GFL 7 is set to take place May 8, from the Dover Arena in Dover, NH. The card features their usual mix of strong amateur fights, along with some of the best pro fighters in the area. Here is a breakdown of the action:
185 Woody Weatherby 8-3 (Renzo) vs Jerry Speigel 12-31-1 (New York)
Speigel comes in off of 2 losses, but we all know it really depends on which Jerry Speigel shows up to fight. We’ve seen Jerry fight all of the area’s best as well as over 15 UFC veterans. Speigel has taken guys like Rebello, Gladiator Santos and Karn Grigorian to decisions and beaten guys like Mandella Kponou and BJJ black belt Everilton Soneca Silva.
Weatherby is coming off an impressive win over Carolina powerhouse wrestler Johnny Buck in Triumphs first show. Weatherby has been spending a ton of time Training under the Renzo/Sityodtong umbrella and in his recent fight we saw a great mix of slick BJJ and crisp Muay thai. Originally Woody was all jiu jitsu, now with a year of SYT under his belt Weatherby looks dangerous everywere.
155 Bill Jones 5-3 (Chaos) vs Pedro Da Silva 0-1 (Team TUF)
Jones makes his hometown debut and looks to rebound here off a loss to rising star Lee Metcalf at GFL 5 that was riddled with some controversy. Jones has looked very solid as of late and looks to build more wins towards a shot at a GFL title in the future. Primarily a ground fighter, Jones will look to submit Da Silva and stay away from his dangerous hands.
Da Silva is very Dangerous and reminds me of a bigger Barrington Douse. Da Silva has great power and can drop you with either hand with his unorthodox stand-up. Since joining team TUF he’s also been working his Jiu Jitsu but to take this fight he’ll be looking to keep it on the feet. Da Silva drops from 170 were he lost to Chris Fisette and moves to a more comfortable 155 where he is a very big lightweight.
170 Chris Fissette 3-2 (Cage Strikers) vs Eddie Brito 2-2 (Valor)
Tough fight to call. Brito is 2-2 with 2 losses to a couple of the areas best fighters in Carlo Claus and Ortolani. Brito trains under Tom Moreau which is good company to be in. Brito is Judo based and has decent hands but small for a 170. Look for Brito to take this to the ground and utilize his gnp for a tko victory.
Maybe one of the most recognizable fighters in the region, THE EGO has made a star out of everyone he’s fought. Fisette is best known for his big mouth but always puts on a great show in and out of the cage. Expect excitement, a new fancy t-shirt, and a lot of trash talk.
135 Trevor Stone 2-2 (Seacoast) vs Pedro Gonzalez 4-3 (DWMMA)
Trevor Stone makes his return to the GFL cage from an absence of almost a year. Stone is coming off a win at 135lbs which seems to be one of the most popular weights in the GFL. Stone is a BJJ blue belt and will look to control this fight on the ground. A win over Gonzalez puts Trevor a couple wins away from a fight with Champion Matt Smith. First things first, can Trevor stop Pedro while he’s at the top of his game?
Gonzalez has looked real impressive as of late. The GFL #1 contender at 135lbs has wins over Sean Ratcliffe at 145 and Barrington Douse at 135 for a local title recently. Gonzalez’s record does him no justice for the competitor he is. Recently in a championship bout with Matt Smith he took the champion all 5 rounds losing a decision that was riddled with illegal blows giving the fight away. Gonzalez is slated for a rematch with Smith Sept 17th GFL 8 at the Whittemore center at UNH. A win here will make it for the title.
145 Adam Tousaint 0-0 (Havok) vs Mike Marcioni 0-0 (SSSF)
Tousaint and Marcioni are two Amateur studs making their pro debut. I don’t know much about Marcioni but he was 5-0 as an amateur so he must be doing something right. Tousaint is a tough kid, I watched one of his fights at the last GFL in Ma. And he won quickly by armbar. He’s also got a win via KO in Wartown Beatdown and went the distance in a controversial loss to Milton of team fury.
135 Josh Bourque 1-1 (Cage Strikers) vs Corey Palmer 0-1 (MFS_NH)
Bourque comes back after taking his first loss and promises a good show. The 18yr old has some of the best hands ive seen at his weight locally ever. Some may say his ground is suspect but matched with a prep national champ, all American wrestler at GFL 6 Bourque took the fight the distance and lost a close decision.
Palmer is a MFS fighter and I haven’t seen a fighter from that camp that isn’t flat out great. Coming off a loss I expect Palmer has put in the time and training to take Bourque out. Palmer says he has no fear of Bourque’s striking and wants to show him some of his own. I expect these two to stand and trade and give us a good show.
175 Lorenzo Fitzgerald 3-1 (Terry Dow) vs Criss Madden 0-0 (Guy Chase)
Interesting fight, Two very good trainers send in two of there best for what should be an all stand-up war. Terry Dow brings Kickboxer and one of the most athletic kids ive ever seen Lorenzo Fitzgerald. Lo is coming off a loss to Jay Bakanowski at GFL 6 that went the distance and could have been scored either way.
“Guy Chase tells me that his guys are too good for GFL events “ – Dan Bonnell. Madden, a Muay Thai fighter currently 0-0 steps up to to defend his coaches claim and take on Lorenzo Fitzgerald coming off his only loss to another Muay Thai camp,. Madden should have his hands full here with Lorenzo but I expect a great stand-up fight, if it happens to hit the ground Lorenzo could walk away with this one.
170 Juan Maldonado 1-1 (Seacoast) vs Keegan Hornstra 1-1 (Mainiac)
This fight will be awesome to say the least! Juan, better known as Wacko by the chants of hundreds when he comes to fight, is the runner up of the first season of GFL’s “I wanna be a global fighter”. Juan fought twice in one night losing in the final to Justin Wear via decision. Wacko has very heavy hands and now drops down from 185 to a more natural 170lbs. A wrestling base and good hands should make this interesting.
Keegan is straight-up Boxing. Hornstra lost in his first fight to Brandon Cyr by repeatedly getting taken down and could never get off any punches or work while standing. In his second fight just one month ago Hornstra fired off quickly and often to earn a very big KO over a BJJ blue belt from Gracie Barra.
The rest of the card shapes out like this:
135 Tad Barbour 0-1 (Ind) vs Anthony Giarusso 1-0 (TUF)
160 Justin Marcotte 0-1 (Haverhill) vs Tyler Nau 1-0 (Team Anubis)
155 Phil Eldridge 1-0 (Cage Strikers) vs Sam Bruce 0-1 (Saabs)
170 Ozzie Diaz 0-0 (Seacoast) vs Billy Keenan 0-0 (Team Agony)
185 Brandon Cyr 1-0 (Terry Dow) vs Jeremy Carr 0-0 (Maniac)
135 Tom Benjamin 0-2 (Chaos) vs Matt Marshall 0-1 (Maniac)
150 Keith Kuzmitski 0-0 (Helltown Hoolig) vs Jose Rustrain 1-1 (Team Agony)
