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Two Sheds Review: Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry Slug It out for UFC on Versus

It was another night of main event changes as the Ultimate Fighting Championship presented their fourth show on Versus, shown live in the early hours of this past Monday morning on ESPN here in Britain.The broadcast began in the heavyweight division as…

The broadcast began in the heavyweight division as Matt Mitrione faced Christian Morecraft.

Old Meat Head put in another great performance in his blossoming MMA career. From the outset, his striking looked top-notch as he rocked Morecraft a couple of times with big lefts.

Morecraft had some success in the second with his take downs, but when the referee stood the fighters up because of inactivity, Mitrione went to work with the combinations, sending Morecraft crashing with a three-punch combo. Mitrione didn’t follow him down, and the referee stopped the fight to give him the knockout win.

The welterweight division was next, as John Howard took on Matt Brown.

This was a pretty even three-round affair. Both fighters put in some good work at times, with Howard’s leg kicks and his take-downs looking particularly effective in the first round.

Brown was more than able to keep up with him, with some good take down defence and ground work of his own.

All three judges scored in favour of Brown.

The welterweight action continued with Ricky Story taking on Charlie Brenneman.

The fight that was intended to be the main event saw Brenneman put on a good display of ground fighting in the first two rounds, continually frustrating Story with his superior work rate.

Story’s best moments came in the third round, when he finally managed to take control on the ground with a leg triangle. But Brenneman regained control towards the end of the fight.

It was too little too late for Story though, with all three judges giving the fight to Brenneman.

The new main event saw Cheick Kongo taking on Pat Barry in the heavyweight division.

This battle of the kick boxers proved to be an explosive affair. Both fighters tested the waters early on with a series of kicks. But when Barry connected with a big right, it looked to be all over.

Barry went in for the kill, and at one point it looked like the referee was going to stop the fight; but when he saw that Kongo was trying for a take down, he let the action continue.

Seconds later it was over. Kongo got to his feet and connected with a right uppercut that sent Barry crashing. A brief moment of ground-and-pound followed before the referee stopped the fight, giving Kongo the incredible knockout win.

In conclusion, despite all of the changes this proved to be a top-notch show with four good fights, from the excellent ground fighting display of Brenneman and Story to the explosive striking of Barry and Kongo.

So in all this show gets the thumbs up, a perfect appetiser for this weekend’s big event.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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Two Sheds Review: "King of the Streets"’ Marco Ruas Truimphs at UFC 7

It was the event that introduced Brazilian Vale Tudo to the world as Marco Ruas made his bow in the seventh Ultimate Fighting Championship, The Brawl in Buffalo.The show began with the tournament quarterfinals, beginning with karate fighter Gerry Harri…

It was the event that introduced Brazilian Vale Tudo to the world as Marco Ruas made his bow in the seventh Ultimate Fighting Championship, The Brawl in Buffalo.

The show began with the tournament quarterfinals, beginning with karate fighter Gerry Harris facing trap fighter Paul Varelans.

This battle of the big men saw Varelans score with the quick takedown. From there, he overwhelmed Harris, whose lack of ground fighting experience showed as Varelans took his back. Harris tapped after a series of elbows to the top of his head.

The next fight saw multi-black belt holder Mark Hall taking on the mullet man himself, Harold Howard.

These two were like statues at the beginning before Howard took the fight to the ground while he was trying a one-handed choke.

But as Howard fell to his back, Hall took control and bloodied Howard’s nose, and as Hall continued his assault Howard gave up, making a cross sign with his hands before tapping.

The third quarter saw jiu-jitsu fighter Remco Pardoel taking on karate man Ryan Parker.

These two gi-wearing fighters put on an interesting contest. Parker had no ground fighting experience and looked lost when Pardoel took the fight down.

Pardoel locked in a headlock, delivering a few punches before taking the mount and getting the tap out with a lapel choke.

The final quarterfinal saw the aforementioned Marco Ruas taking on kickboxer Larry Cureton.

This was the one I really wanted to see, mainly because I’d seen Ruas in action before when I reviewed his instructional DVD a few years ago.

This was by far the best fight of the round. Cureton went for a guillotine straight away, with Ruas countering with a big slam.

Then, surprisingly, Cureton reversed positions so he could take the guard. From there, he went to work with the ground-and-pound, dominating for a couple of minutes.

Ruas then regained control, locking up Cureton’s leg and getting the submission win with a knee bar.

Then it was on to the semifinals, beginning with Paul Varelans against Mark Hall.

Varelans had a massive size advantage in this one, using it to good effect as he took Hall down with a headlock before taking the mount and synching in a key lock for the submission win in just 61 seconds.

The second semi saw Remco Pardoel against Marco Ruas.

This was a war of attrition. Pardoel went for a guillotine attempt early on, keeping the hold applied for several minutes. The only problem was that he also had Rua’s right arm trapped as well, which negated the effect of the choke.

Ruas eventually took the fight to the ground, and the Brazilian soon took control, using Pardoel’s own gi against him as he went for a heel hook.

Then, as the fight neared the 13-minute mark, Ruas took the mount, and just as it looked as if Ruas was about to unload with the ground-and-pound Pardoel strangely tapped out, even though he still looked in good condition, with the announcers speculating that the Dutchman knew he was in for a beating.

The big title fight followed as UFC 6 tournament winner Oleg Taktarov challenged Ken Shamrock for the Superfight title.

Now, this really was a war of attrition. Most of the bout was contested on the ground, with Shamrock in the guard position, controlling Taktarov with blows and headbutts.

And that was how the action played out for the majority of the fight. Referee John McCarthy stood them up twice, but they soon returned to the ground, and by the time they were brought back up with three minutes left, Taktarov had two cuts by his left eye and a swelling by his right.

Then they engaged in a striking battle, with Taktarov bloodying Shamrock’s nose. But there was still no finish as the 30-minute time limit expired.

So it was on to the three-minute (down from the original five) overtime period, where we saw more striking before they went back down to the ground as the fight ended.

After all, that the fight was declared a draw, with Shamrock retaining his title. It was a dominating performance from Shamrock, and it was also the fight that prompted the UFC to appoint judges from the next show.

Last up was the tournament final between Paul Varelans and Marco Ruas.

Varelans, as is his custom, came out of the traps immediately, only for Ruas to meet him with a series of right kicks that softened up his left leg.

Ruas then got his man up against the cage, surviving a brief guillotine attempt before taking the big man’s back. Varelans would surely have been taken down had he not held on to the fence.

When the referee broke them up because of inactivity, Ruas went back to work with the leg kicks as Varelans began to limp quite badly. Eventually, Ruas was able to cut him down, and after the Brazilian followed him down for some ground-and-pound, the referee quickly stepped in to give Ruas the TKO win and the tournament victory.

In conclusion—my trip into the history of MMA was certainly interesting before, but this time I was in for a slight revelation.

Up until this point, those entering the tournaments had been either strikers or grapplers, with those returning to the Octagon beginning to learn a little more about other fighting disciplines.

But Marco Ruas seemed to change all that, showing that he was gifted in both departments. He really was an all-around fighter, perhaps even more so than Ken Shamrock at the time, and it certainly would have been interesting to see Ruas challenging Shamrock for the Superfight title. Sadly, the first Ultimate tournament got in the way.

So in all, UFC 7 gets the thumbs up as another great piece of MMA history and the performance of the King of the Streets.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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The Two Sheds Review: Guida & Pettis Deliver at UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Final

So once again, The Ultimate Fighter has reached its conclusion, and once again I didn’t watch any of the reality show stuff beforehand. The UFC presented the 13th Ultimate Fighter finale over the weekend, and it was shown live in the early hours …

The broadcast began with the welterweight division as Chuck O’Neil faced Chris Cope.

The Team Lesnar buddies put in a highly entertaining opener, but from the early moments it was obvious how this was going to turn out.

Cope put on an excellent striking display, getting better as the fight went on. By the time the third round started, he was using O’Neil for target practice.

The judges’ decision came as no surprise, with all three giving everything to Cope.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division, as Kyle Kingsbury faced Fabio Maldonado.

This fight gave us a second example of great striking, but this time it came from both fighters.

Kingsbury began strongly, and his knees from numerous muay thai clinches looked great. But most of the time, Maldonado countered with some hard shots to the body.

Add in some trips to the ground and a couple of guillotine attempts and you’ve got an entertaining three-rounder.

The judges were called into action again, with all three giving the fight to Kingsbury.

After an interview with Shane Carwin it was on to middleweight action, as Ed Herman took on Tim Credeur.

This one lasted less than a minute. Herman had already connected with a couple of good lefts when an uppercut sent Credeur down. Herman joined him on the ground before the referee stepped in to give Herman the TKO win.

Following an interview with Junior Dos Santos it was on to the lightweight encounter between Anthony Pettis and Clay Guida.

Pettis came into this fight with a great deal of fanfare, and most of it was justified.

Whenever the fight went to the ground Pettis always seemed to be looking for ways to attack, and he had some success in that respect, especially when he took Guida’s back towards the end of the third.

The only problem was that Guida was able to impose his will on the fight, turning it into an ugly but effective affair, taking Pettis’ back as the fight came to an end.

Once again the judges were called into action, with all three giving the fight to Guida.

The main event featured welterweight action as Ramsey Nijem faced Tony Ferguson in the final of The Ultimate Fighter.

This one began with Nijem coming forward early with combinations, Ferguson countering with a take down.

From there we saw some nice exchanges with a few brief trips to the ground before Ferguson connected with a left hook that sent Nijem crashing. Ferguson went down to finish the fight, with the referee stepping in to give Ferguson the TKO win and the big money contract.

The show rounded out with filler material, beginning with the bantamweight clash between Scott Jorgensen and Ken Stone.

This featured some nice striking from both men, with Jorgensen getting the upper hand before Stone came back with some good work of his own.

When the fight went to the ground Stone looked for the submission, but a big right from the guard by Jorgensen knocked Stone out, which is something I’ve never seen before. The referee wisely stepped in to confirm Jorgensen’s stunning win.

The final fight saw Josh Grispi taking on George Roop in the featherweight division.

Grispi started the fighting by going for a take down, and it was from there that Roop began his great work, countering Grispi with a series of elbows.

It was from the second round onwards that Roop really upped his game, controlling the fight on the deck with his ground and pound, Grispi offering little in return.

Grispi began the third round well enough on the ground, but it wasn’t long before Roop took control again, and after Grispi complained of a low blow that looked borderline at best Roop took the win with a hard body shot, the referee stopping the action as soon as Grispi went down.

In conclusion, The Ultimate Fighter has again proven my point; you don’t need to watch the show to enjoy the finale.

This was a great night of fight action. There wasn’t a bad fight here, although I can’t decide if I enjoyed the Guida/Pettis or the Roop/Grispi fight the most. So in all The Ultimate Finale 13 gets the thumbs up.

And who knows, now that Michael Bisping has been confirmed as one of the coaches for the next series, I might actually watch it again!

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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The Two Sheds Review: Faber Demolishes Pulver & the Illegal Knee at WEC 38

As the Extreme Sports channel continues to wind its repetitive way through a dozen WEC shows, we’re going to take a look at their 38th instalment, where Donald Cerrone challenged Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.The broadcast began in the f…

The broadcast began in the featherweight division as Jose Aldo faced Rolando Perez.

Both of these guys were lightning fast with their strikes and kicks, with Aldo just edging it in the speed stakes.

So when it looked like it could go either way, Perez went for a left, only for Aldo to connect with a knee to the chin that sent Perez down.

Aldo went down for a few more strikes before the referee stepped in to give Aldo the TKO win.

Then it was up to welterweight, as Danillo Villefort took on Mike Campbell.

This was a great back-and-forth battle. After a brief feeling-out period, Campbell scored with the takedown. Villefort countered with the rubber guard so Campbell picked him and slammed him down.

Villefort came back with some nice ground work, going for a couple of leg locks. The fight then went up and down before finally returning to the ground, where Villefort took control, took Campbell’s back and secured the ground-and-pound TKO win.

Bantamweight action followed, as Scott Jorgensen went up against Frank Gomez.

Gomez began his night with a couple of kicks, which Jorgensen countered with a takedown. He immediately went for a guillotine, switching it to a power guillotine before Gomez succumbed to the inevitable.

Then it was onto the big rematch in the featherweight division, as Urijah Faber faced Jens Pulver.

This was another step on Pulver’s downward spiral. Little Evil began with a takedown but Faber quickly got back to his feet.

Seconds later Faber connected with a left to the body that rocked Pulver. Faber went in for the kill, eventually taking the fight down and synching in a guillotine for the submission win, handing Pulver his third successive defeat.

The main event saw Donald Cerrone challenge Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.

This was one of the best spirited fights I’ve ever seen. These two showed each other a tremendous amount of respect, but that didn’t stop them from having a great battle.

For just over four rounds we saw an exciting back-and-forth battle. Each man had their moments. Varner put on a great display of ground-and-pound and striking, while Cerrone’s ground work and kicks looked lethal.

But in the early stages of the fifth, Cerrone caught Varner with a knee to the head while the champion was still grounded.

With the blow ruled an unintentional foul and Varner unable to continue, it went to the scorecards, with Varner taking the win by technical split decision. An unfortunate ending to what was a great fight.

In conclusion: Out of the three WEC shows I’ve seen, this has been the best of the bunch.

There was plenty of great action on offer here, with Faber’s destruction of Pulver the highlight of the night for me, although the Varner/Cerrone encounter would have edged it had it not been for the early ending.

So in all, WEC 38 gets the thumbs up from me. But don’t worry if you live in Britain and you haven’t seen this one yet, because it will definitely be repeated soon.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com. I’ve just posted some of my old fiction there!

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The Two Sheds Review: Main Event Changes and Lessons on Conditioning at UFC 130

It was a show of main-event changes as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in the main event of UFC 130, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.No review of the pre…

No review of the preliminaries this month as ESPN had technical problems (again), so it’s on to the main show, beginning with middleweight action as Brian Stann faced Jorge Santiago.

The All-American is really starting to come into his own. After a somewhat cagey start from both men, Stann connected with a left that sent Santiago down. Stann followed him down for the ground and pound but couldn’t quite get the job done.

Stann continued his great work in the second, and a big right to the temple sent Santiago down again. A brief period of ground and pound followed before the referee stepped in to give Stann the impressive TKO win.

It was down to welterweight for the next fight as Thiago Alves faced Rick Story.

This was a very good encounter. Story put on a great display of grappling for the first two rounds, neutralizing Alves’ superior striking ability. Alves got in some good strikes, but Story was able to respond in kind.

We saw more striking from Alves in the third, as well as some exciting exchanges, with Alves rocking his man a number of times, the fight ending with both men swinging for the fences.

So with the fight going the distance it went down to the judges, with Story getting the unanimous decision.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Stefan Struve faced Travis Browne.

This battle of the big men began with both fighters connecting with a series of kicks. A clinch against the cage was followed by a brief foray to the ground before they returned to the striking game.

Seconds later and it was all over. Browne connected with a Superman punch that sent Struve crashing, the referee quickly stepping in to give Browne the great knockout win.

The heavyweight action continued as Frank Mir went up against Roy Nelson.

This battle of hometown boys proved to be a highly entertaining affair. We also got a lesson about conditioning.

Mir dominated the majority of the fight, putting on a performance that was far superior than his effort against Mirko Cro Cop.

Big Country had his moments, but as time went on Nelson’s lack of physical conditioning showed, and as he sat on his stool between the second and third rounds he had the look of a beaten and exhausted man, with Mir once again dominating with his grappling and his ground and pound.

No surprise with the judges’ decision as all three gave the fight to Mir. A great performance from the former champion, and an example of how Nelson really needs to go back to the drawing board.

The main event saw Quinton Jackson taking on Matt Hamill in the light heavyweight division.

Rampage seemed to have Hamill worked out from the start. Whenever Hamill went for a takedown Jackson was able to defend easily. It was the same whenever Hamill went for a clinch.

As for the striking, Rampage had that department covered as well, out-striking his opponent and connecting with some hard knees and shots to the body.

So with another fight going the distance it went to the judges again, with all three giving the fight to Rampage. It may not have been pretty but it was effective.

The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the lightweight encounter between Gleison Tibau and Rafaello Oliveira.

This all Brazilian affair was a nice way to end the show. Things looked pretty even in the first as both men got off some crisp strikes and showed some good work during the brief trip to the ground.

It was pretty much the same in the second until Tibau connected with a big left that sent Oliveira down. Moments later Tibau took his man’s back and clinched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion—they’ve done it again.

Even though this was devoid of a title fight after both Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar pulled out injured, it was still a very good show, and although a couple of the performances were a little disappointing, that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment.

So all-in-all, UFC 130 gets the thumbs up from me.

Let’s hope ESPN doesn’t screw up any more shows though!

Don’t forget to check out my Web site at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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The Two Sheds Review: Kong Demolishes Ninja at BAMMA 6

The second of my British MMA double bill sees us going back to Wembley Arena in London this past Saturday as Murilo “Ninja” Rua challenged Tom “Kong” Watson for the Middleweight title at BAMMA 6, shown live on Syfy here in Brita…

The broadcast began with action from the middleweight division as Matt Ewin faced Ivan Salaverry.

Salaverry took this fight at two week’s notice after a three-year absence from the fight game, and he certainly looked like a man who’d been out of it for a few years.

Ewin, who is one year old than Salaverry at 41, was in great form as he stalked his man around the cage, connecting with a series of crisp blows.

Ewin fought the perfect fight, taking his time as Salaverry looked to get rid of the rust.

The only real ground action came in the third, when Ewin took Salaverry down. They didn’t stay there for long, however, and although Salaverry upped his game a little towards the end of the fight, it wasn’t enough as all three judges scored in favour of Ewin.

The middleweight action continued as John Phillips took on Frank Trigg.

Trigg was looking to make a big statement after being cut by the UFC last year, and make that statement he did, scoring with the early take down and going for the ground and pound immediately.

It was a brutal performance from Trigg, as he quickly opened up three deep cuts on Phillips’ head. The red stuff was soon flowing into Phillips’ eyes, so the referee stepped in, checked with the doctor and called the fight off, giving Trigg the TKO win.

The main event saw Murilo Rua challenging Tom Watson for the Middleweight title.

This proved to be a tremendous fight. As soon as the action began, Watson went to work, rolling off a series of combinations and devastating kicks to Rua’s lead leg.

It was brutal watching Kong going to work like this. Rua scored with only one take down but didn’t have much time to go to work.

The end came in the third round. Rua’s left knee and face were swelling up badly, and as a flurry sent Rua crashing to the mat, his corner threw in the towel as the referee stopped the fight. Both referees came to the same conclusion at the same time, giving Watson the tremendous TKO win.

Filler material rounded out the show, as Che Mills faced Marcio Cesar in the welterweight division.

This one featured some nice grappling from both men, first from Mills and then from Cesar.

The Brazilian looked the stronger when on the ground, but when Mills re-established control, a sustained period of ground and pound saw the referee stepping in to give Mills the TKO win.

In conclusion, this was another strong and very enjoyable show from the BAMMA crew, with four very good fights, topped off nicely by the excellent main event.

Tom Watson’s demolition job was certainly the highlight of the night and must certainly put the Kong man up with the likes of Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy as Britain’s top MMA fighters.

So in all, BAMMA 6 gets the big thumbs up from me.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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