Super Fight League Announce Fight Card For Inaugural Event on March 11th

Super Fight League Announce Fight Card For Inaugural Event on March 11th

Published on February 11, 2012 by The Editor in Super Fight League

The Super Fight League’s Inaugural event on March 11th at The Andhei Sports Complex in Mumbai. An exciting new MMA organisation with big plans in India. Here’s it’s first fight card, lets see what we think

Fight 1 – Middleweight

Xavier ‘Professor X’ Foupa-Pokam (France) (21-17-0) Vs Joey ‘Coyote’ Guel (USA) (14-7-0)

Foupa-Pokam has one hell of a career behind him having reached the dizzying heights of the UFC  although he lost both his bouts for them (in 2009) but as he stepped into the cage to face Denis Kang at UFC 97 he was on a seven fight win streak. That first UFC event was a fair showing and he lost on points to a Unanimous Decision, sadly he lost at UFC 98 in just 37 seconds and his UFC career was over.

Since that fight it’s been mainly downhill and his last five fights have all been losses. With such a large amount of fights to his name he has seen it all. The problem is that career seems to be firmly behind him. Can he turn it around at SFL?

Guel is another fighter with a lot of fights to his name and on paper it’s an impressive record. Unlike Foupa-Pokam he never reached the UFC or to be fair any of the major American organisations past or present. He has fought in a lot of the smaller organisation though and at 14-7 you would think he is a solid fighter to have at the SFL. The only problem is he has not had a fight for nearly 4 years, so we do not know how sharp and fit he will be.

Despite all I have said, this could be an exciting fight as both of these guys will be looking to use SFL as a launch pad for a fading career.

 Fight 2 – Heavyweight

Satish Jha (India) (No Record) Vs Ibrahim Ahmed Nabil (Egypt) (No Record)

I am afraid I can not give any thoughts of this fight a search on google or the MMA stats sites turns up empty.

This is not a bad thing, this is what we need from India’s premier MMA organisation, a place for Indian fighters to build their name and MMA records with decent press coverage. To showcase them, to give them a chance to show their quality, to encourage more Indians to take up the sport. SFL must be applauded for this attitude.

Fight 3 – Lightweight

Lakwinder Sekhon (India) (No Record)  Vs Madura Rathnayake (Sri Lanka) (3-0-0)

So, sadly again I have no information on Sekhon another Indian fighter who I am sure will be looking forward to a chance to make a name for himself on a big stage. That, however wont be an easy job against Rathnayake whose three fights (all in Colombo Fight League, Sri Lanka) have been wins and he has shown he has a submission game and the power to stop a fight with his punches. This could be a fun fight to watch, both fighters looking to break out. And of course the fact it’s India vs Sri Lanka should ensure a lively crowd.

Fight 4 – Welterweight

Mohd Shahid (India) (No Record)  Vs Mayura Dissanayake (Sri Lanka) (2-0-0)

 The same goes for this fight as for the fight between Sekhon and Rathnayake.

Fight 5 – Featherweight

Hardeep Singh (India) (9-2-0) Vs Jeff Bailey (USA) (6-5-0)

Singh is representing India but is actually from Canada. He has an impressive record and could become the first poster boy of Indian MMA. His last fight at Legend Fighting Championship 3 was a first round loss to a triangle choke. But, prior to that he was on a five fight win streak. He has powerful hands and KO power.

Bailey is going to be a good opponent and I expect this to be a tough close fight. While Bailey has won most of his fights via submission he has also fallen to a submission himself on all his losses. However, Singh is a guy that can take him out with a punch, if it goes to the floor anything could happen.

Singh must be favorite but this will not be a walk over.

Fight 6 – Featherweight

Chautanya Gavail (India) (No Record) Vs Tiran Thakshala (Sri Lanka) (2-0-0)

 The same goes for this fight as for the fight between Sekhon and Rathnayake.

Fight 7 – Light Heavyweight

Neil Natasadu (India) (No Record) Vs Travis Bell (USA) (No Record)

 The same goes for this fight as for the fight between Sekhon and Rathnayake.

Fight 8 – The Main Event

Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp (USA) (11-9-0) Vs James ‘The Colossus’ Thompson (UK) (16-14-0)

Sapp is fighting this weekend at ONE FC and regardless of the outcome he will be fighting as the main event at SFL which is sad, he is so far past his sell by date it’s not even funny. He brings to mind the world of wrestling and I don’t mean the sport I mean the so called show, where people pretend to fight and pretend to hate on each other. Sapp is the past (not including todays result) he is on a miserable streak of one win in his last seven fights. He is an ex Pride fighter and because of this his name is known in Asia. But, he should be forgotten now.

Here’s the deal if Thompson cannot beat Sapp he should give up now! There is a lot of hope for Sapp though as Thompson has no chin and most of his losese are from knock-outs or technical knock-outs. He is no mug and has a big proportion of his wins also via (T)KO’s, he does however have a useful ground game.

Despite my dislike for this fight as the main event for a new organisation – There are much better fighters available who are fighting in Asia now. This actually could be a decent fight to watch. I totally however do not expect either of these fighters to get through to the third round.

So, here’s my thoughts on the card based upon the limited knowledge I have of many of the fighters.

I like that SFL are concentrating for a big part on giving local fighters a chance. “What”? I hear you cry, “but you had a downer one ONE FC for doing that on their undercard” I did, and I stand by that because ONE FC is supposed to be the big daddy of Asian MMA organisations using the best fighters from the various ‘feeder’ organisations.

Let, people like SFL bring fighters to people’s attention, give them a chance to build a career, create a path through gradually larger events proving themselves, and building a fan base before entering the cage at ONE FC as a known capable fighter with a winning record.

So, I like what they are thinking here and I almost accept the main event, I just think Bob Sapp is not it, find a couple of fighters who are capable of giving you a three round war and have decent recent records.

* Fighter records taken from Sherdog.com