Although it was disappointing to see Eric "Butterbean" Esch atop another Cage Rage card, the 181kg American served as challenging competition for the talented, and still rather underrated, Tengiz Tedoradze. As far as predicting the outcome, many surmised that should Tengiz be successful in getting Esch to the mat, he would probably be victorious. However therein lay the problem. After employing a stick-and-move tactic during the standup exchanges Tengiz moved into clinch range, only to find that Esch was as heavy as he looked. As such, more standup exchanges transpired which saw Tengiz moving lightly on his feet, darting in and out of range to pepper Esch with one-two combinations. This was of course until Tengiz was tagged by the ex-boxer- a strike that dropped Tengiz to the mat.
The Georgian’s powers of recovery served him well as the knockdown appeared to be a blessing in disguise. In his attempt to finish the fight, Esch followed in, pounding the now prone Tengiz. Esch was easily rolled over, and was now faced with the prospect of having to be mounted by the now recovered ground and pound specialist. After delivering several unanswered blows to Esch’s head, referee Grant Waterman called an end to the bout and Tengiz Tedoradze was declared the winner via TKO at 4:26 of round one.
A dejected and crestfallen James Thompson left the cage after only 10 seconds of fighting. Eager for a win on home soil, Thompson has been desperately disappointing in front of his home crowd, dropping losses to both Rob Broughton and Eric Esch. Unfortunately for Thompson, (who was originally slated to face Wesley "Cabbage" Correira) an unknown with a record of 2-0 made it a hat trick of loses for “The Colossus” . The enormous Neil Grove charged at Thompson from the first second, swinging like a wild man. For the first few seconds it appeared as though Thompson was picking shots and outmanoeuvring Grove. However, backing up in straight lines proved to be Thompson’s undoing when a massive right haymaker was sent crashing to his temple. The strike disengaged Thompson from his senses immediately but Grove followed in with more strikes on the ground until dragged away by the referee.
After having rejected the UFC, Thompson now finds himself once again undoing so much of his hard work gaining wins against such notable fighters as Hidehiko Yoshida and Don Frye. Like Broughton, Neil Grove has used James Thompson to turn himself from a relative unknown into a heavyweight prospect. Yet most still interpreted the K.O as merely a lucky punch; Grove’s next bout will demonstrate whether or not they were right.
The circus match between Dave Legeno and Herb Dean carried a big question mark throughout proceedings leading up to this bout. Dean has been scheduled to fight for Cage Rage in the past, but was forced to drop out under mysterious circumstances. At the weigh-ins, Dean didn’t have the focused and confident look sported by most competitors and seemed to know little about his opponent. Legeno was as equally out of sorts, electing not to unfurl a tirade of intimidation and aggressive antics as would usually be expected from the “Legend Killer” . His ring entrance was also uncharacteristically muted. With past accusations of worked bouts in the back of peoples’ minds, what transpired in the ring was not as surprising as it was disappointing.
After only one round of action, in which Dean demonstrated some ring savvy few expected, Dean complained of having something in his eye. The cameras didn’t show any swelling or cuts, merely that Herb was pointing to what he contested was a sufficiently sore eye on which to stop the bout. As such, the decidedly questionable TKO victory was scored in favour of Dave Legeno.
British veteran Lee Hasdell looked sprightly and well-conditioned when entering the cage to face fellow legend Mario Sperry. However, in what was essentially a battle of game plans, Hasdell’s attempt to stand and trade with the Brazilian was negated by a well-practised game plan. Sperry’s aim was to achieve the takedown, better his position and work for a submission- all of which was achieved in only 1:39. An aggressive takedown was followed by a scramble that saw Hasdell turn his back. This was the only window of opportunity the Pride veteran needed to land the fight-ending rear naked choke. And with that win comes Sperry’s first win in the UK and first win via submission since 2001.
Gary Turner was a massive underdog going into his bout with Brazilian Edson Drago. Drago looked enormous and chiselled and was continually being touted as the man to have scored the fastest ever knockout in MMA (of five seconds against Tengiz Tedoradze at Cage Rage 16: Critical Conditions). During the initial stages of the bout Drago overwhelmed Turner, who was continually being forced to avoid ferocious hand combinations. Exchanging takedowns as well as punches, the two found themselves on the ground more than was expected. Drago spent a prolonged period of round one in Turner’s guard throwing heavy shots but was deducted a point for the illegal use of an elbow on his down opponent. Most had scored round one as 9-9.
The second round was extremely close and had to be stopped twice so that the doctor could inspect a cut over Drago’s right eye. Both landed well during exchanges and both had periods of dominance when on the ground. In a round that would have otherwise been very difficult to score, the judges’ cards turned out to be incidental as it was decided by Drago’s corner that he was no longer able to continue. In the timeout between the second and third round, the towel was thrown in due to a neck injury. Turner, now left with a massive lump under his right eye, was declared the winner.
Although Drago had dominated the early part of the fight, the momentum of the bout appeared to be veering in Turner’s favour. Had the bout been allowed to continue further “Smiler” might have been able to make additional progress. Speculation aside, this win now takes the MMA newcomer to a record of 2-0.
The Mark Epstein and Paul Cahoon bout didn’t bring with it the fireworks that many had anticipated. Instead, Cahoon favoured a more intelligent approach than the ‘slugfest’ the matchmaking had suggested. Every move made by Paul Cahoon was premeditated to frustrate “The Beast” . Cahoon’s constant changing of ranges prevented Epstein from staying in the pocket long enough to unload his trademark power shots. Furthermore, every one of Cahoon’s combinations was prefixed with meaningful low kicks, the cumulative effect of which was more than evident by the third round. Across the three round bout Cahoon did appear to be getting the better of the exchanges, largely because of the damage caused by the numerous low kicks landed to Epstein’s lead leg. Yet Cahoon’s intelligent game plan stretched further than just the striking and involved punctuating all three rounds with solid takedowns also. Although these takedowns led to little in terms of submission attempts or ground and pound, they were sufficient to secure the ten points awarded for each round. The calculated and well-executed performance sealed the win for Paul Cahoon, who can now enjoy the responsibility of being British light-heavyweight Champion.
James McSweeney’s MMA debut may be counted as one of the few K-1 to MMA transitions that can be considered a real success. After a brief exchange, McSweeny seamlessly transitioned from the clinch, via half guard, to full mount. From there “Machine” launched an unanswered assault that caused the interjection of the referee at 1:30 of round one. The brief glimpse of McSweeny’s promise had many spectators excited at the prospect of having discovered a British heavyweight with the potential such as his. McSweeny’s next few bouts will be telling; with the right matchmaking, he could carve a very successful career for himself in MMA.
Ross Mason has superlative Thai Boxing skills and is rarely tested by someone of a similar pedigree. In Marius Zaromskis, Mason found his equal. The opening Stanza started off as an equal affair, each man taking his turn to land combinations and body kicks. But as the bout continued, the pendulum swung in favour of the Lithuanian, who bloodied and battered Mason for much of the first and second rounds. As more combinations landed on Mason’s face, the more reckless and open he became in his response. Zaromskis added to his dominating standup by taking Mason down and systematically administering more punishment at various intervals throughout the bout.
Yet Zaromskis’ most impressive feat came two minutes into the third round. After suffering a shin to the jaw Mason dropped his guard, to acknowledge the shot landed and owing to fatigue. Zaromskis took this opportunity to launch himself at Mason, landing a flying knee. The outcome was a highlight reel K.O that will surely result in Zaromskis being matched with the likes of Paul Daley in his next encounter.
The three round affair, contested for the British featherweight title, gave the judges little to consider once the allotted time had expired. All three rounds played out in similar fashion, with Oliver’s superior positional skills dictating where the fight went. Mann was only too happy to imbibe Olivier’s numerous takedowns, as he is very comfortable fighting from his back. However, Olivier’s solid base and fantastic hip movement prevented the Trojan fighter from attaining a coveted submission. In what turned out to be somewhat of a stalemate, the two cancelled out each other’s respective games. Oliver quashed every submission attempt but made little progress himself.
In any title match the belt must be actively and unequivocally taken from the champion. In this case, Mann was simply out of his depth and never really looked as though he was going to end the bout. Although Olivier failed to finish the bout, it remains that he did enough to secure the win.
Prelims
TUF veteran Ross Pointon was explosive and dynamic in his win over Dean Bray. The pair went through every position and submission with omaplatas, kneebars and the like being thrown out at every stage. Pointon demonstrated that he is more rounded than many give him credit for by dominating the standup, then taking the win via submission- a guillotine at 2:10 of round two.
Michael Johnson gave Damien Riccio a resounding beating for two rounds that resulted in a broken nose for the hardheaded Frenchman. After two full rounds, Riccio and his corner decided that enough punishment had been sustained and Johnson was declared the winner.
Tom Watson and Ed Smith put on a stellar performance, trading blows for three full rounds. However, it was Watson’s variations and command of the ring that made the difference. Slowed down by leg kicks, Smith was simply unable to keep up with Watson who maintained a relentless pace throughout. “Kong” was awarded a unanimous decision.
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