Author: Julian Radbourne

The Two Sheds Review: Fists of Fire at the 20th Ultimate Challenge Show

The first of a British MMA double bill sees us going back to last weekend and The Troxy in London as we take a look at the latest Ultimate Challenge MMA show, Fists of Fire, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.The broadcast be…

The first of a British MMA double bill sees us going back to last weekend and The Troxy in London as we take a look at the latest Ultimate Challenge MMA show, Fists of Fire, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the middleweight division as David Zetolofsky faced Karl Lawrence.

Lawrence began by testing the waters with a few strikes, Zetolofsky responding with a couple of take downs.

However, he didn’t stay in top position too long as Lawrence soon reversed. Zetolofsky went for an arm bar, but Lawrence survived, taking Zetolofsky’s back seconds later and getting the win with a knockout.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Deivida Banaitis took on Ben Smith.

Smith was looking to get back to winning ways after losing the title to Oli Thompson. Things didn’t go his way though.

Banaitis came forward with the heavy leather early on. An inadvertent low blow stopped his progress for a few seconds before an uppercut sent Smith down.

Banaitis then unleashed with the ground and pound from behind. Smith tried to cover up, but when things got too much he tapped out, giving Banaitis the stoppage win.

The first championship fight saw Nathan Beer challenging Dave Lee for the Featherweight title.

The first fight on the broadcast to make it out of the first round was an intriguing three-rounder in which both fighters gave their all.

Beer did a good job early on the ground, although Lee managed to neutralize him at times. Beer upped his game from the second round onwards, particularly in the striking department.

Both men look exhausted at the start of the third, but that didn’t stop them from unloading with the big blows.

But in the end neither man could get the job done, so the judges came into play as all three scored in favour of Beer, giving him the big title win.

It was back to heavyweight for the next fight as Tomasz Czerwinski went up against Amokrane Sabet.

No fancy stuff in this one. These two began swinging for the fences from the start. It was fought at a frantic pace to begin with, but it was obvious that the big unit that was Czerwinski wouldn’t be able to keep up that pace for long.

Indeed, after just two minutes Czerwinski was gassed, and actually stopped a couple of times to take in deep breaths.

But just as Sabet looked like he was going in for the kill, Czerwinski connected with a big right that sent Sabet crashing. He was completely out of it as the referee stepped in to give Czerwinski the knockout win.

The main event saw Jamaine Facey challenging John Maguire for the Welterweight title.

The best was saved for last with this one. Maguire put in a great performance on the ground, although Facey didn’t make things easy for him.

The action went to the ground quickly, only for Facey to tie Maguire up with a couple of over hooks. It was a sound defensive tactic. He also put on an acrobatic display of sorts, flipping out from under Maguire while the champion was on the offensive.

It was in the second round where Maguire took control, taking the mount and going for the ground and pound a couple of times before locking in a kimura to get the hard fought title retaining win.

In conclusion—UCMMA’s 20th outing proved to be a very enjoyable show.

Every fight shown delivered, and I even found myself enjoying the wild brawl between Sabet and Czerwinski. Nothing could match the main event though.

So in all another good show from the UCMMA crew, and a big thumbs up from me.

One word for head honcho Dave O’Donnell, and his singing performance at the beginning of the show. Don’t give up the day job, mate!

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The Two Sheds Review: Manny Tapia Challenges Miguel Torres at WEC 37

As the Extreme Sports channel continues their regular rotation of old World Extreme Cagefighting shows, we’re now going back to December 2008, as Manny Tapia challenged Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title at WEC 37.The broadcast began with b…

As the Extreme Sports channel continues their regular rotation of old World Extreme Cagefighting shows, we’re now going back to December 2008, as Manny Tapia challenged Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title at WEC 37.

The broadcast began with bantamweight action as Joseph Benavidez faced Danny Martinez.

An encounter between two debuting fighters proved to be an intriguing, though unspectacular three rounder. Both guys put on a good display of striking, although as the fight went on Benavidez took control with his jab/hook tactics.

Benavidez may have been in control in the third, but as the fight came to an end, Martinez sprang to life with a flurry of blows.

All three judges scored in favour of Benavidez.

The bantamweight action continued as Brian Bowles faced Will Ribeiro.

Bowles put on a great performance here. His striking was crisp and his ground work was good, especially in the third round when he locked in a guillotine choke that Ribeiro barely escaped from.

The Brazilian had his moments, but these didn’t happen that often, and when he went for a take down in the third, Bowles countered with a guillotine. Once again Ribeiro tried to fight it, but it wasn’t long before he tapped out to give Bowles the submission win.

Then it was up to featherweight and two more debuting fighters, as Wagnney Fabiano took on Akitoshi Tamura.

If you ever want to see a good example of effective ground fighting, give this one a look.

It went to the ground early, and while Fabiano put on a great offensive display, Tamura was up to the task with some sound defensive work.

However, the Japanese star just couldn’t get much offence going off his back, with Fabiano escaping from his guillotine attempt by wall-walking to relieve the pressure.

The end came towards the close of the third round as Fabiano locked in an arm triangle for the submission win.

The main event saw Manny Tapia challenging Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title.

Torres came into this fight with a huge reach advantage, and he used it to good effect, keeping Tapia at bay with his stinging jabs.

Tapia got in a few good body shots, but as the fight entered the second round, Torres took control.

A big right rocked Tapia and sent him to the ground. Another big right sent Tapia down for the second time, with Torres following him down for some ground and pound. It wasn’t long before the referee had seen enough, as he stopped the fight to give Torres the title-retaining TKO win.

In conclusion: another good show from the UFC’s little brother. Although it wasn’t packed with spectacular action, the majority of the fighting was sound, with the performance of Miguel Torres the highlight of the night for me.

So in all, a good show, and once again I’ll say that if you live in Britain and haven’t seen this show yet—don’t worry. Just keep an eye on the Extreme Sports channel. I’m sure it will be on again.

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

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The Two Sheds Review: Shamrock vs Severn and the Fixed Fight at UFC 6

It featured the second Superfight, the debut of the pit fighter, the introduction of new rules, and a controversial semi-final. In July 1995, the Ultimate Fighting Championship presented their sixth show, promoted as the “Clash of the Titans”.The show …

It featured the second Superfight, the debut of the pit fighter, the introduction of new rules, and a controversial semi-final. In July 1995, the Ultimate Fighting Championship presented their sixth show, promoted as the “Clash of the Titans”.

The show began with the tournament quarter-finals, with pit fighter Tank Abbott taking on Hawaiian bone-breaker John Matua.

The match was a quick and wild affair. Abbott caught Matua with lunging blows early, leaving Matua staggering like a baby just learning to walk until he fell to the ground. Abbott got in another punch before referee “Big” John McCarthy stepped in to give Abbott the knockout win after just 18 seconds.

Next up was Taekwondo fighter Cal Worsham against trap fighter Paul Varelans.

The two came out swinging, with Worsham quickly staggering his bigger opponent. Varelans recovered and worked his way back, eventually landing a left elbow to the back of Worsham’s head that sent him crashing to the floor. The referee stopped the fight, awarding Varelans the win by knockout.

The next matchup pitted kenpō karate fighter Rudyard Moncayo against kickboxer and former tournament finalist Pat Smith.

Smith ran across the cage at the start, immediately knocking Moncayo down with a front-kick. Smith then showed how much he’d improved his grappling game, pulling off a standing guillotine on Moncayo before getting the take down. Smith took Moncayo’s back and got him in a rear naked choke, securing the win by submission.

The last quarterfinal match saw wrestler and UFC finalist Dave Beneteau taking on sambo expert Oleg Taktarov.

A fast-paced fight saw Beneteau score an early take-down, but the Russian quickly got back up to his feet. After Beneteau landed a few strikes, Taktarov got a take down of his own, locking Beneteau in a guillotine for an impressive submission victory.

The semi-finals began with Tank Abbott taking on Paul Varelans.

Abbott put on an impressive punching display, taking the big man down and unloading with the ground and pound.

At one point, Abbott grabbed the cage as he kneed Varelans in the face, taking a moment to smile at the crowd.

With his left knee holding down Varelans’ face, Abbott connected with a series of lefts. It wasn’t long before the referee intervened to give Abbott the TKO win.

The second semi-final was a controversial affair as Oleg Taktarov faced muay thai boxer Anthony Macias, who stepped in to replace the injured Pat Smith.

Both fighters were managed by Buddy Alvin, who was also the manager of the other alternate, Guy Mezger. When Smith pulled out, there was a slight delay as the organizers searched for a replacement. The story goes that neither Mezger or Macias wanted to fight their training partner, but Macias finally stepped up to the plate, with Alvin taking his place in Taktarov’s corner.

When the fight began, Macias ran straight into a Taktarov guillotine, tapping out within seconds. The look on the Russian’s face afterwards said everything as the crowd and the commentators voiced their displeasure. It was pretty obvious that Macias had taken a dive, and as a result the match would prove to be his final UFC appearance.

After a brief interview with UFC 7 entrant Marco Ruas, it was on to the bout for the Superfight title as Ken Shamrock faced Dan Severn.

The match turned out to be a great display of grappling. Both men jockeyed for position at the start, and a few moments later Severn escaped from Shamrock’s initial attempt to catch him in a guillotine.

Seconds later, Shamrock outwrestled Severn and went for the guillotine again. This time, Shamrock caught Severn, and it wasn’t long before the Beast tapped out, giving Shamrock the win and the Superfight Championship.

Then, it was on to the tournament final between Tank Abbott and Oleg Taktarov.

This turned out to be the longest fight of the night by far. Abbott began with his usual brawling, but soon began to visibly tire.

The fight went to the ground, with Abbott taking Taktarov’s guard, occasionally going for a few punches while the Russian looked for an arm bar.

It was a war of attrition, very much in the Royce Gracie style, with the referee eventually exercising his new authority and standing the fighters up.

Abbott managed to connect with a big left against the cage before Taktarov came back with a standing guillotine. Abbott slumped to the ground as Taktarov took his back, eventually securing a rear naked choke for the tournament-winning submission victory.

In conclusion, UFC 6 turned out to be a pretty good show. The early fights may not have been particularly impressive, and the whole Macias affair left a nasty taste in everyone’s mouth, but on the whole, the show delivered.

As for the rule changes, they turned out to be what the UFC needed. Giving the referee the power to stand fighters up due to inactivity certainly made the final a more enjoyable affair.

So in all, UFC 6 gets the thumbs up as another interesting slice of MMA history, and one you should check out if you get the opportunity.

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

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The Two Sheds Review: Alex Reid Refs and Paul Daley Fights at Cage Warriors 4

As British MMA is going to feature heavily in this column in the next week, what better way to start than with a retro review?So let’s go back in time to Portsmouth, July 27th, 2003 and the fourth Cage Warriors show, entitled UK versus France.We …

As British MMA is going to feature heavily in this column in the next week, what better way to start than with a retro review?

So let’s go back in time to Portsmouth, July 27th, 2003 and the fourth Cage Warriors show, entitled UK versus France.

We begin with Rob Mitchell against Glen Appleby.

This one got off to a fast start, with Appleby countering Mitchell’s initial onslaught with a take down.

However, it wasn’t long before Mitchell took control, going for a couple of submission attempts as well as unleashing with the ground and pound.

Appleby looked out of it at the end of the round, and when he didn’t come out of his corner at the start of the second Mitchell was given the stoppage win.

Then it was on to Graham Day against Gav Bradley.

Bradley began the fight by running out of his corner and getting the early takedown. But after Day managed to get to his feet it wasn’t long before he took control on the ground, keeping the pressure on with strikes before taking the submission win with a guillotine.

The next encounter, described as a “UK lightweight Superfight” saw Dave Elliot taking on Andy Butlin.

A quick affair saw Butlin start with a couple of kicks before the fight went to the ground, but as Butlin tried to posture up, Elliot locked in an arm bar for the submission win.

Up next was Ricky Moore, who only took the fight that morning, against Guillaume Monono in the first of the UK versus France fights.

A very intriguing battle saw Monono getting the early take down. Moore soon reversed the positions and got in some good shots, but it wasn’t long before Monono regained control.

The Frenchman went for a triangle choke, but when Moore tried to slam his way out it only succeeded in helping Monono tighten his grip, with Moore tapping out seconds later.

The international action continued as Andy Cooper faced Mohamed Khacha.

The first fight to actually make it into the second round saw Khacha dominate after he got the quick take down, swelling Cooper’s right eye as he went to work with the ground and pound.

But the roles were soon reversed in the second round. Khacha tried to carry on where he’d left off until Copper took control, taking Khacha’s back, flattening him out and synching in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

Then we saw another one who took that fight that morning, Andy Lagden, against Laurent Bonnafoux.

Like others before him Bonnafoux took the early take down, controlling the fight until Lagden was able to reverse into side control.

Seconds later both men returned to their feet, and when Lagden connected with a knee to the head in the clinch Bonnafoux went down like a sack of spuds, Lagden getting the impressive knockout win.

None other than future UFC and Strikeforce star Paul Daley was next, taking on Florentin Amorim in only the Brit’s second professional outing.

Daley’s weak ground game has been exposed a few times over the years, and when he slipped while trying to deliver a kick Amorim was all over him, quickly taking Daley’s back.

Daley tried to defend, but it wasn’t long before Amorim synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

Next up was Robbie Olivier, going up against Emmanuel Fernandez.

This final UK/France battle saw Fernandez putting on a good display on the ground. Olivier did a good job of defending at first before taking the guard himself.

However, Fernandez continued to fight as he locked in a triangle choke for the submission win.

Then it was on to the title fights, beginning with Dave McLaughlin challenging Paul McVeigh for the Under 65 kilo title.

A dominant performance from McVeigh saw him begin with a couple of strikes that opened up a cut above McLaughlin’s right eye.

McVeigh then took the fight to the ground, and although McLaughlin got to his feet McVeigh soon took him back down, going to work with the ground and pound. Realising that there was nothing he could do against this onslaught McLaughlin tapped to give McVeigh the impressive win.

Then Paul Sutherland faced Ozzy Haluk for the vacant Lightweight title.

The second fight to go into the second round saw Sutherland take control early on when he took the fight to the ground, and although he put in some good work Haluk did a good job of defending himself.

Sutherland took his game up a notch in the second, again take the fight down and going for the ground and pound. Haluk just couldn’t handle Sutherland’s attack and wisely tapped out, giving Sutherland the title win.

The third title fight saw Adrian Degorski challenging Paul Jenkins for the Welterweight title.

This fight began with a quick exchange before Degorski took the fight to the ground, briefly taking Jenkins’ back before they returned to their feet.

A brief clinch against the cage followed before another exchange of blows, with the Pole dropping the champion with a big right. Degorski followed him down, with the referee stepping in to stop the fight, giving Degorski the title winning TKO win.

The final title fight saw Ross Pettifer taking on Matt Ewing for the vacant Middleweight title.

This was a great back and forth encounter. After jockeying for position in a clinch against the cage the fight went to the ground as Pettifer took control, almost synching in an arm bar.

The frantic action continued into the second, with both fighters going for guillotines until Ewing took control after sweeping Pettifer and taking the guard. Seconds later Ewing took his back, locking in a neck crank for the great submission win.

In conclusion—even though I’ve got quite a few of their shows from their days on The Wrestling Channel, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen any Cage Warriors action.

As this show took place almost eight years ago it was interesting to see how much British MMA has progressed since then. The commentators mentioned that British fighters were having a hard time getting into the UFC, something which is a lot easier these days given the UFC’s global appeal.

All of the fights shown here were pretty decent, and it was good to see Paul Daley in only his second professional fight. I kept wondering though if he’ll ever overcome his weakness in the ground game.

It was also interesting to see tabloid darling Alex Reid serve as referee for some of the earlier fights. Maybe now he’s away from the clutches of Katie Price and the newspapers aren’t fixated on his cross dressing fetish he’ll start concentrating on his fighting career again.

So in all the fourth Cage Warriors show gets the thumbs up, not just for the fights but for this interesting lesson in the development of British MMA.

Before you ask, Cage Warriors are still going strong, and for information on their upcoming shows visit www.cagewarriors.com.

And don’t forget to check out my site at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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The Two Sheds Review: Hurricanes and Weight Issues at WEC 36: Faber vs Brown

It was delayed by a hurricane for two months, and further tarnished when a defending champion failed to make weight. It’s also been shown numerous times on Britain’s Extreme Sports channel since its debut last February. The show in question…

It was delayed by a hurricane for two months, and further tarnished when a defending champion failed to make weight. It’s also been shown numerous times on Britain’s Extreme Sports channel since its debut last February. The show in question is WEC 36: Faber vs Brown—the first WEC show I’ve ever reviewed.

The broadcast began in the middleweight division as Jake Rosholt faced Nissen Osterneck.

This was another example of a great striker versus grappler battle. Osterneck came forward early with some combinations, and his strikes almost got him the win in the second round.

The only problem was that whenever he got the upper hand, Rosholt took him down and took the upper hand himself with some nice grappling, and it was this—allied with some effective ground and pound—that earned Rosholt the TKO win in the second round.

It was down to featherweight for the next fight as Jens Pulver went up against Leonard Garcia.

A part of Little Evil’s downward spiral, Pulver connected with a big left that staggered Garcia early on, but within a minute Garcia was unloading with the heavy leather. Pulver slumped to the ground against the cage, and the referee quickly stepped in to give Garcia the TKO win.

Then it was back up to middleweight as David Avellan took on Aaron Simpson—the blink and you’ll miss it affair of the show.

Just seconds into the fight, Simpson connected with an overhand right. Avellan quickly went down, with the referee stopping the fight after just 18 seconds, giving Simpson the knockout win.

The next fight was also meant to be in the middleweight division, with Paulo Filho defending his title against Chael Sonnen. But when Filho did the unforgivable and failed to make the weight, it was turned into a three round catch weight affair.

The story of this fight was simple. Filho wanted to go to the ground, but Sonnen was having none of it, controlling the fight with his boxing, making Filho get back to his feet after the champion invited him down.

It didn’t make for an exciting fight—and most of the time Filho seemed to treat it like a sparring session—so it wasn’t really surprising when the crowd broke out the bull***t chant.

No surprise with the judges decision as all three gave every round to Sonnen.

The main event saw Mike Brown challenging Urijah Faber for the Featherweight title.

An exciting fight saw Faber begin with a right/left combination, but just when it looked like the champion was about to up his game, Brown connected with a right that sent Faber down.

Brown followed him down to the ground, and with Faber offering nothing in response to the onslaught the referee stopped the fight, giving Brown what was considered an upset win.

It took a while for the UFC’s little brother to make it to British television, and it was a little disappointing that it happened after the company ceased to be, but it’s nice to finally see what the WEC is all about.

My first impressions were pretty good. WEC 36 was an enjoyable show, and although the Filho/Sonnen fight was disappointing, the other four made up for it.

So does this show get the thumbs up? Most definitely, and I’m looking forward to seeing another WEC show in the near future.

If you live in Britain don’t worry if you haven’t seen this show yet. At the moment, Extreme Sports seem to be showing this one every two weeks, so you haven’t missed a thing.

Although I do hope they start showing new WEC shows soon!

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

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