saw the dawn of pro-MMA in Yorkshire, as Cagewarriors arrived at the Barnsley Metrodome for what promised to be a night of full-strength fight action. Usually a home for both amateur and professional boxing, an expectant crowd of 800 packed the arena for an evening of combat with a different flavour.

A number of high profile withdrawals threatened to cast a cloud over the night, especially the absence from the card of local talent Ian Butlin and the experienced Andy Cooper, but in the event, the fighters present were able to give the crowd an evening to which this reporter is sure they will want to return.

Butlin’s opponent, Frenchman Johnny Frachey had to withdraw at the eleventh hour following a serious injury in training, and a late substitute was unavailable. This hardly surprises, given the utter domination that Ian displayed in his recent victory over Chin Weakasingh at the Valentines Day Brawl at Cage Rage 5, so his next opponent had better be preparing for a war; Ian intends to bring one.

Controversy reigned in the match up featuring the ever-popular Wakefield warrior Andy Cooper. His opponent, the tough wrestler Hassan Muradi weighed in 5kg over the limit for their welterweight bout. A disappointment for Cooper and the crowd, but in the event, Cooper’s decision not to fight was the correct one.

Chris Powell was a no-show for the bout with Neil Hall in the Light Heavyweight division, and Robbie Olivier was unable to shake off the injury that he recently received in training, and was forced to bow out of his contest with Dave Elliott.

There was a fresh look to tonight’s event, with the introduction of the new Cagewarriors logo to the cage, and the debut of some striking outfits for ring girls Hayley Finch and Jenna Sweeney (Let’s be satisfied with the thought that they left very little to the imagination, and leave it there…)

The crowd were also treated to the introduction of the new Cagewarriors MC, star of television and the recent movie ‘Sex Lives of the Potato Men’, Nick Holden, and referee for the night was Grant Waterman.

Matt Thorpe versus Ollie Ellis

First up was the lightweight match up between Matt ’12 Gauge’ Thorpe who, fighting for the Northern Cartel, brought with him a professional record of 2-1-0 and a good crowd of enthusiastic local support. His opponent, Ollie Ellis of Team Savage was in only his second pro-fight, but was looking forward to adding a win to that single loss.

The Cartel are renowned for their striking, and this intention was displayed early on by Thorpe, who from the referee’s signal took the centre of the cage and looked to press the action from the feet. Ellis immediately shot in under Thorpe’s probing jab, and although he sprawled well, Thorpe found himself on his back, with Evans in his open guard. He was able to tie-up Thorpe’s right arm, preventing him from passing, and offer Thorpe a couple of defensive punches to the head.

This was clearly not a part of Thorpe’s game plan, and he was soon able to power out of Evans’ guard and bring the fight back upstairs.

Thorpe looked far more comfortable on his feet, and subsequent takedown attempts from Ellis were countered with effective sprawling and some vicious knees to the legs and body. The fighters were soon on the canvas again when Thorpe was forced to pull guard following an unsuccessful takedown attempt, but Ellis’ blows from the top position were little trouble for Thorpe, who displayed fine Jiu Jitsu with a number of attempts at a triangle choke. A quick switch to his opponents arm almost caught Ellis, but he powered free and found himself with side mount on Thorpe. From this dominant position, Ellis was able to open up on Thorpe, whose right arm was thoroughly trapped, and he looked perilously close to being overwhelmed. He found enough strength to bridge out of Ellis’ side mount, but in doing so was forced to give up his back. From this point, the result was academic, with Ellis gradually working the choke and forcing Thorpe to tap out at 4 minutes of the first round.

Gavin Bradley versus Marvin Li

Fight 2 brought together Gavin Bradley of the Gracie Barra, Newcastle, and hotly tipped Cagewarriors newcomer Marvin Li. Although they both weighed in on target, there was a distinct contrast between the two combatants, the shorter, stockier Li against the longer and leaner Bradley.

Given the physical differences between them, it was no surprise that both men spent the early part of the first round sizing each other up, with Bradley working a jab - low kick combination. Li countered with a far more effective left right combo, which opened Bradley up for the takedown attempt. And what an attempt! Li was able to demonstrate his strength and wrestling skill to devastating effect with a vicious slam. Bradley was able to catch Li’s head on the way down to the floor, but was still stunned by the ferocity of the takedown. Li soon found himself with side control and was able to maintain this position by switching between side and north south as Bradley attempted to buck out. Good defence from Bradley prevented Li passing to mount, but this exposed his head to a number of short elbows from Li. More good defence from Bradley soon enabled him to bring Li into his guard, but after a decent attempt at an armbar, Li was able to pull free, bringing the fight back to the feet.

Back upstairs, Li looked by far the more aggressive of the two, but like the initial stand up exchanges, neither seemed willing to fully commit and very few punches seemed to be getting through. When Li did attempt to push the action, he found himself on the receiving end of a left-right combination and a full-blooded takedown from Bradley. With Li pressed against the cage, Bradley was able to open up with his elbows, which surely rocked his opponent. With Bradley drawn in tight, Li switched to an armbar attempt, but Bradley was able to power out. Still in Li’s guard, Bradley pushed the pace with a flurry of punches to the sides Li’s head, and was able to slip through a couple of powerful straight lefts as Li attempted to switch position. At this point, Bradley displayed by far the most aggression and ground and pound technique, switching between head and kidney shots, asking questions to which Li had no reply, until he was able to power to his feet, and avoiding a number of Thai knees from Bradley’s clinch, was able to score yet another slam takedown, landing in side mount just as the timekeeper called the end of the first round.

Round two saw Li attempting to push the action on the feet, with Bradley countering with high kicks. These were enough to force the takedown, and once again, Li found himself pressed against the cage with Bradley in his guard. As Bradley took stock of this his position, Li looked to be attempting a rubber guard manoeuvre, but his reward for this was more short elbows from Bradley. A transition to triangle brought him no more success, Bradley all the time maintaining pressure with elbows and punches. As Bradley moved for a key lock, Li was able to open up enough space to kick Bradley off, but he didn’t count on his opponent’s tenacity, Bradley shooting straight back in and taking north – south position. From here, Bradley switched to an armbar, and but for the cage the fight would have ended there, as Bradley didn’t have the space to straighten out Li’s arm and his own body. His determination paid off though, and with Li’s arm well and truly caught was able to force the tapout at 3min 21secs of the second round, extending his record to 3-2-0.

Chris Freebourne versus Alex Owen

Fight three saw the professional debut of Alex Owen in the 145lb category, who brought with him a perfect amateur record of 10-0. His opponent was the more experienced Chris Freebourne, but with a record of 2-5-0, this was still anyone’s fight.

Freebourne came out of his corner by far the more aggressive, quickly forcing the clinch and attempting a takedown on Owen. This attempt was quickly neutralised, and as the fight hit the ground, Freebourne was quickly mounted. He was left with little choice but to hang on to Owen, who looked to strike at every opportunity. A good reversal from Freebourne forced Owen onto his back, but from his guard, Owen was quickly able to switch between triangle and armbar attempts, before Freebourne was able to reverse, bringing Owen into his guard. From here, both fighters stayed very active, exchanging punches and elbows, Owen opening up a small cut over Freebourne’s right eye, and Freebourne attempting an ankle lock which resulted in both fighters being able to return to their feet. An exchange of high and low kicks was followed by a left-right combination from Owen which further opened the cut, forcing a cautious Freebourne to pull guard and draw Owen in tight, attacking with Royce Gracie style heel shots to the kidneys. Owen persisted with elbows and punches, clearly targeting the cut, but was unable to use these to his advantage.

Round two, and following attention from his cut man, the bleeding from Freebourne’s forehead seemed to have stopped. Owen immediately attacked with a left-right combination, forcing the clinch, from which Freebourne was able to score two effective knees to the abdomen. On breaking away from the clinch, Owen opened up with another left-right combination, which didn’t look to be on the button, but which forced referee Grant Waterman to intervene. On checking his condition, referee Waterman felt that Freebourne was in no condition to continue, and stopped the fight only seconds into round 2, giving Owen a dream debut victory by T.K.O. Expect to see him back in the cage very soon.

Andy Walker versus Lewis Ribbero

Bout four looked on paper to be an interesting battle between two BJJ players. Walker, of Poole Bushido looking to test his skills against the Carlson Gracie trained Ribbero, and add a win to his 0-3-1 record.

From the off, Ribbero looked ready for battle, forcing Walker into a corner, but his first shot at the takedown was countered with an effective right. As Ribbero clinched, looking for the underhooks, Walker was able switch out of his grip and force through a massive right, which clearly rocked Ribbero, sending him to the ground and into the side mount of Walker, where he received a further flurry of elbows and punches, one of the elbows being deemed an illegal downward strike, forcing the referee to deduct one point from Walker’s scorecard. Following the restart, the fight was soon back on the ground, a reversal by Ribbero leading to a cautious ground game, with Walker drawn in tightly by Ribbero, neither fighter seeming to be able to create any space for strikes or submission attempts.

Round two saw a more aggressive opening from Walker, with Ribbero looking for the takedown at every opportunity, as a counter to some good strikes. A clinch led the fighters back to the floor, with Ribbero pulling guard and Walker passing to half-guard. Walker consolidated his position with shots to the ribs and kidneys, but left himself exposed to a guillotine attempt, which was unsuccessful, and allowed Walker to pass to north-south, from where he was able to give Ribbero a playful spanking (Randy Couture – I think you’ve started a trend…). A switch back to Ribbero’s guard saw Walker well entangled, and both fighters seemingly neutralised, but by now Ribbero was really struggling with the pace. Referee Waterman was eventually forced to break the fighters up following a long period of inactivity, but Ribbero, looking more fatigued as the seconds passed had to be helped to his feet by his opponent. Seizing the moment, Walker stepped in looking for a K.O. punch but missed, allowing Ribbero to clinch. He seemed to have nothing in the tank at this point, and was happy to stall with his weight pinning Walker to the cage, before shooting for a single leg. Walker sprawled well, but they hit the ground anyway. As he switched to Ribbero’s back, Walker was able to score some decent elbows whilst attempting to sink the hooks, and once he had the Brazilian locked in, was able to open up, giving Ribbero no choice other than to cover up and pray for the end of the round. The end came only seconds later, with Ribbero practically crawling back to his corner, unable to stand once during the one minute break, before wisely offering a verbal submission, giving Walker his first and richly deserved professional victory.

 Ian Jones versus Sandy Geddes

It was debutant versus veteran in the fifth bout of the night; Ian ‘The Mongoose’ Jones squaring up to the popular and exuberant ‘Guv’nor’, Sandy Geddes of Scotland. Jones, hotly tipped to enjoy a long and successful career in MMA would do well to remember that in Geddes, he was facing one of the toughest fighters on the U.K. scene, despite his record of 4-6-0.

Round one, and the fighters soon found themselves in the clinch, with Jones working his dirty boxing to good effect, looking all the time to score with knees against the body and legs of Geddes. Jones looked by far the stronger of the two at this point, but neither man was able to switch to an effective takedown attempt. Jones continued to concentrate with knees to the legs of Geddes, raising some wicked bruises and allowing him to switch to underhooks, but Geddes was able to struggle free. Jones seized his opportunity, and moved to Geddes’ back, scoring the takedown with a belly-to-back suplex. Once on the ground Jones was able to take the back of Geddes and sink his hooks, looking for the rear naked choke. A very game Geddes was able to prevent this for a few seconds, but was forced to succumb to the inevitable, tapping out at 2mins 42secs of the first round; a spectacular debut victory for ‘The Mongoose’.

Emmanuel Fernandez versus James Lutman

Fight six should have been the first round of the 145lb elimination tournament, but in the event was the only fight of the two that went ahead,Ian Butlin being awarded a bye into the next round following the withdrawal of his opponent Johnny Frachey. The right to face Butlin in the final was to be contested between the talented submission grappler Emmanuel Fernandez of France, dubbed ‘the little French Rumina Sato’ by one fight fan, and Pro-debutant James Lutman, fighting out of the Andy Jardine camp.

It seemed from the off that Lutman’s strategy was to come out fast and hard, bullishly looking to land as many strikes as possible whilst keeping the fight on the feet. Fernandez though was looking to seize the initiative, and Lutman soon found himself in trouble with Fernandez making the transition from clinch to guillotine, locking his legs around Lutmans body. He didn’t have sufficient grip in order to sink the choke, and both men went to the ground, Lutman momentarily in Fernandez’s guard before forcing himself back to his feet.

Back upstairs, Lutman continued to push the pace with punches and kicks, demonstrating some effective takedown defence, but was unable to prevent Fernandez taking his back and sinking the hooks with Lutman still on his feet, forcing him to the canvas whilst looking for the rear naked choke. His initial attempt unsuccessful, Fernandez maintained the pressure with a barrage of punches to the sides of Lutman’s head, but this gave Lutman the opportunity to break Fernandez’s grip around his body and turn himself into Fernandez’s guard. Lutman’s attempt to stand up was thwarted by an ankle pick, which saw took the fight back to the ground and into Lutman’s guard. Fernandez was able to use his offence well, mixing guard-pass attempts with some powerful punching, eventually standing up looking to pass from his feet, avoiding Lutman’s kicks to his legs and gaining side control. Fernandez immediately looked to make the transition to mount, but more good defence from Lutman only allowed him to take half-guard. Once again a mixture of strikes, passing attempts and even at one point a front choke attempt were employed by the Frenchman to soften Lutman up for the pass to mount. Again he defended well, but there was no denying Fernandez’s dominance at this point of the fight, and he was soon past Lutman’s guard, raining down a succession of heavy clinical blows to his body and head from a high mount position. With seemingly his last reserves of power, Lutman managed to defend enough of the strikes to give himself an opportunity to bridge out of the mount, which he did extremely effectively and much to the delight of the crowd, scoring a reversal into the guard of Fernandez. Not to be outdone though, Fernandez quickly switched his guard to triangle, and before Lutman really knew what had hit him, the choke was cinched and Fernandez had earned the tap, and his meeting with Butlin in the 145lb title bout, to be held at Cagewarriors 7- Showdown, which returns to the Barnsley Metrodome on 9th May. This one looks set to be unmissable. Butlin, denied his moment in the ring but given the opportunity to speak to his fans declaring “I was thinking of retiring from Mixed Martial Arts, but there’s no way that belt is going to France…” Ladies and Gentlemen – it’s on!

Paul Jenkins versus Abdul Mohammed

Headline honours went to this Welterweight title match up between the Pride of Wales’ Paul ‘Hands of Stone’ Jenkins and the supremely tough wrestler Abdul Mohammed who hails originally from Afghanistan. Hard-hitting Jenkins, the ‘Cage Fighter of the Year’ is easily the busiest fighter on the U.K. MMA scene with an incredible 24-12-2 professional record, and is always a huge hit with fight fans the length and breadth of Great Britain. Mohammed is riding high after his decision victory over Andy Cooper at Cagewarriors 5, and despite being a late replacement for Ronaldo Campos who was seriously injured during an incident at the recent U.K. MMAC event, the Natural Progression fighter, with his record of 6-0-1 was eagerly expected to bring total war to the cage.

Round one opened with Jenkins looking sharp, demonstrating some great body movement as he used his jab to feel out Mohammed and find his range. As the fighters circled each other, Mohammed looked to be the more aggressive, but Jenkins was keeping him well at bay with jabs and feints. Mohammed though was able to easily match Jenkins’ hand speed and technique with the speed of his shooting, closing the distance to his opponent like lightning, and securing the double leg takedown. Jenkins looked to be in trouble the moment his back hit the canvas, Mohammed unloading with a barrage of punches, switching to mean short elbows and following up with yet more punches. He was able to secure side control, but whilst attempting to pass to mount, found himself in Jenkins’ guard. His attempts to keep Mohammed in close were good for a while, but the power and strength of the wrestler allowed him to create enough distance for yet more heavy punches, but Jenkins, naturally an aggressive fighter, seized the moment to attempt a triangle, only to find that Mohammed’s power was such that his grip was easily broken. With Mohammed on his feet, Jenkins was forced to scoot, but the fight was back on when Mohammed, rather than allowing Jenkins to his feet shot towards his downed opponent, leading with his right and scoring a big hit before Jenkins was able to secure his guard. A brief period of inactivity followed, then Jenkins attempted a reversal, almost putting Mohammed on his back but was unable to switch his own body weight in time and the fight returned to Jenkins’ guard. Again, Mohammed was able to power out of the guard back to his feet, leaving Jenkins stranded on his back, but Jenkins responded well with upwards kicks to the head of his standing opponent. It was from here though that Mohammed was able to seize the initiative in what was turning into an increasingly dominant performance by the wrestler. He batted aside one of Jenkins’ kick attempts, and with every ounce of his 170lb frame behind it, hurled a massive overhand right towards Jenkins’ head, which made a huge clean contact, instantly rendering Jenkins unconscious. Medical examiners were soon on the scene and Jenkins was quickly back on his feet, giving Abdul Mohammed the opportunity to savour this devastating knockout victory which gives him the belt and title of Cagewarriors Welterweight Champion. On the strength of this showing, he has proved himself to be a worthy champ, and if anybody wants to take his belt from him, they are themselves going to have to bring something very special to the cage.