Champion, Curt Kitson and BCF respond by stripping him of the belt. BCF also sign Daniil Skala and Josef Jankowski which is irritating. Although they are only running events about once every three months so their signings haven't impacted me so far.

GAMMA hold Foster vs Boyer II and the franchise comfortably wins to retain his title. At the same event John Rivero shocks nobody by coming in 9lbs overweight. He loses to Toby Sorkin anyway and is promptly released. They also sign Glen Siemaszko after he defends his XCC Lightweight Title against Ross Smith.

Finally KDM FC move to Mid Regional after Sophan Sastrowardoya defends his Bantamweight Title against Pipob Jakkuprasat.

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