WEMBLEY, LONDON DECEMBER 1st – the Wembley Arena is about to be brought to life by a host of musical talent ring girls and of course 11 fights that were quite simply exciting to watch.
The show opened with its usual bevy of beautiful dancers and gymnasts and in true style Dave and Andy presented an extremely entertaining show for all the fans tuned in from around the World.
From the outset this proved to be one of the best solid fight cards put together this year and from the first to the last each fight was full of excitement.
Credit where credit is due, Jordan Miller a submission practitioner from Poole took this fight at very short notice, after Ronnie Mann's original opponent Brad Pickett broke his arm whilst training in the USA with American Top Team. Jordan accepted the fight with only two weeks notice and stepped in to the cage like he meant real business. Unfortunately for Jordan, Ronnie Mann was on superb form as he dismantled Jordan with a couple of low kicks, followed by a takedown where he landed in side control. This sealed the end for Jordan as he tried to scramble for a better position only to be caught in a triangle choke. Ronnie adjusted and tightened it up which forced Jordan to tap in just 58 seconds Round 1.
Winner Ronnie Mann 58 seconds Round 1 by Triangle Choke
James McSweeney looked in great shape and gave the fans a treat as he walked to cage lead by up and coming artist Shizzy. This added to the excitement as both men stood head to head, the fight began with both men quickly moving forward towards one and other with McSweeney launching a few strikes punctuated with a superman punch that was stopped by the force of the 150kg former Polish Sumo wrestler charging him down. Paczkow then forced the fight to ground and it soon became obvious that McSweeney was in trouble as he seemed unable to shift the weight of the huge Sumo as he moved to a north-south position where he smothered while trapping an arm forcing McSweeney to tap at 2.09 of round 1.
This was a superb technical fight between two great wrestlers as they locked together jostling for position And Robbie proved he was ready for a very tough test as he stepped up a weight category from his usual featherweight where he currently holds the British title, both fighters proved evenly matched as they jostled for the takedown. This fight was fought at quick pace for three rounds, with both fighters winning takedowns throughout. This was a hard decision for the judges to make but it was split in favor of the current Lightweight Champion Abdul Mohamed.
Ivan Serati vs Lee Hasdell
Ivan Serati proved that he is all about business as he charged his way in against UK MMA legend Lee Hasdell. Serati wasted no time in asserting his position, taking the fight to ground almost instantly forcing his way into top position where he looked to rain down strikes on Hasdell. However, Hasdell did a great job of covering up, but Serati’s strength proved to much as he muscled his way into mount position where he began to throw heavy handed strikes that setting up an arm bar attempt. Hasdell was not ready to give in and managed to hold on until the bell, but Serati sensed victory and began the second round in the same manor in which he had finished the first, taking Hasdell to ground where he showed his dominance striking Hasdell until he rolled. Serati wasted no time and sunk the rear naked choke to take victory.
Winner Ivan Serati 1.34 Round 2 Rear Naked Choke
This was to be a spectacular fight with an unfortunate ending both fighters came out with all guns blazing firing combinations of lefts and rights and it was the sting of Buzz that was to put the Goliath Neil Grove on his back for the first time in his MMA career. Buzz quickly followed Goliath to the ground where he began to throw an onslaught of shots that had Goliath in trouble. Both men were soon back to their feet, trading shots with Buzz looking tired as the round went on. Unfortunately it was exhaustion that was to gain a victory in this fight as Buzz ruled himself unfit to continue in the second round after a furious first round.
Mark Buchanan looked like a man possessed as he entered the cage looking completely focused on the job at hand. Mark stepped up as a late replacement for fellow team mate Dave Legeno after Legeno hurt his back in training. Mark opened the round with a barrage of low kicks that slammed hard into the thigh of his opponent. Mark looked sharper in his striking as he began to move in and out of range, chopping on the inside and outside of Castro’s leg. This continued for the first round with Castro having little to answer back. Second round and Buchanan seemed to raise the tempo this time, following the low kicks with single shots and it seemed timing would be the key to success as Buchanan threw a low kick followed by an awesome combination that saw Castro hit the canvas. Buchanan wasted no time and followed up with a barrage of vicious strikes that forced the ref to step in and stop it.
Tom Watson had the crowd in stitches as he came out to the Disney soundtrack of beauty and the beast. Dressed in a full length dress with gorilla mask and blonde hair. But it was only his entrance that was to make the crowd laugh as it was all business when the cage door closed. Tom began firing low kicks trading one for one, as the beast turned it on in his new found weight making history as the only fighter to compete in three different weight categories. Both fighters quickly came to blows in the centre of the cage trading hands and low kicks. Epstein soon won the takedown where both men showed good technical ability, with Watson showing that his time in America was paying off, by constantly working for submissions off his back, but the beast showed his experience by steadily initiating ground and pound. The fight continued like this for a majority of three rounds with Epstein grinding Watson down. Watson had his highlights catching Epstein with a short Thai elbow as well as several picture perfect double leg takedowns but it was not to be for rising star Tom Watson. The judges awarded Mark the Beast Epstein the unanimous decision.
This was one of the wars of the night, as the two fighters’ traded low kicks, high kicks and combinations in an awesome display of striking. Marius threw a dangerous flying knee several times during the first round as Ross retaliated with some good hard shots, one of which shook Marius hard as he began to be hunted by the hungry Ross Pointon. Both fighters fought a hard first round and the second continued in the same fashion with both fighters throwing shots with mean intentions and it was one of these shots that was to end the fight as Marius caught Ross with a glancing left hook, that split his head open just above the eyebrow. This gave the referee reason for concern, and on inspection the fight was stopped due to the cut being to severe for him to continue.
This was a great fight between two World class fighters and an excellent new adddition to the Cage Rage welterweight rosta. Mark Weir came in to the ring in a more aggressive style moving himself to the outside of his opponent to fire some shots but Fickett had done his homework and secured a double leg takedown. Mark however, showed his caliber as he returned Fickett to his back, firing some hard rights that hit the target. Fickett forced a scramble and showed his experience by quickly getting to the back of Weir, where he added another rear naked choke to his record forcing Weir to tap.
Current British Light-Heavyweight champion Paul Cahoon took little time to show his devastating striking power, as he rocked the man from down under. Both fighters began trading shots and just 21 seconds in, Paul Cahoon showed his power by blasting Sinosic with a huge overhand right which saw Sinosic go backwards hard. Cahoon followed up for one final shot as the ref stepped in to stop it.
This fight was to live up to the hype, as these two explosive fighters faced off in the main event of the evening. What a main event it was, as the crowd were stirred into a frenzy by UK hip hop star Dizzy Rascal as he performed his track Oldskool as the entrance song for Professor X.
When the bell rang it was all about the fight and Xavier looked light on his feet as bounced around Ninja throwing low kicks, one of which knocked Ninja off his feet. Xavier began to put together good combinations, forcing the Brazilian to rethink his tactics which he did with success, as he began to put together some good shots landing on occasion. However, it was Xavier that was clearly the more successful in the stand up.
Round 2 and both fighters seemed to have a plan as they began to trade off with kicks and punches but Xavier seemed the sharper of the two, which forced Ninja to revert to his ground game where he seemed to outclass Xavier. He continued to work for the side choke but Xavier did a great job of defending which forced Murilo to move to mount, where he began to strike. This forced Xavier to give up his back, where Murilo was able to comfortably position himself for the Rear Naked Choke.
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