Australian MMA promotion Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) will be the battle of the Heavyweights at the Homebush State Sports Centre in Sydney in just over a week at the CFC21 event. Soa Palelei with face Bob Sapp in the headline bout.
Fresh from his wins over Joe Lielur at AFC 3, and Shunske Inoue at CFC 20; Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (16-3) is set to meet American Bob Sapp (11-11) in what should be an intriguing match-up.
Palelei is focused on his ultimate goal: trying to gain an invitation for a spot on the UFC Heavyweight roster. He is not shy of taking opportunities as they come up, however.
Sapp on the other hand, is looking to be at the end of his career, with his last five fights ending as a loss within the first round.
It can be safe to say that Palelei will take this one in the first round, via TKO, his heavy hands will be too much for Sapp. What this fight does give CFC is the chance to be on the international stage, thanks to the inclusion of the One FC network.
The media interest has peaked in the event, perhaps on the back of questioning the legitimacy of Sapp within this fight, however the big positive from this interest is that CFC and Soa Palelei will be granted discussion for the weekend of May 18th.
A strong performance by Palelei will certainly help his chances to catch the eyes of the UFC brass.
Also making the trip down under is Jeff “The Snowman” Monson (44-13), a veteran on the MMA circuit fighting since 1997 in a combination of local and international promotions including the UFC, Strikeforce and M-1.
Monson is set to take on local Heavyweight “Big” Jim Yorke (15-4), who is on a four fight win streak over two years, however is coming off an 18 month break from the cage.
This should be a great fight as Yorke has pulled out some great submission wins in the past, however going into the fight with such a strong chance of ring rust and going up against a ADCC champion grappler, I give the edge slightly to Monson. This should be a good fight and is not to be missed.
Given that this is such a big event for the promotion, CFC have changed venue from the usual Big Top location at Luna Park to the Homebush State Sports Centre and for the first time, they will be live streaming the event on their website at a cost.
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E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
Which is why promotions should stop paying him to compete. It's a farce now; he's 2-9 in his last 11 fights, and has lost 5 straight as you mentioned. That's not the type of competition you want for a quality up-and-coming heavyweight like Palelei, and (to me) not the type of fighter I want to be spending money on if I'm CFC. That said, I agree with Sam — great job putting a spotlight on CFC while the UFC is in an off-week.
ErinT
Roar Guru
It is interesting that Sapp is fighting Mariusz Pudzianowski in Poland this weekend on the way to Australia. I think it does raise question to his motivation and attitude going into the Palelei fight but he will still be around for as long as he gets paid.
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
Oh God. Why are they paying Bob Sapp? If he was a racehourse..... let's not go there. CFC has been home to some great champions and fights. Hector Lombard and Bernardo Trekko werr both champions at the time they went into the UFC. Seriously though, why Bob Sapp? He isn't widely enogh known that be will draw mainstream media, like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair did in a pro wrestling tour a few years ago and he is (how do I put this polietly) one of the worst fighters in modern MMA. I guess it could be worse though. At least it isn't Ken Shamrock. Great to see some local MMA coverage though Erin. Good job.
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
I don't think "The Hulk" gains anything by facing Bob Sapp at this stage in his career. No one expects Sapp to do anything more than collapse to the canvas after the first two or three punches, whether they land crisply or not. His last several fights have all been a joke, and I think CFC would be better off bringing in a lesser known talent with legitimate skills than paying Sapp whatever sum they're paying him to be a fading name with nothing to offer in the cage. This win — and he will win exactly the way you said — does nothing to bring Palelei closer to reaching his goal of fighting in the UFC.