When I had arrived to the Poland open workouts, I had run into a few disgruntled Polish fans trying to come together for some sort of failed protest. I was confused. They shouted things about how GCC hates their women fighters and were profiting off their blood sweat and tears. It was weird, they were crazy and certainly not a representation of the large majority of amazing people I had met in Poland this week!
When I arrived at the open workouts, a fighter by the name of Andrés Cruz was quick to introduce himself to me. The kid was hungry, excited and ready to get back into the cage after a long absence and seemed like he missed the atmosphere of fight week.
He told me all about what he had been working on, his training regiment and how he was going to approach his fight and he certainly looked the part. Although he would be the first fighter I had spoke to that day, he certainly looked to be in the best shape. This is what he had to say,
''There are jitters, I will be lying if I told you any differently; but, fact of the matter is I’ve prepared very well for this fight.''
And for the super fans who caught his interview on the sports podcast, he said...
“There’s always this feeling of impending doom before a fight, like you could end up on your ass looking at the stars… I feel that’s something my opponent Kenny Kimura might be feeling right now, knowing he’s going at it against someone who will knock his ass down.”
It was very clear to me that although he was confident in his abilities, he knew that coming to the GCC would bring him no easy fights.
Well, unless your Renegade Kali or something.
Andrés Cruz
<Global Training Facility> Trait 1 >>> This fighter has a higher chance to escape technical submissions Trait 2 >>> This fighter will look to keep the fight standing at striking range. Trait 3 >>> This fighter will start the bout fast and aggressively and look for an early finish. Stamina +100, consistency +89 While Kenny Kimura was nowhere to be found at the open workouts, he is said to be training at home locally with his friends and coaches by his side. This means that he's likely to show up to the fight in decent shape. Kenny Kimura
<Global Training Facility> Stamina +50, consistency 0
Alexia Amauri has been making waves since her debut and has recently begun to train at The House of Khan putting her in the elite company of fellow featherweights Gaia Galanos and Rupika Khan. The quality of her corner surely will impact how she approaches her fight against Eliza Garou on Saturday Night. Though, I must point out that they were notably absent at the open workout which may suggests she hasn't fully integrated herself with her teammates just yet.
Alexia Amauri
<The House of Khan> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to throw combinations as opposed to trying to land one big strike. Trait 2 >>> This fighter will look to lock their opponent into a Muay Thai Clinch at a higher rate. Stamina +90, consistency +80 Mia Steven's journey into GCC has been a unique one. After declaring she wanted to fight professionally on Twitter, Mr. Khan had taken her up on her offer and gave her a chance against Lyla Nitro. Mia Steven's seems to have a lot to offer in the way up stand up game but her lack of ground game seems like it'll play right into Lyla Nitro's strengths. During the open workouts, Mia Steven's was in good shape if not a little green. She exclusively did pad work which looked great but her ground game has questions all over it and we learned nothing during her open workouts on how she plans to deal with the superior wrestling Lyla Nitro is known for.
Mia Stevens
<Kosov Kourt> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to keep the fight standing at striking range. Stamina +80, consistency +60 Leon's had a chance to revisit his hometown and the Second City Dojo for a chance to rest. He's had to break off a relationship with his girlfriend Lyla Nitro, but he's not allowing himself to be slowed down. I spoke to Leon Young who seemed to be in high spirits despite suffering a late comeback loss against his now training partner, Christian Ibanez. ''This ain't Las Vegas, Johnny! All the glitz and glamour of the big city won't be able to help you when we step in that octagon! Just be ready for a war zone.'' Leon Young
<Kosov Kourt> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to take the fight to the ground at a higher rate. Trait 2 >>> This fighter will look to fight off the counter during striking exchanges. Trait 3 >>> This fighter will look for ground and pound over submissions. Stamina +100, consistency +89 With Erik Johansen coming off a big victory against Shinjiro Nakama in his GCC debut, I expected him to follow up with more of the same but I must say I was slightly disappointed. He didn't look great and dare I say, he may have even taken a few short cuts when preparing for this fight. At least he took the time to show up at the open workouts for the fans but he's stepping in the cage with a killer and I would have liked to see him in better shape, we'll see how it effects him in the fight. Erik Johansen
<Global Training Facility> Stamina +70, consistency +40 If every fighter got themselves a mouthpiece as fine as Jen Rivera is the world would be a much better place. Is she related to Alejandro? I digress. The point is, Jay Aguero had an amazing training camp. He's ripped. He's fit. He looks like he's trained for 12 rounds instead of three and is downright scary coming off a tough loss. I was intercepted by Jen so I didn't get to speak with Jay directly but this is what she had to say about her client. ''As Jay Aguero's lifestyle coach, I suggested we take a step back and re-evaluate just how we approach our next fight. We believed our last match would be hotly contested. Well, in the end, no one is perfect. Not even The New Perfection. We weren't going to be able to be the lone wolf out there in a world of gyms training with the best of the best. So we signed on with T.W. Combat. They have been nothing but gracious and accepting. We love their no nonsense, leave your bullshit at the door approach. You show up to work or you don't show up at all. At GFN 6, this fight will not be going the distance. No, The New Perfection won't allow it. He's looking to end this thing early. The Viking Age ended when Norwegian King Harald III was defeated by Saxon King Harold Godwinson. At GFN 6, The New Perfection will be Harold Godwinson and "The Viking" will put an end to him.'' Jay Aguero
<TW Combat Sports> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to land one big KO punch as opposed to throwing combinations Trait 2 >>> This fighter will start the bout fast and aggressively and look for an early finish. Stamina +100, consistency +89 Sophie Anderson was sitting on the floor, catching her breath from an intense training session with sweat pouring off of her. When I approached Sophie, she looked up at me and rolled her eyes. Though she wasn't as nearly as aggressive as she usually is.
"See this sweat?" she said, pointing at herself. "Every drop of it makes me a better fighter. Sanchez has problems with strikers, and I am going to be the biggest one that she's faced so far. Now please go bother someone else - I have to go back to my training" Sophie Anderson
<HILITE FC> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will try to overwhelm their opponent with a high volume of strikes. Trait 2 >>> This fighter will look to knockout her opponent with a big KO punch. Trait 3 >>> This fighter will look to escape or stand up whenever grounded. Stamina +100, consistency +89 One of the most compelling stories of the night was Juanita Sanchez. After losing a hard fought decision against Gaia Galanos at GCC 5, her only two losses are against GCC featherweight champions. Despite her recent short comings, Sanchez was upbeat and in great spirits as she drilled her take downs and put on a grappling display for her Swedish fans.
A win over Sophie Anderson would put Juanita Sanchez back into championship discussions but I get the feeling that Juanita Sanchez herself is no rush to do so. She seems to enjoy herself the most when she isn't under pressure. The mood surrounding the rest of her team was unsettling as her training partner Tommy Ward had been preparing himself for the fight of his life but in the moment she seemed to escape all that as she laughed and took selfies with many of her young supporters.
Juanita Sanchez
<TW Combat Sports> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to take the fight to the ground at a higher rate. Trait 2 >>> This fighter will try to avoid the clinch at all costs. Trait 3 >>> This fighter will look to land ground and pound over submissions. Stamina +100, consistency +89 After a disastrous result at GCC 5 that saw Lone Wolf's Sanoh Ngam-Chit and former LW champion Awut Somaskul suffer from knockouts in their fights, Krystal Knight was determined to get her team back into tip top shape and into the win column. This explains why she asserted herself in Alejandro's training camp and pretty much ran the thing from the ground up. Krystal Knight insisted on giving us an interview while Alejandro Rivera did some light pad work.
''We need this one as a family. I can't help that I failed my team last time out. I was so pre-occupied with Misty, the media tour fall out all the red tape and drama that I really just feel like I couldn't be there for the wolves the way I needed to be and for that, I am deeply sorry for how everything played out in Thailand. I took it upon myself to run Alejandro Rivera's training camp from the ground up so you can blame me if it isn't he that steps up to fight Erik Malkasian for the heavyweight championship when it's all said and done.'' Alejandro Rivera
<Lone Wolf MMA>
Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to throw a high volume of low kicks
Trait 2 >>> This fighter will relentlessly press forward against his opponent at all times.
Trait 3 >>> This fighter has a higher chance to escape technical submissions.
Stamina +100, consistency +89
Tommy Ward is considered by many within TW Combat to be the unspoken leader of the gym so seeing him nervous was very unusual to me and notable. He did some light rolling on the mats while the media took several photos of the heavyweight prospect but the general feeling was that Tommy Ward was walking into Saturday Night with a lot of pressure on his shoulders as his camp looked to him to bring TW COMBAT their first Global Championship in the gyms storied history. Speaking with a few guys from the TW combat gym, here's what we can expect to see from Tommy Ward. Tommy Ward
<TW Combat Sports> Trait 1 >>> This fighter will look to lock in a flying submission at a higher rate. Trait 2 >>> This fighter will look to initiate a wrestling clinch at a higher rate. Trait 3 >>> This fighter will look to take the fight to the ground at all costs. Stamina +100, consistency +89 At GFN 6, there's a lot riding on the line for these fighters. For Sophie and Juanita, it's about re-establishing their positions in the featherweight divisions as both were at one point considered to be top title prospects. For Tommy Ward and Alejandro Rivera it's about proving who is the better heavyweight once and for all and earning a number one contendership against Erik Malkasian. On Saturday Night, the landscape of the heavyweight division will change and I'll be there to witness what is sure to be a historic moment in MMA history!