Cage Rage 19 looks set to deliver a lot of “bang for your buck”, featuring noted strikers such as Mark Weir, Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Luiz Azeredo. Not only have Cage Rage pulled in some genuinely world class fighters, such as submission master Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, they are pushing a line up of domestic heroes, including Alex Reid and Paul Daley. This card looks set to confirm why Cage Rage is one of the fastest growing MMA organisations in the UK.
Fresh off of a KO win over Robert "Buzz" Berry at Cage Rage 18, Rob Broughton finds himself pitched against Eric "Butterbean" Esch, an ex-4 round boxer coming off of a TKO win over Sean O'Haire in Pride 32. Both of these fighters like to throw the leather, although for this fight Rob would be better served to go for the takedowns. While displaying heavy hands, “Butterbean” has shown vulnerability to both submissions and strikes when taken down. Rob showed tremendous heart to survive a beating from James Thompson and pull out a victory, but if he keeps this fight on the feet with Butterbean I think he will come off second best. “Butterbean” has not showed strong takedown defence in his MMA career, so with that said, look for Rob to take this fight to the ground, and finish via ground and pound.
This fight looks set to be an all out stand up war. Coming off of a submission loss, Mark finds himself put in with another fighter who loves to throw. With two talented strikers, the fight looks likely to end with a KO. While both fighters have shown themselves to be competent on the ground, they are both primarily stand-up artists, and I feel they will clash in a striking war. Mark has shown himself to be vulnerable to great strikers; however I feel his dynamic, unorthodox striking style, and more importantly his striking speed, will see him through over Zelg. If Zelg can stop Mark’s initial attack, he will have a very good chance at beating the Cage Rage British Champion, but I think Mark will catch him. Look for Mark to jump on Zelg early. Mark Weir KO in round 1.
This is a throwback fight to the classic striker vs grappler scenario. The game plan for each fighter is fairly straight forward here-Tengiz wants to put Cabbage on his back and pound on him, while Cabbage wants to stand Tengiz up and knock him out. I’ve got to go with Cabbage on this one, based on the fact that he has a harder head! Tengiz has shown vulnerability to talented strikers, and his most recent Cage Rage performance was a highlight reel KO loss to Edson Drago at Cage Rage 16. While Cabbage isn’t noted as a heavy, one punch knock-out artist, he has quick hands and enough power to take out Tengiz. I expect he will probably spend a lot of the fight on his back being pounded, but his solid chin will keep him in this fight. Watch for Cabbage to pull out a come-from-behind victory in this fight
UFC veteran Elvis Sinosic makes an appearance on UK shores against Mark Epstein, coming off a frustrating loss to Ian Freeman in his last fight. This fight is a clash of contrasting styles. Elvis has technically sound stand-up, though he doesn’t carry much dynamite in his fists, whereas Mark is a strong, wild slugger with KO power. Elvis has a strong submission game, whereas Mark likes to pound guys out once he gets them down. It’s a tough fight to call. Elvis could use his stand-up game to frustrate Mark, or Mark could land a bomb and take Elvis out. If it goes to the ground, it will likely be Mark who gains top position (Elvis is not noted as a strong wrestler), and from there it will be a case of Mark’s ground and pound vs Elvis’s guard game. If Mark can put pressure on Elvis standing up, and control him on the ground without getting too KO happy, he could grind out a decision, but Elvis will be dangerous for the whole fight.
Vitor Ribeiro is without doubt one of the top lightweight fighters in the world, and his lack of exposure on the big shows has been nothing short of astounding considering his talent. He is pitched against Daisuke Nakamura, another submission artist, in what looks to be a fight that will have the jiu-jitsu purists salivating. Nakamura is a tricky customer on the ground, as shown by surviving (although losing) against world class jiu-jitsu fighter Marcus Aurelio. In fact, neither fighter has ever been submitted before, so we could be looking at a slow paced fight based on positioning, and out-positioning the other fighter. Vitor has often been criticised for putting ground control first without always actively seeking to finish a fight, however I’m going out on a limb here and predicting he will be the first to break Nakamura’s run of never being submitted. Look for Vitor to slowly and methodically work towards a submission in about the third round.
Paul Daley stands right on the fringe of world class, and a win over Luiz Azeredo will surely thrust him into the limelight-though this is no easy task ahead. Azeredo is, in my own opinion, the more technically astute striker, although he is coming off a brutal KO loss to Joachim Hansen in Pride Bushido 10. Paul Daley is a fighter constantly improving, as well as being the naturally bigger man. He has demonstrated strong stand up skills and ground and pound in his career, and could easily catch Azeredo and put him to sleep. Azeredo has been caught and KO’d by some of the best lightweight fighters out there, and I feel that while he might be the better striker technically, he will struggle with the size and strength of Daley.
The unpredictable Jean Silva returns to Cage Rage to take on Danilo Cherman, a fighter from the same team as Vitor Ribeiro, who holds a submission victory over Jean. Jean would be well advised to keep this fight standing, as his work with the legendary Chute Boxe team has helped to improve his already dangerous stand-up, and this is clearly where he will have the advantage in the fight. Danilo has yet to finish a fight via strikes, and it is highly unlikely he will be able to in this fight-Jean has shown a great chin in fights against heavy hitters such as Paul Daley and Takanori Gomi. If the fight hits the ground it could be a case of who gets the better position upon landing-Jean has shown considerable submission skills in his career, submitting Eddie Bravo student Gerald Strebendt, however he has been on the wrong end of two submissions himself in recent fights. If Jean can keep the fight standing he should have the advantage, and I predict him to pull out a much needed victory in this fight.
This fight looks set to be a repeat of their brawl at Cage Rage 14, much to delight of the slugfest lovers in the crowd. Legeno started their first fight like a man possessed, landing heavy shots which a game Murdoch covered up and took. After about a minute of abuse, Legeno has punched himself out completely, eventually going to ground and being submitted at the 4:07 mark of round 1. Can Legeno pace himself in this fight? He had the first fight all but won before his cardio betrayed him. I expect Legeno will come out aggressive like the first fight, though I feel he will pace himself a little better. Murdoch proved himself to be very durable, but Legeno has the power to shake him up, and possibly even finish him if he picks his punches right. I predict Legeno to overwhelm Murdoch again, this time finding the punches to finish the fight. Legeno first round KO.
Pokam’s last Cage Rage outing was a DQ loss to Sol Gilbert in a fight he was winning handily on the feet. In fact, it was the third DQ loss of his short career, showing he has a penchant for bending the rules! Alex Reid comes into this fight in desperate need of a win after three straight defeats. Both love to throw the leather, so watch out for a stand up war in this fight! I think Alex will have the slight edge in this fight, Pokam has been stopped by Paul Daley, a smaller fighter, and I think Alex’s natural size advantage, and accurate strikes will carry him through.
The tactics in this fight are straightforward-Jess will try to bring the fight to the ground and use his submissions, while Ross will be gunning for the big KO. While Jess is not a world class submission fighter, he is certainly a good one, and Ross has shown vulnerability from his back (though only being submitted once, by Chris Lytle. Ross will have a size advantage, and this could play into his favour, giving him the natural size and strength to help defend against the take downs. If Jess can get the fight to the ground and apply steady pressure, he could force a submission. If he can’t get the fight to the ground he is going to be up against it.
Here we have two fighters that have won the majority of their fights via submission, but shown themselves to be vulnerable to submissions in the process. In fact, the last time either of these fighters fought in Cage Rage, they were on the wrong end of a submission. I’ve got to go with Matt Ewin in this fight, simply because I think he is the heavier, stronger fighter. I can picture him establishing a top position and working towards a submission in about the second round.
This fight is a hard one to pick, both are hard working, honest pros who have fought against some international level with mixed results. Doski managed a win and a loss to Dan Hardy, and holds submission wins over Sami Berik and Dean Bray -though he did drop two fights to tough journeyman fighter Paul Jenkins. Mahmoud managed to hold Jenkins to a draw on two occasions, although he did not look impressive in either fight. Based on experience against a higher level of competition, I’ve got to give the edge to Doski in this one.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
