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Press Release – XFC 20: High Octane is scheduled for September 28th at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum as the XFC puts on its fifth show of the year and its fourth in the state of Tennessee. Lightweight favorite Eric Reynolds has already agreed to put his December title fight at risk by taking a fight on the September card, and will now deal with a late opponent swap. After sustaining an injury to his bicep, Danny Salinas has been forced out of the main event fight, and in his place will be the Italian Blackzillian Lorenzo Borgomeo.
Borgomeo has competed in the XFC once before, with success over Clifton Weston. Now, nearly four years after his last appearance with the promotion, Borgomeo is back to challenge the XFC #1 Lightweight contender Eric Reynolds. With his black belt level of skill in both Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, Borgomeo is going to be a difficult match up for Reynolds and will challenge him in all aspects.
Reynolds has certainly earned his December title fight after defeating American Top Team Muay Thai coach Luciano Dos Santos, and BJJ champion and black belt Jonatas Novaes in his last two outings. Now, Reynolds will need to combine the skills shown in the two victories to defeat Borgomeo. Reynolds adds kickboxing and traditional boxing into his striking game, and in combination with his long limbs, he will hold the reach advantage and should be able to establish his striking early on. Against Dos Santos, Reynolds was successful with his take-down attempts, but there was very little risk from Dos Santos working from his back. That will not be the case when fighting Borgomeo. Should Reynolds secure a take-down, he could be putting himself in more danger than he would by staying on his feet.
Borgomeo will have his hands full as well. He hasn’t earned a submission win in over 3 years, and lacks the wrestling skills needed to get Reynolds to the mat, where he could potentially work his jiu-jitsu. Because of this, Borgomeo may be forced to focus on his Muay Thai and trade strikes with the long armed Reynods. Borgomeo says he has been training hard to fill the holes in his game and believes he has spotted a couple of Reynolds weaknesses that he could use to his advantage. He will need to bring his best for three rounds with little chance he’ll be able to KO Reynolds who has only been knocked out once in his career, back in 2008.
Reynolds cannot overlook Borgomeo, but will undoubtedly be thinking about his possible Lightweight Title fight in December should he come out victorious. Borgomeo needs this win badly as well. After dropping his last fight in a decision, the Italian needs to get back in the win column and begin another streak.
XFC 20: High Octane is presented by ICRealTime Security Solutions and airs live on AXStv September 28 from the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. For more information on the event visit www.officialxfc.com. Follow the promotion daily on Facebook and Twitter ‘@OfficialXFC’.