STORM: Fighting Championship

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[IMG]http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5648/stormmq5.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE="1"]Thanks to [I]Lifebleeder[/I] for the banner[/SIZE] [B]Tuesday Week 1 July 1996[/B] A new MMA promotion opens in the North of England. [I]STORM: Fighting Championship[/I] aims to bring the most competitve, exciting MMA action with fighters from all across the globe. The rules for the company (as of July 1996) are as follows: - Fights will be held inside a 8-sided cage nicknamed "The steel pit". - Fights will last for a duration of three rounds. The first round will be ten minutes, followed by two five minute rounds. - If no decision is achieved at the end of all 3 rounds the fight will go to a judges decision. - Unless otherwise stated below, strikes to a downed opponent is legal. - Kicks to a downed opponent on his back are legal. - Kicks to a downed opponent on his stomach are legal. - Knees to a downed opponent on his back are legal. - Knees to a downed opponent on his stomach are legal. - Stomps to an opponent on his back are legal. - Stomps to an opponent on his stomach are legal. - 'Spiking' an opponent on his head is illegal. - Elbows strikes of any kind are legal. There are 4 weight classes which are as follows: [B]Heavyweight: 211lbs-280lbs (Male only)[/B] Barry Strachan (3-5) Bob Dozier (4-2) Brian Barness (9-6) Count Garcia (0-0) Dave Lennon (6-1) Derek South (1-0) Manol Sirakov (4-6) Mark Bicknell (8-3) Magur Boc (2-0) Randall Donnelly (3-1) Rav Kapur (5-0) Shane Gilchrist (11-2) Silvio Scirea (17-10-3) [B]Middleweights: 176lbs-210lbs (Male only)[/B] Aleksei Chekov (8-2) Daniel Hornsby (9-2) Eddie Whelen (10-2) Jerry Bogdonovich (8-6) Nicolai Mickiewicz (9-1) Nigel Malley (8-9-1) Petey Mack (6-1) Rob Baines (10-2) Russell McPhee (3-0) Thorbjorn Rekdal (3-1-1) [B]Lightweights: 150lbs-175lbs (Male only)[/B] Bixente Fontaine (9-3) Bradley Dixon (6-9) Datuk Ong Ka Ting (0-0) Henning Olsen (3-2) Jason Dalglish (9-2) Lukas Mellberg (10-0) Robert Darrell (7-2) Scott Gillespie (2-0) Sinali Shomen (2-1) Truck Gleeson (5-0) Xie Ming (3-0) [B]Female: 100lbs-165lbs (Female only)[/B] Akemi Satou (1-0) Jennie Gill (4-0-1) Junko Yamada (6-5) Layla Holmes (10-4) Monica Masters (3-9) Umeka Fujiwara (2-0)

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[B]Tuesday Week 2 July 1996[/B] STORM: Fighting Championship have annouced there first event. STORM 1: Initiation is to be held on Saturday Week 4 July 1996 in the North of England and will be headlined by [I]Lukas Mellberg (10-0) vs Truck Gleeson (5-0)[/I] [IMG]http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6216/60014292hs6.jpg[/IMG] More matches expected to be annouced in the coming days. [B]Thursday Week 2 July 1996[/B] STORM: Fighting Championship has annouced the card for there debut event STORM 1: Initiation: Lightweight: Lukas Mellberg (10-0) vs Truck Gleeson (5-0) Middleweight: Jerry Bogdonovich (8-6) vs Aleksei Chekhov (8-2) Heavyweight: Derek South (1-0) vs Rav Kapur (5-0) Female: Umeka Fujiwara (2-0) vs Layla Holmes (10-4) Heavyweight: Bob Dozier (4-2) vs Mugur Boc (2-0) Lightweight: Xie Ming (3-0) vs Henning Olsen (3-2)

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[B]Friday Week 4 July 1996[/B] Bradley Dixon has signed for GAMMA [B] Saturday Week 4 July 1996[/B] [CENTER][IMG]http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4233/stormsht0.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE="6"]STORM 1: Initiation[/SIZE][/CENTER] Attendance: 134 It's time to enter the "Steel Pit" for the first time! [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Lightweight: Xie Ming (3-0) vs Henning Olsen (3-2)[/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Ming, providing the first moment of real action. Olsen hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Ming side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Olsen is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and the round comes to an end. End of round 1. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Olsen. [B]Round 2[/B] The fighters touch gloves, then circle. Olsen throws a low kick, but it was without any conviction, it seemed designed more to keep Ming from coming inside. Olsen works an angle, then comes in with a one-two combination, Ming responds with a crisp uppercut that wasn't far off from connecting. Olsen backs off slightly, maybe a bit relieved not to have taken that one on the chin. Neither fighter appears to be looking for any sort of takedown or grapple, this is all about the striking. Ming circles and throws a series of high jabs, but Olsen blocked them with ease, using the gloves. Olsen fakes a high kick, then storms in with a wild looking right hand and a series of body shots. Ming covers up and rides out the storm, clinching to stop any further blows. It was a nice attack from Olsen though, best action of the round. They stay clinched for a while, exchanging occasional punches to the ribs, then are separated by the referee. There's only a few seconds remaining. Olsen throws a leg kick that connects, albeit without too much force, and the round is done. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Olsen. [B]Round 3[/B] Olsen throws two high punches, then steps in for a hook to the body. Nice combination, but Ming defended with ease. They clinch up next to the cage, but a short struggle only ends with them separating and coming back in. Olsen steps back, and Ming comes after him , sensing an opening. Olsen suddenly puts the brakes on and swings for the fences, driving a right hand to the chin. Ming couldn't get out of the way in time and takes it full force. He goes down like a puppet with his strings cut, he is out cold. Olsen goes to follow up to be sure, but the referee cuts him off, calling a halt to the match. Official time of the knock out is 1:38 of the third. [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Heavyweight: Bob Dozier (4-2) vs Mugur Boc (2-0)[/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] The two competitors start slowly, circling and looking for an opening. Boc fakes shooting in for a takedown, but Dozier didn't buy it for a second. In comes Boc from an angle to the right, but Dozier had it covered all the way, and not only easily steps out of the way of the attempted right hand, but manages to score with a solid right hand to the side of the head. Boc felt that, and is forced to cover up quickly as Dozier steps in quickly and unloads with a flurry of powerful blows, looking to capitalise on the earlier strike. Boc is forced back against the cage, but to his credit, he did a good job defending those strikes and didn't seem to take any significant damage. Dozier doesn't get in too close, realising that it would likely mean getting caught in a clinch, so he stands slightly back instead and throws some low kicks and looping punches. Boc responds by throwing out some straight jabs, but neither fighter is really doing any damage to their opponent. Dozier clearly grows tired of the wait, and moves in to hit a body blow. It connects, but Boc is quick to tie him up in a clinch. That lasts quite a while, until the referee gets in there and breaks them up, telling them to fight. Both fighters circle. Dozier scores with a stiff jab, and bobs and weaves to avoid all three of the rapid-fire punches that come back from Boc. Nicely done. Boc, realising that he is losing this round, comes forward with a sense of urgency, throwing right hands to put Dozier on the back foot. Dozier handles it well though, refusing to let Boc get an angle, and using some nice counter punches to the body to further cement the fact that this round is going to him on points. Time expires with Boc throwing increasingly desparate punches. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Dozier. [B]Round 2[/B] Two jabs from the left hand of Dozier set up a hard waist-high kick, but Boc steps back to avoid it. Nice attempt though. Dozier moves in closer, bobbing and weaving, and looks to score with a looping right hand, but Boc uses the gloves to parry it away, then counter-strikes with a crisp jab and a kick to the knee. Good opening to the round, both fighters are looking lively. Dozier finds himself backed up against the cage briefly, and has to scramble to safety to avoid a flurry of strikes. Boc is working for position, and is currently looking the more composed of the two. Boc shoots in and tries to take Dozier down, but a good sprawl prevents that from happening. Boc has a leg though, and is still trying for it. Dozier gets backed up all the way to the cage, before a trip to his standing leg sends him to the ground. Boc goes for side control, but Dozier rolled his hips brilliantly and took him over, although Boc pulled guard quickly. Dozier manages to get past the guard and almost gets a mount, but Boc wakes up and manages to restrict it to half guard only. Dozier does not look in the mood to play around though, as he explodes with a barrage of punches. Boc covers up, and even throws a few in return, but the sheer number of punches completely overwhelms him and the referee is forced to pull Dozier off. A bit of a controversial decision there, as Dozier hadn't been able to get free of the half guard and so was somewhat restricted, but Boc was taking quite a few shots to the face anyway. Dozier wins via 2nd round TKO with the official time being 2:23. [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Female: Umeka Fujiwara (2-0) vs Layla Holmes (10-4)[/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] Holmes is the first to score a meaningful blow, tagging Fujiwara with a jab to the cheek. Fujiwara uses a nice straight left to return fire. Holmes comes in to work the body, but Fujiwara saw it coming and uses a quick takedown to put Holmes onto the floor, falling into guard. Holmes tries to push free, but Fujiwara forces her to go back to guard by raining down some jabs. Fujiwara reaches over and tries to apply some sort of neck vice, but Holmes breaks it by bringing her arms up. Fujiwara steps through in an effort to mount Holmes, but can only get to half guard as one of her legs gets trapped. Fujiwara throws some strikes, then tries to work an armbar on the closest arm. Holmes rolls over and uses her free arm to keep that from happening. That goes on for quite a long time, with Fujiwara determined to try and work the arm free and get an armbar, while Holmes uses everything at her disposal to block it. The round ends without Fujiwara having made the breakthrough, although she clearly ran away with the round in terms of points. The 1st round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Fujiwara. [B]Round 2[/B] Nice fast-paced start from Fujiwara, who gets right in Holmes's face from the beginning of the round, throwing some crisp jabs and then a vicious uppercut. The two jabs got parried, the uppercut missed as Holmes side-stepped. Holmes fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. Fujiwara steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from Holmes. Fujiwara is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, Fujiwara sweeps Holmes's standing leg and takes them to the ground. Holmes quickly pulls guard. Holmes tries to push free, but Fujiwara forces her to go back to guard by raining down some jabs. Fujiwara reaches over and tries to apply some sort of neck vice, but Holmes breaks it by bringing her arms up. Fujiwara steps through in an effort to mount Holmes, but can only get to half guard as one of her legs gets trapped. Fujiwara throws some strikes, then tries to work an armbar on the closest arm. Holmes rolls over and uses her free arm to keep that from happening. That goes on for quite a long time, with Fujiwara determined to try and work the arm free and get an armbar, while Holmes uses everything at her disposal to block it. The round ends without Fujiwara having made the breakthrough, although she clearly ran away with the round in terms of points. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Fujiwara. [B]Round 3[/B] The round begins with Holmes taking the iniative, coming in quickly with a straight right and a leg kick. Fujiwara replies with a snap jab and a wild left that misses by a long way. Holmes goes for the takedown, but Fujiwara sprawls. Holmes tries to power through, but Fujiwara uses that against her and turns it into a takedown of her own. They're quite close to the cage, which may help Holmes defend this. Fujiwara is in guard. She throws a couple of half-hearted jabs, then tries to pass, but Holmes isn't allowing it. Holmes pulls Fujiwara in tight, locking up both her arms. Fujiwara pulls free and again tries to pass guard. This has turned into a bit of a stalemate, the referee may be thinking of standing them up if nothing happens soon. Fujiwara tries a big right hand, which Holmes defends well. She has quite a high guard, Fujiwara has to be wary not to fall into a triangle when leaning in like that. Holmes once again drags Fujiwara down into a clinch, and this time even tries to work a guillotine, but Fujiwara easily deals with it and hands out two solid right hands to the ribs along the way. We're back to Fujiwara trying to pass guard. Holmes tries to throw a big punch and almost hands an armbar to Fujiwara, but she realises the danger in time and manages to recover. The referee finally gets them back to their feet due to the lack of progress that has been made. Fujiwara scores with a jab, then a second. Holmes goes for a sweeping kick to the right knee, but it isn't fast enough and gives Fujiwara enough time to take her down again. Fujiwara quickly goes to pass guard, looking for side control, but Holmes once again defends it. It looks like a frustrating round will end with them on the ground, and almost certainly has to go to Fujiwara on points due to her being the aggressor and getting two takedowns in. The third round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fujiwara. Umeka Fujiwara wins the match, getting votes from all three judges. [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Heavyweight: Derek South (1-0) vs Rav Kapur (5-0)[/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] The two fighters circle. A series of looping punches from Kapur forces South back up against the cage, and he has to cover up to withstand the three strikes that follow. No real damage caused, but Kapur is aggressively chasing this match. A hook finds the body and South clinches. They almost lose their balance as they jockey for position, South gets in a couple of knees when they regain their footing. Kapur seems to be trying to break the clinch, it's South who is holding it tight, perhaps hoping to calm the energetic start that Kapur had. The referee finally does break them up, after nearly a full minute of inactivity. Kapur shoots in and tries to take South down, but a good sprawl prevents that from happening. Kapur has a leg though, and is still trying for it. South gets backed up all the way to the cage, before a trip to his standing leg sends him to the ground. Kapur goes for side control, but South rolled his hips brilliantly and took him over, although Kapur pulled guard quickly. Kapur brings his legs in and goes to a butterfly guard. South isn't really doing a great deal from this position so far. Kapur tries to push free, but South doesn't allow it. South springs into action, amusingly much in the manner of a large salmon going upstream, by leaping over the legs of Kapur and coming down with what can only be described as a belly flop. With good reason, that took Kapur by surprise, as well as most of the audience. South is now lying across the chest of Kapur, and throws some elbows to the stomach. Kapur fights back by bringing a knee up to strike South in the ribs. South hits a pair of fists to the face, then gets into a full mount. He starts punching away, and Kapur's attempts at deflecting them aren't entirely successful. South is picking his shots, and a good percentage of them are landing hard. A particularly big right hand smashes below the right eye of Kapur, and that's enough for the referee to call proceedings to a halt. South wins. The official time is 8:50. [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Middleweight: Jerry Bogdonovich (8-6) vs Aleksei Chekhov (8-2)[/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] Chekhov starts fast, firing off several crisp jabs that keep Bogdonovich on the back foot. A solid left hits gloves, but it's really just a set-up for Chekhov to step in and use an uppercut. Not sure how much of it caught Bogdonovich, but certainly enough to to make him grab a clinch to stop any further punishment. Great start to the round from Chekhov, it has been total domination so far. The clinch is broken, and the two fighters exchange some long range jabs that are easily avoided. Bogdonovich is looking a little lost so far, Chekhov is controlling this round by virtue of his crisp accurate punches and higher aggression levels. Chekhov looks to be working an angle. Chekhov leads with the left, then moves in and gets in a wicked right hand that grazes the cheek. Bogdonovich was fortunate there, if that had landed properly it would have been over. Bogdonovich comes back with a leg kick to set up a one-two combination, but the round is coming to a close and it's going to be too little too late. The one bright spot for Bogdonovich is that although Chekhov clearly won the round, he didn't actually turn that dominance into any sort of real damage. The 1st round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Chekhov. [B]Round 2[/B] Exchange of punches to start, nothing really hit though. They go into a clinch, and the pace disappears as both fighters try and get the advantage. Eventually the referee separates them. Jab from Chekhov, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Chekhov puts on a burst of energy and fires off a big sequence of punches, maybe twelve or thirteen in a row, although not many actually connected. Bogdonovich covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Chekhov narrowly misses a right cross. Low kick from Bogdonovich, almost to the groin, although it didn't look intentional. They come together in a clinch again, and it returns to a stalemate. Not a great round by anyone's standard, but that flurry should mean that Chekhov will take the round on points. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Chekhov. [B]Round 3[/B] Bogdonovich isn't hanging around, right from the start Chekhov is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Chekhov circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but Bogdonovich weaves out of the way and scores with a beauty of a right hand, glancing above the right eye. That was some lovely counter punching from Bogdonovich, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Chekhov is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. Bogdonovich really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Chekhov was wide open for a moment there. Bogdonovich hits a high kick, catching Chekhov on the shoulder. Jab from Chekhov finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. Bogdonovich fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Chekhov scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of Bogdonovich, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. End of round 3. Blurcat.com gives that one to Bogdonovich by 10-9. The official results are in; all three judges give the match to Aleksei Chekhov. [COLOR="DarkRed"][B][SIZE="3"]Lightweight: Lukas Mellberg (10-0) vs Truck Gleeson (5-0) [/SIZE][/B][/COLOR] [B]Round 1[/B] Tentative start, neither fighter is willing to commit yet. Mellberg fires off a jab, but it was easily blocked. Gleeson fakes a kick, then comes in hard and fast with a takedown, sending Mellberg to the floor. The momentum causes Gleeson to almost go completely over the top though, and Mellberg is able to flip him to the side and end up on top, in the guard position. Mellberg tries to grab an arm to work a submission, but Gleeson is defending it well by using short, sharp strikes to keep him back. Mellberg tries to pass the guard, but has no luck. A punch from Mellberg connects, but there was no real power behind it. Mellberg fakes Gleeson out cleverly, and slips to a half mount. Gleeson manages to hit a firm elbow, then is forced to defend the full mount attempt. Mellberg switches tactics and tries to work a kimura on the other arm, but Gleeson blocks it, squirms his leg free, and secures the guard again. Mellberg looks frustrated at losing the half mount after having worked so hard to get it in the first place. Gleeson is liable to lose the round on points, but he has done a fine job of defending the submissions attempts so far. Mellberg tries to secure a leglock, but the guard is tight and Gleeson is safe. The round ends. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Mellberg. [B]Round 2[/B] An exchange of strikes in the center starts the round, both fighers hit nice jabs amongst the flurry of punches. They end up clinched. Gleeson hits a punch to the ribs, and takes one back in return. Mellberg pushes forward and the rush causes Gleeson to stumble and get taken down, pulling guard as they hit the ground. Mellberg tries to pass guard, but Gleeson doesn't allow it. Gleeson throws a couple of punches, but they're parried away. He breaks his guard to bring a leg across and try to kick Mellberg in the face, but it's a mistake as Mellberg pushes the leg aside and gets side control. Mellberg pushes them closer to the cage, near his own corner so that they can give him instructions. Following what they say, Mellberg throws some heavy blows to the unprotected stomach of Gleeson, then tries to isolate the closest arm. Gleeson frantically tries to stop that happening, but does indeed give it up. He does manage to roll to the side, giving himself some good leverage and preventing Mellberg from extending the arm. Mellberg continues trying to apply an armbar, but Gleeson is not allowing it. Eventually Mellberg turns and tries to get a crucifix position instead. Gleeson fights that off too. The round ends with Mellberg still doggedly trying to get an armbar submission, and Gleeson tenaciously stopping it. The round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Mellberg. [B]Round 3[/B] Gleeson starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Mellberg. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Mellberg goes for a single leg and puts Gleeson on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Mellberg from getting on top. Gleeson definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Mellberg hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Gleeson again. This time Gleeson isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Mellberg will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Gleeson defends. Mellberg tries to slip past to get side control, but Gleeson just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Mellberg has the side. Two big elbows land, and Gleeson seems in trouble. Mellberg goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. The third round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to Mellberg by 10-9. Lukas Mellberg wins the match, getting votes from all three judges. Recap: Lightweight: Lukas Mellberg beat Truck Gleeson (UD) Middleweight: Aleksei Chekhov beat Jerry Bogdonovich (UD) Heavyweight: Derek South beat Rav Kapur (T.K.O in 8.50 of round 1) Female: Umeka Fujiwara beat Layla Holmes (UD) Heavyweight: Bob Dozier beat Mugur Boc (T.K.O in 2.23 of round 2) Lightweight: Henning Olsen beat Xie Ming (KO in 1.38 of round 3) So Lukas Mellberg hands Truck Gleeson his first defeat and goes 11-0 but the real story of the night was Derek South knocking out Rav Kapur. At the weigh in Kapur out weighed South by 57lbs! And many had believed Kapur to be pound for pound better then South. [B]Sunday Week 4 July 1996[/B] Aleksei Chekhov picked up a knee injury during his fight with Jerry Bogdonovich last night and looks to be out for 4 and a half months.