The evening’s pugilistic extravaganza began with a match that was surely a contender for Fight of the Night honours. Making his pro-MMA debut in the red corner was Lee Aylett, the chief instructor of the Pro Mai system, who faced off against the more experienced Ross Mason, a three time Grapple & Strike veteran whose record includes a decision win over Paul Jenkins. When the bell rang, both fighters came out swinging and Aylett caught several shots on the nose, sending out a huge spray of blood. In response he drove Mason up against the cage where the two exchanged knee strikes. Mason switched positions with his dancing partner, secured a Thai boxing clinch and went to work with a series of vicious knee strikes, digging into Aylett’s body. Mason then went looking for a guillotine choke up against the fence, but was unable to sink it in and the referee separated the pair to check on Aylett’s nose, from which the blood was still flowing freely. When the action resumed, Aylett threw a spinning heel kick that missed before Mason scored with more punches to the head. Clinching a second time, Mason continued slamming home the knee strikes and working his punches as the bell called a halt to the furious opening round.
Round two began with Aylett shooting in after Mason lead with a thigh kick. Mason quickly recovered his feet after the shoot and fought his way out of an attempted guillotine. A second time out to check Aylett’s nose brought a temporary break in the melee, before the fight was allowed to continue. Mason threw more hard shots, landing a kick to the side of the face and Aylett, displaying tremendous heart, shot in for the takedown. On the ground the two men struggled for position, until Mason took Aylett’s back and cranked a rear choke into position, forcing the bloodied and battered Aylett to tap out at 2:29 of the second round. This one was a classic!
Lightweight World Title Eliminator
Mark Wilson vs. Brian Davis
Next into the cage were the first two participants in the eight-man elimination tournament to find the Ultimate Combat Lightweight World Champion. England’s Mark Wilson stepped up against Top Team trained American, Brian Davis. Davis began the match taking Wilson down and trying to apply a little ground and pound, but Wilson quickly escaped back to his feet where he landed a series of right hands to Davis’ face. The fight went back to the ground with Wilson on top briefly before a reversal from Davis, but once again Wilson recovered his footing. After an intense series of exchanges, the two fighters were now both sucking gas and starting to fade. Wilson repeatedly landed single right hand shots to Davis’ head, but was unable to put him away as the sting had gone from his blows. Davis made the mistake of circling to his left, towards Wilson’s right hand, instead of away from it, and caught several shots for his trouble until the bell sounded for the end of the first round.
Both men looked tired answering the bell for the second. Davis made several attempts to shoot on Wilson, who kept his distance and kept throwing his right hand. Davis threw a handful of shots of his own, but Wilson had the best of the striking as Davis kept circling towards his right hand. In the two-minute overtime, the two men kept to the established pattern and Wilson earned the unanimous judges’ decision.
Heavyweight Bout
Richie Cranny vs. James Thompson
Richie Cranny, the second member of the Pro Mai School to brave the perils of the cage tonight, tipped the scales at 101kg. His opponent James Thompson, victorious over Marc Goddard at UC6, weighed in at 118kg and brings a fiery intensity into the cage. When the bell rang for these two behemoths to clash, Thompson rushed at Cranny and took him to the canvas. Thompson threw some leather and Cranny pulled him into the half-guard. Thompson applied a side choke and squeezed, encouraging Cranny to tap out after 1:34 of the opening round. Like the Colossus of Rhodes, Thompson bestrides the UC heavyweight division and it remains to be seen if anyone can cope with his formidable power.
Welterweight World Title Eliminator
Paul Jenkins (Wales) vs. Rafles LaRose
If you’ve been to a British MMA show in the last year, chances are you have seen Paul “Hands of Stone” Jenkins in action – he’s the busiest fighter on the circuit and undeniably one of the most entertaining. His opponent tonight was Rafles LaRose, a veteran of 2 Hot 2 Handle and member of the Tatsujin Dojo in Holland. Jenkins led with two roundhouse kicks and was met with a takedown from LaRose, driving Jenkins against the fence and landing in side control. Jenkins used the fence for support and worked his way upright. LaRose went for the Welshman’s legs but got caught in a guillotine attempt on the ground. Jenkins held LaRose in his guard as the Dutchman worked body punches, prompting a reversal. Now it was LaRose’s turn to try for a guillotine, but Jenkins scooped him up and ran with LaRose on his shoulder across the entire length of the octagon, slamming his opponent into one of the cage posts, drawing a huge cheer from the crowd. Held in LaRose’s guard, Jenkins threw short shots to the body and head with his fists and elbows. LaRose tried a triangle on for size, but Jenkins backed out of it, before executing a cartwheel guard pass just before the bell for the close of the first round.
In the second, LaRose scored an early takedown, landing in the guard and looking to begin a little ground and pound damage when Jenkins pushed his antagonist off with his legs. LaRose shot in again, but this time Jenkins secured side control and decided to get in some ground and pound practice of his own. LaRose tried to roll out of trouble, but Jenkins kept on the pressure, tearing at his target with a series of punches and elbows to the head right up until the bell for the close of the round.
In the overtime period, Jenkins landed a thigh kick before the altercation relocated to the canvas courtesy of a shoot from the Dutch scrapper. From the side mount, LaRose tried to pass the Welshman’s guard and the tired battlers exchanged blows until the final bell. Jenkins earned a split decision and the admiration of the fight fans in attendance for his dynamic performance and moves on to the finals of the Welterweight tournament.
European Superfight (Heavyweight)
Lee Spencer vs. Ruben Vazquez
Returning to the octagon for the first time since his thrilling fight against Pierre Guillet at UC5 was Ruben Vazquez, the first battler from Team Shoot Espana to enter the cage this evening. Facing him across the canvas was Lee Spencer, from Team Warriors, marking his third professional fight.
The hulking Spencer opened the exchange with a high kick that fell short and Vazquez shot in. Spencer caught the Spaniard in a clinch and threw a knee strike before Vazquez yanked the Englishman’s legs out from under him. The pair remained in a clinch as Spencer recovered his footing, but Vazquez muscled his way loose and let rip with some hard shots. As Spencer protected his head, Vazquez moved in, scored the takedown and applied a rear choke. Spencer tapped out after 3 minutes of the first round, and Vazquez returned to winning form.
Lightweight World Title Eliminator
Greg Loughrin vs. Pat Carr
The second pairing in the quest to crown a new Lightweight champion matched up Northern Ireland’s Greg Loughrin against Pat Carr, who fought an outstanding match against Kim Hovgaard at UC6. Carr led with a jab before closing the gap and driving Loughrin back against the fence. When the fight went to the ground, Loughrin held Carr in his guard before reversing. From the top, Loughrin threw punches and Carr escaped to his feet. As the Irishman moved in swinging, Carr took him down, landing in side control and working some ground and pound. Loughrin tried to roll out of danger, but Carr stayed on top and continued working his punches until the bell.
In the second, Carr moved in behind a flurry and drove his target back against the fence. Loughrin scored with his knees in the clinch before Carr tripped him and moved matters to the canvas. Held in the guard, Carr worked shots to Loughrin’s mid-section as the Irish fighter attempted to reverse the Englishman. A second reversal attempt succeeded and Loughrin regained verticality. On their feet, the pugilists exchanged blows before Carr reintroduced Loughrin to the canvas, where the bell found Carr working short punches as Loughrin held him in the guard.
Loughrin began the overtime round jabbing, but Carr countered with a well-timed high kick that found the mark on the side of Loughrin’s head. Carr shot in and took his opponent down, and the remainder of the round passed with Loughrin defending against Carr’s ground and pound. At the end of the overtime, Carr’s aggressive striking and series of takedowns earned him the unanimous decision and a spot against Mark Wilson in the semi-finals of the Lightweight tournament.
European Superfight (Light-Heavyweight)
Wayne Cook vs. Julian Gonzalez
England’s Wayne Cook scored the fastest KO in UC’s history when he flattened Alec Davenport in four seconds at UC6. His opponent tonight was Team Shoot Espana’s Julian Gonzalez, a veteran of M-1 Russia and two-time UC Superfight winner. The fight began with Cook throwing punches, but Gonzalez slipped in, body-locked Cook and drove him up against the fence. There, both men worked short knee strikes to the thighs, but were separated by the referee for inactivity. Cook threw another flurry and the Spanish fighter responded with a straight left punch that fell short and dislocated Gonzalez’s shoulder. The Spaniard turned away, signalling that he could not continue and Cook pounced upon him, throwing punches with abandon. Referee Andy Davis tried to pull Cook off Gonzalez, who was covering up on the ground, but Cook shook himself loose and continued punching. Davis seized Cook and dragged him off the prone Spaniard, holding the rampaging Englishman in a rear naked choke. Both sets of corner-men entered the cage and when Davis released Cook a member of the Spanish team expressed his disapproval of the Englishman’s behaviour with his fists. Mercifully, Team Shoot Espana’s coach Alejandro Inglesias kept a cool head and ordered his errant student out of the cage and order was restored. Cook was disqualified for use of excessive force, banned from competing in Ultimate Combat and left the cage to a chorus of booing from the crowd. The bout was declared a No Contest.
Lightweight World Title Eliminator
Ian Butlin vs. Marc Duncan
Ian Butlin entered the cage with a record of 3-0 and a wealth of amateur boxing experience under his belt. Occupying the blue corner was his opponent, Marc Duncan, the second member of the Dutch Tatsujin Dojo to exchange fistic philosophy tonight.
Butlin came out boxing, but Duncan slipped his jab, shot in and powered Butlin up against the fence. There, Duncan stomped on Butlin’s foot before the English scrapper worked his hands free and threw a flurry of shots to the Dutchman’s head, forcing Duncan to cover up and driving him back. Duncan shot in, scored the takedown, and the two men exchanged positions on the floor until Butlin secured a triangle from the bottom. The referee stopped the contest at 1:37, although Duncan claimed he did not tap from the triangle choke. Regardless, Butlin moves on to the semi-finals, improving his record to 4-0.
Middleweight Bout
Sandy Geddes vs. Steve Dempsey
Billed as the Ultimate Comeback, 43-year-old Steve “Mauler” Dempsey was returning to competition after an absence of three years to face Sandy Geddes, an active member of the Paratroopers making his fourth appearance at Ultimate Combat.
Answering the opening bell, Geddes landed a thigh kick and Dempsey threw a left before a hard right hand from Geddes found the mark. Dempsey went down, but was clearly still conscious and grabbed the Scotsman’s leg. The referee stepped in and halted the action, but Dempsey insisted he was not hurt and despite the protestations of Geddes’ corner, the fight resumed. The Paratrooper immediately resumed his assault, smashing home a straight right that staggered Dempsey, before dragging him to the ground. Geddes let rip with a fierce ground and pound, splitting open Dempsey’s right eyebrow in the process. As blood poured down Dempsey’s face, the referee called a halt to the bout after 50 action packed seconds of round one, bringing an abrupt and bloody end to Dempsey’s comeback hopes.
Lightweight World Title Eliminator
Kim Hovgaard vs. Dave McLaughlin
Hovgaard and McLaughlin are the respective training partners of Lars Besand and Pierre Guillet, who would contest the Light-Heavyweight World Title later in the proceedings. In the meantime, these two tough warriors set about deciding who would take the remaining place in the semi-finals of the Lightweight World Title Tournament.
When the fighters answered the bell for the first round, McLaughlin shot in under a Hovgaard jab, only for Hovgaard to secure his underhooks and push McLaughlin up against the fence. The fighters went to the ground, with McLaughlin keeping the Dane in his guard as Hovgaard tried to work his ground and pound. The Cambridge-born scrapper kept a tight guard and landed some short shots of his own to Hovgaard’s face before the two men were separated by the referee and brought back to their feet. Upright, McLaughlin threw a front kick that fell short, which Hovgaard answered with a roundhouse that McLaughlin took on the arm. Both men threw some leather, but nothing landed clean and McLaughlin took Hovgaard down to the ground shortly before the bell called a temporary halt to their exertions.
In the middle round, Hovgaard threw a high left kick, which McLaughlin met with a Thai-boxing style jumping punch. They clinched and Hovgaard scored the takedown as the fight settled on the canvas. McLaughlin maintained his tight guard and kept looking for submissions whilst Hovgaard tried to make openings to strike. The two men stayed on the ground for the remainder of the round, as Hovgaard mauled his opponent with grinding elbows and short punches. McLaughlin’s tight defence and active guard meant that Hovgaard did not have any easy time of it, but the second round clearly belonged to the Dane.
The overtime opened with an exchange of blows until it was McLaughlin’s turn to take Hovgaard to the floor. The Danish warrior pulled guard and McLaughlin ground Hovgaard’s face with his forearms. Both fighters were throwing short punches until the final bell. It was a very close fight, with both participants displaying considerable technical prowess on the ground. Hovgaard’s relentless grinding attack in the second round earned him the split decision and a spot in the semi-finals where he’ll meet Ian Butlin.
Welterweight World Title Eliminator
Fabricio Nascimento vs. Javier Garcia
Before the next engagement started, Team Shoot Espana’s coach Alejandro Inglesias took a moment to address the crowd and clear the air before his student Garcia entered the cage. Inglesias apologized for his corner-man’s behaviour in the wake of Wayne Cook’s rampage and earned a huge swell of applause from the crowd.
Then it was time for Inglesias’ student Javier Garcia, a two-time UC Superfight victor, to confront Fabricio Nascimento, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who fights out of the Nova Uniao Italia club. Nascimento came to the octagon with a record of 4-1 that includes wins at Italia Extreme and the Kings of the Ring European Grand Prix in Croatia.
Nascimento wasted no time when the fight began, closing the gap with a very fast shoot and taking the Spanish fighter down. On the ground Nascimento attempted an ankle lock, but Garcia escaped and the fighters recovered their footing. Nascimento scored a second takedown and attempted a second ankle lock. Garcia responded by picking the Brazilian up and smashing him into the canvas, but Nascimento switched to a triangle, cranked up the pressure, and Garcia tapped out at 2:14 of the first round. Nascimento advances to face Paul Jenkins in the deciding match to crown Ultimate Combat’s Welterweight World Champion.
British Title Fight (Middleweight)
David Patterson vs. Sol Gilbert
In the first Title fight of the night, Northern Ireland’s David Patterson squared off against Sol “Zero Tolerance” Gilbert. Patterson boasted an impressive record of 17-0 that includes the Irish BJJ Championship and All-Ireland MMA Titles. For his opponent, Gilbert, this was only his fourth professional MMA fight, but Gilbert is an ex-professional boxer and is one of the most popular fighters on the British circuit.
Patterson led with a high kick that set up a shoot, pushing Gilbert up against the side of the cage. Gilbert went for a double-leg and was caught in a guillotine. Undeterred, Gilbert picked Patterson up and slammed him to the ground. There, Gilbert started to work his ground and pound, pressuring Patterson until the Irishman succeeded in reversing his rival. Patterson found Gilbert’s back and tried for a rear choke, but Gilbert reversed. Patterson was unable to secure his guard and Gilbert let his hands go, ripping punches down onto Patterson who did his best to cover up. Unfortunately for Patterson, Gilbert’s ground and pound is awesome to behold and as his fists smashed home referee Andy Davis leapt in to spare the Irishman further punishment after 3:08 of the first round. Gilbert, winner of the European Champions Cup in his last outing, can now add the British title to his growing collection of accolades.
World Title Bout (Light-Heavyweights)
Lars Besand (Denmark) vs. Pierre Guillet (USA)
Headlining the card tonight was the showdown between Denmark’s Lars Besand and Pierre Guillet, a member of the US Airforce who fights out of Cambridge. Besand’s credentials include winning two UC Superfights, the Danish heavyweight Shootfighting Championship and the Fightback V7 title, while Guillet’s accomplishments include a record of 12-1-1, four UC International Superfight victories and the German Pro-Shido Championship Title. Both fighters tipped the scales at 84kg, but the shorter Besand looked the more powerful of the pair.
When the bell rang, Besand threw a high left roundhouse kick that Guillet blocked before throwing a low roundhouse of his own. Guillet then flipped down to attack Besand with an ankle lock and the fight moved to the ground. Guillet kept trying for the ankle lock as Besand started to ground and pound, throwing powerful shots to Guillet’s head, some of which hit the mark. Guillet released the ankle lock and recovered his feet as Besand lay on his back. The American attempted a cartwheel guard pass that drew cheers from the crowd, but Besand kept his antagonist at bay with his legs, frustrating Guillet’s attempt to ground and pound. The Dane drove Guillet on to his back, up against the fence where Guillet pulled guard as the mighty Danish brawler threw hard shots to Guillet’s head, marking up the American’s face. Guillet continued to fend off Besand’s tireless assault until the bell brought a welcome respite.
Guillet started the second round aggressively with a flying knee that backed the Danish warrior up and encouraged Besand to clinch and take the fight back to the ground. Guillet momentarily held the top position before Besand reversed him displaying prodigious strength and the American was forced to defend using the guard. Besand was able to land some vicious short elbow strikes to the side of the head and Guillet attempted a triangle choke but Besand stacked him and broke the hold. Moving positions, Guillet took side control and landed shots to Besand’s ribs before Besand kicked him off. Moving in and trying to avoid Besand’s legs, Guillet threw some leather, but Besand drove up off the side of the cage looking to do some damage. Guillet switched to another ankle lock and Besand slammed his foot into Guillet’s head as they struggled on the canvas. When the bell sounded, an exhausted and bruised Guillet took a moment to rise when his corner-men entered the cage.
Besand was controlling the fight through power and aggression and the Title was slipping away from the American as the bell summoned the combatants back into action. Besand threw a hook, the fighters clinched and the fight went to the floor with Besand on top. The relentless Dane worked his ground and pound and landed an elbow to the face before Guillet managed to execute a reversal. On his back, Besand scored again with a kick to the face as Guillet struggled to pass the Dane’s legs. When Guillet moved in looking to establish side control, Besand flipped over and Guillet took his back. Besand tried to throw the American off, over his head, but Guillet sprawled, maintaining his position on Besand’s back and began working his left arm under Besand’s chin. The American succeeded in passing his forearm across Besand’s throat, and cranked on the pressure, leaving Besand no choice but to tap out after 4:38 of the third round.
A battered and bruised Guillet received his championship belt from promoter Dale Adams and thanked the crowd for their support. Besand, who fought an extraordinarily aggressive match, was disappointed after controlling the bout, but Guillet refused to wilt under pressure and displayed incredible tenacity and focus in a match that will be remembered in the annals of British MMA for a very long time. As he left the cage, fight fans swarmed around the new champion as he made his way back to the dressing room.
So there you have it. The night’s pugilistic performances started with Lee Aylett and Ross Mason tearing it up, and rounded off with Pierre Guillet weathering everything Lars Besand could throw at him to come back and find a submission in the closing moments of the third round. Ultimate Combat 8 promises the next round of the Lightweight World Title Elimination Tournament, and the final of the Welterweight World Title Tournament. Bring it on!
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