Jody Cottham was the more experienced of the two fighters going into this bout. It started with both fighters trading shots with Londonshoot’s , Uvais Namiev, shooting in for takedown which he easily won. Uvais quickly asserted his position on the ground with Jody Cottham pulling guard, Uvais reached underneath the body of Jody Cottham trapping his right arm and then began to fire huge left handed bombs that knocked Jody Cottham unconscious. A fantastic debut for londonshoot fighter, Uvais Namiev.
This was to be one very exciting bout between two fighters making not only their Contenders debut, but their mixed martial arts debuts. Both Griffin and Moore showed quality as they began to battle. Paddy Moore from the Gorilla Academy showed his strength as he slammed his opponent, Richard Griffin to the ground, but Griffin fought smart keeping his composure while constantly looking for submissions working off his back, including a nice transition from triangle to armbar that Paddy Moore did well to escape from. Seconds later the fighters were upright fighting for position, when Griffin was able to reach in deep securing a guillotine choke. Another great fight between two great Contenders.
This was to be one of the more shocking fights of the night as both fighters opted to stand and fight. Ricky Andrews looked on fire as he began to throw shots at his opponent, putting together some great combinations that had Azran was unable to answer. Ricky Andrews continued to stalkd Azran launching into a flurry of shots, but Azran boxed clever, catching Ricky with a short left hook that saw Andrews hit the canvas hard. This was definitely a highlight reel moment and a very exciting way to make your debut for Azran Quasid.
This was an evenly matched fight from the start with both fighters looking for the upper hand and the fight was quick to hit the ground with both Dossett and Powell doing a good job of scrambling back to their feet. Steve Dossett saw an opening that he quickly grasped, setting in the guillotine from standing which Robert Powell attempted to escape from,but Steven Dossett sunk the choke in tighter forcing Powell to tap.
London shoot fighter, Tony Pasos wasted little time in trading shots with Lithuanian, Mamarizaev, who looked sharp as he threw some very good kicks.Tony Pasos closed the distance and the fight went to the floor with Pasos showing excellent skill, as he worked his way to the back of his opponent where he was able to sink the rear naked choke forcing Mamarizaev to admit defeat.
This was another great fight that truly could have gone either way both Mason and Farid showed maturity in their ability, as the ground game jostled backwards and forwards. Both mason and Farid were looking for the opportunity to present itself and it took four minutes of the first round and some great action before Jack Mason was able to capitalise on his opponent’s mistake, sinking in the guillotine choke. Kym tried to work his way out, but Mason was not about to let victory get away as he tightened his hold and Kym was left with no option but to submit.
Chris Greig entered the Cage like a man possessed, adrenaline and energy pumping through his veins. It was clearly nervous energy for this debut fighter that quickly settled as he and the more experienced Kev Sims clashed. Sims wasted no time and quickly took the fight to ground where he was able to control and strike down on Elite fighter, Chris Greig. Greig stunned every one by slipping on a side choke/arm triangle from his back, that with a slight adjustment forced Sims to tap in a fight he was clearly winning.
Edgelson Lua returned to Contenders with a huge bang as he entered in his trademark Gi. Both Lua and Lane touched gloves and it was all about business as they traded shots with Edgelson, the more successful and catching his opponent with a left hook that was set to cause problems. After showing each other respect, Edgelson stepped it up, knocking his opponent to the ground with a devastating left hook on the counter that saw the fight end quickly. This was a good night for Edgelson Lua, as he clearly showed it is possible to make the transition from Karate to MMA.
This was to be highlight reel stuff as probably the most unorthodox fighter in modern mixed martial arts showed yet again why it can be a bad idea to stand and trade with Sami Berik. Sami took only nine seconds to despatch of his opponent, Mark Smith. It began with a short circle around one another with Sami launching a huge left high kick that connected with the head of Mark Smith knocking him out on his feet and before he could hit the ground, the speed of Sami was relevant as he caught Mark with two left hooks. This was a great KO victory for “The Hun” and one I am sure we will see many times over the coming months.
This was to be an exciting debut fight for Marius Sukys, as he attempted to impress his fans, but Danny Fletcher came out looking sharp and quickly taking his opponent to ground. Fletcher moved to side mount a position where he was able to hit Marius with a few stiff shots, but Marius worked his way upright securing a guillotine choke forcing Danny Fletcher to tap
Dean Bray came into this fight with an obvious height advantage over Mark Tucker, a fighter that likes to dominate his opposition on the ground where he likes to strike and that was the course that this fight took. Tucker wasted no time in taking this fight to ground, but dean Bray did a good job of keeping busy, constantly looking for better position. Tucker showed his strength keeping Bray on his back for much of the first round before Bray was able to explode turning the tables on Tucker. The second round started the same as the first with Tucker looking for a takedown, but Bray was ready and took control in the later part of the round, unleashing a barrage of unanswered strikes on Tucker which forced him to roll giving up his back, where Bray continued to strike forcing the referee to step in calling a halt to the action with Dean Bray clearly victorious.
This was an all action fight as Janson came out throwing bombs that had Jason Barrett reeling backwards and covering up as the barrage continued. Jansen fired off combination after combination before stepping off to let Barrett breathe. Barrett had nothing in reply and had picked up a cut under his right eye that seemed to be a distraction to the fighter. Jansen continued to work his way in landing shots almost at will, Barrett began to come alive throwing some nice leg kicks, but it was the cut that he had sustained that was to end the fight, as the doctor deemed him unfit to continue into round two.
This was to be a debut fight for these two huge heavyweights and it was Popek rak that was going to succeed as he quickly showed of his ability by taking Glen Reid to the ground. Popek quickly went to work throwing punches, many of which Glen Reid avoided. Glen Reid was able to slow his man down and the fighters found their way back to their feet where Popek Rak quickly showed he liked it on the ground and wasted no time in taking Glen Reid down again. Popek continued to unload strikes again, this time landing with more success which was clearly visible as the round ended and Glen Reid’s corner scrambled to inspect the damage. The second round started as a mirror image to the first with Popek working for the takedown. Popek was quick to mount Glen Reid and began to fire heavy handed lefts and rights, at this point Glen Reid’s corner had seen enough and decided to throw in the towel. This was a brilliant debut for a huge Polish fighter.
This was the nights main event and featured Francis Hegany versus International Italian opposition in the form of Francesco Ligato. Heagney wasted little time in showing he is primed for the big time by quickly closing the distance on Legato. A short battle for position was on with Heagney fighting to secure a standing guillotine before jumping to guard extending his hips and making it tight, forcing Legato to tap. A great night for London shoot fighters with victories all round.
