Welcome back to Paradigm and the continuation of the UWFI Contender’s series. We’ve seen a whole bunch of new fighters step up in both winning and losing efforts as they try to earn a roster spot. Many will get their next shot today as Scarlett takes on Lord Crewe after a very strong opening, Ryan Clark and Pete Youngblood join forces against the Death Threat Army, Dustin Leonard goes to war with Erron Wade, Josh Crane battles it out with Mitch Malik and in the main event, the Heavy Hitters Championship is on the line as Isaiah Broner defends against Trey Shaw. It was all to play for today as spots would be claimed and names would be made. Let’s get into the action.
Let’s quickly go over the rules. UWFI is all based on shoot wrestling and points. Each fighter starts with a set number of points and will lose them based on rope breaks, knockdowns, and breaches of the rule set in intervals of 1-3 depending on the infraction. Victories can come from KOs, submissions, or draining all your opponent’s points. There are no time limits, closed fists, no groin shots, and no intentional fighting outside the ring. The system is in place to make sure fights have winners and are as rapid, violent, and efficient as possible. Now let’s get to the fights.
Dustin Leonard defeated Erron Wade via Choke Out
Tonight’s show opened with a mixed martial arts showcase. It would be the Brand bringing out their heavy hitter Dustin Leonard and his BJJ expertise against the Tae Kwon Do mastery of Erron Wade. This was the first UWFI showing for Wade and he’d very much been thrown in at the deep end. These two have had a heated rivalry around the country and now it had washed up on Paradigm. It was explosive from start to finish as the pair kicked the crap out of each other. It was hard shots and harder landings as Wade got the drop on Leonard but couldn’t maintain it as the aggression factor was upped considerably. Leonard may have gotten the win but both will be wearing bruises from this one. Wade knocked on Paradigm’s door and Leonard knocked him out for it. What an impactful opener. Leonard has to be due a title shot soon with a streak like this.
Death Threat Army (Tommy Vendetta & Alex Weir) defeated Pete Youngblood and “The Swinger” Ryan Clark via Tornado Kick on Youngblood
Next up was one of the rarer UWFI bouts as we got ourselves a tag match. This meant more points but still the dedication to the rules and trying to win as fast and as efficiently as possible. The two teams would be the Death Threat Army, the ruthless unit sweeping the indies being represented by Tommy Vendetta and Alex Weir, and the makeshift pairing of The Swinger Ryan Clark and the hard-hitting Pete Youngblood. This was going to be one hell of a fight. This got vicious very fast. Clark and Vendetta got a round of grappling in before people got dropped on their heads and Weir ended the match quickly with a vicious Tornado Kick. It wasn’t the longest match but it showcased a nice mixture of styles and showed off just how quickly Alex Weir can end a match, especially when a blind tag is involved. The kicking ability of Weir is something everyone in that locker room should fear. This was the first big win of the night for the Death Threat Army.
Lord Crewe defeated Scarlett via Tornado Boot
Time for a monster fight. Scarlett broke the curse of fighters losing in their debut when she destroyed Jeffery John. Now, she’d been granted a much tougher challenge in the form of the Bareknuckle Berserker Lord Crewe. These two are not afraid of physicality so it was going to be a fun one to watch go down. Good God did this one get stiff. It’s rare to see Crewe get manhandled the way he did in this one. Scarlett was ferocious. An unflinching monster that hit hard and threw Crewe around like he was a ragdoll. This was one of the fights where Crewe had to rely more on his grappling than his striking as he tried to keep Scarlett grounded. When that failed, the pair just beat the shit out of each other. This was hard-hitting, wince-inducing action that just wouldn’t stop. it took Crewe’s Tornado Boot to end things as he couldn’t keep Scarlett grounded for a submission hold and certainly didn’t want to keep a slugfest going. Somehow, I think Scarlett will be sticking around for future season because damn, she grasps the style and makes everyone in the ring with her work for it. By beating her, Crewe has come one step closer to showcasing himself as the top dog in the UWFI playground. Now, he just needs that Heavy Hitters Title.
Josh Crane defeated Mitch Malik via KO Forearm
Time to bring out the big men, as Mitch Malik and Josh Crane were about to throw down. It would be the Hellhound Mitch Malik trying to navigate the BJW Strong Style and vicious Suplex acumen of Josh Crane. This one could get very ugly very fast. To no one’s surprise, it did. Malik came out swinging and as an accomplished bare-knuckle boxer, it was unsurprising to see his shots rocking Crane. They kept throwing hands and Malik scored a knockdown with a back fist and dropkick. He knew Crane had the grappling advantage so just went out of his way to stop Crane from doing anything. Sadly, that strategy only worked for so long as Crane launched him with a Saito and ended him with a vicious forearm. This had been a strong showing for the Hellhound but all Crane needed was an opening and he got it, leading to another victory. He’s done being seen as only a deathmatch guy. The danger is about more than broken glass.
PPW Heavy Hitters Title: Isaiah Broner defeated Trey Shaw via KO Elbow
Last but not least, the main event. It was Heavy Hitters Title time as Isaiah Broner repped the Death Threat Army in the main event. Vendetta and Weir had already set the tone, now it was time for him to continue it with another big win. His opponent, the Ripper Trey Shaw. We all know what Broner does and how well he does it so it would be interesting to see Shaw try to adapt and fight around that. It was a very competitive match to watch. Shaw and Broner were fairly evenly managed when it came to grappling but when given the chance, Broner flexed the size and strength advantage he had. Both ended up getting thrown around at times and after trying to knee and strike his way to victory, Shaw took the loss after eating a vicious KO Elbow. It had been a valiant effort on Shaw’s part but once again, Broner proved why he has that title and seems very unwilling to relinquish it. The show ended with a standoff between Broner’s guaranteed challenger, Vincent Nothing as he decided to pick that moment to remind Big Money Broner there was a big-money match to be made in the future. That will be one of Broner’s toughest challenges yet.
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