The hype generated about the first ever World Cage Fighting Championship: No Guts – No Glory has been unbelievable. It has been everywhere, from television to newspapers to the internet; and has received more than its fair share of bad press. Some labelled it as barbaric; some likened it to roman gladiator shows. Very few, if any, were willing to give it a chance, willing to have MMA explained to them and seemed just happy disregarding it.

A lot of the excitement generated was around Mike Tyson. The boxing legend would be refereeing a fight, and of course gave the organisation a lot of publicity.

Other personalities were in attendance such as Man United star Rio Ferdinand and boxer Amir Kahn. 

MMA royalty Bas Rutten was in attendance as a ring announcer and commentator. The majority of press were completely oblivious to him and his obvious credentials, so I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions. He felt the WCFC was definitely one to look out for in the future, and told me that there was to be another show at the end of July. Although, some of the big names had pulled out for various reasons, he explained that it wouldn’t damage the show. He felt there were a lot of hungry, new fighters on the card, ones wanting to impress and that it would show in their fights.

I also managed to grab a few words with the president of WCFC, Sid Gore, the man responsible for bringing Tyson to the competition. He told me that they aim to have three or four shows a year. They want to bring credibility to the show and decided a good figure head would be a great way of generating excitement about the organisation. In the future, Sid told me, he wants WCFC to be a large organisation, one that fighters like Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz would come to for unification titles. He negotiated with Sky so that the competition could reach larger audience and so people can see the show, the production and think “wow!”  He also told me that Tyson was contracted to three fights so there is every possibility he will be refereeing at the show again.

The attendance seemed slow to begin with, but soon grew in numbers.

The fight card we were given was incorrect. Some fighters had been moved, and some that weren’t scheduled to fight were now apparently doing so.

Despite what our Fight Card said, the first fight was a tournament bout between Rodney Faverus and Yuki Sasaki.

The two fighters came out throwing punches, Faverus looked a lot more tight and clean standing and it surprised me when during a clinch Faverus took the fight to the ground. He found himself in Sasaki’s guard who was very active grabbing hold of arms and legs in an attempt to find a submission. While on the ground Sasaki turned into an armbar attempt, and Faverus started illegally kneeing him in the head. It took a while for the referee to pick up on it, but he did and issued Faverus with a warning. Sasaki was still fighting for the armbar, but Faverus was defending well. The crowd was getting restless and the referee stood them up while Sasaki was still attacking the arm. It was a bad time to stand them up, but I can understand why he had done it. A first time show and they want to give the crowd what they want – action.

Once on their feet Faverus started landing some shots some that seemed to turn Sasaki slightly. After a brief stint standing the fight was back on the ground, this time with Sasaki on top. He failed to do any real damage and Faverus was able to break away and stand up. A bit more sparring and again the fight went to the floor, with Faverus again in Sasaki’s guard. Sasaki pivoted and went for an arm, but Faverus seemed to be defending well, using his greater strength to prevent the submission. Then Sasaki managed to pop out and straighten out the arm. Faverus defended for a while, but he was in the compromising position for too long and the referee stopped it feeling damage may have occurred if he allowed it to go on.
Sasaki by armbar – round 1.

The Second tournament match was between Leonardo Nascimento and Rodney Moore; Moore being a replacement for Matt Ewin.

Both fighters came out looking very confident, Nascimento’s entrance music being one of the coolest I’ve heard.

They started quickly, Nascimento firing a big high kick and following up with a massive slam putting Moore on his back. Nascimento managed to pass Moore’s guard and found a way to the mount. Nascimento looked as cool as anything and pivoted to an armbar. Moore tapped and Nascimento progressed to the second round in style.

The Third fight of the night was a tournament bout between Gregory Bouchelaghem and Roan Carneiro.

Round 1:
Carneiro came out first and entered the cage. Gregory came out sporting a white tie with splattered blood on it, as he entered the cage he stopped at Carneiro’s corner and they stared each other down, both looked ready, and both looked angry.

As they began the fight, Gregory swung a few low kicks at Carneiro’s legs. Carneiro then went for a double leg, Gregory defended well and they tied up in the clinch. There was little action so the referee separated them. Back on their feet, they began to strike. Carneiro threw a good shot which turned Gregory. They then tied up and smashed against the cage, here one of the cage’s side padding came off exposing the metal frame. Luckily the two fighters went to the ground which allowed staff to get into the cage and reattach the padding. They dealt with it swiftly and efficiently.


Carneiro was on top and he dealt some big elbows to Gregory’s body. Gregory threw some vicious up-kicks, but none of them seemed to faze Carneiro. The ground battle continued with Carneiro on top and transitioning from position to position. The crowd grew restless. The round ended with Carneiro throwing some big shots from the top position.

Round 2:
Gregory came out in the second round and threw a big hick kick and followed up with a hook. Carneiro ducked the shot and they went back to the floor with Carneiro in half guard. They traded shots but the crowd began to boo again, the referee restarted the fighters in the standing position. Gregory came with a kick again that missed and Carneiro hit him with a good shot and took the fight back to the floor. Once again Carneiro found himself in Gregory’s half guard. Gregory seemed to be showing signs of fatigue and as the round came to an end it looked to be a win for Carneiro.

Roan Carneiro by Split Decision.

The fourth tournament bout was between Petras Morkevicius and Matt Horwich.

The bell rang and immediately Horwich, a Team Quest Fighter, was looking to clinch. When he got close to his opponent, Petras tried a flying armbar. He caught Horwich’s arm but Horwich defended well, he used his strength from allowing Petras to straighten up and extend the arm.

While the two were struggling, Horwich trying to escape and Petras trying to submit, the crowd emitted a cheer. It took me a second to realise that Mike Tyson had just entered the arena and was walking literally metres away from me.

After the excitement of Tyson’s arrival had died down, Horwich had escaped the armbar and the two were standing again. They clinched together and after pummelling for position, Petras went to the ground and gave Horwich his back. Horwich straightened him out and began working for the rear naked choke. Petras Defended well and managed to turn round. Horwich threw some big shots from the top position which forced Petras to give his back again, this time Horwich sunk the rear naked choke and forced Petras to tap.

Horwich progressed to the semi-final.

There was an intermission here, and I managed to grab a few words with the Colossus, James Thompson. Despite being hugely intimidating, he’s also an incredibly nice guy and his passion for the sport really comes across. We spoke about his car crash and he told me that they were lucky to come out as well as they did. He also expressed his dismay at not being able to fight. I asked him about his next fight and he told me he is scheduled to fight at the open weight grand prix and the name they are throwing around is Minowa. I’d like to wish him luck, but am sure he will come out on top.

Also during the intermission they introduced Mike Tyson, and the crowd literally went mad. He expressed his enjoyment of the sport and announced he’d be refereeing the “Battle of the M62”.

An interviewer also spoke to Amir Kahn, who told the crowd he thought MMA was good, but that we’d never see him in a cage. He said he had lots of respect for them but also stated that if he was in there, he’d knock them out in seconds.

After the intermission we had a lightweight bout between Din Thomasand Luciano Azavendo

Round 1:
They came out and both trade shots, Din caught Luciano with a big right cross, Luciano reacted by immediately shooting in, but Din sprawled well. Din was much more aggressive, and stalked Luciano around the cage. Luciano shot in for a single leg and ended up on top in Din’s guard. After exchanging a few shots on the ground, Luciano sat back in search of a leg and Din read it and pulled his leg free. They stayed on the ground and Luciano again seemed to be trying to grab hold of a leg, as Din thought about defending the leg Luciano suddenly opened up with a flurry of punches and landed some big hammer fists.

Luciano started using a strike to the face and immediately shoot technique.

Round 2:
Luciano immediately shoots in on Din who under hooks Luciano and turns him against the cage. Din starts utilising foot stomps which does not go down well with the crowd. Luciano jumps to guard, but Din stays standard, Luciano gives up the guard, and Din breaks away. Luciano goes with a high kick and a shoots in immediately after which Din defends well. They spar a little and in a reverse of tactics Luciano fakes the shot then sends in a powerful high kick, but Din’s reflexes are on form as he blocks it perfectly. Luciano obviously wants Din on the ground and is almost exclusively shooting in on Din who is sprawling well all the time. As Luciano throws a kick, Din catches hold of a leg and throws a flurry of punches at Luciano’s face. Some good, powerful shots land, but Luciano remained composed and kept his mind on the job, still looking for the takedown which he gets and the buzzer for the end of the round goes with Luciano in Din’s guard.

Round 3:
This round was at a slower pace as the action in the first two would obviously have tired them. After a bit of sparring Luciano shoots in but Din sprawls well and turns and takes Luciano to the ground. Din sits in Luciano’s guard, and eventually stands back up. They both fire a few shots, nothing connects and Luciano throws in a huge left high kick and follows up by taking Din to the ground. There is not much action and Din recovers. They get back to their feet with Din sprawling well until the final buzzer.

Luciano Azavendo wins by Unanimous Decision.

It started with Yuki Sasaki vs. Leonardo Nascimento

Sasaki came out throwing kicks and Nascimento replies with a flurry of punches many of which connect and sends Sasaki to the floor. Nascimento is in Sasaki’s guard and is landing some big shots. Sasaki shows he has a great chin and wraps Nascimento up preventing him from punching. With Sasaki still dazed Nascimento transitions to side mount and after much grappling he wraps up Sasaki’s head and arm and spins into an anaconda choke. Sasaki is forced to tap after a beautiful move by Nascimento.

Nascimento progresses to the final.

The second semi-final was a bout between Matt Horwich and Roan Carneiro.

Round 1:
Horwich started the bout looking for the clinch, he moves in and Carneiro takes Horwich to the floor and ends up in Horwich’s guard. As Carneiro is grounding and pounding, Horwich turns his back to try and escape. Carneiro starts working for a rear naked choke, but Horwich is defending well and manages to turn onto his back again. Carneiro moves from side and throws punches to Horwich’s face. Carneiro tries for an arm triangle and to defend, Horwich again gives his back, from behind Carneiro throws punches to Horwich who eventually manages to get back to his feet. The two clinch and Carneiro gets double under hooks and Horwich tries to pummel his arms back into position, Carneiro breaks away and drags Horwich back to the ground. Carneiro wraps his arm around Horwich’s neck and tries for the guillotine choke and sits back into the guard position. After a struggle, Horwich breaks free and is in Carneiro’s full guard as the buzzer sounds.

Round 2:
Carneiro rushes out towards Horwich and throws a flying knee; he then follows up with a flurry of punches. Horwich drops and Carneiro follows him to the floor, Horwich is able to pull guard but Carneiro postures up and throws punches towards Horwich’s face. After some time the ref stands them back up again but it isn’t long before Carneiro has Horwich clinched against the face and the fight is taken back to the floor with Carneiro throwing big hammer fists from Horwich’s guard. Horwich turns to defend the shots and Carneiro immediately takes his back. Carneiro manages to put his hooks in works for the rear naked choke after a scuffle Horwich manages to pull guard again and the buzzer sounds for the end of the fight.

Roan Carneiro wins by Split Decision and sets up an all Brazilian final.

The next fight was set to be the battle of the M62, but due to injury Ozzy Haluk had to pull out and was replaced by Diego Gonzalez. He was set to fight Liverpool’s Terry Etim.

This was the fight that was refereed by Mike Tyson, and the crowd gave him another standing ovation.

The fight seemed to be over in what felt like a split second and due to a badly placed steward (badly placed for most of the night actually), my view was somewhat obscured. Terry rushed across the cage and appeared to be tripped by Diego who then fell on top. Almost straight away, however, Terry secured a triangle choke and Diego was tapping. Although Tyson didn’t have much to do, he certainly looked the part, and the crowd was more than happy to have him there.

Tyson went on to say that he wouldn’t try it himself but he watches it for its entertainment value. He was then introduced to Ramon Dekkers who present Tyson with a DVD.

The next fight was Alexandre Ferreira vs. Michael Knaap, a last replacement for Gwenk Mousasi.

They started the fight and almost immediately clinched. Ferreira dropped down for a double leg and took Knaap to the floor. Ferreira took side mount and threw some big shots to Knaap’s head face. They turned and Knaap managed to stand up, only to find himself back against the cage being clinched by a stronger Ferreira. Ferreira again managed to get the takedown and found himself in Knaap’s guard. Ferreira threw a few shots and passed to side mount and then again to mount. From here Ferreira threw some big shots turning Knaap onto his front and then again onto his back. Ferrweia then goes for a heel hook.

At this point, a fight broke out in the crowd and all attention was on the crowd, I looked back to the fight just in time to see Ferreira sit back into an arm bar and Knaap tapped.

The next fight was an unscheduled bout between Alex Reid and Jason Tann. Apparently both fighters had been unaware that they were to be fight. Tann being there in Terry Etim’s corner and Reid there as a spectator, apparently he was called to whilst he was enjoying a bottle of champagne.

Round 1:
Both fighters came out firing as they tied up; Reid threw some big knees in the clinch, some of which landed. Tann shook it off and went for a double leg and lifted Reid into the air and took him to the ground. Reid threw plenty of up-kicks from his back, some that looked hard but didn’t seem to trouble Tann, who soon passed to side mount and began throwing some big punches to Tann’s face. Jason then moves to mount and continues punching before Reid manages to pull guard again and continues with the up-kicks. Tann backs away and stands back up. There is a brief pause as Tann points out that his glove is ripped and a member of Jason’s corner runs back stage for a new pair of gloves. When the fight commences, Reid begins stalking Tann, firing in low kicks. Tann fires a hard right and Reid replies with a stiff uppercut and a knee, Tann shoots in on Reid who sprawls.

Round 2:
From the start, Reid opens with a flurry of punches; Tann then ducks down and puts Reid on his back. He finds himself in Reid’s guard and starts throwing at Reid’s face. Reid looks tired and Tann stands up looking to pass, Reid fires a few high kicks, but Tann jumps back into his guard. Little action takes place so the ref stands them back up. Reid hits Tann with a couple of nice upper cuts then goes for a knee. Tann grabs Reid’s leg and throws him onto his back. Tann stands up and starts kicking Reid’s legs while he is on his back. Jason gets back into Reid’s guard who then turns him onto his back and gets into side mount. From here he begins to punch Tann, connecting a couple of times before standing back up. It is obvious that Reid is very tired. Back on their feet they exchange strikes; Tann catches Reid twice who in retaliation fires a high knee from the clinch. Both now look tired. It goes back to the ground with Reid in Tann’s guard and stays there when the buzzer goes.

Jason Tann wins by Split Decision.

Reid goes on to say that he noticed the hostile crowd towards him being a southerner, and would love to have everyone’s support when he takes on Dave Menne at Cage Rage 16: Critical Condition later this year.

The next fight was Sanjin Kadunk and Alistair Overeem.

It was obvious that Overeem was a fan favourite and they went wild despite him not having his hammer with him.

As soon as the fight started, Overeem was on the attacking, jumping straight in with flying knees aimed at Kadunk’s head. Kadunk fell to the floor and Overeem immediately jumped into the mount position and rained down some heavy blows to Kadunk’s head. Soon, much to the crowd’s pleasure, the ref started them standing again and Overeem again rushed in with the flying knees. Once again Kadunk finds himself on his back and Overeem gets into the mount, a few more hard, heavy punches then Overeem finds an arm, sits back and has Kadunk tapping.

Overeem literally hadn’t broken a sweat, but you have to credit Kadunk for getting into the cage with someone of Overeem’s calibre.

The last fight of the night was the Final of the tournament, Leonardo Nascimento vs. Roan Carneiro.

The fight starts with a big high kick by Nascimento which is blocked well by Carneiro, who then fires back with a low kick to Nascimento’s thigh. Nascimento then rushes Carneiro against the cage and they end up on the floor with Carneiro on top. Carneiro then backs away and peppers Nascimento’s legs with kicks. There is a pause for a while due to an accidental groin shot by Nascimento. Once they resume there is a lot of clinch work, both vying for position. The ref breaks them and they begin to throw punches at each other. Both connect but neither seems to be hurt, Nascimento throws Carneiro to the ground and ends up in his guard. He throws a few punches then is tied up. The ref stands them up. Carneiro backs away and Nascimento throws a high kick that connects right on the buzzer.

The doctor is called to the cage and the fight is stopped. Carneiro can’t continue due to a broken foot. Nascimento is announced the winner.

Overall I thought it was a good show. There were great effects and the fights were very entertaining, with both Nascimento and Carneiro likely to make a splash in the future of MMA.