A new reason to watch HDNet Fights

I usually don’t pay much attention to fight cards that HDNet shows every weekend, mainly because most of the cards are headlined by UFC outcasts facing people I’ve never heard of. Occasionally, there are a few fights that catch my eye. The weekend of February 10, Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) held a card that was broadcast on the channel. Luckily for them, there were no Zuffa-run fight cards that weekend, so I figured I’d get my MMA fix by watching this card. I’m glad I did, because I have new reason to love HDNet and XFC: Marianna Kheyfets.

She won her fight on the card that night by doctor’s stoppage after the first round when opponent Heather Clarke’s eye swelled shut. Even though it only lasted one round, those five minutes were packed with back-and-forth action. Always being one to show a little love to the ladies, I decided to see how Kheyfets looked in her other appearances. Needless to say, I was quite impressed with what I saw. Her first fight under the XFC banner was her pro debut against Kim Couture. Couture had won her first XFC fight, and was looking to build momentum with a win over the inexperienced fighter. However, Kheyfets rained on her parade, rocking Couture on feet and securing a fight-ending triangle choke, all in the first round.

Her next two XFC fights were against Marissa Caldwell and Molly Helsel. Though not as impressive as her first win over Couture, they were nonetheless entertaining. The fights were two action-packed, back-and-forth decision wins. “The Crushen Russian” showed a lot of heart and a well-rounded skillset to earn those decision wins. She also got a win under the Reality Fighting banner against Kaline Medeiros during that time. Her entertaining fighting style has earned her a reputation as a fan favorite and top female prospect to watch. Of all the fights I’ve seen her in, I don’t recall a boring moment in any of them.

I have to give my props to XFC for promoting and featuring Kheyfets, and vicariously to HDNet for broadcasting XFC cards. As an avid supporter of women’s MMA, the more exposure they get on North American soil the better. The more support and exposure Kheyfets gets, the more support and exposure women’s MMA will get. With other names like Sara McMann, Ronda Rousey, and Miesha Tate getting a lot of fan and media attention of late, the women may finally be getting enough steam to heat up discussion of a women’s division in the UFC. To the XFC and HDNet: please continue to promote and televise cards with women fighters on them. Kheyfets is perfect to promote right now; she’s good looking, a skilled fighter, fan favorite, and (at least right now) a winner. Because of that, XFC has a new fan, and HDNet has a new viewer.

The little fight that could…

May 5 on Fox, the UFC has put together quite a card. Tony Ferguson, John Dodson, Josh Koscheck, Alan Belcher, and Pat Barry are all booked for entertaining fights on the card, which is headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller. Not the biggest names, but the fights are shaping up to be very exciting. Near the bottom of the card is a fight that is more important than a lot of people would initially think. The fight is a flyweight bout between Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker. Most casual fans are probably scratching their heads about this one. The only Louis Gaudinot most casual fans know is the one that couldn’t make it past the quarterfinal round of TUF and lost to Johnny Bedford on the finale. There’s also a good chance that most casual fans have no clue who John Lineker is. It’s a shame, because they really should.

Hardcore MMA fans know the real Louis Gaudinot; the one who made a splash in the 125-pound ranks in the Ring of Combat promotion. Gaudinot solidified himself as a serious contender at flyweight with his win over Jesse Riggleman for the Ring of Combat flyweight title. Riggleman was considered to be a top contender at flyweight at the time, and Gaudinot dominated him en route to a stoppage win via guillotine choke in the first round. However, the first test he faces returning to 125 pounds will not be easy.

John Lineker is the Jungle Fight bantamweight champion. He has an aggressive striking style and an iron jaw; a combination that is guaranteed to impress UFC fans. For those who don’t know anything about John Lineker, go to YouTube and type in his name. Watch his highlight reel, or any of his fights for that matter, and you will see what I’m talking about. He has been known to eat big punches and keep chucking bombs of his own. He’s like a mini-me of Mark Hunt in his K-1/PRIDE days.

As I said before, most fans don’t know how important this fight is. Gaudinot is a top-10 flyweight in most rankings, and with the division just getting up-and-running in the UFC, the winner of this fight could be just a fight or two away from a title shot. Also, it has the potential to be one of the most action-packed fights the organization has ever put on. In my opinion, the UFC should have tried to find a better way to feature this fight. They’re finally starting to understand the marketability and importance of the lower weight classes (ex: Dustin Poirier vs. The Korean Zombie headlining UFC on Fuel 3...F@#K YEAH!), but they are still having some growing pains (Michael McDonald vs. Miguel Torres on the undercard of UFC 145…WTF!!??).

It’s almost a lose-lose situation for the UFC. If you put this fight on a main card, you lose interest from casual fans who want to see more established names fight. If you put it on the prelims, you anger the hardcore fans for burying it. This fight is sure to entertain, and actually means quite a bit in terms of rankings for the UFC’s current flyweight roster. While there are enough options out there for fans to view this fight if they so choose, I still can’t help but be a little upset this fight wasn’t pushed more. It would have been a great fight to further showcase the new talent the UFC is bringing in for this division. Hopefully, the fight will be as exciting as I think it will be and help the UFC brass to give the fights in the new division some more exposure.

Montague vs. “Formiga” needs to happen…in the UFC

I’m choosing to give this bit of news some attention because I feel like it’s not getting any. While going through my usual MMA websites for news and stories, Sherdog.com had posted their most recent MMA rankings. In the flyweight section, they mentioned that a proposed fight between former TPF flyweight champion Darrell Montague and former #1 ranked flyweight Jussier da Silva had fallen through. The fight would’ve taken place in March under the Tachi Palace Fights promotion, but the plans were nixed because of the birth of Montague’s child. Obviously it’s fair for Montague to take time to be a family man, but I hope two things happen regarding these two flyweights: They agree to fight sometime in the near future, and the bout takes place in the UFC.

It’s not that farfetched in reality. Tachi has no problem giving the UFC their talent. Just look at some of the UFC’s recent acquisitions, especially in the lighter weights. Michael McDonald, Cole Escovedo, and Ian McCall are just a few names that the UFC has scooped up due to successful runs in the Lemoore promotion. Also, and this is the most important, Montague and da Silva are probably the two most talented flyweights the UFC doesn’t currently have signed. “Formiga” has beaten a multitude of top flyweight talent, such as Shinichi Kojima, Mamoru Yamaguchi, Alexandre Pantoja, Michael Costa, and Danny Martinez. Though his striking is beginning to improve, there’s no secret da Silva’s greatest asset is his ground game. If he’s able to take his opponents down, they usually don’t get up unless the round ends or they’ve tapped. The ground game of da Silva is absolutely stifling, and if his striking continues to come along, he could potentially regain his throne as the world’s #1 flyweight.

Montague has been no slouch either. His first two wins in Tachi were KO victories over Jeremy Bolt and Luis Gonzalez. He then battered Ulysses Gomez to earn a lopsided unanimous decision victory to capture the Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight Championship. He is an impressive striker, with power and technique good enough to stop anyone at 125 on a given day. The other thing they have in common besides being top-5 flyweights: a loss to Ian McCall. In 2011, McCall took da Silva’s #1 flyweight ranking and Montague’s TPF title. Had the UFC Flyweight Tournament not been announced, this very well could have been a number one contender match to determine who got a rematch with McCall for the title. Montague and da Silva could make an immediate impact in the UFC’s young division, which recently added John Dodson, Louis Gaudinot, and John Lineker.

Also, the addition of Montague and da Silva would pave the way for even more imports from Tachi at 125 pounds. Mamoru Yamaguchi may be getting older, but he still has talent and puts on crowd pleasing performances. Dustin Ortiz is a young prospect who is coming off a victory over Josh Rave in a highly entertaining bout. Ortiz showed quick and powerful strikes as well as good ground skills in the fight. Though he lost to Ian McCall recently, he hung tough with the recent UFC signee and showed he could be on that level soon with a bit of work. The bottom line on all of this is that Montague vs. “Formiga” would please the fans and be huge in terms of the flyweight rankings. It would be a tremendous fight even if it took place in TPF. However, it should take place in the UFC, as it would be a fantastic fight to help introduce the division to casual fans, and possibly give the first UFC Flyweight Champion his first contender. This fight would show fans what Dana White meant when he said the 125-pound division had “nasty potential.”

The potential of Chris Weidman

Recently in MMA, there’s been a shift in the top tier names in each weight class. Overeem, dos Santos, and Velasquez make people say “Fedor who?” Names like Fitch, Koscheck, Alves, and Shields are being replaced by Diaz, Condit, Ellenberger, and Hendricks. In the middleweight division, Chris Weidman is a name that should be on everyone’s mind. Weidman made his UFC debut by stepping up on two weeks’ notice to fight longtime UFC vet Alessio Sakara. Weidman was earning a reputation as a top prospect, but he only had four fights heading into the Sakara fight. It didn’t matter, as he was able to dominate the Italian striker to earn a unanimous decision victory. In his next fight, he was able to submit Jesse Bongfeldt with a 1st round guillotine choke. After that performance, he was matched up against Tom Lawlor. He made the always tough Lawlor look like an amateur, taking him out with a D’arce choke, also in the first stanza.

His next fight was on the UFC’s second effort on Fox. He once again stepped up on short notice to face Demian Maia after Maia’s original opponent, Michael Bisping, was plucked from that fight to move into a bout with Chael Sonnen. Now I just want to get a few things out of the way before I continue. Was the Weidman/Maia fight sloppy? Yes, it was one of the sloppier bouts I’ve seen from two top-level fighters in a while. Let’s just put it this way: with that performance, we won’t be seeing Maia or Weidman in K-1 anytime soon. It also didn’t help that both of them were gassed by the start of round three. Still, there is some silver lining to this debacle. First off, Chris Weidman not only had the fortitude to step up on 11-days’ notice to fight Maia, but he was also able to defeat him. Maia was considered a top-10 level fighter at the time of the fight. This is the same Demian Maia that submitted Chael Sonnen and gave Jorge Santiago his walking papers from the UFC.

My point is this: for as bad as Weidman looked at UFC of Fox 2, he made Maia look even worse. Weidman seems to be a sponge; his jiu-jitsu and striking skills are improving, and his wrestling is already quite good. He qualified for ADCC with only one year of formal jiu-jitsu training, and gave grappling superstar Andre Galvao a good run for his money in their match. Take Jon Jones for an example. He came in mostly as a wrestler, but developed his skills and evolved into a complete mixed martial artist. Look at how scary he is now. Does Weidman have the potential to do that? Maybe not as quickly, but yes, I believe he does.

So what’s the next step for Weidman? If the UFC wants to test his ground skills again, Rousimar Palhares and Mark Munoz would be good choices. However, I want to see how he reacts to taking a good shot. I say put him in there with someone like Michael Bisping or Brian Stann next. Both have the striking prowess to put Weidman in a lot of trouble and potentially finish him. I actually feel like Bisping would be the tougher fight for Chris right now, as The Count’s takedown defense has been stellar of late. Still, my name is not Joe Silva, so I don’t get to make those kinds of decisions, but with his victory over Maia I doubt the New Yorker will get an easy fight next. Regardless, it will be interesting to see who he is matched up with, and exciting to see where he could go from here.

Looking Back: The early days of Jon Jones

Everyone knows who Jon “Bones” Jones is today. The charismatic light-heavyweight champion has blasted his way up not only through the 205-pound ranks, but the pound-for-pound ranks as well. It’s with good reason, as his 2011 alone was one for the record books. He defeated Ryan Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Lyoto Machida in just one year. Bader was in the top ten, and the other three were ranked in the top five. The scariest part is that Jones didn’t just beat them; he dismantled every one of them. A little over three years into his UFC career, he had transformed from unknown prospect into potentially the most dominant light-heavyweight champion in MMA’s history. Love him or hate him, Johnny Bones is one of the UFC’s biggest names right now. Hardcore fans and pundits knew he had big potential, but I would be quite confident saying that no one knew it would happen this quickly AND be that dominant. As I said, it was just about three-and-a-half years ago that this all started...

My first experience watching Jones came when I purchased the UFC 87 DVD. The card was headlined by Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch and Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring. Jones wasn’t even on the main card that night. There, in the prelims section, was Jon’s first UFC fight against Andre Gusmao. I didn’t know anything about either of the two at the time, but I did know I had nothing going on that day, so I figured there was no reason to not watch every single fight. Though it didn’t contain the sheer dominance and brutality we see today, I became intrigued by the potential Jones could have. He was in his early 20s, stood 6’4” with an 84.5-inch reach, and looked very athletic. Though I can’t remember anything too specific (the fight itself was kind of forgettable to be honest), I do remember seeing his natural athleticism, strong Greco-Roman wrestling base, and willingness to use unorthodox techniques.

When I saw his next fight was against Stephan Bonnar on the main card of UFC 94, my initial thought was that Jones was a “feeder” opponent for Bonnar since he was just coming back from injury and Jones wasn’t a name. As it turned out, it may have been Bonnar who was fed to Jones. It started when he walked out to “Angry Johnny” by Poe; Bones had a certain swagger about him. With one spinning back-elbow to Bonnar’s head, he earned my attention. When he German suplexed Bonnar, it became clear that Jones was someone to keep my eye on. However, for as impressive as he looked against Bonnar, he was still quite raw as a fighter. His next challenge was tough wrestler Jake O’Brien. Though he upset Heath Herring in Herring’s UFC debut (albeit in one of the most boring fights I’ve ever seen), back-to-back losses to Andrei Arlovski and Cain Velasquez made O’Brien realize that 205-pounds was a better weight for him. Jones vs. O’Brien was booked for the preliminary section of the historic and star-studded UFC 100 event. Though I saw what Jones was capable of in the Bonnar fight, I thought O’Brien may be able to out-muscle and lay n’ pray his way to decision against Jones. However, Jones continued his rapid improvements by controlling O’Brien throughout, and eventually catching him in a guillotine choke in round two. In his 3rd UFC fight, he secured his first UFC win via stoppage. Jones continued to evolve and impress, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for what was next.

Jones’ next three fights were headliners on three nationally televised cards; one on Spike TV, and two on Versus. His opponents were tough UFC veterans Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera, and Vladimir Matyushenko. Hamill, Vera, and Matyushenko had all been defeated by good competition before, but no one they had faced battered and dismantled them the way Bones did (On a quick side note: the Hamill fight should’ve been over before Jones threw that illegal elbow, I look at it like Jones won that fight). All of that potential that was showcased in those first three fights was becoming a reality, and much faster than most expected. He had taken down and savagely assaulted three extremely tough UFC veterans to the point where they couldn’t take anymore, and made it look easy the entire time.

His next fight was February 5, 2011 against fellow fast-rising prospect Ryan Bader at UFC 126. As the saying goes: the rest is history. Jones started his amazing and historic run in 2011 to capture UFC gold and solidified himself as the top light-heavyweight on the planet. Jon’s next test will be in April against former teammate (and former champion) Rashad Evans. If Jones beats Evans in the long-awaited grudge match, things won’t be getting any easier as he would be likely to face Dan Henderson after that. Dan and his right hand have been on an absolute tear since he rejoined the 205-pound ranks. Winning both fights may seal Jones’ legacy as the best light-heavyweight of all-time. The short amount of time it took for him to get this far is incredible. He has developed his striking and improved his ground game immensely, and he has not gone to a decision since the Bonnar fight in 2009. Jon Jones is now a superstar and a champion in the UFC, but it’s hard to believe that just a few years ago he was an unknown kid fighting on the prelims. At just 24 years old, Jones is already one of the greatest of all-time. It’s amazing to think where he can go in the coming years.

Why Strikeforce needs Sara McMann

The first thing I remember when it was announced that ProElite was coming back was laughing profusely. For those who don’t remember, ProElite was the parent company of Elite XC. You remember that organization that promoted Kimbo Slice as the best striker on the planet and made a 160-pound lightweight class just for Nick Diaz right? Yes, that same ProElite was recently reincarnated under new direction. Still, I couldn’t help but laugh. And so far, it’s been with good reason. Their first event was headlined by Andrei Arlovski. Though he was a former UFC heavyweight champion, he was on a four fight losing streak, three of them by knockout in the 1st round. The two other “big names” were recent UFC castoff Kendall Grove and BJ Penn’s younger brother Reagan. However, ProElite 1 was just the set-up in this comedy show, as ProElite 2 was the punch-line. Co-headliner Andrei Arlovski had a horrible fight with Travis Fulton until the last five seconds, which were awesome (the head kick KO finish). If that fight didn’t put you to sleep, Tim Sylvia’s headlining fight with Andreas “I was somehow in EA Sport’s MMA” Kraniotakes was sure to have you in dreamland. Reagan Penn had also lost a dull decision on the card. It was truly a joke. Their third effort featured a headliner between Kendall Grove and Ikuhisa Minowa. Though I love Minowaman, he should only be fighting men twice his size and with a quarter of his skill.

All the hate aside, there is one thing ProElite has done right: promote Sara McMann. She is a former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, and has a 5-0 professional MMA record. ProElite picked her up after an impressive decision win over tough veteran Tonya Evinger in a Titan Fighting Championships event. At ProElite 3, McMann was given the toughest test of her short career in the form of Hitomi Akano. McMann was able to dominate “The Girlfight Monster” en route to a unanimous decision victory. She showed improving striking technique, as well as a good amount of power in her punches. However, it was the takedowns that were story of this fight. McMann literally threw Akano around like a ragdoll. The difference in power and strength between the two was apparent after the first few minutes. But this article isn’t about what ProElite is doing right; it’s about why whoever is running Strikeforce now needs to sign Sara McMann…immediately.

The first reason is an obvious choice: she fights at 135lbs, a division which Strikeforce actively promotes. The next is another no-brainer: she is extremely marketable. Just like current Strikeforce title challenger Ronda Rousey, McMann is a former Olympian who brings an impressive skillset to the table. She also seems very media friendly, and focused on being a complete fighter rather than collecting titles. In an interview with Sherdog.com after her victory over Akano, she stated she wants to be a dynamic fighter anywhere the fight goes, and that she “wants to fight like Jose Aldo.” How can you not like that? The biggest thing to me though is that it could potentially give the women’s division the depth it needs to be taken seriously.

If Strikeforce signed her, they’d have Sarah Kaufman, Meisha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and McMann as the “top dogs.” Add to that female fighters like Liz Carmouche, Amanda Nunes, Julia Budd, Germaine de Randamie, and Alexis Davis, and that’s a pretty nice female division. Also, there are plenty of other fighters at the female 135lb weight class, which could add to the potential. Kerry Vera, the wife of Brandon Vera, hasn’t fought since 2009, but she looked good in her first two fights, and at the very least she would attract a decent amount of attention due to her last name. Zuffa has mended the fence with Golden Glory fighters, so perhaps they are willing to give Marloes Coenen another shot (she deserves it, that’s for sure). Pro boxer Holly Holm is trying her hand at MMA and fights at 135; maybe she’d be an option down the road. But wait...there's more! There are a multitude of tough, veteran female fighters that fight at 135lbs that could be signed to bolster the roster. The talent includes Julie Kedzie, Shayna Baszler, and Roxanne Modafferi, just to name a few. The point is that it could be a UFC caliber division, and I would love to see at least one women’s division in the UFC at some point in my lifetime. By adding McMann and a few other pieces, the female fighters in that division would prove to Dana White that they belong in the UFC. They are highly skilled, marketable, and they do have drawing power. Plus, they could add even more depth to fight cards, to ensure that a boring and/or meaningless fight will almost never happen in the UFC again. Still, it’s all just wishful thinking at this point, but stranger things have happened. Who thought Zuffa would buy Strikeforce at this time last year?

A Future at 115?

The strawweight division…who knew it actually existed? I first found out about the division, which is a maximum of 115lbs., when I was looking for flyweight fights to watch when that division was starting to make noise. My Google searches brought me to Rambaa Somdet, an incredibly technical muay thai striker. He was considered a top-125lber at the time, and I noticed he was a Shooto champion…at 115lbs. What? Did I read that right? They actually have that? My initial befuddlement stemmed from the fact that the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts states that the lowest weight class allowed is flyweight. That’s at 125 pounds. So where did this come from? Upon further research, I learned that the only promotions that support the weight class are Shooto, and Shooto Brazil. I figured since it was MMA, it was worth a shot.

The first fight I ever saw was the aforementioned Somdet against Hiroyuki Abe in a match for the Shooto 115lb title. If you’re wondering why Somdet’s nickname is “M-16,” look no further than this fight to find the answer. In under a round, Somdet’s striking attack caused Abe’s eye to swell to the point where his vision was impaired. To put it bluntly, his striking is lethal. It’s precise, powerful, and quick. I was disappointed to hear Somdet vacated his title after a bicep injury, as I wanted to see more of what Somdet could do. The next Shooto 115lb champion was Junji Ikoma. He won the title in a match to fill the championship void Somdet created at 115lbs. From what I hear, it was an exciting back-and-forth affair, though I have yet to see it. What made it even more interesting was that Ikoma seemed like a real-life Rocky. His record was just over .500, and he was 41 years young, but the fact remained that he was still a champion.

Ikoma’s first title defense didn’t go quite as well though. What made this fight so interesting to me was the fact that his opponent, Mikihito Yamagami, looked HUGE. Sherdog lists him as 5’8”, which makes him look like Stefan Struve 115lbs. As soon as the bell rang, the two starting swinging. Yamagami used his reach to clock Ikoma with two left hands that sent that champion crashing to the canvas. Just :41 seconds into the 1st round, Shooto had another new 115 pound champion. I think it will be interesting to watch Yamagami continue to fight. Certain taller, lankier fighters (*cough* Jon Jones and Anderson Silva *cough*) with the right skillset have proven to be successful at the highest level, and it will be fun to see if Yamagami can do the same in this still-relatively new division. If not, at least his apparent willingness to trade blows will make it exciting.

Shooto Brazil recently added a 115-pound division of their own. They kicked off the division in style at Shooto Brazil 19, with the first two rounds of a grand prix tournament to crown a champion. The favorite in the field was Michael William Costa, a former challenger for Shooto Brazil’s 125lb title. After watching him fight, it was easy to see why. His first round match at Shooto Brazil 19 was against Pedro Mascote, and the fight had everything. Literally, everything a mixed martial arts fan could hope for: submission attempts, escapes, sweeps, ground and pound, lightning-quick striking exchanges…I was literally glued to my computer screen. Fifteen minutes felt like five, and Costa won a close decision. I was so entertained that I wanted more. I figured a 15-minute back and forth battle would affect Costa in some way for his next fight. Not quite. He submitted Evandro dos Santos with an armbar in just under a minute.

Then, there’s Lincon de Sa. He and Costa eventually faced off for the Shooto Brazil 115lb title, but unfortunately I have yet to see the fight. It says the result was a split-decision win for Sa, which indicates to me it was either boring and overly-tactical, or a highly entertaining fight. And I don’t think these fighters are capable of a boring fight. At first, I thought Sa was more of a ground specialist because he submitted his first two tournament opponents, Jean Buiu and Andre Costa Pereira. After defeating Costa to win the belt, he was set to defend it in a rematch with Pereira. What I saw left my jaw on the floor. The two touched gloves, and started swinging. The pace they put on made Leonard Garcia vs. The Korean Zombie I look slow. The combination that Sa put on Pereira in the 2nd round was absolutely crazy. Think of Chuck Liddell’s finishing combo against Tito Ortiz in their first fight…now imagine the combination lasting for about 30 seconds. That’s what Lincon did Pereira. I thought he’d be gassed like Mark Coleman in his 2nd fight with Shogun after that punching display, but he didn’t even look remotely winded. After more strikes on the feet, Sa finally dropped Pereira and finished him with some ground and pound to successfully defend his Shooto Brazil 115lb championship.

So, what’s the future like for 115lbs? Well, chances are that it won’t be in America, let alone the UFC anytime soon. The Zuffa-owned WEC said they’d be adding flyweights in 2009, and the UFC just started up the division in 2012. It took them three years to find a worthwhile talent pool for them to install it. The current talent pool for 115 is basically every name I’ve mentioned in this article. Let’s also not forget that the Unified Rules don’t even allow a male weight class at 115 pounds (at least not yet). However, Brazil and Japan are two great places to start. The people there are naturally smaller, so they would produce smaller fighters. As I stated in an earlier article, DREAM should possibly consider doing a 115lb tournament. It would be a good way to attract attention with something unique that isn’t a sideshow act. The bottom line is, all of these fights I watched entertained me. And that’s the point of sports; to be entertained. If 115lb fighters continue to put on entertaining fights, and the talent pool deepens, there should be no reason why these fighters won’t be on a big stage in the future. For now though, the division must continue to grow and develop. I, for one, will be watching all the way.