With Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 4" is taking place this weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, it's time for predictions. This is one of the more difficult fight cards as far as predictions go as of late. The fights are all very evenly matched and picking a winner wasn't an easy task. As always don't go bet the house as the sports book, these are fights and anything can happen.
The night will feature three WBC Muay Thai title bouts including the main event between Chaz Mulkey and Simon Chu. The fight will be Mulkey's first title defense of his WBC Muay Thai international middleweight title. The other two title bouts will feature Malaipet vs. Jose Palacios for the WBC Muay Thai national welterweight title and Coke Chunhawat vs. Rami Ibrahim for the WBC Muay Thai lightweight national title.
Chaz Mulkey (7-4) vs. Simon Chu (29-7)
The Matchup: Mulkey will be looking to successfully defend his WBC Muay Thai international title for the first time when he takes on the UK's Simon Chu. His win over Remy Bonnel to claim the title was as close as a fight could get so he will likely be trying to make his first defense a more decisive one.
No matter who Mulkey faces one thing that doesn't falter is his technique, crisp and accurate is his style. Mulkey doesn't stray from his game plan much, as he will stand in front of you and try and punish you with leg kicks. Mulkey will have a reach advantage and working behind a strong jab or teep would be beneficial against Chu, if Mulkey allows him to get in range then he has to worry about the power Chu posseses.
Chu will likely be looking to erase his last performance against Ky Hollenbeck at Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 3" from the memories of fans. Chu showed flashes of what he could do, but his cardio failed him as the fight went into the later rounds. Chu flew into Las Vegas a few days earlier to get acclimated to the dry Las Vegas weather and fight off any potential jet lag.
Chu has excellent timing and accuracy as he showed in his fight with Hollenbeck. Despite his cardio starting to fail him, he was able to, on several occasions, time some perfectly placed elbows that ended up cutting Hollenbeck. Like Mulkey, Chu loves to work the leg kicks and will likely look to implement his early on in the fight and try to break down Mulkey.
This will likely be a chess match as both fighters look for an opening they can exploit. The winner might actually be determined by the fighter that breaks out of his comfort zone and changes up the pace of the fight, most likely by taking charge and pushing the pace. The only problem is both fighters counter very well and by pushing the pace, whichever fighters decides to do so will be taking a risk, however, with high risk comes high reward. When fighting for a WBC Muay Thai international title, you have to be willing to gamble some times that means stepping out of your comfort zone.
The Pick: It will be a tight close knit fight from start to finish, with both fighters having their moments. Expect this one to go the distance as Mulkey defends his title in a split decision victory over Chu.
WBC National Lightweight Championship
Phanuwat "Coke" Chunhawat (145-24-1) vs. Rami Ibrahim (13-7-2)
The Matchup: Coke will be looking to snap a two fight skid, dropping a split decision to Matt Embree this past summer and in losing to Tetsuya Yamato, in August, due to a cut. One thing Coke has proven on several occasions is when he wants to hurt you he can.
He uses his hands well to set up other attacks and once he gets in range you can expect to see him throw some elbows. Once he gets into a rhythm, it is hard to stop Coke from executing and that spells the end usually.
Ibrahim needs to use his boxing to beat Coke, after his last fight against Philipe Allaire Landerville he stated that people didn't believe he could win using his Muay Thai and that he wanted to prove them wrong. As gutsy as that is, that likely wont work against Coke. When there is a WBC Muay Thai championship on the line you have to play to your strengths. For Ibrahim that is stick and move. He can't let Coke tie him up in the clinch. Coke will likely start out trying to feel Ibrahim out in the first few rounds and this is something he needs to capitalize on by trying to steal the rounds on the judges score card. As mentioned before if Coke gets into a rhythm, then things could get ugly for Ibrahim.
One common opponent is Matt Embree. Coke fought him twice, with each taking a win by split decision. Ibrahim fought Embree earlier this year and took him the distance. Despite dropping a unanimous decision, it was a close fight that was decided in the final round. Ibrahim is tough and can hang with some great fighters and him winning wont be a shock to those that are familiar with, but it would have to be considered an upset.
Result: Coke starts off slow as he tries to figure out Ibrahim, which allows for Ibrahim to take the early rounds. Once Coke gets going he will take over, earning a unanimous decision win.
WBC National Welterweight Championship
Malaipet (138-27-5) vs. Jose Palacios (5-2)
The Matchup: Malaipet will be taking this fight on two days notice after Kit Cope was unable to get licensed. As far as conditioning and cardio, well that factor is not very relevant. Malaipet's has been in a slump as of late, but despite the rumors of him not training he has always been able to compete at a high level. He might not be coming out on the winning end of his fights, but he has been competitive in all of them. A tired Malaipet is more dangerous than some fighters who are 100% fresh.
Malaipet really changes the fight now, he doesn't have an aggressive go for broke style like Cope. Malaipet will look to work kicks to the body and legs, while looking to land some elbows and hit some sweeps when in close range. If Malaipet can keep Palacios in the clinch, then he should have an advantage.
Palacios is well rounded and is a great counter fighter, the opponent change is interesting since Malaipet likes to hang back and pick his shots. In his previous fight with Artem Sharoshkin he was able to throw him off his game and take the win by decision and before that in his fight with Scotty Leffler it took one punch to end the fight. Despite the change in style's from Cope to Malaipet, Palacios is good at adjusting during the fight and is able to change things up according to what his opponent is doing.
Result: This is going to be a close fight, don't expect to see a new re-charged Malaipet in this fight. The one advantage that plays in his favor is that his style won't play into Palacios hands. Malaipet takes a close one by decision.
Elaina Maxwell (0-0) vs. Roxy Richardson (2-1)
The Matchup: Maxwell will be making her pro Muay Thai debut. She comes from a Sanshou and K-1 background and trains at CSA gym with two of the top female fighters in the world (Miriam Nakamoto and Germaine De Randamie), under Kirian Fitzgibbons. Maxwell packs some power and will undoubtedly be looking to turn out Richardson's lights. She can out point her opponents and knock them out. She undoubtedly is a dangerous fighter.
Richardson hasn't fought in over a year, but is known for being in shape all the time. Richardson is a volume puncher and needs to keep a high work rate to out-work Maxwell. If she can work behind her jab, while not getting into any wild exchanges, it should be to her advantage. Training under Mark Komuro, Richardson will probably have the proper game plan in place. Execution will then be the key.
Result: This is going to be a back and forth affair with both ladies having their moments. Maxwell takes a split decision in a close one.
Eduardo Maiorino (40-14) vs. Terroll Dees (6-2)
The Matchup: Maiorino should have the experience advantage in this fight. He is a big guy that hits hard and looks to finish fights, having been in the ring with fighters such as Steve McKinnon and Steven Banks. He should come out looking to finish this one early.
Dees, like Maiorino packs some power, although he isn't as battle tested. He should come out looking to end things early as well in what should make for an entertaining fight.
Result: Both fighters have fight-ending power, likely having the bout come down to which fighter could connect with a solid shot first. Maiorino takes this one via KO in the second round.
Chidi Njokuani (10-1) vs. Ken Tran (13-3)
The Matchup: Njokuani will have a size advantage against Tran, something he needs to try and exploit by pressing the action and using his size to wear Tran down. Njokuani is dangerous when he can work his game plan without having too much pressure put on him by his opponent. His all around game is solid, mixes his strikes well and has KO power. If he can combine that with his size advantage, it should give him a slight edge.
Tran is explosive and has knockout power with 10 of his 13 wins coming via KO. He needs to get Njokuani moving backwards and out of his comfort zone, something that might be difficult to do because of the size and reach advantage Njokuani has. Tran will make it an exciting fight regardless, he just needs to pace himself. In his last fight against Chaz Mulkey he started off strong, but as Mulkey kept attacking he began to wear down.
Result: This will be one of the night's more exciting fights and it is really anyone's fight. The winner will likely depend on who can push the pace. It should be another close fight and in reality is any one's fight. Were going with Tran as he is able to find a way around Njokuani's size and pulling out a razor thin split decision.
Vivan Leung (1-0) vs. Cassie Trost (Cassie Trost)
The Matchup: Leung will be looking to earn her second pro win. Known for her aggressive style she will look to push the pace against Trost. For Trost the key in the fight is finding a way to counter Leung's aggression. It might be hard to do with Leung's aggressive style, but making her pay every time she moves in is a must to keep her at bay.
Result: Leung will be fighting in full-throttle from the start of the fight; although Trost will hang in there early on, Leung's aggression will eventually wear her down. Leung takes home a late round (T)KO.
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