Welcome back to Paradigm and another round of high-impact UWFI action. There were another five matches to look forward to as the season continued to kick into gear and pit the new against the entrenched. Weber Hatfield was taking on Dustin Leonard in a technical masterclass, Derek Neal collided with Jake Bravado, The Von Engelands looked to outdo the AIW Academy, Austin Connelly had to battle the Bronx in Steve Peña and lastly, in the main event, Brandon Williams had called his shot and had to tangle with the UWF-Icon, Dominic Garrini. It was all to play for with pride and places on the line. Some were looking to climb the rankings, some looking for personal glory and some were hoping to pick up that all-important first win. Let’s get into the action, after this recap of the rules…

As it’s UWFI, we’re not just wrestling. There’s a specific set of rules to follow. Matches can be won by submission, knockout, ref stoppage, or, by draining your opponent of points. How do you do that exactly? Well, rope breaks, suplexes with intent to KO, and knockdowns will all drain various amounts of points. You run out of your 15 allotted points; you lose. Points can also be lost for intentionally breaking the code of conduct so fight clean or pay the price. Fights are meant to be short, sweet, and as deadly as possible. Let’s see who benefitted today, shall we?

Dustin Leonard (w/Ben Shearin) defeated Weber Hatfield via Triangle Armbar

Up first tonight was one of the most technically-charged fights of the season. It would be the Groundout Grappler, Weber Hatfield trying to outpace and out-technique the master of BJJ, Dustin Leonard. The Sultan of Submission had been running roughshod through anyone who dare step to him, was he about to do the same to Hatfield? Alas, he did beat Hatfield but it was far from the cakewalks he’d gotten used to. Hatfield came to play and the pair went through an elongated back-and-forth battle of defence. Both guys were going all-out on the grappling but could never quite find the killing blow as the other had too much defence. As the match went on, Leonard started wearing down Hatfield, forcing him to make use of the ropes and burning his points. Eventually, the inevitable happened and Leonard trapped Hatfield for the tap-out, locking in a Triangle Armbar and forcing Hatfield to submit. It was an excellent contest where Leonard found himself challenged. You could see the agitation on his face. This was the match to cement Hatfield’s position within the division. He may have lost but he showed off every bit of technique and skill needed to thrive within the rule-set. Post-match, Leonard once again laid out his intentions for the division. He’s coming for the Super Middleweight champion and will go through anyone who dares get in his way. The next opponent, the Swinger, Ryan Clark. That’s going to be one to watch.

Derek Neal defeated Jake Bravado via Guillotine Choke

The tone changed drastically as we entered our next fight. Jake Bravado, the Essence of Excellence was back in action and challenging one of the heads of the division. The King’s Road Slayer, Derek Neal is always in high demand as everyone wants to test their mettle against the Real Deal. This one was rather hard to predict as Neal knows every way to brute-force his way through a match but was he ready for what Bravado was bringing? Bravado shocked everyone early on by opening the fight with a Suplex on Neal. That made Neal change tact and gave us a hybrid fight with Neal showing off his grappling before indulging Bravado in a striking bout. This was rather interesting to see as Bravado held his own and had Neal reeling from shots. It didn’t last though and Neal powered up, throwing out harder strikes and unleashing vicious suplexes until locking on a Guillotine and putting Bravado to sleep. It was another exceptional fight from both guys and a much harsher affair than the opening contest. The division should be scared, Neal is going to keep hurting people and he’s still only getting started. He’s been with the division since its inception and he’s going nowhere. The kid gloves are off, Neal’s going to start killing.

The Von Engelands (Eden & Sydney Von Engeland) defeated The AIW Academy (Casey Carrington IV & Arthur McArthur) via Tornado Boot Stoppage

Time for some tag team action as the Von Engelands worked together again instead of beating the hell out of each other. They had already stolen the show when they fought and now, they were looking to do it again by putting the AIW Academy team of The Young Trendsetter Casey Carrington IV and The Strongest in the Land Arthur McArthur through their paces. This was intense. It started lightly enough as McArthur treated us to an almost comedic level outclassing Sidney in his strongman ways. Carrington got in on the beatdown and it would take Eden setting up a tear in McArthur’s shoulder to properly give the Von Engelands the footing in this match. Carrington bailed and McArthur tried to fight on with one arm and an unbroken spirit but he just became the plaything of a more sadistic side to the Great British Gaijin and Hockey Hitman. Eden seemed to want to end things repeatedly but McArthur wouldn’t give and Sidney wanted to prove a point to anyone who dared challenge them. The second Carrington left; McArthur was doomed to feel the pain of the Von Engeland’s wrath. McArthur had the heart of a lion but his body gave out after the relentless beating. The Von Engelands had sent a message to anyone who thought they had a chance at UWFI tag titles. If those belts existed, they’d be going home with them.

Austin Connelly defeated Steve Peña via Smashed in the Head

Well damn, it was time to get stiff again as two of the hard hitters collided. Steve Peña excels when given a fighter and few fight quite like Austin Connelly. The Mad Dog continuously takes and dishes out some of the nastiest beatdowns in the company and now he was looking to do the same to Peña. This was going to be a scary one. Could Peña out-grapple Connelly and upset the tear he’s been on? Peña refused to be intimidated by Connelly’s style and happily struck up a storm with the Mad Dog whilst schooling him in grappling when the chance arose. He hit Connelly hard but much like the foes that had come before him, couldn’t keep him down as he rose like the dead regardless of how hard he’d been thrown or crunched in the head. Connelly kept swinging back and eventually landed the right combination of hits to KO Peña. He went down and the ref stopped things before Connelly could do any more damage. It was another sprint of a fight but full of awesome action and brutal striking. Peña is bloody awesome and much like Hatfield in the opening bout continued to show why Paradigm bring him in. Connelly is on another level at the moment though, trampling everyone as he stomps up the mountain towards the title and the champion, Alex Kane. Connelly warned the Suplex Assassin to count his days.

Dominic Garrini defeated Brandon Williams via Triangle Choke

Last but not least, the main event. The Locksmith, Brandon Williams had shot his shot and called out Dominic Garrini. As the lynchpin of the division, Garrini is one of the ones to beat to cement yourself as a bonafide contender. Williams was looking to do just that and give the status quo of the division a kicking. He thought he was good enough and recent performances backed that up. Let’s see if he toppled the UWF-Icon. They started with a handshake and went into a cat-and-mouse game of grappling. The pair just put on a masterclass in mat grappling and continuously picked at limbs, sharpened their defence and scrambled for superiority. It was one of those matches that you got hypnotised by as the pair let their technique do the talking. Williams came in energised and confident and showed off a whole wealth of skill against Garrini. It sadly didn’t result in victory but he held his own against one of the top dogs of the division and had him reaching for the ropes. Once Garrini locked in the choke it was game over as Williams tried to hold out but just couldn’t escape. It was tap out or pass out and Brandon chose the former. He’d still not beaten Garrini but he’d shown a much more competitive edge and put on a main event calibre performance against the Bone Collector. It had been a respectful fight where the pair just tried to outdo each other. They started respectfully and ended the same. Garrini sees Paradigm as the land of opportunity and in the post-match comments laid out an offer to the Himboss, Max ZERO.

All images courtesy of Paradigm