UFC 278 takes place this Saturday, August 20th, in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is headlined by the long awaited rematch between current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-1, 9 KO, 1 Sub) and top contender Leon Edwards (19-3, 6 KO, 3 Sub, 1 NC).
By Kieran Cobley
UFC 278 takes place this Saturday, August 20th,in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is headlined by the long awaited rematch between current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-1, 9 KO, 1 Sub) and top contender Leon Edwards (19-3, 6 KO, 3 Sub, 1 NC).
“The pair first met in 2015, with “The Nigerian Nightmare” scoring a unanimous decision win over Birmingham native Edwards.
But seven years have passed since then, and both men have evolved during that time.
Usman’s reputation of being “boring” fighter who merely goes for decision wins has been shattered, with the TUF 21 winner utilising his wrestling background to take fighters to the mat and keep them there. That was how Usman successfully navigated his first bout with Edwards, securing six takedowns on his way to getting the nod from the judges.
That Usman is long gone. The Usman of 2022 is regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, a fighter who can slam you, tie you in a tight clinch, or simply beat the brakes off you with his new found love of striking.
In three of his last five fights, Usman has scored knockout victories over the man opposite him in the Octagon, with those men being very notable: former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, and last but not least, the BMF of the UFC, Jorge Masvidal.
This ferocity in striking, brought on from working with Trever Wittman in fight camp while training in Sanford MMA in Florida for the rest of the year, has made Usman lethal. Stepping into his boxing range is like putting your head in the mouth of a lion; nothing good can come of it.
Psychologically, Usman will feel good coming into this bout after seeing his brother, Mohammed, win the TUF Heavyweight final two weeks ago and coming into this fight on a run of 19 consecutive wins.
Edwards’ rise to the top of the welterweight division is nothing to sneer at. Since losing to Usman, the Team Renegade talisman has won nine bouts, with a no contest with Belal Muhammed in the mix too.
While Usman was regarded as being boring due to his heavy wrestling style, fans were equally unimpressed with Edwards, seeing him as a point fighter who lacked finishing ability in a division full of fighters who could get the win within the distance.
It was perhaps this fan resentment that caused Edwards to have to wait for so long for his shot; after all, he did have a more legitimate shout for a title fight than Covington or Masvidal did, with the pair getting rematches not long after being soundly beaten by Usman. At the same time, Edwards was forced to consistently hold onto his position at the top of the rankings.
There was also the issue of Edwards being removed from the rankings for not accepting a fight with the then un-ranked Khamzat Chimaev, instead opting to wait it out for either a title shot or a fight with a notable ranked contender, for instance, Nate Diaz, who Edwards beat easily.
That has to be put to the back of Edwards’ head now, and he needs to focus on Usman, a new Usman, a more dangerous Usman. If Edwards underestimates Usman and still believes him to be the same fighter he was in their first meeting, he will be in deep trouble.
There is no obvious way for Edwards to win this fight; slipping in an out of range against Usman is an impossible task given the man’s abilities and movement skills.
The bookies are certainly in favour of Usman in this fight, making him a heavy favourite with odds of ¼ to win and 11/5 to win by either submission or KO.
However, miracles can happen in MMA; Derrick Lewis’ come from behind KO against Aleksander Volkov, Matt Serra’s underdog win against George Saint-Pierre, and JuliannPena’s KO win against the double champ, Amanda Nunes.
A win for Edwards would undoubtedly be one of the most significant underdogs wins ever, but this is one hell of an uphill battle.
Raged UK MMA held their tenth event on Saturday, May 25th 2019, at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.
Raged UK MMA held their tenth event on Saturday, May 25th 2019, at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon to a sell-out crowd. With six title fights on the card, the Swindon crowd were in for a night of full out action from start to finish.
It has to be said that promoter Gary Turland pulled it out of the bag for this event, with last minute changes to some of the opponents, just so the show could go on and the athletes that had trained hard to compete did just that, compete.
Dean Hart with a flying knee against Kirk Heely Photo Credit: (C) Ben Fitch – South West Media
RAGED X – Full Results
Amateur (3 x 3 minutes)
Jack Bryant DEF Rich Lukacs via standing guillotine 1:05 rnd 1
Steve Ridgway DEF Matthew Thorn via TKO (Gnp) 1:16 rnd 1
Maro Roznovjak DEF Rikki Wyatt via TKO (GnP) 1:10 rnd 1
Christopher Whitfield DEF Jesse Mccann via RNC 2:42 rnd 1
Gary Trevett DEF Rio Joseph via RNC 1:00 rnd 1
Grant Ogborne DEF Adam Ay via UD
Kirk Heely DEF Dean Hart via UD to become Amateur Featherweight Champion
Tom Enstone DEF Chris Connolly via UD to become Amateur Welterweight Champion
Professional (3 x 5 minutes)
Daryl Grant DEF Constantin Radoi via TKO (GnP) 3:44 rnd 2
MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Luckas Marcinkowski (c) DEF Tommy Cook via RNC 4:08 rnd 1 to retain the Middleweight Title
Craig Rawlins DEF Matthew Thomas via RNC 1:18 rnd 1
Ben Rees DEF Paul Reed via TKO (medical stoppage) 5:00 end of rnd 1 to become the Super Featherweight Champion
Bernie Gomm (c) DEF Terry Doyle via RNC 3:07 rnd 1 to become retain the Lightweight Champion
Wes Murch DEF Lawrence Jordan Tracey via KO 2:41 rnd 1 to become the Welterweight Champion
ACB 54 is live from Manchester, England tonight where it will be a European Middleweight showdown as Luke Barnatt takes on Mamed Khalidov in the main event.
With 23 fights to get through, the action started at 5 pm (BST) with the main event around 10.30pm (BST).
For the live stream of the event, click on the above live link.
Full Results:
Mamed Khalidov def. Luke Barnett – KO : 21 R1 Brendan Loughnane def. Mike Wilkinson – KO 2:30 R1
Asambek Saidov def. Ion Pascu – unanimous decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28) Aurel Pirtea def. Saul Rogers – Sub (guillotine) 0:53 R2 Ali Bagov def. Bubba Jenkins – Sub (Triangle choke) 4:01 R2 Joshua Aveles def. Amirkhan Adaev– Split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29) Batraz Agnaev def. Max Nunes – KO 2:57 R1 Rakhman Dzhanaev def. Adam Zajac – TKO (Dr Stoppage) 2:15 R2 Andrew DeVent def. Danny Mitchell – KO :31 R1 Murad Kalamov def. Niko Gjoka – Sub (Triangle Choke):50 R2 Kane Mousah def. Lewis Monarch – unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Dean Garnett def. Michael Tobin – TKO (strikes) :31 R2 Ibrahim Chuzhigaev def. David Mitchell – TKO :55 R3 Rob Whiteford def. Nam Phan FW – Sub :21 (Guillotine Choke) R1 Mukhumat Vakhaev def. Tanner Boser – Split decision (29-28, 30-29, 28-29) Shoaib Yousaf def. Javonne Morrison – TKO 3:24 R1 Ashley Reece def. James Lewis – TKO 2:43 (Punches) R2 Chris Bungard def. Iain Feenan – Sub 2:41 (Triangle-choke) R1 Azi Thomas def. Eden Newton – TKO 4:46 (Punches) R1 Aaron Aby def. Coner Hignet – split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29) Gaz Corran def. Shaun Hampton – unanimous decision Jenaid Ebanks def. Marcin Prostko – Sub 1:22 (Rear-naked choke) R2 Cal Ellenor def. Declan Williams – Sub 4:16 (Rear-naked choke) R2
UFC Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video series going inside the lives and training camps of four past and present champions preparing for their world title bouts at UFC 194. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo trains his sights on nasty rival and interim king Conor McGregor. And former Strikeforce titleholder Luke Rockhold focuses on his long-awaited UFC title shot against defending undefeated middleweight Chris Weidman.
Ultimate Impact Championship held their sixteenth event on Saturday, November 14th at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester, for which also happened to be their 5th year anniversary as one of the South West’s leading Premier Promotions.
‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski New UIC 16 Middleweight K1 Champion
As well as having two Title fights for their main and co-main events, the rest of the card was nothing to be sniffed at quietly either with three exhibition fights, in which everyone was making their debut and one of those was a 0.23 second KO. I can easily say Dwight Edmonson has a very bright future in this ever evolving sport if that exhibition fight was anything to go by.
Whilst holding it down in the amateurs we were entertained to three exciting mma fights for which all went the distance, just proving that each and everyone that competed were evenly matched and fought damn hard, not forgetting the only amateur K1 fight which pitted 17-year-old Mason Carter against 22-year-old Josh Bishop.
Moving on to the PRO card and we got to see the current UIC female K1 title holder, Laura Handy compete in her 3rd MMA bout which was using semi-pro rules (No Elbows). I for one can tell you that Laura will be one to watch out for in the female flyweight division, especially having witnessed first hand how much of a ‘beast’ she is with her rear naked choke. Natalie Bee was no push over and tried to defend Laura’s RNC for a good 60 seconds before finally giving in and tapping.
Before we reached the two title fights we were in for a PRO lightweight treat between Aaron Khalid and former UIC lightweight champion Wayne Drake. From the outset you knew this was going to be a battle of whose submission game is the best and with a very evenly scored first round from both guys it was Aaron Khalid who came out in the second round with slick rear naked choke that made a very worthy opponent in Wayne Drake tap at the 1 minute 18 second mark.
First up for one of two title fights was the current UIC MMA Middleweight Champion Craig White competing against former Cage Warriors athlete ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski in a PRO K1 title fight. Kudos to Craig White coming out to ‘The Lion King – Just can’t wait to be king’ and having an excellent choice in his perfectly pedicured painted toe nails ;). As expected we got to witness some ‘beautiful violence’ in true K1 fashion with both athletes having their own fair share of the non stop action for the full five rounds. It was, however, to be ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski’s night as he was crowned the new UIC Middleweight K1 Champion via Unanimous Decision.
Jordan Miller New UIC 16 Lightweight Champion
The final fight was now upon us and it was time for current UIC lightweight champion Marc Allen to defend his title against UK MMA veteran in that of submission expert Jordan Miller.
The round starts fierce with both guys aiming with high kicks until Allen goes in for a single leg takedown on Miller against the cage where the action stays for a while as Miller’s takedown defence is really strong and he is not giving an inch. Allen is also not walking away as he is now aiming to go for a double leg takedown whilst both guys are battling for pure dominance but Allen perseveres and gets the takedown but not without getting himself caught up by Miller. Miller has Allen’s head and arm possibly looking for a head/arm choke to no avail and both guys scramble back to their feet.
Both up against the cage again with Allen trying to get a takedown and Miller looking for a kimora but to no avail and turns to land a few elbows to soften up Allen’s body. With the action returning to the ground Miller manages to slide himself back towards the cage to sit up but Allen has Millers legs tied up. Allen tries to sneak round-up and round to Millers back but as in doing so the submission expert Miller gets Allen in a Kneebar and he is forced to tap at the 4 minute 32 second mark of the first round. We have a New UIC Lightweight Champion – Jordan Miller.
Here are the full results:
Exhibition fights
Ben Bassett vs Joe Macfield
Josie Dorse vs Emilia Posadzhieva
Tom Rubery vs Dwight Edmondson (0.23 second KO Round One)
Amateurs
Charles Mason Def Donovan Smile Unanimous Decision
Dayle McCrae Def Dan Kneil Unanimous Decision
Josh Bishop Def Màson Càrter Unanimous Decision
Lukasz Marcinkowski Def Will Jones Unanimous Decision
Semi-Pro MMA
Laura Handy Def Natalie Bee RNC 2.00 Round One
Pro MMA
Aaron Khalid Def Wayne Drake RNC 1.18 Round Two
Pro K1 – Middleweight K1 Title
Iron Piotr Ptasinski Def Craig White Unanimous Decision
New Middleweight K1 Title – ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski
Pro MMA – Lightweight Title
Jordan Miller Def Marc ‘Suplex’ Allen Kneebar 4.32 Round One
RAGED UK MMA, held their first event (under their new promotion name) last night [March 7th] at MECA Swindon to a new breed of sports fan in the town.
The event which was billed to showcase local, amateur and professional fighters, was also to highlight the growing sport of MMA in Swindon.
With local gym Swindon Vale Tudo/Scorpion Kickboxing Gym being the host club, having five fighters compete on the night; which was meant to be six but 20 mins before Craig Rawlins was due to go out, his opponent Mathew Thorn, withdrew, citing a shoulder injury during warming-up the host club did not let the home fans down, securing five out of five wins.
The night was a huge success for everyone and Promoter Gary Turland really did pull out all the stops for his second show, so much so, RAGED 2 is now already starting to be matched for their summer show.
Below is my play-by-play account of all the action that happened on the night.
Disclaimer: Although every effort is given to give a clear and precise account of actual events, due to the nature of where I am seated, it is at times difficult to view every aspect of every fight through everyone’s angle, therefore this play-by-play is my account from my view.
Gary Turland RAGED UK MMA Promoter (c) Point 5 Photography
Tommy Taylor vs Jake Oliver Amateur 89kg 3×3 mins
Round 1 Jake Oliver open ups the round straight on the attack and straight in with punches, Tommy Taylor comes back with leg kicks and a spinning leg kick. Oliver goes in and clinches up with Taylor, Taylor trying to avoid this leaves his neck out and Oliver tries for a standing guillotine to no avail. (referee Nathan Webb stops action briefly as the standing guillotine was curving on Taylor’s spine which is not allowed), action continues for which both men are landing with their own shots, back and forth in some great exchanges. Oliver manages to get the takedown and is angling for a submission but Taylor is no easy feat as he himself is trying to get a submission and attempts an Armbar just as the round closes out.
Round 2 Tommy Taylor playing it smart and keeping Oliver on the end of his punches, Oliver does a spinning kick and follows through with a superman punch. Taylor gains ground control and he is on his back as Oliver is dishing out punches to Taylor’s face, he let’s Taylor stand back up and both guys once again exchange shots back and forth in this exciting fight. After a scramble the action is back on the canvas as Oliver attempts an Armbar in the final few seconds in this second round but he gives up on the submission to end the round off on top of Taylor dishing out some GnP.
Round 3 Tommy Taylor is straight out with a sense of urgency and manages to get Oliver towards the cage fence and is kneeing Oliver. Oliver is holding his own as Taylor is now trying for a single leg but the attempt fails for which Oliver returns with a great kick followed by a one, two punch combination. Taylor manages to get Oliver to the canvas but Oliver lands on top in top position and starts dishing out some GnP, Taylor rolls to his side to try to evade Oliver’s shots and ends up trying to turtle with Oliver still firmly attached to Taylor as Oliver has him in a figure four body lock, all the while still raining blows anyway he can on Taylor. Taylor manages to reverse out of the body lock position in the final few seconds of this third round to end up in top position, on top of Oliver.
Winner Jake Oliver Def Tommy Taylor Via UD
Jake Oliver at RAGED UK MMA (C) Point 5 Photography
Wes Thomas vs Dean Hart Amateur 64kg 3×3 mins
Round 1 Dean Hart is straight out and is straight in with vicious leg kicks to Wes Thomas. Thomas tries to grab Hart’s leg to take him down for which he succeeds briefly as Hart pops straight back up. Hart lands another vicious leg kick which buckles Thomas who goes to the ground and referee Nathan Webb stops the fight.
Winner Dean Hart Def Wes Thomas Via Strikes (Leg) 0.54 seconds Round one
Dean Hart at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Jay Thomas vs Guy Lewis PRO 73kg 3×5 mins
Round 1 Jay Thomas comes out and tries to get Guy Lewis against the cage, both guys scramble with some great reversals from both and ultimately Thomas ends up on bottom in a side position, all the while punching and using short elbows, trying to gain top postion on Lewis. Thomas rolls onto his back, with Lewis in a dominant position he is pummeling on shots. Thomas is in no position to defend himself as Lewis is raining down shots and referee Nathan Webb calls a halt to the action.
Winner Guy Lewis Def Jay Thomas Via Strikes (GnP) 2 mins 31 secs Round One
Guy Lewis vs Jay Thomas at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Guy Lewis at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Jim Lane vs Tom Enstone Amateur 77kg 3×3 mins
Round 1 Tom Enstone is straight out first with fierce leg kicks, he then manages to take Jim Lane down leaving his neck exposed for which Lane capitalizes on and catches Enstone in a Guillotine. Enstone is trying hard to get out of the guillotine by walking round on his side which eventually pays off as he manages to escape Lane’s hold and gain’s top position, once out Enstone is not holding back as he throws down furious and vicious punches and hammer fists, he then attempts an Armbar for which is not fully locked in at first attempt so he slightly adjusts himself and then finds Jim Lane tapping to his awesome Armbar.
Winner Tom Enstone Def Jim Lane Via Armbar 2 mins 28secs Round One
Tom Enstone submitting Jim Lane Via ARMBAR (c) Point 5 Photography
Tom Enstone at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Terry Webster vs Dave ‘Nemo’ Llewellyn PRO HW 3×5 mins
Round 1 Terry Webster comes out fast and so does Nemo but its Webster who knocks Nemo down, Nemo is down straight away and for a brief moment Webster manages to throw some leather, but Nemo gains top position, he losses position briefly but regains it, then Nemo starts to unleash his brutal Elbows, throwing punches which opens up a huge cut above Webster’s eye with vicious GnP. Referee Nathan Webb calls a halt to the action.
Winner Dave ‘Nemo’ Llewellyn Def Terry Webster Via TKO (GnP) 1 min 03 secs Round One
Nemo GnP at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Nemo at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Reece Pearson vs Adam Little Amateur 66kg 3×3 mins
Round 1 Adam Little is straight out with a hard leg kick to the thigh of Reece Pearson followed by a straight jab, a few more leg kicks follows by a kick to Pearson’s head, who then instantly falls face first into the canvas, Little does go off for a premature celebration and to his and everyone around’s astonishment Pearson gets back up of the floor and stands up, Referee Nathan Webb says continue and from that moment, Little is like a Bull in a China shop. He rushes over to where Pearson has just stood up, straight in with ferocious punches hoping, this time to finish the job off. Pearson attempts to grab at Little’s leg for a takedown but leaves his neck out and Little capitalizes on this and sinks in a Standing Guillotine for which Pearson has no time to ‘Tap’ too as he goes to ‘Sleep’.
WINNER Adam Little Def Reece Pearson Via Standing guillotine 0.45 secs Round One – This was my #FOTN
Adam Little putting Reece Pearson to sleep via Standing Guillotine at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Adam Little at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Tyler John Thomas vs Alex Brunnen PRO 73kgs 3×5 mins
Round 1 Tyler Thomas comes in and fakes a low kick, looks to take Alex Brunnen down, pushing him up against the cage. Brunnen gains underhooks and pushes Thomas back off. Brunnen lands a front kick for which lands on Thomas’s head who again is in the middle of an attempt for another takedown of Brunnen, pushing towards the cage, Brunnen has a great position of Thomas to his left side, placing himself seated on the canvas with his left arm still positioned firmly around Thomas’s right side, all the while he is landing the odd shot with his right fist. There is a scramble as Thomas is pushing Brunnen a lot more against the cage but both fighters mange to get back to their feet. Brunnen in again with a front kick followed by a few punches, Thomas looks for yet another takedown but Brunnen is wise to his game. Both fighter’s exchange a few more punches before Thomas once again comes in, this time charging, with an attempt at another takedown for which Brunnen is pushed across the octagon and up against the cage; with his wide defence stance and tight grip of Thomas, Brunnen again seats himself onto the canvas, adjusting his position, after sensing that Thomas has left his neck out (just like he did on the last takedown attempt), rolls him slightly to his right to gain the victory via Power Guillotine.
Winner Alex Brunnen Def Tyler John Thomas Via Power Guillotine 1 min 32 Secs Round One
Alex Brunnen front kick to head of Tyler Thomas at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Alex Brunnen at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Jesse Jarvis vs Phil Wells PRO 77kg 3×5 mins
Round 1 Jesse Jarvis is first out and boy he is like what a red rag is to a bull, he comes rushing out at Phil Wells, rushing him against the cage, throwing wild punches for which a few land, he attempts a standing guillotine but Wells is far to slick and the attempt fails. Wells then picks up Jarvis and slams him to the canvas for which the crowd erupt into a chant of ” Wellsy, Wellsy, Wellsy”, Wells is then in top position for where he lands vicious Ground and Pound with his elbows cutting open Jarvis. Wells carries on the onslaught of pounding and pounding, viciously until referee Nathan Webb had finally saw enough of the action and called a stop to the fight.
Winner Phil Wells Def Jesse Jarvis Via GnP 2 mins 39 secs Round One
Phil Wells damage is done at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
Phil Wells at RAGED UK MMA (c) Point 5 Photography
On May 16th, London. Wembley Arena will play host to the first UK Super Fight Series, Cosmic Collision.
With a card stacked from top to bottom and a who’s who from the world of Kickboxing and K1. This is the event of the year and not to be missed. Having five 4 man tournaments in different weight categories, with a cash prize for each of them in one night, this is one event you do not want to miss out.
Super Fight Series – The Face Off
Late last night [10.30pm] the draw was made for the four athletes in the 90kg Tournament division, to see whom would be facing each other of the £10,000 Winner Takes All Tournament.
UFC Fight Night 59, Boston lived up to the hype from the very first fight on FIGHT PASS, for me though the pure transitions, fluidity and skill shown of his Jiu-Jitsu in the aired Prelim fights on Fox Sports 1 was Charles Rosa, to me it was so awesome to watch. With an array of submission attempts and one step ahead I felt, it was beautiful, with a tight D’arce choke sunk in the third round.
Another Prelim fight for which I personally enjoyed every single minute was Johnny Case, another example of beautiful short elbows (yes I love using my elbows too), amongst a great winning fight.
Paddy Holohan Weigh in
Patrick Holohan is always impressive, especially with his ground game, he came out fast, with intent on finishing Shane Howell within the first round. He almost succeeded several times with a rear naked choke, but credit where credit due, Shane Howell is tough, durable and managed to escape Paddy’s rear naked choke in the last ten seconds of the first round to end up on top. Although it was a one sided ‘beating’ for Shane, his skills on the ground amazed alot of people to escape several of Paddy’s Chokes.
Cathal Pendred and Sean Spencer
Wow is all I can say at the beginning of Cathal Pendred’s fight! Who else saw Sean Spencer knee (accidently) Cathal when he was on the ground at 2 mins 32 seconds of the first round? Cathal clearly stated ‘woah, hang on’ but even the commentators by passed the incident and carried on commentating about the ‘over hand right punches’ that were then connecting with Cathal after that incident by Sean Spencer!
On the flipside of this, I feel Sean Spencer did a great job of working his boxing skills, Octagon control, damage and therefore I did not see what the judges saw (good job I am not a judge), then again I do not think I am alone in saying this!
Uriah Hall and Ron Stallings Face Off
I have to mention Ron Stallings for taking this fight against Uriah Hall on five days notice, not many athlete’s go ahead once it is fight week when it comes to Uriah Hall so full props to Ron. Uriah Hall is a beast on his feet and has a very nasty ground and pound game for which we saw again Sunday.
The below picture was taken straight after his fight with Uriah Hall and shows the Ground and Pound damage by the fighter.
Photo courtesy of UFC Shanda
Ron Stallings cut Courtsey of UFC Shanda
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Benson Henderson
The Co-Main event Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Benson Henderson. What can one say. Cerrone is definitely in his prime and Henderson has been on the end of some shocking decisions as of late, but he will be back to winning ways I feel very soon. Again I did not see what the judges saw in this fight and I am sure I am not the only one!
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor lived up to every bit of the hype, starting off with ‘flipping the bird’ at Dennis Siver as he did not touch gloves. Siver managed to keep his composure all week and not let McGregor get into his head one bit (unlike most of McGregor’s previous opponents).
Conor McGregor
McGregor did not dispose of Siver within the two minutes as he previously predicted, but he did dispose of him in the second round, convincingly. Next for McGregor is the featherweight champion JoseAldo either in Las Vegas or Croke Park in Dublin.
Saturday 7th June saw Bamma hold their first ‘Fight Night 1’ Askham vs Nunes for the Bamma World Middleweight Title at the 02 Guildhall in Southampton to a packed out crowd.
The atmosphere at the 02 Guildhall was friendly, welcoming and very electric. Being at a smaller venue than their usual arena tours, you really got a sense of no matter where you were seated you were part of the action and boy was there was a lot of action.
Photo Credits: Graham Finney 2.3.4
BAMMA MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD TITLE FIGHT
MAX NUNES 12-2 SCOTT ASKHAM 12-0
Round one opens up and it’s Nunes who is in first with his punches, he then slips and Askham is in Nunes guard, Nunes is attempting to set up a Triangle but to no avail. Askham postures up and starts to land some meaningful punches to Nunes but he is staying active and busy, Askham delivers more punches to Nunes but he manages to get back to his feet. Askham has Nunes against the cage landing punches whilst Nunes is trying to gain wrist control and lands some knees to Askham, which Askham also returned himself. The canvas appears to be slippy as Nunes is now using more of his striking ability and again nearly slipped. Askham manages to get Nunes back against the cage to try to control Nunes just as the bell goes for the end of round one.
Round two opens up with Nunes coming out with leg strikes and has Askham up against the cage. Nunes throws an awesome knee but Askham turns it around where both guys are trying to fight for underhooks and a better position but the referee steps in and splits them up – back to the centre of the cage and Nunes is trying to keep it long but gets caught by Askham who takes him down. Askham has Nunes against the cage and drops him albeit briefly as Nunes pops right back up, at this point Askham tries to take Nunes down again but Nunes takedown defence was too much for Askham this time as he himself dropped to his knees, the referee once again splits them up. Back to the centre again with some striking action from both fighters whom both clearly are looking tired coming towards the final seconds of this second round, Askham attempts a spinning elbow which misses, then the bell goes for end of round two.
Round three, both fighters raise their hand and touch gloves for a sign of respect in this third and final round. They both come out landing kick for kick, and then punch for punch. Askham looks to clinch and hold Nunes for which he succeeds and again forces Nunes against the cage where he starts to unleash his fists of fury on Nunes which then sees him slumped to the canvas and Askham carries on until the referee steps in.
WINNER SCOTT ASKHAM 1MIN 50 SECS Rnd 3 VIA TKO
WINNER AND STILL BAMMA WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION SCOTT ASKHAM
ALEXEI ROBERTS 10-6 ARTEM KOTOV 3-2
Roberts comes out with few left jabs then Kotov comes in to go for a single leg takedown but it ends up being a full on single leg with a suplex followed by some GnP. Roberts get back to his feet but Kotov still has his back then Kotov lifts up Roberts and then full on body slams him. The crowd are going wild shouting ‘Artem’ ‘Artem’ ‘Artem’. Roberts is back up to his knees and Kotov continued to unleash Gnp on Roberts until the referee called a stop to the fight.
WINNER ARTEM KOTOV 1MIN 04 SECS Rnd 1 VIA TKO (STRIKES)
DRAGAN PESIC 3-2 ASHLEIGH GRIMSHAW 16-8-1-1
Pesic comes out and lands a straight punch, Grimshaw pushes Pesic against the cage, Pesic landing some knees, Grimshaw takes Pesic down and Pesic in full guard there is not much going on so the referee stands them both up. Pesic lands a solid punch and kick to Grimshaw. Pesic tried to jump and pull guard but it was Grimshaw who got the better of this and took Pesic down by slamming Pesic to the canvas where Grimshaw got Pesic in an Arm-Triangle Choke and he was forced to tap.
WINNER ASHLEIGH GRIMSHAW 3MINS 35 SECS Rnd 1 VIA ARM TRIANGLE CHOKE
TIM MENZIES 2-1 ALEX MONTAGNANI 7-1-1
Both guys come out punching, Montagnani gets Menzies against the cage trying to fight for a position then all of a sudden Montagnani knees Menzies followed by a flying knee and it’s all over for Menzies.
WINNER ALEX MONTAGNANI 1MIN 28 SECS Rnd 1 VIA KO (FLYING KNEE)
MICHAEL CUTTING 5-2 ED ARTHUR 4-0
First of all there was a lot of build-up and ‘hype’ to this fight. Mike Cutting entered the cage first to a very vocal crowd of Cutting fans, next was the turn of Ed Arthur who let’s just say his fans were more vocal and were ‘raising the roof’ of the 02 Guildhall. Once both fighters were in the cage, neither fighter took their eyes of one another, Cutting in his usual crouched down position and Arthur pacing back and forth and the crowds are chanting ‘Eddie’ Eddie’ Eddie’ from the stalls.
As round one gets under way it was Cutting who got the initial takedown. Cutting gets a warning for striking Arthur with accidental knee whilst Arthur’s hand is placed on the canvas, Referee speaks to Cutting and Arthur the fight is resumed. Cutting is working well of his back trying to set up a sub but to no avail all the while Arthur is landing ferocious punches to Cuttings face for which the crowd are going wild and chanting ‘Eddie’ Eddie’ Eddie’. Both guys scramble with Arthur in side control raining shots, Cutting turns it around and ends up in Arthur’s guard who locks up a triangle attempt on Cutting for the remainder of round for which Cutting just rides out.
As soon as we start round two Arthur comes out with his hard punches backing Cutting against the cage adding in some knees also. Cutting attempts a seated guillotine which Arthur defends as there is a scramble, Cutting is on his knees, Arthur scoops round to Cuttings back to secure a RNC.
WINNER ED ARTHUR 1MIN 58 SECS Rnd 2 VIA RNC
AMATEUR FIGHTS
NICK JONES 2-1 MARCUS MITCHELL 1-0
Both came out exchanging strikes, Jones took Mitchell down, both guys scrambled which resulted in Mitchell in full and Jones on top position, Mitchell shrimped backwards managing to get back to his feet where both guys started punching, Jones went down, Mitchell capitalized on this and continued to GnP until the referee stopped the fight.
WINNER MARCUS MITCHELL 1 MIN 19 49 SECS Rnd 1 VIA TKO (PUNCHES)
ANDY HANNON 0-1 JOSH ROE 1-0
The opening round sees Roe push Hannon against the cage and takes him down, Hannon straight away is working on an armbar against the cage fence, Roe is trying to adjust the position by using his knees to deter him but Hannon is still holding on trying to gain that armbar even shifting his position slightly.
Round two and Hannon is straight out striking with his kicks but its Roe who drops Hannon with a brutal kick, but in return fires back with a up kick. It is back to standing and Hannon lands a few low kicks whilst Roe returns with punches. Roe is winning the striking department and seems Hannon wants no part of it until he catches Roe with a lovely right cross. Great striking round.
Round three and Hannon lands an accidental low blow to Roe, Roe recovers and were back to a standing war. Hannon is landing more of his punches to Roe’s face and goes in for a takedown but is defended well; there is a scramble both guys give it their all as Hannon is looking for the sub as the fight ends with Roe in top position.
WINNER JOSH ROE VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION 29-28, 29-28, 30-27
DAMIEN KORYGA RICKY MITCHELL
Round one and its Mitchell straight in with a 1,2 combination then takes Koryga down he attempts a guillotine to no avail, Koryga fights back and attempts to get Mitchell in a guillotine himself but to no avail. Koryga slams Mitchell and is working hard on the ground. They manage to get back to their feet briefly but its clear Koryga is getting the better of Mitchell in this opening round.
Round two and its Koryga straight out and gets Mitchell down, Mitchell get backs to his feet and Koryga forces him against the cage fence, Koryga is landing some knees then manages to lock in a standing guillotine.
WINNER DAMIEN KORYGA 1 MIN 35 SECS Rnd 2 VIA GUILLOTINE
Five Rounds with Emma 
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