Jump to content

Chris2K

Members
  • Posts

    412
  • Joined

Everything posted by Chris2K

  1. <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="roqtX3E.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/roqtX3E.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">BULLDOG BRAWL 3: DE MELO vs. ELLERY</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Preliminary Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #1</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="qCpHsEo.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qCpHsEo.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="JsBMpAz.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JsBMpAz.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Kevin Sponge (3-0) vs. Duane Kyle (0-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Kyle gets a decent reaction from the sparse crowd, although anyone with family and friends here tonight will be able to hear them considering there's less than 100 fans in the building. Kyle immediately starts looking to grapple with Sponge but only walks into a left hand and a straight right from Sponge which lands hard. Sponge continues to out-strike Kyle in the opening minute, landing a nice combination of jabs and a right cross, and follows that with another jab and right hand when Kyle tries to grapple again. Sponge connects with a jab and a body kick; he then misses a jab but does connect with a straight right which leaves a slight cut under the eye of Kyle. It looks as if Kyle is reluctant to move in now after getting peppered by shots from the beginning, but that doesn't matter as Sponge takes the initiative himself and moves in to land a jab and another straight right, before following up with a kick to the side of the head which leaves Kyle stunned! Sponge continues to move in and lands a big right hand to the jaw which knocks Kyle down! Sponge starts pounding away on Kyle to try and finish him off, and Kyle is barely able to offer any defence as the punches keep landing, unsurprisingly the referee soon pulls Sponge away to stop Kyle taking any more damage which gives Sponge the victory! It's a good win for Sponge, but Kyle looks very out of his depth and I don't think we'll be seeing him on a major stage again for a while.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Kevin Sponge (4-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 2:38 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight</strong>: Kevin Sponge thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #2</strong></p><p><strong> Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="IbIHoFc.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IbIHoFc.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="6j38UmZ.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6j38UmZ.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Stephan de Winter (11-0) vs. Ranieri Fernanda (10-3)</strong></p><p> </p><p> I think de Winter is a big talent, but if anyone can stop him it's likely to be a powerful grappler like Fernanda. De Winter is usually a counter-striker but he comes out aggressively here, perhaps thinking that Fernanda isn't likely to throw many strikes to counter, and within the opening minute de Winter has connected with a right hook, a right cross, and another hard right hook. De Winter continues the pressure with a jab and a big right, following that with a left/right combination and then a left hand before a big right misses. Fernanda is not offering anything here as he cannot get in close enough to de Winter to grapple with him without getting peppered with hard punches. In the end he makes tries to tempt de Winter into throwing a big strike by darting in, unfortunately for the Brazilian that's exactly what de Winter does, and a crunching straight left lands to the jaw of Fernanda and knocks him down! In a flash de Winter is on the ground unleashing powerful left hands to the head of the fallen Fernanda, and there's nothing that Fernanda can do to get out of trouble until the referee pulls de Winter away! A brutal finish from de Winter who showcased his striking talents in front of a much bigger audience than usual, and it puts him straight into title contention, if BMMA can keep him that is...</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Stephan de Winter (12-0) via TKO (Strikes)</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Stephan de Winter thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull. Yes, I'm just going to repeat that if that's all they're going to say.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #3</strong></p><p><strong> Middleweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="hsR7mhd.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hsR7mhd.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="MrgH6nc.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/MrgH6nc.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Frederico Vergara (8-0) vs. Edu Gattai (8-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Two first round finishes in a row, are we set for another entire BMMA card of them? Frederico Vergara seems to want another one here as he comes out very aggressively to start the fight, landing a left hook followed by a jab/straight combination, and he continues to land shots in the opening minute with a body punch followed by a jab and another left hand to the body. Vergara scores with another punch to the ribs as that sets up a left cross that lands hard, meanwhile Gattai finally lands a jab after avoiding a big left. Vergara continues to be completely dominant in the striking game landing a right hand, a left hook, a straight left, another hook and another straight left in the space of a minute, unsurprisingly Gattai's face is getting battered and a small cut has opened up under his eye. Vergara lands a jab and a straight left to continue his dominance, but it's coming at a cost though as he is definitely starting to tire a bit. That doesn't stop him catching Gattai with another three-punch combination and a hard left cross before the round ends though to complete a very one-sided round.</p><p> </p><p> Gattai has to do something different in the second round, however it starts exactly the same with Vergara landing jab and a straight left, however Gattai is able to avoid the next few punches from Vergara and gets close enough to clinch with the Mexican. Gattai is able to push Vergara back against the cage and that is where the next two minutes of the fight takes place, Gattai landing the occasional punch on the inside but other than that there is very little action. The referee finally decides to separate them, not a moment too soon, and as soon as they're separated Gattai goes for a takedown, Vergara sees it coming through and avoids it. allowing him to connect with a jab and a body punch. Gattai keeps trying to get in close again, but Vergara is making sure to stay out of reach, that is until Gattai moves in and Vergara is waiting for him with a vicious left hook that drops him! Vergara starts pounding away on Gattai to finish him off, and the Brazilian can do nothing but lay there getting punched in the head until the referee stops the fight! Another TKO victory, another impressive performance by the winner, and another fighting remaining undefeated tonight.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Frederico Vergara (9-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:16 of Round 2</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Decent</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong>Frederico Vergara thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull. Yes, I'm just going to repeat that if that's all they're going to say. And that.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #4</strong></p><p><strong> Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="nScngYq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nScngYq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ghwkaD0.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ghwkaD0.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Dag Kreuger (10-0) vs. Leandro Piquet (20-11)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Can Kreuger be the next fighter to remain undefeated? We'll have to see, although it could be a while given that neither fighter seems to want to push the pace in the opening minute. Piquet finally makes the first move, but a missed right cross allows Kreuger to counter with a jab/left hook combination. Things begin to pick up as Piquet lands a jab, Kreuger lands a one/two combination and then avoids a right cross to land a right hand of his own which leaves a cut on Piquet. Another exchange of strikes sees Piquet land a jab and a nice body kick, but Kreuger fires straight back with a jab of his own and a nice left hook. Both fighters have really stepped it up now and are throwing flurries of punches without a whole lot of accuracy, Kreuger is landing the most strikes though as he does a good job of avoiding any body kicks that Piquet goes for. We get a slight delay as the doctor comes in to check Piquet's cut, but it's under his eye so it's not too dangerous. I don't think there's been a fight stopped for a cut in Bulldog MMA yet. Once we're back Piquet dodges a left hand and scores with a quick left hook, however Kreuger keeps moving forward and connects with a three strikes combination, the last of which is a left cross which rocks Piquet! The Brazilian backs himself against the cage to keep him upright, but Krueger follows him and lands another left hand which Piquet is somehow able to survive, however Kreuger connects with another one and that knocks Piquet out cold! A brutal finish to the fight, Piquet tried his best to stay in it but those punches from Kreuger had too much behind them.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Dag Kreuger (11-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 4:44 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Good</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight: </strong>Dag Kreuger thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull. Yes, I'm just going to repeat that if that's all they're going to say. And that. And again.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #5</strong></p><p><strong> Welterweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="w9YzXlR.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/w9YzXlR.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="lc6TN8f.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/lc6TN8f.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Teco (16-6) vs. Juan de Castro (10-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> The betting odds for this one are even, something you don't see very often. No undefeated fighters here, so no records to maintain. This one gets off to a very slow start with neither fighter able to land anything meaningful, it's de Castro who finally lands something decent, but that's only a jab and a leg kick. Teco scores with a jab but misses a right hook, he then lands a leg kick and de Castro lands a body kick. We're halfway through the round now and I've reported every shot that's landed. It's not great. Teco lands a quick left hook but misses a high kick, de Castro lands a jab but misses a big right hand, and finally a combination lands for de Castro with a quick left/right. Teco glares across the cage at de Castro but that doesn't result in any extra aggression, and the only strike that lands in the remainder of the round is a jab from de Castro. The second round begins with a head kick from de Castro glancing the head of Teco, a few moments later Teco tries one of his own which misses entirely. Both fighters continue their lack of aggression with only jabs landing for the next two minutes, Teco finally lands a left hook to end the stalemate, but his attempt at a head kick doesn't work again as de Castro is able to catch it and tries turning it into a takedown. Teco hops his way out of the situation to remain on his feet, but doesn't learn his lesson as his very next strike is a head kick which de Castro again catches, and again Teco is able to somehow get out of trouble before he is taken down. The remainder of the round is back to the jab-fest we've had previously with only a brief exchange of left hooks at the end.</p><p> </p><p> I've just realised I'm supposed to be keeping track of the score here but from what we've seen so far, it's almost impossible to judge. Let's just say one round each. Teco moves out more aggressively in the final round but it's de Castro who lands the first good shot with a left hand, Teco then misses a big right, then misses some jabs and misses a leg kick. Next, it's de Castro missing a jab and a head kick, then misses a right hook allowing to Teco to finally land something, even if it is just a pair of jabs. To spare us any more of this madness de Castro thankfully takes the fight into a Muay Thai clinch and Teco is too tired to avoid it, de Castro lands some knee to the ribs but it doesn't have much power behind it. Teco tries to wrestle himself free but cannot, then after thirty seconds of nothing, de Castro blasts Teco in the face with a big knee strike which knocks him out cold! Talk about out of nowhere, nobody was even sure what happened there for a moment as from most angles it looked like Teco just fell to the ground of his accord, but the one TV monitor we had here thankfully cleared up the confusion.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Juan de Castro (11-1) via Knock Out (Knee) -3:54 of Round 3</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Decent</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight: </strong>Juan de Castro thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull. Yes, I'm just going to repeat that if that's all they're going to say. And that. And again. This time it was in Portuguese.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Card</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #6</strong></p><p><strong> Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="uZXjD5G.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uZXjD5G.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="8IcWRe3.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8IcWRe3.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Allen LeFleur (9-0) vs. Emerson Mori Nunes (3-0)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Two undefeated fighters, so somebody's 0 is gonna go, but one will at least carry on the streak. I think we all know who that's going to be. LeFleur starts the fight by landing a left hand and a straight right, Nunes meanwhile seems like he wants to grapple with LeFleur as his ground game should be superior. LeFleur lands a hard right cross and another left hand, he then catches Nunes with another right hand as Nunes moves in to clinch, however when they do grapple it's LeFleur who is able to get control. LeFleur attempts to wrestle Nunes to the ground and does so easily, I doubt Nunes offered much resistance, however the Brazilian probably didn't count on LeFleur being able to secure side control on the way down. LeFleur immediately goes for an armbar, but Nunes is too good at jiu-jitsu to get caught by that, LeFleur's next submission attempt is an arm triangle but Nunes defends against that as well. LeFleur sensibly gives up on the submission idea and moves to try and move into the mount, Nunes rolls to try and avoid it but in doing so gives up his back, and LeFleur gets both hooks applied to control the position. From the rear mount LeFleur starts hammering Nunes with some powerful punches to the face, Nunes seems more content on stopping a choke being applied to defend them, and the referee steps in to stop the fight! Nunes might have grounds for complaint there, he only had five seconds left in the round, but the referee isn't supposed to take that into his decision-making. LeFleur remains undefeated, but if he fights in BMMA again it will no doubt be a tougher test.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Allen LeFleur (10-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:55 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Good</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight: </strong>Allen LeFleur is my hero as we finally get a change to the usual rhetoric, he still thanks his fans and sponsors but also takes time to answer Gustavo Spagnol's challenge from the previous show, saying he'll fight him any time, any place. That's the spirit.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #7</strong></p><p><strong> Middleweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="5ALUvUi.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5ALUvUi.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="cLVAHZs.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cLVAHZs.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Tucker Plumm (17-12) vs. Augustus Shorrock (8-3)</strong></p><p> </p><p> It's still weird to see Tucker Plumm fighting outside of the BCF, but here we are. It is a really slow start to the fight as both fighters don't want to move in, in fact it's not until over 80 seconds into the fight when Plumm lands a meaningful strike with a right hook. Plumm finally starts to move forward and pressure Shorrock, the veteran connects with a nice jab and one of his signature head kicks, but it's another thirty seconds before Plumm lands again with a right cross. Shorrock is showing his lack of striking ability here but is also doing absolutely nothing to try and grapple with Plumm either, he just looks lost. Plumm lands a nice jab/cross combination, Shorrock at least throws a punch but his left hook isn't close to connecting. Plumm continues to move forward, lands two jabs, and then another one of those head kicks which catches Shorrock flush, and that's enough to send him crashing to the floor! Plumm moves in quickly and begins landing hard punches, several powerful shots get through and leave Shorrock even more rocked, he's not going to get out of this, and the referee stops the fight before Shorrock takes any more damage! Another first round stoppage on the show, they'll be running out of footage before too long. It's the first win for Tucker Plumm for a long time, I've been a fan of his since I can remember so it's great to see him back in the winner’s circle.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Tucker Plumm (18-12) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:41 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight: </strong>Tucker Plumm thanks his sponsors, celebrates his debut win, and says he's looking forward to his next fight. How dull. Yes, I'm just going to repeat that if that's all they're going to say. And that. And again. You let me down, Tucker.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Preliminary Fight - Kevin Sponge vs. Duane Kyle is aired on Euro Cable Sport 1</strong></p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Fight #8</strong></p><p><strong> BMMA Heavyweight Title Match</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="3Q5R1Oh.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3Q5R1Oh.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="FG4sGBd.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FG4sGBd.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Vitor de Melo (8-1) vs. Hayden Ellery (4-0)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Time to crown a new champion, maybe this one will last a little longer than one title defence before leaving. Ellery gets a good reaction from the fans he has in attendance; he might need more than support here though. Ellery knows he has to grapple to have a chance here and risks having to deal with de Melo's power to move in close enough to do so, he is successful in starting a clinch but ends up losing control of it to de Melo straight away. That's not ideal for him. De Melo goes for a takedown which Ellery is able to defend, so de Melo gives up on it and breaks a part. De Melo lands the first strike of the fight with a right hand, he follows that with a right cross and a straight right and continues to stalk Ellery who is certainly not moving in to grapple right now. A jab from de Melo sets up a big right hand which Ellery does well to avoid, he can't avoid a right cross though which opens up a big cut over his right eye and starts bleeding immediately. Ellery moves in to clinch again but gets caught by a right hand and a right cross for his trouble, that doesn't dissuade Ellery though who starts the grapple, only for de Melo to out-muscle hi again and take control of it. De Melo executes a nice outside leg trip to get the fight to the ground and also lands in side control, from there he starts unloading powerful punches to the head of Ellery which do a lot of damage, as evidenced by the amount of blood now on Ellery's face. Ellery tries to turn away to avoid the punches but only succeeds in giving up his back to de Melo, however fortune is on the Englishman's side as the round ends before de Melo can do anything else.</p><p> </p><p> Ellery looks battered already, and he still might have four rounds to go of this. He doesn't seem to have learned anything from the first round though as he immediately tries to clinch, and just as before de Melo out-wrestles him. De Melo attempts a takedown which Ellery blocks, so de Melo breaks the clinch. Exactly the same as the first round. Now back in a striking battle de Melo continues to control the fight, lading a nice straight right hand, and then a second which re-opens the cut over Ellery's eye. De Melo lands two more straight rights, each one seemingly targeting the cut, before a big left hand is followed by a big right hand. Ellery appears to be dealing with the shots well enough, but you have to wonder if he can actually see them coming with all the blood in his eyes. De Melo continues to land big punches before the referee steps in and pauses the fight for the doctor to check on Ellery's cut. The doctor takes about five seconds to decide it's too dangerous to continue, it's a horrifying looking gash which isn't going get closed without a lot of stitches. The crowd boo, nobody likes a fight getting stopped on medical grounds, but from a rational perspective this is the only decision that can be made. What it does mean is that Vitor de Melo is the new BMMA Heavyweight Champion!</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner, and NEW BMMA Heavyweight Champion: Vitor de Melo (9-1) via TKO (Medical Stoppage - Cut) - 3:43 of Round 2</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Average</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight: </strong>Dave White is in the cage to provide translation, Vitor de Melo thanks his team, KO Fighters, for training him for the fight, he isn't happy about the fight ending the way it did but is happy to be the Heavyweight champion.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Show Details</strong></p><p> </p><p> Attendance: 90</p><p> Critical Rating: 71%</p><p> Commercial Rating: 34%</p><p> Popularity Change:</p><p> </p><p> UK: +0.4%</p><p> Europe: +0.3%</p><p> Russia: +0.2%</p><p> </p><p> Fight of the Night: Tucker Plumm vs. Augustus Shorrock</p><p> Knock Out of the Night: Juan de Castro and Dag Kreuger</p><p> Submission of the Night: None</p><p> </p><p> Income</p><p> </p><p> Gate: $7,931</p><p> Sponsorship: $8,405</p><p> Merchandise: $2,396</p><p> Advertising/Subscriptions: $93,277</p><p> </p><p> Expenditure</p><p> </p><p> Fighters: $43,168</p><p> Drug Testing: $6,400</p><p> Production: $14,901</p><p> </p><p> Total: +$47,540</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Other News</strong></p><p> </p><p> - We recently reported that GAMMA had made a speculative offer to Heiji Endo for ALPHA-1's star Middleweight to move to their promotion, we can now reveal that the offer was matched by ALPHA-1 and Endo has decided to remain in Japan.</p><p> </p><p> - Now there is a similar situation in reverse as long-time GAMMA Lightweight kingpin Sean Morrison has been offered a deal to move to ALPHA-1. Morrison has been suffering from a significant downturn in form recently and there's a chance he might see a change of scenery as a way to revitalise his career.</p><p> </p><p> - Will Kane will also be staying at ALPHA-1 despite what has been called a "ridiculous offer" from Bulldog MMA, ridiculous given the size of their company and the money they were offering. If anything, they should probably be thankful that Kane opted to turn them down.</p><p> </p><p> - BMMA were a bit more sensible for the hires they actually did make though, bringing in Casim Yenkini, Julio Gutierrez and Manny van Post.</p><p> </p><p> - GAMMA have made two cuts following their most recent show, Truck Gleeson and Steve Mason are no longer with the company.</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Other Shows</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Saturday, Week 3 of September 2002</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>SIGMA: Tariverdiev vs. Gevor</strong></p><p> </p><p> Oleg Tariverdiev def. Artak Gevor to retain the SIGMA Middleweight title</p><p> Jaromir Grygera def. Luka Hajek</p><p> Hans Christian Bloch def. Heiko Pander</p><p> Tomas Ilic def. Pentti Rovanpera</p><p> Michael Klaughnschue def. Frankie Burgess</p><p> Manny van Post def. Otto Renner</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Sunday, Week 3 of September 2002</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>XCC: Frye vs. Linderman</strong></p><p> </p><p> Easton Frye def. Ian Linderman</p><p> Duane Weatherley def. Ralph Concannon</p><p> Vince Dahl def. Brendon Job</p><p> Jimmy Schott def. Rory McEnterry</p><p> Alejandro Laguera def. Noah Smithee</p><p> Si Merryweather def. Aiden Weinstein</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Saturday, Week 4 of September 2002</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48581" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Former champions show resurgence at BCF Best of British</strong><p> </p><p> The BCF were back for the sixth edition of their Best of British TV show, and it was headlined by two former champions taking on young challengers. Former Middleweight champion Davis Spyrou went the full five rounds with Hans-Peter Schneider before coming away with a unanimous decision victory, and former Welterweight champion David Webb was able to submit Walter May with a rear naked choke.</p><p> </p><p> Elsewhere on the card there were victories for Jerome Atkins who defeated Robert Darrell by decision, Rupert Lennox who knocked out Sid Morgan, and Eddie Whelan who defeated former BMMA fighter Clarence Gibson with a second round knock out.</p><p> </p><p> Another former BMMA fighter fought, and lost, on the preliminary card as Cullen Skink lost to Jochen Bellof. There were preliminary card wins for Constantin Burlacu, Tyke Milligan, Henning Olsen and Roko Stipanovic.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <strong>GAMMA 62: Silva vs. Brubaker</strong></p><p> </p><p> Manuel Silva def. Bobby Brubaker to retain the GAMMA Welterweight title</p><p> Jake Keane def. Sean Morrison</p><p> Lawrence Herringbone def. Wink Deschanel</p><p> Gaby Corrales def. Sylvester Collins</p><p> Wilson Franklyn def. Paulie Albarado</p><p> Garth Neill def. Zeke Eliot</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Friday, Week 1 of October 2002</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>ALPHA-1: Yamamoto vs. de Andrade</strong></p><p> </p><p> Go Yamamoto def. Caca de Andrade</p><p> Manobu Sekozawa def. Tomoji Takaoka</p><p> Ieyoshi Yamasheeta def. Katsunosuki Nakata</p><p> Grzegorz Boniek def. Tadasu Tsukahara</p><p> Zachary Nobell def. Ben Lees</p><p> Chew Chua def. Rich Robinson</p><p> </p><p> I can't remember there being a fighter who has left Bulldog MMA for an exclusive contract elsewhere who has actually won a fight in their new company. Maybe I'll make that point when I'm trying to keep hold of the next one being poached...</p></div><p></p><p></p>
  2. *ring ring* *ring ring* Jerome: "What do you want?" Harry: "Oh you know, thought I'd give my former boss a ring, see how things are going. Ask how those fighters you've poached from us are getting on." Jerome: "Well firstly, things are going great, the BCF has had its most profitable quarter in our history thanks to our PPV shows. You might not know what profit is, it's when you run a show and you're not running around afterwards looking for loose change on the ground to pay your fighters with." Harry: "I'm well aware of profit thanks, our TV shows bring in a healthy profit every time." Jerome: "Well that's not really your money is it, it's what your TV network feels like giving you. Since TV viewing figures became an impossibility to register nobody really knows what numbers to work from." Harry: "Yes, it is weird how the ability to calculate viewing figures was suddenly forgotten by the human race on one Thursday in 2001." Jerome: "You're telling me. Anyway, run a show which people actually pay to watch then you can talk profit, rather than viewers leaving the TV on after watching something else. Secondly, the fighters we completely legally signed who were under no contractual obligation to stay at your company have not been faring well. My guess is that the huge step up in competition from your rinky-dink organisation has shown they're not ready to compete at our level." Harry: "Profit is profit Jerome. I remember you mocking us about going out of business, offering me a deal to go back to fighting, but now Bulldog MMA is making money every month and we're only going to get stronger. And you're talking out of your backside, Aston Merryman is going to be a top star in the Heavyweight ranks and your first idea is to put him against someone who exploits his weaknesses and lose his undefeated record." Jerome: "If he's as good as you think then he should have won the fight, simple as." Harry: "Young fighters take time to develop, you should know thatm being the mega-promoter you claim to be." Jerome: "There's no time to develop here Harry, it's the BCF, we're where the big boys play. There's no easy fights, no warm-ups, no lesser talent to feed to young up-and-comers, every fight are two warriors. If you want to challenge us you're going to have to realise that the fans care about rankings and champions, not wins and losses or what might happen two-three months down the line." Harry: "Well that's where we disagree. Obviously we want to put on the best fights in the present, but looking to the future is just as important. We've got a really strong base of young fighters with great potential but we're not going to throw the strongest ones at each other right away." Jerome: "That's madness. This is MMA, you can't control the outcomes, one upset loss and your big start of the future has lost every bit of hype they ever had. Anyway, I don't know why I'm giving you advice, but thanks for letting me know about those young fighters and their potential, I'll make sure our guys give them a call and offer them a spot with us. You know they won't turn us down, or you'll bankrupt yourselves trying to keep them." Harry: "You keep making these threats, yet we keep on getting stronger both financially and in our footing in the MMA world. We're not going anywhere, and I think you're finally starting to realise that now." Jerome: "You're forgetting that we're growing every day as well, and as far behind as you are now is the same distance you'll always be. There's nothing you can do to overtake us, and maybe you're the one who should start realising that." Harry: "We'll see. Goodbye Jerome. Pleasure chatting, as always." ------------------------------------------ Press Release by Mike Thomson BULLDOG BRAWL 3 TO CROWN NEW BMMA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION Bulldog MMA return for the third installment of their TV show on Euro Cable Sport 1, and due to the ever-growing roster for the British company they have been able to expand their card to 8 fights, with 1 preliminary fight and 7 on the show itself. Headlining this show will be the crowning of the second Bulldog MMA Heavyweight champion, Vitor de Melo takes on Hayden Ellery to see who takes home the title that Aston Merryman vacated back in May. The only preliminary fight on the card will be in the Lightweight division as BMMA newcomer Kevin Sponge (3-0), and what a name that is, takes on Duane Kyle (0-1). The wonderfully named Mr. Sponge arrives in Bulldog MMA from Canada where he has competed on the regional scene, and during the three fights he had he stood out due to the flashy kicks he used. In many ways he's the Canadian Liu Kang. A trainee in taekwondo from an early age, Sponge is a very good striker and is happy to stand and trade with anyone no matter their reputation. This year he has fought twice at Canadian shows before he moved to the UK, both fights ended in head kick knock outs inside 2 minutes, so he definitely has power in those feet of his. Duane Kyle only started competing in MMA this year having previously had a successful time on the British amateur wrestling scene, but that doesn't pay anything (hence the amateur) so fighting was where he went. His grappling is unsurprisingly his strong point, his striking definitely isn't as was proven when he lost by second round TKO to Shawn McCarthy at BMMA 6. Kyle is going to need to improve the rest of his game quickly, particularly as he is already at a disadvantage by being a Featherweight having to fight up at Lightweight. Starting off the main show will be a Light Heavyweight division match between two very talented fighters, Stephan de Winter (11-0) will take on Ranieri Fernanda (10-3). Stephan de Winter is considered one of the best counter-strikes in the world thanks to his lightning fast reflexes and hand speed, he also possesses good technique and power for good measure. When you also consider he has trained hard on his takedown defence to stop grapplers from getting him to the ground it seems like he has all the tools to be a major player. De Winter has been a regular in SIGMA over the last couple of years and has won all four fights there against Gavriil Sviridov, Jacob Matthaus, Nicolai Mickiewicz and Sebastian Pardo. Ranieri Fernanda is another one of the many Brazilians who has moved to the UK for more fighting opportunities, and he is one of the best ones to have arrived. Fernanda is a powerfully built man who is primarily a wrestler, his main tactic is to get in close with opponents and use his raw strength to overpower them. This game plan often results in Fernanda grinding out victories rather than getting finishes which doesn't make him a particular fan favourite, however his talent cannot be denied. Fernanda has fought twice in 2002 at South American shows, first a win over Oscarino Baptista, but he suffered a very surprising defeat to Magno Peres Arruda in his most recent fight. The second fight on the main card will be in the Middleweight division when Frederico Vergara (8-0) takes on Edu Gattai (8-1). Frederico Vergara is one of Mexico's brightest young fighters, and given his look and talent many people are surprised that GAMMA have not snapped him up to help their attempt to build a stronger presence in the Latin American market. Vergara comes from a boxing background and utilises that to have very fast hands with decent power behind them, however he is one of the sensible fighters of the current generatiion who has trained significantly in all areas of MMA to fill the holes in his game. What might work against Vergara is that he hasn't fought in over 18 months, not even on a local Mexican show, so may be a bit rusty when he gets inside the cage. Edu Gattai is another immigrant from Brazil looking for more regular fights in the UK, he is one of the larger Middleweights around and could probably fight at Light Heavyweight without too much of a problem. He puts his bulk to good use with powerful punches and the ability to smother opponents with his grappling, however the disadvantage he has is that he is often outpaced by his opponents. He signed for Bulldog MMA almost as soon as he stepped off the plane and has fought once already, losing via decision in a close fight to Thom Billings, who is now in the BCF, at BMMA 6. One of Europe's best Light Heavyweight prospects takes on a South American veteran next when Dag Kreuger (10-0) squares off Leandro Piquet (20-11). Dag Kreuger represents the future of Swedish MMA, taking over that mantle from Featherweight Lukas Mellberg, he is the true definition of a powerhouse fighter who uses his strength to set up his excellent takedowns, and once on the ground he has brutal ground and pound to finish the fight with. The remainder of his game is solid and consistent, and he has shown a truly Scandanavian level of coolness under pressure in his fights so far, if he is able to develop a striking game to a good level he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Another SIGMA fighter, he has fought three times for the European company with wins over Andranik Paletilolu, Alekos Karabatsos and Emil Karlsson. Leandro Piquet is a veteran of Brazilian MMA heading back to the early days of FLB, and has a cult following in his homeland thanks to his flashy and unorthodox striking game usually providing a lot of entertainment for the fans. Piquet was considered an elite level Light Heavyweight during the peak of his career, but he has suffered a drastic decline in the last couple of years, going 1-5 in his last six fights for FLB, and suffering a defeat to fellow veteran Pedro Sousa on a South American show this year. This move to the UK might be the last chance Piquet has to rebuild his career. It's an all Brazilian affair next when Teco (16-6) takes on Juan de Castro (10-1) in the Welterweight division. Teco is a fighter who loves to use a spectacular head kick to try and finish a fight, even if a simpler option would be more suitable. As well as the spectacular he tries to overwhelm his opponents with a high volume of kicks, and if you think this makes him sound one-dimensional, then you're right; he has very little in grappling skills. After arriving in the UK he immediately signed with Bulldog MMA, and fought against Thomas O'Cann at BMMA 6 in what may the biggest mis-match in MMA history. Naturally, Teco destroyed him in just 79 seconds. Juan de Castro is a solid fighter who comes from a Muay Thai background, that gives him the technique to be a dangerous striker and has some good power too, meaning he can do damage with strikes either standing or on the ground. What he certainly doesn't have is any grappling skills, and if he is put in a standard wrestling clinch or taken down he is pretty much done for. Having spoken to a South American journalist there are a lot of people who think his 10-1 record is more to do with clever match-making than his actual talent. He has fought once 2002, a win over Washington Nogueira Santos on a South American regional show, Santos being a 35 year old journeyman fighter, perhaps proving the point about the level of his opponents. We're back in the Light Heavyweight division once more for the next fight as two undefeated fighters collide, Allen LeFleur (9-0) takes on Emerson Mori Nunes (3-0). Montreal's Allen LeFleur is one of Canada's biggest young talents, both in terms of ability and in size, he's not nicknamed the Chunky Monkey for nothing. A former wrestler, he uses his ability to cut significant weight to get down to the 205lb limit for Light Heavyweight, giving him a significant size and strength advantage over everyone else in the division. His wrestling skills are his biggest weapon, but he has trained hard in kick boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to make him a threat in most areas of the game. His wide skillset has been shown this year with two victories on the Canadian regional scene, one via TKO and one via submission. There is no questioning his talent, so realistically it is only a matter of time before one of the big two companies try to go for him. Emerson Mori Nunes is no small fry either, he would be the bigger man in most fights, just not against LeFleur, and he is very much a submission specialist with the armbar his go-to move in most situations, he can seemingly grab an arm and get an armbar applied from almost any position. As with most fighters who have such a primary focus the rest of his game has fallen way behind, and his striking skills are barely worth mentioning. His takedown defence is not great, but given his skill off his back that may actually work in his favour. Nunes has fought twice this year, both on South American shows, and both times scoring submission wins with first round armbars. The co-main event sees two former BCF fighters find their way into a BMMA cage following their release from the "other" UK promotion, Tucker Plumm (17-12) will take on Augustus Shorrock (8-3) in the Middleweight division. It is hard to think of Tucker Plumm fighting outside of the BCF, he was their first ever Middleweight champion when he defeated Rob Baines all the way back in April 1996. He has good stand-up skills and loves throwing out a head kick, his grappling does not seem to have improved with age but he has studied to be able to defend himself against submissions on the ground. Winning the title was very much the peak of Plumm's career, he lost it to Davis Spyrou shortly afterwards and never even got another shot afterwards. Recently he has suffered losses to Hans-Peter Schneider, Snuffy Fontana and Ram Phookan, and his history with the BCF wasn't enough to stop them from cutting him. Augustus Shorrock also knows what it's like to be cut by the BCF, even if he wasn't there for half the time Plumm was. Shorrock's usual game plan is to use his power and grappling ability to get the fight to the ground, and from there pummel his opponent with ground and pound. This game plan is very much his only tactic, and as soon as he was put in with stronger fighters in the BCF it was quickly noted and his lack of striking ability was exploited. That said, he did win his BCF debut against Billy Fish, but subsequently lost to Ivor Orr and Snuffy Fontana before being cut despite his relatively strong record. Finally the Main Event of the evening will crown a new BMMA Heavyweight champion as Vitor de Melo (8-1) takes on Hayden Ellery (4-0) fight over the currently vacant title. Vitor de Melo is yet another Brazilian now plying his trade in the UK, but he also may prove to be the best of the lot. Despite suffering a surprise loss to Raimundo Pinheiro in the dying days of FLB he is still a dangerous competitor due to his incredibly powerful punches, with that natural strength also transferring to his grappling ability. His only real weakness is if he ends up on his back, as was proven in the loss to Pinheiro, but if he is able to improve that facet of his game he will be a force for years to come. He earned this title opportunity by defeating Fritz Phipps with a brutal knock out BMMA 6 in a fight that many expected Phipps to win, but it was a display that catapulted him to the top of the Heavyweight rankings. Hayden Ellery began his MMA career more known for his talking and personality than his actual fighting, but in recent months he has shown himself to be perfectly cromulent in the cage as well as on the microphone. His preferred tactic is to get in close and tie his opponent up in a clinch, something he does to try and make up for the lack of striking skill he has despite training in kick boxing from an early age. His first fight in Bulldog MMA was a fairytale story, he was a late replacement for Fritz Phipps with only six days notice before the fight, but still was able to defeat Lachlen Bowen by first round TKO, evidently his kick boxing skills aren't completely gone. He has fought a second time in BMMA with a unanimous decision victory win over Henry Hooper at BMMA 7 in what was a Worst Fight of the Year contender due to the amount of clinching and lack of action, and by fighting here he will be the first person to have three BMMA fights. BULLDOG BRAWL 3: DE MELO vs. ELLERY FIGHT CARD Preliminary Card Lightweight Division Kevin Sponge (3-0) vs. Duane Kyle (0-1) Main Card Light Heavyweight Division Stephan de Winter (11-0) vs. Ranieri Fernanda (10-3) Middleweight Division Frederico Vergara (8-0) vs. Edu Gattai (8-1) Light Heavyweight Division Dag Kreuger (10-0) vs. Leandro Piquet (20-11) Welterweight Division Teco (16-6) vs. Juan de Castro (10-1) Light Heavyweight Division Allen LeFleur (9-0) vs. Emerson Mori Nunes (3-0) Co-Main Event Middleweight Division Tucker Plumm (17-12) vs. Augustus Shorrock (8-3) MAIN EVENT BMMA Heavyweight Title Match (vacant) Vitor de Melo (8-1) vs. Hayden Ellery (4-0)
  3. <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">BMMA 11: SPAGNOL vs. GRANVILLE</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight #1</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="6lYvNrQ.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6lYvNrQ.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dtgJtWU.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dtgJtWU.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Duey Rickert (9-5) vs. Tommy Ray (1-0)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Local boy Rickert gets a decent reaction from the fans in attendance, and that fan interest is multiplied during a first round full of action. Both fighters have no problem in standing and trading strikes, Rickert uses his hand speed to deliver some very good combinations whilst Ray is more varied in using both punches and kicks. Not all Rickert's strikes land but he maintains a frenetic pace throughout the round and never seems to take a step back at any point. Ray is more strategic in the strikes he throws, but the ones he does land have more behind them such as a roundhouse kick to the body. In the final moments of the round Rickert can land another combination and Ray comes away from it with a cut over his right eye, Rickert himself has gash under his eye so both fighters are already bleeding. Shortly into the second round we get the strange occurrence of the doctor coming in to check a cut for both fighters, both are fine though so on we go. Rickert continues his pure volume of strikes but gets caught by a right head kick from Ray which leaves him stunned! Ray follows up with a right cross but Rickert is able to avoid it, and then dodges a second head kick moments later so is seemingly back to his senses. Rickert starts throwing some kicks of his own to end his combinations, however his accuracy is starting to fall, meanwhile Ray is continuing to land good shots at the same rate as the rest of the fight.</p><p> </p><p> The fight seems to be pretty evenly balanced as we enter the final round, which isn't quite as crazy as the first two with both fighters starting to feel the burn from their activity in the opening ten minutes, Ray is able land a jab/leg kick combination but gets met by another blitz of strikes from Rickert, however another leg kick lands from Ray shortly afterwards and Rickert is starting to limp a bit which will hinder his manic style. Ray loads up a big right hand which misses leaving himself open to some jabs from Rickert, and the same thing happens shortly afterwards when Ray misses a right hook. With just over a minute left in the fight Ray misses a jab but follows it with another head kick which lands flush, and again Rickert is stunned! This time Rickert stumbles back against the cage and Ray follows up with another head kick which knocks him down! Ray starts unloading with punches to the grounded Rickert with most of them getting through, and the referee is forced to jump in and stop the fight. It was a really good performance from Rickert who has probably won himself some new fans despite his defeat, however it's Ray who walks away the winner thanks to those punishing head kicks.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Tommy Ray (2-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:19 of Round 3</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Fantastic</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Tommy thanks his sponsors and fans for their support, he says he is happy to fight whoever but also directly challenges Stephen Conti for a Lightweight title shot. Got to aim high, I guess, but I think he might be waiting a bit longer for that sort of opportunity.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight #2</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="hsZKUhb.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hsZKUhb.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="b6ncuMW.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/b6ncuMW.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Ryan Fenniman (5-1) vs. Cyril Kamoze (6-3)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Kamoze cuts a significant amount of weight in order to get to 155 pounds, and he certainly looks to have a weight advantage in the cage. Fenniman starts the fight with an impressive four punch combination, but Kamoze responds with a jab/right hand combination of his own. After they take some time to size each other up Kamoze goes one better than Fenniman by landing a five punch combination, can anyone get to six? Fenniman hits a left/right combo, but as he backs away, he accidentally pokes Kamoze in the eye, and the referee suspends the fight while he has time to recover. Once we're back fighting Fennigan glances a kick off the head of Kamoze, he follows that with a couple of jabs, Kamoze fires back with a flurry of punches but can only get one of them to land. Kamoze continues to throw a lot of strikes but isn't able to connect with many of them, Fenniman throws smaller combinations which land, but don't look to be doing much damage. An entertaining first round ends with another four punch combination from Kamoze, but a big right hand misses its target.</p><p> </p><p> The second round starts with Fennigan landing a decent leg kick, but Kamoze responds with a pair of jabs and a head kick which catches Fennigan on the side of the head and sends him down! Fennigan looks to recover but Kamoze is on him too quickly, trapping him in amount and landing hard punches to the head. Those punches take away Fennigan's chance to recover and he is left just lying there trying to cover up, and that forces the referee to stop the fight! Cyril Kamoze wins his MMA debut, and its two losses in a row for Ryan Fennigan who many thought was going to a talent to look out for.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Cyril Kamoze (7-3) via TKO (Strikes) - 0:43 of Round 2</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Cyril Kamoze is his usual charismatic self as he thanks his sponsors and fans, he also gives credit to Ryan Fenniman for being a tough opponent, I guess he's already forgiven him for the eye poke then.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight #3</strong></p><p><strong> Welterweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="RofNiH3.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/RofNiH3.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="0g4exOI.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0g4exOI.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Paul Duffell (23-16) vs. Ethan LeGrange (10-0)</strong></p><p> </p><p> After the excitement striking action of the previous two fights this one seems to be a bit more sedate, LeGrange lands a left cross to start and Duffell lands a jab, but other than that there isn't much action to speak of. Things pick up when LeGrange connects with a spin kick, Duffell then lands a one-two combination, and follows that up with a second one shortly afterwards. Duffell goes for a bigger punch but ends up getting countered with a LeGrange jab and a roundhouse kick to the ribs. LeGrange connects with another good body kick but missing a spinning back kick, he is at least bringing in some entertainment with his flamboyant strikes, and he is able to land another body kick before the round ends. The second round begins slowly as neither fighter lands a meaningful shot until LeGrange hits another body kick over a minute in, LeGrange misses a left allowing Duffell to counter with one of his own, before Duffell avoids another LeGrange spinning kick. Halfway into the round LeGrange scores with another body kick which must be starting to cause Duffell some problems now, he follows that up with a jab/left hand combination. Yet another body kick lands for LeGrange, and moments later he lands a spin kick to the body for good measure. There is a noticeable welt on the side of Duffell, but he carries on going, he avoids the next body kick from LeGrange at least but there's still time in the round for LeGrange to hit one more.</p><p> </p><p> LeGrange has certainly been oustriking Duffell throughout so you'd think Duffell would need a finish in the final round, he starts throwing some bigger punches but LeGrange has no problem in avoiding them and hitting another body kick. Duffell is starting to look very tired, those body kicks cause stamina loss just as much as damage to the ribs, and after a period of inactivity from both fighters LeGrange decides to take the fight into a clinch and Duffell can do nothing to stop him. LeGrange backs Duffell against the cage and traps him there for a while, he is relatively active though with some dirty boxing and some uppercuts, as well as some knees to the body and the occasional elbow. Despite LeGrange landing quite a few strikes the referee decides to intervene and bring them back to the centre of the cage, perhaps in a last ditch attempt to make this fight interesting, but it doesn't take long for LeGrange to clinch again, and the remainder of the fight is spent against the cage with LeGrange continuing to land more punches and knees. We go to the judges for their decision, and it's a fairly simple one to make. All three score the fight 30-27 to Ethan LeGrange, not the most entertaining of fights but LeGrange got the job done.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Ethan LeGrange (11-0) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Average</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Ethan LeGrange thanks his team, Strike Force, for getting him prepared for the fight. He also says he is enjoying his time in the UK and thanks the British fans.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight #4</strong></p><p><strong> Middleweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="vGf20QN.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vGf20QN.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="UnsxSFV.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/UnsxSFV.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Scott Houghton (1-0) vs. Wederson de Oliveira (8-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> It feels like Houghton is so out of his depth here it's not even funny, but he has proven he has one hit knock out power so there's always a chance. Wederson is the one moving forward to start the fight, he throws a couple of strikes which Houghton avoids, Houghton then connects with a couple of left hands before Wederson lands a jab/cross combination. A minute into the fight the inevitable finally happens, Wederson shoots in for a takedown, Houghton does well to defend it initially but Wederson keeps hold of him and presses him against the cage. From there Wederson executes a leg trip and that gets Houghton down to the floor with Wederson in half guard. Wederson moves through into the mount in under fifteen seconds, and that allows him to set up for an armbar. Houghton doesn't have the skills to defend against a BJJ expert and the armbar gets locked in deep, leaving Houghton with no choice but to tap out to save his arm. Wederson de Oliveira takes a simple victory, and if you had said "Wederson de Oliveira wins by submission" before the fight started you weren't exactly making a bold prediction.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Wederson de Oliveira (9-1) via Submission (Armbar) - 2:40 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Dave White gets his first job of the evening translating for Wederson, he thanks his family, friends and fans and says he is happy to start his Bulldog MMA career with a win.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight #5</strong></p><p><strong> Welterweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="HowKceL.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/HowKceL.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="amTKiIK.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/amTKiIK.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Roy Lynch (9-9) vs. Roger Quince (1-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Lynch starts the fight with a nice jab/hook combination, but he is soon having to defend himself from a takedown attempt by Quince. Lynch sprawls well though to prevent Quince from securing the takedown, then lands a jab and a straight right whilst Quince is trying to get away. Lynch continues to hold the advantage in striking by landing a left hand and a right to the body, following that with a right hand and a jab but missing with a big right. Lynch lands another couple of jabs and another body shot, and at the halfway point of the round Quince hasn't actually thrown a strike yet. That changes when he lands a jab, and uses that to move in for another takedown, however again Lynch is up to the task of defending it by sprawling and then moving out of range. Lynch connects with a left/right combination and follows that with a jab and a right cross, his next attempt at a combination misses though giving Quince the opportunity to move in, and instead of a double leg takedown he chooses to clinch with Lynch instead. This allows Quince to use his judo skills which are far superior to his standard wrestling skills, and a simple judo throw is enough to get Lynch to the ground with Quince in side control. Now in a position of dominance Quince wastes little time in going for an armbar, and he is able to sink it in deeply without any trouble, Lynch is left with no choice but to tap out pretty quickly, and just like that the fight is over. You have to wonder why Quince took so long to use his judo skills, but he got there in the end and takes home his first Bulldog MMA victory.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Roger Quince (2-1) via Submission (Armbar) - 4:44 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Quince takes the time to thank his sponsors and supporters, he then praises Lynch for his skill and toughness, which is nice.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="0Unoq06.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0Unoq06.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Uxr55Se.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Uxr55Se.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Dominick Oppenheimer (6-4) vs. Jonjo Whiteley (5-1)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Based on how these two fight the expectation coming in was for a fast-paced strike-fest, and the opening minute showcases that with both fighters engaging and landing some strikes, it's Oppenheimer who lands the most including a nice three punch combination. After that though the fight settles down and things almost grind to a halt, both fighters seem to be more interested in waiting to counter the other than make the first move, with Oppenheimer the only one to break that tactic with the occasional flurry of punches. When Whiteley does throw a strike, it is countered by Oppenheimer, and that seemingly makes Whiteley over-cautious about making the first move. The round winds down with Oppenheimer landing another flurry of punches, but neither fighter throws anything with any real power behind it. Whiteley is definitely more aggressive to start the second round, but again Oppenheimer is too quick for him and is able to counter a missed right cross with a jab/cross combination. Whiteley tries the same a few moments later and gets the exact same counter back before a missed right hook allows Oppenheimer to counter with some jabs and a body kick. That spells the ends of Whiteley's aggressive tactics and he reverts to waiting for Oppenheimer to move first, unfortunately for Whiteley he can't avoid Oppenheimer's precise combinations, he lands a five punch combo and follows that with a double-jab/hook flurry. In the final minute of the round Whiteley again misses a hook and gets countered by a hook from Oppenheimer, and Oppenheimer is able to land another five hit combination before the round ends.</p><p> </p><p> Whiteley is being counter-struck to defeat here and needs to do something to get things going his way, unfortunately Oppenheimer starts the final round by landing a quick six punch combination. For the first half of the round Whiteley continues to let Oppenheimer move forward waiting to counter, however Oppenheimer doesn't give him the opportunity to counter by being accurate enough to land his punches. Whiteley finally lands a decent shot with a powerful fight hook, Oppenheimer even does the "I'm smiling to pretend that didn't hurt" routine when it obviously did, Oppenheimer lands a left kick to the body, Whiteley responds with another right hook but can't follow that up with a kick himself. In the final minute Whiteley is much more aggressive again as he hunts down Oppenheimer knowing he needs a finish to win, but Oppenheimer manages to stay alert and keep himself out of trouble. Whiteley lands the final punch of the fight with a right cross but it doesn't do enough damage to make a difference. We head to the judges for their decision, two of them give Whiteley the final round which he probably deserved, but the scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 are all in favour of Dominick Oppenheimer who takes the victory.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Dominick Oppenheimer (7-4) via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Good</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Oppenheimer gives the standard interview response, thanks his sponsors, thanks his fans, he's happy to win his debut, and he's looking forward to his next fight. It's like they're all reading off a template tonight.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> <img alt="zygyrUL.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/zygyrUL.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qz1uyh4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qz1uyh4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qsMg40O.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qsMg40O.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>Gustavo Spagnol (6-2) vs. Neville Granville (6-3)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Granville gets a good reception from his fellow Northerners in attendance, his game plan is pretty simple here; he has got to do some damage to Spagnol before the Brazilian can get close enough to take him down. Spagnol does move in early but Granville catches him with a left jab and a right to the body, then follows that up with a jab and a right cross. So far, so good for Granville, however that was only the first thirty seconds of the fight. Forty seconds into the fight and Spagnol has shot in for a takedown and successfully gets Granville to the ground, even landing in side control for good measure. Spagnol immediately starts working for submissions, first he attempts a kimura which Granville is able to defend, then applies an armbar which looks to be in tight until Granville is able to get his arm free at the last moment, Spagnol is able to maintain side control though. Spagnol goes back to working for the kimura, and this time he is able to get the hold fully applied! Granville quickly taps out, knowing the writing was very much on the wall, and is probably a bit relieved that Spagnol didn't feel the need to use his brutal ground strikes to finish the fight. It's an impressive victory for Spagnol which immediately makes him a contender in the not-very-stacked Light Heavyweight division.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner: Gustavo Spagnol (7-2) via Submission (Kimura) - 2:35 of Round 1</strong></p><p><strong> Fight Rating: Great</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Post-Fight:</strong> Dave White heads back into the cage to provide translation for Spagnol, who thanks his sponsors and the fans (of course), before calling out Allen LeFleur, the undefeated Canadian fighter. He then attempts what could best be described as "bad comedy", as Dave tries to translate whatever Spagnol is saying and it's really not working. This is very much a "stick to the script" situation.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Show Details</strong></p><p> </p><p> Attendance: 183</p><p> Critical Rating: 75%</p><p> Commercial Rating: 29%</p><p> Popularity Changes:</p><p> </p><p> United Kingdom: +0.8%</p><p> South America: +0.6%</p><p> </p><p> Europe: -0.1%</p><p> Russia: -0.1%</p><p> Central America: -0.1%</p><p> United States: -0.1%</p><p> Canada: -0.1%</p><p> Africa: -0.1%</p><p> Australia: -0.1%</p><p> Mexico: -0.1%</p><p> Asia: -0.1%</p><p> Japan: -0.1%</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Fight Awards</strong></p><p> </p><p> Fight of the Night: Duey Rickert vs. Tommy Ray</p><p> Knock Out of the Night: Cyril Kamoze</p><p> Submission of the Night: Gustavo Spagnol</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Income</strong></p><p> </p><p> Gate: $16,126</p><p> Sponsorship: $11,975</p><p> Merchandise: $2,314</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Expenditure</strong></p><p> </p><p> Fighter Pay: $26,667</p><p> Drug Testing: $5,600</p><p> Production: $3,369</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total: -$5,221</strong></p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Other News</strong></p><p> </p><p> - GAMMA have made a move to sign Heiji Endo, one of ALPHA-1's premier Middleweights, who is in the last month of his current contract with the Japanese company. If GAMMA are successful in signing him it would be the first time a major native star has moved from his home company to the overseas competitor.</p><p> </p><p> - GAMMA continued their hiring spree by signing Chuck Dooley away from his Bulldog MMA contract and into their exclusive control. BMMA tried to match their offer, but the American juggernaut had far more resources at their disposal, and Dooley had never fully moved across the Atlantic as he was still training in Canada. Dooley had been scheduled to fight at the next Brawl show, but after his decision to leave the BMMA management cancelled the fight and released him from his contract early. His scheduled opponent, Gary Goodbody, will be found a new opponent for a future show.</p><p> </p><p> - In response BMMA have signed Ruben Rua and Mathieu Aumont. A relatively quiet fortnight on the signings front.</p><p> </p><p> - Brazilian legend Zaco has retired from MMA following his defeat at the last ALPHA-1 show. With an astonishing record of 47-16 he has more than earned the chance to hang up his gloves and have a rest.</p><p> </p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Other Shows</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Saturday, Week 1 of September</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48581" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>BCF CROWN NEW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION</strong><p> </p><p> Niko Soldo, the 4th highest ranked Light Heavyweight in the world, has done what most expected him to do and stormed his way to the BCF Light Heavyweight title in his third fight with the company. For the second fight in a row he won with the final shot coming from a body kick, his brutal kicks doing enough damage for his opponent, this time Fabian Schar, to have to stop fighting. There surely can't be anyone in the country able to stop him...</p><p> </p><p> ... Unless Tikhon Diev can be that man, the Russian is now 13-0 after choking out Danko Jelavic, who was unconscious before he even had a chance to submit. A duel between Soldo and Diev must be coming, and it should be a heck of a fight. The other big fight was the BCF debut of former BMMA Heavyweight champion Aston Merryman, however he found himself suffering his first defeat at the hands of Roope Kuqi by split decision.</p><p> </p><p> Elsewhere on the card there were wins for Mike Shearer who defeated Max Rebottaro, and Mills Mullally who beat Timothy Latchkey. Again, the BCF were only able to get a card with five fights together and given how many fighters there are in the UK at the moment it's hard to understand why they don't have enough people available.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <strong>SIGMA: Crumb vs. Halle</strong></p><p> </p><p> Templeton Crumb def. Jens Halle to win the vacant SIGMA Welterweight title</p><p> Jozef Jankowski def. Stratos Papaioannnou</p><p> Filip Hristov def. Willem van Ommen</p><p> Lubos Plasil def. Folke Dalen</p><p> Nestor Morozov def. Makhak Kirakosyan</p><p> Casim Yenkini def. Omar Calvert (in a Fantastic rated 3 round war)</p><p> Bastian Neske def. Malcolm Stew</p><p> </p><p> (Annoying that both BMMA fighters who I accidentally let SIGMA book both lost. So I've approached both the people that beat them, naturally.)</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Saturday, Week 2 of September</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>GAMMA 61: Potter vs. Ryan</strong></p><p> </p><p> Hanley Potter def. Kel Ryan to retain the GAMMA Super Heavyweight title</p><p> Helio def. Fiyero Lermontov to win the GAMMA Lightweight title</p><p> Lars-Gunnar Ekberg def. Christopher Sharp</p><p> David Allen def. Delroy Rhodes</p><p> Warren Scumboon def. Jarno Zijlstra</p><p> Tarcisio Dantas def. Luis Basora</p><p> Ramon da Silva Ramos def. Ashley Ballard</p><p> </p><p> <strong>KDM FC 28: Sik vs. Huat</strong></p><p> </p><p> Chan Kim Huat def. Min-Soo Sik to win the KDM FC Lightweight title</p><p> Michael Tsay def. Ahmed Mohamed Farag</p><p> Ramin Boloorizadeh def. Ronald Chen</p><p> Tossapol Puangchan def. Ryozo Ozawa</p><p> Tilly Hall def. Noel Chai</p><p> Teeratep Nutnum def. Kazuy Chano</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Sunday, Week 2 of September</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WEFF 33: Arroway vs. Page</strong></p><p> </p><p> Alyson Arroway def. Kirsten Page</p><p> Alison Beattie def. Katherine Williams</p><p> Honey Due def. Hazel McClay</p><p> Honor O'Neill def. Diana Marr</p><p> Samantha Sachs def. Rose Nessa</p><p> Chelsea Lawson def. Alisha Wood</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Friday, Week 3 of September</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>ALPHA-1: Fezzik vs. Arai II</strong></p><p> </p><p> Hassan Fezzik def. Hiro Arai to retain the ALPHA-1 Heavyweight title</p><p> Heiji Endo def. Zaco</p><p> Fukusaburu Hirano def. Simon Vine</p><p> Khru Duangjan def. Elzo Alves Moura</p><p> Yosheetora Kanegawa def. Washi Siganori</p><p> Will Kane def. Jin Yamanes</p></div><p></p><p></p>
  4. <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="7uPcFWq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7uPcFWq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "That Stephen Conti is something else isn't he? 20 years old and already fighting at an elite level. He might be the best British Lightweight fighter we've seen in MMA by the end of his career."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Better than Jake Keane?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Why not? The kid's got all the tools, he's winning by TKO, submission, decisions to show he has stamina too, the sky's the limit for him."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "You could be right, unfortunately that makes our job a bit harder as keeping hold of him is going to take a lot of effort. His contract came up after his win over Spark on Brawl, and he's resigned with us without much negotiation required. Only problem is that it's still an open contract, and he's also signed a contract with SIGMA in case we can't get him the fights he wants."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Well then we get him the fights he wants, simple."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Yes and no, obviously we run more shows than SIGMA which gives us more opportunities, the problem at the moment is that we have a lack of credible challengers for the title. If Stephen decides he wants to get better competition he might want to move on, maybe even fight in SIGMA instead of us."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Then we need to try and strengthen the Lightweight division as best we can."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Way ahead of you, given that SIGMA seem happy in offering our guys the opportunity to fight for them, I've switched the positions and started offering their guys the chance to fight for us if their schedule permits."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "And what do SIGMA make of that?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "I've not heard anything from them yet, they can't be too upset though as they were the ones who started trying to use our guys first. The difference between them and BCF is that they're not big enough to simply poach our talent with exclusive contracts, the best they can do is offer a standard contract and hope they can find fights for the fighters before we do. The key for us is to keep on top of booking our shows as far in advance as possible so we get anyone who might have two contracts tied down to fighting for us and not SIGMA."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "We already seem to be at war with the BCF, is it really worth stoking the fires with another company as well?"</p><p> </p><p><strong> Jim</strong>: "At the moment it's more of an uneasy alliance, as far as SIGMA and us are concerned we have a shared enemy in the BCF, and while we're never going to work together properly we can at least not directly undermine each other too much. Of course, the time will come when one of us hits the level of being able to offer exclusive contracts, then it becomes every company for themselves again."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Then the key is that we need to be the ones to get to that level first."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Agreed, and that's where the TV deal is going to give us a huge advantage, even though SIGMA have been running for significantly more years than us they've never been able to get a TV contract, so they're not best pleased we got one so quickly. Not only that but it's on a channel which broadcasts directly into the region they're based in, so we're effectively invading their territory without even physically leaving Manchester."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "It's a shame, I've got nothing against SIGMA but this is business and we have to do what we need to in order to keep going and grow the company. What's the situation with our vacant titles?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "The Light Heavyweight title will be sorted on the next Brawl show, and the Heavyweight title on the show after that. Middleweight is still an issue, we've got some really solid contenders but it's proving difficult to get them to be available at the same time. Plus people like Vagner, Esteban Vegar and Omar Calvert are prime targets for bigger companies to go for, which will put us right back to square one if they're the champion."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Do what you can to get it sorted, I don't like having these title belts cluttering up the place when they should have champions looking after them."</p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> --------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> Press Release</p><p> <img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">BMMA 11 TO SHOWCASE NEW TALENT, HEADLINED BY LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION CLASH</span></strong></p><p> <strong>by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bulldog MMA will be back in Manchester for their latest show, this will be their 13th in total and their fifth to air on internet broadcaster SportTube. As with many of these SportTube shows the bigger fights are not going to be seen here, instead we are given fights between people making their BMMA debuts, although in this case there are a lot of familiar names due to fighters who have previously fought with the BCF making their way here. Headlining the show is Neville Granville, one of those former BCF fighters, against Brazilian newcomer Gustavo Spagnol who comes to the UK with a fearsome reputation for brutal finishes on the ground.</p><p> </p><p> The first fight of the evening will be in the Lightweight division as <strong>Duey Rickert (9-5)</strong> takes on <strong>Tommy Ray (1-0)</strong>, with both fighters making their Bulldog MMA debut. Rickert has been fighting around the regional shows for a few years with a mixed bag of success, he is naturally a Featherweight but has had to move to Lightweight in order to get more recognition. Rickert follows the formula of using punches in bunches to overwhelm his opponent with strikes, that does however mean he sacrifices power for quantity and isn't likely to be able to get a finish. This style does however lend itself to entertaining fights, and given his lack of skill in other areas it's the only style he can really do. Rickert hasn't fought since early 2001, so either he's going to show some significant improvements to his game or he will be very rusty. Tommy "Sting" Ray comes from a kick boxing background and is a very dangerous striker as a result, his particular weapon of choice being low kicks to pulverise his opponent's legs. Ray has had the sense to train hard in defensive grappling to stop wrestlers from taking him down, therefore giving him the opportunity to keep the fight where he wants it. Ray has only fought once in his career, a fight at a local show which lasted just 27 seconds before Ray knocked his opponent out with a head kick. Whilst that means we don't have a lot of tape to study when it comes to Ray's performance, it was certainly an impressive way to begin his MMA career.</p><p> </p><p> The next fight will also be a clash of Lightweight fighters as <strong>Ryan Fenniman (5-1)</strong> squares off against the debuting <strong>Cyril Kamoze (6-3)</strong>. Ryan Fennigan has been a kick boxer since his early teenage years giving him a decent amount of experience in combat sports, and whilst striking will always be his number one option he has trained himself to be versatile enough in other areas of MMA to get by. Whilst he should be credited for expanding his skillset, it may be that his persistent training in grappling has been at the expense of some of his striking skill, he suffered his first professional defeat to Graeme Spark in the Lightweight tournament by TKO, and Spark is not known for his prolific striking abilities. Cyril Kamoze is the second-most famous Jamaican MMA fighter given the recent success of Coltrane Anderson, but 2nd place is still pretty good. Kamoze has become known for his orthodox style, mostly revolving around kicks that most people have never seen before, something he is able to do thanks to his very quick feet. Grappling is very much his achilles heel as his career has proven, after moving to the UK from Jamaica and going 6-0 on the regional scene he was signed to the BCF, however in his first two fights he was taken down and submitted (both armbars) by George Astaire and Dom Yorke. He did better in his third fight by going the distance with Rupert Lennox, but still found himself on the losing end and shortly afterwards found himself cut from the company.</p><p> </p><p> Moving up a weight class now, <strong>Paul Duffell (23-16)</strong> takes on <strong>Ethan LeGrange (10-0)</strong> in the Welterweight division, a classic fight between a veteran and a youngster. Paul Duffell is a long-time veteran of the UK regional scene as evidenced by the 39 fights he has had, and whilst he has never shown any form of consistency during his career he can still put up a good fight against any opponent due to his decent kick boxing skills and willingness to engage. Duffell took part in the BMMA Welterweight title tournament and defeated Julian Banham in the first round, only to be submitted by Javid Khan in the semi-final. Ethan LaGrange is another of the many Canadians who have moved to the UK for better competition, and brings with him an impressive undefeated record. He is a kick boxer by trade and has a tidy striking game with his hard punches the centrepiece of his attacking options. LeGrange does not have much of a grappling game to speak of though, and frankly it's almost a miracle that he has got a 10-0 record considering that if he gets taken down he's not got a clue. Training with team Strike Force is going to help at least. LeGrange has fought twice this year in Canada, defeating Van Jolson by Knock Out and Zachary Gilbert by TKO.</p><p> </p><p> Next up will be a Middleweight division clash between two new fighters, <strong>Scott Houghton (1-0) </strong>from Northern Ireland taking on <strong>Wederson de Oliveira (8-1)</strong> from Brazil. Scott Houghton brings to the cage the worst nickname in MMA history, "Dukin' and Jivin'" which automatically makes me want him to lose. Houghton is a wrestler from Northern Ireland who did not make any waves in the wrestling community as one to watch, however his stock greatly increased at a recent regional show where he knocked out a local fighter in 12 seconds. A performance like that is enough to get you a shot with a proper company, Houghton had just better hope it wasn't a fluke... Wederson de Oliveira, or WDO as he will be known here, is a highly-skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter from Rio who is very dangerous if the fight goes to the ground, particularly if he ends up on his back and in a position to apply one of his many submission holds. As with any fighter so dependent on one particular skill he can be defeated by sticking to the opposite of what he's good at, but for any fighter opposing him they will know they are one mistake away from being in real trouble. So far in 2002 he has fought once, submitting Welvis Andre de Arruda with a first round Armbar on a South American local show.</p><p> </p><p> Back we go to the Welterweight division for a fight between two competitors in the BMMA Welterweight tournament, <strong>Roy Lynch (9-9)</strong> takes on <strong>Roger Quince (1-1)</strong>. Someone will leave with a winning record! Unless they draw. Roy Lynch is usually a Lightweight fighter still competing at a higher weight class, he a former boxer who has decent punching technique, but no power behind them for any opponent to worry about him knocking them out. The concept of learning other MMA skills is not one that Lynch is interested in, and his 9-9 record is pretty much indicative of him only being able to defeat people he can out-strike. He has fought once for Bulldog MMA, a unanimous decision loss to Javid Khan in the Welterweight tournament, a fight that was much closer than people expected. Roger Quince has a very strong judo background which he aims to use in his MMA career, a very technically-sound grappler he has a wide variation of trips and throws to get the fight to the ground, and good submission skills to use when he gets there. Striking is still very much his weakness and it is an area he is going to have to work on if he intends to be a big name in UK MMA, Brian O'Flaherty made that very clear in the Welterweight tournament by knocking Quince out cold. If he can get his stand-up game sorted out he could definitely be one to watch for the future.</p><p> </p><p> The co-Main Event of the evening will be in the Lightweight division as <strong>Dominick Oppenheimer (6-4)</strong> makes his BMMA debut against <strong>Jonjo Whiteley (5-1)</strong>. Dominick Oppenheimer is one of the bigger names to be cut by the BCF this year having previously challenged for the BCF Lightweight title against Jake Keane, he lost that fight and things have gone tumbling downhill since then. Oppenheimer is a very technical striker with fantastic speed around the cage allowing him to get in, land a punch or two, and get back out. Where he falters is his non-existant grappling skills, and in addition to losing to Keane he has suffered consecutive losses to Gordon Idle, Rupert Lennox and Sid Morgan all by being out-wrestled, resulting in the BCF letting him go. Jonjo Whiteley is a very similar fighter to Oppenheimer in many respects, he also has good speed around the cage with fast strikes learned during his kick boxing background, and just like Oppenheimer he isn't a fan of grappling so neither fighter will have to worry about that in this fight. Whiteley is young enough to be able to develop a more well-rounded game, but he is also from Swindon which makes his development all that more difficult. Whiteley has fought once this year, a decision loss to Jazz Snide where Snide's taunting almost caused Whiteley to attack him after the fight.</p><p> </p><p> And finally the Main Event will also be the fight with the biggest fighters on the card physically, a Light Heavyweight division clash between <strong>Gustavo Spagnol (6-2)</strong> and <strong>Neville Granville (6-3)</strong>. Gustavo Spagnol arrives from Brazil as someone with a reputation for having a very simple gameplan, and if he able to execute it then he is very difficult to stop. He has fantastic takedown skills to get the fight to the ground, and after that he can pummel his opponent with powerful ground punches until the fight is stopped. The rest of his game isn't much to write home about, but if he can use his ground and pound it won't be an issue. Spagnol was one of the last fighters signed to FLB before it closed, and he managed to defeat Brazilian legend Pedro Sousa before it did, however this year he has lost to Carlos dos Santos on a South American show. Ironically, dos Santos has recently lost to Pedro Sousa to complete the triangle. Neville Granville is your stereotypical Yorkshireman who doesn't take any nonsense from anyone, his background is in boxing having been a professional in the sport until deciding to move into MMA. As you'd expect his punching is his biggest weapon, he has power that can stop any opponent no matter how tough they are, and he has the speed and accuracy to back it up. Grappling is his weakness and he doesn't have a lot to offer in defence if he gets taken down or put in a clinch. Things started going badly for Granville in the BCF when he was knocked out by the vicious power of Danny Akabaro, and following a submission loss to newcomer Danko Jelavic he was shown the door, straight into a BMMA Main Event.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>BMMA 11: Spagnol vs. Granville Fight Card</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Duey Rickert (9-5) vs. Tommy Ray (1-0)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Ryan Fenniman (5-1) vs. Cyril Kamoze (6-3)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Division</strong></p><p> Paul Duffell (23-16) vs. Ethan LeGrange (10-0)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Middleweight Division</strong></p><p> Scott Houghton (1-0) vs. Wederson de Oliveira (8-1)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Division</strong></p><p> Roy Lynch (9-9) vs. Roger Quince (1-1)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Dominick Oppenheimer (6-4) vs. Jonjo Whiteley (5-1)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Gustavo Spagnol (6-2) vs. Neville Granville (6-3)</p></div><p></p><p></p>
  5. BULLDOG BRAWL 2: CONTI vs. SPARK Match #1 Heavyweight Division Shing Lai (2-0) vs. Tommy Cowan (1-0) Lai is spoken of in high regard as being a potential Heavyweight star, but this is his first competition of any note. He starts out well with a crunching right hook, and soon he is shooting in for a takedown which he successfully completes to get Cowan to the ground. Lai quickly moves through from half guard into the mount, done with frightening ease for a man of his size, and from there he can start landing what we are told are his trademark hammerfists. Cowan can deal with them to begin with, but once one big one gets through the seal is broken and Lai has almost unrestricted access to Cowan's face with his fist. One shot in particular lands really hard and Cowan appears to go limp, the eagle-eyed referee spots this and dives in to stop the fight! Cowan wasn't out for long, but he was certainly unconscious at one point and probably got woken up by another punch. Lai wins on his debut, and it's now 8 consecutive first round finishes in Bulldog MMA. Surely it can't happen again? Winner: Shing Lai (3-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 2:01 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Shing Lai doesn't speak English and the regular translator Dave White isn't good enough at Mandarin yet, so the sensible decision is made not to interview him. He looks happy though, which is nice. -------------------------------------------------- Match #2 Light Heavyweight Division Jim Bell (1-0) vs. Renan Heleno (4-0) Not many people know who Bell is, and even fewer give him any hope of winning here. We get a striking battle to start the fight, Heleno is the aggressor in the exchanges and lands some nice straight right hands during them, Bell does however manage to land some counter jabs here and there. Another right from Heleno lands and given the amount of blood on Bell's face you have to think he has a broken nose now, that seems to stop him from engaging as much and Heleno is left picking him off with jabs from a distance. When Heleno does get closer he continues to land good punches with his right hand, Bell is left seemingly unclear on what to do at this point. He attempts to clinch with Heleno which doesn't work to begin with, but he does finally initiate a grapple with the Brazilian only for the round to end seconds later. Don't be alarmed people, but we're into a SECOND ROUND. The streak.... is over. Bell is more aggressive to start the second round and lands a couple of good left hands, it's at that point that Heleno shoots in for a takedown attempt, Bell manages to remain standing on one foot though and Heleno has to settle for trapping him against the cage. It doesn't last long as Heleno executes a leg trip which leaves Bell sitting against the cage, and Heleno is effectively in the mount now and able to start landing some powerful shots. Bell can't offer much defence and the punches continue landing until the referee steps in to stop the fight! The result is perhaps not unexpected, but at least Bell lasted to Round 2 which is more than can be said for the losers of the previous 8 Bulldog MMA fights. Winner: Renan Heleno (5-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 1:44 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Dave White is on hand to translate Heleno's interview comments, which are as simple as thanking his sponsors and saying he was happy to win. -------------------------------------------------- Match #3 Welterweight Division Craig Hulme (6-0) vs. Scott Gillespie (5-4) When you look at Hulme you do have to wonder why someone with that face would want to put it in the way of other peoples' fists. That's only if he gets hit of course, and here he can land a right cross to start the fight, then ducks under a right hand from Gillespie to execute a single leg takedown and get the fight to the ground. Hulme is an infinitely better fighter on the ground than Gillespie and quickly proves that by passing the guard and getting in to side control, Hulme is a bit of a submission specialist as well so it's no surprise to see him go for an armbar straight away, however Gillespie is able to defend it. Hulme works his way into a kimura position and this time he can get it secured, Gillespie rolls to try and escape but its locked in tight and he must tap out! And back to the first round finishes we go. Hulme wins to remain undefeated; his submission skills could prove decisive in the UK where ground skills aren't as well trained as other countries. Winner: Craig Hulme (7-0) via Submission (Kimura) - 2:03 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Hulme is as good a talker as he is a model, not that I'm jealous or anything, and cuts a very well-spoken interview thanking his sponsors and fans, before saying he can't wait to get back into the cage and fight again. Stick around Craig, if we have any more quick finishes, they might need you to fight again tonight to fill the TV time. -------------------------------------------------- Match 4 Light Heavyweight Division Alex Maitland (3-0) vs. Ricky Driver (1-0) These two Canadians throw national allegiance out of the window and waste little time in getting involved in a striking exchange with each other, both fighters land some good shots to begin with but after an opening minute of action the fight begins to settle down. Maitland is the fighter doing most of the forward movement but that only results in Driver landing some jabs to keep him at bay, Maitland tries a big head kick but that misses. Maitland tries that head kick again moments later, but Driver is easily able to avoid it and returns fire with some more jabs and a clean right hand. Driver is really putting his reach advantage to good work here, and in the final thirty seconds of the round he can avoid a right hook from Maitland and counter with a jab/hook combination. The opening of the second round is a lot more cautious and it's not until 90 seconds in when the first meaningful strike lands, a hard leg kick from Maitland, and it soon becomes evident that Driver's notorious lack of stamina is starting to come in to play. Both fighters land some ineffective jabs before Maitland connects with another leg kick, only for Driver to catch him with a left hand before Maitland can get back out of range. The excitement picks up in the later stages of the round, Maitland lands a jab and another leg kick, Driver responds with a jab and a powerful right hook, then avoids a right hook from Maitland to deliver a jab/hook combination which causes a cut under Maitland's right eye. Driver is very tired now though and in the final moments of the round he must clinch to get some energy back, Maitland tries to use this to get a takedown, but Driver is able to defend it. Into the final round we go for what feels like the first time in decades for a Bulldog MMA fight, again the opening minute of the round sees both fighters willing to stand and trade strikes, and again it's Driver who gets the slight advantage thanks to his reach. The next minute is the complete opposite as neither fighter tries to push the pace, however Maitland does finally manage to land the head kick he's been trying for all fight, only for Driver to shrug it off. With both fighters now exhausted they end up clinching, however Maitland uses that to execute an outside leg trip to take Driver down and manages to take Driver's back straight away in the process. Maitland starts working to lock in a rear naked choke, but Driver does a good job of defending it, and over the next three minutes Maitland tries to get that choke in without any success. Unfortunately, this doesn't result in a lot of action to watch, the referee isn't going to stand them up when a submission could happen at any time, so we're left with the same scenario until the fight ends. The judges will have to make a decision for the first time in a while, about time they earned their money, the first judge scores it 29-28 to Maitland, the second scores it 30-27 to Driver, and the final one scores it 29-28 to... Ricky Driver. I have no idea how anyone could give Driver the final round, he spent over half of it lying on his stomach, however he did do enough in the first two rounds to scrape the win. Winner: Ricky Driver (2-0) via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: A tired Driver manages to muster the energy to thank his sponsors and fans, he says he's happy to win his BMMA debut and looks forward to fighting again soon. -------------------------------------------------- Match 5 Welterweight Division Mando Romero (9-0) vs. Procopio Golias (17-6) There is some concern from people who think that Golias' fighting style isn't one that suits the entertainment level needed for TV, but we'll see soon enough. Golias immediately shows his grappling skills by getting a clinch and executing a takedown inside the first thirty seconds, he lands in side control and from there he locks in an arm triangle, it looks to be in tight but Romero is able to squeeze out of it before having to tap. Well that was quite the start. Golias continues to try and overwhelm Romero on the ground, and after some punches he drives forward with a brutal knee strike to the ribs, that seemingly opens up an opportunity for an armbar, again it looks to be locked in tight but Romero somehow gets his arm free of Golias' grip and survives again. Golias' next stop on the submission world tour is a kimura, however this doesn't get close to being locked in, and in the ensuing scramble Romero is able to get Golias back inside his guard. Golias throws some elbows from the guard which land but don't do much damage, and the remainder of the round is spent there. So much for lacking entertainment. The second round spends much more time on the feet and that is where Romero holds the advantage, during the opening minute alone he scores with a jab, a right hand, another jab, a right cross, two left hands and a straight right. Golias tries to grapple but Romero uses his speed to keep away, and then connects with some more punches which cause a cut on Golias' eyebrow. Romero is completely dominant on the feet, but Golias is tough enough to withstand the strikes and eventually gets the grapple he's been looking for with two minutes left in the round. He quickly sweeps the leg of Romero to take him down, and straight into side control he goes. It's back to the kimura for the first submission attempt of this round but Romero defends it, so Golias gives him another powerful knee to the ribs as a punishment. Golias tries to move to the mount but Romero does well to prevent that, so Golias lands another knee to the ribs to try and soften him up more. Golias lands some elbow strikes to the head and that seems to be enough to get Romero to break his defence, but Golias can't do anything else in the remaining time. Romero has to make something happen on the feet in the final round, but disaster strikes from him inside the first twenty seconds, he catches Golias with a beautiful straight right but in the process seems to damage his own hand, taking away his major attacking weapon. Romero fights on as best he can using his left hand to jab more, but when he does throw his right hand there is significantly less power behind it and Golias has no trouble simply walking through the shots, even if his cut does get opened up again. Golias moves in to clinch with Romero and does so, from there he takes Romero down in an ugly looking fashion, ending up on top of a turtled up Romero with a loose facelock. Golias goes for another different type of submission from this position, an anaconda choke gets applied and Golias rolls over to lock it in deep, this time Romero has no way of escaping the situation and is forced to tap out! It was a valiant effort from Romero who showed good promise on his feet and some decent submission defence, but Golias was simply too strong for him to prevent getting taken down and the Brazilian was vicious when the fight hit the ground. Winner: Procopio Golias (18-6) via Submission (Anaconda Choke) - 2:23 of Round 3 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Dave White is on hand to do translations for Golias, but the Brazilian doesn't have a whole lot to say. He says he's happy to win and that's about it. -------------------------------------------------- Co-Main Event Middleweight Division Esteban Vega (9-0) vs. Richard Smith (22-18) Vega is considered one of the best up-and-coming fighters in the world, Richard Smith is probably two years past his retirement date. This doesn't seem like a fair fight. Vega immediately moves forward but gets met by a jab from Smith as he does, that doesn't stop Vega though who lands a jab of his own and follows that with one of his trademark body punches. Smith tries to jab but Vega uses good head movement to avoid it leaving Smith wide open, Vega takes advantage of that with a crushing right hook to the jaw, and that's enough to knock Smith out cold! He crumples to the ground and Vega has no need to follow up with any more strikes, the damage is more than already done. Vega takes his expected victory, but it was a bit of a depressing sight seeing Smith sent out there as pretty much a sacrifice. Winner: Esteban Vega (10-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 0:32 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Vega speaks decent enough English to get out that his thanks to his sponsors and to his team Camp Ortega for helping him prepare. He then demands a fight with Vagner for the vacant Middleweight title, which sounds like a very good idea if they can get it organised. Post-Post-Fight: Richard Smith announces his decision to retire from MMA competition, and after that fight it's not a moment too soon. -------------------------------------------------- MAIN EVENT BMMA Lightweight Title Match Stephen Conti (4-0) © vs. Graeme Spark (10-2) This is the re-match of their semi-final tournament bout, and whilst it would be easy to criticise a company for running a re-match for their first Lightweight title defence, the previous fight was at least a very marginal split decision. The fight starts with Conti landing some good punches including a left cross/right hook combination, but soon Sparks shoots in for a takedown and succeeds in getting Conti down to the mat. Spark lands in the guard and tries to advance, but Conti can use that as an opportunity to scramble and gets back to his feet. Spark keeps of Conti in a grapple and moves him back against the cage, but after a few foot stomps land Conti can wrestle his way out and back to the centre of the cage. The remainder of the round is a striking contest and that falls into Conti's game plan much more favourably, he dominates with quick punches, out-striking Spark 19-8 and not showing any signs of tiring. The second round continued in the same manner with two minutes of stand-up fighting which Conti continued to dominate, his powerful left hand doing most of the damage with exquisite technique being able to set up any strike he wanted. Things changed mid-way through the round when Spark secured another takedown, this time Spark wasn't as anxious to advance his position and remained on top of Conti for the remainder of the round, frankly he wasn't doing much in the way of attacking other than a few punches to the body of Conti, and it was surprising the referee didn't stand them up given that Spark was only in half guard. The second round should have shown Spark the game plan he needs to adopt, and he grapples early with Conti in the third round to press him up against the cage. Whilst that works for Spark it's not great for the people watching the fight as they spend over three minutes against the cage with only the occasional strike landing. When the referee finally does separate them Conti is given a brief window to land some strikes, and a left hook cuts Spark under his right eye, but as soon as he misses a punch Spark takes the opportunity to move in and clinch again. Back to the cage we go again, and that's where the fight stays for the rest of the round. That wasn't exactly fun to watch. The first of the championship rounds begins with Spark doing the exact same thing again, and we find ourselves with a stalemate against the cage yet again. Spark smothers Conti against the cage and lands some punches on the inside for over two minutes, but eventually (and thankfully) Conti can work himself free. Back in the centre of the cage Conti can get his striking going again, a left hook catches Spark to reopen that cut, and Conti follows that with a jab/straight left combination. Spark desperately wants to move in and grapple again, but as he moves forward Conti can land a stunning left hook which drops Spark to the ground! The crowd wakes up as Conti moves in quickly and kneels beside Spark to start dropping powerful punches to his grounded opponent, some heavy left hands land to the head of Spark and the referee is forced to stop in and stop the fight! Conti wheels away to celebrate with his team, he worked hard for that victory, and by winning he becomes the first Bulldog MMA champion to defend his title and not immediately vacate it. Given what he's done so far at such a young age I'm amazed the BCF haven't made an approach for him yet, after all, they signed Shawn McCarthy and he's done nothing. Winner, and STILL BMMA Lightweight Champion: Stephen Conti (5-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:44 of Round 4 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Conti thanks his fans, family and sponsors for their support, and declares how happy he is to be the Bulldog MMA Lightweight champion. He wants to defend his title again as soon as possible, something I'm sure BMMA would be happy for him to do as well. -------------------------------------------------- Show Details Attendance: 78 Critical Rating: 71% Commercial Rating: 35% Popularity Change: UK +0.5% Europe +0.2% Russia +0.2%  Fight of the Night: Mando Romero KO of the Night: Esteban Vega Submission of the Night: Craig Hulme Income Gate: $6,874 Sponsorship: $8,210 Merchandise: $2,253 Advertising/Subscriptions: $82,473 Expenditure Fighters: $32,221 Drug Testing: $5,600 Production: $15,530 Total: +$46,459 ------------------------- Post Show News - The big news in MMA has been the shocking downfall of Sutton Ripley, who has been sentenced to six months in prison for an assault at a nightclub. Ripley, who was cut from GAMMA in May, was arrested shortly afterwards after he instigated a brawl in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Despite pleading not guilty, evidence clearly showed his part in the event, and he was found guilty of common assault, battery and public affray. - In lighter news, GAMMA have signed a game-changing distribution deal with North America Prime Select, the biggest PPV distributor in North America. Their PPV events will now be available in every home in America and given their stranglehold on the MMA market in the eastern hemisphere this can only mean a massive financial windfall for every show they run. - GAMMA celebrated this deal by signing more young talent, Dean Capers, Barrett Fforde, Kramer Mayweather and Hunter Scribbins have all joined. - Bulldog MMA have signed some of SIGMA's main stars to deals that allow them to work for both companies, Stian Agdestein, Matti Kurri and Edgar van den Hoogenband will all likely be featuring on a BMMA show sometime soon. - One person who won't be is Owen Oggleberry-Pipp who has chosen to join the BCF after they made him an offer. It is not thought that BMMA did a lot to try and keep him, partly because his fighting style is not that exciting, but also because his surname is very hard to type. Other Shows Friday Week 1 of September Rafael van der Moot def. Hyun-Shik Lim Datuk Ong Ka Ting def. Naizen Hamacho Faas Smit def. Naoki Itoh Jutaro Honma def. Taroemon Abukara Davi Carlos Ramos def. Edson Edmilson Renato def. Noddy Pascow (That's it, there was only a week between the last two shows.)
  6. Sunday Week 4 August Harry: "In all my years in MMA I've never seen anything like that. 7 first round finishes, all of them by KO or TKO. It was almost becoming absurd by the end of it." Jim: "It was new to me as well, when I put the show together I realised there were a lot of strikers, but I certainly wasn't expecting there to be that many quick finishes. Good job it wasn't on Euro Cable Sport or we'd have had 90 minutes to fill with no fights left. Nobody wants to hear me jabber on for that long." Harry: "What did SportTube do?" Jim: "They just replayed the whole show from the start. Made sense I guess." Harry: "Shame we don't get paid twice for it. What's our next show looking like for Brawl? Any hope we'll get a similar level of action?" Jim: "Well you can always hope, but a show like that last one is once is a lifetime. We're in a bit of a no-lose situation with these Brawl shows, as long as we get a good main event together, we can put anything else on the show, Euro Cable Sport are only interested in content. That gives us the opportunity to try and establish potential stars by giving them the extra exposure on the TV show." Harry: "This sounds like a wordier way of saying that the show is full of people nobody in the UK has heard of." Jim: "Well that would be one way to look at it, but I've done my scouting and a lot of the guys we have on the show have been hand-picked. They're undefeated and have looked goods in the fights I've seen, we have to assume that their talent will get them to the top of the rankings soon enough, the goal is to get their popularity to match their ability. Look at the big names in MMA, James Foster, Raul Hughes, Hassan Fezzik, all megastars because they were given the opportunity to showcase their abilities at the highest level in front of the most people. We don't have the highest level yet, but we can at least put these young guys out there in front of our TV audience." Harry: "Any idea on what that number is yet?" Jim: "No, apparently the number of people watching a TV show still isn't deemed to be important. I'd give anything to know it, but it's not going to be an option." Harry: "That's madness. We have no idea of whether we're gaining or losing viewers." Jim: "I know, it's ridiculous, but it is what it is. All we can do to monitor our success is keep an eye on the profit margins. The money we brought in from last month's Brawl show was a game-changer, but it means nothing if we don't get a similar number this time. Realistically it should be more given the growth we've had since last time." Harry: "And the likelihood of that is?" Jim: "Not too bad. The other good thing about these young, unknown fighters is that they don't command too much of a wage, so even with one extra fight it won't be that much more expensive. Drug testing will be more too, but we can't avoid that. Anything over $40,000 profit will mean the company makes a profit at the end of the month." Harry: "Sounds good. Maybe we'll have another 7 first round stoppages? You'd better get your filler material ready just in case..." ------------------------------------------------------------------ Press Release BULLDOG BRAWL RETURNS FOR SECOND SHOW, HEADLINED BY FIRST LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE DEFENCE by Mike Thomson After the success of Bulldog Brawl 1 it's a swift return for the show exactly one month after the inaugural one, with the expectation being that the show will be on the first week of every month going forward. Euro Cable Sport were delighted with the ratings for the first show, although nobody but them seems to know what they were and are willing to get behind Bulldog MMA to provide regular content. Good news for all us fighting fans then. This show is headlined by Stephen Conti's first Lightweight title defence following his miraculous tournament victory, he takes on one of the men he beat on the way to winning the title in Graeme Spark. The first fight on the show will be in the Heavyweight division between newcomer Shing Lai (2-0) and Tommy Cowan (1-0). Shing Lai comes over from China, Asia is a difficult place for fighters in the larger weight classes to get exposure so moving base is his best chance at getting noticed by one of the bigger companies. He is a massive man trained in folk wrestling, and despite his size he has explosive takedowns which he is happy to follow up with brutal ground and pound, particularly with hammer fists. He could be someone to look out for as his size makes him difficult to deal with and he's only going to improve his technique. Lai has fought once this year, knocking a local Chinese fighter out in 24 seconds at an independent show. Tommy Cowan may be someone who can match Lai when it comes to both size and athleticism, the Scotsman is the same height and still takes part in strongman contests as part of his training for MMA. What Cowan lacks at the moment is the technique to go with his athletic prowess, but after only one professional fight it would be hard to criticise him given his lack of experience. Cowan's only professional fight was in Bulldog MMA where he defeated Simon Youngman at BMMA 7, his ground and pound proving so brutal that Youngman verbally submitted before the referee stopped the fight. In the show's second fight we will see two newcomers to the still developing Light Heavyweight division, Jim Bell (1-0) takes on Renan Heleno (4-0). Jim Bell is very much an unknown quantity; he only began even training in MMA this year and certainly hasn't had the time to develop much actual skill. He is said to have a wrestling background, but it wasn't noticeable enough for anyone to actually know who he is. It's very much a case of the lack of Light Heavyweight talent in the country causing BMMA to take a shot on these kind of guys. He has fought once, defeating a local fighter on an independent show. Renan Heleno is thankfully a bit more well-known from his time in Brazil prior to moving to the UK, prior to moving to MMA he was a competitor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments and has brought that dangerous submission game into the cage. If Heleno can get a fight to the ground he may be unstoppable, with a penchant for locking in armbars that borders on the obsessive. The rest of his game still needs some work but having that weapon available will always be useful. Heleno has fought twice this year, both times beating local fighters in the first round by submission, the first by armbar, the second by arm-BAR. The third fight of the evening will be in the Welterweight division when Canadian import Craig Hulme (6-0) takes on Scott Gillespie (5-4). You won't find many examples of male models moving from their modelling career into the more violent world of mixed martial arts, but Craig Hulme is someone who has done exactly that. Thankfully, he has actually done a lot of MMA training having done BJJ since he was in his early teens and has already developed a good striking and grappling game to go with those skills. His all-round ability makes him one to look out for, although if he doesn't reach a lot of success, we will at least always be the most attractive man in the cage. He's certainly better looking than Scott Gillespie who is certainly has more of the stereotypical MMA fighter appearance. A tall and lanky kickboxer, Gillespie's main game plan is to use his reach to keep the fight as a ranged striking battle, not allowing better grapplers to get close enough to take him down. That worked well in his early career which saw him join the BCF, but things started going downhill when Jerome Atkins got close enough to knock him out with a knee strike, and he has since lost to Ragnar Gunnlaugsson and Jayden Karp causing the BCF to cut him. The Canadian invasion continues here as two more collide in the Light Heavyweight division, Alex Maitland (3-0) takes on Ricky Driver (1-0). Maitland is a student of Shaolin Kung Fu, which I believe is the same martial art that Liu Kang of Mortal Kombat fame trained in, and as such he enjoys standing and trading strikes with anyone. Maitland's specialty are scything low kicks which can do a significant amount of damage even within one round, they can also do enough damage to stop fights as a local fighter from Canada found out earlier this year, they couldn't continue after Maitland had kicked him so often in the same part of his lead leg. Maitland has decent if unspectacular grappling skills so striking will always be his first choice. Ricky "Pile" Driver has the tools to be a difficult opponent for anyone, he has very heavy hands to do damage on the feet and has good grappling skills to either control a fight or to defend if necessary. Where he lets himself down is in his cardio, something that should be standard for any professional fighter in this day and age, but he is known to struggle with anything going past the first round. He's really good in that first round though, as he proved by finishing off a local fighter by TKO in the first round earlier this year. It's another Welterweight fight next and one of Brazil's most dangerous free agents has found his way to BMMA, Procopio Golias (17-6) will make his debut against Mando Romero (9-0), who is also debuting. Procopio Golias is a short, stocky fighter, think of him as a square with arms and legs, but he is nasty inside the cage with relentless grappling either on the feet or on the ground, if he gets a hold of someone he is not likely to let go. It's not the prettiest of tactics to watch, but it has brought him success with a 5-1 record in FLB before the company closed. On the flip side however his lack of entertainment may be why neither of the big companies offered him a deal when FLB stopped operating. He has fought once this year, defeating Origenes Salgado in South America before he moved to the UK. Mando Romero comes in from Mexico as a former amateur boxer who has both speed and decent power in his punches. Despite not tasting defeat in his 9 professional fights the method to defeating him seems pretty obvious as he has little in the way of grappling skills, and if taken down he will likely be in trouble. He has fought once this year in Mexico, knocking out a local fighter at an independent show. The co-Main Event of the evening will be in the Middleweight division, and one of Mexico's rising stars debuts here as Esteban Vega (9-0), takes on British veteran Richard Smith (22-18). Esteban Vega is considered Mexico's premier future talent, however the lack of opportunities to fight have caused him to move over to the UK. He has everything you would expect from a potential superstar, strong wrestling both in attack and defence, he is decent on the ground, but his prime weapon is his excellent boxing skills, frequently using body punches to weaken up his opponents for a big shot to the head. He has fought once this year, knocking out a local fighter in Mexico in under 2 minutes. Richard Smith has been around the British MMA scene for a long time, as you would expect from someone with 40 fights under their belt, but a lack of consistency has prevented him from ever getting offered anything than independent fights as a somewhat recognisable name. He is a crafty fighter, which basically means he wins by decision a lot due to a lack of offensive options, his many defeats come from being weak off his back, his striking game deteriorating, and his weak chin. Omar Calvert exposed that further by defeating Smith in under two minutes during the Middleweight tournament.  And finally, the Main Event of the show will be the first defence of the BMMA Lightweight title, champion Stephen Conti (4-0) fights one of the men he beat in the tournament to become the champion in Graeme Spark (10-2). Tim Oldacres was due to get the title shot, but that was pulled after he committed to an exclusive contract with the BCF, so Spark gets the shot instead, and is considered the favourite despite Conti beating him during the Lightweight tournament. That tournament was very much a standout moment for Conti, he only had the call to enter it with six days’ notice as an injury replacement, and he defeated Swithens Corcoran, Spark and finally William Powell to take home the gold. Conti showed just how well-rounded he is despite only being 20 years old, a testament to his work ethic and willingness to train in every necessary discipline and surely must be considered a future British MMA superstar, perhaps the new Jake Keane. That said, he has to get past the very tough Graeme Spark again first, and this time both fighters will be coming in fresh instead of having fought once already. Spark is traditionally a Featherweight but fights at Lightweight due to the lack of Featherweight divisions in the UK, and his main tactic is to grapple with opponents due to his wrestling background. He is certainly not one-dimensional though due to having a good striking game and the ability to finish fights on the ground as well. In the Lightweight tournament he defeated Ryan Fenniman with a first round TKO before losing to Conti in a very close split decision. Bulldog Brawl 2: Conti vs. Spark II Fight Card Heavyweight Division Shing Lai vs. Tommy Cowan Light Heavyweight Division Jim Bell vs. Renan Heleno Welterweight Division Craig Hulme vs. Scott Gillespie Light Heavyweight Division Alex Maitland vs. Ricky Driver Welterweight Division Procopio Golias vs. Mando Romero Co-Main Event Middleweight Division Esteban Vega vs. Richard Smith Main Event BMMA Lightweight Title Match Stephen Conti © vs. Graeme Spark
  7. BMMA 10: OLDACRES vs. RIQUE Match #1 Heavyweight Division Kevin Portman (13-9) vs. Antonio Santos (1-0) Portman is fighting in his hometown of Manchester so he gets a good reception, he may need that fan support as from what we hear there may not be many stronger punchers in MMA than Santos. That information doesn't prevent Portman from exchanging strikes with the Brazilian, and he does well enough in landing some quick combinations. Santos was not going to be put off by that though and he continues moving forward, Portman uses his jab to try and keep him away, but Santos just walks straight through them. Santos lands a straight right, before closing in and connecting with another left hand, followed by a beautiful right uppercut which knocks Portman out cold! I guess that's one way of proving your punching power, Portman may be a veteran but he's still a tough guy, and Santos has just treated him like he was nothing. Winner: Antonio Santos (2-0) via Knock Out - 1:42 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Santos and BMMA's resident translator Dave White manage to get through a brief interview where he thanks House of Pain, his training camp in Brazil, not the singers of Jump Around, and his sponsors. He is happy to be in Bulldog MMA and happy to win. Post-Post-Fight: Kevin Portman also asks for some time to speak, and he announces his retirement from MMA on the back of this loss. It will be interesting to see if he stands by that after he has had time to think, but if it sticks then it's a sad end to a long and fairly distinguished career for one of the stalwarts of British MMA. ------------------------------------ Match #2 Middleweight Division Paxton Brinkal (9-7) vs. Vagner (15-8)   This may be another example of a commission not knowing how good the fighter coming in from overseas is and thinking it's perfectly fine for Brinkal to be matched up against them. Vagner starts with a jab and right hand which already opens up a cut on Brinkal's eye, the next exchange sees Brinkal land a left hook, only for Vagner to score with a jab and a brutal right hook which leaves Brinkal looking dazed! Vagner tries to follow up with another big right hand but Brinkal somehow avoids it and gets bac k to the centre of the cage. Moments later another exchange sees Brinkal land a right hook, but Vagner walks through it and lands a right head kick which staggers Brinkal again! Brinkal backs away and somehow avoids an uppercut from Vagner, and once again Brinkal can recover. At this point I have no idea how Brinkal is still standing, or why he would want to be for that matter. Vagner continues stalking Brinkal and lands a jab followed by a right cross, Brinkal then misses a right cross in response leaving him open to an overhand right hand which leaves Brinkal in trouble again! This time Vagner follows up with a head kick which connects, and that's finally enough to knock Brinkal down to the mat. Vagner follows up by hammering down some punches to the head of Brinkal, and the referee steps in to stop the fight before Brinkal takes any more damage. An impressive performance from Vagner, but you can't help but also be amazed at how much punishment Brinkal was able to take despite being completely outmatched. Winner: Vagner (16-8) via TKO (Strikes) - 2:18 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Dave White is in there with Vagner to do some translation again, he thanks his team, Combat Team Curitiba, fort their help in getting him ready for the fight, and says that he wants to fight Thorbjorn Rekdal next. If BMMA can get him out of SIGMA's hands then that sounds like a cracking fight. ------------------------------------ Match #3 Heavyweight Division George Brabazon-Plank (1-1) vs. Rubenilson Augusto (9-3) If you're keeping score in the unofficial Britain v South America contest, it's 2-0 to South America now. After the craziness of the last two fights this one is a bit more settled to start, both fighters aren't quite as trigger-happy as Santos and Vagner were, GBP is able to land a quick one-two, only for Augusto to respond with a right hook. Both fighters connect with some more decent shots, but it's Augusto who lands the better punches with his hooks, whilst GBP lands a couple of leg kicks before missing a high kick. The next two minutes is where the fight stalls as both fighters are reluctant to move forward, and any strike exchange that does happen is pretty meaningless. It picked up again in the final round with Augusto able to land a left hook, only for GBP to connect with a superb head kick which knocks Augusto down! That very much came out of nowhere and even GBP looks a bit surprised, but he eventually heads to the ground and pounds away with right hands to the stunned Augusto, the Brazilian tries to escape but he can't do so, and after some more hard shots land the referee stops the fight! That's quite an upset victory for GBP who runs around the cage celebrating like he's won the Light Heavyweight title. That's also three first round finishes in a row, and the score moves to South America 2-1 Britain Winner: George Brabazon-Plank (2-1) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:34 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: I thought GBP's posh accent might need a translator in Manchester, but they seem to understand well enough. He is very excited about his victory, and after thanking the usual sponsors, fans etc. he says he wants to fight Gustavo Spagnol. I admire his willingness to make a challenge but aiming that high seems like a bit of a mistake. ------------------------------------ Match #4 Welterweight Division Brian O'Flaherty (5-1) vs. Salvador Santos (8-0) We take a brief interlude from the Britain/South America battle to do Ireland/Mexico, and these two fighters have a lot to live up to after the first three fights. O'Flaherty comes out looking to uphold the reputation of the previous fights, he is throwing big bombs from the start, the first misses allowing Santos to counter with a jab, the second connects with a nice left hook. O'Flaherty throws a head kick which misses, allowing Santos to counter with a leg kick, however Santos then misses with a right hook. The big shots keep coming but also keep missing, O'Flaherty misses with a left hand, Santos then connects with a left of his own, however O'Flaherty just walks through it and lands a jab, following that with a big head kick which sends Santos down! O'Flaherty's ground strikes are thought to be more powerful than when he's standing and that seems to be proved here, after a few destructive shots to the head of the grounded Santos the referee steps in, and not a moment too soon as they have knocked Santos out! The head kick obviously did the damage, but Santos wasn't out when he hit the floor, it was one of the punches that finished the fight. It's another KO finish for O'Flaherty, this time with a surprise assist from his left foot. And oh yeah, 4 from 4 first round finishes now, this is getting bizarre. Winner: Brian O'Flaherty (6-1) via Knock Out (Punch) - 2:26 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: O'Flaherty thanks his sponsors and fans, and he's happy to prove that his knockout power is something for everyone to fear. He calls out Fabio Santoro, who I believe is a fighter in the Welterweight division. Smart move. ------------------------------------ Match #5 Heavyweight Division Perry Barr (16-8) vs. Colin J L Capes (3-0) It only feels like twenty minutes ago we were starting the first fight, now we're starting the fifth. These two are hardly three-round cardio machines either. Capes missed weight, the cardinal sin, but hardly surprising given how much he had to cut to move down from Super Heavyweight. Capes starts things off with a nice right hand but misses a head kick, that allows Barr to counter with a jab. There's an exchange of strikes in the centre of the cage, Barr strikes first with a left hand, but Capes strikes harder with a vicious left hook which knocks Barr out cold! I mean, proper tree falling knock out, certainly he was out before he hit the ground. Capes doesn't bother following up thankfully as Barr has taken enough damage there, he just goes back to his corner. Five first round finishes, and this was the fastest so far. Good job I don't paid by the hour. Winner: Colin J L Capes (4-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 1:00 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Colin Capes gives the usual thanks to his sponsors, family and friends, before apologising to everyone for missing weight. I get the feeling that the fight would have gone a similar way if he hadn't, those 2lbs he was over wouldn't have made that punch any lighter. Post-Post Fight: You know what that means. Now he's conscious again Perry Barr tells the world that he's also retiring from MMA following this loss. I'm not sure the BMMA will be happy he's only fought once in his four-fight contract before hanging the gloves up. ------------------------------------ Co-Main Event Heavyweight Division Ilson de Lima (19-9) vs. Vic Millican (20-7) This show is flying by, and it's not as if Vic Millican is known for his grind fests either. Millican has a lot of support with him, but that won't help the 20lb weight disadvantage he has here. De Lima starts the fight by landing a leg kick, Millican lands a jab, de Lima then avoids a right hook and lands a left kick to the ribs. Yup, these two are throwing down as well. De Lima loves his kicks but misses with a head kick this time, that allows Millican to land a one-two combination, but de Lima catches him with a low kick on the way out. Millican hits a left hand, de Lima lands another leg kick, then follows that with a jab and a right hand. It's hard to keep up with this. Millican lands another two left hands and this time moves out before de Lima can hit the leg kick, Millican goes for a big right hand which de Lima avoids and lands a jab/right hand combination, then Millican connects with a pair of left jab but de Lima responds with a left and right before he can connect with the big strike. Perhaps unsurprisingly Millican looks to be tiring a bit, this fight has been 100mph from the start. With a minute left in the round de Lima hits a left hand, but Millican responds with a powerful right hook which knocks de Lima down! HERE WE GO AGAIN. Millican joins de Lima on the ground and rains down punches to the still stunned Brazilian, de Lima can't offer any defence and after several hard shots land the referee pulls Millican away to stop the fight! Millican runs off like a mad man, the crowd are ecstatic, and I'm still in disbelief about what we're seeing here tonight. Six fights, six first round stoppages. Nobody's even tried to clinch yet, let alone go for a takedown. Winner: Vic Millican (21-7) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:18 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Vic Millican is pretty tired but still manages to thank his sponsors and fans, he then says he wants to fight Souleymane Ya Konan, another recent signing from SIGMA - and the SIGMA Heavyweight champion. I'll let your imagination work out how much an out-of-breath Millican's Geordie accent butchered Ya Konan's name. ------------------------------------ Main Event Lightweight Division Tim Oldacres (9-1) vs. Juan Pablo Rique (18-9) The Britain/South America score is now tied at 2-2 making this the decider, but most people are more interested in seeing if the entire show will be first round finishes. Surely it can't happen. Oldacres is happy to simply walk down Rique from the start, and he hits a jab and a hard right cross to start things off, Rique tries to respond but can't in time. An exchange between the two sees Rique land a jab but miss with a right, Oldacres then counters with a jab and right hook. These two are following the lead of everyone before them it seems. Oldacres misses a jab but does connect with a hard right cross, Rique keeps firing off jabs whenever he can to try and keep Oldacres away but the Englishman is just taking them on the chin and moving forward. Oldacres lands a combination of two left hands but Rique moves back to avoid a leg kick, however on the next exchange Oldacres uses a jab to set up a brutal right uppercut and, you've guessed it, Rique is knocked down! The inevitable happens as Oldacres begins pounding away on Rique who cannot do anything to stop him, and after seven powerful strikes land the referee steps in to stop the fight! We have our seven first round finishes from all seven fights, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before in modern MMA, and it's Britain 3-2 South America too in that meaningless scorecard. Now I've got to go and find something else to do for the next two hours. Winner: Tim Oldacres (10-1) via Knock Out (Punch) - 2:53 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Oldacres thanks Leamington Spa Muay Thai for his training camp, his sponsors and his fans. He says he is glad he got the chance to put things right after his loss to Nigel Collett, but for now he's fighting exclusively for the BCF. He hopes to be back in Bulldog MMA someday. That's a lot nicer than Osi Lewis' goodbye at the last show. (In case you're thinking "surely, he's made all this up so he can write a quick show with a load of first round finishes, here's the end of show card. I couldn't believe what was happening.) --------------------------------------------------- Show Details Attendance: 191 Critical Rating: 72% Commercial Rating: 33% Popularity Changes: UK: +1.6% Europe: +0.6% Africa: +0.6% Central America: +0.6% Asia: +0.6% USA: +0.6% Australia: +0.6% Mexico: +0.6% Canada: +0.6% Russia: +0.5% Japan: +0.5% South America: +0.9% Fight of the Night: N/A Submission of the Night: N/A KO of the Night: Tim Oldacres, Vic Millican, Colin J L Capes, Brian O'Flaherty, George Brabazon-Plank, Vagner & Antonio Santos In lieu of other prizes, all the winners were given KO of the Night bonuses to mark the craziness of the evening. Income Gate: $16,831 Sponsorship: $13,344 Merchandise: $2,219 Expenditure Fighters: $34,531 Drug Testing: $5,600 Production: $3,046 Total: -$10,783 Worth it though. --------------------------------------------------- Other News - The big news is the names that GAMMA have allowed to leave, JJ Reid, Neil Napier and Thomas Smith have all been cut after suffering recent losses. Napier is still a world ranked Middleweight with an 18-3 record, and I would be amazed if ALPHA-1 don't make a move for him. - Lots more signings, although BMMA have been a bit less active than in previous weeks. GAMMA on the other hand have brought in Vasily Klyushev, John Fitzwallace, Matas Fialkowska, Guy Broom, Justin Brannagh, Kramer Mayweather and Bill Brown. - ALPHA-1 continue their strategy of hiring local fighters, it's strange to see a company of their size continue to hire fighters with less than 3 fights of experience. - KDM FC continue to expand their roster as well, some thought they might not last the year but getting their TV show may be enough to save them and see them continue on for many years. --------------------------------------------------- Other Shows Saturday Week 1 of August GAMMA 58: Mack vs. Reid Petey Mack def. JJ Reid Frank Paul def. Marvin Stevens Gary Sampson def. Terry Shakespeare Ross Smith def. Floyd Haywood Dwayne Alleyne def. Neil Napier Stuart Strange def. Thomas Smith Saturday Week 2 of August GAMMA Battle Lines 7: Sorkin vs. Watson Mike Watson def. Tony Sorkin Norman Pike def. Tony McCall Alex Cole def. Tyrone Malik Wes Hersch def. Vivinho Moses Amokachi def. Fred Goggins KDM FC 27: Togo vs. Alcala Lito Alcala def. Kanji Togo to win the KDM FC Bantamweight title Lian Hung def. Po-Han Yue Chiyo Yanagimoto def. Taniko Uchiyama Ikeda Kenkichio def. Reza Afshar Naruhiko Yonai def. Jeffrey Lin Sunday Week 2 of August WEFF 32; Vaughan vs. Addams II Sara Vaughan def. Michelle Addams to retain the WEFF Bantamweight title Karen Curtis def. Sandy Oliver Layla Holmes def. Nina Belle Hester Maclean def. Helen Fox Monica Masters def. Nanette Girard Friday Week 3 of August ALPHA-1: Hasegawa vs. Yamada Tadamasa Yamada def. Jiroemon Hasegawa Terron Cabal def. Gerson Mauricio Hisamitsu Susaki def. Taizoh Chung Man Claudio Palacios def. Lucas Norihide Kusonoki def. Muhammad Hamzah Fernando Peragon def. Samba Nakamura Saturday Week 3 of August GAMMA 59: Rushton vs. McInleen Davey Rushton def. John-James McInleen Ricky Heath def. Bill Cumming Perry Madison def. Aaron McBroom Diego Arteta def. Randy Carsley Tora Mizwar def. Eriverton Laurentino Nate MacReary def. Harv Dennis SIGMA: Kurri vs. Karabatsos Matti Kurri def. Alekos Karabatsos to win the SIGMA Light Heavyweight title Nicolai Mickiewicz def. Adrian Swall Marco Bernacci def. Pedro Alves Edgar van den Hoogenband def. Jacob Matthaus Juozas Skerla def. Alexandre Montador Sunday Week 3 of August XCC: Baldwin vs. Zoff Chad Zoff def. Henry Baldwin to win the XCC Lightweight Title Sammy Gaffigan def. Wallace Everett Brock Youdale def. Kenny Magilton Aubrey Bassington-Bassington def. Riveron Potter-Pirbright Brian Claremont def. Dominic Ash
  8. Monday, Week 1 of August Jim: "Well, I think you have to call that a success." Harry: "Are you kidding? The last three fights were horrible to watch, one of the winners swore in their interview, the Middleweight champion is gone and the title is vacant, and what's more on the way out he made the entire company look like a joke. Oh yeah, and only 74 people turned up to watch the show. How exactly are you looking at this as a positive?" Jim: "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. OK, let's go through your points. Yes, the last three fights weren't pretty to watch, but I've seen worse. Hell, we've both fought in worse. The first three fights were entertaining though, that showed people what Bulldog MMA is about. Jazz Snide did swear, but it was past the watershed, plus we're an MMA company with people getting knocked out and bleeding all over the place, I think we're OK for a swear word. The Middleweight title is more of an issue, Lewis was the favourite and we don't really have a fight happening any time soon that can crown a new champion, but we'll get there." Harry: "And what about the way Lewis left? How was he even allowed to say that?" Jim: "It's a live mic, and he took advantage of it. My guess is that Jerome gave him a hefty bonus to trash us on the way out, he's never usually like that when you talk to him. On the plus side the clip of his interview is cropping up in a lot of places, and no publicity is bad publicity. Even Euro Cable Sport liked it, they thought it made the show more unpredictable." Harry: "Well I didn't like it, he won't be fighting here again unless we get an apology." Jim: "It's MMA Harry, if he's useful to us we'll use him again, let's not pretend otherwise. As for the attendance, it was lower because people had the option to watch it on TV, and as it's a subscription channel they would have already paid for it. Plus, they got to listen to me on commentary, you can't blame them for choosing that option." Harry: "What was the financial outcome in the end? Surely it wasn't good with barely anyone attending." Jim: "Remember that part of the contract that gave us a cut of the advertising and subscriptions? We've just had the numbers through. We get 89 grand. It covers the cost of the fighters three times over and made us nearly 60 grand in profit from the show. That means the company's going to make a profit this month. We're on our way, Harry." Harry: "You're kidding. 60 grand profit? You're right, this was a success, screw everything else that happened. You've made some great decisions Jim, everything that has happened since the SportTube deal has fallen into place perfectly. All we need to do now is stay alert to what the BCF are likely to try against us." Jim: "Oh they've been trying to take some of our young guys but with the extra money at our disposal and being able to use the TV show as leverage we've been able to keep them. The question is, once we start making money regularly, do we want to start trying to steal talent from them?" Harry: "Let's take it easy for now, get a few profitable months under our belts then look at what we do. No point starting an all-out war without the means to support it." Jim: "Probably a good idea. Our expenditure is going to increase now we're running more fights per show, but with that we can increase ticket prices a bit. It's 7 fights for the next couple of shows, moving up to 8 after that. We're even going to have prelim fights soon, probably useful given all the people we have under contract." Harry: "Things are looking up indeed. We're still missing three champions though..." Jim: "I'm working on it, I'm working on it..." ------------------------------------- Press Release BRITAIN VS. SOUTH AMERICA THEME FOR BMMA 10 by Mike Thomson Bulldog MMA will be back on Saturday, Week 4 of August in the Manchester Central Convention Complex for the first show after their very successful television debut, it's back to the internet for this one though. The show has been given a loose "Britain vs. South America" theme with 5 of the 7 fights following that criteria, including the main event which will see Britain's Tim Oldacres taking on Argentina's Juan Pablo Rique in the Lightweight division. The first fight of the evening will be Manchester's own Kevin Portman (13-9) taking on BMMA newcomer Antonio Santos (1-0) in a Heavyweight division clash, to say these two have a difference in experience would be an understatement. Kevin Portman may have the best physique in all of MMA, and as a former bodybuilder he has put a lot of work into it. However as intimidating as his appearance is, the truth is that his skills do not match up to it at all. He has muscles for days, but also has very little in the way of punching power. At 37 he is very much on the decline, as proved when Aston Merryman knocked him out in the Heavyweight title tournament. Antonio Santos is nicknamed "The Hulk", which is as much an accurate description of his fighting style as it is a blatant copyright violation. He goes straight ahead with no fear, the brutal power in his fists could probably knock out a Chitauri Leviathan, and he has decent enough grappling skills to stop opponents from getting him to the ground. This young man could be one to look out for. He has fought once this year, knocking out a local fighter at South American show in the first round. The second fight will be between two veterans in the Middleweight division, as Paxton Brinkal (9-7) takes on Vagner (15-8). Paxton Brinkal is an old-fashioned slugger from Somerset, he's always willing to come out swinging in a fight and has decent power behind his punches, he can take a good punch as well, but other than wild brawling he has no other game plan or skills to fall back on. His only fight this year was a remarkably close contest with Humbert Gest in the Middleweight tournament, Brinkal ended up on the losing end of a split decision. Vagner is a very experienced fighter from Brazil who has shown flashes of brilliance during his career, as well as frustrating inconsistency. A kick boxer who is a dangerous opponent for anyone in a stand-up fight, he doesn't have a lot of power in his strikes, but he makes up for that with particularly good technique. A former FLB fighter with a 2-5 record in the now defunct organisation, he has fought once this year with a TKO win over Marco de Almeida at a South American show. It's Britain vs. Brazil again in the third fight as George Brabazon-Plank (1-1) takes on Rubenilson Augusto (9-3) in the Light Heavyweight division. George Brabazon-Plank is known for being the most upper-class fighter in MMA history, and his posh-London boy personality is usually a reason people want to see him get punched. That happens a lot due to his willingness to stand and trade strikes with anyone, he is a decent striker himself with a solid technique, the rest of his game is somewhat. GBP competed in the Light Heavyweight tournament but was eliminated in the first round by Michael Dali. Rubenilson Augusto is a dangerous striker with a right hand that, if it lands flush, could knock out anyone standing in his path. That has been the basis for his 9 victories, but also the reason for his 3 defeats as he has absolutely no other skills to speak of. One of the FLB fighters not to be picked up by other companies after it closed, Augusto defeated Denilson da Cunha on their final show, and has defeated Arkan Gleiser on a South American show since then. Let's switch things up with Ireland vs. Mexico now, Brian O'Flaherty (5-1) enters the cage to fight Salvador Santos (8-0) in the Welterweight division. I'll let you work out who represents which country. O'Flaherty has some pressure on his shoulders after being deemed the future of Irish MMA, that accolade being given on his impressive striking ability that he carries over from his kick boxing background, and the power he has is a threat at all times. With wrestling being his weak link, once that improves, he might be able to live up to the hype. His current standing was summed up during the Welterweight tournament when he knocked out Roger Quince in 68 seconds, but then lost after he was taken down and finished on the ground by Ron Chuckle. Whilst other people discuss O'Flaherty's future, Salvador Santos is perfectly happy talking about his own. He speaks about how he intends to be the greatest Welterweight of all time, and whilst he is undefeated at the moment, he still has a long way to go if he wants to meet that goal. Santos is a good kickboxer but isn't considered elite, and the remainder of his game is still very much a work-in-progress. He hasn't had a fight in some time, so it remains to be seen how far he has developed since his previous one. The fifth fight of the show brings us two debuting fighters in the Heavyweight division, Perry Barr (16-8) will take on Colin J L Capes (3-0). Perry Barr has been around British MMA for a long time, and most of that time he has been an ever-present figure in the BCF. Using his power to be a ground and pound specialist, Barr has fought most of the top British Heavyweights, and eventually was given a title opportunity against Stafford Alois. Unfortunately, this was where his weak chin was discovered, and despite a victory over Christopher Drew, he has since been knocked out by both Percy Catcher and Dave Lennon, results which saw BCF cut ties with him. This may be the final run for Barr who will bring his popularity to the cage if nothing else. Colin Capes is 15 years younger than his opponent and will also no doubt be heavier given that he is usually a Super Heavyweight who is trying to cut down to 265 in order to find more fights in the UK. The big man from Glasgow has a background in kick boxing which combined with his natural strength leads to brutal striking power, and showed that at a local show recently when he won his fight at a local show with a head kick KO in 62 seconds. UPDATE: Since the writing of the above it has been revealed that Capes has missed weight for this fight, coming at 267lbs, 2lbs over the limit. He will be fined a percentage of his purse, but Barr has agreed to still fight him. The sixth fight and co-main event of the evening will be another Heavyweight division clash, llson de Lima (19-9) takes on Vic Millican (20-7). Hey, it's another Britain vs. Brazil match as well. Ilson de Lima follows in a similar vein to several other Brazilians on this show, he is also a kick boxer with great physical strength which allows him to strike with power, and he is particularly fond of a head kick. That strength translates to his grappling, but if the fight goes to the ground, he is very much lost. Despite all of his victories he was never picked up by FLB during their time in business and remained a fixture on the South American independent shows. He has fought once this year, a win over Dias Candido in Brazil before he moved to the UK. Vic Millican may be one of the best-known fighters in the UK, his appearance is that of a stereotypical brawler, his toughness is thought of as legendary, and his unorthodox fighting style make him difficult for anyone to compete against. Millican is another of the long-time BCF fighters who have been cleared out recently, which is strange given that two fights ago he was fighting Carter Potter for the BCF Heavyweight title. A loss there, and a follow-up loss this year to Mark Bicknell was enough to get his marching orders and Bulldog MMA signed him up as quickly as possible. Our main event is not quite Britain vs. Brazil, it's Britain vs. Argentina instead. You know, I think they've fought about something before. It's a Lightweight division match-up between Tim Oldacres (9-1) and Juan Pablo Rique (18-9), with it being Oldacres' last fight before he becomes exclusive to the BCF. Tim Oldacres is one of the new generation of fighters who knows that they have to be fully trained in all aspects of MMA to be competitive, and that's exactly what he's done. His bread and butter though is still the kick boxing skills he had prior to starting MMA, and his powerful hands are a big threat in the Lightweight division. After joining the BCF he defeated both Keith Jolly and Sid Morgan and entered the BMMA Lightweight tournament as a heavy favourite, but instead he suffered a huge upset loss to Nigel Collett in the first round. Juan Pablo Rique comes over from South America touted as being one of the best fighters in the region not to have competed in FLB, with many experts saying he is better than some of the people who were in the Lightweight division. Rique has very good jiu-jitsu skills but does struggle in getting the fight to the ground in the first place, his other glaring weakness is a lack of decent striking meaning he has to rely on his speed to get him out of dangerous situations. Rique has fought once this year, a TKO win over Dalmo Pedrosa in South America, perhaps showing that he has improved his striking game. BMMA 10: Oldacres vs. Rique Fight Card Heavyweight Division Kevin Portman vs. Antonio Santos Middleweight Division Paxton Brinkal vs. Vagner   Light Heavyweight Division George Brabazon-Plank vs. Rubenilson Augusto Welterweight Division Brian O'Flaherty vs. Salvador Santos Heavyweight Division Perry Barr vs. Colin J L Capes Co-Main Event Heavyweight Division Ilson de Lima vs. Vic Millican Main Event Lightweight Division Tim Oldacres vs. Juan Pablo Rique
  9. BULLDOG BRAWL 1: LEWIS vs. HYDE Match #1 Welterweight Division Geraint O'Connell (3-1) vs. Valdo Calamari (9-0) Here we are then, the very first fight on a Bulldog Brawl show, live on Euro Cable Sport 1. Who better to kick us off then a barely known Irishman and a Brazilian who has never fought in the UK before and whose name translates to squid? We had a striking exchange to begin with as both O'Connell and Calamari landed some good shots in the opening minutes of the fight, if anything it was O'Connell getting the better of the exchanges though. Calamari perhaps senses that as he eventually went in for a takedown and easily took the Irishman to the mat, Calamari was far better on the ground and moved through to side control quite easily, however a slight error allowed O'Connell to move Calamari back into his guard which is where the remainder of the round took place. Calamari obviously knew what was going to work for him as during the second round he went for a grapple immediately, instead of taking O'Connell down though he held him against the cage for a while. Eventually Calamari used the cage as an ally in getting O'Connell down to the ground, and this time he landed in side control. Calamari was content to land some punches to the body instead of going for a finish, eventually he tried to move into the mount, O'Connell used it as an attempt to scramble but only ended up giving up his back, kneeling on the ground with Calamari holding a waist lock. From there Calamari was able to start landing hard shots to the side of the head, O'Connell did his best to deflect them but not being able to see them coming wasn't helping his cause. Calamari kept on landing punches until O'Connell's knees gave out, and that was enough for the referee to step in and stop the fight. The first Bulldog Brawl fight ends with a stoppage, which is a good sign of things to come at least. Winner: Valdo Calamari (10-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:15 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Calamari speaks fairly good English, but that means we get the standard thanks to sponsors, fans, family and friends, before saying he was happy to win his BMMA debut. ----------------------- Match #2 Light Heavyweight Division Pierce Jeeler (6-6) vs. Erik Cunniford (0-1) When this fight is on the show it becomes very apparent that Bulldog MMA were short on available fighters when they were booking this show. Jeeler started the fight using some decent striking, but Cunniford wasn't interested in engaging in a striking battle as he kept moving forward to initiate a clinch. Once he did that it wasn't long before Jeeler was pressed back until he was trapped against the cage, and from there Cunniford executed the most basic of takedowns to get Jeeler to the ground. Jeeler has absolutely no ground game to speak of and Cunniford moved through into the mount with ease, from there he set up for an armbar, and once that was fully applied Jeeler wasted little time in tapping out. To a casual viewer this fight made Cunniford look like a monster, unfortunately those of us who know how bad Jeeler is know better, but we're not the ones watching Bulldog MMA, or even MMA itself, for the first time on this TV show. Winner: Eric Cunniford (1-1) via Submission (Armbar) - 2:44 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Cunniford barely mumbles out a thank you to his sponsors and fans whilst looking very uncomfortable. Interviews do not appear to be his strong point. ----------------------- Match #3 Lightweight Division Albert Campbell (1-0) vs. Karl Whitehead (0-0) It's the Roller Coaster (Campbell) vs. the Rhino (Whitehead) here, and both youngsters will be desperate for a good performance to make a name for themselves. That said, the opening minutes of the fight see both fighters very reluctant to engage, and when they do come together and strike it's a fairly even contest. Eventually Whitehead seems to find his range and lands some good combinations, he also starts throwing out a high volume of kicks, some miss, some are only glancing blows, but the occasional leg or body kick land hard. Campbell opens up a bit more after that and starts throwing some kicks of his own, but overall, after the first round it's definitely Whitehead with the advantage. The second round began with a couple of powerful right hooks landing for Whitehead and he maintained that early dominance by out-striking Campbell for the whole round. Campbell tried his best, but he could only ever land the occasional jab, and his attempts to use that to set up a second, more powerful shot were easily avoided by Whitehead, particularly his head kicks. The second half of the round was almost uneventful as both fighters went back to their original plans of keeping their distance. The final round began with Whitehead in control again by avoiding a right hook and connecting with a hard kick to the ribs, Campbell then went for another head kick but this time Whitehead avoided it and countered with a straight right which landed cleanly and knocked Campbell down! Whitehead pounded away with right hands on the fallen Campbell, and after some brutal shots landed with Campbell unable to defend them the referee stepped in to stop the fight. A very impressive performance from Whitehead here, and it's the third finish in a row for the TV show. Winner: Karl Whitehead (1-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 0:55 of Round 3 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Whitehead didn't say much more than the usual sponsors/fans gratitude, but when asked if he wanted to fight next he said that he didn't care who it was against, but wanted another fight as soon as possible. ----------------------- Match #4 Middleweight Division Humbert Gest (7-6) vs. Mario Varela (10-2) Varela comes into Bulldog MMA with a bit of hype behind him, but in the ever-increasing number of Brazilian and Canadian imports in the company it's getting difficult to remember who is who. Let's hope this fight isn't indicative of Varela's talents as it wasn't a pretty one. The first round isn't too bad, it's all on the feet with open striking and some good shots are landed by both fighters, I think most people were expecting Gest to fold quite easily but instead he held his own, and even though Varela landed the most strikes it was far from a one-sided contest. The second round maintained the level of the first for the opening portion, again Varela was landing the better strikes but Gest was landing jabs here and there, however as the fighters began to tire their work rate significantly dropped off, and with it the volume of strikes being thrown. With two minutes left in the round Varela got Gest into a Muay Thai clinch, something we've rarely seen in British MMA, Varela began hitting some hard knee strikes to Gest, but they were mainly to the body and there wasn't any danger of Gest being knocked down or out. In the final round it was all Varela as Gest had no energy left in the tank, not the best look given that he'd only fought two rounds and didn't cut any weight for this fight, Varela continued to out-strike him but never landed anything particularly damaging, before taking the fight into a standard clinch and keeping Gest trapped against the cage for a while. Varela eventually drags Gest away from the cage and into a Muay Thai clinch, but again the strikes he landed are only to the body, and at this point Gest doesn't have any energy left to drain. With seconds left Gest tries one last gambit with a wild right hand, but it missed, and we went to the judges. All three unsurprisingly scored the fight 30-27 to Mario Varela for a very uninspiring debut victory. Winner: Mario Varela (11-2) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) Fight Rating: Poor Post-Fight: Varela doesn't speak English, but Bulldog MMA have brought in a translator! Probably for the best given the level of understanding of Portuguese in the British Isles. Varela, via the translator, thanks his sponsors and fans, and wants to challenge Wederson de Oliveira for his next fight. I'm all for calling people out, but I'm going to have to work out which newcomer that is before I get excited. ----------------------- Co-Main Event Lightweight Division Nigel Collett (7-3) vs. Jazz Snide (4-0) This is match-up full of spite, it started with Snide's call-out after his last fight, calling Collett a coward, and has escalated through a war of words on social media, before nearly resulting in a scuffle breaking out at the weigh-in. Suffice to say, they didn't touch gloves. Both fighters were willing to throw strikes early, and despite Collett being a former boxer it was Snide who got the best of the exchanges, his reach advantage and more diverse striking was able to keep him one step ahead. Snide continued to hold the advantage and that looked like it was irritating Collett, the punches he threw began to get more and more reckless, and all that did was give Snide more opportunities to avoid them and counter with strikes of his own. When the first round ends the referee had to step in to send them back to their corners, evidently neither one wanted to be the first one to walk away. Snide began the second round with a very quick combination of four strikes, Collett was able to respond though and in the first half of the round probably landed more clean shots than Snide. Whilst Snide's strikes are very fast they never seem to do a lot of damage. Snide also likes his high kicks but he hasn't been able to find his range tonight, he misses with a couple in this round, Collett can't take advantage of the first one, but after the second he counters with a hard left hand. Collett definitely got the better of Snide during the second round, but right at the end a right hook from Snide connected which opened a cut on Collett, for some judges that's just as significant as a knockdown. The final round began with both fighters looking to engage and both land some good shots, however as they begin to tire both of them struggled to maintain their frantic pace. Collett lost his accuracy with his energy and Snide goes back to being able to counter his missed strikes, but then decided to guarantee control of the fight by grappling with Collett and forcing him back against the cage. The remainder of the fight was spent with Snide trapping Collett against the cage and landing shots on the inside, not exactly the most punk method of fighting. We went to the judges for a decision and all three scored the fight 29-28 to Jazz Snide, giving him Rounds 1 and 3. Snide remains undefeated, and it means we're going to hear from him after the fight... Winner: Jazz Snide (5-0) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Average Post-Fight: I'm not sure live TV is ready for this. It starts off fairly sedate with the usual sponsor thanking, but after that I'll just quote him directly. "Nigel Collett, you stepped up, I appreciate that, but I knew you were nothing compared to me and that got proven tonight. I'm done with you now. Nathan Wyles? Whoever the **** you are? You want to call me out, you better be careful what you wish for, because I will teach you a lesson you'll never forget. And as for Owen Oggleberry-Pipp, your fancy name just shows what kind of a person you are, you want to prove me wrong then get in the cage with me and show me you're not as much of a coward as you sound. Take this mic back, I'm out. You need me, I'll be at my after-party celebrating another win." Well at least he only swore once. I don't think Oggleberry-Pipp has ever said anything about Snide, I guess he just doesn't like his name. ----------------------- Main Event BMMA Middleweight Title Match Osi Lewis (8-1) vs. Owen Hyde (9-0) Middleweight title fight time, and as we know Lewis is going to the BCF after this so we're in another situation where the BMMA management would much prefer the challenger winning. Lewis' first strike was a head kick which caught Hyde and opened a cut, I'm not sure how that's possible unless it was his toenail that caused it. Eww. Lewis was by far the better striker in the first round, Hyde was only able to land a few strikes on the counter, but even when he did Lewis just took them, smiled and motioned for Hyde to try again. Towards the end of the round the doctor was brought in to check Hyde's cut, but it was deemed OK to continue, despite Lewis shouting from across the cage that he should give up before it gets any worse. Lewis is in a strange mood tonight it seems. Hyde did a bit better in the second round once his cut is cleared up, landing some decent hooks and the occasional combinations, but it was still very much Lewis in control, scoring with both good punches and hard kicks to Hyde's lead leg. Lewis was moving a little slower than he was in the opening round, but he was still able to avoid most of Hyde's attempted strikes and did more than enough to win the second round. The action really slowed in the third round, with Lewis tiring he wasn't pushing the pace of the fight, and Hyde didn't seem to want to try and take advantage of that. The first half of the round saw very few strikes land, but Lewis is nothing if not wildly unpredictable and his next decision was to clinch with Hyde and pull him down to the ground with Hyde in his guard. It's a tactic he successfully used against Todd Prenger in the Middleweight tournament, but Hyde is a better fighter on the ground than Prenger. The remainder of the round was on the ground with Lewis keeping Hyde wrapped in his guard, and Hyde landing whatever small strikes he could from that position without much success. The pulling guard tactic wasn't employed by Lewis in the fourth round, once again it started with a striking battle with thankfully more strikes landing than in the previous round, but after that Lewis went for another different game plan. Once again, he clinched up with Hyde, however this time Lewis used it to push Hyde back against the cage and land elbows and knees from the clinch. One of the elbows opened up Hyde's cut again, but other than that not a whole lot of damage was done and after two minutes the referee separated them. Within seconds they were back clinching against the cage, but thankfully the round ended shortly afterwards. Hyde needed a finish now but Lewis wasn't going to give him the opportunity to do so if he could help it, and by that I mean he was intent on clinching and keeping Hyde controlled against the cage for as much of the final round as possible. Unfortunately for Hyde, and in fact for everyone watching the fight live or at home, that's exactly what happened with most of the first four minutes of the round, Lewis doesn't really bother trying to land many strikes from that position either. The referee eventually separated them, and not a moment too soon, Hyde does what he can in the last 45 seconds and connects with a few decent shots, but nothing that has the power to trouble Lewis, even at this late stage. We went to the judges for a decision for the third fight in a row, and I'm sure that the BMMA management would have preferred a more exciting last three fights on their first TV show. All three judges score the fight 50-45 to Osi Lewis, meaning that he defends the Middleweight title but will have to vacate it shortly. Winner, and still BMMA Middleweight Champion: Osi Lewis (9-1) via Unanimous Decision (50-45 x3) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Let's do a direct quote again... "I want to thank my sponsors and the people that came out here tonight, but I'm done fighting in front of 70 people in an old building up here. I've proven that I'm the best here and I don't need to stick around fighting for scraps when I could be up at the big table down in London getting what I deserve, and what I'm worth. So, thanks Bulldog MMA, Harry, Jim, but I'm done with you now. There are bigger things ahead for me, I'm going to the BCF, where the best fighters in the country are, and you can bet I'll be the Middleweight champion there as well. You can have this back; I don't need it anymore." With that Lewis pretty much threw the belt at Harry Milne and walked out of the cage. Probably not the last image the Bulldog MMA owner would have wanted to end their first TV show, but at least people will be talking about it... The BMMA Middleweight Title has been vacated. ----------------------- Show Details Attendance: 74 Critical Rating: 63% Commercial Rating: 37% Popularity Changes: UK: +0.4% Europe: +0.4% Russia: +0.3% Fight of the Night: Albert Campbell vs. Karl Whitehead Knock Out of the Night: Valdo Calamari Submission of the Night: Eric Cunniford Income Gate: $6,521 Sponsorship: $8,428 Advertising/Subscription cut: $89,442 Merchandise: $2,046 Expenditure Fighters: $28,466 Drug Testing: $4,800 Production: $13,700 TOTAL: +$59,471 What a beautiful sight that is. Other News - Perhaps the biggest news recently is that Japan has regulated MMA throughout the country, a move that brings it in line with every other major MMA region around the world. The biggest impact of this will be the standardised drug testing for any show run in Japan, as well as a much firmer oversight of the MMA companies that run there. - GAMMA suffered a massive blow when their biggest fight of the year so far, James Foster against Gladstone Lopes for the Heavyweight title, had to be scrapped at the last minute after Foster suffered an injury in his last training session. It's also a torn rotator cuff, keeping the 36-year-old for a year at least, not ideal for the company's biggest star. - BCF have renewed the deal with United Kingdom Choice, meaning that they will continue to have PPVs for some time to come. The PPVs are the big money earner for BCF and if they are going to get to the level of GAMMA and ALPHA-1 then money is going to be the main factor. - Unfortunately, another fighter has decided to make his racist views public, Foggy Lee seemed like such a nice guy, but apparently, he has views that we neither endorse, nor condone anyone else having. - Some signings to discuss, the BCF have signed Felipe Luiz Rosa, and GAMMA have signed Timmy Dukes and Garth Neill. Meanwhile... - Bulldog MMA have signed Thorbjorn Rekdal, Adrian Swall, Agustin Gonzalez, Fabio Santoro, Kevin Sponge, Pepe, Ranieri Fernanda, Bienvenido Roumulo, Julio Correa, Santiago Rocha, Marcus Rimmer, Noppanon On-Mo, Billy Fish and Souleymane Ya Konan. I have no idea what they intend to do with all these guys. Other Shows Saturday, Week 2 of July KDM FC 25: Sablikova vs. Sakamoto Kit Sakamoto def. Veronika Sablikova to win the KDM FC Women's Featherweight title Cheng Shih def. Ho Tseng Supachai Thamsatchanan def. Sophan Sastrowardoya Tossapol Puangchan def. Shusui Ohmiya Eiko Shiokaka def. Romi Takahashi GAMMA 56: Le Toussier vs. Rubenstein III Spencer Rubenstein def. Anthony LeToussier to win the GAMMA Light Heavyweight title Osmosis Benn def. Patrick Thomas Coltrane Aaronson def. Benny Danare Alan Kendall def. Cooper Richardson Den Bickersteth def. Bruno Doman SIGMA: Ya Konan vs. Lipnicki Souleymane Ya Konan def. Stanislaw Lipnicki to win the vacant SIGMA Heavyweight title Snorri Gunnarsson def. Klaus Greis Daniil Skala def. Dmytro Dargomyzhsky Thorbjorn Rekdal def. Drazen Gabelich Roman Danielyan def. Sau Cervantes Friday Week 3 of July ALPHA-1: Van Der Capellen vs. Miyagi Ichisake Miyago def. Noach van der Capellen to win the ALPHA-1 Welterweight Title Fjodor Kanchelskis def. Mal Phe Roby Li-Kong Ho def. Yoshihiro Makamori Carlos da Guia def. Gempachi Higa Osamu Dan def. Yoritomo Ina Saturday Week 3 of July GAMMA 57: Chambers vs. Sipatov II Nathan Chambers def. Yevgeni Sipatov Rufus Stephens def. Josh Aldarisio Ken Peters def. Bryan van den Hauwe Jerry Bogdonovich def. Big Magic Adam White def. Ethan Sutton Seth O'Breen def. Gerardo Diez XCC: Tavares vs. Nunes Rafael Tavares def. Azor Portela Nunes Ward Maloprop def. Landon London Pat Troy def. Kade Devine Julian Beals def. Warren Kitt Mitchell Bryan def. Chris Byng Sunday Week 3 of July WEFF 31: Lehane vs. Croft II Hope Lehane def. Haley Croft to retain the WEFF Featherweight title Pamela O'Neill def. Serena Hill Laura Adair def. Rachel McGuiness Grace Hughes def. Olivia Sweet Piper Evergood def. Brooke Rockerfeller Saturday Week 4 of July SIGMA: Agdestein vs. Toadspew Stian Agdestein def. Kenneth Toadspew Milenko Rudonja def. Johan Kavli Gerrit Dudok def. Lothar Marks Ern Fathoui def. Roland Furtwangler Eberhard Dahm def. Egidijus Fomenka KDM FC 26: Hsu vs. Kang Shen Kang def. Sying Hsu Seka Mutsu def. Noara Kikuchi Chakrit Mamanee def. Sammi Chann Kei Maki def. Chan Siu-wei Apolonio Redodno Jr def. Alessandro Adauto Friday Week 1 of August ALPHA-1 Warriors of the Ring 3 Kazuko Nishi def. Eric Coleman Konosuke Shirahata def. Matsudaira Satoh Yahgi Jokichi def. Ryota Sugimoto Tadao Miyazaki def. Sojiuro Iriye Suketsune Okuma def. Juro Fukazawa
  10. I'll settle for him winning a few matches and staying with the company . Harry: "How much exactly did you offer Pizzarro for him to stay with us?" Jim: "Um... $7,500 a fight, plus bonuses." Harry: "You're bloody mad, I told you not to overspend just to keep one fighter. His salary was the difference between making a profit and a loss from that show." Jim: "I know, but to me the company's gain outweighs the financial loss. We've got a solid Welterweight champion, and with the right treatment and development he can be our biggest star. He's a huge talent, he'll be worth it, I promise." Harry: "Maybe he is, but I think you're letting your attachment to him cloud your judgement here. What are the other fighters on that show going to think when they find out that Pizzaro earned more than six of them combined? They're going to want to earn the same amount as well, and we'll be in debt before you can blink." Jim: "I can't guarantee that won't happen, but I also stand by my decision. Besides, I think this TV deal might be very advantageous to our profit margins, I've had a look through the contract and not only do we get a cut of the advertising fees from the three hours Bulldog Brawl will be on the air, but also a slice of any subscription fees based on the number of viewers we bring in." Harry: "You know I'm not a numbers guy, so I'll just believe you when you say it's a good thing." Jim: "Well there are negatives, for some reason we can't get the numbers of how many people watch the show, even though you'd think that information would be the bare minimum to be given to you for a TV show, and our production fees are going to increase given that we're moving to the Manchester Central Convention Complex for the Bulldog Brawl shows. Both the cost of the venue and the costs required for proper camera equipment, the ones we use for SportTube aren't going to be enough. I'm still confident this is going to be worthwhile though, if nothing else it's a lot of exposure." Harry: "It's a big step, but if it works, we are a huge step closer to the BCF. Euro Cable Sport is probably a bigger platform than UK Broadcasting Digital as well." Jim: "Not quite, if it was Euro Cable Sport 4 it would be on terrestrial TV, Euro Cable Sport 1 is subscription only." Harry: "Why is their biggest channel number 4 and their smallest number 1?" Jim: "Not a clue. Also are you happy with the name? I was going to go with Bulldog Fight Night until my wife pointed out that "Dog Fight" is in the middle of that." Harry: "I like Brawl, rolls of the tongue nicely. Here's to a good show, hopefully we can start things off with a real barnstormer to show what we're all about." Later that week *ring ring* Jim: "Hello?" Jerome: "Oh look, one of you knows how to pick up a phone. Obviously, Harry's taken too many shots to the head and can't remember how to do it." Jim: "Or maybe he has more sense than to do it, I know I wish I hadn't. What do you want?" Jerome: "You know why I'm ringing; you lot are disgusting. I could stomach what you were doing with our fighters, angling them contract offers so that they'd ask us for more money, that's just business. But what you did at that last show was unacceptable and has no place in this sport."   Jim: "... What are you talking about?" Jerome: "Those two decisions involving fighters we'd signed, Chris Hollands and Ron Chuckle, that so "coincidentally" ended up going against them. As if it was a coincidence, you know as well as I do that Hollands and Chuckle won those fights. What did you do, pay those judges off?" Jim: "Jerome, firstly, it's great to know that you're watching our shows, I'll see if I can get you a t-shirt. Secondly, we had absolutely nothing to do with the judges on that show, they scored the fight without any interference from us. The Hollands/Renn fight could have gone either way, but Renn did enough to take it. As for Chuckle/Pizzarro I have no idea what you're talking about, if anything Chuckle should feel lucky that he got given as many rounds as he did." Jerome: "Yeah, well you would say that, wouldn't you?" Jim: "Aren't you always mocking us about how little money we have? If you're so sure about that, how would we have enough money to bribe the judges to get the result we wanted? And if we were so scared about fighters leaving while they're still champion, why would we even put them in a fight to begin with?" Jerome: "You can throw out as many questions as you want, I still know what happened, it's the sort of thing you guys would do to get back at us, jealousy most likely. But don't you worry, I know that Osi Lewis is main eventing your first TV show, and when he wins, which he will, no matter what you try, he'll show you lot up big time. And after that we'll carry on taking who we want from you until you realise you can't compete." Jim: "And we'll keep on coming at you, our fans just want to see fights and we have access to anyone in the UK, even Europe, who aren't under contract with you, and if they put on a good show then it enhances the Bulldog MMA name and reputation. That reminds me, I don't remember getting a congratulations from you for us signing our TV deal..." Jerome: "You won't get anything from me, you're not even worth the..." Jim: "Bye, Jerome." ----------------------------- Press Release NEW ERA FOR BULLDOG MMA AS THEIR NEW TV SHOW DEBUTS ON EURO CABLE SPORT 1 by Mike Thomson Despite only being in business since January, and only six months after their first ever show, Bulldog MMA have accomplished something that most MMA companies don't ever get - a live television show on a recognised network. Their gamble to run shows on the internet paid off when Euro Cable Sport saw it and decided they wanted to broadcast the company on their network, and thus Bulldog Brawl was formed. The first show is headlined by a BMMA Middleweight title fight between Osi Lewis and Owen Hyde, a sign that BMMA will be focusing on the TV show for their biggest fights, even if Lewis is leaving the company after this fight is over. The first fight of the show, and first fight in Bulldog Brawl history, will be in the Welterweight division between Geraint O'Connell (3-1) and Valdo Calamari (9-0). Geraint O'Connell is a tall, lanky fighter who would usually compete at Lightweight, but stays at Welterweight here after competing in the Welterweight tournament. He uses his long reach to keep fighters away from him, staying out of range of their strikes whilst also landing jabs. This method doesn't usually translate well to finishes though, and his three victories have all come via decision. He didn't last long in the Welterweight tournament as he was eliminated in the first round, although it was by the eventual tournament winner Ron Chuckle. Valdo Calamari makes his way into the UK from Brazil, and those in the know are aware that he is one to watch. Calamari started off as a fighter with good striking and wrestling skills, but he has put the work in to develop his ground game as well, making him a very well-rounded fighter. He has put those skills to good use once already this year, before he left South America he competed at an independent show where he knocked out Godofredo Tavoro in the first round. In the second match of the evening in the Light Heavyweight division we will see Pierce Jeeler (6-6) taking on Erik Cunniford (0-1). To me this doesn't seem like the caliber of fight that Bulldog MMA should be having on their first TV show, but I'm not here to judge. Or maybe I am. Pierce Jeeler was once considered a good prospect for the future; he went 4-0 and even won his first two fights in the BCF. Since then it has been six defeats in a row, including to Rob Baines, Ram Phookan, Snuffy Fontana and most recently Dennis Gallagher in the BMMA Light Heavyweight tournament. His stand-up is mediocre, and his grappling is non-existent, and he has shown no sign of improvement in years. Erik Cunniford, that's Erik with a K, also lost in the first round of the Light Heavyweight tournament, but at least he had the excuse of fighting veteran Mick Curran in his very first MMA fight. Cunniford is better on the ground than on the feet, and if he gets the fight there, he has some decent strikes and submissions that can end a fight. Next up will be two undefeated fighters, although one has never actually fought professionally, as Albert Campbell (1-0) takes on Karl Whitehead (0-0). This fight was due to mark the BMMA debut of Jay Dorridge, however an injury forced him out of the fight, with Whitehead the replacement. Campbell is a kick boxer from Newcastle who only began training in MMA full-time this year, that hasn't given him a whole lot of time to develop the other skills required for MMA, so for the time-being he will very much be focused on keeping the fight standing. It seemed to work in his only fight so far, a 1st round knockout win over a local fighter at an independent show. Karl Whitehead hasn't even had the luxury of one professional fight before he gets thrown on to a live television show, he is also a kick boxer but he is known to be a higher level than Campbell was, even considered the best kick boxer in Northern Ireland. Having decided to join the more lucrative world of MMA he will hopefully have spent some time developing the rest of his game, but with no fights on his record nobody has had the opportunity to scout him to see if that is the case. The fourth fight of the night is a Middleweight division battle between Humbert Gest (7-6) and Mario Varela (10-2). Humbert Gest is classified as a karate fighter, however based on his fights so far, he has only shown that he is able to punch and take a punch, no signs of any kicks. As for grappling and ground skills, that may as well be an alien concept to him. Gest's lack of ability didn't prevent him from advancing in the Middleweight title tournament though as defeated Paxton Brixtal by Split Decision, however he was eliminated in the semi-finals by Duncan Thistlewood. Mario Varela is another Brazilian who has arrived in the UK for more fighting action and being from a Muay Thai background he will likely fight in a style that most British fighters are unfamiliar with. Varela's game plan is usually to get opponents into a Muay Thai clinch and blast them with knee strikes, however he has shown a weakness against grapplers who are able to get him to the ground and nullify his striking threat. Varela has fought once this year before he left Brazil, winning against a local fighter at a Brazilian independent show with a 1st round knockout from a head kick. Now the show really kicks in to gear with the co-main event, in the Lightweight division Nigel Collett (7-3) takes on Jazz Snide (4-0) in a fight that the two have been building up for months, even before the fight was officially booked. Snide in particular has been vicious in insulting Collett's ability, so has a lot of words to back up here. Collett is a boxer by trade and has both speed and power in his hands, making him a dangerous opponent to stand and trade with. Other than that however he doesn't pose much of a threat, and if the fight goes to the ground, he is pretty much clueless. Collett is responsible for what might be the upset of the year after defeating Tim Oldacres in the quarter-final of the Lightweight tournament, he couldn't continue that run though as William Powell quickly submitted him in the semi-final. Jazz Snide is fast becoming the most notorious fighter in British MMA, people used to think Carter Potter's trash talk and attitude was bad, but Snide has taken it to a whole new level with social media as his favoured weapon. His relentless barrage of insults for future opponents has actually won him many fans too, and any recognition is better than none. Snide is a very fast fighter with decent striking, although not a lot of power, and whilst he's not the best grappler in the world he can still handle himself. Snide defeated Jonjo Whiteley by decision earlier this year, and immediately called out Collett, leading to the fight we have here. And finally, in the Main Event will see the first defence of the BMMA Middleweight title as champion Osi Lewis (8-1), who leaves for the BCF after the fight, gets his wish to fight Owen Hyde (9-0). The BMMA are currently 1-1 on their champions leaving for BCF with the title and will be hoping Hyde can follow in the footsteps of Evan Pizzarro in winning the title in the cage. Osi Lewis is a fast-rising star in British MMA thanks to his elite striking skills, when he attacks, he does so with lightning speed and solid power. His sole defeat came in SIGMA to Tore Herlovsen where his weakness in grappling was exposed, however that seems to have improved given that he was able to submit Todd Prenger during the Middleweight tournament, even pulling guard to get the fight to the ground. After that he defeated Omar Calvert and Duncan Thistlewood to claim the Middleweight crown, even if this fight will be the only time, he defends the title. Owen Hyde waltzed into a title fight despite not previously fighting due to Lewis specifically calling him out after winning the title. Nobody is entirely sure why people have such a grudge against him, as Omar Calvert has also recently called him out as well. Hyde is a former professional kick boxer, and after mixed results in that field he has shone in MMA with 9 consecutive victories. He is one-dimensional tactically, you know he will only want to come out and strike, so Hyde must be alert to grapplers trying to take him out of that game plan. Hyde has fought once this year with a victory back in Canada over the wonderfully named French Dancer. Bulldog Brawl 1: Lewis vs. Hyde Fight Card Welterweight Division Geraint O'Connell vs. Valdo Calamari Light Heavyweight Division Pierce Jeeler vs. Erik Cunniford Lightweight Division Albert Campbell vs. Karl Whitehead Middleweight Division Humbert Gest vs. Mario Varela Lightweight Division Nigel Collett vs. Jazz Snide BMMA Middleweight Title Osi Lewis © vs. Owen Hyde
  11. BMMA 9: CHUCKLE vs. PIZZARRO Match #1 Lightweight Division Keith Jolly (6-4) vs. Owen Oggleberry-Pipp (6-3) The first round is fairly frenetic in terms of the two fighters bouncing around all over the place, Jolly showed his immense speed by avoiding most of OOP's shots and did a good job of landing his own strikes when given the opportunity. Whilst there were lots of strikes being thrown there was nothing by either fighter that would be considered a threat to finish the fight, jabs and the occasional leg kick were the strikes on show, OOP did try some bigger shots but Jolly was too quick. OOP kept looked for the big shot at the start of the second round, but again Jolly avoided them and landed some counter shots of his own, however OOP eventually scored with a surprise head kick which stunned Jolly, forcing him to back up! OOP looked to capitalise but missed with his big follow-up shots, and Jolly was able to recover and get back to the centre. The remainder of the round sees OOP land some more decent shots, but his attempts to go back to the head kick catch nothing but air, allowing a now fully recovered Jolly to land some more counter shots. The final round began with Jolly missing a right hand and OOP countering with one of his own, that staggered Jolly who went back to the cage, OOP landed another right hand, then followed that with another head kick which put Jolly down! OOP connected with some decent shots on the ground and Jolly wasn't going anywhere, so the referee stopped the fight. I didn't expect this fight to have a stoppage, so this was a pleasant surprise. Winner: Owen Oggleberry-Pipp (7-3) via TKO (Strikes) - 0:53 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Owen Oggleberry-Pipp thanks his sponsors, family and friends, and he should probably be very thankful if friends and family flew over from Canada. He celebrates winning on his debut, but nothing more. ----------------------- Match #2 Middleweight Division Todd Prenger (2-1) vs. Eric Riggs (0-0) As with the first fight this one was all on the feet as well, but both fighters had a lot more power behind their strikes. Former boxer Riggs was happy to be the one pushing the pace and scored with some nice hooks to the body, but once Prenger got close enough he landed a nice combination of two jabs and a right hook which left Riggs staggered! Riggs went to finish and connected with a huge uppercut which Prenger somehow managed to survive, a second uppercut was thrown but Prenger avoided that and circled back to the centre. Prenger never looked entirely comfortable after that and started throwing big punches perhaps out of desperation, Riggs was able to avoid those and counter with good shots of his own. Riggs landed several more good shots before the end of the round and the fact Prenger survived it was some kind of miracle. The second round continued to display Riggs' striking prowess and he continued to land powerful punches without ever looking like he's concerned about what Prenger can throw back at him, and by the end of the fight he had landed more power strikes than jabs. Riggs perhaps got a tad complacent though as Prenger was able to land a right hook which opened up a pretty severe cut over the eye of Riggs. That perhaps ignited something in Riggs, as moments later he dodged another Prenger right hook and fired back with one of his own which knocked Prenger out cold! Riggs gave Prenger a few choice words, not that the unconscious Prenger would have been able to hear them, before heading back to his corner to celebrate. Winner: Eric Riggs (1-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 3:30 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: I was expecting some kind of angry spiel from Riggs, but he is remarkably dignified for someone who believes his boxing makes him better than any MMA fighter. He thanks the usual sponsors, family etc. and then quite emotionally talks about how glad he is to win his MMA debut. He doesn't even call anyone out. What a let-down. ----------------------- Match #3 Heavyweight Division Chris Hollands (2-0) vs. Linton Renn (9-4) Company pride is on the line here, Hollands is about to leave Bulldog MMA to go to the BCF, whilst Renn has recently been cut by the BCF, perhaps rather harshly, and makes his BMMA debut here. This fight got off to a rather brutal start when a left hand from Hollands looked like it broke Renn's nose within the first minute, but that was the most exciting action we had for a while. One of the big criticisms of Renn is how his fighting style is incredibly boring, and that was very much the case here as he grappled with Hollands and held him against the cage for over three minutes. Once separated by the referee Hollands was able to land some more left hands, and by the end of the round Renn's right eye was noticeably swelling. The second round was even more of the same with Renn being able to control a clinch against the cage for four minutes, a tactic which wasn't winning him many fans in the crowd, however he remained busy enough with dirty boxing and the occasional foot stomp to prevent the referee from separating them. Hollands eventually got free when Renn decided to try for a takedown which didn't work, but in the twenty seconds he was free Hollands wasn't able to land any meaningful shots. It wasn't much of a surprise that Round 3 followed in a similar pattern, Hollands landed a few strikes in the opening minute, but after that it was three minutes of Renn clinching and holding Hollands against the cage. I'm starting to see why the BCF cut him now. When they are separated with a minute left in the fight Renn tries to shoot in for a takedown which Hollands easily sprawls on to defend, and Holland is able to land one more clean shot before the fight ends. We went to the judges and the scores were all over the shop, the first scored it 30-27 to Renn, the second somehow scored it 30-27 to Hollands, and the third scored the fight 29-28 to.... Linton Renn. It wasn't pretty, but it got the win. I have to think the 30-27 Hollands judge was basing his opinion on entertainment rather than what actually happened in the fight. Or maybe he's being bribed by the BCF. This is the second upset Linton Renn has caused to a young, undefeated fighter after he handed Ozzy Bintley his first professional defeat. Winner: Linton Renn (10-4) via Split Decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28) Fight Rating: Average Post-Fight: Renn thanks his sponsors, his family, his friends and celebrates his debut victory in the BMMA. He apologies for the dull fight and says he'll do better next time. I wouldn't put money on that. ----------------------- Match #4 Light Heavyweight Division Hardy Tristan (3-6) vs. Datsakorn Pratoomwong (4-0) There are some establishments calling Pratoomwong a -1000 favourite here, so Tristan isn't exactly expected to do much to threaten him. The first round was all Pratoomwong, although to begin with Tristan does do a good job of only getting caught by Pratoomwong's setup strike and avoiding the big one that followed it. Small victories and all that. It was all going quite sedately until halfway through the round when Pratoomwong unleashed a left head kick which caught Tristan on the side of the head and sent him staggering backwards. You'd think that would be it, but Pratoomwong made the strange decision of following up with shots to the body of Tristan, and that gave the Englishman the chance to escape. For the remainder of the round Pratoomwong completely out-struck Tristan to an almost embarrassing degree but didn't land another big shot at any point. Throughout the fight Pratoomwong had been landing some kicks to the lead leg of Tristan and after a few more in the second round Tristan was starting to visibly limp. This round Tristan was at least trying to make the first move, but more often than not that resulted in him getting caught by some more PSM punches. Halfway through the second round Pratoomwong was able to land a jab/left hand combination which stunned Tristan, and he followed that up with another big head kick which knocked Tristan down! Pratoomwong started unloading massive left hammer fists to the head of the floored Tristan and it didn't take long for the referee to step in and stop the fight. A dominant victory for Pratoomwong, and Tristan managed to survive a whole round and a half, which is something at least. Winner: Datsakorn Pratoomwong (5-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:03 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Pratoomwong has very limited English to the say the least, he has only been in the country a month, but he was able to say he was "happy" a lot, which is nice.[/b] ----------------------- Co-Main Event Heavyweight Division Lachlan Bowen (12-8) vs. Terry Bull (5-3) Given Bowen's surprise defeat in his BMMA debut he had better hope he wins here, or he might be sent back to Canada on the next flight. Bowen started the fight landing some good punches, and even though Bull had a 25-pound weight he still managed to lose a grappling battle with Bowen who was simply too strong. Despite his strength Bowen didn't actually do anything with the position and ended up holding Bull there for over two minutes without any action. Despite only fighting four minutes, with most of that being stood still, Bull was starting to look tired and his striking became more erratic, allowing Bowen to pick him off with counter-striking seemingly at will until the end of the first round. The second round was a far more one-sided affair as Bull seemingly just got off his stool to get punched in the face by Bowen a significant number of times. After 80 seconds of that Bowen connects with a right uppercut which finally knocks Bull down, and some punches on the ground are fairly inconsequential as Bull probably wasn't looking to get back to his feet only to take more punishment. Bowen banishes the ghost of his upset defeat and Terry Bull remains... well, terrible. Winner: Lachlan Bowen () via TKO (Strikes) - 1:37 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Bowen thanks his sponsors, family and friends and is happy to finally be in the win column in Bulldog MMA. He issues a challenge to Laurence Lamping, which is a slight increase in competition to say the least. ----------------------- MAIN EVENT BMMA WELTERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Ron Chuckle (11-2) © vs. Evan Pizzarro (8-0) Weird reaction here with Chuckle's friends and supporters cheering him on, whilst others boo both him, and them. Very loyal, these Bulldog fans. It's a grappler versus grappler contest but a strike made the early difference, Pizzaro’s first punch opened up a cut under Chuckle's left eye. From there we get the expected clinching with Pizzarro dominating to begin with, however Chuckle was able to reverse the position and even got a trip takedown against the judoka. The remainder of the round was on the ground with not much action, but as far as close rounds go you don't get much closer. Chuckle was desperate to grapple in the second round but every time he got close, he was met by very competent striking from Pizzarro, far better than most people might have thought he had. Chuckle's cut was opened up again, and when he finally did get a grapple Pizzarro was able to out-wrestle him and executed a perfect outside leg trip to take him down and get side control. Pizzarro was able to work away on the ground for a while and tried lock in a kimura, when that wasn't successful he was able to roll Chuckle over and take his back, but the round ended before he could do anything with that position. The third round was similar in that Pizzarro started with good striking, Chuckle went to grapple, Pizzarro reversed it and took control of the clinch, except this time he kept the fight standing against the cage. Pizzarro landed some good knees to the thigh, some foot stomps and some inside punches, but the referee eventually separated them. The remainder of the round saw both fighters control a clinch at some point, but neither one was able to do anything special when they had control. Into the fourth round we went and Pizzarro was starting to tire having exerted a lot of energy in controlling the fight, that didn't stop him securing another trip takedown though. On the ground Pizzarro shows some great skill to transition from guard, to half guard, to side control and then the mount, Chuckle gave up his back again but Pizzarro continued to struggle to get his patented rear naked choke applied. After several attempts he finally was able to lock it in, but Chuckle had held on long enough that he could survive until the end of the round despite being completely stretched out. So we hit the final round and Chuckle needed a finish it seemed, he started off on the right track with a successful takedown, however once he got the fight to the ground he wasn't able to do anything of note, Pizzarro made sure to keep him tied up as much as possible to both prevent him landing shots and to stop him moving to get a better position. The referee eventually stood them back up, and on their feet, it was evident that both fighters were exhausted, and their striking was barely existent. Towards the end of the fight Chuckle shot in for one more takedown, he got it, making him 3 for 3 for the fight, but there was no time left to do anything. The judges gave in their scores, whilst the BMMA management sat on the edge of their seats. They scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 for a unanimous decision to... Evan Pizzarro! We have a new BMMA Welterweight champion, and whilst the BCF now get Ron Chuckle they won't be taking him as a champion. Winner, and NEW BMMA Welterweight champion: Evan Pizzarro (9-0) via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47 x2) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Pizzarro is pretty tired but still manages to thank his sponsors, family, friends and fans. He's happy to be the Bulldog MMA Welterweight champion and has title strapped around his waist by Jim Carpenter. (As a completely unbiased diary writer I certainly didn't punch the air in happiness when Pizzarro won, that would be very unprofessional.) ----------------------- Show Details Attendance: 162 (-7) Critical Rating: 59% (-13%) Commercial Rating: 30% Popularity Change: UK +0.8% Canada -0.3% Europe -0.3% Central America -0.3% South America -0.3% Mexico -0.3% Africa -0.3% USA +0.3% Asia -0.3% Australia -0.3% Russia -0.3% Japan -0.3% Evan Pizzarro, our draw in the USA it seems. Fight of the Night: Ron Chuckle vs. Evan Pizzarro Knock Out of the Night: Eric Riggs Submission of the Night: N/A Income Gate: $14,276 (-$706) Sponsorship: $13,739 (-$924) Merchandise: $2,212 (+$60) Expenditure Fighters: $23,144 (+$5,476) Drug Testing: $4,800 (No Change) Production: $3,232 (+$115) Total: $-7,349 Keeping Evan Pizzaro from going to GAMMA was expensive, to the extent that the show loss is less than his fight wage. -------------------------------- Other News - Perhaps the biggest news of the last month is that former GAMMA Lightweight champion Brandon Sugar has announced he is "taking a break" from fighting for an indefinite amount of time. After losing the title to Jake Keane he was back to winning ways again recently against Truck Gleeson but has since stated he wants to come back when he has the drive to fight and train again. - In signing news Bulldog MMA have lost two fighters, Welterweight stand-out Rich Robinson has chosen to join ALPHA-1, stating that as he is in his late 20s, he needs to start earning bigger money. Heavyweight Chris Hollands, who lost on the most recent BMMA show, has also joined the BCF. - GAMMA have signed the fantastically named Sly Twinge. That's all this news item is, I just wanted to write about Sly Twinge. - Howard Pursglove had a rough month, first he lost his fight to Morgan Wakarewarewa, then the BCF cut him, and now he's failed the drug test from that fight for PEDs, which has cancelled his potential employment with Bulldog MMA. Pursglove has admitted that he used the drugs, so don't feel too sorry for him. - Pursglove joins a long list of people failing drug tests this year, along with Woody Fierstein Piotr Dabrowski, Dule Bayliffe, Jasper Osmond, Ronan Mary, Keaton Spratt, OJ Oberst, Marcus Speed, Brett Krawkosi, Buster East, and most notably Jack Humphreys. It does at least show that the commissions are working hard on cleaning up the sport, even if a lot of those fighters have plead their innocence. - Bulldog MMA have signed another batch of South Americans and Canadians, Kendall Tracey is the biggest name, he's joined by Flavio Alberto, Giovanni de Matos, Lazaro Campos, Leandro Piquet, Russell McPhee, Emerson Mori Nunes, Todd D'Abruzzo, Joey Valdez and Ethan LaGrange. Surely, they have too many fighters now? -------------------------------- Other Shows Saturday Week 2 of June GAMMA 53: Dean vs. Garner III Matthew Dean def. Buddy Garner to retain the GAMMA Middleweight title (for the 10th time) Sean Morrison def. Luke Hilton Jonathan Huang def. Gabriel Gallego Sam Hoynes def. Fatuma Roy Evan Gardner def. Joe Hinchcliffe Saturday Week 3 of June GAMMA 54: Sugar vs. Gleeson Brandon Sugar def. Truck Gleeson Marlon John def. Junior Patinkin Gaby Corrales def. Wilson Franklyn Bosco Curbeam def. Jimbo Jakes Warren Scumboon def. Yan Hasluck SIGMA: Halle vs. Rossi Jens Halle def. Carmelo Rossi Frankie Burgess def. Andranik Paletilolu Harald Hubner def. Andre Coton Hans Christian Bloch def. Henry Zachary Schalk Rhodes def. Bast Moulke KDM FC Prime Fight 1: Norberto vs. Yip Norberto def. So Yip to win the vacant KDM FC Featherweight Title Yee Tsuji def. Tan Su Chan Kim Huat def. Ahmed Mohamed Farag Lito Alcala def. Maya Asgar Chan Wan Wah def. Cong Tsao Sunday Week 3 of June XCC: Bassett vs. Wickham II Willy Bassett def. Roddy Wickham to retain the XCC Bantamweight Title Kyle Sagal def. Duane Weatherly Riveron Potter-Pirbright def. Markus Waller Ian Linderman def. Mark Lee Ralph Concannon def. Brendon Job Friday Week 4 of June ALPHA-1: Katou vs. Asanovic II Jin Katou def. Zvonimir Asanovic to retain the ALPHA-1 Light Heavyweight Title Bussho Maruyama def. Keita Oshima Thoki Murasaki def. Chikafusa Abukara Haranobu Oshiro def. Saemon Endo Meiji Hagiwara def. Yaichiro Takahama Saturday Week 4 of June GAMMA 55: Brubaker vs. Blood Bobby Brubaker def. Darin Blood Nilton Fantoni def. Linfield Ballard Christopher Sharp def. Clem Wolff Lawrence Herringbone def. Rupert Dreck Kel Ryan def. Cory Frain Friday Week 2 of July ALPHA-1: Takeuchi vs. Maeno Tomohiro Takeuchi def. Masahiro Maeno (for some reason they didn't think to crown a Featherweight champion here) Eiji Masuko def. Domingo de Vivanco Lefter Oktay def. Ari Peltonen Yoshinori Morisheeta def. Hidetada Matsumura Kiyomori Sanda def. Marmaduke Chuffnell
  12. <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="7uPcFWq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7uPcFWq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Friday, Week 2 of July</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Well after the last few weeks of madness the last fortnight has been a bit boring, hasn't it?"</p><p> </p><p><strong> Jim</strong>: "Not sure about that, I've been booking shows left, right and centre. We're nearly sorted through October now, just need to find an opponent for Garry McSweegan for the Light Heavyweight title. That division really is difficult, everyone's either on a huge losing streak or has barely any fights, neither of which make for a credible title challenger."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Isn't McSweegan on a losing streak too?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Yeah, but he's the most recognisable person in the division. Maybe the most recognisable in the company in fact."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Yeah, I understand. We'd both love this to be a sport that relies solely on wins and losses, but we both know that fighter marketability is just as, maybe even more important. What's the latest on the BCF front?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Not a whole lot of activity to be honest, things seem to have settled down. They've signed Tim Oldacres to an exclusive contract, but he was already under contract with them to begin with. That forced me to change things around, Oldacres was going to get a title shot, but now he's out and Graeme Spark is in. It's a Brawl main event, I don't want to waste it on someone who won't be around."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Good call, I've got this feeling that Euro Cable Sport are keeping a close eye on us and that's the sort of thing they could pick us up on. Anyone else gone?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Only Chris Hollands, a youngster. They threw money at him, he couldn't say no, it won't make much difference to the Heavyweight division. I've actually been having a bit of fun with them, whenever a BCF guy has a contract up for renewal I send them an offer, knowing full well they won't accept, but Jerome is so adamant not to lose anyone to us that he offers them a massive wage increase to make sure they stay. We both know what pay is like for fighters, and if we can get some more of the BCF's money to them then that's a win for us and the fighter."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "Very crafty, just make sure you don't get too extravagant and we end up with a lower card BCF fighter with us for 5k a fight. At some point a BCF fighter is going to choose us instead of them, I can't wait to rub it in Jerome's face when that happens."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Speaking of people choosing us, we've had mixed luck with our major imports. I convinced Evan Pizzarro to stay with some cash incentives and a reminder of what he gave up coming here in the first place, and that was enough to keep him out of GAMMA's hands. On the flip side, Rich Robinson got an offer from ALPHA-1, and the same tactic didn't work with him. It's a shame, he's a talented guy."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "To be honest if someone goes to ALPHA-1 or GAMMA I don't mind so much, they're a different level from us and take talent from the BCF as well. Keeping people out of the BCF and maybe SIGMA is a different story. Everything coming together for the first Brawl show?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "Yup, we've moved to a bigger building in Manchester to make the show look a bit more presentable. Euro Cable Sport have been talking us through the production side of things, not exactly my area of expertise."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "You'll be an expert in no time. Let's worry about the next show though, it's Ron Chuckle's last fight, we've already seen Merryman win on his way out the door, MacAskill barely put up a fight, what's this Pizzarro kid like?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim</strong>: "He's very talented, I trained a lot with him when I did camps in the US. I'm hoping he's going to win, and we won't have a third title vacant. We might have four if Lewis wins at the first Brawl show. I know the tournaments were hard work, but they've been cursing us ever since as well."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry</strong>: "You're never going to let me live that tournament idea down are you..."</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong>Press Release</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:14px;">BULLDOG MMA RETURNS, SHOW HEADLINED BY A WELTERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></strong></p><p> <strong>by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bulldog MMA return to their spiritual home of Wigan for what might be the last time, with the company scheduled to start holding their shows in a slightly larger venue in Manchester from next month onwards. For the second show in a row the Bulldog MMA management find themselves in a position where they need one fighter to win the title match, once again the champion, in this case Ron Chuckle, is leaving for the BCF as soon as the fight is over, and the challenger Evan Pizzarro has agreed to stay. Unlike the Aston Merryman/Norman MacAskill fight from the previous show, this fight looks to be a lot more even, Pizzarro comes in with a lot of hype for his ability and will also have a significant weight advantage.</p><p> </p><p> Kicking off the show will be a Lightweight division match which has only recently been put together after one of the original participants, Cyril Kamoze, pulled out through injury. <strong>Owen Oggleberry-Pipp</strong> (6-3) was rushed in to replace him, and he takes on <strong>Keith Jolly </strong>(6-4). Welshman Jolly has not exactly had the best run of form, his early career was fantastic as he went 6-0 including his first two fights in the BCF, but a loss to Seth O'Breen was followed by another to Jochen Bellof, then Tim Oldacres, and recently Pip Londress, leading to his release from the company. At his best Jolly can use his speed to strike then avoid getting hit, things tend to go badly if someone is able to grab hold of him. Owen Oggleberry-Pipp (OOP) flies in from Canada without a whole lot of expectation behind him, his performances on the Canadian independent scene have been unspectacular and his win/loss record of 6-3 hasn't made him a standout prospect. OOP's main game plan is to use his kick boxing skills to out-strike his opponent, and that may have to be his only tactic as nobody believes him to have any grappling or ground skills to speak of</p><p> </p><p> The second fight of the show will be between two young English fighters in the Middleweight division, <strong>Todd Prenger</strong> (2-1) takes on <strong>Eric Riggs</strong> who is making his MMA debut. It's also a Tyneside derby with Prenger from Sunderland and Riggs from Newcastle. Prenger has already fought once in Bulldog MMA having participated in the Middleweight tournament, he put up a good showing against Osi Lewis and almost pulled off an upset before being forced to submit with 12 seconds left in the fight. Prenger is long-time student of karate giving him a high level of technical prowess in his striking, however as with most karateka he does not have much power behind them. Riggs is a former boxer with some lower rank Middleweight titles to his name, but he has moved into MMA believing that his boxing skills are more than enough to take out any opponent. A very talkative chap, expect his abrasive personality to shine through if he gets a chance to speak after the fight. </p><p> </p><p> The show's third fight will be a Heavyweight division fight between <strong>Chris Hollands</strong> (2-0) and <strong>Linton Renn</strong> (9-4), with Hollands another fighter leaving for the BCF once this match is over. Hollands was successful in his first Bulldog MMA fight, overcoming Nelson Kenney with a comprehensive decision victory, which was evidently enough for the BCF to deem him worth stealing. Hollands technique is not quite there yet but he has impressive physical attributes in his height and strength, and seemingly a strong focus that will help him develop his skills. Linton Renn is a new addition to Bulldog MMA having recently been cut by the BCF (about a week before Hollands was hired in fact), his biggest claim to fame so far is scoring an upset over previously undefeated Ozzy Bintley in his BCF debut. Since then he has suffered two consecutive decision losses to Tyke Milligan and Reynolds Baer, hence his termination. Renn has a solid all-round game with his heavy punching power and stifling grappling skills, he is however quite slow, and from a fans' perspective, incredibly dull to watch.</p><p> </p><p> The fourth fight of the evening will be a clash in the Light Heavyweight division between <strong>Hardy Tristan</strong> (3-5) and the debuting <strong>Datsakorn Pratoomwong</strong> (4-0). It says a lot about the state of Bulldog MMA's Light Heavyweight division when Tristan is still involved, his participation in MMA at this point seems to be as a moving punch bag. He has fought once in BMMA already, a decision loss in the Light Heavyweight tournament against Liam Spurling, but his reputation for brawling and the fact he can cut to 205 pounds seem to be the main motivations for his continued employment. Datsakorn Pratoomwong, not the easiest name to get your mouth around, is one of the few fighters to have moved over to the UK from Asia, as the focus on smaller weight class fighters has left Light Heavyweights and Heavyweights starved of decent action. Pratoomwong is a student of kung fu and is happy to trade strikes with anyone, he also cuts a lot of weight to get to 205 pounds meaning he will likely have a weight and power advantage over most opponents. His nickname is "Lefty” because he is left-handed. Can't fault that logic.</p><p> </p><p> In the co-main event of the evening two Heavyweights will collide, although the fans will not be too excited to see them, <strong>Lachlan Bowen</strong> (12-8) takes on <strong>Terry Bull</strong> (5-3), in a fight that could most favourably described as "happening". Lachlen Bowen came over from Canada looking to rebuild his stop-start career on a new shore, but all that happened was for him to fall victim to a huge upset against Hayden Ellery, a fight which Ellery only took on six days’ notice. It remains to be seen if Bowen can recover from that humiliation, his wrestling skills will always be there if he needs them, but there must be questions about how able he is to take a punch. That said, if he can't beat Terry Bull, he should probably hang up his gloves. To call Bull mediocre would be paying him a compliment, he has no conditioning, no wrestling skills, no clinch game and no striking technique. Most people with that report would at least having punching power, but he doesn't have that either. His only fight in BMMA so far resulted in a 69 second TKO loss to Kieran Morgan, a fact made more frightening in that Morgan is known for his grappling skills with little in the way of striking ability.</p><p> </p><p> The Main Event of the show will be another one where emotions will be running high, BMMA Welterweight champion <strong>Ron Chuckle</strong> (11-2) will make what will be his only title defence against BMMA newcomer <strong>Evan Pizzaro</strong> (8-0). There are people who think Pizzarro was hand-picked by Jim Carpenter to get the title off Chuckle, explaining why someone who hasn't fought in BMMA yet is getting a title shot straight away. Chuckle blitzed his way through the Welterweight tournament to win the title, he won every round he was involved in and it was hard not to call him a worthy champion. Primarily a grappler, Chuckle was able to dominate despite normally being a Lightweight division fighter, showing just how good a wrestler he is even against bigger opponents. Evan Pizzarro comes to the UK from New Orleans, Louisiana after a personal invite from BMMA CEO Jim Carpenter who trained with Pizzarro during his time with GAMMA. Pizzaro’s background is in judo, and that allows him to hold an advantage in most grappling situations with an array of different trip takedowns at his disposal. He has the submissions to go with it once the fight goes to the ground as well, with seven of his eight wins coming by submission, including one already this year against local fighter John Wales before he moved to the UK.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>BMMA 9: Chuckle vs. Pizzarro Fight Card</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Keith Jolly vs. Owen Oggleberry-Pipp</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Division</strong></p><p> Todd Prenger vs. Eric Riggs</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Chris Hollands vs. Linton Renn</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Hardy Tristan vs. Datsakorn Pratoomwong</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Lachlan Bowen vs. Terry Bull</p><p> </p><p> <strong>BMMA Welterweight Title Match</strong></p><p> Ron Chuckle vs. Evan Pizzarro</p></div><p></p><p></p>
  13. SPECIAL EVENT Saturday Week 3 of June 2002 Harry: "You ready for this?" Jim: "It's now or never. Literally, we have to do it now, it's part of the contract." Harry: "This is a massive step, I hope it doesn't blow up in our face." Jim: "If you don't try, you don't succeed. To dare is to do. Better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all." Harry: "Alright, enough clichés, let's get on with it..." OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT BULLDOG MMA AND EURO CABLE SPORT 1 ANNOUNCE NEW TELEVISION SHOW - BULLDOG BRAWL - TO BEGIN IN AUGUST by Mike Thomson Bulldog MMA president Harry Milne, their CEO Jim Carpenter and Euro Cable Sport vice-president Tim Tanner were on hand in Manchester today to announce a new monthly television show to be broadcast on Euro Cable Sport 1, their subscription service. The show will go by the name "Bulldog Brawl" and will air on the Saturday of the first week of every month from August onwards. Tanner was quoted as saying "In their brief time in existence Bulldog MMA have already shown that they are a can't miss brand of Mixed Martial Arts action, their cult following on the internet has made us stand up and realise that they are just the sort of popular competition we are looking for at Euro Cable Sport. We look forward to working with Harry, Jim and the ever-increasing ranks of highly talented fighters under the Bulldog MMA banner." "In January if you'd told me we'd be signing a TV contract within six months of our first show I would have told you to go and do one and scrap your crazy ideas" said the ever direct Milne, "but here we are, and I couldn't be happier. For a network as prestigious as Euro Cable Sport to bring our little regional company into their fold is a real boost for everyone involved at Bulldog MMA. It has been a tough few weeks but knowing that this deal was so close to fruition has made it bearable, and now we can look to a very promising future." Carpenter was asked about the style of the show; "Euro Cable Sport have been very generous with the timeslot they have given us, a three-hour window will be enough to run at least six fights if not more. As far as fights go we will be prioritising the Bulldog Brawl shows, so if you want to see the very best that Bulldog MMA has to offer you will only find it on Euro Cable Sport 1, 8pm, the first Saturday of every month." Carpenter also gave word that the first Bulldog Brawl show will be headlined by current Middleweight champion Osi Lewis defending against newcomer Owen Hyde, a fight specifically requested by Lewis following his title victory. No matter the result this will be Lewis' only defence of the title as he has been signed to an exclusive deal by the BCF which comes into effect at the conclusion of the fight. Both Carpenter and Milne refused to answer questions relating to fighters leaving BMMA to go to BCF, a sign that their views on the matter is not something they wish to air publicly, even when questioned if the TV deal would help sway fighters into remaining with the smaller promotion. As far as TV shows go, not including Bulldog MMA's current deal to air events on SportTube, they join GAMMA, ALPHA-1, BCF, KDM FC and WEFF in having television deals. This must also be a kick in the teeth to SIGMA who have been trying to get a TV deal with Euro Cable Sport for over two years without success, only for Bulldog MMA to get one in just a few months of existence. XCC are the only other active company without a television deal, somewhat surprising given their brand of fast-paced exciting combat. Whilst having more eyeballs on the product, likely more than they are currently getting on SportTube at least, the risks are there for Bulldog MMA as any TV show comes with additional costs, they will be moving out of the building in Wigan where all of their shows have been so far, and into a larger building in Manchester to allow space for the production team to work. They will also be relying on George Thomas-Grey to host and commentate the show, and whilst he's a good commentator his hosting skills have never really been tested. They have also brought in a translator, Dave White, to help the post-fight interviews for the ever-increasing number of overseas fighters in the company who are not able to speak English yet. Overall though it is likely to be a big gain for Bulldog MMA who at least put themselves at a similar level as BCF as far as broadcasting goes, what they need to work on now is getting their fighters to a recognisable level, as the goal of being able to run shows on Pay-Per-View for the big income is a long way off.
  14. BMMA 8: MERRYMAN VS. MACASKILL Match #1 Heavyweight Division Glen McBeam (1-1) vs. Nelson Kenney (1-2) The show kicked off with a very entertaining first round, both fighters were willing to engage in striking no matter how it depleted their stamina. McBeam showed a more varied attacking strategy landing both punches and punished leg kicks, Kenney certainly wasn't able to figure out a way to avoid them and ended up limping by the end of the round from all the damage he had taken. Kenney himself struggled to find his range despite his best efforts, and so was easily outstruck over the course of the round. The action slowed in the second round as the fighters began to tire, McBeam continued to work the leg of Kenney, however one of his kicks was caught by Kenney who used it to try and take the Scotsman down. McBeam was able to stay on his feet, but only at the expense of Kenney taking control of the clinch. Kenney tried to take McBeam down again from the clinch, but McBeam stood firm and broke free of the grapple. McBeam was able to land a few more decent blows before the round ended, perhaps making who won the round a little clearer. The final round was all on the feet as well with a surprising lack of clinching given how tired both men were, instead the fight drew to a snail's pace as both men tentatively prodded at each other. McBeam's leg kick game plan had gone out the window despite how successful it had been up to this point, and Kenney simply offered nothing at all. In the end McBeam did initiate a clinch, Kenney tried and failed to use it for a takedown, and the fight meandered into the close. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in the favour of Glen McBeam for his first victory in Bulldog MMA. Winner: Glen McBeam (2-1) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: In one of the worst post-fight interviews by an English-speaking person, an exhausted McBeam gave a few grunts to say thanks to his sponsors and family and walked off before there were any follow-up questions. Probably for the best. ----------------------- Match #2 Middleweight Division Nelson Angelo (8-6) vs. Omar Calvert (7-2) We all knew what Calvert was going to try and do, Angelo had to somehow try and stop him. He found a way, although not in the most conventional of senses, during the first strike exchange an errant finger of Angelo's found its way into the eye of Calvert. That'll stop him. Once Calvert has had a chance to recover the fight was more even than expected, perhaps with his eye still bothering him a bit Calvert wasn't able to find his range as quickly as you'd expect, and Angelo peppered him with jabs. When big shots did land though it was Calvert who had thrown them, and he easily did enough to win the first round on the scorecards. The second round began with Calvert landing some good shots, but a minute in he used a jab to set up a powerful straight right which knocked Angelo down! Calvert knelt beside the fallen Angelo and began unloading power strikes to the head, Angelo had nothing to offer and this point and the referee stepped in to save him from any further punishment. Another TKO win for Calvert, who remains incredibly tough if his opponent makes no attempt to grapple with him. Winner: Omar Calvert (8-2) via TKO (Strikes) - 1:13 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Calvert thanks the usual, supporters, family, sponsors etc., but then calls out Owen Hyde for his next fight. I don't know what the Canadian has done to upset the British Middleweights but they sure love calling him out. ----------------------- Match #3 Welterweight Division Rich Robinson (9-0) vs. Mauricio de Terreros (6-0) A Canadian takes on a Mexican in Wigan, the time-honoured story. Robinson had a distinct weight advantage before the fight began despite them both weighing at 170lbs, and that bulk came in handy in the first round as Robinson was able to bully de Terreros up against the cage early on. However, Robinson couldn’t do much with the position and the referee ended up separating them due to a lack of action. Back in the centre of the cage and de Terreros was able to get some striking going, landing a very good right cross and some good jabs to keep Robinson away from him, however that couldn't last forever and soon Robinson had hold of him in another clinch. This time Robinson used a snazzy outside leg trip to get de Terreros to the ground and likely secure the round, but there was no time left for him to do anything afterwards. The second round began with de Terreros again impressive on his feet with some quick strikes, but Robinson soon took the fight to the ground with a driving takedown. Landing in half guard Robinson began to try and improve his position, de Terreros resisted for as long as he could but eventually Robinson was able to move through into side control, and then into the mount. Robinson began landing his trademark ground and pound and de Terreros looked to be in trouble, the Mexican rolled over giving up his back to Robinson who tried to lock in a rear naked choke. De Terreros did well to prevent that happening, but with both hooks in and lots of time remaining Robinson wasn't going anywhere. He landed some more ground and pound, some of it looked a little close to the back of the head, but enough punches landed for the referee to step in and stop the contest! An impressive first Bulldog MMA showing for Robinson who will no doubt be looking for a title shot soon... Winner: Rich Robinson (10-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:50 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Robinson is a charismatic interviewee and thanked his friends, sponsors and training partners at Slaughterhouse for getting him ready for this fight. No callouts or challenges but it was fun, nevertheless. ----------------------- Match #4 Heavyweight Division Kieran Morgan (4-1) vs. Nimrod Wickhammersley (5-1) I've spoken about how dumb a name Nimrod is before, but his nickname "The Tall Guy" is as bland as Nimrod is terrible. The local fans in Wigan were happy to see a fellow Lancastrian in Wickhammersley, and he gave them quite a show. He started out battering Morgan with any type of strike that came to mind, the Welshman certainly isn't much of a striker himself, and Wickhammersley ridiculous reach advantage was preventing him getting close enough to grapple. After two minutes of a beating Wickhammersley found a combination of a jab, left hand, then a huge right hook which knocked Morgan down, Wickhammersley joined him on the ground and began unloading heavy punches to the head, the referee stepped in stop the fight for our third TKO victory in a row. The hometown fans were happy to see Wickhammersley win, especially given that he came into the fight as the betting underdog. Winner: Nimrod Wickhammersley (6-1) via TKO (Strikes) - 2:27 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Wickhammersley thanks the local fans for coming out to support him, then of course thanks his sponsors, but that's about it.[/b] ----------------------- Co-Main Event Heavyweight Division Laurence Lamping (4-1) vs. Bob Dozier (17-10) A good old West Country derby here as Wiltshire's Laurence Lamping takes on Devon's Bob Dozier. The more experienced Dozier also carried a 20-pound weight advantage into the cage, but that doesn't help at the start of the fight when Landing connects with some good punches right out of the gate. Where it does help though is in grappling, and Dozier was able to clinch with Lamping and drives him back against the cage. Dozier seemed happy to just keep Lamping trapped there, but Lamping wasn't thrilled about that and managed to wrestle his way out and back to the centre of the cage. Somehow it seemed that Dozier was already slowing down, only three minutes into the fight, and that perhaps didn't help his cause when Lamping connected with a jab and vicious right hook to knock Dozier down! Lamping started unloading punches on Dozier who couldn't do anything to get out of the situation, and the referee pulled Lamping away to stop the fight for another TKO stoppage. Lamping showed his class here. Winner: Laurence Lamping (5-1) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:20 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Lamping always gives a good interview, and this is no exception. After thanking the usual fans, sponsors and family, he goes out of his way to compliment Bob Dozier, saying he's looked up to the veteran for some time and is inspired by high toughness. What a class act. ----------------------- MAIN EVENT BMMA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Aston Merryman (4-0) © vs. Norman MacAskill (4-0) Here we go, the first title defence in BMMA history, with the massive ramifications of Merryman leaving for the BCF as soon as the bell sounds to end the fight. Your referee for this contest isn't Earl Hebner though, it's Lee Tynan. MacAskill wasn't afraid of Merryman it seems, he moves forward to pressure the champion and lands some good punches to the head of Merryman. It may not have been the best idea though, because the closer he gets to Merryman allows the champion to initiate a clinch, and Merryman soon has MacAskill backed up against the cage. After some knees to the thigh and foot stomps Merryman executes a perfect leg trip to get MacAskill down to the ground. Once there Merryman was almost immediately able to secure the back of MacAskill and got a body triangle in to ensure he maintained control. This was only ever going one way now, and it didn't take long for Merryman to lock in a rear naked choke on the prone MacAskill. There was nothing MacAskill could do, the choke was locked in, and he had to tap out. Merryman defends the BMMA title, not that it really matters as the title is now vacant. If only MacAskill could have got some kind of submission in the referee could have signaled the fight was over or something. Winner, and still BMMA Heavyweight champion: Aston Merryman via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 3:13 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: No idea what's going to happen here... Merryman does the usual and thanks the sponsors and fans. He thanks Bulldog MMA for the opportunity, which gets him booed, says he was proud to defend the BMMA Heavyweight title, which gets him booed, and that he hopes to see the fans again someday, which gets him booed. Tough crowd. Merryman hands the BMMA Heavyweight title to Jim Carpenter, and just like that Aston Merryman is officially a BCF fighter. The BMMA Heavyweight title has been vacated ----------------------- Show Details Attendance: 169 (+23) Critical Rating: 72% Commercial Rating: 35% Popularity Change: UK +1.9% Canada +0.4% Europe +0.4% Central America +0.4% South America +0.4% Mexico +0.4% Africa +0.4% USA +0.4% Asia +0.4% Australia +0.4% Russia +0.3% Japan +0.3% Fight of the Night: Rich Robinson vs. Mauricio de Terreros Knock Out of the Night: Nimrod Wickhammersley Submission of the Night: Aston Merryman Income Gate: $14,892 (+$2,026) Sponsorship: $13,739 (-$256) Merchandise: $2,152 (+$119) Expenditure Fighters: $23,144 (+$3,943) Drug Testing: $4,800 (No Change) Production: $3,037 (+$554) Total: $-198 So close. I blame Aston Merryman. -------------------------------- Other News - As has been made fairly clear, Aston Merryman has officially left Bulldog MMA and started up with British Cage Fighting. That leaves the BMMA Heavyweight title vacated, along with the Light Heavyweight title after Dennis Gallagher's departure. It is thought that BMMA management are looking for a fight that will be worthy of crowning new champions, which won't be easy in their underwhelming Light Heavyweight division. - In what has to be considered a surprise, Welterweight Evan Pizzarro, who is due to fight for the Bulldog MMA Welterweight title at their next show, has committed to stay with the small organisation despite receiving an offer from GAMMA. Pizzarro recently moved to the UK and having made that life change did not want to move again so soon. Also, money. - This didn't stop GAMMA from signing a boatload of young fighters, most notably Wes Hersch, Tyrone Malik, Moses Amokachi, Jericho Stewart and Wyatt Ashur. - Bulldog MMA have also continued their hiring spree, among the new arrivals are Frederico Vergara, Gustavo Spagnol, Murray O'Hare, Craig Hulme, Dag Kreuger, Buzzy Tuttle, Vagner, Stephan de Winter, Neville Granville, Callum Henson, Andrew Rush, Allen LeFleur, Duey Rickert and Bryan Guest. - The BCF have also been busy, signing Silvio Leite, Evgeni Medtner, Thom Billings, Cullen Skink, Javid Khan and Clarence Gibson. Most notably they have also signed BMMA Middleweight champion Osi Lewis, and SIGMA Welterweight champion Alberto Basora. BCF Silvio Leite, Thom Billings, Osi Lewis, Cullen Skink, Clarence Gibson, Evgeni Medtner - As for ALPHA-1, they have been targeting young, unemployed Japanese fighters rather than taking talent from other promotions. I won't list them as you won't have heard of them, but good for them. - XCC Featherweight Sammy Gaffigan decided to lose the respect of the decent members of humanity by making racist comments on his social media platform. We here at Blurcat would like to publicly state that he is an idiot. - And finally, both Bud Brockett and Guy Moss have announced their intentions to compete at the Olympics in 2004. Best of luck to them. Other Shows Saturday Week 2 of May Sunday Week 2 of May XCC: Ziskie vs. Diggle Phillip Ziskie def. David James Diggle to retain the XCC Featherweight title (Then they both left for ALPHA-1) Wallace Everett def. Shuler Eigenberg Aubrey Bassington-Bassington def. Ollie Rockmetteller Easton Frye def. Noah Smithee Brock Youdale def. Hinton Grey Friday Week 3 of May ALPHA-1: Fezzik vs. Sarkisian Hassan Fezzik def. Armen Sarkisian to retain the ALPHA-1 Heavyweight title Sho Kitabatake def. Tadamasa Yamada Syed Tan def. Ikku Funaki Mason Archer def. Terron Cabal Simon Vine def. Bakin Sakamo Saturday Week 3 of May SIGMA: Medtner vs. Van Ommen Evgeni Medtner def. Willem van Ommen Jean-Jacques Levasseur def. Vjekoslav Sarich Heiko Pander def. Benedikt Streit Luka Hajek def. Tore Herlovsen Massimiliano Locatelli def. Zhenya Golob Sunday Week 3 of May WEFF 30: Vaughan vs. Masters Sarah Vaughan def. Monica Masters to retain the WEFF Bantamweight Title Michelle Addams def. Emma Birch Alison Beattie def. Suzana Ramos Chelsea Lawson def. Tabitha Cameron Rose Nessa def. Erica Page Friday Week 4 of May ALPHA-1: Fontes vs. Yamasheeta Joaquim Fontes def. Ieyoshi Yamasheeta to retain the ALPHA-1 Middleweight Tite Go Yamamoto def. Motoki Hojo Hyun-Shik Lim def. Roberto Aldez Xie Ming def. Chew Chua Jin Yamane def. Chojiro Goto Saturday Week 4 of May GAMMA 52: Darling vs. De Vries Dexter Darling def. Maarten de Vries Tora Mizwar def. Sutton Ripley Teddy Glossop def. Irwin Middleton Davey Rushton def. Seb Morehead Diego Arteta def. Dana Delaney Friday Week 1 of June ALPHA-1: Sukarno vs. Atep II Sukarno def. Atep of Indonesia to retain the ALPHA-1 Lightweight title Fumiaki Hayashi def. Heikichi Shimizu Rafael van der Moot def. Curt Kitson Naizen Hamacho def. Korekiyo Anzai Jakuchu Abe def. Kojiro Kudo Saturday Week 1 of June SIGMA: Hristov vs. Peyroux Filip Hristov def. Benni Peyroux Artak Gevor def. Jemaine McKenzie Markku Mikkola def. Michael Klaughnschue Vittorio Pescatelli def. Scotty Arnsson Thorvald Axelsson def. Nshan Ramazyan Friday Week 2 of June ALPHA-1: Lette vs. Shivari Palmer Lette def. Ali Shivari to retain the ALPHA-1 Super Heavyweight title Hiro Arai def. Kunimichi Kikiuchi Tomoji Takaoka def. Taroemon Abukara Renato def. Zachary Nobell Seiho Nanami def. Shizuya Nakae And just like that everyone's show quantities went from Saturation back to Rapid Fire. So many shows...
  15. Harry: "I guess your last couple of weeks has been as busy as mine?" Jim: "Yeah, I don't know where to start. The bad news I guess." Harry: "Yeah, the departure of our Middleweight champion, and so many others." Jim: "Osi Lewis gone, Thom Billings gone, Clarence Gibson, Javid Khan, Mick Curran, Cullen Skink. More offers on the table that I'm expecting to lose, Chris Hollands for example. We were both expecting it though." Harry: "We were, but it doesn't lessen the disappointment when your champion and probably the actual best fighter in a division is gone. The others are inconvenient, but I know you've been busy signing replacements." Jim: "Absolutely, we've got enough people on board now that we can expand the number of fights on a card to 7, that will help us get more credibility as well as giving the fans more for their money." Harry: "What about our money though?" Jim: "It might cause us to make a loss again, the profit we made on the last show was a wonderful feeling but I fear it was a one-off for a good while." Harry: "This seems to be flying in the face of our "under the radar" approach. We've got a big deal coming that could blow up in our faces, we're running more shows with more fighters on them, we're spending more on fighters than ever before. I see we've brought in Garry McSweegan, he won't be cheap. This all looks like it's going to make us far easier for other companies to see us as a threat and poach our talent all over again." Jim: "You're right, it's risky, but if we don't do something bold we'll just fade away. The reason we've got all these Brazilians, Mexicans and Canadians moving to the UK is because their MMA scene is dwindling because their companies have either folded or never got off the ground in the first place. SportTube is a way of growing the company not just in the UK, but internationally. And yes, it might come at a cost, but that's where the extra fighters come in, if we always have the capacity to run a show there's nothing to stop us carrying on." Harry: "Except running out of money, which is a massive possibility. I don't need to remind you of what we both have invested in here. Don't let that one profitable show give you grand ideas just yet, there's a lot more pain to come before we can call this a successful business." Jim: "I understand, but we're also going to only ever get one shot at this, and I'll be damned if we go down without putting up a fight. Besides, I've got some good news for you as well." Harry: "Oh do enlighten me." Jim: "Well firstly Aston Merryman has cracked his ribs, so he won't be 100% going into this fight before he leaves us. And speaking of leaving us, Norman MacAskill got an offer from the BCF as well." Harry: "Wait, so both the fighters in our next show's main event are going to be going to the BCF, and we're guaranteed to lose our champion? How on Earth is that good news?" Jim: "I said he got on offer, but he hasn't taken it. I've convinced him to stay. We actually beat the BCF in a negotiation." Harry: "And just how much exactly are we paying him for that?" Jim: ".... That's not the point, the main thing is that we stuck one to them. Even if it's only one win out of God knows how many, it's a start." Harry: "Start of our bankruptcy more like..." ------------------------------------------------- Press Release BMMA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE CLASH HEADLINES JUNE SHOW by Mike Thomson Bulldog MMA are back for the first time in a month and they're back with a show dominated by the very best in their Heavyweight division. With four Heavyweight fights in total, including the top three fights on the card, if you're a fan of big guys battling this may be the show for you. The highlight will be the BMMA Heavyweight Title fight between Aston Merryman and Norman MacAskill, it's a big fight for the company too with Merryman leaving for the BCF and MacAskill staying put it seems fairly obvious who BMMA management will want to win. Kicking us off in the Heavyweight division will be two fighters coming off losses at the very first BMMA show, as Glen McBeam (0-1) takes on Nelson Kenney (1-1). It was McBeam's professional debut the last time he fought but things didn't go to plan, as Norman MacAskill spent almost an entire 15 minutes out-grappling him on his way to a decision victory. McBeam will have to prove he has learned something from that defeat as his kick boxing skills were easily nullified, and he will need to figure out how to avoid that again. Kenney's defeat came at the hands of Chris Hollands in a fight that wasn't fun to watch, but probably less fun getting continuously jabbed like Kenney was. Kenney showed his toughness by lasting the full fight, but based on what we saw during the fight, mainly the lack of intensity and offense. Kenney is going to have to step his game up to be successful here. McBeam is the bookies favourite for the fight, but Kenney will likely come in with a weight advantage. The second fight of the night is a clash in the Middleweight division between two losers from the Middleweight title tournament, not the best way of advertising them I'm sure, Nelson Angelo (8-6) takes on Omar Calvert (7-2). Angelo only made it to the quarter final stage before Duncan Thistlewood, it was however a close fight, perhaps closer than most people expected going in. Angelo is a karate fighter, but don't let that fact make you think he's terrible, he has some good speed and conditioning, and according to his scout report he is above average at weight cutting. So, there's that. Omar Calvert destroyed veteran Richard Smith in his first-round tournament match but fell in the semifinal to eventual champion Osi Lewis when his vicious striking power was nullified. That striking power is Calvert's main weapon and worked very nicely for him during his early career, in fact all seven of his career victories have come via knock out. He has however lost 2 of his last 3 fights, showing that he does have weaknesses that opponents can exploit. The next fight on the card is a Welterweight fight between two newcomers not just to Bulldog MMA, but to the UK itself, Canadian Rich Robinson (9-0) takes on Mauricio de Terreros (6-0) from Mexico. Robinson is considered one of the brightest prospects in Canadian MMA, he is incredibly well-rounded with powerful striking, highly technical wrestling and can put those two together to deliver some destructive ground-and-pound. It could be that Robinson's career has been hampered by Canada's lack of regular MMA schedule, at 27 he has only fought 9 times and has had to leave him homeland to get some action. Mauricio de Terreros, a name which literally translates to "Maurice of the Terreros", is a former amateur boxer from Monterrey who has explosive power in his hands, making him a dangerous competitor who is always one shot away from either changing or winning a fight. Now the rest of his game is very much a work-in-progress, so he has to rely on his striking game for the time being, something that seems to be working given his undefeated record. The fourth fight will see two participants in the Heavyweight title tournament, the two defeated semifinalists in fact, Kieran Morgan (4-1) will square off against the hilariously named Nimrod Wickhammersley (5-1). Morgan was able to advance in the tournament to the semi-final stage by defeating veteran Terry Bull in just 39 seconds, however he came undone against eventual winner Aston Merryman. Morgan is a traditional British catch wrestler and that shows in his grappling talents, however his stand-up skills are still in their infancy. What he lacks in technique he makes up for with his power though, just ask Terry Bull how powerful his uppercut is. Although he may not be able to remember. Nimrod Wickhammersley is a 6'6” and has a lankier frame than a lot of the fighters of that height in the company which makes his reach a valuable weapon. Wickhammersley hasn't got a lot of power in his hands, but that reach stops grapplers from getting hold of him, and power punchers from getting close to land their bombs. That helped him defeat Graham Goodbody by TKO in the quarter final of the Heavyweight tournament, but Laurence Lamping was able to get past him via decision. Speaking of Laurence Lamping (4-1) he will be in the co-Main Event of the show in another Heavyweight division clash, he takes on Bob Dozier (17-10), a veteran of British MMA making his Bulldog MMA debut here. Lamping was one of the favourites for the Heavyweight title tournament and lived up to that by getting through to the final, coming up short to Aston Merryman in the title match having already gone six rounds that evening. Lamping is incredibly strong and uses that power to bully his opponents around the cage, it also helps with his punching and one clean shot can be enough to end an opponent's night. If he can get his technique to match his physical attributes there may be no stopping him. It feels like Bob Dozier has been around since MMA began but he's only 35, he's also a very large man who is slimming down to 265 pounds to make the Heavyweight cut. In his 27 fights he has never faced any major names, opting to stay away from promotions to earn his keep independently, but with his career likely drawing to a close he has finally decided to make the step up in competition. In the Main Event of the evening we have one of the more intriguing fights in memory, in a scene reminiscent of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in Montreal we have the Heavyweight champion Aston Merryman (4-0), who leaves Bulldog MMA as soon as the fight is over, defending against Norman MacAskill (4-0) who has recently passed up the opportunity to move to the BCF to remain with BMMA. Hopefully, there won't be any screwjobs afoot. Aston Merryman had a star-making performance at the Heavyweight title tournament, not only by winning the whole thing by submitting Laurence Lamping in the final, having defeated Kevin Portman and Kieran Morgan previously, but also through his entertaining personality. He showed how versatile he is by winning a fight by KO, submission and decision on the same evening, and he will no doubt be a future British superstar. There's a rumour he has a documentary crew filming his build-up to the fight too. Norman MacAskill has an entire company's hopes resting on his shoulders which is a lot of pressure for a 19-year-old who hasn't exactly set the world on fire in his career so far. MacAskill has "some" boxing talent and "some" wrestling skills, but he is nowhere near what he is likely to become once he has had time to develop. MacAskill earned this title opportunity by defeating Glen McBeam at the first show, but it was a close fight including a rare 10-10 round so it would be hard to call it a decisive win. BMMA 8: Merryman vs. MacAskill Fight Card Heavyweight Division Glen McBeam vs. Nelson Kenny Middleweight Division Nelson Angelo vs. Omar Calvert Welterweight Division Rich Robinson vs. Mauricio de Terreros Heavyweight Division Kieran Morgan vs. Nimrod Wickhammersley Heavyweight Division Laurence Lamping vs. Bob Dozier BMMA Heavyweight Title Match Aston Merryman © vs. Norman MacAskill
  16. BMMA 7: HOOPER VS. ELLERY Match #1 Lightweight Division Cullen Skink (2-0) vs. Neil Entopolski (0-0) It was a cautious start between these two with a combination of an unwillingness to engage and a general lack of accuracy in the strikes that were being thrown, Entopolski in particular was only ever looking to throw a big right hand at Skink, and whenever he missed (which was often) it allowed Skink to counter with varying degrees of success. It wasn't until halfway through the round that Entopolski landed the big right which Skink was able to endure, and the remainder of the round saw both fighters land nothing more than jabs. The second round was more of the same but with even less strikes being thrown, the ones that were though had a lot more power behind them, even if again their accuracy left a lot to be desired. Skink certainly found his range in this round and connected with more combinations than before, the last strike in the combination usually being the power punch. Skink ended the round with a clean right hand after dodging a big shot from Entopolski, and that might have been enough to take the round. After two rounds we had literally only had a boxing match with no kicks or grappling being attempted by either fighter. It came down to which fighter was able to maintain their conditioning in the final round, and it soon became evident that Entopolski was tiring a lot quicker than Skink. A series of good shots landed from Skink with Entopolski not able to offer much in response, and halfway through the round Entopolski's gas tank was empty and he ended up desperately clinching with Skink just to get some rest. That didn't work out too well for him as Skink was able to control the clinch and forced Entopolski back against the cage, from there he used dirty boxing and knee strikes to keep landing shots until the end of the fight. We went to the judges for a decision, all three gave Entopolski the first round and Skink the second and third, giving Cullen Skink a unanimous decision victory. Winner: Cullen Skink (2-0) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Skink is never short of a word or two and took the opportunity to call out Stephen Conti for a BMMA Lightweight title match in the future. If the rumours are to be believed that doesn't sound like something that is going to happen any time soon. ----------------------- Match #2 Light Heavyweight Division Earl Turnbull (0-0) vs. Vincent Cooper (0-0) Cooper has the fans behind him but he's a definite underdog here, a lot of people see Turnbull as a good prospect due to his physical attributes alone. The fight started with a couple of brief strike exchanges where nothing meaningful landed, but that all changed on the next exchange when a flurry of strikes are thrown by both fighters. Turnbull landed a three-punch combo, but Cooper was also in there with a jab and then a big right head kick, and that is the difference-maker as it staggered Turnbull! Cooper was quick to follow up on the retreating Turnbull with a hard right hand that sent Turnbull crashing to the canvas, and with his opponent grounded Cooper unloaded a series of punches to the head until the referee stepped in to stop the fight! It's a very impressive win for Cooper in front of his hometown fans, and a surprising one as well. Winner: Vincent Cooper (1-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 1:23 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Cooper thanks his sponsors for paying him and the fans for turning out to support him, but nothing more of note. Cooper's not the best talker but he looks like a star at least. ----------------------- Match #3 Heavyweight Division Simon Youngman (0-0) vs. Tommy Cowan (0-0) Youngman doesn't walk out to YMCA because he's no fun. Maybe it's not his taste in music. The fight started out with a fairly even striking battle, both fighters landed some decent jabs and were sometimes able to follow up with a harder punch, but the striking game wasn't where Cowan was going to be happiest and it didn't take long him for the shoot in for a takedown. The takedown was successful leaving Youngman sat against the cage, Cowan then used his 40-pound weight advantage well to smother Youngman to prevent him escaping, and in between landing some good punches he was able to move through into the mount. Youngman was in deep trouble now and Cowan was relentless in his punches, heavy shots continuously landed on the temple of Youngman, each one looking more and more destructive. At this point we were all expecting the referee to step in, but instead they just stood there watching the onslaught, and it was left to Youngman to finish the fight himself by tapping out. Losing by tapping out to strikes is the most undignified method of defeat, however the fight metrics showed Cowan landed 13 power punches on the ground, many of them undefended, so the referee should have probably stepped in at some point. Winner: Tommy Cowan (1-0) via Submission (Strikes) - 3:04 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Cowan gives the usual rhetoric about thanking his sponsors and fans and saying he's happy to have won his BMMA debut. These guys really need to step up their interview game. ----------------------- Match #4 Heavyweight Division Malcolm Stew (1-0) vs. Oldano Kalil (1-0) I still believe that "Stew" is his real last name, it must be shortened from something. Kalil had a 20lb weight advantage so the was no surprise when his first move was to move in and clinch with Stew, he was able to get him trapped against the cage and that was where we spent most of the first round. Kalil kept tight body-to-body control on Stew for the whole time but did nothing damaging other than potentially draining Stew of his energy, and eventually the referee separated them. Stew landed some decent punches in the brief interlude between grapples but soon Kalil was shooting in for a takedown, he couldn't quite get it but still kept hold of Stew, and it was back to the cage for the remainder of the round. The first minute of the second round gave Stew the chance to demonstrate his striking advantage and he landed some very nice right hooks and right crosses during that time, however Kalil avoided one of them and took advantage of the situation to clinch and then slam Stew down to the ground in spectacular fashion. Everyone likes a good slam. On the ground Kalil was able to get into side control and from there looked to apply a kimura, however Stew was able to defend it. Kalil couldn’t do much more on the ground after that, but it was still surprising when the referee decided to stand them back up considering Kalil was in a dominant position. Stew was able to land a couple of shots back on the feet but soon Kalil had him grappled and against the cage again, which is where the round ended. The final round started with some more good striking from Stew despite him certainly looking more and more fatigued, Kalil was hardly fresh as a daisy either but he still went in for a takedown, however this time Stew not only defended the takedown but also got away from the grapple too. That turned out to be a major turning point in the fight as soon after that Stew connected with a jab/right hook combination which caught Kalil flush and knocked him down! Stew tried to finish the fight with powerful shots on the ground, but Kalil recovered enough to wrap Stew up and sweep him so that Kalil was now on top of Stew once again. This time Kalil couldn't advance his position but the referee still only gave him 45 seconds on the ground before standing them back up again. Both fighters had nothing left to give and the fight ended with little movement from either one of them, so we went to the judges. All three judges scored the fight 29-28, giving it to... Malcolm Stew. In my opinion Kalil got screwed by pretty much everyone there, I had him winning rounds 1 and 2, plus the referee standing him up from side control shortly after nearly getting a submission was just ridiculous. Winner: Malcolm Stew (2-0) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Malcolm Stew joins the club of people merely thanking their sponsors and being happy to win. Geoff Thomas-Grey doesn't ask any questions about the judging or refereeing so we get no insight into whether Stew feels he deserved the win. ----------------------- Match #5 Co-Main Event Lightweight Division Nathan Wyles (1-0) vs. Scotty Griffiths (1-0) Wyles looks like such a badass, not that Griffiths doesn't, but nobody does compare to Wyles. The intent was clear straight away as Wyles swung out a big right head kick to start the fight, Griffiths avoided that and continued to do well to stay out of the way of Wyles' aggression and land counters here and there. He couldn’t avoid a big roundhouse kick to the ribs though which look like it stung, Wyles continued to pressure Griffiths but a missed combination gave Griffiths the opportunity to go for a takedown. Whilst it was unsuccessful initially, he maintained the grapple and forced Wyles against the cage, and from there he used the case for an assist to get Wyles to the ground, even taking side control in the process. From there Griffiths was able to land some good punches with Wyles unable to do much to defend them, however with two minutes left Griffiths stopped throwing punches with his right hand. Griffiths tried to move through to the mount, but instead he ended up with a scrambling Wyles managing to get out from underneath him and took top position instead, also in side control. Wyles is no ground striker and even in a strong position he couldn't do much damage, but he maintained control until the round ended. In between rounds it was evident that Griffiths had problems with his hand, possibly a break, which was going to make striking much more difficult. With the fight back on the feet to start the second round Wyles went back to his high pressure offense but wasn't finding his range particularly well, but then with two minutes gone in the round he delivered a vicious right high kick out of nowhere, his shin connecting with the jaw of Griffiths, and the Welshman was out cold! Wyles wheeled away victorious not even needing to follow up with any further strikes, and we had ourselves a highlight reel knock out after a very entertaining back-and-forth contest. Winner: Nathan Wyles (2-0) via Knock Out (Kick) - 2:05 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Fantastic Post-Fight: Wyles gives the usual gratitude, but at least has the decency to call out Jazz Snide as a future opponent. There's a lot of people who want to silence Snide, and Wyles might have the best chance given his brutal offense. ----------------------- Match #6 Heavyweight Division Henry Hooper (1-0) vs. Hayden Ellery (3-0) Both fighters are from nearby areas, but Ellery certainly seems to have the more fans after his huge underdog win in his last fight. This fight unfortunately brings us back to the days of terrible Bulldog MMA main events, and these two don't even have the excuse of having gone through a tournament to fall back on. The issue is more the game plan both fighters decide to adopt, in the first round a clinch forms almost before the bell has sounded, and they're against the cage for the entire first half of the round. Hooper has control to begin with, but he didn't even really bother trying many strikes, settling to just control the position. After the referee unsurprisingly separated them, they immediately went back into another clinch, this time Ellery had control and actually bothered to use some dirty boxing to inflict a bit of damage. To be fair to Hooper it's more a case that Ellery was shutting down his attempts to strike. The second round began with Hooper shooting in for a takedown, he didn't get it but settled for a clinch, only for Ellery to out-grapple him and take control of the clinch to get Hooper trapped against the cage. Three minutes later we were still there until the referee decided to separate them, and yet again they clinched up right away again until the end of the round. The crowd, once so vociferously cheering both men, were now giving them a chorus of boos, and they only amplified at the start of the final round when, you guessed it, they started clinching again. Ellery controlled the grapple for the next three minutes landing the occasional punch on the inside, the referee separated them, they clinched again, you know the drill by now. By the time the bell sounded to end the third round the only thought going through anyone's mind was how glad they were that this wasn't a five round main event. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27 to Hayden Ellery, although all the good will he gained from his first Bulldog MMA fight will likely have been worn away by this performance. Winner: Hayden Ellery (4-0) via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) Fight Rating: Very Poor Post-Fight: Ellery doesn't have much to say this time, mainly because I think he wants to get out of there as soon as possible before the crowd start throwing things. He thanks his sponsors, fans, family and all that boring stuff and makes a swift exit. -----------------------   Show Details Attendance: 146 (+10) Critical Rating: 70% Commercial Rating: 31% Popularity Change: UK +1.3% Canada -0.1% Europe -0.1% Central America -0.1% South America -0.1% Mexico -0.1% Africa -0.1% USA -0.1% Asia -0.1% Australia -0.1% Russia -0.1% Japan -0.1% Apparently, the show very slightly offended every nation on the planet except the UK. A bit like Prince Phillip. Fight of the Night: Nathan Wyles vs. Scotty Griffiths KO of the Night: Vincent Cooper Submission of the Night: Tommy Cowan Income Gate: $12,866 (+$881) Sponsorship: $13,995 (+$299) Merchandise: $2,033 (+$207) Expenditure Fighters: $19,201 (-$7,147) Drug Testing: $4,800 (NC) Production: $2,483 (-$319) Total: +$2,091 PROFIT. ACTUAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS PROFIT. Other News Whilst the BCF/BMMA feud has been talked about on Blurcat UK, it is not the most dramatic of events to hit the World of MMA in recent weeks, that would be ALPHA-1's decision to open their Featherweight division, and the subsequent hiring spree they went on to fill their new division's roster. Every major Featherweight in the world was not under an exclusive contract with their current organisation and were therefore ripe for the picking, that included champions Philip Zizkie (XCC), Tomohiro Takeuchi (KDM FC) and Lars Bohlin (SIGMA). In addition to that ALPHA-1 snapped up the other major Featherweight names such as Li-Kong Ho, Lamont Banner, David James Diggle, Kenji Akita, Snorri Gunnarsson and Masahiro Maeno, so the division is pretty much the Top 25 Featherweights in the world all in one place. It's a major blow to GAMMA who will now find themselves very much in second place if they opt to start a Featherweight division. As discussed in our breaking news report the BCF made the move to start taking the main talent away from Bulldog MMA in what appears to be an attempt to cut the legs off the fledgling company before they can make a dent on the BCF's stranglehold of the UK scene. We have reported the signings of Aston Merryman, Shawn McCarthy, Michael Dali, Ron Chuckle and Dennis Gallagher, however the belief is that the BCF will be looking to acquire more talent from BMMA rather than looking at unemployed fighters or even SIGMA. It's thought that Bulldog MMA, despite their financial uncertainty, have made attempts to steal talent from the BCF whose contracts are expiring, however the BCF are now throwing significant money at the fighters they want to keep and pricing BMMA out of the negotiations. Fighters are seeing their wages at least double, so they are certainly doing well from this scuffle. In order to try and compete on a more level playing field Bulldog MMA have been on a hiring spree of their own, picking up more fighters who have moved over from other countries to the UK and anyone cut by the BCF and SIGMA who might be of use to them. Listed below are the names to have signed: Adrian Majoram Tucker Plumm Perry Barr Linton Renn Manish Khan Esteban Vega Datsakorn Pratoomwong Tommy Ray Jay Dorridge Maurico de Terreros After their most recent show the BCF cut Andrew Rush, Daniel Hornsby ** and at least a few of those names are likely to be brought straight into Bulldog MMA. Bulldog MMA are set to make a major announcement next week and as yet have been unclear as to what it might be. Some are thinking it may be the introduction of a new division at Featherweight or Super Heavyweight, something which would differentiate them from the BCF even in a slight way. A television deal has also been rumoured, but it is unlikely that a company that has only run seven shows would be able to get interest from a television network. Recent Shows Saturday Week 4 of April ------------------------------------ SIGMA: Tariverdiev vs. Gnocchi Oleg Tariverdiev def. Ezio Gnocchi to retain the SIGMA Middleweight title Matti Kurri def. Shane Gilchrist Nestor Morozov def. Jacob Matthaus Gerrit Dudok def. Alvaro Negredo Daniil Skala def. Gavriil Sviridov KDM FC 24: Puangchan vs. Kayem Tossapol Puangchan def. Kawin Kayem Naora Kikuchi def. Echiko Watanabe Shen Kang def. Bunrakuken Abe Seka Mutsu def. Feng Chung Yaji Jokichi def. Josuke Hino Saturday Week 1 of May SIGMA: Papaioannu vs. Richelleau Stratos Papaioannu def. Jean-Pierre Richelleau Stephan de Winter def. Nicolai Mickiewicz Souleymane Ya Konen def. Reinhardt Rhett Casim Yenkini def. Jaromir Grygera Kenneth Toadspew def. Bjarne Bjerre Sunday Week 1 of May WEFF: Micklewhite vs. Page Kirsten Page def. Idina Micklewhite Diana Marr def. Lula Baker Laura Adair def. Lynda Epsom Hester Maclean def. Simone King Grace Hughes def. Kerry Silverman XCC: Baldwin vs. Skinner Henry Baldwin def. Junmal Skinner Rafael Tavares def. Lucky Lyman Campbell Crane def. Sammy Newton Chad Zoff def. Cory Brewer Frank Romita def. Rory McEnterry
  17. <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><p>(The timeline is going to be a bit off now, my own filing system let me down as the "special announcement" was meant to be after this preview. Ah well.)</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7uPcFWq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7uPcFWq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> *Ring ring*</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "What?"</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Well if it's not the internet superstar himself. Not too busy downloading or uploading or search engineering to speak to me?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "What are you talking about?"</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Sorry mate, obviously I'm not as down with the lingo as you are. You'll have to teach me sometime, maybe after you're back working in the BCF after your petty little company is finished."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Not this again. What do you even want?"</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Firstly I wanted to congratulate you for your last show, I hear the five nerds in their mum's basement really loved it. Secondly, I thought I'd give you some good news myself, one of your fighters has made the smart decision to improve their career by joining us at the BCF on an exclusive deal."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Michael Dali, I know. Apparently, you threw a load of money at him, so much that he couldn't say no. He did what he had to; I've got no hard feelings."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Oh, so he told you, did he? Specifically asked him not to, but oh well. There's something about him I like, I think he's going to do big things."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Probably that he's a criminal."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "YOU CAN'T PROVE... I mean, no, his warrior mentality and entertaining style. He's the first, but he won't be the last. We've got the money to drive you out of business, and that developmental gig you turned down will end up being a reality whether you like it or not."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "We'll see Jerome. It's nice to know that what we're doing is working, looks like we're living rent free in your head at the moment."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Not a chance, you're as insignificant to me as your company is to the MMA industry. And one more thing, this is just the beginning, we're going to take anyone we want from you because we-"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Bye Jerome."</p><p> </p><p> *click*</p><p> </p><p> <em>It turns out Jim Carpenter had been in the room listening to the phone call...</em></p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Didn't fancy telling him about our TV deal then?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Not yet, I'd quite like that to be a surprise for him. Who doesn't like a surprise?"</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Not sure he will, but fair enough, it's still in the works anyway. Right now, let's focus on what we've got coming up, if we want to run once a month then we might need to bring some new faces in. I take it you're happy to carry on broadcasting on SportTube?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Absolutely, it made a huge impact for us and even gave us the chance at that TV deal. Still lost money, but much less than the other shows so it's a worthwhile investment. I'm actually excited about how things are going at the moment."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Only 6 grand away from getting that statue, never mind though. Like I say, we're a bit short on talent at the moment, Dali leaving doesn't help, but I think we can look at bringing in some of the guys the BCF let go. Even if they're not in their prime they've got the name value to get people in through the door."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "OK, but don't go crazy. Let's not overreact and start throwing money around for the sake of it. Jim, things are going well, I can't see how anything can stop our momentum right now..."</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong>Press Release</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">BULLDOG MMA RETURN WITH SHOW HEADLINED BY LIGHTWEIGHT BATTLE, AND MAINLY CONTAINS FIGHTERS YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF</span></strong></p><p><strong> by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> Before all 100 of the Bulldog MMA fans get angry at me for that headline, let's face it, it's true. BMMA have used up most of their more well-known fighters in their tournament shows, with the last ones left used on their sixth show, which makes lucky number seven the weakest in terms of star power. The headliner is Hayden Ellery, fresh off his upset win on the second BMMA show after taking the fight at short notice, and his three career fights make him a veteran of the cage compared to his opponent Henry Hooper has one fight on his record, which was at the same show.</p><p> </p><p> But starting off the six fights on the show will be a Lightweight division clash between Cullen Skink (1-0) and Neil Entopolski (MMA debut). Yes, one fight between them. Cullen Skink, a name that can't be easy to live with, is a hard-hitting Scottish youngster who is known for having a brutal right hand which training partners have been reported as being knocked out by accidentally. Not that Skink gets much time for training as he is still in full-time employment on an oil rig, only coming back to shore for brief training sessions and to fight. Neil Entopolski is making his debut at 23, relatively late in this day and age, from what we're told he is a straight-ahead brawler without much technique to how he does it. For that tactic to work he has to have power in his punches and a chin that can withstand a beating, we're told that those are traits that he has, but having people talk about what you can do in a training gym is very different to what you actually do inside a cage.</p><p> </p><p> From a fight with one combined match between the competitors to a fight where neither fighter has had a professional MMA bout, as in the incredibly shallow Light Heavyweight division Earl Turnbull (MMA debut) takes on Vincent Cooper (MMA debut). Turnbull is someone people see potential in due to his understanding of what it takes to succeed in MMA, whilst he is primarily a boxer, and a good one, he has also cross-trained in other aspects of the sport to make sure he's ready for anything. There are some concerns about his health as he had to take some time off from training after bruising his tailbone, but he has been given the go-ahead to fight. Vincent Cooper is a former kick boxer who saw the extra money being made in MMA and made a quick dart in that direction. He's from nearby Manchester so he'll be guaranteed home support, but he may earn fans in another way due to his entertaining style, both in his willingness to engage and the crazy head kicks he loves to land. Well, try to land. Whilst not as well-rounded as Turnbull, he will always be one kick away from a knockout.</p><p> </p><p> Our third fight of the evening will be, oh come on, seriously? Another fight between two debuting fighters. This time it's the Heavyweight division as Simon Youngman (MMA debut) takes on Tommy Cowan (MMA debut). For Youngman, there's no need to feel down because Youngman, picked himself off the ground, because Youngman is here in a new town and there's no need. To. Be. Un. Happy. Paraphrased that from memory. He is indeed in a new town because he's actually from Melbourne, Australia, and chose to Go West to cold and blustery Wigan. With Australian MMA a dead area he came to the UK to use his amateur boxing skills in a productive environment. Let's hope it's fun to stay at the, B-M-M-A. This is my favourite preview ever. Tommy Cowan is nowhere near as fun to write about but has an interesting backstory in that he had spent most of his teenage years taking part in strongman and grappling contests before taking his strength and athleticism to MMA. And being that strong I guess that makes him a Macho Man. He's also usually a Super Heavyweight who is cutting weight to make the Heavyweight limit of 265 so he'll likely have a weight advantage whoever he is facing off against.</p><p> </p><p> The fourth fight is a contest between two veterans compared to the rest of the fighters, as Malcolm Stew (1-0) takes on Oldano Kalil (1-0) in a Heavyweight division clash. Malcolm Stew has a brilliant nickname in "Beef" but is not the most diverse of fighters, his game plan is very much "move forward, throw punch, maybe take punch, throw another punch". He does have some power behind his strikes thanks to his short, muscular stature. At 24 with only one fight under his belt it may not be too negative to suggest that he's going to have to learn other skills pretty fast if he's going to make an impact. Oldano Kalil is one of the many imports from Brazil looking to fight competitively in a proper company. Kalil is a giant of a man standing at 6'6" and topping the Heavyweight scale at 265lbs, and that weight is mainly muscle for good measure. He is a very good grappler and uses that technique in conjunction with his physical attributes to bully, smother and simply overwhelm is opponents. Many think Kalil could be the future of Brazilian Heavyweights, it's just that if he becomes a big name it probably won't be in South America.</p><p> </p><p> In the fifth fight of the show, which is also the co-Main Event, we will see Nathan Wyles (1-0) take on Scotty Griffiths (1-0) in the Lightweight division. Yes, even the co-main event fighters don't have more than one fight each. Nathan Wyles is a 21-year-old Londoner who frankly looks twice that age, don't tell him I said that though as he is one on the best Muay Thai practitioners the country has produced in a long time. He has vicious kicks and knees at his disposal, and isn't afraid to bust out a crazy, spinning kick if the situation allows it, he also has some incredible conditioning to keep him going long into a fight. If nothing else, he is expected to have some memorable knock outs in his career. Scotty Griffiths is from Cardiff who is best described as a mediocre kickboxer. I somehow have to make an entire paragraph out of that. He has the guts to stand and fight with anyone, a trait which may not be the most sensible against someone like Wyles, but he's not likely to cause too many problems for anyone with either more experience or simply more talent. He doesn't even have a nickname. Or hair. This guy is so bland.</p><p> </p><p> Finally the Main Event of the show will be the return of two fighters to the BMMA cage following their victories on the company's second show, Henry Hooper (1-0) takes on Hayden Ellery (3-0), who has three times more experience than the every other fighter on the card. Hooper started both his Bulldog MMA career and MMA career in February when he defeated Moray McWhirter in a fight put on outside of the Heavyweight tournament, it wasn't the prettiest of victories as Hooper grinded his way to a decision win, but he got the job done. Hooper's grappling is his main strength, with his 6'6" frame allowing him to overpower most opponents. Hayden Ellery was the story of the second show after taking a fight against the experienced Lachlan Bowen on 6 days’ notice, and then finishing the Canadian off in just 53 seconds. The charismatic Scouser also endeared himself with an emotional post-fight interview, although some nay-sayers are saying that Ellery got lucky and a better fighter will expose him at some point. Until then let's all jump aboard the Hayden Hype Train. TOOT TOOT.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>BMMA 7: Hooper vs. Ellery Fight Card</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Cullen Skink vs. Neil Entopolski</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Light Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Earl Turnbull vs. Vincent Cooper</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Simon Youngman vs. Tommy Cowan</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Malcolm Stew vs. Oldano Kalil</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Co-Main Event</strong></p><p><strong> Lightweight Division</strong></p><p> Nathan Wyles vs. Scotty Griffiths</p><p> </p><p> <strong>MAIN EVENT</strong></p><p><strong> Heavyweight Division</strong></p><p> Henry Hooper vs. Hayden Ellery</p></div><p></p><p></p>
  18. BMMA 6: PHIPPS VS. DE MELO Match #1 Lightweight Division Shawn McCarthy (2-0) vs. Duane Kyle (0-0) Kyle has brought a sizeable contingent of supporters with him to witness his MMA debut, certainly more have made the trip down from Newcastle than came over from Northern Ireland to support McCarthy. The fight started with a striking battle and both fighters were willing to throw punches even if they weren't particularly powerful ones. McCarthy landed the better of the shots, particularly a straight right to the head, but Kyle was matching him with some decent combinations. The entertaining stand-up contest was interrupted when Kyle shot in for a takedown, and despite McCarthy's best efforts he couldn't prevent himself being taken down to the mat. Once on the ground Kyle couldn’t do much, but getting the takedown itself might have bene enough to win the round. The second round began with both fighters engaging with strikes again, however less than a minute in McCarthy connected with a powerful left hook to jaw which staggered Kyle and followed that with another big left hand to knock him down! McCarthy sensed victory and unloaded punches to the head of the fallen Kyle, a few big shots landed before the referee stepped in to save Kyle from taking any further damage. McCarthy takes the victory with his striking despite being a submission specialist, a sign he is more well-rounded than was thought, and Kyle's fan club will be going home disappointed. Winner: Shawn McCarthy (3-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 1:18 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: McCarthy gets interviewed by Geoff Thomas-Grey after the fight, he confirms that he has been working on his striking game before thanking his sponsors. When asked what he would like to do next, he indicated he wanted a fight with Jonjo Whiteley, regardless of the outcome of his fight with Jazz Snide tonight. Not sure where that hostility has come from. ------------------------- Match #2 Welterweight Division Teco (15-6) vs. Thomas O'Cann (5-5) Obviously, the UK MMA commission don't spend a lot of time studying Brazilian shows, if they had I doubt they would have allowed a mismatch of this nature to be on the card. Although that could be said for any fighting involving Thomas O'Cann. There are a couple of strike flurries to start the fight, O'Cann survives them alright and even lands a left jab during the exchange. That would be the last positive moment of O'Cann's evening, as Teco fired in a combination of three punches, the third was a right hook which caught O’Cann on the jaw and sent him crashing to the mat. Teco joined O'Cann on the ground and pummeled him with punches until the referee stepped in to stop the very one-sided contest. O'Cann was out before he had hit the floor, so those extra punches weren't necessary really, but you're trained to fight until you're told to stop. A dominant victory for Teco here, but much, much tougher opponents are in the Brazilian's future. I mean, literally, I don't think he could fight anyone worse. Winner: Teco (16-6) via Knock Out (Punch) - 1:19 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: Teco can't speak English and Geoff Thomas-Grey's Portuguese certainly needs some work, so this interview was confusing to say the least. Teco said the phrase "quero o título" a lot which appears to translate to "I want the title", so I assume he is either calling out Welterweight champion Ron Chuckle, or looking to purchase the title of Lord to become a member of the peerage. Probably the first one, although Lord Teco has a nice ring to it. ------------------------- Match #3 Middleweight Division Edu Gattai (8-0) vs. Thom Billings (9-0) From a talent standpoint this is probably the best fight of the night, but the first round was as one-sided as you can get without a finish. Billings was utterly dominant with his striking, essentially beating the hell out of Gattai for the full five minutes with punches to the head and body. It looked like he had the fight won when he staggered Gattai with a right hook, but Gattai was somehow able to survive by partially blocking Billings' follow up shots. We then had some controversy when the referee stopped the action shortly afterwards, some in the crowd thought it was over, but in fact they were checking a cut under Gattai's left eye. Billings was very unhappy with this as it effectively gave Gattai the time he needed to recover, and it's hard to argue with him. The numbers tell the story here, with Billings landed 29 punches in the round compared to Gattai's 0. After essentially a 10-8 first round Gattai needed to fight back in the second, but Billings kept on relentlessly landing punches for the first half of the round. Gattai survived and finally got out of harm's way by securing a takedown with 90 seconds left, he didn't do much other than lie on top of Billings to smother hip against the ground, but I imagine at this point any time spent not being punched in the face was like a holiday. Gattai had to do something similar in the final round to have any chance of winning the fight, but every time he tried to move in closer he was met with more punches from Billings who seemed oblivious to the concept of fatigue. Eventually Billings missed with a right hook and Gattai took the opportunity to shoot in for a takedown which was again successful. Gattai now had to find a way to finish the fight, but the best he could do was to land a few punches and the occasional elbow from the guard, as he was unable to transition into a better position. The referee ended up standing the fighters back up, only for Gattai to immediately take Billings back down again, and that's where the fight ended. In the end only one of the judges gave the first round a 10-8, resulting in scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28, all to the winner Thom Billings. The post-fight numbers showed how one-sided the stand-up was, Billings landing a total of 55 punches and Gattai landing a total of 0. Winner: Thom Billings (10-0) via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28) Fight Rating: Average Post-Fight: A devout Catholic, Billings' first comment during his interview is to thank God for giving him the strength to win, and his sponsors, the other divine entity, get a mention as well. Billings says he wants to fight Tuck Durdell next, and the undefeated Canadian would make for a pretty good contest.[/b] ------------------------- Match #4 Light Heavyweight Division Eoghan Behan (7-4) vs. Clarence Gibson (0-0) This is one of those weird fights were one fighter, Behan, is a known quantity and is known to be pretty average, whereas Gibson is completely unknown in MMA and could either be better or worse than him. If you're wondering why I wrote that, it's because I get paid by the line, and this is another first round finish. Gibson is from Manchester, 40 minutes from where tonight's show is taking place in Wigan, so he has a lot of fans. Gibson immediately went for a takedown, but it was stuffed by Behan quite impressively, that gave Behan the chance to land some strikes and he caught Gibson with a straight right that looks to have broken Gibson's nose. Gibson really wanted that takedown but again he couldn't get past the sprawl of Behan who has obviously been training his takedown defence, that allowed Behan to land a vicious straight right which knocked Gibson down to the ground! Behan pounced quickly and hammered down with punches to the head, however he perhaps got a bit over-excited and left himself open to Gibson sweeping him to get out of trouble. Behan left a leg free and Gibson grabbed it to look for a leglock, however Behan was able to avoid the submission attempt and Gibson got stuck back on the bottom with Behan in his guard. Behan would have probably been best suited trying to escape back to his feet, instead he went for some punches but only succeeded in leaving his arm free for Gibson to grab and apply a triangle choke! As soon as it was in deep Behan had no option but to tap out to give Gibson a win on his debut, although to say it was a struggle would be an understatement. Winner: Clarence Gibson (1-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) - 3:36 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Gibson, or "Topper" as he for some reason wants his nickname to be, doesn't have much to say, he thanks the people who came to support him and is happy to have won his first professional fight. He says this is just the beginning, which is as much of a cliché as it is a statement of fact. ------------------------- Match #5 Co-Main Event Lightweight Division Jonjo Whiteley (5-0) vs. Jazz Snide (3-0) Ever the entertainer, Snide walks out wearing a bald cap and a t-shirt saying "JonJoker". Hilarious. Fitting all that hair under the bald cap might be a more impressive feat than winning the fight. The first round of the fight took place exclusively on their feet with neither fighter looking to grapple at any point, as a result it comes down to who is able to land more strikes and it's Snide who holds the advantage in that regard. Throughout he seemed quicker than Whiteley and was able to land combinations of punches, Whiteley on the other hand had to settle for the occasional punch landing. To make matters worse for the Swindon native he had a cut open up over his left eye which hampered his visibility. The second round followed a similar pattern to the first with Snide again being able to out-strike Whiteley throughout, the volume of strikes was a bit lower but the more meaningful punches landed for Snide, including one which undid all the hard work Whiteley's corner had done to close the cut. That necessitated the referee halting the action to have Whiteley's cut looked at, however it was deemed safe for him to continue fighting. Whiteley had to pull something special out to get the win now after being two rounds down, but with both fighters now fighting fatigue more than each other the action was starting to drag. Halfway through the round an exhausted Snide almost fell on Whitely to clinch with him, but then was able to wrestle Whiteley down to the ground. Scoring a takedown probably settled the fight, Whiteley tried his best to escape but his attempt to scramble only resulted in him giving up side control to Snide, however despite the strong position Snide didn't try to do more than land some weak-looking punches. To the judges’ scorecards we went, two scored it 30-27 with one scoring it 29-28, but all three gave the victory to Jazz Snide. Not a spectacular win by any means, but he remains undefeated, and I'm sure he'll still have something to say about it... Winner: Jazz Snide (4-0) via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) Fight Rating: Decent Post-Fight: Here we go. Snide starts by telling them to get that "piece of trash" out of the cage which is enough to make Whiteley's cornermen have to hold him back and drag him out before another, less official, fight breaks out. Snide then looks to the future and says he wants to fight Nigel Collett, but he "knows that will never happened because Collett is too much of a coward to get in a cage with him". He then flips off Whiteley one more time and goes on a victory lap around the cage whilst goading the crowd. What a nice guy. ------------------------- MAIN EVENT Heavyweight Division Fritz Phipps (9-1) vs. Vitor de Melo (7-1) Fritz Phipps is by far the most popular fighter on the card and the BMMA management will no doubt be hoping for a win for him here, not that they would ever publicly admit as much. The two fighters came out swinging as was expected and both fighters land some decent strikes in the opening minutes, however it's de Melo who is landing the harder shots including some big right hands which certainly stop Phipps from wanting to move forward. De Melo was no mood to let Phipps back off though and continued to pressure him, Phipps managed to land some jabs to keep de Melo at bay, but the Brazilian did not seem to be at all phased by them. With two minutes left in the opening round Phipps stepped forward for a big right hook, however it missed and gave de Melo the opening for a huge right uppercut which knocked Phipps down! Before Phipps could regain his senses de Melo had swarmed on him and started raining down hard punches that Phipps couldn't defend, the referee gave Phipps every opportunity to escape but eventually had to pull de Melo away to protect Phipps from any more damage! That's not the result the fans wanted to see, and de Melo gets a fair share of boos as he celebrates, not that it's his fault that he won the fight. This result has probably scuppered some plans for future BMMA matches, and you'd think this win would automatically make de Melo the top contender for the BMMA Heavyweight title. Winner: Vitor de Melo (8-1) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:14 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good Post-Fight: It's Round 2 of Geoff Thomas-Grey against the Portuguese language, good on him for trying but the Geordie accent doesn't mix well with the Iberian language. I assume he asks de Melo how he feels as de Melo splutters out "very good, very good" several times. I think that's about as much as we're going to get. ------------------------- Show Details   Attendance: 136 Critical Rating: 69% Commercial Rating: 31% Popularity Change: UK +1.1% Canada +1.6% Europe +1.6% Central America +1.6% South America +1.6% Mexico +1.6% Africa +1.6% USA + 1.6% Asia +1.6% Australia +1.6% Russia +1.3% Japan +1.3% Fight of the Night: Eoghan Behan vs. Clarence Gibson KO of the Night: Vitor de Melo Submission of the Night: Clarence Gibson Income Gate: $11,985 Sponsorship: $13,696 Merchandise: $1,826 Expenditure Fighters: $26,348 Drug Testing: $4,800 Production: $2,483 Total: -$6,124 ------------------------- Post Show News - Despite not having any concrete numbers on how many people watched the show (seriously, if anyone knows how to find this out please let me know) people have been very interested in BMMA broadcasting their show on the internet site SportTube. The bigger companies have been dismissive of the idea, with BCF president Jerome McCallum happy to state that the internet will never replace traditional PPV, smaller companies have noted how BMMA have now got a foothold on a worldwide level, even if it is a tiny one. - ALPHA-1 had a big month with their Middleweight Grand Prix, won by Heiji Endo, being a strong enough show to propel them to a Mid Level National level. To celebrate(?) that achievement the Japanese company announced they were opening up a Featherweight division, much to the horror of KDM FC I'm sure. - That said, KDM FC did rise to Mid Level Regional level which is encouraging for them. - The BCF cut Adrian Majoram after their last show (more on that in our show report later), with SIGMA cutting Manish Khan. It's still to be seen if Bulldog MMA will be interested in snapping either of them up. - Despite his win Clarence Gibson suffered a broken nose in his fight with Eoghan Behan, he will be out for a few weeks whilst that heals. ------------------------- Other Show Results (Due to the ongoing battle between BCF and BMMA they're getting a proper show recap out of my own generosity.) Saturday Week 2 of April Friday Week 4 of March ALPHA-1 Middleweight Grand Prix 2002 Quarter Finals Genki Shinashi def. Juro Fuzakawa Carlos da Guia def. Kyuwa Itou Tadao Miyazaki def. Bambang Sriyanto Heiji Endo def. Mal Phe Roby Semi Finals Genki Shinashi def. Carlos da Guia Heiji Endo def. Tadao Miyazaki Final Heiji Endo def. Genki Shinashi to win the ALPHA-1 Middleweight Grand Prix 2002 Saturday Week 2 of April SIGMA: Ivanov vs. Andric II Aleksander Ivanov def. Stjepan Andric to retain the SIGMA Heavyweight title (and then vacate it due to joining the BCF) Rodolphe Gygax def. Patrik Pedersen Snorri Gunnarsson def. Pedro Alves Marco Bernacci def. Manish Khan Fernando Peragon def. Jason Dalglish KDM FC 22: Togo vs. Redondo Kanji Togo def. Apolonio Redondo Jr to retain the KDM FC Bantamweight Title Li-Kong Ho def. Cong Dun Ahmed Mohamed Farag def. Takahiro Nakamura Sophan Sastrowardoya def. Ang Dong Supachai Thamsatchanan def. Najib Sri Aziz bin Zai
  19. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48581" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">SPECIAL BULLETIN: BCF RAIDS BMMA, SIGNS UP THREE CHAMPIONS AND ALSO SHAWN MCCARTHY FOR SOME REASON</span></strong><p><strong> by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p> </p><p> In a developing story, Blurcat have discovered that the biggest MMA company in Britain, British Cage Fighting, have made the first main steps into squashing their new competition Bulldog MMA by signing three of their newly crowned champions to exclusive deals. Heavyweight champion <strong>Aston Merryman</strong>, Light Heavyweight champion <strong>Dennis Gallagher</strong>, and Welterweight champion <strong>Ron Chuckle</strong> have all signed contracts with BCF, Gallagher will join straight away and has immediately vacated the Light Heavyweight title, whilst Merryman and Chuckle will move once they have completed their scheduled fights in the coming months. BCF have also signed <strong>Shawn McCarthy</strong> for reasons that are as yet unclear.</p><p> </p><p> As of this moment only Stephen Conti and Osi Lewis remain as unapproached champions in the BMMA. Merryman defends the title against Norman MacAskill in June, whilst Chuckle defends against Evan Pizzarro in July, so whilst both could lose, it's also possible both could win, and the titles would be vacated.</p><p> </p><p> BCF owner <strong>Jerome T. McCallum</strong> was in an overjoyed mood when giving his thoughts on the situation.</p><p> </p><p> "<em>We're over the moon to bring these guys in, they've proved that they're good fighters and now they have the opportunity to fight in a company that matches their talent and provide them with the platform to fight on a much bigger stage than they are used to. It is not our intention to disrupt the plans of Bulldog MMA, they have done what they can to help these fighters, but now our experience and resources will be more of what they can come to expect for their career. We will be looking to offer deals to more Bulldog MMA fighters as and when necessary as the BCF looks to establish itself amongst GAMMA and ALPHA-1 at the top of the MMA tree</em>."</p><p> </p><p> BMMA CEO Jim Carpenter was reached out to for comment and gave this statement;</p><p> </p><p> "<em>We at Bulldog MMA are obviously disappointed to have lost fighters who represented our company as champions, Aston Merryman, Ron Chuckle and Dennis Gallagher proved their talents by winning their respective tournaments and we had hoped to keep them on board for the foreseeable future. Also, Shawn McCarthy had a fight with us. Despite our disappointment we wish all the fighters the best in their future endeavors, and we are hopeful that we can work together at some point in the future.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> To the fans of Bulldog MMA, we promise that this setback will not deter us from continuing to bring you exciting fights as we grow our company to challenge BCF and their stronghold of the British MMA scene. We were expecting that the threat of Bulldog MMA's sudden rise to prominence would cause a reaction from our competitors, and we have reacted ourselves accordingly to bring more fighters in. We can assure you that the level of show you have come to expect from Bulldog MMA will not be affected, and look forward to bringing you further good news in the coming weeks regarding the company's future</em>."</p><p> </p><p> It is thought that Bulldog MMA made every attempt to keep their champions with offers far exceeding any contracts the currently have, however the BCF were still able to outbid them for the talent. If nothing else, this increasing war between the two British MMA companies is having a positive effect on the fighters' paychecks, and given the amount of fighters flocking from other countries to the UK to get fights it could well be that the UK becomes the epicenter of MMA at some point.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ----------------------------</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="7uPcFWq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7uPcFWq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Tell me the truth, not the blurb you gave to the press; how bad is it?"</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "It's not great, but right now it's manageable. Yes, it's annoying that three of our champions are now gone, well at least one, maybe three if Merryman and Chuckle win their scheduled fight..."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Any chance we can just scrap those fights and find a replacement to crown a new champion? Just cut our ties with the guys that are leaving rather than go through the awkwardness of them winning and handing the belt straight back to us."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Not at this short notice, plus the marketing has all been done on SportTube for the fights we already have booked. We're just going to have to hope that MacAskill and Pizzarro can pull off a victory."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Do you reckon they're stopping at just those five?"</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Probably not. Jerome really has it out for us, and I reckon that anyone who gets the slightest bit of notoriety from fighting for us will be approached by the BCF. Once I heard that Aston, Ron and the rest were being approached I tried my best to keep them, but we're not a big enough company to offer exclusive contracts or guaranteed fights, and the money that the BCF was throwing at them was simply too much for them to turn down."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Fair enough. It's going to be a bit of a vicious cycle for a while. I'm expecting they'll be in soon for people like Conti and Lewis before too long, and I'm surprised they haven't tied down the guys who we share contracts with to exclusive deals. Anyone who appears on a SportTube show will have the name recognition that BCF will want a piece of, if they'll take Shawn McCarthy then it shows nobody is safe."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "I guess, but I'm hoping that we can get through any more raids they do by bringing in a higher volume of fighters to replace them. If we're going to be in a position where we can keep the fighters, we have then need to get bigger, and to do that we need to run as many shows as we feasibly can. I think we should aim to get as many fighters in as there are available, there are a lot hanging around with all the people coming in from abroad. I can evaluate their talent and try and build-up the good ones where possible and hope they sneak under the BCF's radar. The last show proved we can run a show without breaking the bank, and we haven't used any megastars on the shows to begin with so fighter name recognition isn't going to be a big deal. If I can sneakily keep their pay down a bit then that will help, no more of those guaranteed $1,200 a show contracts for guys who haven't fought anyone decent before."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "You know me Jim, always happy to save a quid or two wherever possible. You've seen what I drive."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Frankly I'm amazed that thing still passes its MOT. Doesn't it run on leaded petrol?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "It works, that's what matters. Anyway, I think being under the radar is the main thing. Running on SportTube looks like it’s been a double-edged sword, on one hand we've got a lot of attention for the company, but probably through a combination of sensing an opportunity, and Jerome being vindictive that we had a better idea than he's ever come up with, the BCF are going to be better placed to take advantage of the situation than we are. I guess Jerome outsmarted us a bit, maybe played us for being a bit naive at this whole company ownership lark. He's been doing this a long time and has made a real success out of the BCF, no matter how much of an ingrate he behaves like. Put some of the blame on me for riling him up, but he really gets under my skin, bloody southerner."</p><p>  </p><p> Jim: "Perhaps we've been victims of shooting for the stars a bit too early. From the money we lost in the early shows to the fighters we're losing now, maybe we're running before we can walk. Certainly I think we were naive to believe that the guys we brought in wouldn't jump We've only run six shows and it's been a rollercoaster of emotions so far, I'm sure there are difficult times to come but we will just have to deal with them as and when they happen."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Anyway, big week ahead of us, we'd better get prepared for it."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "Wait a minute, if we're trying to stay under the radar then should we really be going ahead with this plan? It's going to put us more on the radar than ever before."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Absolutely not. We've worked far too hard to get this set up, the deals are signed, and we're sticking to them. In the long run this will be the biggest step we can make, and the sooner we do it, the sooner we won't be looked down on by the BCF and by people wanting to work for them instead of us."</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "These chats always leave me feeling more confused afterwards than I was before..."</p><p> </p><p> (Yeah, this was far from ideal. Oh well, back to square one we go...)</p>
  20. <p>I am indeed, I just aim to post once every two days so as not to put pressure on myself to get things done <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />.</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="7uPcFWq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7uPcFWq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "Jim, I've thought about your offer."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "Good, well what do you think?"</p><p> </p><p><strong> Harry:</strong> "First of all you need to understand that this company is my livelihood, everything I've saved since my fighting days is invested in it. If it goes bust, I'm probably going to have to come out retirement, and I don't want to put my family through that. I'm saying this partly because I need you to understand how important it is that we succeed, but also that if you invest, you're going to be in the same position."</p><p> </p><p><strong> Jim:</strong> "I understand. It's a risk, especially given that we're losing money every show, but I think we have a chance here to make something of this company. It's going to take some work, and some money, but I want to give it a shot. We've put so much effort in already, I don't see the point in letting it slip away."</p><p> </p><p><strong> Harry:</strong> "OK. In that case, I'm happy to accept your offer. $150,000 of investment, for a 40% stake in the company. Welcome aboard, I guess."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "Thanks Harry. Now let's talk about that idea I had..."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "Yes, it had better be worth it for the $150,000..."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "I was chatting to my son, Jordan the other day, well at least as much chatting as you can do with a 14 year old, and he was doing this thing called streaming, watching videos on the internet. Apparently, it's all the rage in 2002."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "Internet? Isn't that just for looking up stuff that you don't want your wife to see?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "Mainly, yeah, but Jordan told me about this thing called SportTube. It's a website where you can watch all kinds of sport highlights, I don't know how aware of it the sports organisations are that they're stuff is on there, but I've spotted a potential gap in the market."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "On the internet? Is anyone even going to watch shows on the internet?"</p><p> </p><p><strong> Jim:</strong> "It's a growing market and if we get in at the ground floor it could pay dividends. I've checked with SportTube and they can put our shows on there live, and it will be broadcast around the world to anyone who wants to watch it."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "I can see the positives, but how much is it going to cost? They're not doing this for free."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "It will cost us to put the show on, plus extra money for an announcer. There's a guy called Geoff Thomas-Gray who is a big MMA fan and has lots of experience in broadcasting. And if we need someone with him, I can do it. How hard can it be?"</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Harry:</strong> "OK, I'll sign this off for the next show as a trial run. If it loses too much money, then we scrap the idea. If it loses money but we get good exposure, then we'll try again. And if it makes money then I'll build a bloody statue of you outside my house."</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jim:</strong> "You know I'll hold you to that, right?"</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p></p><img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p><strong> Press Release</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">BULLDOG MMA TO HOLD THEIR FIRST TRADITIONAL SHOW, HEADLINED BY HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH</span></strong></p><p><strong> by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bulldog MMA finally move away from the tournament format to the more traditional style of only having their fighters have one match per show. It'll never catch on. We'll have 6 fights on this card, less than the 7 we've been seeing on the tournament shows, however the hope is that with the fighters not having to worry about conserving energy (or running out of it) they will be able to put on better fights. The show is headlined by well-known British Heavyweight Fritz Phipps taking on Brazilian Vitor de Melo.</p><p> </p><p> In the evening's first fight we head to the Lightweight division for a fight between Shawn McCarthy (2-0) and Duane Kyle (making his MMA debut). McCarthy is one of the best submission specialists in Northern Ireland, a wonderful example of a caveat undercutting a compliment, and his strategy will always be to get the fight to the ground no matter what. If he can get it there, he is equally as dangerous on his back as he is from the top, although those skills have never been tested against top opposition. Duane Kyle comes into the fight with no MMA fights, but has done plenty of experience in amateur wrestling and was considered one of the best in the UK (there's that caveat again). He has been training in striking a lot as well, however he is naturally a Featherweight fighter so will likely be giving up some size here.</p><p> </p><p> From two newcomers to MMA to two veterans, in the Welterweight division Teco (15-6) will take on Thomas O'Cann (5-5). Teco is one of the many of fighters to have abandoned South America since the downfall of FLB, with many coming to the UK purely because Bulldog MMA started up. Teco is a fighter who loves to use a spectacular head kick to try and finish a fight, even if a simpler option would be more suitable. As well as the spectacular he tries to overwhelm his opponents with a high volume of kicks, and if you think this makes him sound one-dimensional, then you're right; he has very little in grappling skills. It would be harsh to say that O'Cann's name sounds like the type of fighter he is, but it would also be true. O'Cann is a former amateur boxer who can throw a decent punch, but considering he stopped boxing because of his glass jaw he can't really trade strikes much. Previously O'Cann fought at Lightweight but has since moved up to Welterweight after putting on some weight, and not in the "bulking up muscle mass" sense. In the "pizza is tasty" sense.</p><p> </p><p> The third fight of the evening will be a Middleweight division fight between Edu Gattai (8-0) and Thom Billings (9-0). Gattai is another immigrant from Brazil looking for more regular fights in the UK, he is one of the larger Middleweights around and could probably fight at Light Heavyweight without too much of a problem. He puts his bulk to good use with powerful punches and the ability to smother opponents with his grappling, however the disadvantage he has is that he is often outpaced by his opponents. Thom Billings had a quick rise to prominence in recent years due to his willingness to fight, his entertaining brawling style, and perhaps most importantly the fact he keeps winning. After going undefeated in his early career, he was given offers by both the BCF and SIGMA and surprisingly chose SIGMA, but now also represents Bulldog MMA. He is considered the rising of Irish MMA; however, this is likely to be the toughest test he has faced so far.</p><p> </p><p> The fourth fight on the card will be a veteran taking on an absolute newcomer as Eoghan Behan (7-4) takes on Clarence Gibson (MMA debut) in the Light Heavyweight division. Behan is another Northern Irish fighter on the show who comes from the mold of early day MMA fighters, more like a street fighter than a well-trained and refined martial artist. His game plan will be to brawl and hope he can connect with a big shot; he can certainly take some punishment as well. Don't ask him to grapple though as you may have to explain the concept to him. Clarence Gibson is making his professional debut today and comes to MMA with two things, a strong jiu-jitsu game and a terrible nickname in "Topper". Makes him sound like an Animal Crossing character. His preference will always be to fight on the ground, but his striking game isn't too bad either, him being one of the new generation of fighters wanting to make sure they are covered in all areas of the sport. Gibson is also from Manchester so will have a lot of hometown support on his side.</p><p> </p><p> The fifth fight and co-main event of the show will be a Lightweight division clash between two fighters ranked in the top 10 of Bulldog MMA's Lightweights, #7 ranked Jonjo Whiteley (5-0) takes on #10 ranked Jazz Snide (3-0). Whitely is from the best county in the UK, Wiltshire, and is a kick boxer first and foremost and hasn't really done a whole lot to develop a game outside of that yet, mainly because in his first five fights he hasn't had the need to. His main tactic is to counterstrike with fast, powerful punches and kicks and as yet he hasn't fought anyone who has been able to survive that yet. Jazz Snide is a character, and that term is used in the "nobody likes him" sense. He is brash, cocky, disrespectful, he never shuts up when given the opportunity to speak, not that he waits for an opportunity, and is willing to mock his opponents before, during and after fights. Whilst you wouldn't want to go for a pint with him, he is certainly making a name for himself which is half the battle in MMA, and he has some decent kick boxing skills, although perhaps not to the level to back up his mouth.</p><p> </p><p> Finally, we go to the Main Event of the show, a Heavyweight division clash between Fritz Phipps (9-1) and Vitor de Melo (7-1). Phipps is considered one of the new breed of British Heavyweights in the vein of Harry Milne and Stafford Alois, his strategy is almost always to use his powerful striking, either on his feet or by grounding his opponent and pounding them to oblivion. Considered a future BCF champion, the arrival of Bulldog MMA may have changed his career trajectory as his loyalty may be to his long-time mentor Milne rather than the bigger company. Vitor de Melo is yet another Brazilian now plying his trade in the UK, but he also may be the best of the lot. Despite suffering a surprise loss in the dying days of FLB he is still a dangerous competitor due to his incredibly powerful punches, with that natural strength also transferring to his grappling ability. Based on his abilities and techniques he may in fact be the Brazilian version of Fritz Phipps. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>BMMA 6: Phipps vs. de Melo Fight Card</strong> </p><p> </p><p> Lightweight Division</p><p> Shawn McCarthy vs. Duane Kyle</p><p> </p><p> Welterweight Division</p><p> Teco vs. Thomas O'Cann</p><p> </p><p> Middleweight Division</p><p> Edu Gattai vs. Thom Billings</p><p> </p><p> Light Heavyweight Division</p><p> Eoghan Behan vs. Clarence Gibson</p><p> </p><p> Lightweight Division</p><p> Jonjo Whiteley vs. Jazz Snide</p><p> </p><p> Heavyweight Division</p><p> Fritz Phipps vs. Vitor de Melo</p><p> </p><p> --------------</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> Yes, I did give myself a $150,000 boost to stave off what appeared to be a likely bankruptcy if the shows kept losing money. Out of guilt I've given the same bonus to to KDM FC, SIGMA, XCC and WEFF. Screw the BCF, GAMMA and ALPHA-1, they can make do.</p>
  21. BMMA 5: LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT Match #1 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #1 Ryan Fenniman (5-0) vs. Graeme Spark (9-1) The game plan for Fenniman here had to be to keep the fight standing, and it would be a real test of his defensive skills to prevent Spark from getting a takedown. Unfortunately for Fenniman things really didn't go to plan, after landing some good punches he went for a body kick, however Spark caught the kick and used it to take him down. Fenniman did well to scramble back to his feet, however Spark kept hold of him in a grapple and backed him against the cage, and after a few foot stomps a second takedown was attempted and secured by Spark. This time Spark was able to put his ground skills to much better use and managed to transition through from guard to side control and into the mount very nicely, from there he began landing hard elbow shots and punches to the head of Fenniman, and the youngster can't do anything to get out of his predicament. A few more shots land before the referee steps in to stop the fight, giving Spark the victory. Spark moves through to the semi-finals, Fenniman heads home to hopefully learn a lesson from this defeat. Winner: Graeme Spark (9-1) via TKO (Strikes) - 4:32 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #2 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #2 Stephen Conti (1-0) vs. Swithens Corcoran (4-0) Massive props to Conti for taking not just a fight but an entire tournament on short notice, but it may not be the best of career moves. Corcoran has been training for a different opponent too, but he should at least have his stamina in order. The first round is an all-standing affair with both fighters looking either nervous or unwilling to commit to making a move, as a result we get a round full of jabs, feints and both fighters looking for opening that never arrive. It was close but the metrics show that Corcoran landed 15 punches to Conti's 10, so that's the slight advantage he needed to win the round. Conti showed a much smarter strategy in the second round by going for a takedown and getting it, being a boxer Corcoran was not very comfortable on the ground but did a good job of defending against Conti's attempts to move into a better position. Four and a half minutes of the round were spent on the mat as Conti remained active but couldn't get a dominant position, he did manage to land some powerful shots though. Into the final round, which was again all on the feet, Conti not even attempting a takedown for some reason, however Corcoran began to get reckless with his punches with wild swings leaving him open for Conti to counter with smart jabs. I don't think anyone was expecting Conti to out-box a boxer, but here we are. Corcoran can't work out how this is going wrong, and the fight ends with Conti out striking him 11-4 in the final round. The judges all score the fight 29-28 to Stephen Conti, and he moves into the semi-final despite only 6 days of preparation. Winner: Stephen Conti (2-0) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) Fight Rating: Decent -------------------- Match #3 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #3 Jefferson Mndawe (7-0) vs. William Powell (12-9) Striker, meet grappler. Grappler, meet striker. Mndawe was the favourite given his fierce punching power and Powell's glass jaw, but the Yorkshire Ripper (not the most PC of nicknames) had a specific plan in mind. Mndawe closes in to strike but Powell immediately got him in a clinch and pulls guard to drag Mndawe down to the mat. From there Powell immediately locked in a straight armbar, Mndawe seemed to have no idea how to defend against it and must tap out before his arm got hyper-extended! The local crowd are happy even if it is a Yorkshireman fighting in Lancashire, it's certainly an upset and probably the biggest win of Powell's long career. Winner: William Powell (13-9) via Submission (Armbar) - 1:08 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #4 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #4 Tim Oldacres (9-0) vs. Nigel Collett (6-2) Oldacres was a huge favourite here but the first round is far from conclusive, both men land some good shots, Collett mainly using his boxing and Oldacres using both punches and kicks. I think most people were expecting Oldacres to polish off Collett pretty quickly, instead he probably ends up barely winning the round due to landing 14 shots to Collett's 12. Anyone expecting Oldacres to start dominating from this point on gets a surprise when the second round is very similar to the first, if anything it's more conservative from both fighters with neither one taking the initiative to control the action. The only moment of interest is towards the end of the round when Collett hits a jab and a hard left hand to the jaw of Oldacres, it doesn't stagger Oldacres but purely from a scoring standpoint it might be a difference maker. Into the final round we went, and things were going along just as evenly as the previous two rounds, when suddenly another big left hand from Collett connects and DOWN WENT OLDACRES! DOWN WENT OLDACRES! DOWN WENT OLDACRES! Collett joined Oldacres on the mat and looked to finish the fight, some hard shots landed but Oldacres was eventually able to regain his senses and pulled Collett in tight to limit his movement. Collett has no ground game to speak of which was evident when Oldacres managed to sweep him and take side control, Oldacres is no ground expert either but he was still able to roll Collett over and take his back. With a minute left Oldacres started trying to apply a rear naked choke but Collett can defend it, and the round ends before Oldacres can get a submission locked in. Well that was unexpected. The judges give their scores and they all score it 29-28, to.... NIGEL COLLETT. It's a massive upset, the tournament favourite goes crashing out in the first round, and a guy who might be considered the 9th seed in an 8-man field is through to the semi-final. Madness. Winner: Nigel Collett (7-2) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Great -------------------- Match #5 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #1 Graeme Spark (10-1) vs. Stephen Conti (2-0) Everyone in attendance is still a bit stunned by what we've just seen, but one person who this unexpected turn of events favours is Graeme Spark who is the new tournament favourite. He must deal with Stephen Conti first though, and in the opening round Spark shows his hand by going for a takedown early on, Conti defended it though and Spark had to settle for trapping Conti against the cage. The next two and a half minutes was spent against the cage with Spark landing short punches, that's not a joke about his height by the way, until the referee separated them. Fighting at a distance favours Conti and he landed some good strikes in the remainder of the round, including the best shot of the round with a hard body kick. That was so close that I'm not even going to try and call it, even if it is my job. The second round saw Spark go for a takedown again, and again Conti blocked it, and again Spark got him against the cage. This time Spark was able to execute a trip and got Conti down to the ground, but Conti doesn't allow him to move out of the guard. The remainder of the round is spent on the mat with Spark trying to improve his position, and when that doesn't work, he throws elbows that don't do a lot of damage. That round definitely went to Spark, but it's still very much up in the air as we enter the final round, and that starts off with a couple of minutes of striking which Conti was able to dominate, landing two hard punches and a significantly higher number of strikes in general. Spark went for another takedown and we had the same result as before, Conti blocked it, Spark held on to the grapple, and we spent two minutes in a clinch against the cage with Spark in control. With thirty seconds left the referee separated them, and in the remaining time Conti was able to land another couple of shots. To the judges we go, and this one must be interesting as well. The first judge scores it 30-27 to Spark, obviously he's a fan of clinching, and the other two judges score it 29-28... to CONTI. It's another huge upset, by far the biggest win of Stephen Conti's fledgling career, and another tournament favourite falls before reaching the final. WHAT IS GOING ON TONIGHT. Winner: Stephen Conti (3-0) via Split Decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) Fight Rating: Average -------------------- Match #6 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #2 William Powell (13-9) vs. Nigel Collett (7-2) Right now, if aliens landed in Wigan tonight it would place third in the "most surprising event of the evening" competition. Collett may be on an emotional high after his incredible upset win, whilst Powell only fought 68 seconds compared to Collett's full three rounds so he is by far the more rested. Powell's very first move of the fight is to go for a takedown, and it was successful with Collett having to pull guard. Powell landed some punches from the guard before eventually trying to improve his position and given Collett's lack of grappling skill he was able to move to side control. Collett tried to stop Powell from getting into the mount but gave up his back instead, and that allowed Powell to get the hooks in to secure the position. Powell's first attempt to lock in a choke is defended by Collett, but a few moments later a second attempt sees Powell get his arm under the chin of Collett, and he flattened him out to force Collett to tap out! The story ends here for Collett as Powell moves on into the final and a shot at the BMMA Lightweight title, is he the favourite given his two first round finishes? Even if he is, we all know favourites don't matter anymore. Winner: William Powell (14-9) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 4:12 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great -------------------- Match #7 BMMA Lightweight Title Tournament - Final BMMA LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Stephen Conti (3-0) vs. William Powell (14-9) It's been a crazy night, but now we have a title on the line, and I'm not going to even try and predict the outcome. The first round has a decisive winner as Powell isn't able to get his grappling into play allowing Conti to dominate the striking game, a cut opens up on Powell's cheek within the first minute, and with two minutes left in the round Conti knocks Powell down with a left cross! Conti couldn’t finish on the ground though, perhaps a little wary of getting caught by Powell's submissions. A mere 18 seconds into the second round Conti nailed another big left hand which staggered Powell, and Conti followed that with a big left hook which sent Powell crashing down again! This time Powell has nothing left to offer and Conti was able to rain down punches until the referee pulls him away to stop the fight! Stephen Conti, a man who last Saturday wasn't even scheduled to compete in this tournament, has now run the gauntlet and is the first BMMA Lightweight champion. Of his four career victories, three have come tonight, and he has some gold to show for it. What a crazy night this has been. Maybe tournaments are a good thing after all? No, no they're not. Winner, and NEW BMMA Lightweight Champion: Stephen Conti (4-0) via TKO (Strikes) - 0:48 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Great Post-fight: A tired Stephen Conti doesn't have a lot to say afterwards, but he seems happy with his success, as he should be. ---------------------- SHOW DETAILS Critical Rating: 77% Commercial Rating: 32% Attendance: 131 (+7) Popularity Change: UK +0.4% Fight of the Night: Tim Oldacres vs. Nigel Collett Submission of the Night: William Powell (vs. Jefferson Mndawe) Knock Out of the Night: Stephen Conti Income Gate: $9,235 Sponsorship: $5,525 Merchandise: $1,931 Expenditure Fighters: $27,833 Drug Tests $3,200 Production: $2,540 Overall: -$16,882 -------------------- Post Show News - Jack Humphreys has tested positive for PEDs, completing a month where he lost a fight, got cut by his employer GAMMA, and now is suspended for a year. Humphreys has admitted he is at fault, so if you want performance enhancing drugs don't ask him as they obviously weren't good enough for him to win the fight. - OJ Oburst, who fought on the same show as Humphreys, has also tested positive but for recreational drugs. He also accepted he was to blame, and he also lost the fight he tested positive in. Don't do drugs kids. - It should be noted that all the BMMA shows that have been run so far, not including the Lightweight tournament for which the results have not come back yet, have not had any drug tests failures. - The BCF have made some signings, mainly from SIGMA who probably won't be pleased that their biggest names are being raided. Georges Nouri, Aleksander Ivanov, Roope Kuqi, Walter May, Fernando Amaro, Basil McCrystle, Patrik Pedersen are all now exclusive to the British promotion. - GAMMA have also been signing some young talent, Evan Gardner, Gideon Navarro and Jimbo Jakes have all joined the American juggernaut. - The British economy is scheduled to continue its slump for a while to come, which isn't ideal news for the BCF in their attempt to catch up with GAMMA and ALPHA-1, or BMMA who are merely trying to survive. By comparison, the USA and Canada are expected to have a boom period, so GAMMA's stranglehold is likely to continue. -------------------- Other Show Results No other shows since the previous BMMA show. - I should note I've increased every other company's show activity to Saturation to make things more realistic. Also this may have been one of the most fun shows I've ever run due to all the upsets and the legit story of Conti being drafted in as a replacement the Sunday before, he had previously been scheduled to fight on the next show.
  22. Harry: "That main event was atrocious. What were they thinking?" Jim: "Well they were both tired I suppose, and Chuckle did what he needed to win. There were some positives though, we only made a loss of $15,000, we had a higher attendance so the fans we do have are coming back, and this was the tournament I was most worried about given the lack of names we have in the Welterweight division." Harry: "That's all well and good, but we're still making losses. How long is it going to be before we turn a profit?" Jim: "It might be a while still, we need more people in the building but it's not easy to do that without breaking the bank." Harry: "We both know how much fighters cost, this promotion wouldn't be running at all without the money the BCF paid me over the years. I spoke to Stafford [Alois] the other day and his going rate is $7,500 a fight, that's three matches worth of fighters for us. It's a shame, I would've liked him in, if nothing more than to stick it to that McCallum." Jim: "Maybe one day we can poach a big name from the BCF, but we're a long way away from that right now. We've brought in some guys with no MMA experience at all but everyone's got to start somewhere, and they come in with a bit of name value from their successes in other disciplines. It'll be interesting to see what they can do." Harry: "No experience or 40 fights of experience, it doesn't really matter at the moment. We need to get some stars. Aston Merryman looks like he could be something, Ron Chuckle too, the only way we're going to draw in more fans is with fighters that people are willing to pay to see." Jim: "I agree. Let's get through the Lightweight tournament and re-evaluate how we're going to run the shows. I've got an idea in mind, but it's going to cost you..." Harry: "Cost me? Aren't I paying you already?" Jim: "Yes, but I've got a proposition for you. The company needs money if we're going to survive, and I'm willing to put something in, but it would be for part-ownership of Bulldog MMA." Harry: "Part-ownership? How much are we talking?" Jim: "I'll put in the $150,000 I've got saved up from my fighting days, you've got $250,000 already invested, so it would be a 60/40 split. You'd still be the majority owner, I'd still operate as CEO, but we'd have more capital to work with and a much better chance of surviving." Harry: ".... That's a big decision. Give me some time to think it over. In the mean time, you concentrate on getting the show together, and we'll talk again afterwards." ------------------------------- Press Release FINAL BULLDOG MMA TOURNAMENT TO CROWN THE FIRST LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION by Mike Thomson Bulldog MMA's fifth show in as many weeks culminates their run of tournaments to crown new champions, and we've been told by Bulldog MMA owner that this will be the last tournament Bulldog MMA run having been unpopular with fans, fighters and the BMMA management themselves. The first Lightweight champion will be decided at this show after the standard 8 man tournament plays out. In the first quarter final of the evening we will see Ryan Fenniman (5-0) take on Graeme Spark (9-1), two fighters who would usually be fighting at Featherweight if such a division existed in the UK MMA scene. Fenniman is only 20 years old but has been kick boxing competitively since the age of 13 so has a lot of fighting experience under his belt. Despite his background he is also part of the new generation of fighters training in all disciplines so is not as one-dimensional as other kick boxers. Graeme Spark is a short fighter at only 5'5" but still packs some decent power, however his main preference is to grapple with opponents using his wrestling background. He also has a decent submission game should he be able to get the fight to the ground. Two more Featherweights will collide in the second quarter final as Stephen Conti (1-0) takes on Swithens Corcoran (4-0). Conti is a last-minute replacement in the tournament as he took the spot of Guilherme de Barros, the Brazilian fighter suffered a torn rotator cuff in training and is likely to be out for over a year. Conti is considered a potential big name in the sport, maybe a bit of a leap given that he's only had one professional fight, but those who have trained with him cite his strong work ethic and having trained in all areas of MMA before his 19th birthday. Corcoran is a very tough fighter from Northern Ireland who comes from a boxing background, he is know to have significant power behind his punches and has developed a defensive grappling game to prevent opponents taking him down, thus keeping the fight where he wants it for far longer. The third quarter final will be another usual Featherweight competitor Jefferson Mndawe (7-0) against an actual, honest-to-goodness, Lightweight fighter in William Powell (12-9). See, they do exist. Mndawe is a Nigerian fighter who moved to the UK early on in his MMA career due to lack of opportunities for fights and high-level training in his home country, or in fact the whole continent of Africa. He is a very skilled kick boxer with a devastating head kick which has finished off several of his victims, the rest of his game however may need a bit of work. William Powell has been making his way around the British MMA scene for a while with varied levels of success, if he can execute his game plan which is very much based on grappling and submissions then he does well, if he is forced to stand and strike for any significant stretch of time though he usually ends up on the losing end. He has fought in the BCF before, most notably being a victim of former champion Jake Keane, but this is his first fight in a named promotion in over five years. The fourth and final quarter final, hopefully forever, will see tournament favourite Tim Oldacres (9-0) take on Nigel Collett (6-2). Oldacres is probably the biggest name in the whole company due to his recent performances in the BCF where he has emerged as a title challenger, however his open contract allows him to fight in the BMMA as well. Currently ranked as the 25th best Lightweight in the world, Oldacres combines devastating striking with a good all-around defensive game meaning opponents may have no choice but to deal with his punches. Nigel Collett might not mind that too much as he is a boxer by trade, he has quick and powerful hands that make him very tough to deal with if the fight remains standing, but he doesn't have a whole lot else going for him in terms of skill. His two losses are against people who no longer even compete in MMA, which may say something about Collett's ability. BMMA 5: Lightweight Tournament Fight Card Lightweight Tournament Quarter Final #1 Ryan Fenniman vs. Graeme Spark Lightweight Tournament Quarter Final #2 Stephen Conti vs. Swithens Corcoran Lightweight Tournament Quarter Final #3 Jefferson Mndawe vs. William Powell Lightweight Tournament Quarter Final #4 Tim Oldacres vs. Nigel Collett Lightweight Tournament Semi Final #1 Fenniman/Spark vs. Conti/Corcoran Lightweight Tournament Semi Final #2 Mndawe/Powell vs. Oldacres/Collett Lightweight Tournament Final Fenniman/Spark/Conti/Corcoran vs. Mndawe/Powell/Oldacres/Collett
  23. Thanks for your continued reading CageRage BMMA 4: WELTERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT Match #1 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #1 Julian Banham (4-5) vs. Paul Duffell (22-15) Duffell is a decent favourite for this fight, understandable because Banham is really, really bad. The first round showed Duffell's striking advantage in full effect as the Welshman landed a significant number of good strikes, Banham to his credit wasn't too bothered by them and landed some jabs of his own, but nothing close to the level of Duffell. Things really stepped up in the second round as Duffell continued his onslaught, this time a big right hand caught Banham and sent him staggering towards the cage, Duffell then connected with another big right to the jaw. How Banham survived that I'm not sure, but he even avoided the next follow-up from Duffell and got back to the centre of the cage. Things got worse as a cut opened on Banham's forehead after another combination from Duffell landed, and heading back to his stool at the end of the round Banham cut a defeated figure. This fight wasn't over yet though as Banham showed great spirit and managed to secure a takedown early in the final round, and he completely outclassed Duffell on the ground and got through into the mount without any trouble. Some big shots landed by Banham forcing Duffell to give up his back, Banham tried to lock in a rear naked choke but Duffell was able to defend it. For the rest of the fight Banham tried to get a choke locked in but he couldn't do so. We went to the judges who scored it 30-26, which is ridiculous, 29-28 and 29-27, all to Paul Duffell. Probably the right winner given the first two rounds, but Banham did far better than I was expecting. Winner: Paul Duffell (23-15) via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27) Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #2 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #2 Javid Khan (6-5) vs. Roy Lynch (9-8) The first round of the second quarter final was spent entirely on the feet and that gave Lynch the distinct advantage, the Irishman landed a total of 20 strikes during the round whereas Khan only registered 6. These Fight Metrics are great, I wish they'd been around five years ago. Anyway, Lynch continued his striking dominance in Round 2, that was until just over halfway through the round when Khan went in for a takedown and successfully got Lynch down to the ground. That was Khan's domain and went through into the mount quite quickly, he landed some good shots from there and forced Lynch to roll over and give up his back. Khan tried to get a rear naked choke locked in, but the round ended before it could be fully secured. The game plan was clear for Khan now but for some reason the final round is a striking battle for the first four minutes, until finally with a minute left in the fight Khan saw sense and executed a perfect outside leg trip on Lynch to get him to the ground. Khan was able to move into side control and land some strikes but didn't leave himself anywhere near enough time to go for a finish. It was another decision, and the judges were unanimous this time in scoring it 29-28 to... Javid Khan. The takedown in the final round seemingly made the difference, and to be fair Lynch did very little in the final round, perhaps fearing getting too close and getting taken down, which is what happened anyway. Winner: Javid Khan (7-5) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Great (that's a bit generous) -------------------- Match #3 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #3 Geraint O'Connell (3-0) vs. Ron Chuckle (8-2) O'Connell has a huge height and reach advantage over Chuckle, but that doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the first round as Chuckle's grappling is just too much for him, getting three takedowns at various points in the round. The one positive for O'Connell is that he doesn't allow himself to be dominated on the ground by Chuckle and escapes back to his feet on every occasion. The second round was spent mainly in a clinch with Chuckle in control, he lands some ineffective shots on the inside but doesn't go for a takedown until there's 90 seconds left in the round. Chuckle can keep O'Connell on the ground this time but didn't look for a finish, settling to merely keep control of the fight instead. The final round sees Chuckle score two more takedowns, making it six in total for the fight, and there was simply nothing O'Connell could do to stop them. Despite all of this control Chuckle never looked interested in finishing the fight, despite the fact that if he had been able to do so then he would have conserved energy for the rest of the tournament. I guess he also saved energy by not actually doing anything, it's just the first way is more entertaining. The judges all score the fight 30-27 for Chuckle who advances in the tournament, and hopefully he will be more impressive in the next round. Winner: Ron Chuckle (9-2) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) Fight Rating: Average -------------------- Match #4 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #4 Brian O'Flaherty (4-0) vs. Roger Quince (1-0) These two may be the most talented in the tournament and here they are battling to avoid going out in the first round. Quince wants to grapple with O'Flaherty, someone who is known for his striking ability, but O'Flaherty manages to keep his distance in the early going. That is until a jab from O'Flaherty sets up a brutal straight left to the jaw of Quince, the jab looks like it broke Quince's nose but the left hand goes one step further and knocks Quince out cold! O'Flaherty walks away triumphant with a 68 second victory, giving him a stamina advantage over everyone else left in the tournament, and ending a seven-fight run of decision finishes in the BMMA. Winner: Brian O'Flaherty (5-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 1:08 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #5 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #1 Paul Duffell (23-15) vs. Javid Khan (7-5) Both fighters have gone the distance in their first fight and have just witnessed Brian O'Flaherty shatter Roger Quince's face, so their physical and mental states probably aren't great. The first round was all on the feet, with Khan apparently still not leaning that his ground game doesn't work very well if he doesn't take his opponent down. Both fighters seem content in firing off jabs instead of anything meaningful, Duffell landed slightly more so I guess that was enough to give him the edge. it takes another two minutes of the second round before Khan finally attempts his first takedown of the fight, and perhaps unsurprisingly it works and Duffell is taken to the mat. Khan's advantage on the ground was immediately evident and he had no trouble transitioning from the guard into side control and eventually the mount. In an attempt to escape the situation Duffell went for a sweep but ended up giving his back to Khan, and unlike in his quarter final Khan was this time able to secure a rear naked choke. With fifteen seconds left in the round the choke was sunk in and Duffell was forced to tap out, giving Khan the victory and the first spot in the final. It's amazing what can happen when you fight to your strengths. Winner: Javid Khan (8-5) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 4:45 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #6 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #2 Ron Chuckle (9-2) vs. Brian O'Flaherty (5-0) Chuckle was a big favourite here, but after O'Flaherty's performance in the quarter final it would also be foolish to bet against him. Don't bet on this fight is the lesson here, I guess. Chuckle knows he has to get the fight to the ground whilst somehow avoiding O'Flaherty's brutal strikes, in the end he had to move in and hope for the best, taking a couple of shots to the body but driving down and grappling with O'Flaherty before eventually getting him down to the mat. This put the fight very much in Chuckle's hands, and the Liverpudlian moved through into side control, and then the mount. O'Flaherty does well to avoid taking too much damage initially, however an attempt to escape allows Chuckle the opportunity to land some hard punches to the head, some of which land flush on the Irishman's temple. A few more punches connected, and the referee deemed that enough to stop the fight, much to the protest of O'Flaherty's corner who believed he still had a chance to get out of the position. The crowd don't seem to mind though as they were firmly on Chuckle's side, and Chuckle himself will be thankful for a quick win. O'Flaherty still looks like he has a lot of potential, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him in the future. Winner: Ron Chuckle (10-2) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:50 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great -------------------- Match #7 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Final BMMA WELTERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Javid Khan (8-5) vs. Ron Chuckle (10-2) Straight into the final we go; these tournaments are brutal on the competitors since the buffer fights were taken away to save money. Unfortunately for everyone in attendance this was one of the worst fights that I can remember seeing live, both fighters were tired and with neither one of them wanting to engage in a striking battle we were left with a stalemate on the feet until one of them, almost always Chuckle, made a move for a takedown. I won't break down each round here because all five of them were the same, Chuckle scored a takedown, couldn't advance his position on the ground because Khan's defensive skills were on point, so Chuckle just lay on top of him for a couple of minutes until the referee stood them up. Over the course of the 25 minutes this happened on 9 occasions, with a total number of strikes on the feet that landed coming in at 7. Chuckle did connect with 75 meaningless strikes on the ground though. It was not fun to watch, nor write about afterwards, but at the end of the nightmare we were left with a definitive champion as scores of 50-45 across the board gave the decision victory and the BMMA Welterweight title to Ron Chuckle. Let's hope we never have to go through something like that again. Winner: Ron Chuckle (10-2) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:50 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Chuckle gave a quick speech thanking his friends and family for their support, but after that fight they were also the only fans left to hear him say anything. ---------------------- SHOW DETAILS Critical Rating: 70% Commercial Rating: 33% Attendance: 124 (+22) Popularity Change: UK +0.4% Fight of the Night: Paul Duffell vs. Julian Banham Submission of the Night: Javid Khan Knock Out of the Night: Brian O'Flaherty Income Gate: $8,742 Sponsorship: $5,374 Merchandise: $2,133 Expenditure Fighters: $25,838 Drug Tests $3,200 Production: $2,602 Overall: -$15,391 -------------------- Post Show News - Li-Kong Ho made an appearance in the Submission Grappling World Championship but was knocked out in the first round. Well, submitted in the first round. It is widely considered that he has let down both himself and the entire sport of MMA with this embarrassing performance. - The BMMA have made some signings, veteran Heavyweight Bob Dozier has signed, most likely due to his friendship with Harry Milne, whilst two newcomers to the sport, Karl Whitehead and Duane Kyle, have been signed based on their credentials and nothing else. - Stafford Alois and Ram Phookan, two BCF fighters who had been linked to joining BMMA, have instead re-signed deals with the leading British MMA company. It is thought that Alois appearing on a BMMA show would have likely bankrupted the promotion given his pay expectations. - Roger Quince did indeed have his nose broken by Brian O'Flaherty and will miss two months while that heals up. His modelling career has also taken a hit. Other Shows Sunday, Week 4 of February SIGMA: Basora vs. Halle Alberto Basora def. Jens Halle to retain the SIGMA Welterweight title Georges Nouri def. Lukas Mellberg Nicolai Mickiewicz def. Shane Gilchrist Evgeni Medtner def. Dominykas Jankovic Fernando Amaro def. Thorbjorn Rekdal
  24. BMMA 4: WELTERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT Match #1 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #1 Julian Banham (4-5) vs. Paul Duffell (22-15) Duffell is a decent favourite for this fight, understandable because Banham is really, really bad. The first round showed Duffell's striking advantage in full effect as the Welshman landed a significant number of good strikes, Banham to his credit wasn't too bothered by them and landed some jabs of his own, but nothing close to the level of Duffell. Things really stepped up in the second round as Duffell continued his onslaught, this time a big right hand caught Banham and sent him staggering towards the cage, Duffell then connected with another big right to the jaw. How Banham survived that I'm not sure, but he even avoided the next follow-up from Duffell and got back to the centre of the cage. Things got worse as a cut opened on Banham's forehead after another combination from Duffell landed, and heading back to his stool at the end of the round Banham cut a defeated figure. This fight wasn't over yet though as Banham showed great spirit and managed to secure a takedown early in the final round, and he completely outclassed Duffell on the ground and got through into the mount without any trouble. Some big shots landed by Banham forcing Duffell to give up his back, Banham tried to lock in a rear naked choke but Duffell was able to defend it. For the rest of the fight Banham tried to get a choke locked in but he couldn't do so. We went to the judges who scored it 30-26, which is ridiculous, 29-28 and 29-27, all to Paul Duffell. Probably the right winner given the first two rounds, but Banham did far better than I was expecting. Winner: Paul Duffell (23-15) via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27) Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #2 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #2 Javid Khan (6-5) vs. Roy Lynch (9-8) The first round of the second quarter final was spent entirely on the feet and that gave Lynch the distinct advantage, the Irishman landed a total of 20 strikes during the round whereas Khan only registered 6. These Fight Metrics are great, I wish they'd been around five years ago. Anyway, Lynch continued his striking dominance in Round 2, that was until just over halfway through the round when Khan went in for a takedown and successfully got Lynch down to the ground. That was Khan's domain and went through into the mount quite quickly, he landed some good shots from there and forced Lynch to roll over and give up his back. Khan tried to get a rear naked choke locked in, but the round ended before it could be fully secured. The game plan was clear for Khan now but for some reason the final round is a striking battle for the first four minutes, until finally with a minute left in the fight Khan saw sense and executed a perfect outside leg trip on Lynch to get him to the ground. Khan was able to move into side control and land some strikes but didn't leave himself anywhere near enough time to go for a finish. It was another decision, and the judges were unanimous this time in scoring it 29-28 to... Javid Khan. The takedown in the final round seemingly made the difference, and to be fair Lynch did very little in the final round, perhaps fearing getting too close and getting taken down, which is what happened anyway. Winner: Javid Khan (7-5) via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) Fight Rating: Great (that's a bit generous) -------------------- Match #3 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #3 Geraint O'Connell (3-0) vs. Ron Chuckle (8-2) O'Connell has a huge height and reach advantage over Chuckle, but that doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the first round as Chuckle's grappling is just too much for him, getting three takedowns at various points in the round. The one positive for O'Connell is that he doesn't allow himself to be dominated on the ground by Chuckle and escapes back to his feet on every occasion. The second round was spent mainly in a clinch with Chuckle in control, he lands some ineffective shots on the inside but doesn't go for a takedown until there's 90 seconds left in the round. Chuckle can keep O'Connell on the ground this time but didn't look for a finish, settling to merely keep control of the fight instead. The final round sees Chuckle score two more takedowns, making it six in total for the fight, and there was simply nothing O'Connell could do to stop them. Despite all of this control Chuckle never looked interested in finishing the fight, despite the fact that if he had been able to do so then he would have conserved energy for the rest of the tournament. I guess he also saved energy by not actually doing anything, it's just the first way is more entertaining. The judges all score the fight 30-27 for Chuckle who advances in the tournament, and hopefully he will be more impressive in the next round. Winner: Ron Chuckle (9-2) via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) Fight Rating: Average -------------------- Match #4 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Quarter Final #4 Brian O'Flaherty (4-0) vs. Roger Quince (1-0) These two may be the most talented in the tournament and here they are battling to avoid going out in the first round. Quince wants to grapple with O'Flaherty, someone who is known for his striking ability, but O'Flaherty manages to keep his distance in the early going. That is until a jab from O'Flaherty sets up a brutal straight left to the jaw of Quince, the jab looks like it broke Quince's nose but the left hand goes one step further and knocks Quince out cold! O'Flaherty walks away triumphant with a 68 second victory, giving him a stamina advantage over everyone else left in the tournament, and ending a seven-fight run of decision finishes in the BMMA. Winner: Brian O'Flaherty (5-0) via Knock Out (Punch) - 1:08 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #5 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #1 Paul Duffell (23-15) vs. Javid Khan (7-5) Both fighters have gone the distance in their first fight and have just witnessed Brian O'Flaherty shatter Roger Quince's face, so their physical and mental states probably aren't great. The first round was all on the feet, with Khan apparently still not leaning that his ground game doesn't work very well if he doesn't take his opponent down. Both fighters seem content in firing off jabs instead of anything meaningful, Duffell landed slightly more so I guess that was enough to give him the edge. it takes another two minutes of the second round before Khan finally attempts his first takedown of the fight, and perhaps unsurprisingly it works and Duffell is taken to the mat. Khan's advantage on the ground was immediately evident and he had no trouble transitioning from the guard into side control and eventually the mount. In an attempt to escape the situation Duffell went for a sweep but ended up giving his back to Khan, and unlike in his quarter final Khan was this time able to secure a rear naked choke. With fifteen seconds left in the round the choke was sunk in and Duffell was forced to tap out, giving Khan the victory and the first spot in the final. It's amazing what can happen when you fight to your strengths. Winner: Javid Khan (8-5) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 4:45 of Round 2 Fight Rating: Good -------------------- Match #6 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Semi Final #2 Ron Chuckle (9-2) vs. Brian O'Flaherty (5-0) Chuckle was a big favourite here, but after O'Flaherty's performance in the quarter final it would also be foolish to bet against him. Don't bet on this fight is the lesson here, I guess. Chuckle knows he has to get the fight to the ground whilst somehow avoiding O'Flaherty's brutal strikes, in the end he had to move in and hope for the best, taking a couple of shots to the body but driving down and grappling with O'Flaherty before eventually getting him down to the mat. This put the fight very much in Chuckle's hands, and the Liverpudlian moved through into side control, and then the mount. O'Flaherty does well to avoid taking too much damage initially, however an attempt to escape allows Chuckle the opportunity to land some hard punches to the head, some of which land flush on the Irishman's temple. A few more punches connected, and the referee deemed that enough to stop the fight, much to the protest of O'Flaherty's corner who believed he still had a chance to get out of the position. The crowd don't seem to mind though as they were firmly on Chuckle's side, and Chuckle himself will be thankful for a quick win. O'Flaherty still looks like he has a lot of potential, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him in the future. Winner: Ron Chuckle (10-2) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:50 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great -------------------- Match #7 BMMA Welterweight Title Tournament - Final BMMA WELTERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Javid Khan (8-5) vs. Ron Chuckle (10-2) Straight into the final we go; these tournaments are brutal on the competitors since the buffer fights were taken away to save money. Unfortunately for everyone in attendance this was one of the worst fights that I can remember seeing live, both fighters were tired and with neither one of them wanting to engage in a striking battle we were left with a stalemate on the feet until one of them, almost always Chuckle, made a move for a takedown. I won't break down each round here because all five of them were the same, Chuckle scored a takedown, couldn't advance his position on the ground because Khan's defensive skills were on point, so Chuckle just lay on top of him for a couple of minutes until the referee stood them up. Over the course of the 25 minutes this happened on 9 occasions, with a total number of strikes on the feet that landed coming in at 7. Chuckle did connect with 75 meaningless strikes on the ground though. It was not fun to watch, nor write about afterwards, but at the end of the nightmare we were left with a definitive champion as scores of 50-45 across the board gave the decision victory and the BMMA Welterweight title to Ron Chuckle. Let's hope we never have to go through something like that again. Winner: Ron Chuckle (10-2) via TKO (Strikes) - 3:50 of Round 1 Fight Rating: Great Post-Fight: Chuckle gave a quick speech thanking his friends and family for their support, but after that fight they were also the only fans left to hear him say anything. ---------------------- SHOW DETAILS Critical Rating: 70% Commercial Rating: 33% Attendance: 124 (+22) Popularity Change: UK +0.4% Fight of the Night: Paul Duffell vs. Julian Banham Submission of the Night: Javid Khan Knock Out of the Night: Brian O'Flaherty Income Gate: $8,742 Sponsorship: $5,374 Merchandise: $2,133 Expenditure Fighters: $25,838 Drug Tests $3,200 Production: $2,602 Overall: -$15,391 -------------------- Post Show News - Li-Kong Ho made an appearance in the Submission Grappling World Championship but was knocked out in the first round. Well, submitted in the first round. It is widely considered that he has let down both himself and the entire sport of MMA with this embarrassing performance. - The BMMA have made some signings, veteran Heavyweight Bob Dozier has signed, most likely due to his friendship with Harry Milne, whilst two newcomers to the sport, Karl Whitehead and Duane Kyle, have been signed based on their credentials and nothing else. - Stafford Alois and Ram Phookan, two BCF fighters who had been linked to joining BMMA, have instead re-signed deals with the leading British MMA company. It is thought that Alois appearing on a BMMA show would have likely bankrupted the promotion given his pay expectations. - Roger Quince did indeed have his nose broken by Brian O'Flaherty and will miss two months while that heals up. His modelling career has also taken a hit. Other Shows Sunday, Week 4 of February SIGMA: Basora vs. Halle Alberto Basora def. Jens Halle to retain the SIGMA Welterweight title Georges Nouri def. Lukas Mellberg Nicolai Mickiewicz def. Shane Gilchrist Evgeni Medtner def. Dominykas Jankovic Fernando Amaro def. Thorbjorn Rekdal
  25. <p>*ring ring*</p><p> </p><p> *ring ring*</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Yeah, Milne."</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="KVL4vmN.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/KVL4vmN.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong><em>Jerome T. McCallum - BCF Owner.</em></strong></p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Harry, good to talk to you squire, been a long time."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Jerome, what can I do for you? No, I'm not coming out of retirement. Stop asking."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Don't worry, it's not your past I'm interested in mate, it's your present. I hear you're running shows now?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Word travels fast 'round this business don't it. Yes, I am, Bulldog MMA it's called. We're doing alright."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Not from what I hear, word is that you guys lose money just by breathing in and out. Done by the summer were the exact words in fact."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Not all about money son you know that, we're establishing a fan base, getting the foundations in place, then we'll be all set."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Fan base? 100 guys and some friends and family? You're havin' a laugh ain't ya? Nobody wants what your selling, tournaments, washed-up has-beens or kids just out of school that nobody knows. Face it Harry, you're in over your head. You've got Jim booking shows and hiring guys, he's not got a clue either."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Pleasant as this is Jerome, was there a point your heading towards sometime soon?"</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "My point? I'm offering you a lifeline mate. You keep running your shows, we'll take on some of the costs, and when we think you've got a good one, we'll bring him up to the big leagues. In wrestling they'd call you a developmental territory. Face it, it's the only chance you have to survive."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Thanks for the offer Jerome, but it's a no. We'll be alright. But we're deeply touched by your concern for our well-being. I always knew you were a sweetheart."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Fine, have it your way, but you're a fool. You want to run against us, you'll fail. We've got our TV deal, our PPV, our fighters are actually talented and people know who they are. All just pipe dreams for you sunshine. Let me know when you throw the towel in and we'll talk about that comeback fight we both know you're going to have, and it'll be in the BCF."</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Wind your neck in. Bulldog MMA is here to stay, and we'll be up against you properly before you know it."</p><p> </p><p> Jerome: "Ha! Get real Harry. 'Night Harry, have a nice chat with the bank tomorrow when they call about your debts."</p><p> </p><p> *click*</p><p> </p><p> Harry: ... "Tosser."</p><p> </p><p> *ring ring*</p><p> </p><p> *ring ring*</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "*yawn*... Harry, what is it?"</p><p> </p><p> Harry: "Right Jim, listen up. We've got to sort this mess out. Keep the costs down, put on the best shows you can. And no more bloody tournaments after the Lightweight one is done, alright? It's making a mockery of what we're trying to accomplish here. See you tomorrow."</p><p> </p><p> *click*</p><p> </p><p> Jim: "... But the tournaments were his idea..."</p><p> </p><p> -------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p>Press Release</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="utuqXXn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/utuqXXn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>MORE BULLDOG MMA, FOURTH WEEK IN A ROW, TO CROWN WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION</strong></span></p><p> <strong>by Mike Thomson</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bulldog MMA's relentless show running continues, this the fourth of their five-week extravaganza as they crown new champions in all their weight classes. This time up it's the Welterweights in actions vying to be the first man to get the Welterweight title around their waist.</p><p> </p><p> As with the Middleweight tournament this will be a tournament-only show with no other fights on the card. We saw last time just how tired the finalists were during the championship fight, and with six of the seven fights going to three rounds it was still a long night.</p><p> </p><p> In the first quarter final of the evening we will see Julian Banham (4-5) against Paul Duffell (22-15). The fact that Banham is here with a losing record should tell you all you need to know about the level of competition in the tournament. Banham calls himself a ground-and-pound specialist but based on previous fights he struggles with getting fighters to the ground in the first place. He's really, really bad, and his participation here appears to be because an 8th body was needed. Paul Duffell is a very experienced competitor who has fought all around the UK against young and old, his talent mainly lies in kick boxing and he has some powerful kicks at his disposal. He may be a veteran, but he comes into this tournament as the favourite, plus his opponent is really, really bad.</p><p> </p><p> The second quarter final will be between Javid Khan (6-5) and Roy Lynch (9-8). Well, they have winning records at least. Khan is something of an all-rounder, and that is to say he has no specific skill he is good at, more that he is distinctly average at most aspects. His lack of power and technique make it unlikely he will ever trouble the top fighters. Lynch is an Irish boxer who is more about technique than power, he'll jab you over and over until you just wish he'd stop. It's not a technique that stops many fights, but oh well. He doesn’t have many other skills under his belt but is usually entertaining to watch.</p><p> </p><p> The third quarter final sees two fighters who would usually compete at Lightweight collide, have we mentioned this tournament is thin on the ground recently? Geraint O'Connell (3-0) will take on Ron Chuckle (8-2). Irishman O'Connell is a tall fighter, 6'2" for someone who is usually a Lightweight and uses his reach advantage to keep opponents at bay whilst landing shots. He doesn't have a lot of power to work with, but his height does allow him to prevent being taken down by wrestlers. Speaking of wrestlers, Ron Chuckle, believed to be a distant relative of Barry and Paul, cites Greco-Roman wrestling as his preferred style. He has good takedowns and once in a strong position he is very difficult to shake off on the ground.</p><p> </p><p> The fourth and last quarter final will see Brian O'Flaherty (4-0) take on Roger Quince (1-0). O'Flaherty, the third Irishman in the tournament, is seen as having the potential to be a big name in Irish MMA, following in the footsteps on countryman Seth O'Breen as a future member of one of the big organisations. He is a kick boxer by trade with vicious strikes, but also has a decent wrestling game as he continues to develop the remainder of his MMA game. What may be his weakness is grappling, and Roger Quince can exploit that due to his skill in judo? Quince is known for being able to execute trips and throws on even the most skilled opponents and has a good submission game to finish the fight once it gets to the ground. Considering some of the other names in this tournament it's criminal that one of these two won't make the semifinals, but that's the nature of a random draw. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>BMMA 4: Welterweight Tournament</strong> </p><p> </p><p><strong> Welterweight Tournament Quarter Final #1</strong></p><p> Julian Banham vs. Paul Duffell</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Tournament Quarter Final #2</strong></p><p> Javid Khan vs. Roy Lynch</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Tournament Quarter Final #3</strong></p><p> Geraint O'Connell vs. Roy Chuckle</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Tournament Quarter Final #4</strong></p><p> Brian O'Flaherty vs. Roger Quince</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Tournament Semi Final #1</strong></p><p> Banham/Duffell vs. Khan/Lynch</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Welterweight Tournament Semi Final #2</strong></p><p> O'Connell/Chuckle vs. O'Flaherty/Quince</p><p> </p><p><strong> Welterweight Tournament Final</strong></p><p> Banham/Duffell/Khan/Lynch vs. O'Connell/Chuckle/O'Flaherty/Quince</p></div><p></p><p></p>
×
×
  • Create New...