GETSPIKED - Lee Whitehead

Alex Reid vs Tom Watson

2010-09-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend plays host to the fourth installment of the BAMMA show. There are some pretty good bouts in the offering, but top of the bill is the rescheduled encounter between Alex Reid and Tom “Kong” Watson.

Expectations are high for this bout and even though Watson is the reigning BAMMA champion, it’s not his pressure to bear, but that of mainstream media target Alex Reid.

So here we break down the particulars of that bout and the implications it has on a growing MMA awareness in the U.K.

What a lot of people fail to realize is that Reid is a tough kickboxer and has proven adept at submissions, the triangle in particular, but he isn’t a natural grappler. His strengths lie in his durability and striking, but he has shown in the past that it takes a round of action and a few hard shots to the head to get him fired up. His key weakness lies in the fact that he hasn’t fought in an outright MMA bout for three whole years, so ring rust will surely be a factor.

When describing Watson, the most comprehensive term to apply is that of a complete Mixed Martial Artist. Sure, there are areas that still need honing, such as his wrestling, but on the whole he has proven to be dangerous at any level. His strengths lie in the diversity of his arsenal, his conditioning, and the frequency with which he has been fighting. His major weakness is his still-developing wrestling game, as witnessed in his recent loss to Jessie Taylor.

So what are the factors that are likely to influence how the fight runs?

The first concern for Reid is that he will have to comprehensively beat Watson throughout five rounds if it goes the distance. The old adage is true in that “To be a Champion, you have to beat the Champion” and in no certain terms, Reid won’t be expecting any clemency from the judges. He will have to impresses if the scorecards are read.

The second factor is that dreaded scenario for all fighters coming off a lengthy break: ring rust.

Reid may well be training with all the top guys he can get at London Shootfighters, ZT Fight Skool, and his kickboxing camp, but there is no substitute for in-ring frequency. You take risks in sparring that you wouldn’t in the cage, unless you are either supremely confident, or Jon Jones.

Reid’s last actual MMA fight, although not part of his Pro-record, was part of his audition for “The Ultimate Fighter Season 9” TV show, where he dropped a decision to eventual housemate Dean Amasinger, and didn’t look himself doing so, especially considering a harsh cut to welterweight.

Throughout all the time Reid has been inactive, Watson has gone 7-1, picking up two MMA titles, a kickboxing title, and a highlight reel knockout. This isn’t cheerleading; this is merely an assessment of the task Reid now faces.

Make no mistake, Reid wants this victory, and he wants it bad. There is a lot of negativity toward his return to competition on account of people’s judgments on his personal life, but his personal life is exactly that, personal. Given the steep path to the title he now faces, expect Reid to come into this fight in his best shape yet and fully prepared for a war.

A war is exactly what he will get, as Watson also has a point to prove.

This fight will ultimately come down to who is more dangerous throughout different levels of the game and how each fighter imposes his strategy. Watson possesses the more versatile toolbox and will likely pull out a TKO or submission victory late in the fight, where Reid has lacked recent experience and may succumb to conditioning.

Win or lose, many suspect that this will be Reid’s last MMA fight for the foreseeable future. Because of that, it makes him all the more dangerous.

Watson won’t be taking him lightly and fans shouldn’t either.

Alex Reid may be in the public eye in the U.K., but to non-MMA fans a tough, clean fight, win or lose, has the potential to turn many more eyeballs to the sport that weren’t there previously, and in that scenario it’s a win-win all round.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=12657&zoneid=13

Ultimate Challenge Results & PBP

2010-09-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Troxy, London plays host to the latest installment of Ultimate Challenge featuring a series of quick finishes and a highlight reel KO for defending Middleweight champion Jack Mason.

A repetition of the encounter between Amokrane Sabet and Ben Smith ended in similar fashion to the first, with Smith picking up a submission victory - this time a rear naked choke, but he ate all manner of hard knees to the chin in the encounter and really proved that he had the heart to carry on in the face of some heavy blows. Sabet has made improvements to his game since their last encounter but grappling still appeared to be his Achilles heel.

The highly anticipated encounter between Robbie Olivier and Michael Pastou delivered for two out of three rounds as each fighter imposed their will, Pastou in the first by using his size and strength advantage to score a takedown and control position on the ground - it was a domineering display and it sent a clear message to his opponent that he was serious on the mat. Changing tactics for the second round, Olivier set about deflecting any takedown attempts with slick underhook work and countering when they disengaged, forcing Pastou into a striking exchange that he appeared to be on the wrong end of as the leather on Olivier's gloves made contact with his face with increasing regularity.

With the third round rolling into view, an altercation between supporters disrupted the proceedings and the fight never resumed, lactic acid build-up hitting both fighters while things were being resolved and enough time passing to have changed the overall direction of the bout. Unfortunate, and a rematch between the two would have been nice, but it appears that Olivier will be returning to featherweight and Pastou, having endured a hard cut coming into this bout, will return once again to the welterweight division.

Henrique Santana looked to have added some stinging leg kicks to his arsenal as he and John Maguire exchanged shins during the opening part of the first round, it wasn't long till Santana caught a leg and took him down, but Maguire's fluid hipwork kept him out of danger, until a scramble was thwarted by Santana grabbing a handful of shorts and forcing the referee to step in and warn the Brazilian.

Upon restarting, Maguire appeared to start ramping up his attack and got the better of the exchanges, the first round rang out to the sound of shin on shin action. Sensing the need to change strategies, Santana went about looking for the takedown but failed on both occasions as Maguire popped his hips back out of danger and fired in a counter knee strike on the break, the second of which opened up a tear between the right eyebrow and the top of the nose forcing a close to the encounter. John Maguire picks up the vacant Ultimate Challenge Welterweight Title with the victory.

Jack Mason records a brutal highlight reel KO over Lola Bamgbala via on the button right hand. Things were looking decidedly dodgy for him up until that point though, as Lola managed to pull him around the cage and pull off a huge takedown slam before threatening with an Anaconda choke, ever wily, Mason kept his cool and managed to escape off the mat. A couple of quick exchanges between the two and then Mason stepped in with the punch that starched Lola and sent him face down, out cold into the canvas. Jack Mason retains his Ultimate Challenge Middleweight title.

Nick Chapman ate a big hook from Andrius Juska that made him think twice about engaging in a standup battle, but he adapted quickly landing a huge takedown into side control before posturing up for strikes - Juska took a few hard blows and lowered his legs to start shrimping, allowing Chapman over the top and onto the opposite side; perfect for the arm triangle submission.

Jason Barrett made much more of a hash of his destruction of Mark Carling than he needed to in the first round as the inexperienced fighter came at him swinging wildly, it didn't take long after the opening chaos settled for Barrett to start picking his shots a bit more effectively before landing a flush shot for the knockout.

Two low point kicks and Bola Omoyele had sent Michael Brown plummeting down to the canvas, charging in and unleashing a brutal assault on Brown forcing the latter to bleed profusely from the nose; it wasn't long after the blood started to flow and Omoyele just continued to gather pace and power, prompting the referee to intervene quickly. Brown wasn't happy about the stoppage but when he looks back at the footage he will feel differently.

A slow encounter between Karl Lawrence and Steven Dossett throughout as the former used a reach advantage and good footwork to stay out of effective range, picking his shots and landing occasional stinging low point kicks but not enough to keep Dossett in a static area to setup a continual assault upon. It has to be noted that Dossett fought little over a week ago and appeared to be a little gun shy in the exchanges. Fifteen minutes of exchanges and the bout closed almost resembling a sparring session in the gym, still all judges agreed and Karl Lawrence walked away the victor.

Lee Doski started out looking rusty for the first few minutes of the encounter with Kenny Moyston, both fighters looking content to bang each other in the legs and ribs with knees, it wasn't until they broke that Moyston started to find his range and land some effective strikes. Once they hit the mat it was all Doski though, working his legs up the back, into rubberguard and pivoting for the armbar, he failed to secure the hold but a second attempt edged the round in his favour.

In a reversal of roles during the opening of the second, Doski looked sharper and landed a beautifully hard jab before dropping for the takedown; He set himself up to strike by securing the knee on belly positing before pounding away - three warnings from the ref to Moyston and it was all over.

A gruelling heavyweight wrestling match between Kiril Handzhiyski and Adie Preda played out throughout the majority of bout with both fighters exchanging positions on the mat after aa brief striking interlude. Handzhiyski looked to be the more effective of the two in trying to setup his transitions and in doing so managed to open up an opportunity to slide in a flat forearm rear naked choke seconds away from the end of the round.

Eschewing the standup entirely, joel Reid shot in for the takedown against Michael Sidwell shortly after the bell, his positioning was good but he found himself in danger of the more fluid hipwork of his opponent who was continually looking for the armbar submission. Reid managed to setup a sweep on Sidwell before scrambling round to sink his forearm under the chin, still assuming he was safe Sidwell went about trying to position himself better in mount and succumbed to the guillotine.

Warren de Reuck started his bout in a strange way, waving his arms all over the place and stomping about the cage, throwing Richard Walker off his stride, but once they got going he started to turn up the heat, a brief bit of clinch work and a quick scramble on the mat gave way to a striking exchange again. This time De Reuck landed a hard right cross to drop Walker before they engaged again on the feet, clearly suffering, Walker ate a couple of big hooks before crumbling again, giving De Reuck all the invitation to start his ground and pound assault, including a series of hard knees the the body. 3:21 into the stanza and Leon Roberts had seen enough, diving between the combatants to halt the punishment.

Colin Wilby came out aggressively at the start of the bout with a couple of low kicks, but opponent Ryan Campbell wasted little time in closing distance and taking control on the mat. It became clear quite quickly that Wilby didn't have the same confidence on the ground as his movements indicated an anti-grappling focus, still, Campbell softened him up with hammerfists and punches before forcing him to roll - allowing him to sink the hooks in and close out the rear naked choke victory.

Super Heavyweight Title Fight
Ben Smith def Amokrane Sabet via RNC 3:13 R1

UCMMA Lightweight Title Fight
Robbie Olivier vs. Michael Pastou (fight called off)

John Maguire def Henrique Santana via TKO (Cut) 1:25 R2
Jack Mason def Lola Bamgbala via KO 2:37 R1
Nick Chapman def Andrius Juska v Arm Triangle 1:14 R1
Jason Barrett def Mark Carling via KO 2:18 R1
Bola Omoyele def Michael Brown via TKO (GNP) 1:21 R1
Karl Lawrence def Steve Dossett via Unanimous Decision 5:00 R3
Lee Doski def Kenny Moyston via TKO (GNP) 1:23 R2
Kiril Handzhiyski def Adie Preda via RNC 4:47 R1
Joel Reid def MIchael Sidwell via Guillotine 2:17 R1
Warren de Reuck def Richard Walker via TKO (GNP) 3:21 R1
Colin Wilby def Ryan Campbell via RNC 2:20 R1

Ultimate Challenge Preview

2010-09-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend’s Ultimate Challenge: Showdown card has some interesting fights, but perhaps none as interesting as the return of long-time Cage Rage featherweight Robbie Olivier after a unanimous decision loss to Pat Curran earlier in the year.

The fight on his horizon is against one-time middleweight Michael Pastou, who has packed on a huge amount of muscle and made the cut to lightweight. Whereas Olivier is a smaller fighter in this category, Pastou is a monster and will have a huge size advantage.

The thing about Olivier is that he is a spoiler, no matter what your game plan, he always manages to find a way to take you off course and into a wrestling match. It is almost unavoidable. Pastou has proven comfortable on the canvas, but his biggest key to victory is landing his heavy hands standing and sprawl and brawl his way through the bout, using his heavier bulk to weigh on the natural featherweight.

To call Olivier a grinder is unfair. To call him a spoiler is closer to the mark. I think that he will be able to pick up the decision on account of his work rate and ability to control position, but it will be a tough, gruelling fight for both.

Looking to some of the other bouts on the card, fellow Tsunami fighter John Maguire will take on submission specialist Henrique Santana with the Ultimate Challenge welterweight strap on the line. Maguire, of late, has shown much more confidence in his stand-up and a greater willingness to engage on the feet, an area where Santana hasn’t shown as much of a desire in the past. His BJJ chops, however, still make him a very dangerous opponent.

I expect that the early part of this fight will be on the mat, where Santana looks for submissions from the bottom, because that is surely where Maguire will put him. As the fight progresses and Santana’s gas tank depletes, I expect that Maguire will look to bring his striking more into the game and try to finish the fight via TKO.

Turning to the encounter between Lola Bamgbala and Jack Mason, this fight is probably the closest match of the night with the former having been working diligently on his grappling over the last couple of years. He will need all the versatility he can muster on account of Mason’s solid base. Both can strike, but my feeling is that this bout will also hit the mat early on and become a war of attrition, with Mason likely getting the nod on account of his edge in wrestling.

Finally, keep an eye out on Djo Lema as he looks to make an impression on Elijah Grinell; Warren De Reuck who comes out of London Shootfighters and is poised to make a huge, violent splash on the scene; and Bola Omoyele who showed bags of promise in his first outing with the promotion.

Super Heavyweight Title Fight
-Kiane Sabet vs. Ben Smith

UCMMA Lightweight Title Fight
-Robbie Olivier vs. Michael Pastou

Vacant UCMMA Welterweight Title Fight
-Henrique Santana vs. John Maguire

-Lola Bamgbala vs. Jack Mason
-Elijah Grinell vs. Djo Lema
-Andrius Juska vs. Nick Chapman
-Kiril Handzhiyski vs. Marcin Bartkiewicz
-Mark Carling vs. Jason Barrett
-Michael Brown vs. Bola Omoyele
-Kenny Moyston vs. Lee Doski
-Steve Dossett vs. Karl Lawrence
-Joel Reid vs. Michael Sidwell
-Warren De Reuck vs. Tory Groman
-Colin Wilby vs. Ryan Campbell

Par of the course for UK fighters in the UFC

2010-09-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

Funny how we like to put British fighters on a pedestal, yet moan about it when the reveal themselves to have off-nights every once in a while.

Case in point being this past Wednesday night at Ultimate Fight Night: Marquardt vs Palhares...

Ross Pearson has been riding high since going into The Ultimate Fighter show, he won all the bouts in front of him to pick up the win and step into the main UFC roster. At this point the pressure must have hit him like a ton of bricks, all of a sudden he had to start winning his fights - nothing strange there as he was doing that before, but the difference now is the expectation to do so was on a much higher scale, on TV, across the globe, with a lot of people's hopes resting on your shoulders.

He came through his first test against wily veteran Aaron Riley with relative ease - or so he made it appear, picking up a TKO victory late in the second round.

His next test came in the shape of Denis Siver, a very tough German striker of similar build to him, similar reach, similar penchant for working the strikes, in fight of the night honours at UFN 21, Pearson walked away with the unanimous decision win.

On Wednesday night he faced, in Cole Miller, an opponent that had a much greater reach advantage and was much taller. Granted, Pearson trains with another six-footer in Nick Osipczak, but training and fighting have different elements of risk so comparisons can only go so far.

What happened is that Pearson appeared to initially struggle to overcome the distance between the two, but when he did land, the shots were a lot more precise than his opponent, but it was Miller who was being much more aggressive in the bout, really pushing forward and getting in his face.

Enter the second round and Miller started to apply his range better, countering the Brit every time he worked his kicks, it wasn't long before Miller started to apply pressure and landed a couple of sharp right hands that had Pearson backing up against the cage, smelling blood, Miller fired in a Hook/Cross combination and dropped Pearson to the canvas.

Without missing a beat, he literally jumped onto his fallen prey's back and sunk in a tight rear naked choke for the tap. Over and out.

So, dust settling - what does this mean for the winner of Season 9's TUF?

For one thing, it removes the pressure of a first loss, everybody loses in MMA at some point, if you don't lose a fight, you're not fighting the tough guys. Pearson came into the bout in good shape, looked sharp and fought hard, but sometimes the other guy just has your number.

Pearson will now come to terms with the loss, although I am sure he will be beating himself up about it as he is a consummate professional, but when that disappointment dulls, he will be back in the gym training harder than ever.

Of late the consensus on some forums is that the British guys are stumbling on the international scene, with recent losses for Andre Winner, Nick Osipczak and Dan Hardy in the UFC I can see why they might think that, but nothing has changed, these guys haven't lost their mojo - they have just ran into people who on that day, in that fight, had their number for whatever reason, and in Dan Hardy's case, it happened to be one of the best P4P fighters the UFC has ever had on its roster.

At UFC 120 in London and UFC 122 in Germany we will see what changes this triumverate have implemented having learned from their experiences. As for Pearson, it is too early for the announcement of his next fight, but if his progress so far is anything to judge him by, he will be a different, sharper beast next time out.

Paul Daley signs 6 fight deal with Strikeforce

2010-09-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

As first reported by MMAWeekly.com back in August, Paul Daley's signing of a six-fight contract with the Strikeforce promotion has been officially announced.

The news comes hot on the heels of a decision victory win over fellow welterweight Jorge Masvidal, who also inked a six-fight deal with the promotion a couple of days ago.

For Daley the announcement will serve to put him back into a strong mix of welterweight fighters within the promotion, although he has already mentioned at various points his desire to throw down with Nick Diaz.

While the news has been announced globally through Strikeforce, MMAWeekly.com managed to confirm with various sources close to the situation that a debut will likely occur towards the end of the year,. It will be against a high caliber adversary with an exciting style, but with no confirmed bout in the offering at the moment.

Speaking independently to sources in Brazil, it is rumored that recent 170-pound debutant Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos currently leads the way as a possible opponent.

For Daley's part, the deal marks a significant step forward in opposition, but still keeps doors open to remain active, even if the promotion doesn't have anything lined up for him. Daley has long been a Ronin fighter and likes to remain active on the circuit. This new deal allows that if opportunities in Japan present themselves, and Strikeforce is willing, we may see some further exchange bouts between the American and Japanese promotions.

Ultimate Challenge - Live PBP

2010-08-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Troxy, London plays host to the latest installment of Ultimate Challenge, headlined by an encounter that will have a big impact on the UK Light Heavyweight rankings: the clash between undefeated Jimi Manuwa and one-time IFL prospect Valentino Petrescu.

Hats off to both Valentino Petrescu and Jimi Manuwa as both came to fight, laying it all on the line and backing their intentions up with strikes. One of the two was going to remain undefeated, but neither were playing safe.

Petrescu was very aggressive in his opening salvo, firing in the kicks and a right hook appeared to find its mark while Manuwa looked to be getting a feel for the timing of his opponent. The Italian fighter comes from a K1 background, but it was Manuwa who proved to be more effective in the plumb, landing thunderous knees that started to shaving some of the pace off the encounter.

Having found his groove, Manuwa started to land his trademark left hook and although able to take some big shots, the toll was starting to show on his opponent. Another short left hook rumbled Petrescu, who backed up against the cage in order to get out of range but the Briton followed him in and landed a barrage of punches that ended with a huge left hook, right cross/uppercut combination that finished the fight.

Jamaine Facey had to work very hard to pick up the victory over Edgelson Lua - who proved to be a very slippery grappler that almost forced a tap at the end of the first round with a tight rear naked choke. Facey has always thrived on distance in order to land his rangy strikes, but Lua was playing safe and grinding the fight in his direction.

The second round followed in similar fashion, with Facey looking to land his kicks, including a nice crescent, but Lua took it to the canvas once again, this time trying to work an Americana from side control. A beautiful reversal from Facey scuppered those plans and he transitioned to mount, letting loose with pointed strikes to stop the bout three seconds from the end of the round.

Francis Heagney proved to be too much for Brad Wheeler as the former controlled the pace throughout, having grounded the fight shortly after the bell, hammering away with strikes at every opportunity, all Wheeler's hopes were pinned on trying to catch a submission between transitions, but every time he tried, Heagney just held his nerve and kept driving home his fists. This eventually proved too much for the young fighter and the fight was stopped due to ground and pound. Wheeler appeared to be a mess after, but thankfully walked from the cage under his own steam.

A fantastic blazing exchange took place between John Kelly and Tom Dixon as both displayed a complete MMA game, trading strikes hard and fast and mixing it with good ground work in the first. Kelly looked to have more power in his offense, quickly dropping his opponent in the opening seconds, but Dixon recovered quickly to get back into the fight, landing a spinning back-fist and a big left hook that broke Kelly's nose.

A brief interruption between the two occurred when a Kelly low point kick went astray, forcing a break in the action, apology accepted, they kept it clean and resumed where they left off. Kelly pressed the action and at 1:14 into the round, a big left hook found its mark and Dixon was out. Leon Roberts stepping in very quickly to prevent any further damage - a really good intervention.

(Note: Tom Dixon had already won earlier in the fight fight of the night, taking zero damage so when original opponent Roy Allison pulled out of the bout, Dixon agreed to step into the firing line again!)

Jake Bostwick records a knockout win over Earl Brown in the early part of the second round that will be used on the Ultimate Challenge highlight reel for a while to come yet. The first round saw both fighters content to trade blows, with Bostwick looking to land his heavy hands with winging hooks; Brown was obviously aware of his adversaries power and tried to keep his range; even so, Bostick managed to close and land a big slam midway through the first before taking up his battering offense, but was unable to finish before the round rang out.

Coming into the second stanza, Bostwick was in headhunter mode and he found his mark - landing a huge right hook on his opponent's chin to send him crashing to the canvas unconscious.

A brutal display by Mark Potter as he systematically picked apart Ian Hawkins with some brutal punches, literally not caring about head movement or anything - just firing heavy handed crosses and hooks to back Hawkins into the cage. He could have stopped having landed two hard right hooks and a left to the liver that sent his opponent down but instead, he fired a soccer kick to the head that was uncalled for and thus, he was disqualified.

Giorgio Andrews wins his encounter with Spencer Morris in bizarre fashion having picked up a one-armed rear naked choke that his opponent tapped to immediately. Andrews was dominating the action with his ground and pound leading up to the submission, and was never really in danger except for a very brief run at a Kimura by Morris in the opening round, it is bizarre that his opponent capitulated in such a way without resistance but I am sure Andrews will be pleased to pick up victory in his natural weight class.

Dan Movahedi looked to be doing everything right in the opening minutes of the bout by closing the distance and driving his opponent up against the cage, working upper body control before landing a trip to the mat. He kept the pressure on with strikes while Ben Craggy looked to wait out the worst of his attack, the mistake Movahedi made was to allow Craggy up high enough to execute a trip into side control; capitalizing quickly, he setup a crucifix and hammered home until the referee stepped in.

Michael Brown came at Joe Holder with a high flying knee that missed it's target by mere inches - highlight reel stuff - from there he looked to be in control of the bout, landing some good leg kicks while Holder was on his back. It wasn't until both were back on their feet that Holder drove forward to land a single leg into side control.

Brown didn't look quite as comfortable in this position and when Holder transitioned to mount he started to look for a way out, leaving his head open to a barrage of hard punches that got through his defense. To his credit, he didn't appear to be in danger of going out, but he wasn't defending intelligently enough to let the assault carry on.

Dean Bray came through a very exhausting first round with Simon Gould where he applied a very workman like approach to ground and pound from within his opponent's guard. Come the second, both fighters appeared to be waning a little, but Bray was able to pressure Gould up against the cage with a series of punches - an uppercut landing particularly flush. Sensing that Gould was ripe for the picking, Bray setup a rolling guillotine, using his height advantage to generate the necessary pressure for a tap.

Steve O'Keefe shot immediately for the takedown on Alex Harvey, completely eschewing the stand-up battle as expected. He maintained top position as his opponent scrambled across the mat before landing mount - from there he opened up a huge flurry of punches that Harvey failed to block, prompting the referee to intervene.

Tom Dixon defeats Dan Shortman in a very quick bout to open the evening. Shortman came out for a shoot early that was deflected by his opponent, they scrambled quickly before Dixon took mount after a brief spell in side control. Shortman made his way out and reversed position but got caught in a triangle with few options but to tap.

Full Results:
-------------

Jimi Manuwa def Valentino Petrescu via KO 3:08 R1
Jamaine Facey def Edgelson Lua via GNP 4:57 R2
Francis Heagney def Brad Wheeler via GNP 4:48 R1
John Kelly def Tom Dixon via KO 1:14 R2
Jake Bostwick def Earl Brown via KO 1:27 R2
Ian Hawkins def Mark Potter via Disqualification 1:12 R1 (illegal Soccer kick to downed opponent)
Giorgio Andrews def Spencer Morris via RNC 3:07 R1
Ben Craggy def Dan Movahedi via GNP 3:16 R1
Joe Holder def Michael Brown via GNP 2:47 R1
Dean Bray def Simon Gould via Guillotine 1:36 R2
Steve O'Keefe def Alex Harvey via GNP 1:48 R1
Tom Dixon def Dan Shortman via Triangle 1:20 R1

UK1 Rules:
----------
Louis King def Colin Wilby via TKO 1:21 R1

Paul Kelly wants a war, not words...

2010-07-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

Paul Kelly is in San Diego for UFC on Versus 2, acclimatizing to the Californian weather, dumping jetlag to the wayside before his fight against an opinionated Jacob Volkmann – a fighter who, for no apparent reason, has opted to try and goad the Liverpudlian with comments to the press about his apparent “lack of power.”

Kelly isn’t biting. He’s too experienced for any of that nonsense, preferring instead to be the strong silent type.

“I think (Volkmann) is just trying to drum up some interest in the fight,” he exclaimed nonchalantly. “Maybe he is trying to bring out a new persona. He’s a legit fighter. I guess now he is coming out of his shell, but I don’t see this as being any different than what all fighters are doing now. This isn’t the WWE you know; I don’t have to be fake about anything”

True to form, Kelly maintains that he just wants to go out and fight. This is his job, his way of earning a living so that he can provide for his family. It’s the best way he knows of earning a living. He just wants to go out there, have tough fights, be exciting, and know that he did everything he could to provide for the ones he loves.

“For all the talk, I just hope that it doesn’t become a boring fight. Nothing could be worse for me than having someone try and lay on top of me for 15 minutes doing nothing. I am going to do everything I can to make it exciting for the fans.”

Smack talk, hyperbole and all the propaganda all wash over Kelly. He doesn’t understand why people insist on letting their mouths write cheques their bodies can’t cash.

“This isn’t a swipe at Volkmann, it’s a view in general. You don’t see tennis players, golfers, or any of those sportsmen calling each other out. Maybe because of the talk people still don’t see us as legit sportsmen,” explains Kelly before adding that his views won’t diminish his approach in the Octagon.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am nobody’s friend till after the fight. I just have bad intentions in there, no quarter, that’s just the way I am. There have been times when I have shown too much respect and look what it got me, (Dennis) Siver and (Marcus) Davis being examples, twice bitten, no more…”

Kelly’s frame of mind even carries over to the guys he trains with at Team Kaobon.

“They laugh at me because I don’t touch gloves when we spar. I just get into that mindset. They are all good friends, but we’re not there to be friends, we’re there as weapons to be sharpened.”

Getting to San Diego has been a fight in itself with Kelly facing a few personal issues back at home, visa troubles and a multitude of other things. Now that they are all behind him, he is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life.

The move to Kaobon from the Wolfslair has been, in Kelly’s opinion, the most positive of his career. He intends to show that the dragon inside him is finally finding a way out, symbolic as ever, this representation now shows on his skin too. Gone is his old Wolfslair back tattoo, replaced with the Japanese representation of power, wisdom, and freedom.

“I would never say anything bad about Mario and the guys there, but I am representing Kaobon now and I needed to make the whole change. I feel I am embraced here. I am so much more technical, analytical, and relaxed than I used to be. Before I was 100 percent full-on, now I am more of a thinking man’s fighter and I think it will show in this fight,” he explained.

When all is said and done, and when the main event fight hits the canvas, he wants people back home to look at patches of blood on the canvas and ask themselves if it was Kelly who put them there. Win or lose, he plans on bringing his best when the cage door slams.

X in the City

2010-07-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

Momentum is gathering towards X in the City, the UK's leading Extreme Sports event that takes place at the Excel Centre in London from the 22-24th of October 2010.

I know that this event is going to be the place to be in October, with 8 zones of Urban Action Sports covering the elements of Land, Water and Snow. The zones include Ride and Roll, Freestyle, Art of Combat, Water, Parkour, Roller Derby, Snow and Cage Cricket.

What also makes this event of particular interest to me, besides all the cool sport on offer, is that "Blunt Force Trauma" will officially be launching at the event, the tie-up with Spiked is something I am proud and grateful for, here's to a cracking event!

CWFC - Fight to Fight PBP

2010-05-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Live from the NEC...

Greg Loughran and Kenneth Rosfort took a while during the opening round to feel each other out and assess each others timing - Loughran was the first to crack the code and seized the centre of the cage, forcing his Norwegian adversary to work hard on his movement around the outside.

Loughran started to have success throwing a double jab/cross combination that landed frequently through the defence of his opponent but towards the end of the second round, Rosfort had found his own opening, dropping the Ulsterman with a big overhand right before the round closed.

In the second stanza, things followed the same path, with Loughran working the same plan, but trying to throw a hook on the end, Rosfort invariably countered with the overhand and managed to put Loughran down again in the third.

During the fourth round, both were landing frequently, but it was Loughran who ended up bowing out of the bout with a huge split in his lip that will require delicate surgery to fix. Rosfort becomes the new Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion.

Excellent bout between Peter Irving and Nordin Ashri as the latter made the 10th Legion champion work very hard to retain his title. The first round saw Ashri land some good shots standing as he countered Irving's kicks, on the mat Irving appeared to have the edge and wasted nothing with his punishing attacks, he threw elbows and punches intermittently throughout the bout but invariable landing - including a sharp elbow in the second that opened a cut on the top of Ashri's head.

Irving looked to emulate the opening rounds by grounding the fight and working hard to secure mount, Ashri threatened briefly with a Kimura but ended up eating a few more hard punches for his efforts. Paying props to his adversaries toughness after the bout, Irving was all class in victory.

A frantic battle erupted between Daniel Thomas and Ali McClean as both looked to trade early, both tagging each other in the exchanges, but it wasn't until they hit the mat that the experience of the former played a part, staying calm under pressure and looking for a submission. McClean defended himself well, but left his head in when attempting to get back to the feet, allowing Thomas to drive him down into a mounted guillotine that stopped the bout.

A left hook from Louis Chapman separated Jay Gilbey from consciousness in the opening seconds of the bout as he came crashing down to the canvas. Gilbey never knew what hit him!

Mick Sinclair came under fire early as opponent Josh Dennis let loose with a very impressive show of hands, tagging the lightweight early and frequently. It wasn't long before Sinclair had enough and scooped Dennis up before hauling him over to the other side of the cage and dumping him on the mat; with a clear edge in grappling experience, Sinclair dominated position and swarmed the young fighter who just covered up, forcing referee Marc Goddard to halt the bout.

Sarah Moras overcame a tough striking offence from Helena Martin and muscled her way to a win via ground and pound in the second round, dominating the clinch with solid upper body control before grounding the fight. Sheer brutality putting pay to her opponent under a barrage of strikes from mount.

James Bateman and Ronan McKay engaged in a grueling fifteen minutes of action as both scored a round apiece before heading into the third. Ultimately, Bateman's suffocating control of the top position earned him a nod from the judges.

Jimmy Wallhead wasted no time in his Middleweight outing, dragging Shaun Lomas straight down to the ground and into his guard. Working to pass first to side control, where he applied some stiff hammerfists, before transitioning to mount. Lomas didn't want to be a static target and rolled, allowing Wallhead to sink in the hooks and clamp on a tight rear naked choke.

Tom Breese and Ramon Silva looked pretty many early on with their exchanges, but it was Breese who managed to land a crisp right hand to drop his opponent, before capitalising fast and trying to setup an arm triangle, sensing danger, Silva rolled but Breese followed and sunk the hooks in along with a rear naked choke at the 2:13 mark.

Pro
- Pascal Krauss def John Quinn via RNC 4:47 R2 (New CWFC Welterweight Champ)
- Kenneth Rosfort def Greg Loughran via Doctor Stoppage (Cut Lip) 3:58 R4 (New CWFC Lightweight Champ)
- Mick Sinclair def Josh Dennis via GNP 1:44 R1
- Pete Irving def Nordin Asrih via Unanimous Decision 5:00 R3
- Daniel Thomas def Ali McClean via Guillotine 3:32 R1
- Jim Wallhead def Shaun Lomas via RNC 2:34 R1
- Louis Chapman def Jay Gilbey via KO 0:26 R1
- Sarah Moras def Helena Martin via GNP 3:40 R2
- James Bateman def Ronan McKay via Unanimous Decision 5:00 R3

Semi Pro
- Tom Breese def Ramon Silva via RNC 2:13 R1

BAMMA 3 - Full Results & PBP

2010-05-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

BIRMINGHAM, England – BAMMA 3 played out in the LG Arena to about half the people it should have, which is a shame because the card delivered at every turn, with some fantastic fights and some really good stoppages. That said, the headline bout between Tom Watson and American import Matt Horwich will be debated for a while to come as, once again, the judges appeared to have watched a different fight.

Horwich has a strange sense of timing on his feet and it clearly had an impact on how Watson was planning to strike, as he appeared to be struggling to find the distance required to let his jab and kicks go during the first two rounds of the bout. This gave Horwich the chance to chase him down, throwing his hands and pushing Watson up against the cage. His wrestling background paying dividends in the clinch by controlling his opponent’s upper body before they hit the mat and he latched on a tight rear naked choke, which I still can’t believe Watson managed to escape.

The third round is where Watson started to come alive, tagging Horwich with increasing frequency and starting to find his rhythm. As the fourth rolled into view, Horwich changed tactics and started to control the bout on the ground, even threatening to pull off Eddie Bravo’s twister.

Crunch time for Watson in the final round, and it looked as though he would need to stop the bout to record a victory, but his opponent kept slowing the pace. To his credit, Watson kept trying to strike and flirted with a triangle, but the bell rang out before he managed to let anything heavy go.

Both fighters looked cagey during the announcements at the end of the bout, unsure of how things would sway, but it was Watson who got the nod and picked up the BAMMA middleweight title.

Ryan White came into his bout looking to throw hands, and post fight, Seth Petruzelli admitted to having the same plan, but things changed when he hit the canvas courtesy of a counter-punch from the ZT fighter. Sensing his opportunity, White rushed in to start his ground and pound offensive, but slick hip-work from his opponent brought about the fight winning armbar.

Daniel Weichel succumbed to a vicious Rob Sinclair at 4:03 of the opening round by way of ground and pound. Surprisingly, Weichel looked to stand early on, but went for a shoot after taking a blow from Sinclair. Defending well, Sinclair looked to keep it in the clinch but the eventually hit the mat when Weichel took a knee to the groin that went un-noticed by the referee.

Battling on regardless, Weichel tried to recover, but by this point Sinclair was swarming all over him with the strikes, landing a series of big right hooks to daze his opponent before opening up with a barrage, forcing the referee to intervene.

War Machine proved that despite all the hype and nonsense that he has the tools in MMA by taking opponent Zack Light down to the mat and scrambling to take his back a little over a minute into the first, choking him unconscious.

Mark Adams came into his encounter with Alan Omer at short notice and managed to dethrone the champion with a hard-fought victory via unanimous decision. Both fighters impressed with the striking and the pace was frantic throughout all five rounds, but the key to victory was in Adams' ability to control his opponent on the ground, landing some short elbows from within guard.

With a record of 5-0 coming into the bout, all pressure was on him to perform and he did so in impressive fashion, controlling an opponent with much more experience and shutting down his prime offence on the ground. Very impressive outing for the young fighter.

Interesting first round between John Maguire and Simeon Thoresen as both fighters, despite being known for their prowess on the mat, decided to stand and trade. The Briton got the best of the early exchanges, but the tide started to turn towards the end of the round as Thoresen found his range.

The second round saw action on the mat as Maguire valiantly held off a rear naked choke attempt, but picked up a cut that required inspection from the medics.

The pace slowed for the final round as both fighters tried to find openings: Maguire landed some good counters standing and was fishing for an Omo Plata on the mat, but ultimately, it wasn't enough to sway the fight in his direction.

Carl Noons started out mindful of his opponent's reach advantage and set about throwing some big overhand rights to break though the defense of his taller opponent before shooting for a takedown and stacking Ling into the cage. Landing some good strikes from within guard before eventually breaking away back to their feet, Nsensing its effectiveness, Noons opted to continue with the approach.

The second trip to the mat proved more fruitful as he took the taller man's back in a scramble before sinking in the rear naked choke at the 3:48 mark.

Jeff Lawson almost came away from his encounter with David Lee's arm - submitting the BJJ stylist with a slick armbar following a huge German Suplex.

Good first round for Paul Reed against Ashleigh Grimshaw, being patient with his strikes and scoring a good takedown - mindful of his opponent's power. Grimshaw scored an excellent Judo throw 10 seconds from the bell, but it wasn't enough to sway a very good round for his opponent.

The second round started with Grimshaw looking for a big KO and 64 seconds into the second he got his wish courtesy of a hard right hand - excellent intervention by referee Mark Woodward to prevent any further punishment.

Tough fight between Billy Harris and Neil Seery - the former picking up the unanimous decision from the judges, probably on account of winning two rounds to one. Both fighters were impressive in their showing with Seery being particularly active in fishing for an armbar during the first round, but ate a lot of strikes from inside his guard. The tables turned during the third with Seery finding his range standing, but eventually has that element of his arsenal taken away off a takedown.

In other action, Martin McDonough submitted Neil Wood with a fantastic Triangle at the 3:52 mark of the first stanza.

BAMMA 3 - Results
-Tom Watson def. Matt Horwich by Decision, R5
-Seth Petruzelli def. Ryan White via Armbar 1:07, R1
-Rob Sinclair def. Daniel Weichel via GNP 4:03, R1
-War Machine def. Zach Light via RNC 1:09, R1
-Mark Adams def. Alan Omer via Unanimous Decision, R5
-Simeon Thoresen def. John Maguire via Unanimous Decision, R3
-Carl Noons def. Mike Ling via RNC 3:48, R1
-Jeff Lawson def. Dave Lee via Armbar 0:51, R1
-Ashleigh Grimshaw def. Paul Reed via KO 1:04, R2
-Billy Harris def. Neil Seery via Unanimous Decision, R3
-Martin McDonough def. Mike Wood via Triangle 3:52, R1

Paul Daley - 3 days and he's snapped up!

2010-05-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mad times for Paul Daley, no sooner than being released from the UFC (officially receiving his contract release this morning) and he has signed up to fight on two shows already! talk about a man liking to stay busy!

This is the story...

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=11486&zoneid=13

Paul Daley may have landed in hot water recently for his post-fight actions after losing to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113, but he’s not one sit in the broth and stew.

No more than three days from the storm around his encounter with Koscheck and subsequent firing by the UFC and he is proving to be a hot property. He has already lined up two high profile fights that will take him up to the end of the year.

Daley revealed exclusively to MMAWeekly.com that his time under the employ of the UFC is officially over, having received his walking papers Wednesday morning.

“That’s it. All over. I got my walking papers this morning and I am glad that things are now official. It’s a shame things went the way they did, but on the brighter side of things it opens up a lot more doors for me,” exclaimed the British bruiser, adding that his next venture into combat will be on the other side of the world.

“I am fighting on a pay-per-view show in Australia on July 3 with a lot of other big names, and I have other offers in the pipeline.”

What many may not understand about Daley is that he is an addict, not of anything sinister, but of training. Three days sitting around at home is enough for him. He needs goals, he needs to train, and he will get his wish tomorrow when the doors open for his camp.

“My plan is to string a couple of fights together before the end of the summer and hopefully get on one of the grand prix shows. We’re currently talking to both Dream and Sengoku about getting a slot on their shows and there are some really good fighters there I can match-up with.”

Staying active is good for his soul, but what of the potential repercussions from athletic commissions relating to the events of the previous weekend?

“They must understand that as a fighter I have to earn a living. This is my livelihood and if I have to serve a suspension before I fight again in North America then I will, I have no qualms about that, but I need to earn a living now.”

The MFC promotion in Canada has a show coming up in August and there is an option for Daley there, according to him. MFC operates on an Indian reservation and is thus exempt from a governing commission. Australia and Japan also both operate sans athletic commission.

Turning around from such a difficult turn of events has led the fighter to focus on what he wants to achieve in life. He has always wanted a career in combat sports and is looking to continue following his dream.

Many would have thought Strikeforce would be the front-runner for his abilities, but for his part, Daley believes that they aren’t an option, not because of his lack of desire to fight for them, but because he is still waiting for an outcome from the commission. Strikeforce events take place in the U.S. and thus fall under athletic commission sanctioning, and will likely honor any punishment doled out by the Quebec commission.

“Boxing is still an option,” added Daley. “One of my training partners is Rendall Munroe and his trainer is currently speaking to (boxing promoter) Frank Maloney on my behalf. I want to do both, fight MMA and get my boxing up to speed, but I want to do them concurrently.”

He does however have some final thoughts on the whole situation with the UFC and wonders if there will ever be a chance of fighting with them again. He hasn’t written off future possibilities, despite UFC president Dana White saying that door was closed.

“Stranger things have happened, aside from Dan (Hardy), there isn’t many exciting fighters there in that weight class. Although a fantastic athlete, George St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck isn’t really going to be that exciting as they are both wrestlers. Maybe in the future they will need a striker to come in an shake things up. Until then, there are plenty of guys for me to fight.”

And who is he aiming for now?

“Where to start? K.J. Noons, Nick Diaz, Jay Hieron, Joe Riggs…”

Ultimate Challenge PBP - Never Back Down

2010-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

First blood to Stave Economou as he drops Neil Grove with a right hook whilst breaking the clinch, sending the bigger man down to the canvas but unable to take his back securely. After that they spent the rest of the round picking shots, Grove with his jab and outside leg, Stav with his counters and continual takedown attempts.

The second and third rounds followed suit up until Grove sprawled his way out of a takedown and forced Economou to take guard. Eventually restarting due to inactivity, Economou threw caution to the win and let his hands go, the bell saving his opponent from a trip to the canvas.

Jimi Manuwa retains his Ultimate Challenge Light Heavyweight crown as expected over Reza Maldavian. It was clear from the start that Maldavian was looking to kick, land a big KO and appeared to have banked his stretegy on that; rather than get into a scrappy exchange, Manuwa picked his shots before eventually landing a blow that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas - the two follow-up strikes were largely academic as the fighter moves to an undefeated score of 8-0

Decent bout between Luke Sines and Mark Epstein, the former landing all manner of hard kicks on the veteran fighter. Not sure if Sines has trained in MMA at all, but those standup skills would transfer well!

Paul Cahoon chalks up another win on his way back to the top, but it wasn't as easy as he or anyone else expected it to be. Earl Brown took everything Cahoon threw at him, from big left hooks, to overhand rights and a nasty barrage of strikes from side control.

Cahoon impressed with his composure, not getting too excited or charging in after a knockdown - he arguably made the fight last longer than it should have, but it was always heading in the same direction. A kneebar attempt and a heel hook paying homage to his roots, but ultimately, Grant Waterman waved the fight off after warnings from the cage medic that a direct strike to the eye would cause the hematoma to explode and it would be stopped anyway.

Another good fight between Djo Lema in only his fourth professional bout and Scott Jansen. Both fighters were trading early on as if they were in a kickboxing bout, Lema throwing Weir style kicks and Jansen landing a series of hard knees and an impressive spinning backfist. With his confidence as a complete Mixed Martial Artist starting to grow, Jansen latched on a guillotine attempt before jumping to guard, but it wasnt long before Lema was out and on the offensive himself, finally sinking home the second of two armbar attempts in the bout.

Quality scrap between Jamaine Facey and Dyson Roberts - gonna take a lot to beat this tonight! Facey has the technical skills and Roberts has the heart and brute force, colliding hard in the first round, Facey was looking to land a trademark high kick, but despite assurances to the contrary at the press conference, Roberts had enough respect of his opponents skills to avoid giving him the opening. Everytime the closed Roberts would try to work hard in the pocket.

Once they hit the mat midway through the bout, it was clear that Facey was the more fluid grappler, executing a fantastic sweep from the bottom and flolwing between positions smoother. Roberts managed to reverse by the end of the round, stacking his opponent into the cage, but the bell rang before he could land anything severe.

Sneakily trying to land a high kick while mimicking a touch of gloves, Facey set about trying to land his strikes. Once again, they hit the mat off a scrappy exchange before Facey transitioned to take his adversaries back and latch on the fight-ending Rear Naked Choke. Whilst celebrating, Facey made some comments towards his opponents corner along the lines of: it's all good, were done now, no bad blood.

Dean Bray returned to action looking pretty fluid with his hands, using a lot of feins and distracting hand movements ala Nick Diaz. Weiczoreck for his part remained calm and threw the occasional overhand right or counter-hook. When the opportunity to close came to hand, Weiczorek closed and scooped the Titan fighter up and landed in side control, a quick transition to north/south and he sunk the submission in - a thinking mans approach to MMA.

Colin French dominated Jody Cottham with a more comprehensive MMA skillset, fighting off only a hint of danger at the start of the round courtesy of an arm-in guillotine attempt. Content to just wait his time, French waiting for his opponent to re-adjust before exploding out of the hold and landing a huge right hand, ricocheting Cottham's head off the mat.

Everything Cottham attempted to escape the clutches of his opponent was met with a punch or elbow, while controlling position, he eventually took his back and flattened him out before forcing a referee stoppage.

I can see the logic in Ultimate Challenge putting K1 bouts on with 4oz MMA gloves, but I disagree with it. For the casual spectator on TV who doesn't know the sport it will come across as two guys banging hard, but for those with any kind of MMA knowledge, they will be asking why they keep getting broken by the ref in a clinch or stood up when it hits the ground.

And don't get me started on the percusive nature of the gloves given the rules. MMAs greatest argument is that it is safer given the viability of submissions, grappling and clinch work to avoid strikes. This element has been removed, and the competitors, although skillful are at greater risk or damage because of the rules. If you disagree, bear in mind the one technique in the clinch rule appears to have been removed as well...

One step forward with blood testing - one step back with K1 fights using MMA gloves! by the way, Dan Smith won a unanimous decision over Brad Wheeler

An exciting start to the encounter between Andy Gooch and Michael Brown found leather flying all over the place, but it wasn't until they hit the mat that Gooch had the upper hand, dominating position from mount and applying a barrage of strikes, which prompted calls from cage-side for the bout to be stopped. In fairness, although it appeared to be a matter of time before Brown succumbed, he was defending himself well against strikes that were both hit and miss. Nine seconds left in the bout and Leon Roberts had seen enough - good call, right on the money.

A short sharp elbow in the clinch immediately changed the dynamics between Luke Newman and Carl Kinslow as the former sensed blood and opened up a series of punches, punctuated by an uppercut, hook, cross combination. A just stoppage by referee Andy Sledge, despite protestations from the loser, his gumshied was on the canvas and his defence was wide open - better to fight another day with teeth!

In other action, Tom Dixon worked his way into a tight triangle from the bottom and submitted Dan Shortman midway through the first stanza.

Ultimate Challenge - Never Back Down
- Stav Economou vs Neil Grove Split Draw 5:00 R3
- Jimi Manuwa def Reza Maldavian via GNP 3:19 R1
- Paul Cahoon def Earl Brown via Referee Stoppage 5:00 R2
- Jamaine Facey def Dyson Roberts via RNC 2:37 R2
- Lee Weiczorek def Dean Bray via North/South choke 2:52 R1
- Colin French def Jody Cottham via GNP 3:51 R1
- Andy Gooch def Michael Brown via GNP 4:47
- Luke Newman def Carl Kinslow via TKO 2:09 R1
- Tom Dixon def Dan Shortman via Triangle 2:38 R1

UK1 (sort-of) rules:
- Dan Smith def Brad Wheeler via Unanimous Decision 3:00 R3
- Luke Sines def Mark Epstein via Unanimous Decision 3:00 R3

Blunt Force Trauma

2010-04-30T05:35:00.001-07:00

Well, things are official...

My coffee table photobook on MMA will officially be released on the 14th of October 2010 worldwide.

It will be available in four languages (dependant on your Market) and will feature everything from grass-roots MMA upstart fighters through to top tier UFC talent from around the world.

This book has been a long time coming, but it's nice to have a set deadline in stone! I can't wait...

All I have to do now is work my way through the crazy markup language the publishers have used editing my first proof!

Location:Milton Keynes

Can't catch a break

2010-04-20T03:55:00.001-07:00

Poor Jimmy Wallhead, th guy just can't seem to catch a break... For the last few days the UK has been thrown into chaos with the Icelandic Volcano Ash Cloud (IVAC) having caused all manner of problems for travellers, businesses and other users of air transport.

Wallhead was all set to make his Bellator debut against BJJ stylist Jacob McClintock but the cancellation of all flights in and out of the UK has forced the hand of the promotion, who called upon Ryan Thomas. Controversially, Thomas had already dropped out of the tournament by way of neck crank submission a little over a week ago in less than definate circumstances.

This press release from Bellator came through this morning:

"Ryan “The Tank Engine” Thomas has been announced as a last-minute replacement for “Judo” Jim Wallhead at Bellator 15 in Connecticut this Thursday.

Wallhead is unable to travel from his native England due to the volcanic ash cloud that has halted air travel across Europe over the last several days. Instead, Thomas will face Jacob “Tick” Tock McClintock this Thursday"

For Wallhead the blow will be huge, but he should take consolation that it is Force Majeur and everyone is unable to do anything about it, a freak act of nature!

Having spoken to Wallhead in the lead-up to the bout, he was feeling hugely positive about his chances and had one of his best training camps on account of the relief he felt having a new home stateside.

Hopefully Bellator will come good on their commitment to one of the best welterweights in the country and match him up against someone solid in future, or at least have him ready to go as a tournament alternative in vase of injury to a participant.

Stay solid Jimmy, this wasn't your fault, and somehing good will come out of it soon enough!

Dan Hardy & UK MMA: How times change...

2010-03-04T01:41:00.001-08:00

It's funny how you sometimes reflect on the things you do, the people you know and what the future holds - I spent some time reflecting on my involvement with UK MMA as I was driving back from having dinner with a certain Mr. D Hardy on Monday and it hit me as to how much things have changed in that time, for him and the overall MMA landscape in the UK.

Cage Warriors Night of Champions was a legendary event and something that will never be repeated anywhere else, not here, not in the US or even globally. The logistics and luck involved to put all the Champions on a card to defend their belts was huge then, let alone nowadays when the demands on fighters for media, training schedules, increased competition and the need to spar harder.

Cuts, ligaments, bones, staph, stomach bugs, you name it; they all conspire to wreck plans. Not even an organisation as resourceful as the UFC could manage to put all the belts on line at UFC 100 - hell, through no fault of their own; they barely held UFC 108 together.

Still, we have seen the sport and training evolve to the point where fighters are no longer just tough guys who learnt how to fight in different areas, the guys competing in MMA today are athletes to the core, but more than that, they have to balance the demands of media, fans, the promotion they work for, commitments to team mates and finally, having some semblance of a personal life, maybe a relationship, and if they are lucky, have some time to spend with their kids (if they have them)

Dan Hardy is one of the above, and very good at what he does – he wouldn’t be in the position he is today without being so, but even he acknowledges that things are different now to the way they were a few years ago. He tries to stay grounded, chase his dreams and support his family (he has no kids, but you can count the Rough House as part of his family)

Still, he knows things will change again if things follow to plan and he topples the mighty Georges St-Pierre – a task that he has all the psychological and physical tools to do.

Where is this narrative leading to? Well, I guess my point is that as a person you should always aim high and try to achieve your dreams, they don’t have to be related to MMA – but one thing we can draw from the experiences of these athletes we respect so much is that they have an unwavering belief in themselves and what they can achieve.

Dan Hardy is a representation of this and there are many others out there who feel the same and are on their way up – or are there already. Hardy fought a five round war against Matt Thorpe at Night of Champions and came out the victor; he worked in a gym at the time and had moderate sponsorship. Fast forward to 2010 and by the end of the month he will either be wearing a nice shiny piece of UFC metal or he will be working out what went wrong.

But know this, if he is unsuccessful he will pick himself up, dust himself off and refocus on getting there again. But what happens if he wins? It will be the start of a new chapter in his life, not the culmination of it, and much like he did at Night of Champions, he will set himself new targets to aim at.

In either case mentioned above, Dan Hardy will become the first British fighter to ever compete in the UFC for a title – and providing nothing happens between now and then to spoil that plan, no one can ever take that away from him.

Aim high, stay true and chase your dreams.

Team Quest

2010-02-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

A five hour drive from Las Vegas to Temecula was in store for me this morning, so setting off early, I arrived in Sunny California at 10am - the contrast between the desert, New Mexico and Snowy Mountains is vast... I can totally see why Hendo setup show in such a sleepy place, away from all the crap and hassle somewhere more prominent in Los Angeles would bring.

The gym was fairly quiet today with a general public striking session going on in one half while the pro's trained in specific things on the other half. Hendo rocked up looking like he had just woken up, seriously chilled and in good spirits - Dean Lister was there with two guys from his gym and Ritchie Whitson and Jesse Taylor were also present.

Now, I love MMA, but I prefer training in the grappling arts in general(when I get time to that is) so having someone like Dean Lister to pick tips off of, the day after picking tips up from Robert Drysdale is like having xmas come early, and I will be sure to head back to the UK tomorrow ready to test some of this new stuff out! :-)

Starting off with some pad work and striking drills, Lister and Hendo worked on things like range and timing, almost playing a game of "who flinches first", then they progressed into light sparring before hitting the mats for a session on takedowns and some sub defence from things like leglocks, etc... who better to run through them then someone as proficient as Lister. Anyone remember the ADCC absolute? 'nuff said!

Throught all the training sessions, there was a continual, loud thumping sound reverberating throught the gym. The noisy culprit? Richie Whitson with some seriously powerful leg kicks hammering away on the kick shield and thai pads.

I had seen him on the show, and I don't think his explosiveness came across on camera - he had a tough fight, but the house tends to affect pretty much everyone who goes in there as they fight a little more conservatively than usual on account of the stakes. I look forward to seeing him fight again and kicking the hell out of someones things!

Tomorrow - back on a plane to Blighty and then heads down for a month closing out the book for the March end deadline. I have a few more things planned up my sleeve in the UK during that month, camp visits, shows and the like so stay tuned for more updates.

TapouT / Xtreme Couture / Warrior (again)

2010-02-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

Busy day starting out with 1pm meeting over at TapouT Las Vegas in order to shoot the bare facility - This is by far the biggest of the gyms so far and you can tell it was purposely built to be state of the art.

Stepping through the door and you are met with a huge selection of bags in a wide open area with a hard floor. This opens up into a split area with a full size elevated cage and a big sectioned off matted area for grappling as well as an Olympic sized boxing ring.

Through to the next room and there is a mix of weight machines and another matted area for grappling. Finally through to the final room and they are in the process of erecting a 28ft cage to go with the weights and matted cage walled pro training area.

Talking of fighters, Shaun Thompkins was present but the pro team in attendance were quite green so I didn't shoot anyone.

Over to Xtreme Couture now and after a brief tour of the facility from Ryan Couture, I got stuck in shooting it.

Where TapouT felt pristine, clean and a little sterile, XC felt more like a pure fighters gym with a lot of stuff crammed into a relatively small unit. If it's not functional for the way they train it's not here in the gym.

A small reception welcomes you before the entrance to the training area. Immediately a camo canvassed boxing ring welcomes you, to the left a strength and conditioning area with airdyne bikes and free weights. Behind the ring is a cage, probably about 24ft wide.

To the right of everything and running down the length of the building is a huge wrestling area with about 20 hanging heavy bags that the fighters use for weaving a well as the obvious...

Pro training consisted of about 15 guys, lead by Gill Martinez who is the striking coach and one of the best pad men I have ever seen - seriously quick and precise.

Gray Maynard was present although his session was limited having had his knee scoped last week, Jay Hieron and John Alessio were also there - the latter preparing for 2 fights in a month, hoping that he can get back on track to the UFC.

Two boxers had also come down to the camp with Martinez in order to provide a different take on the standup angles.

Finally, K-1 Legend Ray Sefo was sparring with everyone on rotation, although by his own admission, he was apparently having a "Lazy Day"

Good shots, all packed up into the car and back over to Warrior so I can get those shots of Mir!

Having arrived at Warrior around 7:30pm, I setup and then spent the next two hours chatting with Forrest Griffin about politics, my haircut, American Psycho and his new book amongst other things (his book title is crazy with the universe and bunnies knocking about in there!) - he also took time out for portraits and as usual, he was the same Forrest as ever, highly amusing and individual - he didn't need any direction and I just took what he had to offer.

After Mir was done training, he sat about with Forrest and grappling whizz Robert Drysdale, just being geeky, talking about fights, crazy subs and the like... good to see they still have a passion for that aspect of it and that it isn't just a job now for them. Mir recounted a very funny story involving full body sparring armour that still makes me laugh out aloud - don't just take him on the persona you see or read about in the news.

10:30 and Mir has kept me from food long enough so its off to Hooters...

Warrior Training Centre

2010-02-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Walking through the door of the Warrior Training Centre, the first thing that hits me is the size of the place, all colour coded in Black and red, it's a clean place, and one that plays host to a variety of different training areas.

This place, more than any of the others so far comes across as one that deals equally with top flight pro guys as well as the general public martial artist. During the time I spent at the facility I saw the BJJ class run, wrestling, kickboxing and handful of pros. Unfortunately, tonight wasn't as well attended as I had hoped for shots, but I got a good feel for the place and the people behind it, seems like a good gym.

Mike Whitehead and Todd Duffee were present and working with each other on the bags before hitting the mats to work on takedowns and clinching. Whitehead in particular appeared to be happy in front of the camera, fooling around and having a laugh with it all.

Mike Wessel was also present, putting in his final light training session ahead of his fight in Canada on Friday against Dan Christenson. He's on a plane early tomorrow but still spent some time reflecting on his experience in the TUF house, judging in MMA, following your dreams and his wife's health - who incidentally is much better now thankfully. Nice guy, good luck on Friday!

Forrest Grifin and Amir Sadollah never turned up, so didn't manage to catch them. But, I spent quite a while chatting to Frank Mir who, despite his recent comments about Brock Lesnar came across really well.

He is analytical in his approach, preferring to work smarter rather than be put through the grind, stating: "you can train 5 hours a day, really intense and still get knocked out. I prefer to train smarter, some people may say that I don't train as long, and that may be the case, but I know that today my jab got a little better"

Quite an interesting take on the input/output workload approach to training. He appeared to take direction well from his team at all points and really didn't take any liberties sparring with his much lighter standup team mate.

"I prefer to do some of my standup sparring with lighter guys who have the reach, but are much quicker. There is no point in trying to knock each other out, I still get pissed when a shot gets through and I try to plug that hole rather than get even with a big shot"

Unfortunately, Mir had to leave early on account of a family matter so I didn't get a chance to shoot him, but he will be training again tomprrow after eight so I am going to try and catch him after Xtreme Couture.

Travel Day: Albuqurque to Vegas

2010-02-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

A big shout out to Leonard Garcia and Donald Cerrone who let me stay at their ranch during the time in Albuqurque, they had no reason for doing this other than being completely cool cats and very generous with their place. Also, kudos go out to Ken Pishna of MMAWeekly.com who endured the ramblings of an Englishman for a full week and didn't try to ground and pound me for it...

For fighter training information, it is possible to do a bootcamp up at Jacksons, but you will need to pass a stringent check, they don't let anyone come into the camp in order to bang around with the pro's. Understandably, as there is a lot of fanboys that tend to descend on the place, it is not an open door to the pro's. However, if you have a record and are serious about training there, hit up the gym and they can talk you through the options. Accomodation is available on a deal price, or you can plump just for training... the choice is yours!

For anyone considering a roadtrip over to the States for training, I would recommend giving the distances a long, hard look. It's not that the driving part isn't doable, but I later found out that flying between states is the quicker way to do things, and it seems to be relatively inexpensive if you book early enough. Ken flew back from Albuqurque to Denver for the equivalent of £65.

I on the other hand am stuck with this 1.8 litre, automatic rental car and a 10 hour drive from New Mexico, through Arizona and finally into Nevada before descending into Las Vegas itself.

One of the strangest things I have experienced on the road was the drastic change in climate along the way. I left Albuqurque at 6am (via the airport) and it was a dry day, by the time I was about 150 miles into the journey, New Mexico had become the equivalent of a UK spring day - very nice.

Arizona on the other hand seemed to transition into full on British snow winter as I shot up the mountain pass, granted, I was 6,000 ft above sea-level, but still, it wasn't what I expected.

Coming down the mountain, the snow gave way to sleet and later torrential rain, this continued for about another 100 miles before I crossed the state line into Nevada. The temperate just shot up into the 30's almost like a flick of the switch. Adjusting for the change to Pacific time and I arrived at 3pm - the last 50 miles or so were completely barren and arrid - not a desert in the Sahara sense, but a desert in any case... little did I know at the time, but I have just driven along the fabled Route 66.

The Mirage Casino is going to be my home for 4 days before I head off to Temecula in California (another 4 hour drive) - and before you start thinking that I am living the good life, bear in mind that using Hotels.com I managed to book a delux suite for £52 a night, that's cheaper than a flea-pit Holiday Bin in the UK.

Sunday was a chill day, all the gyms are shut and nobody is around for photos, probably holed up at home with the Australia PPV of the fights. Work resumes on Monday with Xtreme Couture, Warrior Training Centre and Tapout R&D on the agenda.

Jacksons Sparring

2010-02-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

A very busy schedule at Jacksons MMA today with the guys above 185lbs coming in for sparring sessions from 9:30, overseen by heavy-handed strikeforce banger Joey Villasenor.

Several fighters were sparring hard but particularly pleasing to watch were the rounds Carlos Condit and Jon Jones - both getting heavier handed as the sessions went on but neither taking liberties, just friendly competition. Condit has some seriously hard kicks in his arsenal and mixes his levels well with a strikes up and down the body and Jones executed a fantastic Scissor takedown before securing side control - good stuff to watch.

At 10:30 the sub-185lbs guys rolled into the gym and started to slug it out. Clay Guida worked with a load of guys in order to get his final sessions before heading back to Chicago. Cub Swanson and Leonard Garcia had a really good session that was typical of both fighters, escalating into a frantic pace in no time.

All in all a busy day, loads of content shot and ready to digest - roll on tomorrow for more of the same before heading off to Las Vegas.

The Tapout Ranch

2010-02-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

America is vast, make no doubt about that: it took us over half a day to reach Albuqurque from Denver on the Interstate 25, which kind of puts into perspective the drive that I face on Saturday heading to Vegas...

One thing that struck me is that the roads are quite easy to travel on as they are very wide, very straight and there is no congestion. Aiside from a change in terrain from plain farmland, to snow covered fields and a moutain range, you would be hard pushed to tell if you had moved anywhere at all. That particular route isn't exactly full of things to see as the miles.

Arriving at Jacksons/Winklejohn, I am struck by the size of the place in relation to the amount of quality fighters that come out of there - it's not as big as you would expect.

The reception area is littered with pictures and dedications to the coaches from fighters they have developed over the years as well as recognition letters from other influential figures such as the Mayor of Albuqurque, acknowledging the positive impact the camp has had on Martial Arts in the area.

Past reception there is a small conditioning area with some aerodyne bikes, kettlebells, dip bars, climbing machine and the like. The room leads onto the main training area through an opening that has a shelf stacked full of trophies - just to remind you that this is where champions are made.

Much like Grudge, a full sized UFC spec cage is the dominating element of the room, followed by a mirrored tatame matted area for grappling and a very claustrophobic boxing ring that forces you to engage - there really is no space to move, especially for the bigger guys.

Clay Guida is present and in good spirits as usual, pumped about being able to check out the local basketball team play tonight with his friends. He flys back to Chicago after tomorrow's training session.

We get the details of the pro sessions for tomorrow, 9:30am is the start of the 185lbs and above guys and from 11:00am the lighter weight guys take over. We plan on heading down to setup around 9am after another unhealthy breakfast stop-off.

Were staying at Donald Cerrone and Leonard Garcia's ranch tonight on the outskirts of Albuqurque for the next few days as they have kindly offered to put us up. Leonard is in a good mood despite literally just having been told that his opponent Diego Nunes has dropped off the card with an unknown injury - the fight is in two weeks and he has had a good, tough camp leading up to it. He is waiting to hear on a replacement soon and is trying to stay positive.

Had an interesting chat with Cub Swanson about injuries while he was working on his golfing form on the X-Box (personally, I think he has chosen the right career in MMA) - he showed me pictures of the cut from his last fight, x-rays of pins and plates in his hands and a selection of other mementos from his encounters. Injuries are a bane for the fighter but he seems to almost refer to them with a sense of achievement.

Roll on tomorrow, going to be a good shoot...

USA Roadtrip / MMA Book Project

2010-02-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

The first few days of my American trip have gone fantastically well, I am here in Denver, Colorado shooting at the Grudge Training facility under the guidance of top striking coach Trevor Wittman - and what a facility!

As soon as you walk into the place there is a reception area, pro shop and a large matted area for grappling which the guys used for technique work after their sparring sessions.

Inside the main guts of the gym is a selection of bags for conditioning and drill work, followed by a boxing ring before opening up into the main matted area. Pride of place in the corner is a full UFC specification sized cage for pressure testing and sparring work.

9:30 in the morning and already the place is hard at work, Mike Van Arsdale was there working with Paul Buentello ahead of his fight, Shane Carwin and Brendan Schaub are working together in the cage, pushing each other hard and doing a clinch/pumelling work. The list of fighters is extensive, from Duane "Bang" Ludwig to Justin Wren, Luke Caudillo and Cody Donovan to name a few.

Initial impressions are that the camp has no attitude, its a real down to earth collection of guys - all the trappings of celebrity, media attention and fans - gone, its just work, good camaraderie and sharing of skills to help each other out.

After all the sessions were done, everybody took a lunch break before heading off their own way for afternoon sessions, well, excepting Shane Carwin who still manages to balance a full time job as an Engineer with his UFC career and to top it all off, his missus is past due delivering their first child together, so somewhere along the line he is going to get a call saying drop everything and get your arse over here... talk about living a complicated life! still, he is in good spirits and enjoying his time just being physical.

Grabbing Justin Wren and his flatmate, Ken Pishna (editor for MMAWeekly.com) and myself head off to a cool little place for some lunch - it's called The Hickory Ham Company off Wheat Ridge and they make the meanest sandwiches I have tasted in a long time!

Wren is a cool cat, and at 22 he has lived quite a life so far: Golden Glory in Amsterdam, Ultimate Fighter TV show, living in Texas, Moving to Denver and at one point ranked #3 in Submission Grappling in the US No-Gi Heavyweight division. Top bloke and one that has a bright future ahead of himself. Recently cut by the UFC following his loss on the TUF 10 Finale, he is now actively looking for fights and really wants to compete in Japan.

An early start tomorrow as we head off on a seven hour drive to a new location... stay tuned.

Ultimate Challenge Results

2010-02-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

The first Ultimate Challenge show of 2010 rolls into view with a great headline encounter between TUF alumni Dean Amasinger and underrated London Shootfighters grappler Alberto Mina – the victor will take home the Ultimate Challenge Welterweight Title.

Alberto Mina retains his British Welterweight title with a victory over Dean Amasinger by way of Rear Naked Choke midway through the third round. From the opening moments of the fight it was clear that Mina ideally wanted to fight on the ground and proceeded to shoot after a few tentative exchanges. Deflecting well, Amasinger managed to thwart most of them with sheer power and a quick sprawl but was definitely on the defensive.

The second round saw Mina throwing all kinds of crazy moves in the cage as he threw wild overhand rights, jumped onto his adversary and generally made himself difficult to pin down. Amasinger just needed to let his strikes go, but aside from a few nasty low point kicks and a brief dose of Ground and Pound, he never really found his stride.

As the final round rolled into view, Amasinger knew that he had to stop the fight one way or another to win, problem being that so did Mina and he set about grounding the Rough House fighter with a single leg takedown before working himself into mount. A few strikes later and he had worked his way into the fight ending rear naked choke. Alberto Mina retains his Ultimate Challenge Welterweight Title.

Quick win for Stav Economou who went for a charging takedown off the back of a winging exchange between Shoala Adeniran and himself. Once backed into the cage it didn't take long for Economou to secure mount. As Adeniran rooled to scoot out of the back door, Economou flattened him out and sunk in the Rear Naked Choke for the tap.

It took John Maguire a round to blast off the cobwebs and find his pace, during which time Lua dominated position and threw some heavy hands, but it wasn't until the second round that things started to gel for the Tsunami fighter. Throwing a couple of hard leg kicks before grounding the fight, he scrambled fast and kept threatening with submissions - the keylock in particular.

The third round was much of the same as Maguire exploited his newfound speed as a Welterweight, again grounding the fight and looking for the Kimura. Lua is a wily customer though and was always in the fight, looking to scramble and counter himself - seconds ticking out and as a last gasp Maguire went for a heel-hook. unsuccessful, his performance was enough to sway a Majority Decision as he now moves to 11-1.

Karlos Vermola destroys Peter Yendall in a brutal display of aggression; firing an overhand that misses but catches the bigger man with a left hook that puts him on the backfoot. A quick flurry before taking Yendall's legs out and landing a huge double leg. He scrambles to mount and fires in a series of five left hooks to dislodge conciousness from the combatant.

Arzan Quasid drops a hard fought encounter with Scott Jansen by way of Kimura late in the first round following a fast paced showing of strikes. Changing tack from normal and firing from the bell, Quasid looked to be aggressive in the bout and landed some heavy strikes, but Jansen was landing considerably more damage, oppening up a nasty cut in the hairline of his opponent.

With blood flowing heavily from his brow, Quasid battled on looking to impose his will but was getting tagged more frequently with a stylish mix of spinning backfists, elbows and kicks. Bloodied and searching for another route to victory, Quasid clinched, giving Jansen the impetus to setup a Kimura that he locked hom when falling to the ground.

Nice KO victory from Jamaine Facey over Ben Craggy courtesy of a left high kick to the face that sent his opponent stumbling, before following up with a big right hook that turned the lights one.

Dave Nobel def Rafik Benzaida via Unanimous Decision in a strange bout, both fighters looked to be having a hockey fight in the first with no hint of trepidation - swinging wildly looking for a finish. The second and third were very different affairs with neither really pulling the trigger, which is especially strange as Nobel was landing better shots, but just not frequently enough to force a stoppage.

After opening his account with two low point kicks, Pablo Ben recieved a jaw rattling right head kick that rocked him hard, unable to recover he fell pray to a judo hip throw. Ground and with a percussive French adhered to his back, he ate a series of punches before scrambling out and reversing position. Transitioning fast, French slapped on a tight triangle for the tap.

Trademark fight for Chris Grieg as he opens throwing a few shots to lure his opponent into an exchange before a nice feign of an overhand right to close the distance and land a takedown. Stacking Dossett into the cage he pumelled away until a scramble brought them to their feet. Thinking quick he slapped on a guillotine before jumping guard to lock it out.

Always good to see Dan Movahedi pick up a win - one of the nicest guys working the UC circuit. 1:16 into the first round and following a takedown off of the clinch, he quickly worked for mount before opening with a ground and pound assault to force the stoppage.

Bola Omoyele looked hugely impressive with his strikes having forced his way to a TKO stoppage over Earl Brown. Opening his account with a couple of kicks to find his range, his movement became deliberate in stalking his opponent so that his onslaught forced Brown to back up in a straight line. A little over two minutes into the round and a barrage of knees and strikes that went unanswered prompted Leon Roberts to offer 3 defence warnings. All went unacknowledged under the barrage and the fight was stopped.

Brad Wheeler scores a very impressive victory by way of quick armbar a mere 31 seconds after the bell and off the back of being taken down. Plumb was keen to work his ground and pound, but his over-exhuberance meant he failed to feel his adversaries hips rising up.

A come from behind victory for Richard Griffin, literally, as he lands a rear naked choke on a depleted Chris Woolcotte in the second round of their encounter. Woolcotte appeared to be the better grappler during the first having dominated position and threatened with an almost on armbar. Little over a minute into the second round and Woolcotte was spent, blowing hard, he kept holding onto a failed single leg whilst his opponent scrambled for his back - impressive showing in the first though!

Jerome Carole drops out of an exciting encounter with Galore Bosando on account of an illegal knee to the head whilst grounded. Both looked to be very keen in their exchanges, Carole relentless in coming forward whilst Bosando scored some hugely impressive takedowns. This result leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Full Results:
Alberto Mina def Dean Amasinger via RNC 2:17 R3 (Welterweight Title)
Stav Economou def Shola Adeniran via RNC 1:13 R1
John Maguire def Edgelson Lua via Majority Decision 5:00 R3
Karlos Vemola def Peter Yendell via KO 0:49 R1
Scott Jansen def Azran Quasid via Kimura 4:44 R1
Jamaine Facey def Ben Craggy via KO 0:35 R1
Dave Nobel def Rafik Benzaida via Unanimous Decision 5:00 R3
Colin French def Pablo Ben via Triangle 1:49 R1
Chris Greg def Steve Dossett via Guillotine 2:51 R1
Dan Movahedi def Ryan Campbell via GNP 1:16 R1
Richard Griffin def Chris Woolcott via RNC R2 3:17
Brad Wheeler def Dominic Plum via armbar 0:00 R1
Bola Omoyele def Earl Brown via TKO 2:16 R1
Jerome Carol def Galore Bosando via Disqualification (illegal knee / downed opponent) 1:27 R2

UK1 Kickboxing:
Mark Weir def Mark Epstein via Unanimous Decision (Middleweight UK1 Title)
Jamie Hearn vs. Valentino Petrescu (no fight due to Petrescu withdrawal)

Ultimate Challenge

2010-02-06T04:08:00.000-08:00

Just gearing up for the drive down to London tonight in order to report on Ultimate Challenge - should be a good show for a few key reasons:

Dean Amasinger vs Alberto Mina (good fight, both solid and underrated)
John Maguire's debut as a Welterweight against a very tough Edgelson Lua
Return of both Mark Weir & Mark Epstein (although sadly in a UK1 bout, which I am not a fan of)
Thiago Borges vs Karlos Vemola

If I can hop onto a wifi connection, I will provide updates between fights on the results!

ZT Heavyweight Tournament

2010-01-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

All the fighters are ready to go for the ZT Heavyweight Tournament, A quick scan around the dressing rooms as fighters are getting their hands wrapped and ready to go, the incentive is high, a cheque for £10,000 winner takes all to be precise.

James Thompson, Rob Broughton, Martin Thompson, Tengiz Tedoradze, Oli Thompson, Neil Wain, Steve Day and Miguel Bernard are all big, focussed and ready for action. Interestingly, nearly all of them have been in wars, so it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

FIrst into the tournament were Rob Broughton and Neil Wain, a brief period of feeling each other out, Neil Wain opened his account with a big left hook that put the Wolfslair fighter down, attempting to capitalise on the blow, Wain landed in side control but was unable to effect much damage. Looking to continue much like he opened, Wain landed his left hook twice more before the round rang out - his hands moving much faster than his gait would imply. Broughton is full of composure though and managed to land some excellent strikes of his own that led to a big hematoma under his opponents right eye.

Round two didn't last long as Broughton capitalised on the low head position of his opponent during the clinch to latch on a standing guillotine; using his height advantage to full effect, he forced the tap at the 1:16 mark and thus advances through to second bracket of the tournament.

Tengiz Tedoradze suffered a brutal beatdown at the hands of James Thompson as a way of welcoming him back into the active world of MMA competition. Thompson looked absolutely fantastic with his wrestling having come on leaps and bounds since uprooting and joining the London Shootfighters camp. Thinking his luck was in, Tedoradze latched on an early guillotine after the bell but as soon as Thompson was out it was a case of eating hard punches to the bell.

The second round followed in much the same vein with Thompson completely dominating his opponent having secured a big takedown on the unforgiving canvas. 2:55 in and referee Grant Waterman had seen enough. Thompson advances to the next bracket of the back of a very impressive performance.

Joe Vedepo made short work of Miguel Bernad with a fast shoot and high takedown before setting up an ultra slick armbar in the ensuing scramble. 33 seconds and good night - seriously slick, seriously quick....

Oli Thompson proved he had power in his hands as well as his biceps by recording a brutal first round KO over overmatched opponent Steve Day. The former UK strongman scored an easy takedown with a twist pull after working his arms round to his opponent's back, a brief foray into ground and pound and he decided to go back to the feet. They circle and then the big right hand comes in, landing flush and rocking his opponent before following up with a repeat shot to separate Day from unconciousness.

James Thompson's meteroric efforts in the first round of his encounter with Rob Broughton paid little dividends as he succumbed to a big KO from the Wolfslair fighter at 2:28 of the second round. Throughout the first it appeared that Thompson had found a way to topple the big man with a heavy-handed approach to ground and pound, but come the second, Thompson looked to try his luck a little more with the stand up and landed some good shots, but darkness came crashing in with a big right hand that followed a stiff jab.

Very scrappy fight all round between Joe Vedepo and Oli Thompson that had everything from illegal knees to the groin by Thompson, an illegal knee that resulted in a point deduction for Vedepo and referee confusion on account of not hearing the ringer between rounds. Regardless of all this, it has to be noted that Vedepo, who is a natural middleweight and took the fight at a day's notice, ruled the first round with his slick grappling, before opening up a barrage of strikes against a flagging Thompson in the second. Controversial fight, and one that Thompson will surely be looking to avenge.

Oli Thompson gets a second bite of the apple against a motivated Rob Broughton on account of Joe Vedepo pulling out of the encounter with a broken hand. The UK's Strongest Head then?

With a total of 7 gruelling rounds under his belt, Rob Broughton battled against a very brave Oli Thompson who stepped back into the ring for a third time, looking quite bruised and stiff from previous rounds - all heart and desire.

Round one was was a hard fought battle as Thompson came out swinging; however, Broughton remain composed and tied his opponent up regularly and used smart clinch tactics to wear down his adversaries cardio, sharp knees and good use of the over-under hook position punctuated his workload and racked up points on the scorecards.

The second and third rounds played out in a similar fashion, but with "The Bear" looking for a big KO to cap his night. It never came on account of Thompson's granite chin and unwillingness to quit when many fighters would have thrown the towel in earlier, particularly when fending off a tight standing guillotine.

A vintage night of MMA action that only the UK could provide. Well done Sol Gilbert and the ZT Fight Team crew!

A brief introduction...

2010-01-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

It is with great pleasure that I write this first blog for Spiked Extreme Sports on the subject of Mixed Martial Arts - or Cage Fighting as it is commonly known. Firstly, because it continues to highlight the growth in popularity the sport is enjoying by crossing boundaries into mainstream awareness but also because of the synergy between extreme sports devotees and Mixed Martial Artists.

To hurl yourself down a mountain on a bike can be considered extreme to some factions of society, stepping into a cage with someone who has trained to rip your head off can also be considered extreme – we all know that risk is in the mind of the participant and that a large degree of risk is reduced through preparation.

Through this blog I shall endeavor to provide an insight into MMA that is more encompassing than that of a fighter, mainly because as a photojournalist I am exposed to so many other facets of the game that sometimes pass by unnoticed.
I shall on occasion jump on my soapbox and vent, table my thoughts on key events and finally, to provide an ongoing narrative on the development of my book “Blunt Force Trauma” due to be published by Constable & Robinson in October 2010.The book is a culmination of a love affair with MMA that started back in 1996 after witnessing one of Lee Hasdell’s Night of the Samurai events in Milton Keynes and continues to romanticize me today.

During that time I have contributed to a variety of magazines such as Fighters Only, Fighters, MAI, KamiPro in Japan, Fight! in America and several newspapers. I am currently a staff writer at http://www.mmaweekly.com/ and MMA Unlimited Magazine as well as a photographic contributor to Ground and Pound Magazine in Germany.
I do hope that these ramblings help to motivate Spiked Extreme Sports Readers to give MMA a go, you don’t have to become a professional fighter to enjoy the training, if you never step into a cage, it doesn’t matter, I am not a fighter – but I have fought, these days time doesn’t allow me the luxury of being consistent enough to compete again, but I would never quit training, the physical rewards are huge and the camaraderie is second to none.I

f you want to know more about dabbling your toes into MMA training, pick up the next issue of Spiked Extreme Sports Magazine where I breakdown the sport from two different perspectives: The fighter and The Instructor.