The second of November 2003 saw the first Cage Event to be held in the North East of England, The first time Cage Warriors passed London and the return of Ian Freeman to UK competition. As if this wasn't enough, it also saw the biggest crowd for a home grown event in the history of UK MMA. Until this weekend, the only 2 events of this size to be held in the UK were the UFC imported from America for a once off showing in the UK and Extreme Force which included such international fighters as Pélé, Cyrille Diabate, James Schiavo and Jason Black as well as appearances by Valentin Overeem and others but Cage Warriors North managed to attract a crowd of over 1800 with only 2 international fighters on the card, both of whom are regulars on UK fight cards.
Another step in the right direction that was made quite obvious at Cage Warriors North was the sheer quality of every match, UK cards, including previous Cage Warriors events, often have 1 or 2 marquee matches, a half dozen mid card matches and warm us up with a few semi pro or first time pro matches. Cage Warriors had no semi pro matches and all of the pro fighters appearing on the card were quality making for excellent matches.
Before I'm accused of favouritism, I'd like to point out Cage Warriors 5 was by no means perfect. The show started over an hour late and despite the tiered seating and the large venue it was at times hard to see the action and the single large screen wasn't enough at time for some of the audience. Now, on to the fights.
Marvin Li V Brian Sugden
Starting a show with a fight of this Caliber proves what I said earlier, Cage Warriors is taking only experienced veterans and trying to set itself apart as THE show to fight on in the UK. Marvin has an extensive amateur record and Brian came in to this fight with a 4-2-0 Pro record.
Brian came out hard throwing strikes and clinching up against the fence, Marvin, who looked huge and ripped, managed to take Brians back standing and takes Brian down, after jockeying a little for position Marvin manages to sink the choke and finishes Brian 61 seconds into the match.
Winner – Marvin Li
Paul Jenkins V Andy Cooper
Welterweight
These 2 fighters have headlined previous UK events so you might wonder why they appeared so early in the show. Due to a number of injuries and fighters pulling out Cage Warriors was left with three 77Kg fighters all scheduled to fight on the show. In a first for UK MMA (that I'm aware of) Jenkins and Cooper were to fight early on in the card and the winner would go on to face Abdul Mohammed.
Jenkins and Cooper have met twice before, the first time Andy came out the winner and the second the fight was stopped when Paul took a thumb to the eye and was unable to continue. Both previous matches were quality but Jenkins must have been gagging for a win over his nemesis, unfortunately it wasn't to be.
Andy came out throwing kicks, including a spinning back kick which came as a surprise considering Andys totally unflashy, get the job done, style. Jenkins goes for a takedown and Andy sinks what looks like a pretty tight Guillotine, at this level of competition Guillotines rarely finish a fight and Jenkins and Jenkins pops his head loose and starts to throw some Ground N Pound, Andy's strikes off his back seemed just as effective though while Jenkins works him towards the cage.
Jenkins stacks Andy against the cage and starts to pass but they stand up while Jenkins tries to work a guillotine of his own, he tries to pull guard but Andy takes Side control and starts punching Jenkins Ribs. Jenkins is more than used to taking punishment and mocks pain at every punch that Andy throws at him while retaking guard. Andy Pops his head out and tries to work Paul to the fence. Paul Pushes off with his feet so Andy stands and throws some punches downwards at Jenkins. Jenkins continues to look for subs off his back and Andy continues to throw punches until Paul Grabs his head and Andy passes to mount. Jenkins gives up his back to escape and almost ends up in a worse position as Andy works his hooks in. Jenkins grabs a leg and forces Andy to his back where Andy ties Paul up and starts working subs showing his recently improved ground game put Jenkins passes his triangle attempt and takes his back as Andy turns to get up.
The round ends with Jenkins on Andys back.
Jenkins comes out with a leg kick in the second round and Andy replies with another spinning back kick, Jenkins takes Andy down and lands in half guard with Andy working another Guillotine as Jenkins works the escape Andy turns him and tries to pass but Jenkins gets guard. Andy Stands back up and kicks pauls legs so Paul shoots a single to take Andy Down and passes to mount. Jenkins tries to work him to the cage but Andy reverses him and Paul ends up against it. Andy stands, lands a huge punch and drops back down into guard.
Andy Stands again tries to push Jenkins legs aside to pass and gets half guard as Jenkins tries to take back guard Andy lands another solid punch. Andy Passes and Jenkins rolls to take back guard but gives up his back, the round ends with Andy on Jenkins back and the rear naked choke nearly sunk in.
Jenkins eye is very badly swollen and the ref stops the match, Jenkins looks disappointed but it's the right call, that eye is very bad.
Winner – Andy Cooper - Ref Stoppage.
John Nicholson V Sandy Geddes
Middleweight
Wow What a fight!!
Both guys came out and looked for the KO right from the start, the first round was all John standing, on top, from guard John dominated this round completely including opening up Sandys nose which made for quite a lot of blood.
The second round was closer, Sandy definitely got a piece of it he slams John from triangle attempts a few times and punishes him from within his guard but I'd still give it to John.
The final round was nearly all Sandy, John looks really tired and is boxing with his hands low, Sandy lands a left hook that almost Drops John who then shoots a weak single and ends up on his back. He took some punishment but then started working the triangle again. Sandy defended the triangle just as well in this round as in the previous and John can't finish it so ends up trying to defend against Sandys excellent GnP.
They're stood up and Sandy lands another big one, but John has a chin of steel and takes him down again but takes a lot of punishment.
John gets the decision, I think fairly, but neither of these men could be called losers after this fight. Both walked out warriors and both walked out looking different to when they walked in.
Winner – John Nicholson via Points
Jean da Silva Vs Dave Elliot
Lightweight
Here's the first of the international matches and one of the most awaited of the night. Jean Silva is a regular on UK events and has beaten some of the UK's finest, Dave has emerged as one of the top 70Kg fighters in the UK and is looking to solidify that reputation with a win over the skilful Brazilian. There has been a lot of talk about this fight, Dave has beaten everyone so far using his grappling, he holds a BJJ blue belt but rolls at a much higher level, most say a good purple. Jean on the other hand recently earned his black belt so many, myself included, thought that this might be the moment when he see Dave's stand up, the subject of many a rumour on the UK scene.
Jean came out fast as always and landed a flying knee. Dave pulled guard with a guillotine and Jean immediately started working him towards the cage, Dave uses the guillotine and the cage to stand back up and gets a HUGE slam for his trouble.
Dave works well from his back and sinks in an armbar which looks fairly tight, Jean, calm as ever, picks him up and slams his twice but Dave is relentless. Jean manages to turn into the armbar and escapes but ends up in Daves guard again.
Jean stacks Dave against the cage but Dave controls Jeans hips well while he looks for sweeps, Jean stabilises and throws some huge punches and Dave taps.
Winner – Jean Silva wins by GnP 2:20 Rd 1
I spoke to Dave later, I was surprised at someone with his thai background tapping to strikes, it seems that Dave took a thumb in the eye during the final exchange forcing him to tap. Unlucky but a good win for Jean.
Steve Mathews V Andy Costello
Heavyweight
As all events, Cage Warriors had some people pull out, the event was almost left a fight short until Steve stepped up at short notice to make his pro' debut.
The fight started off with very little stand up until Andy bundles him to the floor and takes mount. Andy wastes no time in throwing the leather and Steve covers up and moves well avoiding many of the strikes. Andy is really accurate with his strikes and gets past Steves defence one too many times and Steve is forced to tap.
Winner – Andy Costello wins 35 seconds into round 1
Graham Connelly V David Hamilton
Special Charity Boxing Match
Leon Dickens didn't turn up on the night to fight and despite his best efforts Dougie couldn't find anyone to replace him.
Graham and David from the dinky ninjas volunteered to put on an exhibition match to entertain the crowd and earn some money for a local charity. The first round mostly a laugh, both guys throw and both guys are competitive but there's a lot of fooling about and talking with the crowd. Graham is a much more technical boxer than I thought, I always knew he could throw but he's showing mad skillz even if it is just an exhibition match.
Graham takes his top off before the second round and this is a sign that it's gonna get a little more serious, while neither are gonna be trying to KO each other that much, both are making more effort to get the upper hand this time round.
Both guys are talented and funny and the crowd is loving it.
The match is ruled a draw and a lucky local charity came away with a tidy sum collected by the ring girls.
Result - Draw
Ozzy Haluk V Adam Edwards
Lightweight
Ozzy lost a tough match to Paul Sutherland for the 70Kg title in the last Cage Warriors and showed some excellent skills in the process. Adam is making his Pro debut but trains with Pete Tiarks and Dave Elliot so has come to the ring ready.
Ozzy shows more complete standup skills throughout the match but Adam seems to be able to land head kicks almost at will, his leg just appears in the air and Ozzy takes a shot to the face to begin the match. Ozzy pulls guard and Adam passes to 69 then stands up as Ozzy tries to escape.
Adam tries a spinning kick and sees some of Ozzys boxing and a solid knee then replies with a solid leg kick.
Ozzy pulls guard again this time with a guillotine put Adam pops his head out and lies back for a leg lock, they have a short leg lock race until Ozzy sits up into Adams half guard. Adam retakes guard and Ozzy throws some body shots.
Adam shows some of the skills we expect from one of Dave elliots students and starts working his legs high for subs, Ozzy in return works him towards the cage and starts some Ground N Pound. Adam controls Ozzys head and starts working his rubber guard as Ozzy tries to break guard the ref stands them up and they throw down a little more for the last seconds with Adam throwing another of those high kicks that appear from nowhere.
The second round starts with them throwing down again and both guys land some shots. Ozzy seems more cautious after Adam lands some good punches and refuses to go to ground with him. Both guys exchanges hooks and an exhausted looking Ozzy backs off and gives up.
Winner – Adam Edwards wins by verbal submission 1'57 Rd2
David Butlin V Brian Blewett
Dave looks huge and he looked really sharp back in the warm up room and comes out hard with a flurry. Brian clinches and gets caught in a guillotine but Dave opts to stand back up and invites Brian to join him.
Dave flurrys again landing lots of hard shots and Knocking Brian down and following him down with a bomb before Grant stops it. Impressive performance from Dave Butlin.
Winner- David Butlin via TKO 0:30
Ross Pettifer V Robert Mitchell
Middleweight
Both guys are tall and slim with Ross giving up a couple of inches. Both can strike but are better known for their BJJ skills.
Rob comes out fast and brings it straight to Ross who wants to take it down, he clinches and is having trouble getting Rob down until he drops to his back and drags Rob over him in a sort of lazy suplex landing in guard.
Rob is very comfortable on his back and starts working his legs high for submissions starting with an omoplata accompanied with a solid punch to the face. He swtches to a triangle and closes it well so Ross picks him up and drops him for the escape Rob mounts and gets turned and sinks a guillotine but doesn't fall to guard Ross goes to his back to escape the guillotine but gets side mounted. He bridges and turtles and gets a single as Rob comes over him landing in Robs guard.
Rob sinks another triangle and this time gets the finish.
Ross looked very defensive throughout the match and didn't seem comfortable in there at against Rob's relentless attacks.
Winner – Rob Mitchell by triangle 3:57 Rd 1
Emmanuel Fernandez V Pete Tiarks
Featherweight
Emmanuel took this fight on short notice, he was training for a grappling competition, which he was entering at –70kg and 8 days before CageWarriors when he was asked to take the fight he was weighing 68.5Kg. Emmanuel cut as much as he could in such a short time and came in at 66.4Kg Pete didn't hesitate in accepting the match despite coming in at 65.1Kg a true show of guts and confidence by both men.
It's been a long time since we've seen a striker v grappler match and in this day of cross training this was about as you're gonna get. Pete has an impressive Thai record with wins in Lumpini stadium and although he is no stranger to grappling it's not exactly his forte. Emmanuel trains with a Wrestling and Luta Livre coach and some very good thai boxers but he's France's most decorated grappler and pretty much sticks to his BJJ.
The fight started with Pete coming out looking for the opportunity to strike and Emmanuel backing off waiting for the time to take him down. That time comes when his back hit the cage and he shot a double leg taking Pete down and almost immediately passing guard. He continues to improve his position flowing from Side control to Knee on belly to mount.
Emmanuel works an armbar but as he falls back Pete sits up out of it nicely and lands in Emanuels guard. Emmanuel worked aggressively from his guard as Pete worked him towards the cage throwing the odd punch along the way. Emmanuel worked a triangle and showing the patience we've come to associate with elite grapplers inched it slowly closed working a Kimura to facilitate the task. At just under 3 minutes into the round he closed it completely and Pete was forced to tap.
A great win for Emmanuel against one of the UK's top –66Kg fighters setting him up for a title shot against the winner of Paul McVeigh and Ian Butlin.
Winner – Emmanuel Fernandez via Triangle Choke, round 1
Andy Cooper V Abdul Mohamed
Welterweight
After a tough fight against Paul Jenkins, people were asking themselves how Andy could expect to come out and fight a second fight against a very tough opponent in Abdul. To everyone’s surprise Andy came out looking fresh as a daisy and even played up a little for the crowd.
His opponent, probably the best wrestler to compete in MMA in the UK, came out looking fit, strong and determined. The fight itself was incredible, Abdul is an incredible wrestler and took Andy down almost at will. Andy is a very experienced and very complete fighter who tried to pull everything out of the bag just to stay in the fight and for his part he kept up as much offence as is possible against a wrestler the class of Abdul.
In the first round Abdul was full of energy and passed Andy’s guard multiple times taking mount and punishing on more than one occasion. Andy fought hard to regain guard or get back to his feet and basically just to survive the onslaught. Early on in the round he even managed to slip on a tight armbar but Abdul was too skilled and too strong and he managed to escape.
By the second Andy looked fresher than Abdul and was able to put up more offence, he was also forced to use flying knees or fast punch combinations at the start of the round and each subsequent stand up just to try and get a shot in before the inevitable takedown. As Abdul tired and his work rate slowed Andy had a little more success sweeping and looking for submissions but Abduls base was too good and he was too strong so that just as it looked like he might be swept Andy would find himself on his back again.
By the third round everyone was wondering how Andy could still be standing, he had already fought 20 minutes against 2 tough opponents and was still looking for the finish. It wasn't to be, Abdul was just too strong and skilled, despite being visibly tired, and was able to shut Andy down everytime and totally dominate the positioning of the match. Midway through the round when Andy landed a huge kick from his back to Abduls face the crowd went wild and 1800 people were cheering his name but the incredibly tough Abdul just shook it off and continued to put his game plan into action to win a tough fought decision.
Abdul was very impressive in his Pro debut and with some more submission and striking training I would expect him to totally dominate the UK scene.
Winner – Abdul Mohamed wins by Unanimous decision after 3 rounds
Main Event
Ian Freeman V Keith Dace
Heavyweight
The match we'd all been waiting for, Ian Freemans return to UK competition. On paper this match didn't seem to make any sense. Keith had already lost to Ian and had taken his retirement not long afterwards, Ian on the other hand had been training and competing and constantly improving since their last encounter so why did it take place?
It was a marquee match, it was designed to reintroduce Ian to the UK crowd in impressive fashion and that's just what it did.
Despite the match only lasting 47 seconds it was extremely exciting and well worth seeing, in response to Ians initial attack Keith bulled him up against the cage and picked him up over his for his signature move, the slam. Ian was completely unphased though and both fighters get back to their feet Ian charges at Keith fists flying and knocks him onto his face. Ian mounts Keiths back and continues the onslaught until the ref steps in and calls it a day.
Winner – Ian Freeman - Round 1
All in all I loved Cage Warriors first northern instalment and I'll definitely be there for the next one!
