Pellino vs Chope headlines MIMMA2 final showdown tonight

The Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) Fighting Championship adds another dose of excitement into its fight card with former UFC veteran, Will Chope is pitted against American wrestler, Matt Pellino.

The two will be headlining the stage in the main event of the pro-fight bout of the MIMMA2 final showdown, tonight.

Known as ‘The Kill’, Chope is a formidable fighter in Asia with a staggering total of 27 fights -- 20 of them won mostly via submissions -- under his belt.

Judging from the reach and experience, the lanky 24-year-old certainly seems like he has the winning advantage compared to the stocky but well-built Pellino.

Pellino nicknamed, ‘Liquid Monkey’ who is also known as ‘the voice of MIMMA’ is unquestionably a person not to be messed with.

Although just 21, the kid from Orlando, Florida who currently resides in Penang, is touted to be one of the best wrestling coaches in Malaysia.

Despite having no MMA record, he seemed unfazed when placed head to head with a former UFC fighter.

“Will Chope is indeed a UFC veteran, but he has a takedown defence of a fish,” said Pellino in an interview with Astro AWANI.

Both fighters happen to despise each other’s guts and funnily enough, they are not shy to admit it openly.

“He has 27 fights under his belt but he hasn’t been tested and when he gets tested, he gets knocked out.

“So I’m going to look for that result on Saturday (tonight),” said Pellino who is transitioning from an MMA coach and cage announcer, to a full fledged fighter.

In the co-main event of the pro-fight bout, Mark ‘Mugen’ Striegl from the Philippines will go against New Zealand’s Kaiwhare Kara-France.

Striegl, 26 is a veteran at Legend Fighting Championship (Legend FC) with 12 wins out of 13 fights which most of them are won through submissions.

Mark Striegl

Mark Striegl will be facing Kara-France in the co-main event of the pro-bout. Astro AWANI photo

His opponent, Kara-France, 21 is an unpredictable young fighter from Auckland who can finish his opponent either standing up or on the ground.

Striegl when met by Astro AWANI, said that he is up and ready for the bout and that his intensive training under ONE FC Malaysia featherweight champion, AJ ‘Pyro’ Mansor has been really good.

The Filipino had been practicing Olympic-style wrestling since the age of seven before taking up Taekwondo and Aikido to equip himself for the MMA.

Unlike the previous two, the calm and composed Striegl had no nasty things to say to his opponent.

“I think he’s a really good fighter, he’s talented, he’s young, he’s hungry, he’s explosive… he has a great gym and coach behind him, I know he will be doing his best,” he said.

As a fighter, Striegl has been travelling all over Asia and competed in many different tournaments including the Malaysian Fighting Championship (MFC).

On his fight in MIMMA, he quickly accepted the offer as he saw this a great opportunity.

“Kai, I hope you’re training hard. Let’s have a good fight and put on a great show for all the MIMMA fans,” said Striegl in a special message to Kara-France.

mimma 2

The MIMMA 2 Grand Finals fight card - File Photo

All but one fighter had succeeded in making weight during the weigh-in event held Friday morning at the Swiss Garden Hotel.

Muhammad Aiman from Negeri Sembilan failed to make weight and will not be competing for the title in the flyweight bout.

Seah Zhang Yu will be replacing him and will lock horns against defending champion Kenny Yap.

Thirteen fighters who fought since the ladder match up to the finals are set to battle their opponents in their respective weight category to emerge as this year’s MIMMA champions.

The event by Asia’s biggest amateur MMA promotion is scheduled to take place Saturday night (25 October) at Stadium Negara.

Below are the official results for the MIMMA 2 Grand Finals weigh in:

MIMMA pro fight weigh in

MIMMA championship fight