The second of our British mixed martial arts double header sees us heading to The Troxy in London for the 28th show from Ultimate Challenge MMA, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.
The broadcast began in the heavyweight division, as Paul Taylor went up against Scott Saward.
Nineteen-year-old Saward came into this one with a big height and reach advantage, but these natural gifts meant nothing to Taylor. Although the youngster got in a few good shots, it wasn’t long before Taylor took control, sending Saward down with a left out of the clinch. Taylor quickly followed him, and with Saward offering nothing in reply, the referee stepped in to give Taylor the TKO win.
Middleweight action followed, as Makunga Bunduku took on Steve May.
This bout between two fighters making their professional debuts saw May going for a takedown straight away. Bunduku was having none of this, though, and it wasn’t long before he took control with some great striking.
May looked a little lost at times, and when Bunduku tried to use a muay thai clinch, he soon earned a point deduction from the referee for continually grabbing Bunduku’s shorts. This actually didn’t sit too well with Bunduku either, as he was enjoying a lethal period of dirty boxing.
It didn’t matter much, though, as he quickly took control again, rocking May before the fight went to the ground and he locked in an arm triangle for the submission win.
The middleweight action continued with Chris Harman facing Luke Barnatt.
Harman began his stint in the cage by coming forward with a few blows, but within moments Barnatt imposed his will on the fight on the ground. Although Harman managed to get to his feet, Barnatt quickly took him back down so he could deliver a brutal beating.
Harman managed to get to his feet momentarily again until Barnatt brought him back down and took his back so he could apply a rear naked choke for the submission win.
UK1 kickboxing action followed, as Arunas Slicius faced Tony Giles in a catch weight bout made at 80 kilos.
This one-sided battle saw Giles put in a good performance. Slicius looked almost scared to throw anything as Giles put him on his backside twice. And with the Lithuanian throwing a couple of kicks in reply, it came as no surprise when the referee stopped the fight when Slicius found himself on the ground for a third time.
It was back to regular MMA for the next fight, as Galour Bofando took on Wendle Lewis in the welterweight division.
This was a very enjoyable encounter. Lewis looked to stifle Bofando’s unique fighting stance early on, countering his attacking by instigating a clinch against the cage. It worked extremely well until the referee separated them after Lewis delivered a couple of knees south of the border.
The brief stoppage gave Bofando the chance to establish control. He adopted a Bruce Lee-like stance at times as he delivered a series of kicks, including one to the body, which caused a bit of damage.
As the fight neared the end of the first round, Bofando connected with a spinning back kick/big right hand combination that sent Lewis crashing. Bofando followed him down for the kill before the referee quickly stepped in to give Bofando the impressive TKO win.
After a highlights package showing some of the other fights, it was back to normal action, as Charlie Langdon faced Ben Callum in the middleweight division.
This was quick. They began swinging for the fences early on, and it wasn’t long before Callum connected with a left hook that dropped his man. The referee stopped the contest after a couple of more blows to give Callum the TKO win after just 24 seconds.
It was down to bantamweight for the next bout, as Huseyin Garabet went up against Cory Tait.
This was a great back and forth affair. The first round saw plenty of action, as both men got off to a good start in all departments. Although, as the round came to an end, Tait began to take control.
Tait continued his tactics into the second round, and when the fight went to the ground, it wasn’t long before he took Garabet’s back. As Tait looked for a rear naked choke, Garabet did a good job in the defensive department. But when he turned onto his front, it was all over bar the shouting, as Tait quickly applied his hold of choice to gain the submission win.
The co-main event saw Danny Welsh taking on Ashleigh Grimshaw for the Featherweight title.
Welsh got in some good kicks early on, but as soon as Grimshaw took the fight to the ground, he dominated. He soon took Welsh’s back before taking the mount and going for an arm triangle. It looked as if Welsh was about to tap when Grimshaw released the hold.
It was all over seconds later, though. Grimshaw took Welsh’s back again and synched in a rear naked choke for the impressive submission win.
The main event saw Jamaine Facey taking on Jake Bostwick for the welterweight title.
These two didn’t bother testing the waters, as they got down to action straight away, swinging for the fences and delivering some hard knees in the clinch.
Bostwick soon took control with some hard blows. And when Facey failed to get the takedown, he left himself open on all fours as Bostwick connected with right big enough to turn his lights out. The referee wisely stepped in before more damage could be done to give Bostwick the knockout win.
In conclusion, I’m now two for two because for the second time this week, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a very good British MMA show.
As the old saying goes, all the fights delivered, and once again there are many contenders for my fight of the night. This time around the no-prize is going to the Bostwick/Facey main event.
So with that being said, there’s only one more thing left to do, and that’s to give UCMMA 28 the big thumbs up.
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