It’s time for one of those strange occurrences again, a DVD review of a television show I’ve already reviewed. For this instalment we’ll be delving into the pile of DVDs sent to me by the good folks at Ultimate Challenge MMA as we take a look at their 25th show, The Beat Down.
The opening contest took place in the welterweight division as Micky Millar faced Esi Moradi.
These two debuting fighters were so eager to get going the referee had to separate them before the fight had even begun.
When the action officially started, Millar began swinging for the fences before Moradi took him down with a massive slam, taking side control. He quickly moved into a position where he could ally a key lock as Millar tapped almost immediately, gaining the submission win after just 70 seconds.
Millar wasn’t too happy afterwards though, not because of the defeat but because Moradi had held on to the hold after he’d tapped.
It was down to the featherweight division for the next fight as Brendon Katz took on Huseyin Garabet.
This one featured some nice ground work from both men. There was an early clinch against the cage until the fight went downstairs. Once they got there, they exchanged holds and positions until Katz took the mount.
He quickly went to work with the ground-and-pound. Garabet looked helpless as Katz delivered a few well placed shots before synching in a rear-naked choke for the highly impressive submission win.
It was down another division to bantamweight for the next fight as Steve Brazier went up against Nathan Greyson.
No feeling-out period in this one. These two began trading blows as soon as the fight began.
The exchanges looked pretty even at first, but when Brazier was virtually charging at his man, Greyson clipped him every time—a big right sending the more experienced fighter crashing to the mat.
The lightning fast exchanges continued, and even though it was costing him, Brazier continued with his charging tactic. This clearly wasn’t working, and the huge cut above his eye was clear evidence of that.
As Greyson lifted his man into the air and slammed him to the mat the referee called time so the doctor could check Brazier’s cut. It was a no-brainer as the fight was soon called, giving Greyson the TKO win. Not bad for a fighter making his professional debut.
Middleweight action followed as Peter Chaete took on Jason Radcliffe.
This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair began with Radcliffe taking his man out with a flying knee. From there, he followed Chaete down to the mat, unleashing with the ground-and-pound.
Chaete offered nothing in return, and it came as no surprise when the referee stepped in to give Radcliffe the TKO win after just 27 seconds.
The middleweight action continued as Lee Caers faced Ben Craggy.
These two were certainly in a hurry. They began trading early with Craggy rocking Caers with a big left, but when he tried to take the fight to the ground, Caers was able to counter each and every time.
Some more brief exchanges followed until they went down again as Caers locked in a mounted guillotine for the submission win.
Then it was down to welterweight as Andy Cona took on Wendle Lewis.
Given how the previous fight began I was somewhat surprised when these two showed some patience.
Lewis took the fight to the ground immediately, and after some nice grappling from both fighters Lewis managed to take control, working through Cona’s sound defensive game to take the mount before he quickly moved to the back where he synched in a rear-naked choke for the submission win.
It was back to featherweight action next as Spe McMorris faced Carl Hunt.
Another fight that quickly went to the ground saw McMorris take the mount, only for Hunt to reverse the position within seconds.
They then scrambled for position as McMorris went after Hunt’s legs, only for Hunt to counter and take the mount so he could deliver some ground-and-pound. This was enough for McMorris as he quickly tapped out.
UK1 middleweight kickboxing action followed as Miguel Bernard took on Andre McIntyre.
Bernard began his shift with a series of kicks, and it looked as if McIntyre was having trouble getting out of the pit lane until he connected with a liver shot that sent Bernard crashing down.
McIntyre continued his stellar offence, putting Bernard on his backside again in the first round and twice more in the second, and although Bernard managed to beat the first count in the second round, he stayed down for the final count, giving McIntyre the knockout win.
It was back to regular MMA action for the next fight as Earl Brown faced Iain Martell in the light heavyweight division.
We had a brief feeling-out period at the beginning of this one until Martell scored with the takedown. From there, he worked into position as he looked to lock in an arm triangle.
When it became obvious that he couldn’t go for that particular hold, Martell shuffled his man up against the cage before he went to work with the ground-and-pound. Brown offered nothing in response, so it came as no surprise when the referee stepped in to give Martell the TKO win.
The light heavyweight action continued as Ricky Campbell faced Ben Smith.
Smith, the former heavyweight king making his light heavyweight debut, scored with the early takedown. Campbell seemed powerless as he went to work with the ground-and-pound.
It was a great display, but the surprising thing was that Campbell managed to survive into the second round.
It was the same story there, albeit with a slight difference. Smith scored with the early takedown again, but this time around he quickly took Campbell’s back, synching in the rear naked choke for the submission win.
More UK1 kickboxing action followed as Louis King challenged former UFC star Mark Weir for the Middleweight title.
Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair. These two traded heavy leather early on, and after a flurry from both men a left hook from King sent Weir crashing to the canvas. The referee stepped in immediately to give King the title-winning knockout win.
The title action continued with Chris Harman facing Mark Potter for the UK1 Heavyweight title.
Harman began his night’s work with a front kick, only for Potter to counter with a big right.
From there, Potter began to stalk his man, unleashing with countless heavy blows that sent Harman down to the canvas. But each time he went down, Harman managed to beat the count, although the bell did save him at the end of the first.
It was the same in the second round, and at one point, Harman had Potter on the back foot with a great combination until Potter came back and put Harman on the ground again.
Even though Harman was showing a great deal of heart, that was enough for the referee as he stopped the fight to give Potter the TKO win.
The main event saw Jake Bostwick challenging Denniston Sutherland for the Middleweight title.
This one began with some nice combinations before they engaged in a lengthy clinch against the cage. Bostwick eventually scored with the takedown.
They didn’t stay on the ground for long though, and as the first round neared it’s conclusion, Bostwick rocked the champion with a left hook. Sutherland staggered across the cage and tried a spinning back fist before Bostwick connected with another left that sent Sutherland crashing. The referee quickly stepped in to give Bostwick the knockout win.
In conclusion—this is another cracking DVD release from Dave O’Donnell and his crew.
The undercard, which I hadn’t seen before, certainly delivered some explosive action, which was the perfect appetiser for the main card, a perfect blend of kickboxing and MMA action.
Each and every fight delivered, and it’s because of this, it’s kind of hard to pick out the fight of the night. This particular honour, however, is going to the Potter/Harman encounter.
So with that being said, there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s to give The Beat Down the big thumbs up.
With thanks to the powers that be for supplying a copy of this release. For more information on how to purchase this DVD please visit www.ucmma.tv.
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