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On Saturday Night March 21st, Roy Jones Jr. “Square Ring Promotions” is holding a pay-per-view event featuring a mix of boxing and MMA fights. The two boxing fights on the card are Roy Jones Jr. vs. Omar Sheika and BJ Flores vs. Jose Luis Herrera, with four MMA bouts scheduled for the pay-per-view as well. Just as a side note to this column, I will not be previewing the boxing portion of the card, just the MMA portion of the card.
March Badness Middleweight Division Fight
Dennis “Superman” Hallman (39-12-2) vs. Danny Ruiz (5-3-0)
Longtime MMA veteran Dennis Hallman will be returning to professional MMA after taking a year plus break from active competition. Dennis Hallman is well known by most MMA purist for defeating former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes two consecutive times. Besides facing Matt Hughes in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Dennis Hallman also fought Jens Pulver, Frank Trigg and Jorge Rivera in the promotion. Dennis Hallman will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with thirty career victories coming by way of submission. Danny Ruiz is entering this fight with a winning record, but is currently on a three fight losing streak that has lasted over a year. Danny Ruiz is a veteran of both the Real Fighting Championships and World Fighting Championships promotions. The last win for Danny Ruiz came at World Fighting Championships 4: Cage Wars over Thomas Czerwinski. Danny Ruiz will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with three victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Dennis Hallman
March Badness Heavyweight Division Fight
Jeff “The Snowman” Monson (27-8-0) vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson (13-3-0)
Jeff Monson is the former top contender to the UFC Heavyweight Title, whom lost his title opportunity to Tim Sylvia at UFC 65. Jeff Monson has fought a host of top notch fighters like Chuck Liddell, Ricco Rodriquez, Forrest Griffin, Brandon Lee Hinkle, Marcio Cruz, Pedro Rizzo, Josh Barnett and Mark Kerr. The mental capacity of Jeff Monson may be called into question in this after he was nearly put in jail after spray painting US government property. Jeff Monson will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with seventeen victories coming by submission. Roy Nelson is a former International Fight League Heavyweight Champion and a longtime veteran of the now defunct promotion... During his time in the International Fight League, Roy Nelson fought top names like Ben Rothwell, Shane Ott, Fabiano Scherner and Brad Imes. Roy Nelson also fought in the final Elite XC event, Elite XC On CBS III, losing to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Roy Nelson will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with six previous victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Jeff Monson
March Badness Heavyweight Division Fight
Bobby Lashley (1-0-0) vs. Jason Guida (17-19-0)
Bobby Lashley is the former professional wrestler who mainly competed in World Wrestling Entertainment and is a former ECW Champion. Bobby Lashley made his professional MMA debut in December 2008, with a victory over Joshua Franklin by TKO. Despite the lack of experience, Bobby Lashley does train with American Top Team, which is one of the top MMA training camps. Bobby Lashley will be looking to use ground and pound to secure a victory, with his previous win coming by knockout. Jason Guida is the replacement fighter for Ken Shamrock, who was pulled from the fight after a failed drug test. Jason Guida is a longtime veteran of MMA and is the brother of UFC lightweight division fighter Clay Guida. Jason Guida did have a brief stint in the UFC as a cast member of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 8, but was kicked out of the program after medical issues. Jason Guida has fought a slew of top MMA fighters like Rory Markham, Thales Leitas, Vernon White, Marvin Eastman, Terry Martin and Travis Wiuff. Jason Guida will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with ten career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Bobby Lashley
March Badness Lightweight Division Fight
Din “Dinyero” Thomas (23-8-0) vs. Gabe Lemley (13-8-0)
Din Thomas is a longtime veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, where he fought Fabiano Iha, Caol Uno, Matt Serra, Rich Clementi, Clay Guida, Jeremy Stephens, BJ Penn and Josh Neer. Din Thomas recently fought a little over a month ago, so his conditioning could become a factor in this one. That last fight was a victory over Dustin Pierkin at a Headhunter Productions: The Patriot Act event this past February. Din Thomas will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with fourteen victories coming by way of submission. Gabe Lemley is a longtime veteran of the Extreme Challenge promotion, where eight of his career fights took place at. Gabe Lemley has also fought in the Strikeforce promotion, where he lost to former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez. Gabe Lemley is coming off a big years in 2008, where he won three of five fights that he participated in. Gabe Lemley will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with eight career victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Din Thomas
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
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