WMMA - The Tournament (Heavyweight Edition)

[Carman Bulldog]

BACKGROUND

The Premise

I'm going to try something a little bit different. As opposed to playing out some sort of career, I will be using the "Quick Match" feature to run an NCAA style single elimination tournament. Ideally, I will be doing this for all six male weight classes, but for now, I am starting with the Heavyweights.

The Format

I tossed this idea around quite a bit. The original idea was to break the game up in to four geographical regions and have the top 16 fighters in each region form a bracket. The two problems I found with this were that the top guys were often associated with the organization in that region. So for instance, a bracket containing the top North American fighters was not much different than a bracket containing the top GAMMA fighters, South America was the top FLB guys, etc. The second problem was selecting and ranking the top 16.

Instead, I ended up including every fighter in the weight class. To rank the fighters, I exported the default database, and sorted them in descending order by reputation and then wins. This was a much easier route than going through each fighter and ranking their talent based on my subjective opinion. For cosmetic purposes, I have still organized the brackets into four regions, albeit completely randomly populated.

Finally was the issue of whether to re-seed or not, or alternatively re-seed after certain points. In true NCAA tournament format, I opted against this.

The Rules

All fights will be three 5 minute rounds, except for the Quarter-finals (Bracket Championship), the Semi-Finals, and the Finals, which will all be five 5 minute rounds. Fights will be scored on a 10 point must system.

Fights will be contested inside a cage. Soccer kicks and knee strikes to the head of a downed opponent are illegal, as well as stomping a downed opponent. Elbow strikes are legal to a standing or downed opponent.

[Carman Bulldog]

OVERVIEW

Please note: A bracket of the entire tournament can be found here.

JAPAN

The Japanese bracket is home to the tournament's #1 seed, as well as the defending ALPHA-1 Heavyweight Champion, Hassan Fezzik. A number of the other top seeds in Japan, including #3 Jeff Carlton, #4 Rick Stanley and #5 Tony McCall are all past their prime and it remains to be seen whether any are capable of challenging Fezzik. In addition to Fezzik, there is another Heavyweight Champion, Elvo Alves Moura, of the FLB organization. Perhaps the best chance to knock off Fezzik will be his fellow countryman, the up and coming #11 seed Lefter Oktay. Two major sleepers, #16 Aleksander Ivanov and #31 Chuck Dooley could also make some noise.

EUROPE

Europe is home to two major fighting organizations, the BCF and SIGMA, but their top seed is represented by a Canadian, GAMMA heavyweight Tim Boyer. Europe may be one of the most tightly contested regions, as there are no standouts amongst the five seeds and very little to separate Boyer from the other top seeds, Armen Sarkisian, SIGMA Heavyweight champ Grzegorz Boniek, Hiro Arai, and Gladstone Lopes. In fact, the best fighter may actually be the critically underrated Murilo Satinho, who enters as the 11th seed in the bracket and may actually be some experts top pick to come out on top.

AMERICA

While the top heavyweight in ALPHA-1 represents Japan's top seed, GAMMA's Heavyweight champion, James Foster, is the top seeded fighter in the American bracket and overall number two seed in the tournament. Foster's wrestling should serve him well in potential matchups with strikers Stafford Alois, the BCF Heavyweight champion, Mason Archer, and Leon Banks, the #2, #3, and #6 seeds respectively. Foster's biggest challenge could come from a pair of sleepers, the #10 seed Khru Duangjan and the #11 seed Rav Kapur. While he is too one dimensional to win it all, heavy handed Wilson Franklyn, the #24 seed, could cause some problems for those seeded above him.

BRAZIL

ALPHA-1 Heavyweight contender, Kunimichi Kikuchi earns the final #1 seed, representing the Brazilian bracket. Heavy handed American Raul Hughes is the #2 seed. A trio of veterans ranked three through five, Harry Milne, Palmer Letter, and Carter Potter could also challenge for the crown. Another name to watch is #9 seed Terron Cabal, who is one of the most dangerous fighters in the entire tournament, as long as he can keep things standing. Sleepers, #11 seed Souleymane Ya Konan, #22 Mugur Boc, and perhaps #29 Sly Twinge should pose a challenge to anyone they face.

[Carman Bulldog]

JAPAN

THE FAVOURITES




#1 'The Big Bad' Hassan Fezzik (25-0, Turkey, ALPHA-1)
Fezzik enters the tournament as the number one overall seed, the reigning ALPHA-1 Heavyweight Champion and the consensus number one pound for pound fighter in the world. The 32 year old is considered the most complete heavyweight fighter worldwide with both his standup and ground games being extremely dangerous. He has no discernible weaknesses.




#2 Ari 'The Finnisher' Peltonen (23-7, Finland, ALPHA-1)
The 32 year old Peltonen is the #9 ranked heavyweight in the world and is a well rounded fighter. His strength lies in his wrestling and ground control while his standup is merely average. Peltonen is very tough to finish off, possessing a solid chin and great submission defense.




#3 Jeff 'The Rock' Carlton (32-7, America, GAMMA)
The 35 year old fighters skills have declined over the past few years but he is still a threat to anyone. His strength lies in his ability to take down and pound on opponents. His standup leaves a little to be desired and he is weak off his back.




#4 'The Pit Bull' Rick Stanley (28-14, America, GAMMA)
The 37 year old veteran is still considered one of the most dangerous strikers in the world. Stanley is dangerous with both his punches and his kicks but is susceptible to takedowns and is weak off his back.



THE SLEEPERS




#11 Lefter 'The Beast' Oktay (12-0, Turkey, SIGMA)
Perhaps the heir apparent to Fezzik in regards to being the most complete fighter, the 24 year old Oktay is a great physical specimen who mixes solid kick boxing with excellent grappling.




#13 Gyokusho 'Fujizilla' Fujimoto (6-0, Japan, ALPHA-1)
The 22 year old Fujizilla is a rising star in his home country of Japan. He boasts a very powerful standup game with both his strikes and his kicks and has a good takedown defense.




#16 'The Great Bear' Aleksander Ivanov (6-0, Russia, SIGMA)
Despite his inexperience, the 21 year old Ivanov is a very well rounded prospect. He mixes dangerous power with a superb ground game. A second round matchup looms with the great Fezzik and we will see how good Ivanov really is.




#31 Chuck 'The Laughing Man' Dooley (3-0, Canada, Free Agent)
The 23 year old up and comer possesses solid power and mixes it with fantastic takedowns. He's not a finesse fighter and it has yet to be seen how he will deal with someone with more refined standup.

[Carman Bulldog]

EUROPE

THE FAVOURITES




#1 'The Tower of Power' Tim Boyer (24-3-2, Canada, GAMMA)
Boyer is arguably the tournament's weakest #1 seed. Despite this, the 32 year old veteran, ranked as the #5 Heavyweight in the world, is a tough matchup for anyone due to his huge 6'7" frame. Boyer likes to keep things standing and is known for his devastating kicks and knees.




#2 Armen 'A-Game' Sarkisian (22-2, Armenia, ALPHA-1)
Few men can handle the pure strength of this 31 year old ex-Olympic wrestler. Sarkisian, ranked the #4 heavyweight in the world, is able to dictate where his fights take place thanks to his dominant wrestling ability. While his standup game is limited, he packs a very heavy punch.




#3 'Polish Power' Grzegorz Boniek (33-4, Poland, SIGMA)
Despite his outstanding win-loss record and being the reigning SIGMA Heavyweight champion, the 32 year old Boniek is still somewhat of an unknown commodity outside of Europe. This could likely be chalked up to his boring lay and pray style. Boniek has great strength and wrestling but lacks striking skills and rarely can finish off opponents.




#4 Hiro Arai (14-4, Japan, ALPHA-1)
The 26 year old Arai is perhaps Japan's best chance at winning the tournament, ahead of even veteran Kunimichi Kikuchi and there are many that feel he has yet to reach his peak. Arai is a powerful striker with enough of a wrestling base to keep things standing. The one knock against him in the past has been his tendency to gas in the later rounds.



THE SLEEPERS




#11 'Grande Urso' Murilo Santinho (7-0, Brazil, FLB)
The 21 year old youngster is amongst the fastest rising Heavyweight stars in the world. 'Grande Urso' combines a wrestling and muay thai mix which lends itself to some powerful striking and vicious ground and pound. Fighting in perhaps the weakest of the four fields, Santinho could find himself in the Final Four when all is said and done.




#11 'The Great Japanese Hope ' Kanezane Fuji (1-0, Japan, Free Agent)
With only one professional fight under his belt, there is little known about the 20 year old Japanese prospect. However, with both a wrestling and judo background, he is considered to be very well balanced. Unfortunately, he drew a very tough opening round draw against #3 seed Grzegorz Boniek.




#40 Ozzy Bintley (0-0, England, Free Agent)
While there is little chance that Bintley will run the table and win the bracket, he does have to be considered a sleeper based on the fact that he could pull off a few upsets. The 23 year old Brit has a good buzz surrounding him and could establish a name for himself.

[Carman Bulldog]

UNITED STATES

THE FAVOURITES




#1 'The King of Ground and Pound' James Foster (32-4-1, America, GAMMA)
Foster is considered the #2 Heavyweight in the world and earns the top seed in the American bracket. And while he shares a dominating ground and pound style with Fezzik, he is not nearly as adept in the standup game. Despite this, he is the defending GAMMA Heavyweight champion and capable of victory on any given night.




#2 'The Brixton Butcher' Stafford Alois (26-8,England, BCF)
The reigning BCF Heavyweight champion, the 34 year old is not that well known outside of Britain but is still considered the 7th best heavyweight in the world by insiders. Alois' main strengths are his vicious standup, including knees and kicks as well as his ability to keep the fight standing.




#3 'The Merchant of Menace' Mason Archer (15-3, Canada, ALPHA-1)
The 25 year old Canadian has made his name overseas but returns to North America where he earns the #3 seed in the American bracket. Ranked as the #8 Heavyweight in the world, the 6'8" Archer is a menacing figure who uses his size to keep opponents outside with a combination of dangerous kicks and jabs.



#4 'Swedish Superman' Gunnar Nilsson (42-11, Sweden, SIGMA)
While the 37 year old veteran's best days are behind him, the former SIGMA Heavyweight champion narrowly edges out fighters Stratos Papaioannou and Leon Banks for the 4th seed. Nilsson's wrestling ability is still world class which means he is able to dictate where most of his fights take place.



THE SLEEPERS




#10 'The Bringer of Pain' Khru Duangjan (11-1, Thailand, Free Agent)
The 27 year old Duangjan has vicious striking and is constantly moving forward. His solid chin means he is able to stand and bang with anyone. His ability to stop the takedown is only average which is bad news as he is poor off his back.




#11 'The Beast of Birmingham' Rav Kapur (6-0, England, BCF)
Like Duangjan, Kapur is a powerful striker who, in addition to his heavy hands, incorporates kicks into his arsenal. But unlike Duangjan, the 25 year old Brit also has a solid takedown defense and has to be considered a major tournament dark horse.



#24 'Silent but Violent' Wilson Franklyn (5-1, America, GAMMA)
The 25 year old Frankly is one of the most dangerous strikers in MMA thanks to his heavy and skilled hands and possesses the ability to knock anyone out. But while his takedown defense is above average, his ground game is virtually non-existent.

[Carman Bulldog]

BRAZIL

THE FAVOURITES




#1 'Unstoppable K' Kunimichi Kikuchi (25-3, Japan, ALPHA-1)
The former ALPHA-1 Heavyweight champion and the 3rd ranked Heavyweight in the world earns the Brazilian bracket's top seed. The 31 year old Kikuchi uses his dominant wrestling to dictate his fights, and while it is not always exciting, it has proven extremely successful.




#2 'The Demolition Expert' Raul Hughes (14-2, America, GAMMA)
At 33 years old, the former boxer is nearing the end of his prime. And while he may be a one-dimensional fighter, he is ranked the 6th best Heavyweight in the world and capable of competing with anyone thanks to his outstanding hands and top notch takedown defense.




#3 'The Bulldog' Harry Milne (41-7, England, BCF)
Although he is not well known outside of Europe, Milne is still considered a top 12 Heavyweight in the world. At 35 years old, Milne brings a wealth of wrestling experience and is dangerous on the ground.




#4 Palmer 'Daddy Bear' Lette (19-5-2-2, America, ALPHA-1)
The 33 year old longtime MMA veteran built his reputation overseas in Japan. The mammoth Lette is as strong as they come and possesses powerful striking and excellent wrestling. His biggest weakness over the years has been his sub-standard conditioning.



THE SLEEPERS




#8 'The Baddest Man in MMA' Terron Cabal (11-0, France, SIGMA)
The 25 year old is quickly developing a reputation as one of the most feared fighters in MMA and is already ranked in the top 25 heavyweights in the world. Cabal is a vicious fighter and it would be a mistake for anyone in the tournament to stand with him.




#11 'The African Dream' Souleymane Ya Konan (8-0, Cote d'Ivoire, SIGMA)
Another very dangerous striker, Ya Konan has big knockout powers in his hands. At 26 years old, he is one of the best kept secrets in Europe, but this tournament looks to be his coming out party.




#22 'The Crusher' Mugur Boc (6-0, Moldova, SIGMA)
Many veterans in the Brazilian bracket were happy when they saw the opening round matchups, as Ya Konan was paired up with another highly touted prospect in the 29 year old Boc. A late comer to MMA, Boc has excellent takedowns and should cause problems for Ya Konan.




#29 Sly 'Bully Boy' Twinge (3-0, America, Free Agent)
The fast rising 22 year old with a wrestling background is extremely powerful and also possesses heavy hands. He is a matchup nightmare for most fighters but falters when put on his back.

[Carman Bulldog]

JAPAN

FIRST ROUND - 'UPSETS ABOUND'

The MMA Heavyweight World Cup officially kicked off with a bang in the Japanese bracket with 4 of the top 7 seeds all falling to defeat. Ari 'The Finnisher' Peltonen, seeded #2 in the bracket and #9 in the world was stopped late in the second round against qualifier Chuck 'The Laughing Man' Dooley. While Dooley definetly had sleeper potential, it was a shocker to see the well rounded Peltonen go down so early in the tournament.

The upsets didn't stop there however, as former NFLer and 35th seeded Norbert 'The Rock' Vinkus stopped #3 seed Jeff 'The Rock' Carlton via strikes midway through the 2nd round in an outstanding bout.

Meanwhile, #6 Jean-Pierre Richelleau and #7 Fatuma Roy also fell, losing to Sam Hoynes and Vittorio Pescatelli respectively.

But it was business as usual for tournament #1 seed Hassan Fezzik, as he had little trouble in handling Zsolt Hargitay, stopping him with an armbar early in round 2. Fifth seeded Tony 'The Spider' McCall looked very good in first round TKO of Sylvester Collins while fourth seed Rick Stanley sneaked by Jacob Barlee via split decision.

Looking ahead to Round 2, Fezzik takes on #16 seed Aleksander Ivanov, who was less than impressive in his opening round win. Other exciting matchups include Stanley taking on 13th seeded Gyokusho 'Fujizilla' Fujimoto and potential sleeper Lefter Oktay, the #11 seed,meeting up with Hoynes.

Fight of the Night: Jeff Carlton vs. Norbert Vinkus
KO of the Night: Gerson Mauricio
Submission of the Night: Sam Hoynes

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Carman Bulldog]

EUROPE

FIRST ROUND - 'TOP SEEDS ADVANCE'

The opening round of the European bracket of the MMA Heavyweight World Cup is complete, and unlike Japan where a number of top seeds fell, the favourites did what they needed to do to advance.

In fact, the bracket's top five seeds, Tim Boyer, Armen Sarkisian, Grzegorz Boniek, Hiro Arai and Gladstone Lopes were all successful.

The highest seed to suffer defeat was#6 seed Duke Aiona, who fell in a snooze fest split decision to Japanese sumo and #38 seed Tomoji Takaoka.

That was not the only dull fight however, as the majority of the round was marred by lacklustre performances, including those of Boyer and Boniek, who ground out unanimous decisions.

It was everyone's favorite sleeper, #11 seed Murilo Satinho, that put on the best performance, stopping Oscar Gomez with strikes at 3:09 of the first round.

The matchups don't get much more interesting from here either. The best fight of Round 2 may be #40 Ozzy Bintley, who upset 8th seeded Dave Lennon in his first career fight, taking on 9th seeded Russell 'Russel Mania' McPhee, as the raw but talented Bintley continues to try and make a name for himself.

Fight of the Night: Murilo Satinho vs. Oscar Gomez
KO of the Night: Paulo Boas
Submission of the Night: Armen Sarkisian

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Simbo Klice]

Nice to see you going back to this, it caught my eye when you first started it up! I love WMMA and will be watching with interest... Hope someone can knock off Fezzik, but at the starting point with the default data I don't think anybody has better than a 20% chance against him. I know Sarkisian can do it, and I think if Dooley or Satinho get really lucky they can pull it off. Of course, that's probably just my long term game clouding my judgement, as they're the only two from the default data that are still contenders 13 years in.

[Carman Bulldog]

AMERICA

FIRST ROUND - 'CAPTAIN AMERICA CARRIES THE FLAG'

The opening round of the MMA Heavyweight World Cup American bracket was very successful for the top two American ranked fighters in the bracket, as top seed and tournament number two, James Foster and the sixth seed in the bracket, Leon Banks, both advanced with convincing first round victories.

Meanwhile Canadian fighters including #3 seed Mason Archer and seventh seeded Norman Pike also advanced with second round stoppages.

The story was not as good for the top seeded European fighters in the bracket as the second seed, 'The Brixton Butcher' Stafford Alois, lost a unanimous decision to Efren Luat while former SIGMA Heavyweight champion and longtime veteran, fourth seeded Gunnar Nilsson, was stopped by strikes in the second round by Aussie Kurt 'Chopper' McDonald.But the most exciting upset for American fans came as #24 seed Wilson Franklyn stopped#9 seed Frank 'The Baby Bull' Sheedy just under two minutes into the opening round.

The sexiest matchup to look forward to in round two, and perhaps of the tournament thus far, comes as Banks squares off against tournament sleeper Rav Kapur, who won in the opening round convincingly in just over 2 minutes. Expect fireworks in this one as these two are known to throw down and it likely won't get past the first round.
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And while it may not have the same lustre, Khru Duangjan, another tournament sleeper, takes on Pike in what should be another very tightly contested battle.

Fight of the Night: Mason Archer vs. Iancu Trailescu
KO of the Night: Stratos Papaioannou
Submission of the Night: Stanislaw Lipnicki

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

Nice to see you going back to this, it caught my eye when you first started it up! I love WMMA and will be watching with interest... Hope someone can knock off Fezzik, but at the starting point with the default data I don't think anybody has better than a 20% chance against him. I know Sarkisian can do it, and I think if Dooley or Satinho get really lucky they can pull it off. Of course, that's probably just my long term game clouding my judgement, as they're the only two from the default data that are still contenders 13 years in.

Thanks for the feedback. I was always interested in seeing it through, but it was a big task to get off the ground. You may have noticed that I edited a lot of the preview threads and the Japan first round result thread (although fight results obviously have not changed themselves) and there has been less highlighting of the early matchups, all to make the task a lot more manageable. I'll probably get a bit more detailed in the fights themselves as the tournament progresses to the latter rounds.

I agree that the Heavyweight division is the least wide open, in the sense that Fezzik is just that dominant. It seems as if there is the largest gap between the top fighter (Fezzik) and those below him than at any other level. At the same time, while I would like to run every weight class, I'm not sure I will get through them all, so I had to start with the Heavyweights because, well, they're the heavyweights. As it is, Fezzik's path to the Final Four, let alone the championship, is not that easy, with potential fights against Aleksander Ivanov, Elzo Alves Moura, Tony McCall/Rick Stanley followed by Lefter Oktay/Chuck Dooley.

[Carman Bulldog]

BRAZIL

FIRST ROUND - 'CHALK MOVES ON TO ROUND 2'

The final opening round of the MMA Heavyweight World Cup has wrapped up with the latest fights taking place in the Brazilian bracket. And unlike the brackets in Japan and America, almost all of the favorites here advanced.

Second seeded Raul Hughes, 4th seed Palmer Lette, and 6th seed Christopher "The Knife" Sharp were all extremely impressive scoring victories in the opening minutes of their respective fights. Meanwhile, 5th seeded Carter Potter struggled in the first round against Wally 'The Giant' Bryant before putting things together for a dominant second round before finishing off Bryant early in the third.

While top seeded Kunimichi Kikuchi and 3rd seeded Harry Milne were also both able to advance, neither looked overly impressive as both secured unanimous decisions. The highest seeded fighter not to advance was 7th seeded veteran Jack Cobblepot who lost a three round decision to Reynolds Baer.

With the second round on the horizon, one of the premier matchups looks to be 8th seeded Terron Cabal as he takes on 9th seeded Tank Manu'a. Both looked impressive in the opening draw, each earning a second round stoppage. The other fight that many are looking forward to is Sharp taking on #11 seeded Souleymane Ya Konan, who advanced with a hard earned decision over 'The Crusher' Mugur Boc.

Fight of the Night: Carter Potter vs. Wally Bryant
KO of the Night: Terron Cabal
Submission of the Night: Christopher Sharp

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Carman Bulldog]

JAPAN

SECOND ROUND - 'SHOCKING UPSET SHAKES UP TOURNAMENT'

The MMA Heavyweight World Cup was turned upside down earlier tonight in the second round of the Japanese bracket when promising youngster Aleksander Ivanov earned an extremely close unanimous decision victory over the fighter regarded by many as the best in the world, 'The Big Bad' Hassan Fezzik.

Fezzik, previously undefeated throughout his career and considered the top pound for pound fighter in the world, was a huge favorite not only in this fight, but also in the entire competition and his absence blows the tournament wide open.

The opening round of the fight was extremely close and was the determining factor in the bout. Fezzik tagged Ivanov earlier in the round, but an errant takedown attempt was reversed as Ivanov gained side control. From there, Ivanov rode out a few Fezzik submission attempts to finish the round on top. While Ivanov did have top position, many will argue that Fezzik was the more active fighter in both the standup and the ground game. Regardless, all three judges scored the first round in Ivanov's favour.

The second round also barely belonged to Ivanov, as the Russian pounded on Fezzik after stuffing an early takedown midway through the round. While the world's top ranked fighter would score a takedown later on, it was not enough to win him the round on the judges scorecards thanks to the damage inflicted by Ivanov earlier.

And while Fezzik was clearly the better fighter in round three, winning both the standup and ground game, it was not enough as all three judges gave the first two rounds to Ivanov in a 29-28 unanimous decision. Fezzik clearly controlled this fight from late in the second round as Ivanov began to tire, and it seems as though this would have clearly been a Fezzik victory had it been fought under standard ALPHA-1 rules.

That was not the only upset on the night however, as #13 seed Gyokusho Fujimoto continued to impress his home country fans as he knocked out #4 seed Rick Stanley midway through round two.

Meanwhile, Lefter Oktay, considered by many to be a major sleeper in the bracket, also came out on the wrong side of a close decision to the bracket's 38th seed, Sam Hoynes. Joining Hoynes as qualifiers to advance to the bracket's final eight were#31 Chuck Dooley and #35 Norbert Vinkus. Both fighters looked very impressive in picking up first round stoppages in the opening two minutes of their respective fights.

In fact, there is only one fighter in the bracket's top eight seeds remaining, that being Tony 'The Spider' McCall, who was even more impressive in his second fight, scoring a first round TKO in just over one minute.

Looking ahead to the bracket's final eight, things are now wide open. Fight League Brazil Heavyweight champion and 9th seeded Elzo Alves Moura takes on #16 seeded Ivanov. Meanwhile, Moura's fellow countryman, tenth seeded Gerson Mauricio takes on Dooley. Two tournament qualifiers in Hoynes and Vinkus go head to head while McCall versus Fujimoto wraps up the bracket.

At this point, it is almost impossible to pick a favorite thanks to the shocking events from earlier this evening.

Fight of the Night: Hassan Fezzik vs. Aleksander Ivanov
KO of the Night: Gyokusho Fujimoto
Submission of the Night: None

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

---

[Carman Bulldog]

EUROPE

SECOND ROUND - 'TOP FIVE SEEDS ALL MOVE INTO BRACKET QUARTERFINALS'

We are halfway through the second round of the heavyweight MMA World Cup and unlike Japan, where the top four seeds are all eliminated, the favorites held steady in Europe, with the top five seeded fighters all advancing.

Top seeded Tim Boyer looked much more impressive than his first round fight, stopping 16th seeded Ilson de Lima via strikes just under four minutes into the first round.

Perhaps the most impressive fighter in the bracket thus far though has been the number two seed, Armen 'A-Game' Sarkisian. The Armenian wrestler looked very dominant in pulling off his second straight submission victory. The attention that Sarkisian has been getting has kept the spotlight off number four seed Hiro Arai, who notched his second straight knockout victory, this time over Barry Strachan.

Third seeded Grzegorz Boniek and fifth seeded Gladstone Lopes also both advanced, but neither looked impressive in earning unanimous decision victories.

The biggest surprise thus far has been the display put on by Ozzy Bintley. Heading into the tournament, the Brit was seeded 40th in the bracket and last overall in the tournament, not having had any professional fights under his belt. This time it took Bintley just over two minutes to finish off Russell McPhee with strikes as Bintley earned his third straight win.

Meanwhile, everyone's favorite sleeper pick, Murilo Satinho, faced a very tough test against Tomoji Takaoka. Satinho actually found himself put on his back in the first round, but eventually recovered to knock Takaoka out early in the third round.

While Europe may not have had the upsets of Japan, this bracket may be just as wide open. The two most impressive fighters thus far, Sarkisian and Arai, appear headed to the bracket semi-finals with the easiest matchup in round three, fighting off against de Melo and Lopes respectively.

And while those two matchups may appear more one-sided on paper, the other two should be very close battles. Number one seed Boyer looks to avoid the same fate as Hassan Fezzik when he takes on the unknown Bintley. Meanwhile, Boniek, who has displayed excellent wrestling takes on the well rounded Satinho.

Fight of the Night: Armen Sarkisian vs. Helton Nascimento
KO of the Night: Murilo Satinho
Submission of the Night: Armen Sarkisian

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Carman Bulldog]

AMERICA

SECOND ROUND - 'CAPTAIN AMERICA CONTINUES TO ROLL'

With an entire country behind him, James Foster, continues to impress in the heavyweight MMA World Cup, advancing to the round of thirty two with a very impressive submission victory over Noah Musch.

When the top seeded Hassan Fezzik was eliminated earlier in the second round in the Japanese bracket, Foster became the highest seeded fighter left in the tournament. Facing off against Musch, Foster proved he was worthy of that designation as he immediately took down Musch, worked to side control and finished Musch in just over two minutes with an impressive keylock submission.

The two other top five seeds in the bracket that were remaining, #3 Mason Archer and #5 Stratos Papaioannou were also very impressive. Archer finished his opponent, Marcelo Boccolli, by TKO late in round two while Papaioannou scored an early armbar submission victory over Stanislaw Lipnicki.

The most disappointing fight of the night was undoubtedly the matchup between sixth ranked Leon Banks and number eleven seed Rav Kapur. Fans expected fireworks but both fighters were overly respectful of each others power, leading to a hesitant fight and one eventually won by Kapur via split decision.

Along with Kapur, two other pre-tournament sleepers in #10 seed Khru Duangjan and #24 seed Wilson Franklyn also advanced. Duangjan earned a hard fought decision victory over Norman Pike while Franklyn blew away the crown as he stream rolled Ikuhisa Tamura. Duangjan and Franklyn are not the only two sleepers moving on to the bracket quarterfinals however, as #31 Efren Luat knocked out #15 Collins Lundie late in the third round while #29 Kurt McDonald scored a unanimous decision victory over #13 Julio Correa.

While Foster and Franklyn are the lone two American's left standing in the bracket, that number will be whittled down to one after round three, as the two are set to square off. While Franklyn has impressed with his limited skill set, his game is too one dimensional to give Foster many problems.

Looking ahead to the other matchups, two beasts in Archer and Kapur are set to go at it in what could be an outstanding duel which could determine who faces Foster in the bracket finals. Before that though, the winner of that fight will have to go through the winner of Luat and Duangjan while Papaioannou versus McDonald wraps up the next round of fights.

At this point, the bracket looks like Foster's to lose, particularly with how dominant he has been. While the other top three fighters may be Archer, Duangjan and Kapur, Foster will not have to face any of them until the bracket final.

Fight of the Night: Ikuhisa Tamura vs. Wilson Franklyn
KO of the Night: Efren Luat
Submission of the Night: James Foster

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.

[Carman Bulldog]

BRAZIL

SECOND ROUND - 'FAVORITES CONTINUE TO DOMINATE'

While the three other brackets, particularly Japan, have all seen their share of upsets in the first two rounds of the MMA Heavyweight World Cup, the same cannot be said for the fights taking place down in Brazil.

In fact, seven of the top eight seeds have advanced to the bracket's quarterfinals, with most doing it in controlling fashion. The top seed, Kunimichi Kikuchi, looked much better in this fight than in the opening round, as he stopped Raimundo Pinheiro early in the first round via strikes.

Despite, a strong performance, Kikuchi was not the most impressive fighter on the night. That distinction is split between Christopher Sharp and Terron Cabal. Sharp was dominant in a victory over Souleymane Ya Konan, taking the African Dream to the ground and pounding his way to victory. Meanwhile, the always dangerous Cabal needed less than a minute to dispose of Tank Manu'a.

Raul Hughes, Palmer Lette, and Carter Potter, seeded second, fourth and fifth respectively were all winners by referee stoppage via strikes, with both wins by Hughes and Lette coming in the third round while Potter's was a second round stoppage. Meanwhile, Reynolds Baer, who knocked off #7 seed Jack Cobblepot in round one of the tournament, was again a winner, stopping #23 seed Fritz Phipps in the opening round of their fight.

Looking ahead to the bracket quarterfinals, a war is brewing as top seeded Kikuchi takes on the man who many say is now the favorite in the bracket, Terron Cabal. Meanwhile, Lette and Potter go head to head in what should be another good matchup.

On the other side of the bracket, Raul Hughes tries to put a stop to Baer's cinderella run while #3 seed, Harry Milne, who grinded out his second straight decision victory, takes on Christopher Sharp, who has two first round stoppages under his belt and is quickly becoming a favorite of the fans with his exciting fights.

While there are a number of talented fighters remaining, each have their own warts. If Cabal can show enough wrestling to keep the fight with Kikuchi standing, then this could be his bracket to win. Otherwise, look for Kikuchi to take it. However, don't ever count out Raul Hughes, who has the hands and takedown defense to stand and bang with anybody.

Fight of the Night: Christopher Sharp vs. Souleymane Ya Konan
KO of the Night: Terron Cabal
Submission of the Night: None

Complete Results here.
Tournament Bracket here.