“Semtex”: it does exactly what it says on the tin. One second quiet - the next an explosion followed by a scene of devastation.
In the early stages, Daley was ice cool as Daniel made the running. The German shot for the left leg but the champion calmly kept his balance. Weichel tried to force the pace with three separate overhand rights, none of which landed. Daley waited. It dawned on Weichel that he wasn’t canny enough to win a stand up battle and he attempted another wild takedown, followed by a forlorn overhand right.
Daley stepped it up. Some swift kicks caused Weichel to hit the deck, but the Champ chose to stand back and keep the fight upright. He measured up with a clean one-two. Watched. Waited. One-two BANG. A devastating knee to the head. It was one of those fight night moments. Heart in the mouth as you experience joy, pain, admiration and concern in a nano second.
The knee crashed into Weichel’s face and the challenger lurched forward. Out from the moment of impact. Game over.
Weichel came to fight and deserves respect for taking the action to Daley. However, throwing overhand rights at a proven power puncher is a bold tactic to say the least.Daley marches on to Cage Rage and some big international fights. If he continues to produce moments like tonight - he will be massive.
Bristol’s Alex Owen claimed the vacant World Featherweight title after a technical ground battle with Fernandez. Owen took Fernandez down early in round one. Despite doing a couple of tours de Frenchman on the canvas, he was unable to find a winning position thanks to his opponents skilful defence.
Round two picked up where the first left off. Owen swept Fernandez to the floor. After more of the same, Owen secured a triangle choke and the French resistance crumbled. A deserved victory, but Alex Owen will need to find a bit extra when he puts his unbeaten record on the line against Brad Pickett at Cage Rage.
This grudge rematch highlighted how far MMA has progressed in the UK. Both men went looking for an early finish. Whitear let fly a series of wild haymakers- some of them so late they were almost catching Barrett on the way up. "Bad Ass" Barrett counter punched with clinical precision - but made little impression on the Pitbull.
Whitear is obviously a hard man, but repeated sharp punches take their toll and as long as they stood up, there was only one winner.
Whitear threw another off target haymaker. The pair fell together and ended up on the floor. In no time, an armbar was applied and Barrett tapped.
Both men proved they are true fighters. Whitear snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and Barrett held off tapping so long he required prolonged medical attention and left with his arm in sling. There are, however, massive question marks about where they go from here. Much of the action was pretty sloppy. The most entertaining part of the whole affair was Nigel Whitear's spectacular celebratory body popping. “Bad Ass”; who always talks a good fight, called for rematch on the mic. The muffled reaction suggests that not many people would be willing to pay to see it. The talent pool in UK MMA is growing. Being a ‘name’ is no longer enough to keep you up at the top end of the bill.
This battle of the big men (with Lance being a particularly big man) was a metaphor for modern Britain. The Pole: efficient, methodical. Gets the job done with minimum fuss.
The Englishman: unorthodox, flashes of excitement amid long spells of disappointment. Looks like he enjoys a good time.
Przemyslaw cut off the ring and boxed with the poise of a man who has got the T-shirt. Lance backed off and occasionally launched a windmilling attack which had the crowd on the edge of their seats and boxing purists on the edge of a cliff contemplating jumping off it. Predictably, Mysiala put the ever game Lance away without too much difficulty.
This match clearly demonstrated the cultural differences between two nations. Poland produces highly skilled craftsmen while we produce artists who win awards for cutting cows in half. Of the two, you would rather go to a party with Lance.
Przemyslaw Mysiala is a class act and, judging from the Polish support he draws, some one we will see a lot more of.
Supported by the full Rough House squad, Winner produced the cleaner knees in a prolonged clinch at the start and shaded the ground exchanges that followed. Round two saw a change in fortune. Felix swept Winner to the ground and kept him there with a crowd pleasing throw after Andre escaped. The Londoner used up a great deal of energy attempting to lock in a choke. The two were up again briefly before the round ended with a ground stalemate.
For me it was all square going into the last. Felix looked the more tired, holding his hands dangerously low. In a clinch, each delivered crushing single knees. Andre then let off an eye catching set off four unanswered knees, which will have caught the judges eyes in a close match. The round ended on the deck with Felix in Winner’s guard.
A split decision went to Winner, a useful victory before his big test against Ian Butlin on home soil in April. Full credit to Wesley Felix, who could easily have sneaked it on another day.
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