SIGMA - My Diary

cymru96 · December 13, 2016

Aw man I tried so hard to build Christakis Boutzikos up and it just never happened for me. I couldn't even get him to beat Prochazka or Chaliapin. Hopefully he rolled a decent destiny stat and you get something out of him.

WCW Mark · December 13, 2016

The April event is all booked, I'm headlining with.......

SIGMA: Gunnarsson vs Dalglish

Snorri Gunnarsson (24-1-1 NC) vs Jason Dalglish (19-5) - Featherweight Title

Dalglish is the 4th ranked Featherweight but he was the obvious choice for challenger as both the fighters ahead of him had already lost to Gunnarsson (he was 4th when I booked it, behind Khan and Bohlin, now it's Peragon and Nouri ahead of him, who haven't fought Gunnarsson so I've got a couple of challengers lined up). Dalglish is on a winning streak and this makes for a strong main event. I think this could be a tough match up for Gunnarsson as Daglish is very good on the ground, which is normally where Gunnarsson excels. Gunnarsson may have to fall back on his striking, which while mediocre is definitely superior to Daglish's.

Co-Main Event

Thorbjorn Rekdal (9-1) vs Oleg Tariverdiev (8-2) - Middleweight

While both of these fighters are highly ranked (3rd and 6th respectively) they are a long way from a title shot while Kanchelskis is still the champion, as such I don't want to match them up against any of my title prospects, just in case they win. Therefore it seems like the best thing I can do with them is match them off against each other to pop a rating. This is rated as a decent main event so it can step in if something goes wrong.

Filip Hristov (5-0) Ern Fathoui (6-0) - Welterweight

Hristov is 32 and skilled but is still relatively inexperienced, so I need to get him some fights and boost him up the rankings as quickly as possible. Fathoui is the perfect opponent, he's ranked 12th, 4 places above Hristov, but he should offer a comfortable match up as his striking isn't sufficient to put Hristov in danger and he's not as good as Hristov on the ground. Plus he's also unbeaten so if he does manage to get a win then at least I'll have someone else to push instead. Again this is rated as a decent main event which covers the co-main.

Matti Kurri (9-1-1) vs Alekos Karabatsos - Light Heavyweight

After losing to Soldo Kurri needs rebuilding and this fight should be the first step. Karabatsos is ranked lower than Kurri so a win here probably won't see Kurri climb the rankings but it will give him some much needed momentum. Karabatsos is 1-3 in SIGMA but he has mid regional popularity and he'll probably keep his job even with a 4th loss. This fight is a bit of a risk as I really don't want an upset here, Kurri is a legitimate main eventer and Karabatsos has no real future with me. However Kurri should have more than enough in the locker to win this one.

Patrick Pedersen (6-0) vs Rodolphe Gygax (22-15) - Lightweight

Pedersen has very strong striking but can also wrestle and at 26 I think he could be a top contender with a couple of wins. Gygax is ranked 5th at Lightweight, despite being on a losing streak and win over him could catapult him up the rankings. Gygax is definitely on the slide in terms of skills and at 34 I think it's time he starts passing some of that popularity to some younger fighters.

Prelims

Ragnar Gunnlaugsson (5-0) vs Jean-Jacques Levasseur (6-2) - Welterweight

This is pretty standard fair for the prelims at the moment. Two new fighters make their debut for a shot on the main card. Here we have two strikers facing off, hopefully Gunnlaugsson will pick up the win as I'd rather have someone who's 6-0 than someone who's 7-2.

Klaus Greis (5-0) vs Marek Warzycha (10-6) - Lightweight

Wrestler vs Wrestler here, but that's where the similarities between these two stop. Greis is 25 at his career is just taking off, while Warzycha is 37 and he is definitely winding down. A win over the veteran would be a good start to Greis' SIGMA career, although I could live with Warzycha making a main card appearance, where his experience makes him a credible opponent for anyone on the roster.

Marku Mikkola (6-0) vs Michael Klaughnschue (7-2) - Light Heavyweight

Mikkola is one of the fighters I've targeted as a potential star in the future, he will hopefully get off to a good start against Klaughnschue, who shouldn't cause him too many problems.

Kyril Alyabev (6-1) vs Krzystof Bujnicki (6-0) - Featherweight

Two pretty evenly matched kickboxers face off. I've got no real preference here, may the best man win.

Lev Safanov (5-1) vs Jules Dupuit (5-1) - Welterweight

Grappler vs Striker, the winner of this one will be the one who can dictate where the fight takes place. They are both coming off a victory, rather than being on a winning streak so whilst the winner may get a main event appearance next time out he may also be looking at needing one more win, depending on what spaces I have on the card.

This is a decent card, there are a few matches where I want a particular outcome, which is never ideal, but I'm confident that the fighters have the ability to get the job done.

Here's the card in full:

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Jason Dalglish

Thorbjorn Rekdal vs Oleg Tariverdiev

Filip Hristov vs Ern Fathoui

Matti Kurri vs Alekos Karabatsos

Patrick Pedersen vs Rodolphe Gygax

Ragnar Gunnlaugsson vs Jean-Jacques Levasseur

Klaus Greis vs Marek Warzycha

Markku Mikkola vs Michael Klaughnschue

Kyril Alyabyev vs Krzysztof Bujinicki

Lev Safanov vs Jules Dupuit

WCW Mark · December 13, 2016

Aw man I tried so hard to build Christakis Boutzikos up and it just never happened for me. I couldn't even get him to beat Prochazka or Chaliapin. Hopefully he rolled a decent destiny stat and you get something out of him.

His next fight will probably be against Viacheslav Chaliapin so it's definitely a winnable one (although potentially a bit dull). If he wins that one then who knows.

Judoku1819 · December 14, 2016

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Jason Dalglish

Thorbjorn Rekdal vs Oleg Tariverdiev

Filip Hristov vs Ern Fathoui

Matti Kurri vs Alekos Karabatsos

Patrick Pedersen vs Rodolphe Gygax

Ragnar Gunnlaugsson vs Jean-Jacques Levasseur

Klaus Greis vs Marek Warzycha

Markku Mikkola vs Michael Klaughnschue

Kyril Alyabyev vs Krzysztof Bujinicki

Lev Safanov vs Jules Dupuit

cymru96 · December 14, 2016

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Jason Dalglish

Thorbjorn Rekdal vs Oleg Tariverdiev

Filip Hristov vs Ern Fathoui

Matti Kurri vs Alekos Karabatsos

Patrick Pedersen vs Rodolphe Gygax

Ragnar Gunnlaugsson vs Jean-Jacques Levasseur

Klaus Greis vs Marek Warzycha

Markku Mikkola vs Michael Klaughnschue

Kyril Alyabyev vs Krzysztof Bujinicki

Lev Safanov vs Jules Dupuit

WCW Mark · December 16, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Gunnarsson vs Dalglish</div>

An late injury to Pedersen means he's out of his bout with Gygax. I don't have many replacements available but Mannish Khan agrees to make his Lightweight debut in return for a bit of extra cash. What was already a tough fight for Gygax just got tougher.

Prelims

Lev Safanov (5-1) vs Jules Dupuit (5-1) - Welterweight

Safanov pushes Dupuit up against the fence and takes him down, he starts unloading and Dupuit gives up his back, Safanov takes advantage and slips on the rear naked choke for the win.

Result: Les Safanov defeats Jules Dupuit (Submission (Rear Naked Choke( in 3:04 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Kyril "The Snow Man" Alyabyev (6-1) vs Krzystof "The Pole Cat" Bujnicki (6-0)

Tonight we answer the age old question, who would win in a fight between a Snow Man and a Pole Cat? The fight starts with Alyabyev getting poked in the eye, it doesn't seem too bad though and he continues after a brief moment to recover.

The fighters go toe to toe in the first, both landing a lot of shots but Bujnicki definitely comes out on top. Alyabyev changes strategy for the second, going for and getting a takedown from the clinch. He controls the rest of the round and it's one round a piece going into the third.

Alyabev either decides to go back to striking for the third, or just doesn't see an opening for a takedown attempt, he comes off second best in the stand up and I score this 2 rounds to 1 to Bujnicki. However my scores don't count and we go to the judges, who make it 30-27 Bujnicki, 29-28 Alyabev, 30-27 Bujnicki. I guess polecats are tougher then snowmen. Bujnicki advances to the main card, while Alyabev goes home to work on his nickname.

Result: Krzystof "The Pole Cat" Bujnicki defeats Kyril "The Snow Man" Alyabev (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Markku "Cyber-Wolf" Mikkola vs Michael Klaughnschue (7-2) - Light Heavyweight

Mikkola clinches with Klaughnschue and opens him up with some nasty elbows. The ref pauses the action to allow the cut to be inspected but allows the fight to continue. Mikkola goes straight back to the clinch and those elbows and the cut worsens. Round 2 sees Mikkola clinch again, this time though he goes for the takedown and gets it, slamming Klaughnschue to the ground. He gains mount and from there it's only a matter of time. After the fight Mikkola calls out Matti Kurri, you might be getting a little ahead of yourself there.

Result: Markku "Cyber-Wolf" Mikkola defeats Michael Klaughnschue (TKO (Strikes)in 2:22 of round 2). The match was rated as being Decent

Klaus Greis (5-0) vs Marek "The Cannibal" Warzycha (10-6) - Lightweight

Greis gets the early takedown, mounts Warzycha and pounds him out. After the fight, recognising that at 37 he's not going to get any better Warzycha announces his retirement.

Result: Klaus Greis defeats Marek "The Cannibal" Warzycha (TKO (Strikes) in 2:19 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

Ragnar "Rock" Gunnlaugsson (5-0) vs Jean-Jacques Levasseur (6-2) - Welterweight

Both fighters come out all guns blazing and they stand in the centre of the cage trading strikes. The problem for Levasseur is that most of his are missing and most of Gunnlaugsson's are landing. Eventually this takes its toll and a round house kick to the body staggers Levasseur, before Gunnlaugsson puts him away with a head kick.

Result: Ragnar "Rock" Gunnlaugsson defeats Jean-Jacques Levasseur (Knock Out (Kick) in 0:35 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great

Main Card

"Kid British" Manish Khan (11-2) vs "G-Force" Rodolphe Gygax (22-15) - Lightweight

It's boxer vs boxer and the fight could have easily taken place in a boxing ring as neither fighter goes for a kick or takedown all evening. Round 1 sees Khan pummel Gygax, breaking his nose and closing an eye. Round 2, sees Khan being even more dominant, winning it 10-8. Finally in Round 3 Khan lands that killer shot, lifting Gygax off his feet and putting him away. Dominant performance for Khan against the veteran, although he may need to show a bit more versatility against better opponents.

Result: Manish Khan defeats Rodolphe Gygax (Knock Out (Punch) 0:56 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great

Matti "The Hammer" Kurri (9-1-1) vs Alekos "Killer" Karabatsos (13-6) - Light Heavyweight

Neither wrestler goes for a single takedown in this fight, although Kurri does put Karabatsos down in the second with a right hook. It looks like he may finish it that round but Karabatsos does well to hang on. Kurri seems contend to coast through the third, confident he has it in the bag and indeed he does, with one judge giving it to him 30-26, no doubt the 10-8 was for the 2nd round. Good win for Kurri but I'm a little disappointed he couldn't finish his obviously inferior opponent.

Result: Matti Kurri defeats Alekos Karabatsos (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Filip Hristov (5-0) vs "The Phat Man" Ern Fathoui - Welterweight

This is a three round snooze fest with Hristov controlling the fight in the clinch and forcing Fathoui to fight up against the cage. It results in a comfortable win for Hristov but it's probably the worst fight I've put on so far.

Result: Filip Hristov defeats "The Phat Man" Ern Fathoui (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Poor

Co-Main Event

"Brickhouse" Thorbjorn Rekdal (9-1) vs Oleg Tariverdiev (8-2) - Middleweight

Rekdal puts Tariverdiev down early in the first and it looks like this one could be over quickly. However Rekdal can't finish it on the ground. Round 2 sees Tariverdev ducking under Rekdal's punches and taking him down, he gains mount and starts unloading, Rekdal fends off most of the punches but a few get through and he turns over. Tariverdiev goes for the choke and he gets it, it looks like Rekdal will have to tap but he's saved by the bell as the round ends.

Round 3 sees Rekdal using his kicks to keep Tariverdiev away from him. Everytime Tariverdiev tries to close the distance he's met with a leg kick or a kick to the body. It's a frustrating round for Tariverdiev who can't make any progress and the commentator gives it 10-8 to Rekdal.

Result: Thorbjorn Rekdal defeats Oleg Tariverdiev (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Main Event

Snorri Gunnarsson (24-4-1 NC) vs "The Minature Killer" Jason Dalglish (19-5) - Featherweight Title

Round 1 sees Gunnarsson go for several takedowns, all of which Dalglish manages to block, Dalglish then gets a takedown of his own, but despite controlling Gunnarsson he can't really take advantage. Still the first round goes to Dalglish.

Sadly for Dalglish he can't repeat his success as the rest of the fight is mostly spent standing, with Gunnarsson comfortably out striking him. The only real moment of danger for Gunnarsson is in round 4 where he takes Dalglish down and almost gets submitted with an arm bar from the bottom, he breaks free and quickly stands up and the chance is gone.

The end of fight metrics show Gunnarsson's dominance, landing 111 punches to Dalglish's 38.

Result: Snorri Gunnarsson defeats "The Minature Killer" Jason Dalglish (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Attendance: 842 for a gate of £74,096

Critical Rating: 64%

Commercial Rating: 42%

Popularity:

Europe: +1.9%

Africa, Central America, Russia, US, Britain and Australia: +1.7%

Asia, South America, Mexico and Canada: + 1.4%

Japan: +1.1%

Net Income: +£357,492

Overall a bit of a mixed bag of an event, all the fighters I wanted to win did, but it would have been nice to of had a few more finishes on the main card. A 64% Critical rating is my lowest so far.

Congrats to Judoku1819 who picked up a perfect 9 out of 9 on the predictions, while cymru96 scored 8. Again I'll hopefully be making it a bit less predictable in the future but the first few events were always going to be a bit like this as I try to give the better fighters some wins before making them face off against each other.

WCW Mark · December 16, 2016

April 2001: End of month round up

The biggest news of the month is Kunimichi Kikuchi becoming a two time ALPHA-1 Heavyweight Champion when he defeats Terron Cabal by 6th round KO. The ALPHA-1 Heavyweight division has some interesting match ups ahead, with Fezzik, who has previously beaten Kikuchi on two occasions, is second in the rankings. While Armen Sarkisian and Ari Peltonen (3rd and 4th) will be hoping for a shot at revenge. The event also saw ALPHA-1 rise to Mid National level, although they are still behind GAMMA in the rankings.

ALPHA-1 also approach three of my fighters, I've got enough money to try and fight them but I don't think it's worth splashing out at this stage. While all three are young and may be stars one day, none of them are indispensable. I therefore brace myself to lose Juozas Skerla, Roope Kuqi and Makhak Kirakosyan. Skerla and Kuqi have just fought (and won annoyingly) and I can't book them in another fight, however Kirakosyan is available and I put him in against Emil Karlsson. This is a risk as if Karlsson loses it will seriously derail his momentum but I'm optimistic he'll get the job done.

WEFF also run an event this month and Daniela Sadorra manages to hang onto her flyweight title with a split decision win over Roz Wareing.

cymru96 · December 16, 2016

Filip Hristov is the biggest pain in all of SIGMA. He's good, so picks up a lot of wins, but damn, he does it in the most boring way imaginable!

WCW Mark · December 16, 2016

SIGMA announce............

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Lermontov vs Mellberg</div>

Main Event

Fiyero Lermontov (15-0) vs Lukas Mellberg (18-4 - Lightweight Title

Lermontov's last match before he leaves for GAMMA will be a title defence against Lukas Mellberg. Lermontov is a machine and I don't have anyone I think has a realistic chance of taking the title from him. I was therefore left with two options, one just let him go, or two get one last main event out of him. I've gone for the second one, as a Great rated main event this will definitely get the audience excited. The downside is obviously that I'm left with a fighter coming off a loss, while the victor walks into the sunset. However Mellberg only has +1 momentum so I don't feel like a loss hurts him a massive amount and it's worth it to get such a high rated headline event.

Co-Main

Valentin Taneyev (9-0) vs Faas Smit (37-16) - Light Heavyweight

Taneyev made his name by beating Mantas Andreyev, he now gets a shot at another veteran in the form of Faas Smit, who, despite being only 30 has a lot of wear and tear on him and whose best days are probably behind him. Smit is ranked 6th in the division so a win here would make Taneyev a real contender. A win for Smit however wouldn't be ideal as he's already fought and lost to Soldo so I wouldn't want to give him another title shot. This is rated as a strong main event so it can step up in the event that something happens to the title fight.

Alvaro Negredo (22-9) vs Milovan Ajetovic (6-1) - Featherweight

Another veteran vs up and comer bout, this one sees 4th vs 12th, so a win here for Ajetovic would be a massive deal. I'm not sure he's got the chops to do it but you've got to be thrown in at the deep end at some point. Both fighters are coming off a win so at the least I'll end up with someone of a winning streak. This is only rated as a main show fight so if something happens to one of the two main events I'll be relying on the drawing power of the other one.

Andranik Paletilolu (16-8) vs Dag Kreuger (7-0) - Light Heavyweight

Paletilolu is on a losing streak is 2-4 in SIGMA and has -2 momentum, however he has Mid Regional popularity, which means he is useful to have around for now. He's actually a pretty decent striker and should prove a stiff test for Kreuger, who is on a winning streak but is still developing. A win for Kreuger will help move him to the next level, while a win for Paletilolu could see his career rejuvenated.

Xavi Castillejo (6-0) vs Pentti Rovanpera (7-2) - Lightweight

Castillejo is earmarked as a future star and I want him to look good on his debut. Rovanpera is the fall guy and I expect Catillejo to put him away with ease to set up a bout with a more established performer next time out.

Prelims

Sahan Ozbek (6-0)vs Vittorio Pescatelli (5-0) - Heavyweight

Two newcomers face off, they are evenly matched on their feet, but Pescatelli has the advantage on the ground. As such he should win this but it doesn't really matter to me who gets the W. The bookies have it -110 to -110 so too close to call.

Pavel Radulov (7-1) vs Stian Agdestein (5-0) - Welterweight

Two Sambo specialists face off to decide which one gets to represent their discipline in SIGMA. Apart from that this is the standard prelim at the moment with the winner likely getting a shot on the main show and the loser getting another chance on a prelim in the future.

Gavriil Sviridov (6-3) vs Rens de Beus (6-0) - Light Heavyweight

Sviridov is an established SIGMA fighter with 5 fights under his belt, unfortunately for him his record is 2-3 which isn't good enough. He has heavy hands but is very weak on the ground and de Beus is a half decent wrestler who I expect to get the win here.

Wawrzyniec Dygasinski (5-2) vs Christijan van Belkum (6-1) - Welterweight

Neither of these fighters are any great shakes, the difference between them though is that at 24 van Belkum has room to improve, while Dygasinski is 33 on this is his last shot at the big time. Whoever wins here will probably find themselves jobbing out on the main show but that's better than being stuck on the prelims or even worse the local circuit.

Khariton Litke (5-0) vs Grigory Kabalevsky (5-1) - Lightweight

From the info I can see these two are pretty evenly matched, with the only difference between them being Kabalevsky's superior cage comfort. This seems to be enough to give him the edge with the bookies but this could be anyones.

That's it. I'm happy with this card, although there are a couple of fights which could go horribly wrong if the wrong fighter wins. However you can't always create win/win scenarios and at some point you have to have faith that the cream will rise to the top.

Predictions card is:

Lermontov v Mellberg

Taneyev v Smit

Negredo v Ajetovic

Paletilolu v Kreuger

Castillejo v Rovanpera

Ozbek v Pescatelli

Radulov v Agdestein

Sviridov v de Beus

Dygasinski v van Belkum

Litke v Kabalevsky

WCW Mark · December 18, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Lermontov vs Mellberg</div>

1,042 people turn up to see the last fight in SIGMA of the greatest lightweight fighter in SIGMA history, first though the prelims

Prelims

Khariton Litke (5-0) vs Grigory Kabalevsky (5-1) - Lightweight

They clinch and Kabalevsky gets the takedown, Litke scrambles back to his feet but gets takendown again. This time he can't get back up and Kabalevsky slaps on the arm triangle for the win.

Result: Grigory Kabalevsky defeats Khariton Litke (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 1:53 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

Wawrzyniec "Warz Machine" Dygasinski (5-2) vs Christijan van Belkum (6-1) - Welterweight

Van Belkum spends most of the first round and a half with his back to the cage and Dygasinski in his face landing numerous shots on the inside (139 punches), however he manages to break free just as the second round is nearing and end and one punch puts Dygasinski down, van Belkum follows up and quickly ends it.

Result: Chistijan van Belkum defeats Wawrzyniec Dygasinski (TKO (Strikes) in 3:55 of round 2). The match was rated as Great

"White Wolf" Rens de Beus (6-0) vs Gavriil Sviridov (6-3) - Light Heavyweight

Round 1 sees Svirdov put on a clinic, knocking de Beus down twice with headkicks and almost finishing him both times. De Beus hangs on and comes out in the second round looking for a takedown, he gets it and almost finished Svirdov with the ground and pound. Scirdov hangs on but gives up his back, allowing De Beus to slip on the choke for the win.

Rens de Beus defeats Gavriil Sviridov (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:20 of round 2). The match was rated as being Fantastic

"Red Fury" Pavel Radulov (7-1) vs Stian Agdestein (5-0) - Welterweight

Agdestein dominates the fight, whether it's standing or on the ground, but although he has Radulov in trouble a couple of times he can't finish him. He takes a comfortable points win though.

Result: Stian Agdestein defeats Pavel Radulov (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Sahan Ozbek (6-0) vs Vittorio Pescatelli (5-0) - Heavyweight

Both these guys are big Heavyweights, 252 lbs and 265 lbs respectively. They are obviously both used to using their size in the clinch and that's where the majority of this fight is spent. Pescatelli controls more of the fight and lands more strikes but this never looked like it was going to do anything other than go to the judges. Pescatelli gets a comfortable points win.

Result: Vittorio Pescatelli defeats Sahan Ozbek (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Main Card

Xavi Castillejo (6-0) vs Pentti "Finnish Vampire" Rovanpera (7-2) - Lightweight

Castillejo has an impressive debut against his handpicked opponent, wearing him down with a barrage of leg kicks in the first. He steps up the pace in the second and as Rovanpera starts to limp Castillejo lands a head kick to send him to the mat. From there it doesn't take him long to finish the Finnish Vampire.

Result: Xavi Castillejo defeats Pentti Rovanpera (TKO (Strikes) in 3:45 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great

"The Battering Ram" Andranik Paletilolu (16-8) vs Dag "The Viking" Kreuger - Light Heavyweight

Kreuger gets a quick double leg and transitions straight to mount, he starts unleashing those heavy fists and it's to Paletilolu's credit that he lasts as long as he does (14 ground jabs and 18 ground power punches!). It's only a matter of time though and the ref soon ends it.

Result: Dag Kreuger defeats Andranik Paletilolu (TKO (Strikes) in 3:04 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great

Alvaro "The Hornet" Negredo (22-9) vs "The Serbian Psycho" Milovan Ajetovic - Featherweight

Both fighters throw caution to the wind and stand in the middle of the cage throwing punches, kicks and elbows. Neither can finish the other and we go to the judges. That fight was all a bit of a blur and I've got no idea who won. The judges are split as well with two giving ti 29-28 to Ajetovic while the other for Negredo by the same margin.

Result: Milovan Ajetovic defeats Alvaro Negredo (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Co-main event

"The Hand Grenade" Valentin Taneyev (9-0) vs Faas "Evolution" Smit - Light Heavyweight

Taneyev controls the fight from start to end, outstriking Smit, stuffing all his takedown attempts and even controlling the clinch. However, disappointingly he fails to stop Smit and has to settle for a 30-27 decision.

Result: Valentin Taneyev defeats Faas Smit (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Fiyero Lermontov (15-0) vs "The Ice Cold Swede" Lukas Mellberg (18-4) - Lightweight Title

Lermontov schools Mellberg while they are standing and even once it goes to the ground (via a Lermontov knocking Mellberg down) he's dominant, controlling the fight from the top and almost landing a couple of submissions against the Jiu Jitsu expert. Lermontov defends his title for a record breaking 3rd time and soaks up the adulation of the crowd as duelling chants of "Thank you Fiyero" and "Please don't go" ring out.

Result: Fiyero Lermontov defeats Lukas Mellberg (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

Attendance: 1,042 for a gate of £91,696

Critical Rating: 71%

Commercial Rating: 51%

Popularity:

Europe: +3.2%

Africa, Central America, Russia, US, Britain, Asia and Australia: +2.0%

South America, Mexico, Japan and Canada: + 1.6%

Net Income: +£465,470

Overall a great event, with only the fact the three last fights went to the judges spoiling it slightly. This was my highest attendance to date and my equal highest commercial rating. The popularity gains were also my best so far.

Results wise, I was right that the loss didn't really hurt Mellberg, he went to neutral momentum but retained his High Regional popularity if he can pick up a couple of wins he'll be able to challenge whoever replaces Lermontov as Lightweight champion.

Smit also didn't lose to much from his loss, again dropping to neutral momentum but retaining his high regional popularity,sadly though Taneyev didn't really gain much from the win, his popularity and momentum didn't budge and he only climbed one place in the rankings to 8th, still one place behind Smit!

Ajetovic should definitely feel hard done by. Whilst he only won by split decision he failed to climb the rankings at all, staying stuck in 12th. You'd think a win over the 4th ranked fighter in the division would have more impact than that. His popularity and momentum also didn't move. I may well give Negredo a rematch as this was very close and also fairly entertaining. Ideally though I'd like them both to gets wins against other opponents first in an effort to maybe co-main with the re-match.

At least Kreuger and Castillejo both saw decent gains so at least a couple of the victories meant something.

WCW Mark · December 18, 2016

May 2001:End of Month round up

It's been a pretty hectic month this month:

ALPHA-1 go on a signing spree following their rise in the rankings. They decimate FLB taking Helio, their Lightweight champion, Joaquim Fontes, their Middleweight champion and Affonso Villar.

BCF, KDM FC and FLB all hold shows on the same night. BCF headline with Rob Baines beating Davis Spyrou to win the Middleweight Title, while KDM FC headline with Li-Kong Ho vs Yoshiro Makamori. Ho wins by first round submission.

FLB's event is a double title bout, Nilton Fantoni bts Pedro Sousa for the vacant Light Heavyweight Title and Charles beats Claudio Palacios for the vacant Welterweight Title. Despite losing nearly all of their champions over the last couple of months (Satinho at Heavyweight is the only one who's stayed with them), FLB manage to rise to Mid Regional level. They get a further boost when economists predict that the South American economy, which had been slowing after a boom, has turned around and now looks to be headed for a second boom period.

BCF sign another one of my fighters and this time they've really annoyed me, they snap up Lefter Oktay and immediately book him against their Heavyweight Champion, Carter Potter. I'd been building to Oktay vs Ivanov II and this throws a spanner in the works. Best case scenario is that Oktay beats Potter and I'm just delayed in booking my super fight, worst case scenario though is that Potter beats Oktay. If that happens I'll consider this to be an act of war by BCF and I'll actively start raiding their talent. I think Oktay should win though so I'm going to hold off for now.

Finally a new promotion, OMEGA, opens in Mexico. Despite the fact they've not held an event yet there is obviously significant hype behind them as Blurcat immediately ranks them as the third biggest promotion in the world. I assume they are going to be able to sign fighters from Mexico, South America and the USA. I've got the minimum number of fighters in each weight class set at zero as I didn't want 100's of new fighters without pictures or proper bios being generated, so competition for fighters in those regions is really going to heat up.

WCW Mark · December 18, 2016

My June event, and the last event on my current deals with SportTube and Continental Sports X1 is going to be..........

<div style="text-align:center;">SIMGA: Kanchelskis vs Grygera</div>

Fjodor Kanchelskis (13-0) vs Jaromir Grygera (20-5) - Middleweight Title

Grygera is the original SIGMA Middleweight champion, he was dethroned by Kanchelskis in 1997 and since then he's been working his way back towards a rematch. He's on a winning streak and has +4 momentum, making this a strong main event. At 37 this is realistically his last shot at the title and while I don't expect him to win it would be a fairy tale if he did. Interestingly Grygera has shown some improvements in his stats over the last month so he's obviously giving this match his all.

Co-Main Event

Fernando Peragon (12-3) vs Gerrit Dudok (8-0) - Featherweight

I originally planned for this to be a number one contenders bout with the winner going on to face Gunnnarsson, however the signing of Oktay by BCF has forced me to bring forward some of my main events and I now think I'll need Gunnarsson to fight earlier than anticipated and it's unlikely the winner of this bout will have recovered in time. As such this is probably now an eliminator to decide who gets to be in the next number one contender bout. A bit unlucky for the two fighters involved here but such is life. This is also a strong main event, making it the perfect replacement if something happens to the main event.

Aleksander Ivanov (10-1)vs Stanislaw Lipnicki (15-7) - Heavyweight

This was to be Ivanov's final fight before the big rematch, Lipnicki has name value (Mid Regional) and is ranked 7th in the division, so a win over him will boost Ivanov potentially putting him at Low National name value. Lipnicki's best days are behind him and I don't expect him to cause Ivanov any problems. This is rated as a decent main event, so it can step up if anything goes wrong.

Makhak Kirakosyan (6-0) vs Emil Karlsson (5-0) - Light Heavyweight

Kirakosyan is off to ALPHA-1 after this fight. I fully expect Karlsson to beat him, giving ALPHA-1 a devalued fighter and my own guy a boost.

Nuno Valentino (6-0) vs Benedikt Streit (20-7) - Featherweight

We have another veteran who will hopefully lose to the young up and comer. Valentino is one of my best prospects, while Streit is 33 and over the hill. He is Mid Regional popularity though and currently ranked 7th so a win on TV here for Valentino will be a great way to introduce him to the SIGMA fans.

Prelims

Otto Renner (8-3) vs Libor Pudil (6-0) - Heavyweight

Two fighters make their debuts, they are ranked 14th and 13th respectively so on paper this is fairly even. The bookies make Renner the favourite (-280 to +220) but I fancy Pudil to pull off the upset.

Mily Golovanov (5-1) vs Artak Gevor (7-1) - Middleweight

Golovanov makes his debut, while Gevor is currently 1-1 in SIGMA. Both fighters are coming off a win, so a second win here will put them on a streak, this may be enough to get them on the main show, or they may need one more fight, it depends on what else I have going on. Gevor isn't a bad fighter but I don't think he's a match for Golovanov, who I expect to pick up the win here.

Maxime Giresse (5-0) vs Luka Hajek (6-0) - Middleweight

Hajek won his debut SIGMA fight (pre-game) so a second win here will definitely see him on the main show next time out. However I don't expect him to get the win as Giresse looks to be a potential star and his wrestling should be too much for Hajek.

Folke Dalen (5-1) vs Vladimir Baskov (6-4) - Lightweight

Dalen lost to Alain Saul at my February event while Baskov lost to Dargomyzhsky in January. Both fights were close though with both going to the judges and being decided by split decision. This is a chance for them to get back to winning ways. Expect to see more of this type of fight in the prelims going forwards as I start to recycle some of the fighters who have already been on the card.

Liam O'Donnell (8-4) vs Colm Dee - Featherweight

Northern Ireland vs the Republic of Ireland here, O'Donnell was brought in to give Freddie Lomax a debut win and now he's hopefully going to help Colm Dee break his losing streak. Dee is still ranked 5th in the division, despite his recent misfortunes and if I can get him back to winning ways he could be a useful gatekeeper. Assuming he loses this will be O'Donnell's last fight for SIGMA as the Featherweight division has 23 fighters in it and I ideally want to aim for 20 fighters in each division.

This is another card which could go horribly wrong if the underdogs win. A loss for Ivanov would be a disaster, while a win for Kirakosyan on his way out would be annoying. The odds are firmly stacked against this happening but you never know. However it's probably fair to say that the most important fight for SIGMA is happening in the UK on the same night as BCF have run Potter vs Oktay in direct competition with me. They really seem determined to go to war and it's probably time I stopped being so passive.

Here is the prediction card:

Kanchelskis vs Grygera

Reragon vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Lipnicki

Kirakosyan vs Karlsson

Valentino vs Streit

Renner vs Pudil

Golovanov vs Gevor

Giresse vs Hajek

Dalen vs Baskov

O'Donnell vs Dee

Finally, just to let you know that the pace on updates here will probably slow down now until just after Christmas as this week is going to pretty hectic for me, if I get a chance to run the show and write it up before Christmas I will but it's more than likely that the next update will be on Boxing Day.

cymru96 · December 18, 2016

Kanchelskis vs Grygera

Reragon vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Lipnicki

Kirakosyan vs Karlsson

Valentino vs Streit

Renner vs Pudil

Golovanov vs Gevor

Giresse vs Hajek

Dalen vs Baskov

O'Donnell vs Dee

MrSelfDestruct · December 19, 2016

Kanchelskis vs Grygera

Reragon vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Lipnicki

Kirakosyan vs Karlsson

Valentino vs Streit

Renner vs Pudil

Golovanov vs Gevor

Giresse vs Hajek

Dalen vs Baskov

O'Donnell vs Dee

Judoku1819 · December 22, 2016

Kanchelskis vs Grygera

Peragon vs Dudok

Ivanov vs Lipnicki

Kirakosyan vs Karlsson

Valentino vs Streit

Renner vs Pudil

Golovanov vs Gevor

Giresse vs Hajek

Dalen vs Baskov

O'Donnell vs Dee

WCW Mark · December 23, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIMGA: Kanchelskis vs Grygera II</div>

I get to the event without having to make any changes to the card, so without further fuss lets crack on with the card.

Prelims

"The Bruiser from Belfast" Liam O'Donnell (8-4) vs Colm "The Celtic Warrior" Dee (14-5) - Featherweight

Dee is the heavy favourite (-1130) and he doesn't take long to show why, both fighters have a boxing background and they stand and strike in the centre of the cage. Dee throws several hard shots which shake O'Donnell and a vicious right cross finishes the fight.

Result: Colm Dee defeats Liam O'Donnell (Knock Out (Punch) in 2:09 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Vladimir "The Impaler" Baskov (6-4) vs Folke Dalen (5-1) - Lightweight

A quick takedown from Baskov, followed by some brutal ground and pound finishes this one swiftly. Dalen offered nothing there and needs to improve dramatically if he wants to keep his job.

Result: Vladimor Baskov defeats Folke Dalen (TKO (Strikes) in 1:21 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good.

Maxime Giresse (5-0) vs "Filthy" Luka Hajek (6-0) - Middleweight

Giresse comes in to this fight weighing only 172 lbs, I'll need to keep an eye on this as perhaps he might be better off dropping to Welterweight.

Or perhaps he's fine at Middleweight. He eats a couple of jabs as he closes the distance and then gets the takedown, he slaps on the arm triangle and it's all over.

Result: Maxime Giresse defeats Luka Hajek (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 2:20 of round 1. The match was rated as being Great.

Miley Golovanov (5-1) vs Artak Gevor (7-1) - Middleweight

After three quick finishes we have a fight that goes to the third round, the first two are pretty forgettable, being spent mostly in the clinch and ending one round a piece, the only real moment of excitement is when Golovanov opens up a cut under the eye of Gevor with a nasty elbow from the clinch.

Round 3 sees them clinch again but this time Golovanov decides to take it to the ground, he's tries a couple of submissions, which Gevor defends, before finally sinking in the armbar for the win.

Result: Mily Golovanov defeats Artak Gevor (Submission (Armbar) in 3:12 of round 3. The match was rated as being Average

"The Emperor" Otto Renner (8-3) vs "The Destroyer" Libor Pudil (6-0) - Heavyweight

This fight sees Pudil constantly back pedalling, trying to land strikes while keeping away from the suffocating clinch game of Renner. It's a tactic he uses to some success in the first but he seems to tire as the fight goes on and eventually Renner grinds him down to take the points victory 2 rounds to 1.

Result: Otto Renner defeats Libor Pudil (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent.

Main Card

Nuno "The Idol" Valentino (6-0) vs "Buldozer" Bendikt Streit - Featherweight

Round 1 sees Streit close the distance quickly and clinch up with Valentino, he maintains the position for the rest of the round and takes round 1 on points. Luckily Valentino turns it around in round 2, when Streit clinches he lands the trip takedown and once it's on the ground there's no doubt he's going to finish it. He gets the arm triangle for the win but that was far from the sparkling debut I'd hoped for.

Result: Nuno Valentino defeats Benedikt Streit (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 2:11 of round 2). The match was rated as being Poor

Makhak "Thunder" Kirakosyan (6-0) vs "The Midnight Killer" Emil Karlsson (5-0) - Light Heavyweight

A second snoozer in a row and this time the crowd have to sit through all 15 minutes of it. There are audible boos as Karlsson uses his strength advantage to rough Kirakosyan up against the cage for two rounds. He gets a takedown in the third but it doesn't get any more exciting as he keeps Kirakosyan pinned to the ground for the rest of the bout. Pretty dreadful but at least I sent Kirakosyan on his way with a loss.

Result: Emil Karlsson defeats Makhak Kirakosyan (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Poor

"The Great Bear" Aleksander Ivanov (10-1) vs Stanislaw "Big Daddy" Lipnicki (15-7) - Heavyweight

After two dull fights we can surely rely on Ivanov to liven things up a but as he continues working his way through the heavyweights of the division. He looks for an early finish as he takes Lipnicki down and goes for the submission, twice it looks like he has it but Lipnicki shows tremendous courage and breaks free. The second round finally sees Ivanov seal the deal and this time there is no escape for Lipnicki.

Result: Aleksander Ivanov defeats Stanislaw Lipnicki (Submission (Armbar) in 1:49 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good

Co-Main Event

"The Peragon of Virtue" Fernando Peragon (12-3) vs "The Dutch Master" Gerrit Dudok (8-0) - Featherweight

Peragon dominates but can't get the finish as he floors Dudok twice with punches but just can't get it done on the ground. One of the judges scores this 30-25 which shows you just how dominant Peragon was, although Dudok showed great toughness to hang in until the end.

Result: Fernando Peragon defeats Gerrit Dudok (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

Main Event

"The Russian Nightmare" Fjodo Kanchelskis (13-0) vs Jaromir Grygera (20-5) - Middleweight Title

Round 1 is mostly spent in the clinch, with both fighters neutralising their opponents and preventing much in the way of striking, the commentator gives it to Grygera but frankly there wasn't enough action to really split them.

Rounds 2 and 3 see Grygera getting the takedown and smothering Kanchelskis on the ground, it's not pretty but it is effective and he comfortably takes both rounds.

Round 4 finally sees Kanchelskis fighting back as he lands a takedown of his own. He tries to punish Grygera with his ground and pound but Grygera defends well off his back.

Round 5 is pretty much a repeat of the first round, not the most exciting way to end the fight, or the card. We go to the judges who all score it 48-47 for Grygera, he reclaims the Middleweight Title at 37!

Result: Jaromir Grygera defeats Fjodor Kanchelskis (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Very Poor

Attendance: 863 for a gate of £75,944

Critical Rating: 54%

Commercial Rating: 44%

Popularity:

Europe, Africa, Central America, Russia, US, Britain, Asia and Australia: +1.6%

South America, Mexico, Japan and Canada: + 1.3%

Net Income: +£385,905

Well that wasn't a great show at all, 3 of the 5 main card fights were borefests, I'm surprised there was anyone left in the building to see Grygera reclaim the title.

In terms of results it was at least decent. Valentino got the win, although he didn't exactly debut with a bang, while Ivanov continued to build momentum. The one fight I didn't mind being boring was Karlsson vs Kirakosyan as I sent Kirakosyan off to ALPHA-1 with not only a loss on his record but a terrible momentum killing one at that.

The biggest disappointment was the main event, not in terms of a result, but in terms of action. If Gygera had won it in a barnstormer of a fight then I would of had no problem setting up the concluding fight in the trilogy, as it is, it either won't happen, or it will only happen once they've fought a few other opponents and this fight has faded in the fans memories.

Congrats to cymru96 who got 9 out of 10 predictions right, only Baskov v Dalen caught him out. Newcomer petecrimson00 got a decent 7 out of 10, while previous top pundit Judoku1819 has maybe busted open the booze to celebrate Christmas early with only 4 correct predictions. Thanks all for participating.

WCW Mark · December 23, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">June 2001 - End of Month Round Up</div>

Well we may as well get this one out of the way first as it was probably the most important fight this month. BCF put on a champion vs champion show down on the same night as my dull card, this is how the fight went down.

Carter "The Kiwi" Potter (19-4) vs Lefter "The Beast" Oktay (16-0) - Heavyweight Title

Round 1 - The two fighters meet in the middle of the cage, they exchange jabs before Oktay misses with a right, Potter counters with a powerful right hook which sends Oktay down to the ground. Potter dives in and starts to unload, Oktay is reeling but manages to grab Potter and pull him into his guard. He smothers Potter forcing the ref to stand the up. Again they meet in the middle and Oktay lands a roundhouse kick to the body, it doesn't seem to bother Potter who walks forward and lands another brutal right hand. Oktay staggers back and gets put down with another right to the jaw. With only 18 seconds left he manages to survive but this has been very one sided so far. The commentator scores it 10-8 to Potter.

Round 2 - Again they meet in the middle of the cage and Oktay lands some good shots, they don't phase Potter at all though and once again it's his right hand which does the damage, first wobbling Oktay with a right cross and then putting him down with a second. Once again Oktay manages to pull guard and recover and once again the ref stands it up, a little home town bias perhaps? Luckily Oktay manages to stay clear of trouble for the rest of the round.

Round 3 - Oktay realises he can't out strike Potter and instead decides to work the clinch game, he traps Potter against the fence and works him over. Despite the ref bringing it back to the middle Potter can't get enough space to do any damage and the round goes to Oktay.

Rounds 4 & 5 - Oktay continues to smother Potter, despite the refs best efforts. We go to the judges, if they scored the first round a 10-8 we are almost certainly looking at a draw, it's almost like it was fixed to allow both promotions to walk away with their respective champions reputations intact.

However the judges all score it 48-47 in favour of Oktay, what a comeback, after the first two rounds I was convinced he was going to lose. Oktay is now a two company champion.

Result: Lefter Oktay defeats Carter Potter (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Decent

BCF's misery for the month is compounded by the fact that economists reverse their positive outlook for the UK economy from last month and they are now predicting a second waive of misery.

SIMGA

Kanchelskis vs Grygera II was the final month on my broadcasting contracts with Continental Sports X1 and SportTube. While I could renew them both I decide instead to sign up with Euro Cable Sports 1. While they insist on exclusive content and are only available in Europe, Russia and the UK their coverage here is better (small compared with tiny). I feel that the improved coverage in these areas is worth losing coverage in the rest of the world, firstly because these are my key areas for growth and secondly as it will stop my fighters from gaining popularity in the USA and Japan, hopefully making them less likely to be poached. Robbie Hesthenal also lets me know that he doesn't want to renew his contract as he hopes to run his own company one day, while he still has three months left the new broadcast deal seems like the ideal time to phase him out and I sign Jacek Kasprzyk to take his place.

I also put in several bids for new fighters, some from the independent circuit and some from BCF (I told you their recent actions meant war). One of the fighters I go for is Carter Potter, Oktay is out for 4 months following his fight, leaving me short a Heavyweight main event. Both Ivanov and Potter are only out for a month and I'm hoping this will fill the void. For Ivanov this is a chance to convincingly beat the man who gave Oktay so much trouble, while if Potter wins it will give him a chance of a rematch against Oktay, hopefully this time at SIGMA rather than BCF.

Liam O'Donnell leaves the company, he's basically done the job he came in for and now has -2 momentum and with only 5.8% Low Regional name value there's no point keeping him around for a third. Hopefully he can pick up a couple of wins on the indies to get back on track. Folke Dalen is inches away from losing his job as well after suffering two losses, however the first was very close (a split decision) and his momentum is only -1 so he gets one more shot.

Elsewhere OMEGA sign a lot of fighters but more importantly they sign a TV deal with Los Deporte Hoy. They are yet to announce their first card but it will be interesting to see what it is when they do.

GAMMA ran a show which featured two title bouts. Obviously not confident in the drawing power of the Super Heavyweights (George Pickering beat Davey Rushton by first round submission to win the title), they co-mained with Brandon Sugar vs Jake Keane for the Lightweight Title. The Brit won by Unanimous Decision.

WEFF22 saw Michelle Adams beat Monica Masters to take the vacant Bantamweight Title, however the fans surely still consider Sarah Vaughan to be the real champion, despite her being stripped of the title when she left the company at the end of her contract.

WCW Mark · December 23, 2016

SIMGA, in conjunction with Euro Cable Sports 1 announce

<div style="text-align:center;">Niko Soldo vs Daniil Skala</div>

Niko Soldo (18-2-1) vs Daniil Skala (22-7) - Light Heavyweight Title

My first event with my new broadcast partners will see Niko Soldo defend his Light Heavyweight Title against Daniil Skala. I need a big name for my first show on Euro Cable Sports and Soldo is my go to man (he also headlined my first show on Sport Tube). Skala earned this title shot with a win against Jacob Matthaus in February. While he is only ranked 6th in the division he is the highest ranked fighter who has yet to take on Soldo and as such he gets the shot. He is High Regional name value, although sadly only neutral momentum, and together they make for a High National draw. This is rated as a Great Main event and should hopefully see Soldo pick up the win in front of a whole new audience.

Co-Main

Lars Bohlin (50-7)vs Lubos Plasil (8-1) - Light Weight

The Co-main sees Lars Bohlin make his Lightweight debut. The ex-Featherweight Champion is one of my best known fighters and is one of the top contenders for the vacant lightweight belt. He faces tough opposition in the form of Lubos Plasil, who's only defeat has come against Georges Nouri. This fight is a semi-final in my 4 man tournament to crown a new Lightweight Champion and makes for a strong main event, just in case something happens to the main event.

Evgeni Medtner (23-6) vs Marko Prochazka (22-14) - Welterweight

Prochazka makes his SIGMA debut here, a long time veteran of the independent circuit he finally gets his shot at the big time at the age of 37. Frankly I don't expect him to achieve much but the real purpose of this fight is to give Medtner a boost. However it's rated as a decent main event, so while I wouldn't want to headline with it, I'd have no problem with stepping it up to the Co-Main.

Casim Yenkini (12-4) vs Uwe Maier (11-3) - Middleweight

Both these fighters won last time out and as the 5th and 4th ranked Middleweights and the two highest ranked fighters who haven't already lost to Kanchelskis this was supposed to decide the number 1 contender. However Maier has already lost to Grygera and as such, if he wins, I'll be looking elsewhere for a challenger. Fortunately I already have one lined up in the form of Thorbjorn Rekdal, who is ranked 3rd in the division and hasn't fought Grygera before. As such, even if Yenkini wins he may find he loses out on a title shot if I decide to go with Rekdal. Them's the breaks.

Hans Bloch (6-0) vs Jan Ilic (6-0) - Featherwight

Bloch has two pregame wins for SIGMA, while Ilic won on the prelims at Toadspew vs Crumb in February. They are both decent up and coming fighters with Bloch having strong wrestling and Ilic having some very heavy hands. The winner here will likely be given a real chance to make a name for themselves against a more experienced and well known opponent, while the loser will be back on the prelims for more seasoning, however they are both young so while it will be a setback a loss shouldn't be fatal.

Prelims

Franak Pavilchenko (13-7) vs Lucas Mueller (8-3) - Lightweight

Mueller has Mid Regional name value, half decent skills and a not terrible record. As such I want him on the main show, where he can be of use to me. Pavilchenko is already 2-3 in SIGMA and I don't see him amounting to much. As such he should be the perfect person to get Mueller main card ready.

Heiko Pander (5-1) vs Pedro Alves (13-6) - Featherweight

Pander has positive momentum, despite coming off a pregame loss and he is a very strong wrestler and strong striker. At only 24 he could be a future star. The previous management put him in a tough fight against Lars Bohlin, which seems very harsh this early in his career. I won't be making the same mistake and I'll be looking to build him a bit more slowly. The comeback starts here against another veteran, albeit one far below the level of Bohlin.

Harald Hubner (6-3) vs Maurice Bradel (8-4) - Lightweight

Braudel is on a losing streak, is only low regional name value, has -1 momentum, as such he is fighting for his career here. Unfortunately I don't think he's likely to win against Harald Hubner, who despite having a mediocre record has some half decent wrestling skills. At only 25 and with +1 momentum a win here will help erase the memory of his pregame loss to Lukas Mellberg and will start him on the path to the main show.

Drazen Gabelich (8-3) vs Tore Herlovsen (6-3) - Middleweight

Both these fighters got off to winning starts for me and broke their losing streaks. However it takes more than one win to get on the main show when you've been racking up the losses and this will make to two in a row for one of them. My money is on Gabelich and at 26 compared with Herlovsen's 30 he has far more potential. However I'm not really too fussed who wins here, as long as they do it in style and pick up some momentum.

Stjepan Andric (14-8) vs Souleymane Ya Konan - Heavyweight

Both these guys were pretty much sacrificed last time out (Andric fought Boniek in his farewell fight, while Ya Konan fought Ivanov on his comeback trail). As such they both now sit on a losing streak, which sees them at -2 momentum. Ranked 8th and 6th in the division I need to build one of them back up to main card level so that I can use them to push someone else. TA single win may not be enough but at least it's a start.

Overall I'm happy with this card. The main event is a big draw and it should be a pretty comfortable win for Soldo, making him an even bigger star. The Co-main serves a purpose as a title eliminator, although I'm a bit worried it may be a bit of a dull fight. The downgrade of Yenkini vs Maier from a number one contender fight to just another Middleweight fight is probably a good thing, I wasn't really happy with either of them as a contender and they were only in that spot due to Kanchelskis having beaten pretty much everyone else. Grygera vs Rekdal should make for a much better fight.

The prelims up until now have featured a few too many fights that really should have been on the main card if I'd had enough space, however that's starting to change now I'm 6 months in and they are starting to serve their real purpose of getting fighters over who aren't able to appear on the main card at the moment.

Here's the card in full:

Soldo vs Skala

Bohlin vs Plasil

Medtner vs Prochazka

Yenkini vs Maier

Bloch vs Ilic

Pavilchenko vs Mueller

Pander vs Alves

Hubner vs Braudel

Gabelich vs Herlovsen

Andric vs Ya Konan

cymru96 · December 23, 2016

Soldo vs Skala

Bohlin vs Plasil

Medtner vs Prochazka

Yenkini vs Maier

Bloch vs Ilic

Pavilchenko vs Mueller

Pander vs Alves

Hubner vs Braudel

Gabelich vs Herlovsen

Andric vs Ya Konan

Judoku1819 · December 23, 2016

Soldo vs Skala

Bohlin vs Plasil

Medtner vs Prochazka

Yenkini vs Maier

Bloch vs Ilic

Pavilchenko vs Mueller

Pander vs Alves

Hubner vs Braudel

Gabelich vs Herlovsen

Andric vs Ya Konan

5teezus · December 25, 2016

Soldo vs Skala

Bohlinvs Plasil

Medtner vs Prochazka

Yenkini vs Maier

Bloch vs Ilic

Pavilchenko vs Mueller

Pander vs Alves

Hubner vs Braudel

Gabelich vs Herlovsen

Andric vs Ya Konan

WCW Mark · December 26, 2016

There's mild disappointment for fans in the arena as one of the prelim is cancelled due to an injury to Drazen Gabelich, it's too late for me to book a replacement fight so the card goes ahead with just 4 prelims. It's no big deal though and this is why a couple of spare fights are always booked.

Also one thing I forgot to mention when I booked the card, for this event, and all my future ones on Euro Cable Sports 1, I've upped the marketing to Advance Regional. I've got plenty of cash in the bank (over £3.5 Million) and I'm hoping the popularity boosts will be worth it. In terms of real life justification, Euro Cable Sports 1 have insisted on the increased marketing budget as part of the broadcast deal.

<div style="text-align:center;">SIGMA: Soldo vs Skala</div>

Prelims

Stjepan "The Mammoth" Andric (14-8) vs "The African Dream" Souleymane Ya Konan (11-3) - Heavyweight

The bookies can't split these two, having both at odds of -110. Andric uses his clinch game to take the first and second rounds, although Ya Konan looks dangerous whenever he can get a bit of space. Round 3 looks like it's going the same way, when, with less than a minute to go Ya Konan lands a hard right hook which sends Andric to the ground, Ya Konan follows up landing several hard shots at the ref steps in with 1 second to go to award the fight to Ya Konan and deny Andric a certain points victory. Andric must be fuming.

Result: Souleymane Ya Konan defeats Stjepan Andric (TKO (Strikes) in 4:59 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great

Harald "Hammer" Hubner (6-3) vs Maurice Braudel (8-4) - Lightweight

These two meet in the centre of the cage and just let it all go. We get an action packed first round, just edged by Braudel. Round 2 sees Hubner shoot in for the takedown, which he gets and from there it's an easy finish.

Result: Harald Hubner defeats Maurice Braudel (TKO (Strikes) in 1:53 of round 2. The match was rated as being Fantastic

"Mighty Mouse" Heiko Pander (5-1) vs Pedro "The Wolverine" Alves (13-6) - Featherweight

How do you follow a fight like that, how about with a three round snoozefest spent in the clinch with not much happening. Pander takes it 30-27 but he really didn't do himself proud here.

Result: Heiko Pander defeats Pedro Alves (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Poor

Franak Pavilchenko (13-7) vs "The Wrecking Ball" Lucas Mueller - Lightweight

Mueller is the bookies favourite here and he justifies it with a takedown in each round. Although he controls the fight, and he stays aggressive throughout he can't get the finish and it goes to the judges, who score it 30-27 to Mueller. Decent performance by Mueller but he needs to work on his finishing.

Result: Lucas Mueller defeats Franak Pavilchenko (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Average

Main Card

Hans Christian Bloch (6-0) vs Jan "Thunderbolt" Ilic (6-0) - Featherweight

Ilic's sprawl and brawl style should be a tough match up for Bloch, who relies on his takedowns. However Bloch proves to be too good, getting the takedown and unleashing some nasty elbows that open up a cut above Ilic's eye. With blood pouring down his face Ilic is helpless as Bloch moves to mount and then sinks in the arm triangle for the win.

Result: Hans Christian Bloch defeats Jan Ilic (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 2:38 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

"The Super Eagle" Casim Yenkini (12-4) vs Uwe "Max" Maier - Middleweight

Maier starts aggressively but Yenkini is elusive and the majority of his strikes fail to connect. Yenkini takes advantage of an off balance Maier to move in and land the takedown, from there it's a foregone conclusion as Maier it helpless off his back and Yenkini gets the win via TKO.

Result: Casim Yenkini defeats Uwe Maier (TKO (Strikes) in 4:44 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Evgeni Medtner (23-6) vs "The Man of Steel" Marko Prochazka (22-14)- Middleweight

This fight was basically here as an emergency Co-main in case something happened to the main event, thank goodness it wasn't needed as it was a pretty poor fight. Medtner is by far the superior fighter but he seems content to just grind out the victory through a combination of his clinch game and smothering top control when it does go to the mat. Medtner will need to perform a lot better if he wants that rematch against Toadspew.

The most interesting thing about this fight was in the post-match, where Prochazka announces, that having finally realised his dream of fighting at SIGMA he's going to hand up his gloves at the age of 37.

Result: Evgeni Medtner defeats Marko Prochazka (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Poor

Co-Main Event

"Ice Cold" Lars Bohlin (50-7) vs Lubos "The Experiment" Plasil (8-1) - Lightweight

Bohlin comes out aggressively, looking for the takedown and when that fails he settles for pushing Plasil up against the cage, Plasil however fights back, turning it around and then hitting a suplex to take it to the ground. He proves too good for Bohlin and after his first two attempts at a submission fail he softens Bohlin up with some ground and pound before putting him away with a Kimura. It's a result which no one saw coming and it could be a career making win for Plasil.

Result: Lubos Plasil defeats Lars Bohlin (Submission (Kimura) in 4:04 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

Main Event

The Gladiator" Niko Soldo (18-2-1) vs Daniil "Skull Crusher" Skala (22-7)- Light Heavyweight Title

We have two kick boxers facing off so I expect to see a stand up battle, Soldo however seems determined to out wrestle his opponent, attempting 19 takedowns over the course of the fight, with none of them being successful. When he does decide to stand and strike he shows just how good he is, which makes his choice of tactics even stranger. A broken nose for Skala from a big right, a cut above the eye following a left, both in round 2 and a knockdown in round 3 are testament to that. The Doctors inspect Skala at the end of the third and despite his right eye being swollen shut they allow him to continue.

Skala bravely stands and trades but a big right hand, followed by a highlight reel headkick put him down and out. Impressive performance from Soldo, despite his strange tactics and it will likely be a good few months before Skala can fight again.

Result: Niko Soldo defeats Daniil Skala (Knock Out (Kick) in 1:58 of round 4). The match was rated as being Great

Post Show Round Up

Critical Rating: 81%

Commercial Rating: 53%

Net Income: +£451,742

Popularity Gains: +1% EU and +1.1% in Russian and the UK

Overall that was a good event, I had my first Fantastic rated fight (albeit on the preshow) and Soldo retained and looked good doing it. There where however a few disappointments.

1) The popularity gains. This is the big one, I thought the combination of bigger TV coverage in my key areas, improved marketing budget and the 81% critical rating would have lead to some decent gains. Instead this is my second worst improvement, ahead of only Toadspew v Crumb, something that I could put down to Toadspew's low popularity (and sadly guess which of my champions is headlining my next event). Perhaps the coverage afforded by two Tiny broadcasters was better than that provided by a single small broadcaster. Still I'm locked in for 6 months on this contract so I'll just have to make the best of it.

2) Bohlin v Plasil - Not so much the result, although Bohlin, as the more popular fighter, would have been a better one to have in the championship match, but more what happened to the fighters after. Plasil went up one momentum to +3, but his popularity didn't improve, while Bohlin dropped all the way to -1 momentum. He's going to be pretty much out of the top card picture for a while and I'm still not really confident in Plasil's ability to headline as a Mid Regional fighter, particularly as that's what his future opponent is going to be.

3) The performance of Evgeni Medtner - He had a pretty easy fight and this was suppose to be a showcase for him, potentially leading to a rematch with Toadspew at some point in the future. As it stands though he is going to have to do a lot better to earn that rematch, although he did at least improve his name value to High Regional.

Scores wise, no one got a perfect 9, with everyone predicting a Bohlin win. However Cymru96 got close with 8 correct, with Judoku1819 coming in with 7 and 5teezus getting 5.

WCW Mark · December 26, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">July 2001: End of month round up</div>

Week 2 was the week to be an MMA fan with ALPHA-1, KFM FC and FLB all holding shows in the Saturday, while XCC went with a Sunday evening.

ALPHA-1 went with Palmer Lette defense of his Super Heavyweight Title against Stanley Rine. The SHW's for ALPHA-1 is split in two, with Palmer Lette on one side of the divide and the entire rest of the division on the other. Lette's Low International name value means he can headline against anyone, but at 36 you've got to wonder how long he can carry on and what will happen to the division when he retires. Unsurprisingly, when his contract becomes due after this fight ALPHA-1 snap him up to a new deal, on a base salary of £70K per fight!

KDM FC go with their second biggest star after Li Kong-Ho and Atep of Indonesia steps up, defeating Toson Ono to make the third defence of his title.

FLB headline with Leonardo Da Costa vs Zaco for the vacant Middleweight Title. Da Costa wins via 2nd round submission and Zaco leaves the company.

Finally XCC's show sees Willy Basset make his first title defence with a first round TKO win over Zach Steggles.

I go on the offensive against BCF, signing Carter Potter and Harry Milne. I'm not going to be able to do Ivanov vs Oktay as planned as Oktay is out for 4 months following his fight with Potter. I therefore plan to run with Ivanov v Potter (Potter was only out for a month). Which will either see Ivanov win to boost him even further ahead of his match vs Oktay, or Potter will get the win for his chance at a rematch. I don't have definite plans for Milne and at 38 he is a short term signing, however he is High Regional popularity in both the UK and Europe and he has two in game wins. He's also BCF's number 2 ranked Heavyweight after Oktay so hopefully I'll be able to throw him in a fight and deprive them of his services, hey they started it.

I also strike my first blow against one of the big guns. ALPHA-1 come in for Ivanov, previously I've always given up my fighters when this has happened, either because they've been low enough down the rankings that I've felt they were easily replaceable, or because they'd given decent service to SIGMA and probably deserved their shot at the big time before it was too late. Ivanov however is a different story. Not only do I have firm plans for him, but at 25 there is plenty of time for him to go to one of the big two later in his career. A bidding war ensues and I end up keeping him, albeit at four times his previous salary. Still a £10K basic won't break the bank (Soldo earns slightly more with a basic of £10.25K) and it's worth it to keep one of my highest profile and best fighters.

Outside of the big names I pick up a few low profile fighters to boost my roster. I won't list them here but will instead introduce them as and when they debut. I also release Andric who at low regional name value and -3 momentum has run his course. Pedro Alves keeps his job, despite his loss as he is still Mid Regional name value, while Braudel also keeps his, just because his fight was rated as Fantastic and I feel I should reward that by giving him one last chance (which he'll probably lose). With Prochazka's retirement that means I've shed two of my older fighters and that will open up more opportunities for the youngsters.

Finally OMEGA book their first event and no doubt annoy XCC greatly by booking their current Featherweight Champion, Philip Ziskie, against their number one contender, Easton Frye. This was no doubt going to be a future main event for XCC so this is a serious blow. About the best thing that can happen for them is for Frye to win, allowing them to put on the rematch for the XCC title. OMEGA are also going to have their Heavyweight Title decided on this first show with Guy Broom (7-0) facing off against Taye Burnett (7-0).

WCW Mark · December 26, 2016

SIGMA announce........

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

"The Spew Moneky" Kenneth Toadsew (14-2) vs Alberto Basora (21-8) - Welterweight

August sees my Welterweight title defended, with my least popular champion, Kenneth Toadspew face off against veteran Alberto Basora. Basora gets his chance after beating Jens Halle in January, a fight he took on short notice after his brother, who was Halle's original opponent, left to go to GAMMA. Basora's weak chin shouldn't be a problem against Toadspew, who doesn't have much in the way of a striking game, and this may prove tough for the champ as Basora is probably slightly better than him on the ground and is definitely dangerous off his back. Toadspew may not therefore be able to go with his usual plan of smothering his opponents and may have to vary his game a bit. The bookies have this at evens so it could be anyone's fight. This is only rated as a Strong Main Event, which is slightly below my usual standard.

Aleksei "Fists of Death" Chekhov (22-4) vs "The Scourge of Europe" Nicolai Mickiewicz (21-5) - Light Heavyweight

To make up for the slightly lack lustre main event we have two of my favourite fighters facing off in what is rated as a Great Main event. Theoretically this means it should go above the main event but the title always goes on last. I'm also pretty sure I read somewhere that the game picks the highest rated of your main and co-main and does the calculations off of that so that should all be fine.

In terms of the match up, we've got the classic wrestler vs striker and I'm hoping the contrast in styles will lead to an exciting match. They are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the division, but as both have already lost to Soldo a win here is unlikely to earn them a title shot.

"Big Trouble" Jacco Landeweerd (7-0) vs Jozef "Pole Ax" Jankowski - Heavyweight

Next we have two of the heavyweight divisions up and comers facing off. Landeweerd was already with the company when I took over and this is his 3rd fight for SIGMA, although his first in game. Jankowski earned this shot on the main show with a prelim win over Bastian Neske back in February. I think this may be a step up too far for him but at 25 he has plenty of time to recover from a loss, while a win should see him crack the top ten.

"Tenacious" Shaun Dico (6-0) vs "Ice Cold" Stephan de Winter (7-0) - Middleweight

Dico is another fighter who made his debut on the prelims in February, he is a good all round talent and he gets a match here against dangerous striker Stephan de Winter, who is making his SIGMA debut, but at 28 years old and with a record of (7-0), gets fast tracked to the main show. A win for either of these guys will see them consolidate their position in the main show and advance up the rankings, while the loser will probably get an easy rehab fight or two on the prelims.

Jens "Battery" Halle (16-4) vs Dominykas "Slamkovic" Jankovic (12-4) - Welterweight

Jankovic is back down at Welterweight after his unsuccessful foray to Middleweight, where he lost to Casim Yenkini (a loss that doesn't seem so bad in retrospect as Yenkini won his next fight and is now 4th in the Middleweight rankings). At 26 Jankovic has time on his side and he'll be looking to get back in the Welterweight Title picture. His opponent is Jens Halle, a man who is still ranked 4th in the division, despite being on a losing streak (most recently to tonights title challenger, Alberto Basora). In my opinion Halle is a fighter on the way down and a loss here will likely see him become a jobber to the future stars before being released.

Prelims

Bjarne Bjerre (5-3) vs Ern Fathoui (6-1) - Welterweight

Fathoui got sacrificed to Filip Hristov last time out, his reward is a fight he should be winning against Bjerre. Bjerre is 3-2 in SIGMA and although this is his debut fight for me, it's also likely to be his last. Unless he picks up the shock win here he'll be out the door.

Andoni Olano (6-3) vs Koenraad Belien (9-4) - Light Heavyweight

Olano was unlucky to lose a split decision to Makhak Kirakosyan last time out, he faces a veteran opponent here and he'll need to avoid the takedowns of Belien to pick up the win. I'm not really too bothered who wins this one as neither has much of a future, but I'd prefer it if Olano for the W as a 25 year old jobber is a lot more useful than a 34 year old one.

Bixente Fontaine (9-5) vs Ezio Gnocchi (7-2) - Middleweight

Fontaine is 2-5 in SIGMA and I fully expect this to be his last fight for me. Gnocci isn't a lot better off though and if he can't pick up the win here he'll be the one shown the door.

Kyril "The Snow Man" Alyabev (6-2) vs Ivano"Ace" Ancic - Featherweight

Both these fighters lost in their SIGMA debuts and another loss will see them back to the indies. Ancic should get the win here, but a loss for either isn't the end of their careers as both are young enough to improve and potentially find themselves back in the big time at some point in the future.

Louie "The Featherweight Phantom" Sullivan (7-0) vs Graeme "Sparky" Spark (8-1) - Featherweight

I made a couple of new signings in June and these are the first two to get debuts. Neither are known in Europe so despite their decent records the prelims is definitely the place for this fight. It's striker vs wrestler and I don't mind who wins as long as they gain a bit of popularity.

That's it for the card. I've only got two main event worthy fights, so if either of them go I'm in trouble. The undercard is decent and should see a couple of young fighters progress, while the prelims will see me thinning out the roster a little (it's slightly bloated due to the number of signings I've made), which will give me space to get a few new youngsters in off the local circuit.

Here's the card in full

Toadspew vs Basora

Chekhov vs Mickiewicz

Landeweerd vs Jankowski

Dico vs De Winter

Halle vs Jankovic

Bjerre vs Fathoui

Olano vs Belien

Fontaine vs Gnocchi

Alyabyev vs Ancic

Sullivan vs Spark

WCW Mark · December 30, 2016

<div style="text-align:center;">SIMGA: Toadspew vs Basora</div>

1,043 fans (the second highest attendance I've had) come to watch Kenneth Toadspew vs Alberto Basora, however before we can get onto that we have the smaller matter of 9 other fights.

Prelims

Louise "The Featherweight Phenom" Sullivan (7-0) vs Graeme "Sparky" Spark (8-1) - Featherweight

Spark scoops then slams his opponent, he quickly transitions to mount and starts landing some hard punches, Sullivan isn't defending himself and the ref steps in.

Result: Graeme Spark defeats Louie Sullivan (TKO (Strikes) in 1:23 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good

Kyril "The Snow Man" Alyabyev (6-2) vs Ivano "Ace" Ancic (5-1) - Featherweight

We get three rounds of high tempo kick boxing, both fighters throw a lot but the difference is that Ancic is landing most of his while Alyabev can barely land anything. A comfortable win for Ancic but you really should be finishing your opponent if you hit him that many times and his lack of power will hinder him against better opponents.

Result: Ivano Ancic defeats Kyril Alyabev (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Good

"Thunder Foot" Bixente Fontaine (9-5) vs "The Centurion" Ezio Gnocchi (7-2) - Middleweight

Another kick boxer vs kick boxer bout and again it's high tempo from start to finish. This first round is too close to call and the second is very even until Gnocchi puts Fontaine down in the final minute with a right cross to take the round. Round 3 sees both fighters go on the attack and Fontaine is probably edging it, again though the final minute of the round sees Gnocchi step up and this time he puts Fontaine down and out with a right uppercut. Big win for Gnocchi.

Result: Ezio Gnocchi defeats Bixente Fontaine (Knock Out (Punch) in 4:20 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great

Andoni Olano (6-3) vs Koenraad Belien (9-4) Light Heavyweight

Belien gets the early takedown and swiftly finishes it with his ground and pound. A pretty easy win for the Belgian to prolong his SIGMA career.

Result: Koenraad Belien defeats Andoni Olano (TKO (Strikes) in 2:00 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great

Bjarne Bjerre (5-3) vs "The Phat Man" Ern Fathoui (6-1) - Welterweight

Fathoui takes Bjerre down from the clinch and they go to ground, Fathoui tries to finish it with strikes from the top but Bjerre fights back and almost grabs a kimura. The round ends with Fathoui on top and he probably took it but it was close.

Round 2 is spent mostly in the clinch and there isn't a lot more to say about it, Fathoui probably takes it but again it's close.

Round 3 is again spent mainly on the ground following another Fathoui takedown, this time his striking is a little more effective and he uses it to set up the armbar for the win.

Result: Ern Fathoui defeats Bjarne Bjerre (Submission (Armbar) in 2:58 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent

Main Card

Jens "Battery" Halle (16-4) vs Dominykas "Slamkovic" Jankovic (12-4) - Welterweight

Jankovic shows off his clinch game in the first two rounds, smothering Halle up against the cage and keeping him there. It's looking like a comfortable if dull win for Jankovic, especially when he takes Halle down in the third. However as he tries to go for mount Halle gets a bit of space and finds himself on top after the resulting scramble. He swiftly takes advantage and lands several hard shots to put Jankovic away. Remarkable comeback.

Result: Jens Halle defeats Dominykas Jankovic (TKO (Strikes) in 3:38 of round 3). The match was rated as being Average

"Tenacious" Shaun Dico (6-0) vs "Ice Cold" Stephan De Winter (7-0) - Middleweight

This is three rounds of Dico holding De Winter up against the cage, he lands enough strikes to stop the ref from separating them but they are purely point scorers and don't actually do much in the way of damage. Dico takes it by unanimous decision but that fight won't be featuring on the end of year video.

Result: Shaun Dico defeats Stephan De Winter (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Very Poor

"Big Trouble" Jacco Landeweerd (7-0) vs Jozef "Pole Ax" Jankowski (7-0) - Heavyweight

Thankfully this one gets the crowd back on side as both fighters put on a fight on the night performances. They exchange strikes in the early part of the first, before Landeweerd secures a takedown, Landeweerd spends the rest of the round on top but his lack of a ground game shows as he can't finish his opponent.

Round 2 sees them stand and trade, with both fighters landing some decent shots, one in particular (a left cross) from Jankowski puts Landeweerd down and this time it's Jankowski who has top position as he follows him to the ground. He shows that vital killer edge though, landing several hard shots and eventually forcing the ref to step in.

Result: Jozef Jankowski defeats Jacco Landeweerd (TKO (Strikes) in 1:19 of round 2). The match was rated as being Fantastic

Co-Main Event

Aleksei "Fists of Death" Chekhov (22-4) vs " The Scourge of Europe" Nicolai Mickiewicz (21-5) - Light Heavyweight

Round 1 sees Mickiewicz clinching against the cage and smothering Chekhov, whilst he controls him he doesn't really land much in the way of strikes and the ref probably should have stepped in and brought them back to the centre. He doesn't though and that's the first round to Mickiewicz.

Round 2 again sees Mickiewicz clinch, this time however Chekhov refuses to be driven back. Mickiewicz changes tactic and pulls guard, dragging Chekhov to the ground, he's obviously confident he can dominate Chekhov on the mat. This confidence probes misplaced as Chekhov holds his position well and probably takes the round scoring with several shoulder strikes.

Round 3 finally sees some real action as Chekhov lands a brutal right hook to the body that sees Mickiewicz crumple to the ground, Chekhov follows him down but can't keep him under control and despite absorbing some big strikes Mickiewicz manages to get to his feet. This time Mickiewicz manages to get the clinch and controls the remainder of the round, again though without really landing anything. That's got to be a victory to Chekhov, 2 rounds to 1. We go to the judges who score it 29-28 Chekhov, 29-28 Mickiewicz, 29-28 Mickiewicz. It's a terrible decision and the crowd are booing to show their displeasure.

Result: Nicolai Mickiewicz defeats Aleksei Chekhov (Split Decision). The match was rated as being Poor

Main Event

"The Spew Monkey" Kenneth Toadspew (14-2) vs Alberto Basora (21-8) - Welterweight Title

This is four rounds of tedious clinching with only the fourth round providing any sort of excitement, with Basora finally executing the takedown and gaining first mount and then taking Toadspew's back. However the buzzer goes before he can do any damage and we're back to the clinching. Toadspew retains his title 4 rounds to 1.

Result: Kenneth Toadspew defeats Alberto Basora (Unanimous Decision). The match was rated as being Awful

Post Show Round Up

Critical Rating: 56%

Commercial Rating 44%

Net Income: £455,453

Popularity Gains: +0.4% Europe, +0.7% Russia and the UK

Well that wasn't great.

Toadspew is a real problem, his fights are dull and he isn't a massive draw, at least with this win he's finally made it to High Regional name value but I'm not happy with him as my champion at all. Unfortunately I'm not convinced I have any one who can beat him (well maybe Hristov but is he going to be any better as champion?).

The co-main was also disappointing. A combination of Mickiewicz's tactics and poor judging meant this was a real let down. Chekhov showed what he can do if given a chance to strike and should have picked up the win, sadly for him the poor rating this fight received means no one is clamouring for a rematch and he's just going to have to live with the loss.

At least Jankowski vs Landeweerd was exciting and this fight probably saved the show. The win puts Jankowski in the top ten of the division and he's gone up to Mid Regional popularity. Hopefully he'll pick up a win in his next outing against one of the fading veterans of the division to really put him in the title mix. Meanwhile the loss will set Landeweerd back, but the fact he is capable of putting on such exciting fights will stand him in good stead going forwards.

Finally, Fontaine, Bjerre, Alyabev and Olano all get the chop following their losses, clearing out space on the roster and also providing a few names for the indie scene, which hasn't had an event in Europe for a few months, presumably due to me sweeping up a lot of the talent.

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