Ben is doing a great job defending, having had his back taken by Chris but has managed to turn into him to get a sweep and land on top. Chris however is managing to sweep Ben every time from side control. Ben’s takedown’s are unstoppable and goes in with conviction. Ben jump’s guard and goes for a guillotine, Chris defends and goes for a North/South Choke, both guys are very technical and kept working hard for the full 5 minutes.

Winner Chris Heaney UD

Next fight we briefly go onto the Semi-Pro fights 3 x 4 min rnds

Marcus Mitchell VS Ben Griffiths
Round 1 – Both guys come out with flying a knee which ended in a collision of willpower, as they both tried to establish their dominance. As they separate Marcus immediately comes back swinging and rocks Ben taking him down to the canvas. Marcus seized the opportunity to get some ground and pound work in, whilst Ben is defending he gives up his back and then has to defend the submission attempts. Coming to a stale mate the ref stands both fighters up. Ben goes for a takedown but his back was bent and going in head first Marcus capitalised and got a standing guillotine.

Winner Marcus Mitchell 1.22 Rnd 1 via Standing Guillotine

Back to GRAPPLING 1 X 5 min Rnd

Matt Whyton VS  Ben Howard

Round 1 – Both fighters came in looking for the takedown but it was Ben who got there first with a takedown against the cage giving him side control. Matt’s guard however was very active and he managed to regain some control forcing Ben to get the pass once more. Getting the pass Ben quickly gains control with knee on belly and working his way into mount however working quickly Matt gets the sweep and ends up in half mount. These boys are pretty active on the ground the fight is captivating as they go back and forth fighting for dominance.

Ben gets a deep half guard and takes mount. From a high mount position Ben is working for an arm to open for a submission attempt however Matt is keeping it tight. Whilst Matt was very active he just couldn’t seem to gain any control and Ben whilst being more dominant he couldn’t find the submission.

Winner Ben Howard UD

Amateur Bout

Josh Lee VS Mark Wade

Round 1 – Both fighters come out of their corners firing off shots to establish each other’s respect. Mark closes the distance to clinch up, landing some significant knees to the body of Josh. Capitalising on his position Mark pushes Josh up against the cage and continued to land knees causing the ref to stop the fight.

Winner Mark Wade 1.12 Rnd 1 Ref Stoppage due to Knees

Now onto the Semi-Pro’s for the next few fights 3 x 4 min rounds

Cray Sams VS Victor Kmec

Round 1 – It’s an exciting start as Victor lands a big double leg takedown and immediately gets mount, however Cray looking the part gets the sweep, but overdoing it slightly Victor capitalises on the momentum and rolls back into mount. Unable to gain control over Cray however ends up in a scramble and Cray gains guard forcing Victor to defend an armbar attempt. During his defence Victor steps over Cray’s head allowing him to go for an attempted reverse triangle which Cray was able to defend and gives Cray the opportunity to take it back to standing. Cray clinched up quickly and lands some excellent knees to the body of Victor as the bell sounds for the end of the round.

Round 2 – Victor lands a big right with which Ben answers with knees; Victor manages to get a takedown giving him mount position. It is very rare you witness a comical moment in a fight however if there was ever a moment this would be it. During Cray’s attempts of protecting himself at all times Victor catches a hold of Cray’s gloves and gets his fingers caught in the glove (although I for one am not falling for that trick in the book as being accidental), well experienced Referee Dan Movahedi seeing this happen a couple of times slaps the forearm of Victor twice and gives him a warning not to do this again. It reminded me of a naughty child being told off by their parent. Then as Victor clearly had dominance of the situation he looks at the ref for the stoppage to which Dan replies, “I’ve not seen anything yet.” Victors only response to this was to hit Cray somewhat significantly harder.

Winner Victor Kmec 1.18 Rnd 2 Ref Stoppage via GnP

Nick Woolridge VS James Lindsey

Okay before I go into this fight, I have been pretty vocal on my opinions regarding the weight difference, Nick weighed in at 67.9kg and James weighed in at 73.6kg. Nick is a Debut fighter and James has had 2 fights already, personally I feel this shouldn’t have gone ahead based on the weigh in results. There’s a 66kg and 70kg division let alone the u74kg this one was apparently scheduled for – that being said I guess the onus has to lie with the fighter’s management team, ensuring fighter’s safety is put first at all times.

Round 1 – Both boys have started the round by landing some significant shots however James is a heavy hitter with some destructive knees. Once clinched up James’ knees seem brutal but Nick manages to hold his own in this battle and is giving James a good fight. James goes for a takedown landing him in mount where he managed to hold on to a warrior of a fighter in Nick and secured a guillotine choke.

Winner James Lindsey 3.55 Rnd 1 Via Guillotine Choke

Amateur bout

Ricky Mitchell VS Kyle Gray
Round 1 – Ricky comes in with a flying kick to the chest from the start and jumps to a standing guard attempting a guillotine which fails big time, Kyle slams Ricky to the canvas and passes his guard. In a scramble Ricky gets to his feet and Kyle gets in another big takedown driving Ricky to the canvas yet again. This is proving to be a battle of a technical game plan (Kyle) vs a Scrappy No game plan (Ricky). In the scramble Kyle gets a reverse triangle.

Winner Kyle Gray 1.35 Rnd 1 via Reverse Triangle #Sub of the Night

Semi-pros

Wayne Alden VS Adam Little

First thing I noted was both fighters are lanky which in my opinion makes for a great fight with having a great range which they should use to their advantage at keeping their opponent at the end of their punches.

Round 1 – Sizing each other up, it is clear both fighters aren’t about to dive into this blindly. Wayne looked like the aggressor but Adam was simply looking for his opening and landed a great side kick. Unable to bring his foot back fast enough Wayne grabs a hold and is looking for the takedown but Adam comes in with a right cross forcing Wayne to let go. Adam seeing his second opening goes for the takedown and lands himself in mount where he quickly finishes with a brutal barrage of head shots causing the ref to stop the fight.

Winner Adam Little 0.48 secs Rnd 1 Via TKO due to GnP

I caught up with Adam after his fight and he had this to say…

“My coaches came up with a game plan, which is what I used and stuck too. It turned out to be effective also I was really happy to finish the fight so quickly and in that fashion. I am looking forward to getting back in there again soon. I would like to say a huge thank you to my g/f Kally,  cornermen, Jamie and Harry, Gracie barra Swindon, friends and family who made the effort to come watch me.”  I awarded this #TKO of the Night

Paul Collings VS Lee Maslin

Round 1 – As with all fights the first few seconds/minutes are spent sizing up your opponent, looking for an opening which Lee found in the form of a takedown. Paul was able to push against the cage to stand back up and coming back into the fight with a big right causing Lee to go down to the canvas to immediately defend himself from the ground however it was clear that he was shaken up. In the scramble Paul sinks in a guillotine.

Winner Paul Collings 1.14 Rnd 1 Via Guillotine

Steve Hurst VS Issac Griffiths

Round 1 – Steve came out his corner with some heavy punches but it was Isaac with the takedown. Steve counteracts with a reversal getting side control – scarf hold on Isaac. From the scarf hold Steve is able to trap Isaac’s near arm between his legs for the armbar.

Winner Steve Hurst 0.38secs Via Armbar (Verbal Sub)

Shey Roberts VS John Edwards

Now it was time what appeared to me to be one of the most arrogant fighters, fight upon us. So I’m hoping for less arrogance and more technical ability then we should have a good fight on our hands, but hey who am I to kid we are dealing with Shey Roberts here and he’s not gonna stop being, cocky or arrogant anytime soon, so here goes……

Round 1 – Shey came out kicking landing three hard kicks to the thigh of John Edwards. Shey then proceeds to punish John with a barrage of punches and solid shots. Not to say John didn’t land any, however Shey was unstoppable. Shey closed the distance at will causing John to defend a guillotine attempt which he survived, however Shey being relentless goes straight back in for the kill and makes a second attempt at the guillotine. Unable to finish Shey uses the position for a reversal sweep, flicking John over and rolling right in mount. Unable to secure complete control John manages to come up to his knees in a scramble but with precision and clarity Shey, now standing, steps around and takes John’s back. Unable to defend this John gets caught out with a Rear Naked Choke.

Just to clarify there is a fine line between being Confident and Arrogant, and this is where Shey falls rather short!

Winner Shey Roberts 1.16 Round 1 Via RNC

Andy Bega VS Ethan Charlesworth

Round 1 – Andy came out driving Ethan to the cage while firing off punches, immediately testing Ethan’s ability to keep it together in the heat of the battle. Clinched up Ethan, reverses against the cage, getting the takedown and lands himself in mount. During the ground and pound, Andy gets low under Ethan’s hips unfortunately giving up an arm. Ethan ceasing the opportunity secures a tight armbar.

Winner Ethan Charlesworth 2.15 Rnd 1 via Armbar

Mike Daguiar VS Ben Harrison

Round 1 – Ben went in for a takedown, however Mike defended and stayed on his feet. While still on his knees, Mike throws punches at Ben, Ben should have stood back up but it was clear he was rocked. Regaining composure, Ben gets a sweep, however now finds himself in Mike’s guard and a tight armbar.

Winner Mike Daguiar 1.03 Rnd 1 via Armbar

Amateur bout

Josh Skinner VS Chris Bucksey

Round 1 – Chris comes out and punches Josh rocking him, giving Chris the takedown he wanted, however Josh regains his guard allowing him to defend Chris’ punches. Chris however is still able to do damage from within Josh’s guard punishing him.
Chris slides into half-mount pulling him free for side control. Round ends with Chris landing punishing blows from side control.

Round 2 – Both guys come out firing punches but Chris gets Josh up against the cage and goes for the takedown. In mount Chris works for an armbar which was well defended by Josh, however Josh is just unable to gain ground. As he’s defending one thing Chris is coming back with ten other problems for Josh to deal with. Being out grappled Josh sees the end of the second round.

Round 3 – Chris comes in with a great combo of a side kick, superman punch closing the distance for a flurry of punches causing Josh to make some bad decisions. Jumping guard in the cage is never a great idea but Josh jumps guard and pulls his opponent to the canvas. Now this was his chance to capitalise on the position but landed in half guard and his guillotine attempt failed giving Chris an arm to work for an armlock.

Winner Chris Bucksey 3.36 rnd 3 via Armlock

Time for the 3 Pro Fights 1 will be 3x5min rnd & 2 will be 5x5min rnds as there Title fights

Leigh Remedios VS Craig Allen

Firstly I would like to say this fight was originally scheduled for Leigh to fight Danny Welsh who pulled out on Early Friday Morning – so to get a late replacement at such short notice is really great that this fight can still go ahead.

Round 1 – Leigh came out ready for this fight and it showed, Leigh got stuck straight in, shot for a single leg and during the takedown wrapped up Craig’s right leg and sat through causing Craig’s knee to twist and pop.

Winner Leigh Remedios 0.23 secs Rnd1 via verbal tap out – ref stoppage

I caught up with Leigh after his fight and this is what he had to say…

“I’m glad I got the “W” but I’m gutted Craig got injured. I appreciate him stepping in on short notice and didn’t want that to happen.”

Next event is for Middleweight Into The Cage Title Belt 5 x 5min Rnds

Wojtek Rudnik vs Danny Brennan

Round 1 – Wojtek comes in with big punches as Danny went in for the takedown rocking Danny he briefly goes to the canvas. Composing himself fast Danny gets to his feet and gets a big take down, unable to clear the legs however he lands in Wojtek’s guard. Unable to work his guard however Danny rains down punches from inside the guard. Danny now on his feet, Wojtek refusing to stand Danny continues landing some big shots and is relentless with these powerfull shots, but it’s clear that Wojtek just isn’t engaging which forced the ref to stand them back up. This gave Danny the opening and it was his turn to rock Wojtek with knees, flooring Wojtek and in the scramble for control, Danny outworking Wojtek all the time, finally Wojtek gives up his back, Danny jumps round to his back to attempt a standing gulliotine , as Wojtek goes to the canvas Danny changes and gets a RNC.

Winner & New ITC Middleweight Champ Danny Brennan 4.32 rnd 1 via RNC

I caught up with Danny after his awesome win, who had this to say to me…

“I was generally pleased with my performance though a touch disappointed that I got dropped in the initial exchange but I managed to compose myself and execute my game plan “  I awarded this fight #FOTN

Last Fight of the night was for the ITC Bantamweight Title Belt
5x5min rounds

Mike Cutting VS Aaron Blackwell

With very little engagement from Mike Cutting it could be argued that the rule of timidity could come into play however his cockiness and that smug look on his face I was glad that the fight went the full five rounds. For a title fight I must say that I was completely unimpressed with this fighter who clearly believes in his own hype only to lose all five rounds and a well-deserved win to Aaron. While Aaron played a well thought out technical game plan to his advantage, I couldn’t help but get frustrated at Mike’s cockiness and shrugging each time Aaron landed a blowing kick to the head, body or legs. What infuriated me even more was Mike’s total lack of respect for his opponent and took a moment to look and pay attention to Aaron’s corner during the fight giving Aaron yet another opportunity to land a head kick. I think he should have paid more attention to his own corner. You would have thought that all those kicks would have grabbed his attention but unfortunately not. . It seemed that only in the fourth round he finally made an attempt at a takedown but like a bull vs matador, he came in charging and Aaron simply sidestepped steering Mike away from him and towards the cage. If this young man’s game is on the ground then you need to close the distance and get the job done, not stand there making those stupid faces waving your hands in the air not doing a damn thing while your opponent kicks the crap out of you.