The event’s headliner was a clash for the British light-heavyweight title between Ian "The Machine" Freeman and Mark "The Beast" Epstein. Within the opening moments of the bout Freemen was struck by a hard Epstein left hook that echoed the destruction of the one delivered by Melvin Manhoef at Cage Rage 17. Fortunately for Freeman however, his powers of recovery were much improved and the bout continued- all the way to a Judge’s Decision.
The first round was the most evenly contested, with both men looking to implement their respective game-plans. Epstein managed to land some good shots when the fight was standing but was forced to suffer periods on his back by the effective takedown skills of “The Machine”. The to-and-fro of the opening round was punctuated by a nearly successful heel hook attempt from Freeman, but Epstein’s refusal to tap saw the bout continue into round two.
The following two rounds were dominated by Freeman, who set about continuing to take Epstein down and pound him. Epstein managed to clamour to his feet on several occasions but was immediately forced to imbibe yet another Freeman takedown. Freeman may have been questioned as to whether he was still fit enough to compete- his response was to pound Epstein as hard in round three as he had done in round one. Freeman was awarded a unanimous decision and decorated with a new light-heavyweight belt.
The fight that probably should have been the event’s headliner turned out also to be one of the most exciting fights of the evening. The middleweight confrontation between Pride veteran Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Mark Weir was a gripping, well-contested battle of physical skill and mental aptitude. Each man was more than aware of the weaknesses of his foe, and both were successful in exploiting them.
Weir opened the fight in typical fashion, using his rangy strikes to keep the Brazilian at bay. However, “Ninja” did not allow this state of affairs to continue for long, as he closed the distance and utilised an effective body-clinch takedown. From there the Brazilian moved into side mount and slipped on a side choke/arm triangle- which for a long while looked like it may result in the fight’s conclusion. Yet the resilient Gloucester-man escaped danger and erected himself once more.
The fight’s momentum swung like a pendulum, first in favour of Weir, then Rua. Weir would enjoy successful bouts of striking before being forced to the mat to evade submission attempts. The horn for round one sounded amid Rua’s second arm triangle attempt… but this was not to be his last.
As round two began it appeared as though Weir had Rua all sussed out. Still undeterred by the possibility of being put on his back once more, Weir threw a precise and well delivered shin to Rua’s head, followed by with some seismic punches. The energy of those in attendance was carried by Weir through each one of his strikes which appeared to be bringing him closer and closer to disengaging the Brazilian from his senses. Yet unfortunately for Weir, the hardy Chute-Boxe fighter proved to be resilient and once again managed to close the distance. Again Rua took Weir to the matt and searched eagerly for the choke that had come so close before- this one brought success. Mark Weir was forced to tap at 1:15 of the second round to Rua’s third and final arm triangle.
Kimo has been in the news recently because of his suspension from fighting in some U.S promotions owing to the presence of steroids in his bloodstream when tested several months ago. Kimo’s presence on the Cage Rage card was justified as being allowed because the drugs used were for rehabilitative purposes and not for performance enhancement. Besides, the UK has no governing body as yet so Cage Rage are basically free to impose whatever rules they see fit. No one in attendance questioned the decision, opting instead to make the most of the opportunity to watch an MMA legend go to work.
Dave Legeno has been given the new, and rather fitting moniker of “Deathwish”. However on this occasion Legeno was not playing the role of the punchbag as he has in the past. Every contribution made by Kimo was an attempt to get the fight to the matt- something Legeno was all too prepared for. Legeno successfully utilised a surprisingly efficient takedown defence enabling him to throw many nauseating punches to Kimo’s face; the effect of which set in quickly. Kimo’s takedown attempts became more and more laboured until eventually he found himself sat in the middle of the cage unguarded. Legeno was happy to oblige Kimo’s unguarded face and took the opportunity to land a scathing right hand.
Another failed takedown attempt saw Kimo fall victim to a guillotine attempt. Fatigue was probably a catalyst in Legeno attaining the tap from Kimo, but it was a tap nonetheless and Legeno had beaten his first legend. The bout was timed at 3:21 of round one.
Rob Broughton is the eternal underdog. Even though the current British heavyweight Champion gained his title by smashing apart international behemoth James Thompson, Broughton was still considered by many to be second favourite. In his bout with Robert Berry, Broughton silenced his critics and demonstrated that his pounding of the Pride veteran was no fluke.
The bout commenced with some rather unattractive striking from both men who, despite throwing swinging and looping punches, continued to find each other’s chin. Yet it was Broughton who was first to find his technique, employing a high guard and punishing Buzz for his lack defence. In a bid to avoid any further damage Buzz clinched Broughton, holding him in a standing arm triangle until fatigue forced him to release. As the remaining minutes of the round unfolded it became evident that Buzz’s failed submission attempt had taken its toll, and the now heavily fatigued Buzz found himself being bludgeoned by the man who had previously out-cardio’d James Thompson. On several occasions Buzz looked severely rocked, eventually losing all handle of his senses and falling to the floor. Mercifully Broughton chose not to follow up the initial dismantling- the K.O was timed at 3:33 of round one.
Vitor Ribeiro demonstrated why he is World Cage Rage lightweight title holder by highlighting the difference between a proficient fighter like, Abdul Mohamed, and a world-class fighter, like himself. It took the submission-savvy Brazilian 4:27 to ground his opponent and find the submission. The patient and calculated submission specialist passed-up many submission openings, electing instead to hand-pick the very best of opportunities. Ribeiro did not have to wait long for such an opportunity to arise. Ribeiro seized upon a kimura from which there was no escape- despite Mohamed’s valiant efforts to do so.
I hope never to see the likes of Alex Reid in MMA ever again. After having appeared on BBC Radio 1 to promote MMA as a sport (and not a mere ‘barbaric spectacle’) one may be forgiven for believing that the newly named “Detonator” is an admirable ambassador of the sport. However, his antics this weekend were the antithesis of the safe sportsmanship he was trying to convey only days prior.
During the rules meeting prior to the event Reid could be heard asking about the implications of fouling during an opponent’s submission attempt. The relevance of these questions would be revealed midway through the opening round.
The beginning of the bout looked rather promising for the actor-turned-fighter as he was successful in landing several noteworthy strikes and forcing Fryklund onto his back foot. However this period of dominance was short-lived. After a Fryklund double-leg takedown and a brief period of reversals Reid found himself to have been ensnared by a heel hook. It was at this point that the rationale behind Reid’s line of questioning became clear. Reid attempted to free himself of the submission attempt by [illegally] jamming his heel into the face of Tony Fryklund. Once Reid had discovered that this tactic would be insufficient he decided to tap. However it was all too late; he had rattled the cage of “The Freak”, who now refused to release Reid’s leg until satisfied that sufficient damage had been done that the two may now ‘call it quits’. The submission was timed at 1:32 of round one- although the technique was released many seconds later.
Reid’s antics echoed the inexcusable hair-pulling of Jason Barrett who, incidentally, hasn’t fought in Cage Rage since. Let us hope that the same fate awaits the cheater formerly known as “The Reidernater”.
After two appearances in the Cage Rage octagon Henry Miller has fought for a total of two minutes and two seconds. His debut, at Cage Rage 17, lasted only 1:06 before “Buzz” Berry was dragged off him- Miller didn’t fair any better second time round. It took Al-Turk only 56 seconds to floor and destroy the American. After rocking Miller with a short but powerful left hook, Al-Turk kneed and winded his opponent to the matt, from where the ex-sumo received yet more heavy hands. This loss takes Miller’s record to 2-6, poor chap
Alexandru Lungu was made famous by his fight with James Thompson at Pride 30: Fully Loaded, and it is on this credential alone that Lungu enters the Cage Rage octagon. Buchanan on the other hand has been quietly making a name for himself, amassing an MMA record of 4-1. However, with a combined professional record of only six fights, this bout was never set be a classic.
The opening of the first round commenced with Buchanan implementing a very evident ‘stick-and-move’ game plan. Unfortunately for Buchanan, when throwing a low kick he suffered a loss of balance that Lungu was only too happy to capitalise on. Lungu managed immediately to land himself in side mount, from where a lengthy and laboured key lock was attempted. With 175kilos of Romanian on top of him there was little else Buchanan could do but tap. The submission was timed at 1:55 of round one- the Romanian Judo-ka managed to chalk up his first victory without even throwing a single punch.
At no point in this match did Paul Daley look under pressure. He was calm, confident and dominated the bout from start to finish- he was simply out of Sol Gilbert’s class. He enjoyed more success during the stand-up exchanges and took Gilbert down at will. Daley even rocked Gilbert in the first round with a jab! The first round ended with Daley pounding many unanswered left hands into the face of Gilbert from half guard; and although Gilbert survived the initial onslaught, the writing was very much on the wall.
Round two saw much of the same; Daley dominating on the feet then taking Gilbert down and pounding him. During one stand-up exchange, Gilbert was felled with a stunning right hook. Daley then followed in with a knee (which would have been illegal had it landed) and many more punches. A stiff right hand turn off all of Gilbert’s senses and forced the referee to interject. The K.O was timed at 2:58 of round two.
Brad Pickett’s nick-name could be changed from “One-Punch” to “One-Dimensional”, as that is what he was shown to be in his bout with Robbie Olivier. Olivier ran a ground and pound clinic on Pickett, who had no answers for Olivier’s numerous takedowns and positional transitions. Round one saw Pickett get to his feet for only two brief moments in between poundings. One such pounding caused Pickett to lose a tooth which he ejected onto the commentator’s table (Stephen Quadros reportedly saved the tooth and gave it back to Pickett post-fight.)
The remainder of the fight played out entirely in Olivier’s favour, all the way into round three. After more minutes of grounding and pounding by Olivier it looked as though the fight may go to a decision. Yet the memory of their last encounter was still fresh in Olivier’s mind and he was unwilling to let his fate lay in the hands of the judges once more.
On several occasions throughout the fight, Pickett had rolled over to avoid punches once mounted by Oliver. When this tactic was attempted in the third round Olivier seized the opportunity to put an end to the proceedings by snaking his arm around the unprotected neck of Brad Pickett.
Oliver removed not only Pickett’s tooth but his featherweight belt also. A dejected Pickett was left sat in the corner, reflecting on the rear naked choke that the time-keeper had recorded as occurring at 3:03 of round three.
After having been disqualified in his last fight for kicking Sol Gilbert to the head in a period not declared by the referee as an open guard situation, “Professor X” was determined to demonstrate what he calls “Punishment Time”.
Alex Cook was very competitive during the opening moments of round one, landing some good punches in tight combinations. However, he slipped few punches and ate many body kicks. During one such exchange Pokham attempted a spinning back kick that missed entirely and caused the Frenchman to fall over. Cook pursued his now horizontal opponent, looking to take advantage of the Frenchman’s mistake but instead finding himself one limb short. Pokham had landed a textbook armbar from his back, timed at 4:45 of round one. Hardly “Punishment Time”, but impressive nonetheless.
Every time Zelg steps into the cage he makes in quite obvious that he is a unique talent. The Croatian-born, UK-based fighter treated the fans to 2:02 of premeditated destruction. After a blistering straight right put Nichole on the matt, referee Leon Roberts could be heard calling ‘open guard’, which Zelg took as an invitation to axe-kick Nicholle’s head. A few more hard punches later and Roberts had seen enough. Zelg scored himself yet another very impressive win. A speculated match-up with Mark Weir has hardcore fans everywhere salivating at the possibility.
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