Tag: Opinion

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.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Brock Lesnar, MMA Fighters & the Action Movie Remakes They Should Star in

In 2010, Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson both made the move from the Octagon to the big screen.Couture starred in The Expendables and Quinton Jackson starred in a film adaptation of popular TV show The A Team.With it becoming a more and more frequent…

In 2010, Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson both made the move from the Octagon to the big screen.

Couture starred in The Expendables and Quinton Jackson starred in a film adaptation of popular TV show The A Team.

With it becoming a more and more frequent experience to see MMA fighters showing up in movies, it seemed like it would be interesting to think about what action movie remakes MMA fighters could star in.

This list is meant to be fun, so I ignored things like language barriers and the fact that most of these fighters would be terrible actors.

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UFC 130 Fight Card: Is Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill Main Event Worthy?

UFC 130 was to be event in which the next five rounds of the epic duel between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard took place. In terms of fighting style, both men were tailor made for one another, and the second rematch was …

UFC 130 was to be event in which the next five rounds of the epic duel between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard took place. In terms of fighting style, both men were tailor made for one another, and the second rematch was one of the most intriguing bouts of the year.

Unfortunately, this bout was canceled due to both fighters being injured at nearly the same time. Because of this strange and unfavorable coincidence, the event’s co-main event—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill—was bumped up to the main event slot.

Is this fight truly main event-worthy, though?

The answer is twofold and complicated.

While Rampage has historically been a draw, he is getting up there in age and has not done anything to really “wow” MMA fans in quite some time—his recent controversial decision victory over Lyoto Machida notwithstanding.

As for Hamill, his five-fight win streak is great for marketing, but does not really hold up when scrutinized. One of those “wins” is a questionable disqualification victory over current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

So, even if the DQ is ignored, that leaves four straight victories. That means Hamill is a contender, right?

Wrong.

Out of those four victories, two came over lackluster opponents who are no longer in the UFC, and one came over a Tito Ortiz long past his prime. The only really noteworthy victory is a head-kick knockout of Mark Muñoz at UFC 96 back in 2009.

The fight may be billed as a matchup between two perennial contenders for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight crown, but such a billing is very generous; both fighters have neither the skills nor the time (Rampage is 32 and Hamill is 34) to become a force in the division.

In that sense then, the fight is not main event-worthy. However, the UFC has grown to such a size that the main itself is not as important as the UFC brand itself.

The UFC has—arguably since UFC 72—been selling cards on brand name alone and will likely continue to do so.

Is this a sordid practice? Hardly, unless you are one who believes in “Zuffa zombies.”

The UFC usually puts on quality fights regardless of the name value of the fighters. Despite the fact that Rampage will likely never own a belt again, and Hamill will likely never own one to begin with, the card will still sell because of the brand name attached to it.

For better or for worse, any main event attached to a UFC card is main event-worthy by virtue of it being the main event of a UFC-caliber card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 130 Fight Card: Is Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill Main Event Worthy?

UFC 130 was to be event in which the next five rounds of the epic duel between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard took place. In terms of fighting style, both men were tailor made for one another, and the second rematch was …

UFC 130 was to be event in which the next five rounds of the epic duel between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard took place. In terms of fighting style, both men were tailor made for one another, and the second rematch was one of the most intriguing bouts of the year.

Unfortunately, this bout was canceled due to both fighters being injured at nearly the same time. Because of this strange and unfavorable coincidence, the event’s co-main event—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill—was bumped up to the main event slot.

Is this fight truly main event-worthy, though?

The answer is twofold and complicated.

While Rampage has historically been a draw, he is getting up there in age and has not done anything to really “wow” MMA fans in quite some time—his recent controversial decision victory over Lyoto Machida notwithstanding.

As for Hamill, his five-fight win streak is great for marketing, but does not really hold up when scrutinized. One of those “wins” is a questionable disqualification victory over current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

So, even if the DQ is ignored, that leaves four straight victories. That means Hamill is a contender, right?

Wrong.

Out of those four victories, two came over lackluster opponents who are no longer in the UFC, and one came over a Tito Ortiz long past his prime. The only really noteworthy victory is a head-kick knockout of Mark Muñoz at UFC 96 back in 2009.

The fight may be billed as a matchup between two perennial contenders for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight crown, but such a billing is very generous; both fighters have neither the skills nor the time (Rampage is 32 and Hamill is 34) to become a force in the division.

In that sense then, the fight is not main event-worthy. However, the UFC has grown to such a size that the main itself is not as important as the UFC brand itself.

The UFC has—arguably since UFC 72—been selling cards on brand name alone and will likely continue to do so.

Is this a sordid practice? Hardly, unless you are one who believes in “Zuffa zombies.”

The UFC usually puts on quality fights regardless of the name value of the fighters. Despite the fact that Rampage will likely never own a belt again, and Hamill will likely never own one to begin with, the card will still sell because of the brand name attached to it.

For better or for worse, any main event attached to a UFC card is main event-worthy by virtue of it being the main event of a UFC-caliber card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Is Brock Lesnar Cowardly Ducking Junior Dos Santos?

When Brock Lesnar pulled out of his UFC 131 fight with Junior Dos Santos, he immediately set off a firestorm of speculation about his motives and place in mixed martial arts.Questioning Lesnar’s heart has been a popular pastime for many fans of the UFC…

When Brock Lesnar pulled out of his UFC 131 fight with Junior Dos Santos, he immediately set off a firestorm of speculation about his motives and place in mixed martial arts.

Questioning Lesnar’s heart has been a popular pastime for many fans of the UFC and of MMA because as we all know, “Lesnar isn’t a real fighter.”

Lesnar’s history as a professional “fake wrestler” once again rears its head as people question him and whether his illness isn’t just another phony part of what some MMA fans see as an illegitimate MMA career.

Here’s everything you need to know about Brock Lesnar’s illness and what it says about his career in MMA.

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Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, Edgar & Maynard: How Losing Them Impacts UFC PPV Buys

The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter wil…

The UFC has recently run into a string of bad luck, losing their next two pay-per-view card’s main events due to injury and illness.

First, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were both injured while training for their UFC 130 main event. Neither fighter will be able to compete on the May 28 card, as Edgar has back issues while Maynard has sustained a knee injury.

Due to the short notice, the new main event of UFC 130 will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill.

On Thursday, the promotion revealed that Brock Lesnar would be forced out of his UFC 131 main event battle with Junior dos Santos due to a recurrence of the diverticulitis that forced him out of action for a year, earlier in his career.

The UFC moved fast, replacing Lesnar with Shane Carwin, who was already scheduled to fight on the June 11 card with his original opponent being Jon Olav Einemo.

Jon Jones is another fighter whose loss will be felt by the UFC in 2011. Jones was set to face his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans when a hand injury forced him out of that fight.

At the time Jones withdrew from the fight, there was no official date or location for the Jones versus Evans match up, but they hype for that fight had been building even before Jones defeated “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight championship in March.

Phil Davis has been booked in Jones’ place and he will face Evans at UFC 133, which will take place on Aug. 6.

Bleacher Report takes a look at how the injuries and illness could impact the pay-per-view buys for these upcoming events.

All UFC PPV numbers provided by MMAPayout.com Blue Book.

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