The water weight is drained, the scales stepped on and the staredowns posted under the glare of flash bulbs and watching eyes. Now all that’s left is for the action.
Former Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion Renato Sobral is set to take on Japanese upset-the-apple-cart merchant Tatsuya Mizuno. Babalu is looking to set himself back at the top level of the sport and have his name rank alongside the elites once more, whereas Mizuno had a brief taste of how that felt following his shock win over Melvin Manhoef and subsequent competitive Grand Prix final loss to Gegard Mousasi, and he wants to prove it was no fluke and that he belongs there, fighting big names with his own in the mix.
Imanari the “Ashikan Judan” (which translates from Japanese-to-English as “The Master of Leglocks” is set to take part in a delicious grappling battle, on a card with several notable grappling bouts. Leandro Issa of Evolve is a former BJJ champion and black belt in his own right, and it remains to be seen whether the wily Japanese catch-as-catch can submission wrestler can lure the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist into one of his trademark peg snappers. And why not; BJJ guys tend to place less emphasis on leglocks than their sambo and Catch counterparts. Should be interesting.
Roger Huerta takes on Zorobabel Moreira from Evolve, after Phil Baroni scuppered the anticipated Phuket grudge fight. Fellow Phuket Top Team pair Praxedes and Kayoom face off against Marcos Escobar and Gregor Gracie respectively, in two all-black-belt affairs. The only fighters to miss weight were the URCC’s Mitch “The Dragon” Chilson and Eric Kelly. The fights are expected to still take place, with the necessary penalties imposed on either points or purses.
The full results of the weigh ins are as follows:
Renato “Babalu Sobral (92.8kg) vs Tatsuya Mizuno (92.7kg)
Masakatsu Imanari (61.5kg) vs. Leandro Issa (61.55kg)
Roger Huerta (76.9kg) vs. Zorobabel Moreira (76.8kg)
Rodrigo Praxedes (77.1kg) vs. Marcos Escobar (77.15kg)
Gregor Gracie (77.3kg) vs Adam Kayoom (76.35kg)
Mitch Chilson (67.3kg) vs AJ Vaa (65.3kg)
Brian Choi (70.3kg) vs Arnaud Lepont (70.7kg)
Bae Young Kwon (66.3kg) vs Eric Kelly (66.75kg)
Quek Kim Hock (70.6kg) vs Peter Davis (70.7kg)
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Twitter @DanielFletcher
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