REVANGE!

Revenge!

 

Revenge is a powerful word and is seldomly used in the context of mixed martial arts. Most of the time a fight is about sporting competition, the desire to proof oneself and ideally for a title. But this is different. “I’m not looking to wreak vengeance on Big Daddy”, Gerry Turek says. “I have asked for this fight to prove myself and finish the job Nandor started.”

 

It is hard to believe his words after he had to witness his best friend succumb to heavy punches .

 

Rewind to December of last year: Nandor “The Hun” Guelmino entered the fight against German-born Greek Andreas Kraniotakes as a slight favorite. Having been in tougher fights, among them against K-1 kingpin Semmy Schilt, the MMA Vienna heavyweight was tipped as the winner in this 220kg collision.

 

Things did look good early on for the 34-year-old striker as he dominated the standup, punished his opponent on the mat and even had him mounted. A moment of inattention was enough to lose the position and ultimately the fight. “Nandor made a tactical crucial mistake in that situation”, Turek analyses, “he should have just stood up and finished Kraniotakes on the feet instead.”

 

Nonetheless, Turek does not attach too much importance to the way the fight turned out: “Nandor hit him early with a good punch that blurred his vision, so we don’t really know how good he really is standing up. Still I think I am the quicker fighter and I will be more versatile, prepared for everything. The fight is strictly business and nothing personal.”

 

So what has Big Daddy been up to since WFC 9? Believe it or not, the “Spartan” has been working on his doctoral dissertation. A certified social pedagogue with a 1,1 degree (1,0 is the best grade possible – ed.), Kraniotakes is looking to become MMA’s version of Vitali Klitschko.

“I’m currently trying to get a scholarship for my thesis that deals with a comparative study about which status, importance and value martial arts have for different nations and societies like Japan, Brazil, USA and UK. For that, I am planning to travel the world to both work on my paper and hone my fighting skills at the same time”, the 28-year-old heavyweight explains.

 

Kraniotakes is excited about the opportunity to get back into the WFC ring: “The experience at the last event was great. The production was super, the big stage, I was treated very well and my good friend Simon Plestenjak (Slovenian star photographer – ed.) has made a lot of moments I had in December unforgettable!”

 

Although he respects his opponent, the heavy-hitting Greek sees himself as the favorite this time around: “We are even on paper, but despite the fact that Turek was able to see me fight and will have gotten a lot of information from his teammate, I think he respects me because I knocked out Nandor”, Kraniotakes told wfc.si. “And I don’t plan on going on holiday to Vienna anytime soon, so I don’t have to hold back against Turek either”, he adds with a laugh.

 

For the training camp against the Austrian, Kraniotakes has again enlisted the help of his good friends: Among them are judo black belt Gregor Herb, fellow WFC veteran Pascal Krauss and UFC fighter Peter Sobotta. Additionally he will also prepare with World Combat Sambo silver medal winner Janosch Stefan and work his boxing with M-1 veteran Nordin Asrih.

 

“When I came to Ljubljana the last time I was a stranger and I left somebody who was welcomed with a lot of love and respect. I want to give back some of that to the WFC fans by giving them another memorable fight”, Big Daddy promises. Turek, naturally, has other plans: “I am going to give it my all. I am not coming to Slovenia to lose!”

 

Do not miss one of the most exciting heavyweights in the game as Andreas “Big Daddy” Kraniotakes takes on his toughest test to date in Austrian assassin Gerald Turek at WFC “Night of Champions”! Tickets are on sale at eventim.si and all Petrol  gas services and start at a moderate 25 Euro.

 

 

by Tim Leidecker (tleidecker@gnp1.de)