HERO 55 REVIEW
JULY 27st, 2013
I gotta say congratulations to everyone who had something to do with HERO 55 because it is the highest rated event in HERO FC Helsinki history! I am sure everyone who missed the event due to one reason or another wanna eat their balls, but that's what happens when you have plans on Saturday night people - you can fuck your girlfriends, get drunk, read a book later; Saturday and Wednesday night are time for HERO FC! We had plenty of excitement throughout the night and only one fight went the distance - most of the fights were an absolute massacre! I know I have your attention so I will move on to the fights:
Prelims
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135 lbs |
|
by Submission (Kimura) |
Round 1 |
- 04:59 |
|
Phuttharaksa was able to get his 10th career victory by submission after a wrestling heavy first round. Although Suliman Kane is tough as hell he had to tap one second before the bell because Phuttharaksa was in a mood of breaking arms and he wouldn't have hesitated to hurt Kane with the kimura he locked in.
|
145 lbs |
|
by TKO (Strikes) |
in Round 1 at |
04:23 |
|
Pekka strikes again! Desmond Harrington couldn't establish himself as the better striker against the fighter with most fights in HERO, but things got real tough for him when Pikkarainen got the takedown and started to pour it on. Harrington managed to hold on for 2 minutes but eventually Pekka forced the ref stoppage.
|
135 lbs |
|
KO (Punches) in Round |
1 |
at 03:59 |
|
Nero snapped his streak with 4 fights without a victory in more then impressive fashion. Artie Lange had problems making weight and needed 2 additional hours to tip the scale at 136 pounds and he was seemingly not in his best shape. Lange knew he couldn't stand with Nero and tried takedown after takedown, but Lenny was a lot more athletic and his takedown defence was excelent. He was landing at will and he finally put Lange away with a textbook one-two combination.
|
145 lbs |
|
TKO (Strikes) in Round |
3 at |
03:31 |
|
Now that fight was an absolute war that ended after a huge comeback. First two rounds were striking only and Flavius Trifu was getting the better of it. His versatile atacks kept Withnail guessing and his boxing was not enough. His takedown attempts were denied, but he showed a lot of guts and finally got a takedown in round 3. He knew he had to finish and he really stepped up the pace. A BJJ black belt, mixing it up with ground and pound is something you don't want on you and Trifu found out why - Withnail got the mount and the ref intervened in order to prevent Trifu from taking any more unnecessary punishment.
135 lbs Kenji Matsushita defeats Kong King by KO (Head Kick) in Round 2 at 01:58
Losing is a learning process and Kenji Matsushita definitely made the most of his first MMA defeat in his last fight. In the first round, Kong King got the takedown and was outplayed in his own game as Kenji reversed the position and although King was active with submission attempts, he was eating ground strikes in return. There was no takedown attempts in the second round and Matsushita proved he is the better striker by taking King's head off with a picture perfect head kick.
Main Card
145 lbs Usko Luttinen defeats Henrik Torhammer by KO (Punches) in Round 3 at 03:43
A return of a familiar face is something that warms my dark heart and seeing Usko Luttinen return to HERO almost caused a tear in my eye. The guy went on toe to toe against one of the most dangerous featherweights Henrik Torhammer and I gotta say those two put on a real show! They left it all in the octagon and we saw world class striking in a back-and-forth fight. Henrik wanted to return to his winning ways after suffering a KO loss from Antero and although he was rocked big time in the 1st, at the time the 3rd round started, he was winning the bout. Usko, who I once considered the top striker in the 155 division, took time off competition and HERO FC in order to come back better then ever. He dropped down in weight and I gotta say he looks like a legitimate threat to Wursty. After two and a half rounds of hell, Usko did a cool faint and caught Torhammer by surprise. I am sure Henrik would've liked to continue but his body just gave out and the left hook he took could have killed lesser men.
135 lbs Meenny Vattalles defeats Ruslan Smirnov by KO (Punches) in Round 2 at 04:38
As much as I like Ruslan Smirnov and I respect his past achievements, I think it is time he calls it a career. Meenny Vattalles is one tough dude and was able to stuff 14 takedown attempts and even when Smirnov got one, he stayed calm and was able to neutralize the Russian's attacks. Vattalles was kicking Ruslan's butt in a way that made me feel sad about the former champ - he had a great deal of success against sprawl n brawl type of fighters in the past, but right now, he had nothing for Vattalles. This fight opened a lot of doors for Meenny, who is in a position to dream for the title if he gets a couple of more solid victories, and also put a serious question mark about Ruslan Smirnov's future as a pro fighter.
135 lbs Tommy Tapout defeats Hector Barboza by Decision (Unanimous)
Tommy Tapout made a very important step towards another shot at the title with his win against Hector Barboza. I won't say it was particularly impressive, but Tapout did enough to win it. He got the first two rounds by scoring early takedowns and being active with submission attempts. Barboza showed great composure and submission defence and although he lost the first two rounds, he survived and he preserved more energy. Tapout was confident in his striking defence and never attempted takedown in round number 3. He can take some critisism about that because he knew he got the first two rounds and decided to just stay out of trouble in the third when he should have tried to get a finish. Barboza tried his best but couldn't get Tapout in any danger so all he achieved was 29-28 for Tommy Tapout written on the judges' scorecards.
145 lbs Zhijing Wang defeats Maarten Van Der Moot by Submission (Armbar) in Round 2 at 04:39
Maarten Van Der Moot and Zhijing Wang are part of the 145 lbs elite for as long as I can remember and fights between veterans like them are always exciting. Van Der Moot is 31 years old and his game plan has always been the same - to stay on his feet and connect and I doubt anyone thought this fight will be different. He got taken down in round 1 and did nothing more but to survive. That was enough to give him confidence that he can grapple with a submission artist like Wang and once round 2 started Maarten tried some takedown that caught us all, including Zhijing, by surprise. That tactic was dangerous and after a couple of takedowns by the Dutch, Wang was able to capitalize on an opportunity and lock in an armbar, leaving only one option to his opponent - tap out.
265lbs Kevin Krukowski defeats Tita Zen by TKO (Strikes) in Round 1 at 03:55 for the 265lbs Title!
Well folks, I have some major news for you - Kevin Krukowski is the baddest man in HERO FC! The HW division looks as deep as it has ever been and the champions can barely make more then 1 defence, but I think Kevin is here to stay. We all remember how impressive was Tita's effort to capture the title and to see him get destroyed in less then 4 minutes really made me wonder how talented that Polish dude Krukowski is... The fight was pretty even up until a wild right hand from Tita that missed and left him open for a flying knee that knocked him down. Krukowski didn't hesitate and followed up raining down bombs that forced the ref to stop the fight and declare him the new heavyweight champion. Krukowski is not the most athletic guy weighting in at 280 pounds at a height of 181sm but his ability to decimate opponents is mind blowing. With 14 wins and 0 losses, I think he is the next p4p king! The HW division will no doubt offer some huge challenges for the new champ and I can't wait to see him in action again!
