Travis LizotteCage Titans 48 Breakdown: Peter Barrett vs. Ali Zebian
Travis Lizotte "Full Contact Writer"
Peter Barrett (11-5) vs. Ali Zebian (5-2)
Lightweight
Age: 34
Fighting out of: Plymouth, Massachusetts
Affiliation: Sityodtong/ Lauzon MMA
Record: 11-5 (7 Knockouts, 2 Submissions)
Last fight: Third Round Submission (Heel Hook) loss to Chase Hooper at UFC 256: Figueiredo v. Moreno 1. (12/12/20)
“The Skinny”: Let’s be honest here; “Slippery” Pete Barrett is essentially Cage Titans personified, Barrett will be entering the Cage Titans cage for the 19th time July 10th as he makes his triumphant return from an 0-2 UFC run that just didn’t go Pete’s way. Barrett is an entertainer, and there is no crowd that Barrett would rather perform for than the hometown Plymouth Memorial Hall faithful as they await the return of their favorite hooligan. Barrett’s personality and antics aren’t all that puts asses in seats, his personality overflows into the cage where he deploys high volume technical striking and sneaky submission skills, leading to stoppages in 9 of his 11 professional victories.
Although his UFC run didn’t quite get off the ground, Barrett will be happy to welcome Cage Titans back to Plymouth following the Covid shutdown, as he welcomes fellow New Englander Ali Zebian back to the Cage Titans cage for just the second time. “Slippery Pete” will be eager to get back in the win column for the first time in nearly two years at Cage Titans 48, as he hopes that a big win or two on the regional level will earn him another shot on the sports grandest stage, before the window fully closes on the 34 year old fan-favorite and 10 year veteran of New England MMA.
Age: 27
Fighting out of: Westfield, Massachusetts
Affiliation: Underground MMA
Record: 5-2 (3 Knockouts)
Last fight: Unanimous Decision victory over Piankhi Zimmerman at Bellator 251 (11/05/20).
“The Skinny”: This will be the second time Western Massachusetts’ “VIP” Ali Zebian gets the call to Eastern Massachusetts to fight for Cage Titans, the first; a somewhat stunning upset of South Shore Sportfighting’s Brandon Fleming at Cage Titans 47 by way of judges decision. Zebian would go on to test himself twice, away from the New England region, during the pandemic, splitting the results of two judge’s decisions. First, a loss to Slava Borshchev at LFA 92 before picking up a win against Piankhi Zimmerman at Bellator 251 last November. With the New England region opening back up Zebian jumped at this opportunity to throwdown with one of the region’s legends in Peter Barrett as Zebian looks to gain himself some National recognition, while spoiling the homecoming of one of Cage Titans biggest stars.
Zebian could really care less what kind of story comes attached to his opponent, when the cage door closes July 10th Ali will be worried about what he can control, as he looks to overwhelm his opponent with continuous forward pressure, testing the will of the promotion's poster boy. Zebian would love to spoil the hero’s return and silence the Cage Titans crowd by handing “Slippery Pete” his third consecutive loss, something that hasn’t happened to Barrett for the duration of his storied 10 year career.
Breakdown: This is a very interesting and very sneaky good matchup up thrown at us by Cage Titans head honcho Michael Polvere, “The Return of Peter Barrett” hometown hopeful and hard working veteran returns home from his shot at the big time to a hero’s welcome, picks up big win in gutsy performance against a tough young kid on the cusp, we’ve all seen it. But this one isn’t so cut and dry to me, Ali Zebian is a gamer, and with no true “home promotion” attached to his name, Zebian is used to going into someone else's house and taking what is his. Zebian will not be the kind of guy to back down from the challenge that Peter Barrett presents to him, Ali is a physically strong and seasoned competitor who will challenge the abilities of Barrett wherever the fight ends up.
Both of these guys are perfectly comfortable getting in a high voltage war with one another, and both just happen to be particularly difficult to finish. We could see some blood in this fight, we could see a lot of blood...we will likely also see the heart of both these competitors poured out of their bodies, before our very eyes on the Cage Titans canvas. The “homer” in me wants to say “Peter Barrett wins a striking war from the outside, not allowing Zebian to get the fight to the clinch,” but the analyst in me thinks Zebian has a legit shot of bringing the fight to Barrett and upsetting the UFC veteran’s homecoming. I’ve got this fight down as a coin flip and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cage Titans’ fans end up holding their collective breath for a judge's decision once this one comes to its conclusion.