The rising popularity of Mixed-Martial-Arts in the UK is there for all to see. With the rising number of up-and-coming fighters ready to put their skills to the test against the best from around the world and are ready to make a name for themselves on the MMA scene.
However, the opportunities to fight on these shores when you are young and inexperienced are scarce. Any fighter will tell you that there is only so much you can do in the gym, but you really find out your strengths and weaknesses when you are in the cage under the lights and in front of paying fans. It is this experience that turns a fighter with potential into a champion.
The SURVIVAL Fighting Championships’ first ever UK show gave these fighters that chance. There was a mix of young British fighters and experienced pros on show for the fans in an arena that potentially holds over 1,000 fans. But the authorities restricted ticket sales to less than half that as MMA is still not given the credibility that it deserves in this country.
Promoters Ben Rennick and James Farrell felt the card had enough class mixed with youth to send the fans home happy and raise the profile of MMA in this part of the world.
"That’s the reason we are putting these events on." Ben tells me. "First of all to raise the profile among fans but also to give young fighters the chance to start a career. We had a real mix of experienced pros from around the world and young British fighters."
It was that mix that produced the fight of the night. Brazilian 33 year old Junior Santos went up against debutant Jay Gallup, 24, of Lumpini Crawley, in the featherweight division. Gallup came into the fight having fought 3 semi-pro bouts winning two. Whereas Santos had been training with Anderson Pereira in Geneva and had gained years of experience in several martial art disciplines.
Gallup promised to attack early on and go for a first round knock out in his pre-fight interview. Santos, however, had prepared for everything: stand-up, on the floor and submissions. It had all the hallmarks of a classic fight.
And it didn’t disappoint. Gallup came tearing out the corner and unleashed a series of ferocious blows that surprised Santos and put him on the back foot. Santos had to use all his fighting experience to withstand the onslaught and as the bell drew closer he caught Gallup with a powerful strike to the face that put him on the floor. The ref was left with no alternative but to stop the fight when Gallup was unable to defend the ensuing ground and pound.
Post fight, Gallup had to be taken to hospital as he had popped his knee during the early exchanges. He said as he was being whisked off to hospital: "I carried on because I wanted to put on a show for the crowd, they were great."
Santos was nursing a few bruises himself and dedicated the win to his daughter Vitoria. It was the plan to go for an early KO," he says in broken English. "I love to fight, and fighting is my love."
The main event pitted two experienced campaigners against one another in the middleweight division. Turkish descending Sami "The Hun" Berik took on Aidan "Snake Hips" Marron from Northern Ireland. Both are experienced and respected fighters with Berik coming into the bout with a record of 12 wins and 19 defeats and Marron an impressive 16-7 record.
Berik had been working hard in the gym to evolve as a fighting and had specifically worked on his composure and extending his vocabulary of moves. He wanted to put this training into action and expected a ‘fast paced fight.’ Marron was expecting the unexpected from the fiery Turk, but had confidence that if he stuck to his game plan he would win, citing submission as his strength.
And that’s exactly how it played out. There was some explosive punching in the early exchanges but once the fight was taken to the ground there was only going to be one winner. Marron forced Berik to tap out from the triangle choke midway through the first round when he left himself open when striking.
Marron was pleased with the win. "I tried to finish the fight early but credit to Sami. Striking left himself open for the triangle and I was pleased to pull it off." Marron is looking for two or three fights in the next couple of months to keep his impressive record going.
Berik wasn’t too despondent with the loss and will use it as another stepping-stone to becoming a better fighter. "I didn’t secure the base and lost position. I hit him good but didn’t follow up and missed out on chances. I will continue to improve my fighting ability and test my composure under pressure. I have to improve my linkage and make it smooth."
The night was kicked off with an amateur clash between debutants Peter Wilson and Matt Coleman. The bout went the distance with Wilson getting a unanimous decision from the judges. Coleman was disappointed with the decision. "I was robbed, even he thought I had won. This experience will push me further to train hard and come back a better fighter."
In the other two amateur bouts Craig Cooper made light work of Milo Thompson winning by armbar after two minutes of the first round, and Chris Mobbs applied the Kimura to end the night for Phil Hendon.
The first fireworks of the night, however, came in the female clash. Danielle West, who trains under UFC fighter Jess "The Joker" Liaudin took on her Dutch counterpart Willemijn Van Zon. Coming into the fight Van Zon had a semi-pro record of 3-0 and was confident of winning, whereas West had not fought since her one and only bout in 2002.
Van Zon drew West into a contest on the floor which played to her strengths. West done well to survive and changed tactics from grappling to landing a barrage of elbows and fists to the face of Van Zon. The ref ended the contest three seconds from the first round bell giving West the win through ground and pound. It was clear that Van Zon was not at all happy about the decision but as West explains: "She wasn’t defending herself so it was the correct decision," she continues, "My take down defence was good but I found submission tricky so switched strategy and it paid off."
Heavyweights Denniston Sutherland and debutant Daniel Hillman produced an entertaining bout with both fighters surviving ground and pound attempts. But it was the skill and experience of Sutherland that eventually paid, executing an armbar in the final stages of the first round. Sutherland, whose last fight was a defeat to the formidable Neil Grove who knocked out James Thompson in the main event at Cage Rage 22: Hard as Hell, was extremely happy with his tactics. "I was thinking on my feet in there, which is what you’ve got to do. I changed tactics from stand up to ground and pound to ultimately submission."
In the penultimate fight of the night Dogs of War fighter Kevin Reed defeated Lithuanian Denas Banevkgicius in the middleweight division within one minute through ground and pound. Reed used the bout as preparation for a title fight two weeks later.
He is looking to make a serious impact on the MMA scene next year after injury has hampered his training this year. "At the moment I’m fighting lots but not really preparing. Next year I will give myself three months to prepare for each fight to get to peak fitness." From the evidence of this performance Kevin Reed is a name to look out for.
The promoters left the Colosseum early hours Sunday morning satisfied that they had put on a show that had the fans cheering and the profile of MMA raised. "The venue looked amazing and definitely suits the cage. I think many of the fans were shocked when they came in and saw it.
"I’ve had a lot feedback from fans saying the show was great and they would definitely come back, so I feel the profile has been raised and we have attracted more fans to MMA.
"As this was our first show and the first in this venue, we were very restricted in ticket sales and advertising. But as it went smoothly our next show will be at full capacity which will attract top fighters and more fans."
The profile of MMA in Britain is very small compared to that of the rest of the world. However, with promoters like Ben Rennick and James Farrell and SURVIVAL Fighting Championships going from strength to strength, it can only get better.
James Farrell also added:
"We would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, the fans, our staff and all our sponsors, MAI magazine, JPMarques.co.uk and The Sportz Academy in Watford."
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