Cage Rage 6 entitled “The Night of the Gladiators” started with a typical Cage Rage style introduction from the guys at the Elite Fighting System gym and was joined in this Romanesque theme by “Wolf” from the hit 90’s TV series “Gladiators” who pranced about the cage like a pro-wrestling heel, raising hell in his typical trademark style.

They were also joined by 10 sexy ring girls that showed that this Cage Rage spared no expense on the general entertainment factor. It was a show dominated by high production values s Co-Promoters Andy Geer and David O’Donnell prepared for their big show at Wembley on July 10th, by cutting some excellent promo video’s on the big screen, which got the attention of first time and hardcore fans alike.

The big screens also played interviews from the fighters and also hyped up the eagerly awaited main event, as Cage Rage Lightweight Champion Gerald Strebendt defended his title against his arch Nemesis Jean Silva, in a rematch of the clash last February in which Gerald won by rear naked choke in round 1. This added a real element of suspense and in my opinion let everyone in the nightclub know what a huge fight this really was..

Stuart Grant vs Phil Labar

The first fight of the Night featured Stuart Grant who lost on his debut at Cage Rage 5, taking on Elite Fighting Systems member Phil Labar who was making his MMA debut. Labar was hoping to continue what his teamamte Colin Lingwood did at Cage Rage 5 by beating Grant.

The fight took off a breakneck speed with Labar taking it to Grant with some wild swinging strikes and seemingly dominated the action standing throughout rounds 1 and 2. However Grant just about weathered the storm and got the advantage on the ground late on round 2 and punished Labar against the cage with some GnP.

Just as the fight was getting very interesting the fight was ended as Labar was unable to start round 3, as the high tempo start caught up with him and the fight ended abruptly. However Stuart Grant goes to 1-1 in MMA and makes up for a disappointing outing at Cage Rage 5.

Winner Stuart Grant at the end of round 2 after failing to come out for the start of round 3.

Alvin Delemico v Chris Freebourne

Alvin Delemico from Elite was up next He was taking on Chris Freebourne from the Cage Gym in Gosport. Freeborne, was hoping to make up for a disastrous showing on Full Contact Fight Night on Easter Sunday when he lost twice (Albeit 1 lost was taken on at short notice and was under amateur rules)

This fight was an old school striker/grappler clash as Delemico came out with a flurry and dominated the stand-up early on against the south coast sambo star. Freeborne looked visibly shaken as Delemico wobbled him with several strikes.

However, Delemico was unable to take Freeborne out and just like in the old school fights of 10 years ago, the grappler countered in dramatic fashion as Freeborne caught a low leg kick by Delmico and the fight immediately goes to the floor in which after a brief struggle mangles to sink in a triangle choke in a textbook like manner for the win.

Winner – Chris Freebourne, round 1, submission (triangle)

Lance King v Ryan Robinson

The big boys were up next as the first heavyweight showdown of the night took place as Ryan Robinson from Carlson Gracie Jiu Jitsu took on the big man from Fu-Long academy in Lance King who had a whopping 17kg weight advantage and was looking to avenge his loss at Cage Rage 2 to Robinson.

In what was a slow plodding ground war Robinson controlled the fight using his ground skill to negate the considerable weight advantage of Lance King who was unable to launch much of his punishing Ground and Pound attack which beat Jonny Mitchell in cage Rage 3 and 4 and the stand up striking which took him 3 rounds with the dangerous Mark Epstein at the last Cage Rage.

Although on top position King was always potentially a danger, Robinson showed far superior ground work and wrapped-up a 1 sided win in round 2 via a triangle choke

Winner – Ryan Robinson round 2 triangle choke

Ryan Norwood vs Flavio (Brazil)

Ryan Norwood from the Rob Lock Academy was up next fighting a late replacement, in the Brazilian Capoeira fighter Flavio. Norwood who’s represented Rob Lock against the Elite Fighting System guys several times on Cage Rage must of relished the challenge after Ricky Andrews pulled out.

However the Brazilian rattled Norwood with a good stand up display and any notion that Flavio would have a flashy high tempo offence were quickly shot down as stalked Norwood around the cage like a lion landing strikes.

However the fight took a sudden turn when Norwood managed to clinch and slam Flavio and quickly and capably locked on a cross arm armbar for the win via tap out, much to the surprise of the Brazilian contingent who were standing to my left. Norwood improved to 4-2-0 with 3 wins coming by armbar and will surely be looking for a bigger fight next time round.

Winner – Ryan Norwood, round 1 submission (armbar)

Ricky Moore v Alex Owen

Alex Owen the 2003 Combat Sports Lightweight Champion was up next fighting against Cage Rage Veteran and local lad Ricky Moore who defeated the Frenchman Benoit Derot in Cage Rage 5 by Kimura.

The fight was a short but sweet affair as both men showed their considerable ground skills by exchanging submission attempts in a high tempo, high quality, and active ground war. Owen in particular showed some slick BJJ moves as he managed to pass the guard and eventually end the contest after delivering a huge forearm shot to Moore’s head in side mount which ended the fight instantly and cut Moore quite badly to boot.

Winner – Alex Owen, round 1, KO

This ended the 1st half of the show and in the meantime the 10 ring girls which Cage Rage had in attendance sent the temperature of the nightclub soaring by dancing in and around the cage area. Purists may complain that this is sleazy and possibly degrading. However Cage Rage make no excuses for this, and with a no under 18’s rule enforced, I personally think that people have little scope to complain and those who do, should know by now that is part of the niche that Cage Rage is trying to carve out by being a whole entertainment package rather than just a fight show.

Also during the break the 2 main promos were played again showing the awesome Cage Rage 7 card in Wembley and the hype surrounding the main event which kept people’s interest and got them talking about both events

Kuljit Degun v Del Edwards

The 2nd Heavyweight clash of the night saw the 116kg Kuljit Degum from Ilford take on the 120KG!!!! Del Edwards from the Elite fighting systems. Degum entered the ring with an Asian dance trope.

However the VIP’s at ringside were probably more concerned by the fact that much of the fight was spent with both men grappling by the cage in a slow encounter in which both men neutralised each other.

However Degum who looked the more active of the two and the current British San Shou champion won in 3.18 of round 2 after “The Hammer” tapped after being trapped on the fence and looking visibly gassed out, which is no crime when you have spent most of the fight in guard with another big heavyweight looking to pound down on you.

Winner – Kuljit Degum via submission (fatigue), round 2

Henrique Santana v Jeremy Bailey

Cage Rage isn’t the same without the “Bad Boy” and after sitting out Cage Rage 5 with an injury, the Bad Boy came out to his usual flashy ring entrance complete with “Bad Boy” girls and his “Bad Boy” fight team. The Caesars crowd who love the cocky showman showed their approval. However Bailey was taking on a good opponent in the form of Henrique Santana, who narrowing lost by decision at Cage Rage 4 and the man who trains at the Ze Marcello gym in Slough did not disappoint.

Santana’s BJJ skills came into play fairly early after he countered a leg kick from Bailey who did start off brightly, showing his stand-up skills. However, once Santanta caught a leg kick and took Bailey down, Santana worked his way through Bailey’s weak ground defence and hooked in rear naked choke on for the win by submission.

Then came the controversy, as Bailey was obviously upset by something and had to be restrained then a near free for all occurred which was broken up. Bailey who was now clearly irate tried jump out of the cage towards the Brazilian’s corner

To their credit, the Cage Rage crew managed to sort this volatile situation out, and as Bailey was getting booed. He grabbed the microphone and said he got eye gouged 3 times and then shouted at the crowd. At this point co-promoter Andy Geer said the tape would be reviewed.

Later on in the card it was announced that the fight was declared a no-contest due to the eye gouging that occurred which was unsatisfactory end to a fight, which will hopefully be resolved at a later date.

Result – No-Contest

Mark Epstein v Glen Appleby

Many people ‘in the know’ didn’t give Glen Appleby good odds to survive the opening minutes against Mark Epstein when this fight was announced. Epstein, a dangerous striker who won the Heavyweight Title at Cage Rage 5 against Lance King, is a dangerous opponent domestically in the 205lbs division. However , Appleby put in one of his best performances yet in taking Epstein to the end of round 2 before succumbing to fatigue in between rounds.

Epstein, who dropped a weight class to try and capture the Light-Heavyweight title this time around showed no ill-effects of this and spent most of the fight in the top position raining down blows on Appleby who showed a surprisingly good guard/defence whilst being trapped against the cage by the big hitter from the “Woolwich massive”.

However Appleby who failed to come out for round 3 and even though he lost, e won a lot of respect from MMA fans for containing Mark for that long.

Winner – Mark Epstein, via stoppage between rounds 2 and 3.

Marc Goddard v Andy Costello

The 3rd and final Heavyweight fight of the night featured Gracie Barra standout Marc Goddard verses the unbeaten Andy Costello.

In a quick and painful looking affair Costello beat Goddard via tapout from strikes, after Costello powered his way through when Marc gave him his back when trying to avoid the mount..

Winner Andy Costello, via submission (strikes), round 1

Paul Jenkins Vs Suley Mahmoud
Middleweight Title Match

The penultimate fight of the night featured a rematch from Cage Rage 5 in which both Muhmoud and Jenkins battled to a stalemate. Although Jenkins is the reigning Middleweight champ, he usually fights at welterweight, and it showed as Jenkins gave up some weight and a lot of strength to the East Londoner, who controlled most of the fight with superior takedowns and wrestling, in a fight that was for the MMA purist.

Jenkins to his credit showed a lot of good defence on his back which frustrated Muhmoud, although he manage to cut Jenkins at the back of his head and stun him with some standing strikes too.

As round 3 started I had Muhmoud 2 rounds ahead and expected Jenkins to come out ith all guns blazing, but it did not materialise and although Jenkins had the better of it, by managing to sweep Muhmoud whilst in guard and strike from top position, I felt he had not done enough to win and that a new champion would be crowned.

However, to the surprise of Muhmoud and his corner the judges scored the contest a unanimous draw. UFC star Lee Murray who was in Muhmoud’s went over to the judges to have a word, but the fallout from the fight was one of respect with both men showing their respect.

Result - Unanimous draw

(Champion) Gerald Strebendt vs Jean Silva
Lightweight Title

The most eagerly awaited rematch of the year ended the card in dramatic fashion as the brash American Gerald Strebandt, looked to make it 2 wins in 2 weeks by beating the London based Brazilian Jean Silva. Strebandt, who won at Cagewarriors 7 with the first “twister” submission in MMA, had been the talk of many internet sites worldwide leading up to the fight and looked to claim his second win over Silva.

Both men originally clashed last February when Silva’s flashy offensive style was brutally exposed by the efficient ground work of the Machado JJ representative. However Silva has become more patient in his approach and after both men went face to face in Barnsley, Silva was even more determined to do the business this time round.

However, the fight started with a very high tempo and Gerald managed to get the takedown, and immediately goes on the attack looking for an armbar, Silva managed to escape but Gerald continued his offensive and attacked Silva’s leg and latched on a seemingly tight kneebar. The tension increased as Silva struggled and grimaced as Strebandt. Somehow Silva manages not only to tap but escape that lock too, much to the relief of his fans in the nightclub and to the Brazilian contingent to my left.

Both men stand up but Gerald quickly takes Jean down again and used his strength to work Silva’s guard whilst he was stuck against the cage. Silva then shows why he has a black belt in BJJ and counters Gerald’s strength by using his guile and agility and attempted an armbar from the guard with his neck against the fence. Gerald powered managed to power out of it and as the round ended, Jean managed to sweep out of guard and land in mount as the bell rings.

Round 2 started in the same way as round 1, with the American getting the early takedown and forcing Silva against the cage. Gerald tried to work position but Silva prevented any advancement and stopped Gerald from getting to side position. As both men stand, Gerald again takes down Silva against the cage, both men were very active with Gerald’s pushing forward trying to work guard, but was careless and almost succumbed to a kimura.

However this did not deter Strebandt going from attacking yet again and as Silva looked to close his guard, he catches Gerald pushing forward again and launched a classic counter attack, as the Brazilian lifted his legs up Gerald’s back and started working for the triangle. Gerald tried to power through it but despite the uncomfortable position Silva was in, he managed to secure the lock and to the delight of the partisan crowd, Gerald taps and Jean Silva became the new lightweight Champion.

During the post fight interview Silva said that the fight was very hard for him, and both men were very respectful, on and off the mic, which again highlights how great and how classy this sport really is.

Result – Jean Silva, via submission (triangle), round 2

Conclusion

It was another great night for the Cage Rage Crew and with the big show on July 10th, which features a “UFC quality” card, things can only get better, as cage rage tries to take UK MMA to a whole new level.