"The show was clearly one of the best MMA events ever staged in Europe."

European Vale Tudo “Genesis”, the first MMA event to be held in a cage in the Nordic countries, was tremendous success. Even though the show was plagued by withdrawals from several of the top fighters, the team behind the show managed to find suitable substitutes and the show was clearly one of the best MMA events ever staged in Europe.

The promoter, Carl Otto Knudsen, Sonny Nielsen and the matchmaker/referee, Marko Ervasti, entered the big MMA scene in style, with this awesome opening show, EVT “Genesis.” The 9 fights were all full of action and quality MMA. There was something for everyone, and only one of the fights went the full distance. All of the fights was refereed by Ervasti.

Graugart (SBGi, Denmark) vs Nielsen (Advanced Fighting Gym Odense, Denmark)

In the opening fight of the show, the highly expected MMA debut of one of the most positive forces behind martial arts in Denmark, Christian Graugart, did not let down, as he defeated Sonny Nielsen. The match-up itself was a curious one, as Graugart and Nielsen are good friends. Graugart stated before the fight that “It has been really hard to visualize having to punch and hurt him (Nielsen).” It never showed though as Graugart shot in immediately to get the perfect double leg take down. Being an experienced grappler, Graugart quickly passed to side mount and mount, got Nielsen up against the fence and then rained down heavy and precise blows.

Nielsen got caught a few times, but defended well and surprised Graugart with a reversal, using his legs to push off against the cage. Within Graugart`s guard he tried to put the hurt on his foe and friend, but the adaptive SBGi representative quickly smacked on a tight armbar from the guard, and Nielsen was forced to tap out.

I got a chance to talk with the winner after his fight. “The entire experience was surreal! I wasn`t nervous at all, going into the fight. And the takedown… It was like it wasn`t me. I thought to myself “Oh, no. He`s going to sprawl!” He didn`t, though, and as I started to rain down punches near the fence, it was like the time stopped. Everything went really slow. It felt like I was dreaming. I punched and punched, but nothing happened,” the excited Graugart said. “And about the armbar … Suddenly, there it was. I just grabbed his arm. I`m glad it happened like this, though. I still got my pretty face, but I feel terrible about the way Sonny look.” Nielsen has sustained some swelling around his left eye and bled a bit from the nose. “But this is the name of the game, I suppose,” the popular MartialArts.dk webmaster declared.

Official Result:
Winner: Christian Graugart by submission (armbar)
Time: 1:36 into round 1

Svirskis (Ski´s Kickboxing Club, England) vs Engberg (Lupus Shootfighting, Sweden)

As expected, Joakim Engberg would have none of Ski Svirskis stand-up. After the initial feeling out process, Engberg proceeded to take down Svirskis from the clinch. He quickly got Svirskis up against the fence, as he pounded Svirskis from within his guard. Svirskis defended well, and was successful at stopping Engberg, by using the rubber guard.

Engberg was never in danger, though, and muscled his way to Svirskis` half-guard and then quickly passed to the full mount, by distracting Svirskis with punishing blows to the head. Svirskis showed his inexperience at grappling, and had no defence from the GnPing Shootfighter. He laid flat on his back, taking punishment. He never looked hurt, but he simply had no answer for Engberg´s attack, did not defend himself intelligently, and therefore left referee Ervasti with no other option than to stop the battered and bleeding Svirskis.

Official Result:
Winner: Joakim Engberg by TKO (ref stoppage)
Time: 2,58 into round 1

Stapel (Shoot Boxen, Germany) vs Hytten (Ookami Shootfighting, Norway)

In a battle of ground control, Thomas Hytten edged the naturally bigger Mario Stapel in a very, very close affair. Stapel opened with a flying kick, which Hytten defended easily against. From the clinch, the two started with knees and takedown attempts. Hytten secured the first takedown, but as soon as they hit the ground, the BJJ experience of Stapel clearly showed. The normally submission oriented Hytten, never got close to securing a fight ending submission, as Stapel showed class from his back, but did connect with some punches on the ground.

Stapel managed to sweep Hytten, several times, with manoeuvres of very high technical skill level, but he himself couldn`t really do any damage from the top position. And so the fight went on. For the fans of the grappling arts, this was a highly entertaining battle. Both showed a lot of talent and understanding of the ground game, as they went from position to position, but they also clearly had a lot of respect for each other`s abilities.

There was some stand-up action, but these two clearly was looking for the ground action. There was a couple of leg-lock attempts by Stapel, but Hytten defended well and managed to capitalise on the situation by throwing leather on the ground. In the end, Hytten`s punches seemingly made the difference. Even though they scrambled for positions throughout the fight, Hytten was more active from the top with punches.

“I could clearly feel that Stapel is a naturally bigger man. He usually fights in the 76-kilo division, and I felt that. He was very strong and I couldn`t really do anything on the ground. He controlled my limbs, and blocked all my attempts. He`s a very good fighter,” Hytten told FightBack.dk after the fight. “I talked with Stapel, and he stated that normally he`s tired in the end of a fight. And he can feel that his opponent is tired, too. In our fight, he said everything was the same condition wise, but that we just neutralised each other. I suppose I hid it well, because I was really tired!”

Official Result:
Winner: Thomas Hytten by judges decision (2-1)
Time: full time

Blackwell (Ronin Vale Tudo, England) vs Hovgaard (Submission Fighting Aalborg, Denmark)

In a highly entertaining fight, Kim Hovgaard pulled off the move of the night after he and Aaron Blackwell had exchanged flashy kicks and submission attempts. Hovgaard started out with a snappy left low kick and then went high with a precise right high kick, which dropped Blackwell. He was clearly out for a second, but as Hovgaard rushed in for the finish, he managed to get the his knees and go for the takedown. Hovgaard sprawled and landed some blows. Hovgaard showed his skills on the ground and got Blackwell`s back. He almost secured the RNC, but Blackwell defended well and got up.

On their feet, Blackwell started to unleash eye catching kicks. A high kick and a spinning back kick got Hovgaard`s attention. Hovgaard answered with punches and kicks and then a takedown. Hardcore quickly got the mount position and unleashed a furious attack. Hard punches landed, but Blackwell showed guts and heart and did not tap. Ever the creative submission artist, Hovgaard went for a heelhook and an inverted heelhook, before Blackwell once again escaped to his feet.

On their feet, Hovgaard got in close with some punches, secured Blackwell`s right arm, jumped up and snapped on a perfect flying armbar. Once again, Blackwell showed his toughness by not tapping out immediately, but it was inevitable and just a question of seconds.

Official Result:
Winner: Kim Hovgaard by submission (armbar)
Time: 4:50 into Round 1

Lutter (Lion`s Den Dallas, USA) vs Epstein (London Shootfighters, England)

The highly expected return to MMA for the Ultimate Submission Showdown champion, Travis Lutter was a somewhat one-sided affair. As promised, Mark Epstein came to “throw down” and threw big blows from the get-go. Lutter countered by rushing Epstein to the fence and taking him down with a single leg takedown. The rest of the round, Lutter controlled the fight on the ground.

Instead of going for submission after submission and risking anything, Lutter played it safe by taking small steps at a time. He finally secured the armbar on Epstein`s right arm late in the 1st round. It was tight and it looked like the end for Epstein. Lutter clearly hyper extended Epstein´s arm, and in a terrific show of pain tolerance and heart, the clearly outclassed brawler managed to escape from the hold.

Lutter took down Epstein immediately in the 2nd round and began working on the Brit`s left arm. Epstein once again showd heart and will power, as he escaped a kimura attempt. There was no escaping the tight RNC, Lutter quickly put on Epstein moments later, though.

Official Result:
Winner: Travis Lutter by submission (rear-naked choke)
Time: 2:45 into Round 2

Vivas (Alianza MMA, Spain) vs Kampmann (Aarhus Shootfighting, Denmark)

In the expected shoot out, Martin Kampmann clearly got the better of Toni Vivas standing. Big punches and knees in the clinch visibly hurt Vivas, but he fought through it. He tried to take Kampmann down, but the up and coming Dane would have none of it.

Vivas decided to duke it with Kampmann, and after eating punches and a knee he tried to pull guard. Kampmann followed him to the ground, landed 4 crisp, precise shots and Vivas turned his back. At this point, referee Ervasti felt he had no option but to stop the fight as Vivas wasn`t intelligently defending himself (to his credit, Ervasti held a speech after the fight to explain why he stopped the fight. This is a very, very positive idea, more referees should consider, as it clears all controversy). As Ervasti waved it off, Vivas tried to pull guard and was very upset with the stoppage. So was his corner.

“I was hit, but I pulled guard. I was pulling guard and he stopped the fight. Why? Why?” the frustrated Vivas told FightBack.dk in his dressing room. The Spaniard will come back and fight again, but he was clearly hurt and Kampmann was going to put a hurting on him.

Official Result:
Winner: Martin Kampmann by TKO (ref stoppage)
Time: 1,23 into round 1

Tello (Alianza MMA, Spain) vs Bohlenius (SBJJA Stockholm, Sweden)

In a brutally one-sided affair, Richard Bohlenius of Sweden took a devastating beating by the much more well-rounded Antonio Tello. The Swedish BJJ pioneer made a loud entrance as the many Swedes cheered him on. After a short feeling out process, Tello landed a big right, which seemingly broke Bohlenius` left eye socket. It was clear that Bohlenius needed to take this fight to the ground, but Tello was stronger and a much better wrestler. Bohlenius never executed any kind of decent takedown attempts, but just rushed in, hoping to take Tello down. From the clinch, Tello defended well and from the distance he punished Bohlenius with precise punches and low kick, which Bohlenius didn`t even defend against.

They hit the ground late in the 1st round and the Spaniard once again had the upper hand as he pummelled Bohlenius and passed the guard. Bohlenius scrambled to his feet and as they got up, the two fighters clinched near the cage corner. The corner padding came off the steel cage`s corner post. Right there and then, the fight should`ve been stopped, so they could fixate the padding. At this point referee Ervasti made a blatant mistake. The crowd was really loud as their favourite took a beating and perhaps it affected the Swedish referee. He did not stop the fight, but instead let the fighters fight through the round as the officials tried to attach the padding with tape! This could`ve been fatal, if Tello and Bohlenius had crashed against this very corner post. Fortunately, nothing happened and the officials fixed the problem in the break.

In the beginning of the 2nd round, Tello knew the formula to a stoppage win and he showed it, as he battered Bohlenius with punches. Bohlenius` left eye was swollen shut, in what grew to a grotesque swelling. As he couldn`t see out of his left eye, he couldn`t see the big right hands that Tello unloaded. Tello wasn`t in a hurry, and even though this was his 3rd fight, he showed admirable poise. But the right hands kept coming and Bohlenius got battered. The Spaniard hurt Bohlenius with big punches and as the Swede was wobbled, he turned his back and literally tried to run away from his opponent.

Tello followed up, though, and landed crushing blows to the battered Bohlenius, who was dropped. Tello followed him to the ground and landed a few more punches, before Bohlenius up-kicked Tello to the face. Ervasti stopped the action and clearly should have stopped the fight at this point, if not sooner. Bohlenius` face was grotesquely swollen and he was bleeding from the mouth and nose. Ervasti gave Bohlenius a warning for the up-kick and then let the doctor inspect the damage.

Bohlenius clearly stated to the doctor that he was ok and fit to fight, which he was not. Ervasti let the two continue and Tello soon let Bohlenius out of the misery as he took him down, passed the guard, pounded the Swede and slapped on the RNC, as his heart breaking tough opponent gave up his back.

As the Spanish corner cheered, Bohlenius bowed to the crowd and said loudly, “Sorry!” He clearly felt he let the audience down. It was indeed a touching moment. A great fighter humiliated in front of his own countrymen. Humbled, yet so incredibly tough. Bohlenius showed heart way beyond what can be expected. He won so much in this defeat.

Official Result:
Winner: Antonio Tello by submission (rear-naked choke)
Time: 2:15 into round 2

Ireland (Ronin Vale Tudo, England) vs Besand (Skagen Fight Gym, Denmark)

In one of the most anticipated fights of the evening, Lars Besand dominated Scott Ireland. Besand gave up height and reach, but he came right at Ireland from the beginning. After Ireland blocked a high kick, Besand showed us all why he is called “Bad Boy,” as he got the double leg, lifted Ireland way up in the air and slammed him down hard!

Bad Boy mounted Ireland and showed tremendous ground control as he battered Ireland continuously with blows from the mount. Ireland showed a lot of guts, but took a beating from the Dane. Besand rained down punches and never let off of Ireland. At one point there were heard chants of “Armbar! Armbar!” from the audience. Known as a fight freak, Besand looked out into the crowd and shook his head in a no-gesture. Soon after, he intensified his GnP, and Ireland was forced to tap out.

Official Result:
Winner: Lars Besand by submission (Strikes)
Time: 4,21 into round 1

Mezger (Lion`s Den Dallas, USA) vs Bergman (Shootfighting Stockholm, Sweden)

In the main event of the evening, Guy Mezger showed his class as he defeated the courageous Daniel Bergman. Mezger got a loud ovation as he walked to the cage. He looked very focused and sharp. Bergman`s entrance was even louder, as the many Swedes cheered on their countryman.

Mezger started out as usual, with feeling out strikes. A few punches and a low kick connected, before Bergman tried to take Mezger down. Mezger showed his skill level as he defended very well, and controlled Bergman on the ground for much of the 1st round.

Mezger quickly moved Bergman over to the fence, as Bergman got guard. Mezger`s wrestling ability seemed to be too much for Bergman, and the former UFC champion, King Of Pancrase and Pride veteran landed several good punches on the ground, without Bergman being able to submit or sweep his experienced opponent. Bergman managed to move away from the fence, and to his credit scrambled to his feet and got a beautiful leg trip on Mezger, before Mezger reversed immediately.

From the top, the American once again landed blows. Bergman attempted the kimura from guard, but this wasn`t Bergman´s night. Mezger clearly won the 1st round, due to his ground control and GnP.

In the beginning of the 2nd round, Bergman decided to go toe-to-toe with Mezger. Bergman visibly rocked Mezger and got the better of the exchange, but for some reason opted to pull guard as Mezger came in close. This was clearly a mistake, as he couldn`t do anything to Mezger from the guard. Mezger pounded away at his heavier opponent and got him stacked up against the fence. Bergman managed once again to get to his feet, but ate a big knee and some heavy punches as he fell down near the fence. Mezger rained down punches from the side mount and even stopped for a while to see if the ref wanted to stop the fight. Bergman didn`t defend himself intelligently, but wasn`t hurt at this point. Mezger continued the onslaught, and with Bergman only covering up, referee Ervasti had to step in and stop the fight.

Official Result:
Winner: Guy Mezger by TKO (ref stoppage)
Time: 1,46 into round 2

All in all, this was a tremendous show. The fight card is one of the better we`ve seen in Europe, and all of he fights were entertaining. Graugart impressed immensely in his debut, against Nielsen. Engberg showed his class against Svirskis. Hytten and Stapel fought a tremendous battle on the ground. Hovgaard and Blackwell put on a scintillating fight, and Hardcore clearly pulled off the move of the evening, with that flying armbar. Lutter showed his skill level against Epstein. Kampmann showed once again why he is considered the number one prospect in Danish MMA. Besand let out the Bad Boy, in himself, and Ireland showed lots of guts. It was a treat to watch such a star as Mezger, and it will be exciting to follow Bergman on way up. Bergman clearly learned a lot from this fight, and will come back a better fighter.

Tello vs Bohlenius… Well, the referee, Marko Ervasti, did a tremendous job throughout the show, and even though he made a couple of mistakes in this fight, one most remember he has “the hardest job in the building,” He`s bound to make some mistakes. All the great referees have made big mistakes. And so did Ervasti. Enough about that.

The entire show was run very professionally. The security was top notch, but the security officers were all polite, gentle and very professional. There weren`t too many long breaks, between the fights and the coordination between the announcer, the music and the fighter´s entrances, was just perfect.

Carl Knudsen had this to say about the event: “I felt the event was a big success. Everything went as planned. I truly believe this was the best MMA event ever staged in the Nordic countries. The fight card was stacked with talented and professional fighters. I haven`t regretted for a moment, that we chose to make this a show with professional fighters, only. The expenses, the time put in over the last two months… It was all worth it. EVT “Genesis” was a big success and I think we sent a clear message out there, that the EVT has come to stay. We cannot be denied. Also, I can`t say enough good things about my partners for this show, Sune Nielsen and Marko Ervasti. You guys have done a tremendous job! We have all worked so hard over the last months to make this happen, and even though it was all done and over with in a few hours, it was worth it.”

And about the fighters: “These fighters all have a very, very high skill level. I was impressed by every single fighter. Hytten and Stapel put on, what I thought, was the fight of the evening. A tremendous battle. These two are so skilled. Very talented fighters. And Christian Graugart! He really, really impressed me in his MMA debut. He knew what he had to do, and he shot in and took Sonny down. Very impressive!”

“And we will be back,” stated Knudsen. “In May. Probably late in May, and once again in Copenhagen. This was a great show. We want to do it again.”

Indeed it was, and yes we will.