Fernandez victorious over Butlin with one second to spare, new featherweight champ crowned

Frenchman Emmanuel Fernandez was crowned the CW Featherweight champion last Sunday night after defeating Yorkshire resident Ian Butlin in dramatic fashion. Ground specialist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Fernandez showed great patience and a solid game plan in attaining victory in one of the most thrilling finishes in UK MMA. Not giving famed striker Butlin a chance to fire anything off, Fernandez took an early takedown from the clinch before methodically working his way to a submission.

Using the cage to nullify Butlin’s guard Fernandez avoided any submission attempts, peppering in short punches until stepping up the pace later in the round. On a signal from his corner, Fernandez went up to fifth gear with his ground strikes before passing to side control- Butlin almost escaped the pin but found himself defending an armbar. Stacked near the cage, the De La Riva brown belt smoothly transitioned to a triangle choke, forcing a tap with only one second left on the clock.

Butlin was disappointed with the result but displayed great sportsmanship in congratulating his opponent. Fernandez was ecstatic with his win, and rightly so. He has defeated all of his opponents with the same move, yet handled his toughest test yet with relative ease. While Butlin is a dangerous grappler, the difference in skill was evident, as the talented Frenchman found himself in little danger throughout the fight.

Butlin will certainly go away with a valuable lesson from this loss, and undoubtedly come back hungrier than ever. A possible rematch later down the line would be a mouth-watering prospect, but I feel there may be more than a few u65kgs fighters eyeing up Fernandez’s belt.

Ian Butlin vs Emmanuel Fernandes F/W Title
Fernandes via submission (triangle) 4:59 round 1

Ryan gets “Tengizzed”- the Barnsley Gladiator steam rolls through opponent

Georgian wrestler and ground n pound merchant Tengiz Tedoradze demolished his Irish opponent in spectacular fashion before a huge home crowd. Now resident in Barnsley, this internationally decorated Greco-roman wrestler took little time in imposing his will on 7 times Irish Judo champ Andy Ryan.

Showing impressive (and unexpected) boxing skills, Tengiz landed a few clean strikes early on that severely rocked Ryan. Brushing off the desperate takedown attempts of Ryan, Tengiz systematically went about taking apart the judo stylist. Following Ryan around the ring from position to position, Tengiz never allowed Ryan to gather himself or mouth any effective defence, until finally settling into mount and scoring a referee stoppage at 2 min 5 sec of the first round. A rousing cheer from the crowd saw the Georgian giant extend his wining streak to 7 fights in a row.

Tengiz Tedoradze vs Andy Ryan H/W Title
Tedoradze via GnP 2:05 round 1

Strebendt taps Elliot with first ever MMA Twister

American submission wizard Gerald Strebendt has made history by being the first ever fighter to become victorious in MMA by applying the “twister” submission hold. In a blistering performance, the UFC veteran shot in and took the fight to the floor immediately, setting up the unorthodox submission and forcing Gracie Barra Newcastle fighter Dave Elliot to tap at 58 seconds of the first round. For a few scary moments it seemed Elliot might be hurt, and Strebendt was genuinely concerned for his well being, even making an effort to go over to Dave’s family. Luckily Elliot was soon up and without injury, but still victim to the first ever MMA twister.

Soon after the fight, Strebendt and Jean De Silva found themselves facing off in an impromptu precursor to their scheduled match at Cage Rage (May 23rd in London). Tensions are certainly running high for this fight, making it one not to be missed.

Gerald, as winner of the lightweight title eliminator, should face Irishman Dave Roche for the belt- dates to be confirmed, so watch this space.

Dave Elliott vs Gerald Strebendt (L/W title eliminator)
Strebendt via submission (Twister) 0:58 round 1

Daley scores quick win over Moradi in K1 rules fight

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it encounter, Nottingham fighter Paul Daley won by cut stoppage against the unknown Ressa Moradi. Coming to the ring with no groin protector (requiring a quick dash back to the changing rooms) and no tape on his gloves, Moradi seemed an unwise opponent for the dangerous Daley, a fighter with a rep for big punches and serious KO power.

As Daley advanced Moradi leapt into the air with a spinning back kick to the midsection! Following it up with another, Moradi was obviously a dark horse, but this didn’t stop Daley from landing a huge knee to the head, opening a bad cut and requiring a stoppage at around the minute mark of round 1.

Paul Daley vs Ressa Moradi (k1 rules; 3x3 rounds)
Daley via cut stoppage round 1

Ewin battles it out to become CW middleweight champ- possible fight of the year

In a strong candidate for fight of the year, Matt Ewin fought a gruelling battle against French fighter Gregory Bouchalegham. Employing what could best be described as a grappling version of rope-a-dope tactics, Ewin braved his way through three and a half rounds of being in the worst positions imaginable before turning it around in the greatest MMA comeback ever.

Bouchalegham has previously beaten Ewin’s mentor and trainer Mark Weir, and seemed poised to do the same against the Gloucester native. Repeatedly taking Ewin down and moving from mount to rear mount to mount, Bouchalegham seemed only seconds way from victory for much of the fight. The wily Ewin evaded every submission attempt from the De La Riva BJJ purple belt and sensationally reversed the fight, winning by way of corner stoppage. With a fatigued Bouchalegham cowering against the cage under a barrage of punches from Ewin, the fight was called to a halt as the towel came in at 2.25 of round four.

Matt Ewin vs Gregory Bouchalegham M/W Title
Ewin via ref stoppage (towel) 2:25 round 4

Roche proves doubters wrong in dominant performance

Irish fighter Dave Roche is easily the unluckiest man in MMA, but finally proved himself in a one sided win over tough lightweight Gav Bradley. Using some sharp striking to force a shoot from Bradley, the permanently smiling Roche completely out-classed and out-powered Bradley on the mat, taking a guillotine choke at only 1.19 seconds of round 1.

Roche certainly seemed at ease during the brief fight, and claimed he can rise to much greater heights when presented with the right opponent. With a possible match with Gerald Strebendt (one Roche is itching for) on the cards, Roche’s wish may come true.

Gav Bradley vs Dave Roache (L/W eliminator)
Roache via submission (guillotine) round 1

Doski smoothly submits Walker, first win for Tsunami

Southpaw Lee Doski caught Andy Walker in an armbar at 3.06 of the first round, earning a win for the newly created fight team Tsunami Gym.

An amalgamation of fighters based in Cambridge and featuring names such as Pierre Guillet, Mark Day, Robbie Olivier and Dave McLaughlin, the new Shooters affiliated gym enjoyed a convincing win as Doski first closed down Walkers stand up game before setting up the armbar for the first round submission victory.

Andy Walker vs Lee Doski
Dorski via verbal submission (armbar) 3:06 round 1

Fernandez makes it a double in family affair

Emmanuel Fernandez’s brother Frederick managed to grind out a three round decision victory over Londoner Mark Chen in the opening fight of the night. A close call throughout, Fernandez scored well on the judges scorecards for his submission attempts and stronger clinch. While Chen certainly had the edge in striking, it was an unenviable job for the judges to decide a winner, but they settled on the tourist.

Mark Chen vs Frederick Fernandez
Fernandes via unanimous decision (round 3)

There are few MMA events in the UK that can be said to match Cagewarriors’ efforts in showcasing homegrown mixed martial arts talent.

Time after time promoter Dougie Truman has sought to bring together the finest MMA fighters in the UK. Featuring all-star domestic fights or battles between Britain’s finest and their foreign challengers, Cagewarriors has raised the bar a few notches with its last show.

Once again employing the maxim quality over quantity, this event was full of drama and action with every fight entertaining the crowd and exciting the pundits.

Cagewarriors travels to the Octagon Centre in Sheffield University on September the 18th, promising more of the same and then some. Keep checking www.cagewarriors.com for updates.