Martial Combat Predictions

Martial Combat 3 & 4 take place tomorrow and Thursday night in SIngapore.

This is an up and coming event which may not be of interest to everyone but it does feature a number of American fighters.

By far the highest profile fighter on the card is WEC and Elite XC vet Muhsin Corbrrey but some of the top fighters from Korea, China and the Phillipines will also be in action.

This is my official preview / predictions article which should give you a bit of insight into the sort of fights and fighters featuring on this ambitious event.

Predictions June 16th

Jasor Ablasi (The Philippines, debut) vs Andrew Leone (USA, debut)

Both men are making their debuts but have extensive amateur records. Leone has a very strong wrestling pedigree while Ablasi is a regional Wushu champion

Leone has plenty of grappling and wrestling experience and will have added some stand up skills to the equation since basing himself in Thailand. Ablasi has been training in Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu and this should be an extremely interesting fight between very two well matched fighters.

Leone's elder brother Anthony is an accomplished fighter with an MMA record of 8-0. He will be making his debut for the WEC, the UFC's outlet for lighter fighters, later this month.

Both of these young fighters are MMA stars in the making and should get proceedings off to an explosive start.

Prediction:

Ablasi will probably have the advantage standing up and will be looking to utilize his Wushu skills. Wrestlers have probably been the single most successful group of martial artists in MMA and Leone will be looking to use his wrestling skills to take Ablasi to the floor and keep him there.

Leone via ground and pound

Zhang Jian Jun (China, 6-0) vs Robert Sothmann (Canada, 2-3)

Both men are based in China and have experience of fighting for the Art of War promotion there. Sothmann has a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu whereas Zhang Jian Jun comes from a strong Sanda and K-1 background.

Sothmann will want to take the fight to the ground but Jian Jun showed his submission skills against Abhijeet Petkar at the last Martial Combat event. He defeated the Indian fighter by way of a Kimura early in the first round and will be looking to make it two wins out of two fighting for Martial Combat.

Prediction:

Jian Juan is a superior striker and looks set to make it seven wins out of seven with an early knock out.

Jian Jun via knock out

Joe Ray (USA, 2-0) vs Zorobabel Moreira (Singapore, 3-0)

Joe Ray is a rising star in the sport of MMA and will be looking to continue the upward trajectory which has seen him run up two consecutive stoppage wins. He is an extremely confident young man who made his MMA debut in front of 7000 people on the US show Strikeforce.

Ray will face the toughest test of his fledgling career against this highly decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. Moreira hails from Brazil but is now based in Singapore and, like Ray, is unbeaten in his MMA career. Moreira is a submission specialist who has won BJJ championships at both a national and international level.

Ray spent almost a year training and fighting in Thailand and as a result has a good level of striking. Unlike some Muay Thai fighters he has been able to effortlessly make the transition into MMA and has fast hands and good head movement.

Prediction:

This will be a classic clash of styles between a stand up fighter and a ground fighter. Ray has the advantage on the feet but Moreira is the bigger man and will be confident of pulling off a submission if he can take the fight to the floor. An MMA fight always starts with both fighters standing which should give Ray a slight edge.

Joe Ray via knock out

Ian Bone (Australia, 8-3) vs Matt Delanoit (USA, 10-10)

These two fighters are MMA veterans and this will be an extremely interesting contest. Ian Bone is an experienced fighter who is well known in his native Australia. He is highly aggressive and none of his 11 MMA fights have ever ended up in the judges hands. His six submission victories are indicative of a solid ground game and he looks to be a well rounded mixed martial artist.

Matt Delanoit is a very active fighter who has already fought three times this year. He has faced some stellar opposition in recent months in the shape of Josh Neer and John Alessio, two very well respected fighters, and will be confident of getting win number 11 against Bone.

Prediction:

Delanoit is more experienced and has faced a better level of opposition than Bone. Both men have a good ground game but I am expecting Delanoit to be slightly better in every department.

Delanoit via TKO

Aaron Steele (USA, 14-8) vs Jong Man Kim (Korea, 34-9-3)

Jong Man Kim is a vastly experienced veteran who had his first MMA fight in 2003 and has fought on some of the biggest shows in the world including K-1, Shooto and M-1. Man Kim has 14 submission wins although his recent fights have tended to go the distance.

Steele made his MMA debut back in 2004 and is a veteran of the American MMA scene but has not been nearly as active as Kim. This will be the biggest opportunity of his MMA career and he will be looking to utilize his wrestling.

A title will be on the line meaning that this fight could go for five rounds.

Prediction:

I think this will be a war of attrition and it will come down to whichever man has the best conditioning. Given that he has been a more active fighter, a number of his recent fights have gone the distance and he has more experience I think Kim is the favourite.

Kim via a late stoppage

Predictions June 17th

Egon Racz (Slovakia, 1-2) vs Eduard Folayang (The Philippines, 6-1)

Eduard Folayang is one of the best MMA fighters to have emerged from the Philipines in recent years and is tipped to be the next Filipino fighter to be signed by the UFC. He is a highly decorated Wushu fighter who won a silver medal at the Wushu world championships.

What makes this a particularly interesting match up is that Racz also has excellent stand up. He is an accomplished Muay Thai fighter which should make for a mouthwatering clash of stand up styles.

As a mixed martial artist Folayang is much more evolved than Racz and will have a major advantage in the grappling game. He will be looking to use his Wushu hip throws to take the fight to the floor where you can expect him to unleash a barrage of blows.

Prediction:

Folayang is destined for bigger and better things and Martial Combat fans are fortunate to have the chance to see this star in the making in action. It would be a major surprise if Racz was to cause an upset and much will depend on how rapidly the Slovakians ground game is improving. If Folayang decides he wants to test his Wushu against Racz's Muay Thai with a stand up fight this could be a classic.

Folayang via ground and pound

Wu Cheng Jie (China, 2-0) vs Muhsin Corbbrey (USA, 13-6)

Muhsin Corbbrey is a world class fighter who has been in there with some of the biggest names in the sport and securing his signature represents a major coup for the Martial Combat matchmakers. A Stikeforce veteran he has faced high caliber opponents such as reigning Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and is also an active professional boxer.

Diaz is one of the top pound for pound fighters on the planet and while the record books will read that he stopped Corbbrey late in the third round what they will not reflect is that Diaz missed weight by almost 10 lbs for this lightweight fight.

Wu Cheng Jie is a Sanda fighter but has been working hard on his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Corbbrey will be looking to get his career back on track after a couple of recent losses and will probably have a significant size advantage.

Prediction:

Corbbrey is far too good a fighter for Cheng Jie and should dominate him in every department. I expect Corbrrey to unleash a barrage of unanswered blows on Cheng Jie to set up a submission win.

Corbrrey via submission

Doo Won Seo (Korea, 5-5) vs Brian Choi (USA, 2-1)

Doo Won Seo is one of the best fighters to have emerged from Korea in recent years. He has previously faced stand out opposition such as Ryo Chonan, the only man to hold a win over reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and UFC fighter Jake Ellenberger. Won Seo is the reigning welterweight champion for Neofight, Korea's premier MMA promotion. He has a very high level of stand up and took part in a K-1 fight in Holland late last year.

Choi is an instructor at Evolve MMA in Singapore. He was a collegiate wrestler in the US and is a veteran of over 100 wrestling matches. Little is known about him as a fighter but he has a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wrestlers tend to make the transition to MMA better than most.

Prediction:

Doo Won Seo will be firm favourite against the inexperienced Choi. Choi's best chance is to take Won Seo down but the Korean is a more than competent grappler

Won Seo via KO.

Yun Seob Kwak (South Korea, 10-6-1) vs Arthur Cesar (Brazil, 10-4)

This promised to be a close, competitive fight between two highly experienced mixed martial artists. Yun Seob Kwak has fought under MMA rules for K-1 Heroes and has been competing in MMA since 2003. He also has impressive stand up credentials and once fought for a Muay Thai world title.

Arthur Cesar also brings seven years of fighting experience to the table but has been the much more active of the two in recent years. Cesar, who is based in Singapore, fought five times in 2009 and has already fought twice this year. Although Cesar is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt the majority of his fights go the full distance and he holds a 2006 decision win over UFC veteran Rousimar Palhares.

There are very few fighters within the world of MMA who have competed in Muay Thai at such a high level and Seob Kwak is likely to be the better striker. Once the fight goes to the ground it will be advantage Cesar and the Brazilian will be looking to secure a submission win

Prediction:

Much will depend on Seob Kwak's ring rust. If he is sharp coming into this fight he will feel he has a good chance of getting on the comeback trail with a knock out win. Cesar has spent a lot of time inside the cage in the past 12 months and will be confident of executing his game plan which will presumably be to take Seob Kwak down at the earliest available opportunity.

Cesar via submission.

Cyrus Washington (USA, 2-1-0) vs Malik Arash Mawlayi (Afghanistan, 7-3-1)

Another clash of styles sees a Muay Thai fighter, Washington, take on a grappler, Mawlayi. Washington is a veteran of 50 Muay Thai fights and is an explosive fighter who has real knock out power.

Born in war torn Afghanistan Mawlayi is primarily a ground fighter but he has been working extensively on his striking. Mawlayi has 20 Muay Thai fights under his belt with 15 knock out wins but he is not as technical a striker as Washington.

If Mawlayi chooses to stand with Washington, which he feels he is capable of doing, this fight is likely to end fast with a dramatic knock out. Once the fight goes to the floor Washington will be out of his depth against the experienced Mawlayi and is likely to find himself getting quickly submitted.

Prediction:

Washington's ground game is nowhere near sophisticated enough to allow him to compete with Mawlayi, who has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. If Washington can keep the fight standing he will feel he has an excellent chance of out striking his opponent but Mawlayi is likely to waste little time in taking him down and submitting him. This fight is scheduled for five rounds but an early stoppage is very much on the cards.

Mawlayi via submission.