RAW Combat buys out Cage Rage

InsatiableInsanity · November 24, 2008

[b]10 November 2008[/b] [i]RAW Combat complete purchase of Cage Rage[/i] RAW Combat is delighted to announce that it has come to terms on the purchase of UK-based MMA promotion Cage Rage. RAW Combat will pick up the contracts of all the Cage Rage fighters on a like-for-like basis before commencing further negotiations where necessary. RAW Combat aims to utilize the reputation of excellence that Cage Rage has forged within the United Kingdom, and looks forward to hosting many future events within the British Isles, as well as in it's homeland of Canada. RAW Combat sees this purchase as a necessary expansion into the UK and Europe, and the name Cage Rage will continue to be used abroad as a mark of the standard of quality that can be expected at RAW Combat shows. [i]RAW Combat: International Incident announced[/i] RAW Combat has announced that Montreal, Quebec will play host to RAW Combat: International Incident, which will be headlined by a fight between Canada's own David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-8) and reigning Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Champion "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (17-8) for the RAW Combat Middleweight title. Loiseau is on a three fight win streak following victories over Todd Gouwenberg and Solomon Hutcherson, as well as a stunning KO victory over Andrew Buckland at RAW Combat's debut show, Resurrection. Vitor Belfort is on a similar streak having defeated Ivan Serati, James Zikic (for the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight title), and Terry Martin in consecutive fights. Both men are veterans of the Mixed Martial Arts scene, and both have amassed several stoppage wins during their extremely exciting careers. This match will truly be an International Incident, and is a suitably huge fight for RAW Combat's third show! [b]17 November 2008[/b] [i]Further matches announced for RAW Combat: International Incident[/i] Several matches have been announced this week for RAW Combat's International Incident card from Montreal. Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (8-1) will face off against the "New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10). Ford made his RAW Combat debut beating Nabil "The Thrill" Khatib via unanimous decision at Redemption after amassing a record of 7-1 in Maximum Fighting Championships. Baroni is on a three fight win streak having defeated Scott Jansen, Ron Verdadero, and Olaf Alfonso back-to-back. Universally popular, Phil Baroni is known for his ultra-aggressive and exciting fighting style, and will be Canadian Ford's toughest fight to date. Elsewhere, Cage Rage's Parisian fighter "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (18-9) will fight Brit Tom "Kong" Watson (7-3) in a rematch of their fight from Cage Rage 21 in April 2007 where Foupa-Pokam scored a second round Kimura submission. Watson has won his last three fights, whilst Foupa-Pokam has won ten of his last eleven fights with his only defeat coming against Murilo "Ninja" Rua by submission. It is worth noting that only once has a Foupa-Pokam fight gone the full distance, with the other 26 having been stopped before the final bell. The smart money is therefore on an exciting fight with a definitive conclusion. It will be an all-Edmonton, Alberta encounter as Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki (12-5) taking on Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (15-6) in the Light Heavyweight division with Galbraith having lost to Rafael Calvancante last time out, and we will also see Brazilian Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes (3-2) against Len Tam (5-2) of Vancouver in a Featherweight rematch from Redemption when Fernandes won by first round triangle choke. The completed card will be announced next week. [b]24 November 2008[/b] [i]Completed card for RAW Combat: International Incident announced, Predictions Wanted[/i] RAW Middleweight Title Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-8) vs. "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (17-8) Welterweight Fight: Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (8-1) vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10) Cage Rage World and British Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (23-8-1) vs. Ian "The Machine" Freeman (19-7-1) Middleweight Fight: "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (18-9) vs. Tom "Kong" Watson (7-3) Light Heavyweight Fight: Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki (12-5) vs. Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (15-6) Featherweight Fight: Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes (3-2) vs. Len Tam (5-2) Light Heavyweight Fight: Martin "The Stress" Desilets (8-2) vs. Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo (8-1) Featherweight Fight: Danny Batten (12-6-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (15-4)

UFC-KING · November 25, 2008

RAW Middleweight Title Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-8) vs. [B]"The Phenom" Vitor Belfort[/B] (17-8) Welterweight Fight: Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (8-1) vs. [B]"The New York Badass" Phil Baroni[/B] (13-10) Cage Rage World and British Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (23-8-1) vs. [B]Ian "The Machine" Freeman[/B] (19-7-1) Middleweight Fight: [B]"Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam[/B] (18-9) vs. Tom "Kong" Watson (7-3) Light Heavyweight Fight: [B]Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki[/B] (12-5) vs. Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (15-6) Featherweight Fight: [B]Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes[/B] (3-2) vs. Len Tam (5-2) Light Heavyweight Fight: Martin "The Stress" Desilets (8-2) vs.[B] Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo[/B] (8-1) Featherweight Fight: [B]Danny Batten[/B] (12-6-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (15-4) God, I hope they didn't actually buy them out :D

sr_roy97 · November 25, 2008

RAW Middleweight Title Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-8) vs. [B]"The Phenom" Vitor Belfort [/B](17-8) Welterweight Fight: [B]Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (8-1) [/B]vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10) Cage Rage World and British Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (23-8-1) vs. [B]Ian "The Machine" Freeman [/B](19-7-1) Middleweight Fight: [B]"Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam [/B](18-9) vs. Tom "Kong" Watson (7-3) Light Heavyweight Fight: [B]Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki [/B](12-5) vs. Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (15-6) Featherweight Fight: Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes (3-2) vs. [B]Len Tam [/B](5-2) Light Heavyweight Fight: Martin "The Stress" Desilets (8-2) vs. [B]Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo [/B](8-1) Featherweight Fight: Danny Batten (12-6-3) vs. [B]Brad "One Punch" Pickett [/B](15-4)

InsatiableInsanity · November 25, 2008

[b]1st December 2008[/b] [b][i]RAW Combat: International Incident Results[/b][/i] [b]Featherweight Fight: Danny Batten (12-6-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (15-4)[/b] Round 1 Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Pickett puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Batten defended well. Straight right from Batten in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Pickett probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Batten gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Pickett. The 1st round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Pickett. Round 2 Batten and Pickett circle to start. Pickett throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Batten sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Pickett comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Batten to slip a nice jab in, catching Pickett just underneath the right eye. Batten comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Pickett misses with a right cross, then backs off. Batten stalks him, forcing Pickett back up against the cage. Batten doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Pickett throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Batten pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Pickett covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Batten in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Batten throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Pickett comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Batten parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Batten's favour. The second round is over. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Batten. Round 3 The two fighters touch gloves to start the round, and almost immediately come together in a clinch. There's a struggle for supremacy, but neither seems to be able to gain the advantage. They struggle all the way to the cage, neither seems to have a clear-cut advantage when it comes to wrestling. Things stall, neither fighter seems willing to risk attempting a takedown. The referee waits thirty seconds, then pulls them apart due to the inactivity. Batten kicks Pickett in the ribs, but Pickett was ready, catches the foot, and uses it to trip Batten down. Into a guard. Pickett throws a couple of shots, but Batten defends it well. Pickett gets through the guard and has side control. That was well executed, but Batten could have done better, he gave up his side too easily. It goes from bad to worse for Batten, a wild punch is easily blocked by Pickett, who uses it to take his back. Batten is in real trouble now. Pickett fires of a series of punches, and Batten has no answer. Pickett stretches Batten out, and secures the rear naked choke. He doesn't get it fully at first, but then does. Batten taps. Official time of the rear naked choke submission is 2:31 of the third round. Winner: Brad Pickett by rear naked choke submission @ 2:31 of R3. [b]Light Heavyweight Fight: Martin "The Stress" Desilets (8-2) vs. Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo (8-1)[/b] Round 1 Very, very slow start to the round. Over a minute has gone before the first meaningful strike connects. It's Desilets who hits it, scoring with a shot to the chest. Jimmo fires back with a couple of jabs, both of which connect with the shoulder rather than the face where they were aimed. The two fighters come together in the center and exchange punches, neither getting the clear advantage. Jimmo suddenly shoots in and goes for a takedown, but Desilets manages to sprawl long enough to get them all the way back to the cage, which keeps him upright. Jimmo tries to complete the takedown, but realises that the leverage isn't there and instead stands and clinches. Desilets hits a couple of shots to the back. Jimmo hits a stomp. Desilets lifts his leg to go for a knee, but that gives Jimmo the opportunity to lift him and slam him down to the ground. That was a hard slam! Jimmo is on top, almost sitting on top of a balled-up Desilets. He throws some hard downward punches, Desilets defends most of them, although one hits hard above the eye. Jimmo leaves his arm in for a second too long and Desilets reaches up and almost gets an armbar. Jimmo gets free though, although the effort puts him off-balance enough for him to stumble, giving Desilets the opportunity to scramble back up. There's a nasty mark above the eye where the earlier punch connected though. They go back to circling each other. There's not much time left. Desilets tries one last big attack, swinging for the fences with two bombs, but Jimmo avoids both, adding a nice shot to the stomach after the second dodge. The round ends there. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Jimmo by 10-9. Round 2 Jimmo starts the round by throwing some low kicks. Desilets checks them, then comes in and clearly wants to trade punches. Jimmo doesn't seem too bothered by that, and they enter into the first exchange of punches of the round. Difficult to say who came out on top, neither of them did a great deal of damage, most of the shots hit the opponent's gloves. Jimmo cleverly head-fakes, allowing him the time and angle that he needed to catch Desilets with a beauty of a right hook. Desilets stumbles backward, but doesn't go down. Jimmo presses the advantage by following in with a kick, then a right hand. Desilets clinches. They remain clinched for a while. Desilets scores with a nice knee, it appeared to catch Jimmo in the gut. Jimmo uses a single leg trip and takes the fight to the ground. Jimmo gets to side control upon impact, and immediately goes for an armbar. Desilets reacts quickly, but is in real danger. Jimmo has his left arm straightened out, fortunately Desilets has managed to roll and get a good position that is stopping Jimmo from getting the leverage needed to apply an armlock. Jimmo tries to step over and fully apply it, but Desilets breaks free and gets him to back off with a couple of up-kicks. Jimmo steps back and motions for him to stand up. They go back to circling in the center. Desilets hits a nice right hand, but takes one back too. The time runs down; Jimmo will probably get that round on points, he hit the best punch of the round, and got the only takedown, plus was the one who was working toward a submission. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Jimmo by 10-9. Round 3 Desilets works an angle and comes in from the side of Jimmo, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Jimmo hits a low kick to back Desilets against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Desilets fights out and the action returns to the center. Jimmo clinches with Desilets, who manages to get a body shot in. Desilets attemps to push away from the cage, but Jimmo uses a slick trip to dump him down to the mat. He grabs hold of one leg during the trip, and applies a leglock. That was all in one motion, Desilets got taken by surprise. Jimmo sits back and wrenches in the hold, and that looks painful. Desilets is holding on. He tries to twist free, but it's on tight. Desilets gives in and taps out. Jimmo wins via leglock submission at 2:16 of the third round. Winner: Ryan Jimmo by leglock submission @ 2:16 of R3 [b]Featherweight Fight: Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes (3-2) vs. Len Tam (5-2)[/b] Round 1 Tentative start, neither fighter is willing to commit yet. Fernandes fires off a jab, but it was easily blocked. Tam fakes a kick, then comes in hard and fast with a takedown, sending Fernandes to the floor. The momentum causes Tam to almost go completely over the top though, and Fernandes is able to flip him to the side and end up on top, in the guard position. Tam tries to push free, but Fernandes forces him to go back to guard by raining down some jabs. Fernandes reaches over and tries to apply some sort of neck vice, but Tam breaks it by bringing his arms up. Fernandes steps through in an effort to mount Tam, but can only get to half guard as one of his legs gets trapped. Fernandes throws some strikes, then tries to work an armbar on the closest arm. Tam rolls over and uses his free arm to keep that from happening. That goes on for quite a long time, with Fernandes determined to try and work the arm free and get an armbar, while Tam uses everything at his disposal to block it. The round ends without Fernandes having made the breakthrough, although he clearly ran away with the round in terms of points. The first round is over. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Fernandes. Round 2 A couple of straight lefts from Tam start the round, but neither got past the gloves of Fernandes. They clinch, with Fernandes looking like he initiated it. They struggle for supremacy. Tam gets taken down, but traps Fernandes in guard. Fernandes stands into a half-crouching position, dragging Tam's guard with him. Tam reaches up, parries away a couple of strikes, and tries to grab an arm to apply an armbar to. Fernandes knocks the attempt away and nails a hard shot to the ribs before reaching over and trying to nail a downward punch to the chin. Tam blocks it. Fernandes floats over and gets into side control. Tam scrambles to try and get back up, but is too close to the cage, which works against him. Fernandes lays in a couple of punches to the chest to soften Tam up, then tries to move up and isolate one of the arms. Tam makes sure to bring his body around to give him as much protection as possible. It works, as Fernandes can't get either arm isolated properly. Fernandes changes tactics and tries to get into crucifix position. Tam fights it for as long as he possibly can, but eventually gets caught. The length of struggle is, in itself, a good defence though, as the round ends before Fernandes can do anything with the position he has achieved, which will frustrate him enormously. The round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Fernandes. Round 3 Very, very slow start to the round. Over a minute has gone before the first meaningful strike connects. It's Tam who hits it, scoring with a shot to the chest. Fernandes fires back with a couple of jabs, both of which connect with the shoulder rather than the face where they were aimed. The two fighters come together in the center and exchange punches, neither getting the clear advantage. Fernandes suddenly shoots in and goes for a takedown, but Tam manages to sprawl long enough to get them all the way back to the cage, which keeps him upright. Fernandes tries to complete the takedown, but realises that the leverage isn't there and instead stands and clinches. Tam hits a couple of shots to the back. Fernandes hits a stomp. Tam lifts his leg to go for a knee, but that gives Fernandes the opportunity to lift him and slam him down to the ground. That was a hard slam! Fernandes is on top, almost sitting on top of a balled-up Tam. He throws some hard downward punches, Tam defends most of them, although one hits hard above the eye. Fernandes leaves his arm in for a second too long and Tam reaches up and almost gets an armbar. Fernandes gets free though, although the effort puts him off-balance enough for him to stumble, giving Tam the opportunity to scramble back up. There's a nasty mark above the eye where the earlier punch connected though. They go back to circling each other. There's not much time left. Tam tries one last big attack, swinging for the fences with two bombs, but Fernandes avoids both, adding a nice shot to the stomach after the second dodge. The round ends there. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Fernandes by 10-9. The official scores are: 30-27 from all three judges for Bibiano Fernandes. Winner: Bibiano Fernandes by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]Light Heavyweight Fight: Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki (12-5) vs. Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (15-6)[/b] Round 1 Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Galbraith puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Valimaki defended well. Straight right from Valimaki in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Galbraith probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Valimaki gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Galbraith. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Galbraith. Round 2 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 Galbraith, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Galbraith 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. Valimaki covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Both fighters circle. Low kick from Valimaki, 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 Galbraith will take the round on points. The round is over. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Galbraith. Round 3 Galbraith starts fast, firing off several crisp jabs that keep Valimaki on the back foot. A solid left hits gloves, but it's really just a set-up for Galbraith to step in and use an uppercut. Not sure how much of it caught Valimaki, but certainly enough to to make him grab a clinch to stop any further punishment. Great start to the round from Galbraith, it has been total domination so far. The clinch is broken, and the two fighters exchange some long range jabs that are easily avoided. Valimaki is looking a little lost so far, Galbraith is controlling this round by virtue of his crisp accurate punches and higher aggression levels. They both seem to be looking for an opening, and it's creating a stalemate at the moment. Galbraith leads with the left, then moves in and gets in a wicked right hand that grazes the cheek. Valimaki was fortunate there, if that had landed properly it would have been over. Valimaki 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 Valimaki is that although Galbraith clearly won the round, he didn't actually turn that dominance into any sort of real damage. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Galbraith by 10-9. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Travis Galbraith. Winner: Travis Galbraith by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) [b]Middleweight Fight: "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (18-9) vs. Tom "Kong" Watson (7-3)[/b] Round 1 The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Watson is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as Professor X picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Watson throws a wild punch as a counter, but Professor X ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Watson gets a clubbing blow to the side of the head in, but takes a hard shot to the stomach in return. The early pattern seems to be that Watson is looking for big punches, Professor X is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Watson manages to back Professor X up against the cage. Watson takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Professor X ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Watson can unload. Watson may need to think about changing tactics, Professor X is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Watson fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching Professor X on the thigh. Professor X presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Watson gets a nice left hook in, glancing off the gloves, and then clinches up. Time ticks away and the round ends just a few seconds after the referee separates them. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Professor X. Round 2 Professor X starts fast, immediately going on the attack with jabs and straight rights. Watson covers up from the initial burst, then starts throwing some raking rights and lefts. Professor X bobs and weaves out of harm's way, countering by flicking off jabs whenever possible, peppering Watson with strikes. None of them are likely to knock Watson down, but they will add up over time. Watson moves in and tries to back Professor X up against the cage, but he is too quick, and won't allow himself to get caught. Watson is having a real problem with Professor X's movement, which is allowing him to dart in and out almost at will, hitting quick jabs and avoiding any counters. There's another example, as Professor X scores with a sharp left hand to the chest, and is gone before the big right hand of Watson hits. Watson looks frustrated, and switches tactics, no longer looking for the big punches but trying to stop Professor X getting in close by using low kicks and long, raking punches. Professor X is kept from doing any further damage, but Watson isn't generating any offence either. Professor X comes in from an angle, takes a right hand, but scores with a flurry of his own. Watson tries to hit a low kick, but misses. Time is running down, Professor X is going to take this round on points, he has been able to dominate it thanks to his superior movement. End of round 2. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Professor X. Round 3 Watson isn't hanging around, right from the start Professor X is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Professor X circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but Watson 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 Watson, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Professor X is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. Watson really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Professor X was wide open for a moment there. Watson hits a high kick, catching Professor X on the shoulder. Jab from Professor X finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. Watson fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Professor X scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of Watson, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Watson. Xavier Foupa-Pokam wins, with a score of 29-28 from two judges, 30-27 from the other. Winner: Xavier Foupa-Pokam by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) [b]Cage Rage World and British Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (23-8-1) vs. Ian "The Machine" Freeman (19-7-1)[/b] Round 1 The two competitors start slowly, circling and looking for an opening. Freeman fakes shooting in for a takedown, but Tedoradze didn't buy it for a second. In comes Freeman from an angle to the right, but Tedoradze 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. Freeman felt that, and is forced to cover up quickly as Tedoradze steps in quickly and unloads with a flurry of powerful blows, looking to capitalise on the earlier strike. Freeman 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. Tedoradze 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. Freeman responds by throwing out some straight jabs, but neither fighter is really doing any damage to their opponent. Tedoradze clearly grows tired of the wait, and moves in to hit a body blow. It connects, but Freeman 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. They both seem to be looking for an opening, and it's creating a stalemate at the moment. Tedoradze scores with a stiff jab, and bobs and weaves to avoid all three of the rapid-fire punches that come back from Freeman. Nicely done. Freeman, realising that he is losing this round, comes forward with a sense of urgency, throwing right hands to put Tedoradze on the back foot. Tedoradze handles it well though, refusing to let Freeman 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 Freeman throwing increasingly desparate punches. The first round is over. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Tedoradze. Round 2 Two jabs from the left hand of Tedoradze set up a hard waist-high kick, but Freeman steps back to avoid it. Nice attempt though. Tedoradze moves in closer, bobbing and weaving, and looks to score with a looping right hand, but Freeman 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. Tedoradze finds himself backed up against the cage briefly, and has to scramble to safety to avoid a flurry of strikes. Freeman is working for position, and is currently looking the more composed of the two. Freeman gets caught with a solid right hand out of nowhere, and is rocked. Tedoradze follows up with another one, and Freeman looks in trouble all of a sudden. He is backed up against the cage and Tedoradze is unloading. The punches are raining down, Freeman is covering up. The referee has seen enough and stops the fight, clearly feeling that Freeman was unable to defend himself intelligently. Tedoradze wins. The official time of the TKO is 2:55 of round 2. Tengiz Tedoradze wins the CR World Heavyweight title. Winner and NEW Unified Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion: Tengiz Tedoradze by TKO @ 2:55 of R2 [b]Welterweight Fight: Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (8-1) vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10)[/b] Round 1 Baroni is the first to score a meaningful blow, tagging Ford with a jab to the cheek. Ford uses a nice straight left to return fire. Baroni comes in to work the body, but Ford saw it coming and uses a quick takedown to put Baroni onto the floor, falling into guard. Baroni has the guard held very high. Ford throws a big right hand, but almost puts himself right into a triangle as a result, and he is forced to fight free. Baroni throws a punch and it lands right above the nose. Ford throws four massive punches as a response, threatening to try and knock Baroni right through the canvas, Baroni is forced to simply cover up and try to survive. Ford is controlling the round from this position, although it has to be said that he hasn't yet truly looked like he can stop the match from here. Baroni moves to butterfly guard and then tries to scramble back up, but Ford stops that by throwing another set of big punches, forcing Baroni to go back to the full guard. The round ends with them still like that, with Ford having totally controlled the round from the guard. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Ford by 10-9. Round 2 Baroni doesn't hold back, starting by immediately shooting in for a takedown. Ford sprawls and keeps him at bay. Baroni pushes harder, but Ford has the much better position and manages to flip him over, putting Baroni on his back. Ford gets sucked into his guard though. Ford fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Baroni. Ford tries to pass the guard, but can't, Baroni isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Ford will start raining down punches. Ford tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Baroni gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Ford again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Ford fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Baroni fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Baroni, and Ford is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Baroni has defended the danger well. End of round 2. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Ford. Round 3 Baroni starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Ford. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Ford goes for a single leg and puts Baroni on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Ford from getting on top. Baroni definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Ford hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Baroni again. This time Baroni isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Ford will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Baroni defends. Ford tries to slip past to get side control, but Baroni just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Ford has the side. Two big elbows land, and Baroni seems in trouble. Ford goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. The 3rd round ends. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Ford. Ryan Ford wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges. Winner: Ryan Ford by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]RAW Middleweight Title Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-8) vs. "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (17-8)[/b] Round 1 Loiseau throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Belfort throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Loiseau steps back, throwing a right hand as he does to buy himself space. They circle, then move in again to exchange strikes, neither fighter getting a clear advantage. They come together again and the same result. It has become something of a stalemate at the moment. They come together to exchange strikes for the third time, and this time they wind up in a clinch. Belfort hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Loiseau. They struggle all the way back, with Loiseau ending up backed up against the cage. Belfort hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Loiseau stomps downward onto his foot. Loiseau manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Belfort gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Loiseau ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Loiseau tries a high kick to start, but Belfort saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Belfort who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Loiseau on the nose. Loiseau hits a straight right, enough to stop Belfort from following up any further. The time expires with them standing. Not a great round for either of them or the crowd, it was very scrappy. The round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to Belfort by 10-9. Round 2 Belfort starts the round like a house on fire, hitting three quick jabs and a vicious right hook. Loiseau covered up well, but at least one of the jabs got through and landed above the left eye. Loiseau backs up to buy some time, but Belfort keeps coming and lands a right hand to the body. Loiseau scores with a jab in return, then goes with a kick to the waist. Belfort catches the leg though and quickly rushes forward with a takedown. Loiseau pulls guard. Belfort passes guard and gets into side control, but it's an awkward position; Loiseau has the entire right hand side of his body up against the cage, and both his legs wrapped around Belfort's left arm. Belfort's attacking options are fairly limited. He uses a couple of back fists to strike away at the face, but Loiseau covers up to defend them. Belfort tries to pin down one of Loiseau's arms and bring his legs around to trap them fully, but Loiseau uses his free arm to stop that from happening. The ground battle enters a stalemate, as Belfort finds himself unable to do any real damage other than occasional strikes, which he doesn't have the leverage to get much power behind, with virtually no chance of gaining a submission thanks to his left arm being trapped. The referee eventually stands them up, and the time expires before anything interesting can happen with them standing. End of round 2. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Belfort. Round 3 Loiseau may have realised that he left the gas on back at home, as he starts the round as if he needs to get this fight finished quickly, throwing two giant-sized right hand bombs and a vicious uppercut within the first thirty seconds. Belfort dealt with them well though, avoiding the first two and parrying the uppercut away. Belfort fakes a takedown, causing Loiseau to back up, ready to sprawl. Loiseau stalks Belfort, forcing him back toward the cage. Loiseau moves in, looking to throw another big shot, but Belfort springs forward and connects with a great punch, crunching his fist into the cheek. Loiseau goes down! Belfort tries to pounce and pound his way to victory, but Loiseau has enough awareness to ensnare Belfort in the guard position as he dives in. Belfort tries to grab an arm to work a submission, but Loiseau is defending it well by using short, sharp strikes to keep him back. Belfort tries to pass the guard, but has no luck. A punch from Belfort connects, but there was no real power behind it. Belfort fakes Loiseau out cleverly, and slips to a half mount. Loiseau manages to hit a firm elbow, then is forced to defend the full mount attempt. Belfort switches tactics and tries to work a kimura on the other arm, but Loiseau blocks it, squirms his leg free, and secures the guard again. Belfort looks frustrated at losing the half mount after having worked so hard to get it in the first place. Loiseau is liable to lose the round on points, but he has done a fine job of defending the submissions attempts so far. Belfort tries to secure a leglock, but the guard is tight and Loiseau is safe. The round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Belfort. Vitor Belfort wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges. Vitor Belfort is now the RAW Combat Middleweight champion. Winner and NEW RAW Middleweight Champion: Vitor Belfort by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]2nd December 2008[/b] [i]RAW Combat: International Incident is in the books![/i] Last night saw Canada's upstart MMA promotion RAW Combat crown a new RAW Combat Middleweight Champion in the form of "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort who defeated Canadian legend David "The Crow" Loiseau by unanimous decision. Unfortunately, this was a night where fully FIVE of the eight fights put on happened to go the distance - including, surprisingly, Xavier Foupa-Pokam's victory over Tom "Kong" Watson. Perhaps there was something in the water, but fresh off RAW Combat's purchase of British promotion Cage Rage, this could have, and perhaps [i]should have[/i] been a more exciting show than it was. If you wanted fast action and finishes, this wasn't what you might have hoped for. Two of the three stoppages that [i]did[/i] happen were by submission, and these were the first two fights on offer. Brad Pickett and Danny Batten fought a very even contest that most of us had locked at 19-19 after two rounds before "One Punch" picked Batten off with a rear naked choke in the third, which was right about the time Ryan Jimmo finally put away Martin Desilets with a leglock after dominating all fight long in the second of the night. But if you were going to press me for a finish of the night award, it'd have to go to Tengiz Tedoradze who became the Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion and the Cage Rage British Heavyweight Champion after a devastating T.K.O. of British veteran Ian "The Machine" Freeman. It looks like RAW Combat have got a great figurehead for their Heavyweight division in Tedoradze, and the perfect face to main event any shows held across the pond in the UK. Another man cementing his reputation is Ryan Ford, who picked up the biggest win of his young career against Phil Baroni - The New York Badass was overwhelmed by Ford and lost every round on my scorecard, despite coming into this with far more big fight experience and a much bigger reputation to boot. Ford may just be the Great White Hope RAW Combat are looking for, with a stellar record of 9-1. If any man deserves to be the number one contender for RAW Combat Welterweight Champion Dan Hornbuckle's strap, it must be Ford, but on that, and all subjects RAW, time will tell. [i]Prediction Scores[/i] sr_roy97 scores: 5/8 - 62.5% UFC-KING scores: 4/8 - 50 %

InsatiableInsanity · November 25, 2008

[b]1 December 2008[/b] [i]RAW Combat Announce British show [/i] RAW Combat will head to the United Kingdom at the end of this month where they will host RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain from Wembley Arena, former home of Cage Rage Championships. RAW Combat have announced that the event will see the first defence of "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort's newly acquired RAW Combat Middleweight title against Murilo "Ninja" Rua. Rua's last fight on British shores saw him defeat Parisian Xavier Foupa-Pokam by rear naked choke in the second round. Rua, like Belfort, is a vastly experienced, big name fighter who has stepped in both the ring and the cage with the bets of the best - who better than Rua and Belfort to fight for the richest prize in the RAW Middleweight Division? [b]8 December 2008[/b] [i]RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain shapes up[/i] RAW Combat have announced that the Vitor Belfort (18-8) - Murilo Rua (16-9-1) main event fight will be flanked by a RAW Combat Welterweight Title match between reigning champion Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (16-2) and Cage Rage sensation Che Mills (6-1). Hornbuckle claimed the RAW Combat Welterweight strap with a win over Nabil "The Thrill" Khatib, and his opponent Mills has earned all six of his wins in a succession. Englishman Mills will likely be a huge crowd favourite in London, but Hornbuckle has seen it all before being an American champion in a Canadian promotion. Two title fights on one night - and both have the potential to be fireworks in the UK! Elsewhere, controversial British star Paul "Semtex" Daley (18-7-2) will face off against debutant Jeff "The Inferno" Joslin (5-3). Joslin most recently appeared at UFC Fight Night 7 where he lost by Unanimous Decision against highly touted welterweight star Josh Koscheck. Joslin has stepped in the octogan with several top names in his young career, and just needs one big win to catapult him up the rankings. Paul Daley also lost last time out against the impressive Jake Shields, but won his six previous fights including victories over Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Mark Weir, and Sam Morgan. Daley has finished 13 of his 18 victims by (T)KO, and as his handle would suggest, his hands are dynamite! This should heat up the cold winter night in London! If that wasn't enough, Frenchman Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (12-6-1) will continue his comeback following two wins in just two fights in almost twenty-four months. Diabate will face Mark "The Beast" Epstein (14-11), a Cage Rage regular who has been up and down lately in the win-loss column, but who always provides a no-nonsense, heavy-hitting style. Can the "Snake" get past "The Beast"? We'll find out at an action packed RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain! [b]15 December 2008[/b] [i]Completed card for RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain announced, Predictions Wanted[/i] RAW Middleweight Title Fight: "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (c) (18-8) vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua (16-9-1) Welterweight Fight: Paul "Semtex" Daley (18-7-2) vs. Jeff "The Inferno" Joslin (5-3) Light Heavyweight Fight: Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (12-6-1) vs. Mark "The Beast" Epstein (14-11) RAW Welterweight Title Fight: Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (c) (16-2) vs. Che Mills (6-1) Featherweight Fight: Jean "White Bear" Silva (15-8-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (16-4) Heavyweight Fight: James "The Colossus" Thompson (14-9) vs. Edson Draggo (9-3) Lightweight Fight: Kajan "Ragin'" Johnson (14-10-1) vs. Blake "The Snake" Fredrickson (13-4-1) Middleweight Fight: Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (9-4) vs. Matt Ewin (20-9-1) EDIT: CORRECTION: It is Murilo "Ninja" Rua facing Vitor Belfort, NOT Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who is under written contract with the UFC. Apologies.

UFC-KING · November 25, 2008

RAW Middleweight Title Fight: [B]"The Phenom" Vitor Belfort [/B](c) (18-8) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-9-1) Welterweight Fight: [B]Paul "Semtex" Daley[/B] (18-7-2) vs. Jeff "The Inferno" Joslin (5-3) Light Heavyweight Fight: [B]Cyrille "Snake" Diabate [/B](12-6-1) vs. Mark "The Beast" Epstein (14-11) RAW Welterweight Title Fight: [B]Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle[/B] (c) (16-2) vs. Che Mills (6-1) Featherweight Fight: [B]Jean "White Bear" Silva[/B] (15-8-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (16-4) Heavyweight Fight: James "The Colossus" Thompson (14-9) vs. [B]Edson Draggo[/B] (9-3) Lightweight Fight: Kajan "Ragin'" Johnson (14-10-1) vs. [B]Blake "The Snake" Fredrickson[/B] (13-4-1) Middleweight Fight: [B]Zelg "Benkei" Galesic [/B](9-4) vs. Matt Ewin (20-9-1)

InsatiableInsanity · November 25, 2008

[b]22nd December 2008[/b] [b][i]RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain Results[/b][/i] [b]Middleweight Fight: Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (9-4) vs. Matt Ewin (20-9-1)[/b] Round 1 Ewin starts strongly, immediately rushing in for a takedown. Galesic got taken by surprise a little, but wrestles his way free of the grapple and pulls to safety. Galesic doesn't hang around for a second attempt, he uses a looping left to set himself up to come in close and score with a series of strikes, two or three nice body shots included. Ewin covers up, throwing the occasional jab as a counter. Galesic goes for a vicious uppercut, but gets pulled into a clinch. Ewin goes for a takedown via a trip, but Galesic defends it. Another trip attempt, another failure. Ewin pushes Galesic up against the cage and tries to wrestle him to the ground, but Galesic keeps his balance and sprawls to stop it. Galesic gets in a hard right hand to the side of the face, taking advantage of the fact that Ewin was leaning in too far. Galesic reverses so that Ewin is against the cage. They remain clinched, with nothing more than minor strikes being thrown, for a long time. The referee finally breaks them apart and gets them back to the center. Galesic throws a kick, waist-high, but Ewin avoids it. That could have been used for a takedown attempt if Ewin had been quicker and caught it. Galesic hits two or three punches in a row, stinging the gloves of Ewin. The round draws to a close. It'll be interesting to see where the judges go with this, as Galesic clearly got the better strikes in throughout the round, but Ewin did probably show more aggression by virtue of his almost constant attempts to get the takedown. End of round 1. Blurcat.com gives that one to Galesic by 10-9. Round 2 Galesic doesn't exactly disguise his intentions for this round, going right to the center and motioning for Ewin to come and trade blows. Ewin wisely keeps back for the time being, content to throw long-range jabs. Galesic isn't quite as content though, as he begins to stalk Ewin. They meet near the cage. Ewin hits a nice jab, then goes to clinch. Galesic stops that with a powerful right hand to the body, then a fizzing left hook that glances off the side of the head. An attempt at a knock out right hand finds nothing but gloves. It is clear that Galesic believes that he has the power to get a knock out here, his game plan appears to be to look for the one punch finish. Ewin is trying to keep moving, to not let Galesic get set to throw a bomb. Galesic is controlling this round by virtue of the knock out threat, as Ewin is being forced to fight somewhat defensively. Galesic throws another big punch, narrowly missing, but does score with a follow up jab, landing just above the right eye. Ewin returns fire with a pair of jabs, both finding gloves. Time begins to tick away. It hasn't been the most exciting round, but Galesic has controlled it and managed to land the better shots. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Galesic. Round 3 They meet in the center. Ewin hits a nice jab, a second misses. Galesic steps in close and hits a brutal body shot, causing Ewin to back up quickly. That was a really powerful shot. Galesic stalks Ewin, flicking occasional jabs. It looks like Galesic wants to stand and trade punches with Ewin. Galesic gets within striking distance and throws a bomb of a right hand, narrowly missing. Ewin fires off a raking left hook in response, but that is off target too. They meet and exchange punches. Ewin goes for the body, but gets tagged with a left hand to the side of the head. Ewin is rattled by it, but doesn't step off, instead throwing a couple of crisp jabs. Galesic throws another big punch, this time thundering it into Ewin's shoulder. They clinch. So far it looks like Ewin simply can't live with the power that Galesic has in his hands, you get the sense that if this continues, Ewin is going to wind up knocked out sooner or later. The clinch is broken, but within thirty seconds they are right back in it, this time leaning against the cage. By the time that is broken, the round only has a few seconds left. End of round 3. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Galesic. All three judges give a score of 30-27 in favour of Zelg Galesic. Winner: Zelg Galesic by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]Lightweight Fight: Kajan "Ragin'" Johnson (14-10-1) vs. Blake "The Snake" Fredrickson (13-4-1)[/b] Round 1 Fredrickson and Johnson circle to start. Johnson throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Fredrickson sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Johnson comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Fredrickson to slip a nice jab in, catching Johnson just underneath the right eye. Fredrickson comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Johnson misses with a right cross, then backs off. Fredrickson stalks him, forcing Johnson back up against the cage. Fredrickson doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Johnson throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Fredrickson pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Johnson covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Fredrickson in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Fredrickson throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Johnson comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Fredrickson parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Fredrickson's favour. The 1st round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fredrickson. Round 2 Johnson comes out fast, but gets hit with a counter right hand strike when he throws a left hand which was too high. Fredrickson moves in and hits a nice body shot before they clinch. Johnson gets in a short, sharp jab to the side of the head, it looked to hit right on the ear. Fredrickson didn't like that, and scores with two knee strikes and a punch to the cheek. They break apart. Fredrickson swings and hits a nice right hand. Johnson fires off a series of sharp jabs, all hitting gloves. He throws out a looping left, but gets tagged with a punch to the jaw and stumbles to the ground! Fredrickson dives in to finish him off, but he scrambles back up quickly and they end up facing off on their feet again. Replays show that the punch barely connected, it was more of a stumble on Johnson's part than anything else. It might not look that way to the judges though. Fredrickson looks more confident after that, and puts together a nice chain of strikes, ending with a scathing low kick that catches Johnson on the outside of the calf. He definitely felt that. Time is running out; Fredrickson will probably take this round on the judges' score cards, primarily due to that one dubious knock down. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fredrickson. Round 3 Fredrickson tries to come in for a punch, but Johnson wraps him up in a clinch too quickly. Fredrickson tries to break free, but leaves himself wide open for a hard takedown, and Johnson is left on top, in the guard position. Johnson fakes a punch to the face, instead driving his fist into the unprotected chest of Fredrickson. Johnson tries to pass guard, but Fredrickson isn't having any of it. Johnson gets sucked down into a brief wrestling match, and finds his arms pinned to Fredrickson's sides. He breaks one arm free, albeit at the expense of a lot of energy, but Fredrickson is quick to switch to the other and try for an armbar. Johnson tries to fight free, but it's being twisted at an unnatural angle. Johnson taps, he will be mightily disappointed to get submitted from that position. The official time is 0:54. Winner: Blake Fredrickson by armbar submission @ 0:54 of R3 [b]Heavyweight Fight: James "The Colossus" Thompson (14-9) vs. Edson Draggo (9-3)[/b] Round 1 They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Thompson, providing the first moment of real action. Draggo hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Thompson side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Draggo 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 this round looks like it's going to the judges. The first round is over. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Draggo. Round 2 The fighters touch gloves, then circle. Draggo throws a low kick, but it was without any conviction, it seemed designed more to keep Thompson from coming inside. Draggo works an angle, then comes in with a one-two combination, Thompson responds with a crisp uppercut that wasn't far off from connecting. Draggo 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. Thompson circles and throws a series of high jabs, but Draggo blocked them with ease, using the gloves. Draggo fakes a high kick, then storms in with a wild looking right hand and a series of body shots. Thompson covers up and rides out the storm, clinching to stop any further blows. It was a nice attack from Draggo though, best action of the round. They stay clinched for a while, exchanging occasional punches to the ribs, then are separated by the referee. It looks like this round is going to the judges though, as there's only a few seconds remaining. Draggo throws a leg kick that connects, albeit without too much force, and the round is done. The round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Draggo. Round 3 The two fighters circle. A series of looping punches from Thompson forces Draggo back up against the cage, and he has to cover up to withstand the three strikes that follow. No real damage caused, but Thompson is aggressively chasing this match. A hook finds the body and Draggo clinches. They almost lose their balance as they jockey for position, Draggo gets in a couple of knees when they regain their footing. Thompson seems to be trying to break the clinch, it's Draggo who is holding it tight, perhaps hoping to calm the energetic start that Thompson had. The referee finally does break them up, after nearly a full minute of inactivity. Draggo pushes Thompson up against the cage in a clinch. Draggo throws a knee, then a couple of short punches to the side of the head. Thompson pushes him away and steps in to score with an uppercut. Draggo took it flush on the chin and is rocked! Another right hand drops Draggo against the cage, and Thompson follows up by unloading with a barrage of punches. The referee gets in and pulls Thompson away, he wins the match by TKO. Official time of the TKO is 3:25 of the third round. Winner: James Thompson by T.K.O. @ 3:25 of R3 [b]Featherweight Fight: Jean "White Bear" Silva (15-8-3) vs. Brad "One Punch" Pickett (16-4)[/b] Round 1 Pickett and Silva circle to start. Silva throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Pickett sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Silva comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Pickett to slip a nice jab in, catching Silva just underneath the right eye. Pickett comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Silva misses with a right cross, then backs off. Pickett stalks him, forcing Silva back up against the cage. Pickett doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Silva throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Pickett pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Silva covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Pickett in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Pickett throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Silva comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Pickett parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Pickett's favour. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Pickett. Round 2 Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Silva puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Pickett defended well. Straight right from Pickett in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Silva probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Pickett gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Silva. The 2nd round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Silva. Round 3 The two fighters meet in the center with an exchange of jabs, but neither gets anything but gloves or air. They go right into a clinch, with only a few seconds of the match gone. Silva gets a knee to the ribs in, but it wasn't particularly hard. They break. Pickett pushes Silva back against the cage, and is able to use that as a set up to taking Silva down the mat, landing in side control. Silva tries to scramble into a better position, but Pickett grabs an arm and tries to lock a hold in. Silva bucks him over, and manages to wind up on top, but Pickett still has the arm, and now has his legs wrapped around it. Silva hits a flurry of left hands to the back and thighs of Pickett, who is almost upside down now. It's no good though, as Silva cannot get his arm free, and as soon as Pickett starts to sink the hold in fully, there's no choice but to tap out. Pickett wins via 3rd round armbar submission with the official time being 1:16. Winner: Brad Pickett by armbar submission @ 1:16 of R3 [b]RAW Welterweight Title Fight: Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (c) (16-2) vs. Che Mills (6-1)[/b] Round 1 Tentative start, neither fighter is willing to commit yet. Hornbuckle fires off a jab, but it was easily blocked. Mills fakes a kick, then comes in hard and fast with a takedown, sending Hornbuckle to the floor. The momentum causes Mills to almost go completely over the top though, and Hornbuckle is able to flip him to the side and end up on top, in the guard position. Hornbuckle doggedly tries to pass guard, but Mills keeps him at bay. The referee tells them that he wants to see more in the way of action or he'll stand them up. Not much of an incentive for Mills to do anything, but it does inspire Hornbuckle to throw a couple of hard punches, albeit ones that are easily parried by the gloves of Mills. Hornbuckle manages to work past Mills's right leg, but gets caught in half guard before he can get the mount that he was looking for. The fight once again slows right down, with Mills's tenacious defence frustrating Hornbuckle. Mills sucks Hornbuckle into a clinch, and even tries a cheeky guillotine. Hornbuckle pushes him away though, and nails a beauty of a right hand to the cheek in response. I don't think Mills will be trying that move again for a while. Hornbuckle grabs an arm and tries to twist it backward to create some torque. Mills uses his free arm to grab his own wrist, preventing that from happening. The time expires without anything further of note happening. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Hornbuckle. Round 2 Mills doesn't hold back, starting by immediately shooting in for a takedown. Hornbuckle sprawls and keeps him at bay. Mills pushes harder, but Hornbuckle has the much better position and manages to flip him over, putting Mills on his back. Hornbuckle gets sucked into his guard though. Hornbuckle passes guard and gets into side control, but it's an awkward position; Mills has the entire right hand side of his body up against the cage, and both his legs wrapped around Hornbuckle's left arm. Hornbuckle's attacking options are fairly limited. He uses a couple of back fists to strike away at the face, but Mills covers up to defend them. Hornbuckle tries to pin down one of Mills's arms and bring his legs around to trap them fully, but Mills uses his free arm to stop that from happening. The ground battle enters a stalemate, as Hornbuckle finds himself unable to do any real damage other than occasional strikes, which he doesn't have the leverage to get much power behind, with virtually no chance of gaining a submission thanks to his left arm being trapped. The referee eventually stands them up, and the time expires before anything interesting can happen with them standing. End of round 2. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Hornbuckle. Round 3 Mills starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Hornbuckle. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Hornbuckle goes for a single leg and puts Mills on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Hornbuckle from getting on top. Mills definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Hornbuckle hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Mills again. This time Mills isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Hornbuckle will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Mills defends. Hornbuckle tries to slip past to get side control, but Mills just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Hornbuckle has the side. Two big elbows land, and Mills seems in trouble. Hornbuckle 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 scores 10-9 Hornbuckle. All three judges give a score of 30-27 to Dan Hornbuckle. Dan Hornbuckle retains the RAW Combat Welterweight title. Winner: Dan Hornbuckle by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]Light Heavyweight Fight: Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (12-6-1) vs. Mark "The Beast" Epstein (14-11)[/b] Round 1 Diabate works an angle and comes in from the side of Epstein, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Epstein hits a low kick to back Diabate against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Diabate fights out and the action returns to the center. Epstein fires off three straight jabs, none of which connect. Diabate is forced up with his back against the cage though. He clearly doesn't like the thought of being trapped there for any length of time though, as he quickly comes forward with a barrage of wild punches. Epstein bobs and weaves to avoid them, but is literally bundled over in the process. There wasn't really any punch that put him down, it was simply the fact that Diabate was advancing at a faster rate than he could back-pedal! Diabate follows up with Epstein down on his back. Epstein covers up, but Diabate is raining down punches from the half mount position. At least two hard shots get through. Diabate moves up into side control, briefly looks like he is considering trying to take an arm, then goes back to teeing off on Epstein's head with fists. Epstein tries to wriggle free, but isn't really getting anywhere because Diabate is lying right across his upper body. Diabate uses his legs to ensnare Epstein's right arm, and then starts firing off more and more punches. With only his left hand to try and block them, Epstein is taking more punches than he is blocking. The referee is looking very closely at this, unless Epstein does something dramatic pretty soon, I doubt this will go much longer. Diabate stops to take a deep breath, then starts firing off another barrage. Epstein takes at least three hard shots to the face during the attack, and that's enough for the referee, he calls an end to the match. Official time of the TKO is 2:53 of the first round. Winner: Cyrille Diabate by T.K.O. @ 2:53 of R1 [b]Welterweight Fight: Paul "Semtex" Daley (18-7-2) vs. Jeff "The Inferno" Joslin (5-3)[/b] Round 1 The two fighters meet in the center with an exchange of jabs, but neither gets anything but gloves or air. They go right into a clinch, with only a few seconds of the match gone. Daley gets a knee to the ribs in, but it wasn't particularly hard. They break. Joslin throws a ragged jab, missing by a mile as Daley simply ducks under and unloads a vicious hook from below. It catches Joslin square on the jaw, and he goes down! Daley mounts and starts firing off punches, rapid-fire. The referee waits to see if Joslin can recover, decides that he can't, and pulls Daley off. The match is over. The official time is 1:37. Winner: Paul Daley by T.K.O. @ 1:37 of R1 [b]RAW Middleweight Title Fight: "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (c) (18-8) vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua (16-9-1)[/b] Round 1 Not much happening at first. Belfort is the first to make a move, coming in with a right hand that narrowly misses. Ninja gets in a jab that landed on the left cheek of Belfort, and leaves a mark. Quite a slow paced round so far. Belfort takes another jab and moves in to retaliate, but it was a set-up and he gets creamed with a high right kick to the side of the head! Belfort stumbles but doesn't go down, and has to cover up as Ninja comes in with a series of punches to try and finish the job. Belfort somehow manages to hold on long enough to get his senses back, and buys some time by clinching. Hard knee from Belfort from the clinch, and Ninja felt that, he looks a little tired from unloading that barrage. They break, and Belfort gets in a nice right hand. Ninja throws out a few jabs, nothing too dangerous though, Belfort easily avoided them. The 1st round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Ninja. Round 2 Slow start to the round, there's a lot of circling going on, not much contact though. Ninja fakes a kick, then darts in to score with a left hand to the shoulder region. Belfort almost catches Ninja with a massive left hook. A big arcing kick from Ninja catches Belfort on the shoulder, it wasn't far away from landing on the side of the jaw. Belfort storms in throwing a flurry of blows, but Ninja dodges out of the way. A jab catches Belfort on the cheek, then another big kick hits home, this time into the ribs. Ninja is really using those big kicks well, they're both keeping Belfort at bay and hurting him. Belfort tries another attack, first working an angle away from the kicks then coming in with a couple of straight rights. Ninja defends it well, parrying the punches away and moving to safety before Belfort can unload with any bombs. Ninja hits another kick, this time to the thigh, setting it up with a couple of raking punches. That's the last significant action of the round, a round that Ninja has dominated with kicks. The second round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to Ninja by 10-9. Round 3 Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Ninja puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Belfort defended well. Straight right from Belfort in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Ninja probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Belfort gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Ninja. The 3rd round ends. Blurcat.com gives that one to Ninja by 10-9. The three judges all give the match as 30-27 to Murilo Rua. Murilo Rua is the new RAW Combat Middleweight champion. Winner and NEW RAW Middleweight Champion: Murilo Rua by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]23rd December 2008[/b] [i]RAW Cage Rage: Battle of Britain is in the books![/i] The Phenom is dead... long live the Ninja! Murilo Rua defeated "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort in Belfort's first defence of the RAW Middleweight title to take his place at the top of the RAW Combat Middleweight rankings. Belfort never really seemed to be able to lift the pace against Rua, and in the end it was a methodical if unspectacular domination for three rounds that saw the belt change hands. Rua will now have to fend off the likes of Xavier Foupa-Pokam, Zelg Galesic and David Loiseau amongst others if he is to amass a respectable run as Champion. Dan Hornbuckle had more lucky against Che Mills, pulling off a Unanimous Decision win to retain his RAW Welterweight belt. The night also saw spectacular returns for Paul "Semtex" Daley and Cyrille "Snake" Diabate who convincingly saw off opponents Jeff Joslin and Mark Epstein respectively with first round T.K.O.'s. There can be little doubt that Daley is one of the biggest threats to the RAW Welterweight title, while Diabate must be in contention for a shot at becoming the first ever RAW Light Heavyweight Champion. Travis Galbraith and Ryan Jimmo would both likely provide the opposition to "Snake", but both must be a little wary after the ease with which "The Beast" was dispatched! In fact, tonight was a night of stoppages, as Brad Pickett garnered a second consecutive submission victory over Jean Silva, and James "Colossus" Thompson came out of nowhere to score a T.K.O. win over an impressive Edson Draggo. Brad Pickett is likely to be considered the choice contender for the first RAW Featherweight title, whilst James Thompson is at least back on to winning ways. Can the exciting Thompson follow this up with another success? And if so, can he go all the way to a shot at Tengiz Tedoradze's Cage Rage World Heavyweight Title, or even the RAW Heavyweight title? [b]Prediction Scores[/b] sr_roy97 scores: 5/8 - 62.5% UFC-KING scores: [b]9/16 - 56.25%[/b]

InsatiableInsanity · November 25, 2008

[b]29 December 2008[/b] [i]RAW Combat announce main event for RAW Combat: Great White Hope [/i] RAW Combat will return to Canadian shores for their latest show, Great White Hope. The name seems to be a perfect fit for Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (9-1) who challenges RAW Welterweight Champion Dan Hornbuckle (17-2) in his native homeland. Ford is being touted as one of the hottest prospects in Canadian mixed martial arts after defeating "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni in dominating fashion at International Incident, but Hornbuckle is no slouch, and recently successfully defended his title at Battle of Britain against another young man on a roll in Che Mills. Ford will have his work cut out for him against "The Handler", and this is a match that will hold a great deal of interest for MMA fans right across the continent of North America. Ford says he's the "Real Deal"? We'll find out if that's true at Great White Hope. [b]5 January 2009[/b] [i]More matches confirmed for RAW Combat: Great White Hope[/i] Once again we will see two title matches on one show, as Tengiz Tedoradze (24-8-1) puts his Cage Rage World Heavyweight title on the line against the undefeated Stav "Crazy Bear" Economou (8-0). Tedoradze became the unified the two Cage Rage Heavyweight titles at International Incident with a second round T.K.O. of Ian "The Machine" Freeman, and Economou will be the first contender to the strap. Can Economou continue to knock off the competition and pick up the biggest win of his career, or will the hugely experienced Tedoradze put to bed any hopes of an upset? Paul "Semtex" Daley (19-7-2) will be in action once again after making very short work of Jeff Joslin at Battle of Britain. This time, Daley will face "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-11), who tasted defeat against the man debuting in the main event this month, Ryan Ford. Both these men are known for their knock out power and the high-octane pace they like to push, and it would seem one of these fighters will be destined for an early shower. Will Daley stop Baroni and go on to a RAW Welterweight title shot? Or will Baroni bounce back and rediscover the trail for the gold? David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-9) is another man that needs to get back to winning ways after he lost a Unanimous Decision to "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort for the RAW Middleweight title. He gets a big match with fellow Canadian and former UFC fighter Kalib Starnes (9-3-1). Starnes is a young man with a huge amount of drive and ambition, and also an attitude that has sometimes got him into trouble. He needs to put those troubles firmly in the past and let his fists do the talking from now on - and a win against Loiseau would catapult him onto the world stage. There will also be debuts aplenty as Andrei "The White Shark" Semenov (28-9-2) challenges Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (10-4), who recently defeated Matt Ewin, and four men contest a mini-tournament in the Featherweight division to fight for the honour of challenging Brad "One Punch" Pickett to become the first ever RAW Featherweight Champion. Brazilian Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) comes in with an incredible record of six straight wins in the IFL, and his first round opponent will be Shooto veteran Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato (24-12-1) of Tokyo, Japan. In the other semi-final bracket, Matt Fiordirosa (10-1) will take on Englishman Robbie "The Flame" Olivier (16-8-1), who most recently defeated Leigh Remedious. Pickett will no doubt have a front row ticket for this one! [b]12 January 2009[/b] [i]Completed card for RAW Combat: Great White Hope announced, Predictions Wanted[/i] RAW Welterweight Title Fight: Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (c) (17-2) vs. Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (9-1) Cage Rage World Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (c) (24-8-1) vs. Stav "Crazy Bear" Economou (8-0) Welterweight Fight: Paul "Semtex" Daley (19-7-2) vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-11) Middleweight Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-9) vs. Kalib Starnes (9-3) Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) vs. Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato (24-12-1) Middleweight Fight: Andrei "White Shark" Semenov (28-9-2) vs. Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (10-4) Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: Matt Fiordirosa (10-1) vs. Robbie "The Flame" Olivier (16-8-1) Middleweight Fight: "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (19-9) vs. Chris Rice (13-6) Light Heavyweight Fight: James "The Messenger" Zikic (16-5-2) vs. Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo (9-1) Heavyweight Fight: Robert "Buzz" Berry (12-8) vs. Piotr Kusmierz (1-1)

UFC-KING · November 25, 2008

RAW Welterweight Title Fight: [B]Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle[/B] (c) (17-2) vs. Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (9-1) Cage Rage World Heavyweight Title Fight: [B]Tengiz Tedoradze [/B](c) (24-8-1) vs. Stav "Crazy Bear" Economou (8-0) Welterweight Fight: [B]Paul "Semtex" Daley[/B] (19-7-2) vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-11) Middleweight Fight: [B]David "The Crow" Loiseau[/B] (18-9) vs. Kalib Starnes (9-3) Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: [B]Wagnney Fabiano[/B] (10-1) vs. Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato (24-12-1) Middleweight Fight: [B]Andrei "White Shark" Semenov[/B] (28-9-2) vs. Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (10-4) Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: [B]Matt Fiordirosa [/B](10-1) vs. Robbie "The Flame" Olivier (16-8-1) Middleweight Fight: [B]"Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam[/B] (19-9) vs. Chris Rice (13-6) Light Heavyweight Fight: [B]James "The Messenger" Zikic [/B](16-5-2) vs. Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo (9-1) Heavyweight Fight: [B]Robert "Buzz" Berry [/B](12-8) vs. Piotr Kusmierz (1-1)

InsatiableInsanity · December 4, 2008

[b]19 January 2008[/b] [b]Heavyweight Fight: Robert "Buzz" Berry (12-8) vs. Piotr Kusmierz (1-1)[/b] Round 1 They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Berry, providing the first moment of real action. Kusmierz hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Berry side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Kusmierz 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 this round looks like it's going to the judges. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Kusmierz. Round 2 An exchange of jabs doesn't go anywhere. Kusmierz fakes a kick, then darts in to score with a straight left before backing out fast to avoid a left-right combination from Berry. They clinch, and Berry winds up backed against the cage. A couple of minor blows get exchanged, but it's turned into a bit of a stalemate. Kusmierz tries to push Berry back, but can't. The referee waits a while, then separates them and gets them to resume. They clinch. Kusmierz hits a knee. Body shot from Berry. Kusmierz goes for a second knee, but gets shoved away. He seems to stumble as he steps backward, and falls to the floor in an awkward moment. Berry is on him fast, and scores with a big punch that landed sweetly. Berry presses the advantage and starts wailing away, although most of the punches aren't landing very well. A few are though, and Kusmierz can't do much more than cover up. An elbow finds its way through, and looked like it landed on the bridge of the nose. Big right hand from Berry, who is expending a lot of energy on this attack. Kusmierz tries to grab a guillotine, but can't get it. Left hand, connects, from Berry. That landed hard on the chin, and that convinces the referee to get in and stop the match. A controversial decision. Official time of the TKO is 4:06 of the second. Winner: Robert Berry by T.K.O. @ 4:06 of R2 [b]Light Heavyweight Fight: James "The Messenger" Zikic (16-5-2) vs. Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo (9-1)[/b] Round 1 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 Zikic, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Zikic 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. Jimmo covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Jimmo looks to be working an angle. Low kick from Jimmo, 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 Zikic will take the round on points. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Zikic. Round 2 There's a few minor exchanges of punches to start the round, and Zikic gets the better of them. Neither fighter is throwing any bombs, but Zikic is showing the better technique, and has hit a few nice body shots. They come together again, and Zikic shows quick hands to get in three nice shots. Jimmo definitely felt them. Neither fighter seems interested in taking this to the ground, they're just circling, throwing a few punches, then regrouping. Jimmo is struggling to inflict much damage. He may need to switch tactics, as so far Zikic is looking very comfortable. Jimmo comes in with left, but Zikic saw it coming and slipped in a great right hand counter punch. Jimmo is getting frustrated. The remainder of the round is no different, as the occasional exchanges of strikes are clearly go the way of Zikic's superior technique. The second round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to Zikic by 10-9. Round 3 Zikic starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Jimmo. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Jimmo goes for a single leg and puts Zikic on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Jimmo from getting on top. Zikic definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Jimmo hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Zikic again. This time Zikic isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Jimmo will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Zikic defends. Jimmo tries to slip past to get side control, but Zikic just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Jimmo has the side. Two big elbows land, and Zikic seems in trouble. Jimmo 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 sees it 10-9 to Jimmo. The official scores are: 29-28 from all three judges for James Zikic. Winner: James Zikic by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) [b]Middleweight Fight: "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (19-9) vs. Chris Rice (13-6)[/b] Round 1 They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Professor X, providing the first moment of real action. Rice hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Professor X side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Rice 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 this round looks like it's going to the judges. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Rice. Round 2 Rice starts fast, coming out almost immediately with a three punch combination. None of them get through, and Professor X manages to squeeze a jab of his own through and score just above the left cheek. They exchange a flurry of blows right in the center, it's difficult to see who got the best of it, and both of them retreat a few steps to recover. Good start to the round, early indications are that this is going to be all about the striking, neither fighter has even hinted at going for a takedown. Professor X uses a low kick to set up a nice right hand, and Rice is forced back against the cage. Professor X picks his shots and gets a big punch to the body in. Rice uses a couple of looping punches to make Professor X keep back, but it doesn't last for long, as Professor X bursts forward and hits two big right hands, taking a counter punch to the body though, and they wind up in a clinch. They exchange weak-looking blows from that position, before the referee grows tired of the inactivity and breaks them apart. Rice scores with a low kick. They both seem to be looking for an opening, and it's creating a stalemate at the moment. Professor X unwinds a right hook that narrowly misses. That will be the last action of the round though. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Professor X by 10-9. Round 3 Rice works an angle and comes in from the side of Professor X, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Professor X hits a low kick to back Rice against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Rice fights out and the action returns to the center. They clinch. Professor X hits a knee. Body shot from Rice. Professor X goes for a second knee, but gets shoved away. He seems to stumble as he steps backward, and falls to the floor in an awkward moment. Rice is on him fast, and scores with a big punch that landed sweetly. Rice is firing off punches while kneeling across Professor X's upper body in a half-mount, and there's not a lot Professor X can do about it. He needs to get out of there, or at least pull guard, but can do neither as he can't get his hips free. Rice rains down the punches even faster, and Professor X is just getting pounded into oblivion; even though he managed to block three quarters of the shots coming in, that's still five or six good shots that have gotten through. Those five or six shots are enough for the referee at any rate, as he calls an end to the match, obviously feeling that Professor X was getting overwhelmed by that barrage. Rice wins via TKO at 2:53 of the third round. Winner: Chris Rice by T.K.O. @ 2:53 of R3 [b]Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: Matt Fiordirosa (10-1) vs. Robbie "The Flame" Olivier (16-8-1)[/b] Round 1 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 Fiordirosa, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Fiordirosa 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. Olivier covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Fiordirosa tries to back Olivier up against the cage wall, but it comes to nothing. Low kick from Olivier, 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 Fiordirosa will take the round on points. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Fiordirosa. Round 2 The two fighters touch gloves as the round begins. Olivier starts brightly, throwing out a series of jabs and raking punches, but Fiordirosa is too light on his feet and avoids all of them. Fiordirosa steps in and hits a lovely overhand right, then a low kick to the outside of the thigh. Olivier throws a vicious right cross, but Fiordirosa goes under it and catches Olivier with a scathing left hand to the gut. The next few minutes follow a very similar pattern; Fiordirosa using his excellent movement to 'hit and run', coming in from a variety of angles to score with crisp punches, dodging out of the way of Olivier's counters. Olivier is being made to look sluggish by comparison, and the amount of punches that Fiordirosa has landed in comparison to him is becoming huge. None of them have been particularly big punches, certainly nothing likely to end a fight, but the sheer number of them must be hurting Olivier. Olivier finally hits a meaningful blow, catching Fiordirosa coming in with a low kick. Fiordirosa still gets a crisp jab in though, and is back out of range before Olivier can apply a second strike. The round comes to an end with Fiordirosa having dominated. End of round 2. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fiordirosa. Round 3 Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Fiordirosa puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Olivier defended well. Straight right from Olivier in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Fiordirosa probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Olivier gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Fiordirosa. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fiordirosa. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Matt Fiordirosa. Winner: Matt Fiordirosa by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) [b]Middleweight Fight: Andrei "White Shark" Semenov (28-9-2) vs. Zelg "Benkei" Galesic (10-4)[/b] Round 1 Semenov works an angle and comes in from the side of Galesic, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Galesic hits a low kick to back Semenov against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Semenov fights out and the action returns to the center. Semenov makes Galesic back up against the cage by throwing some looping punches. He comes in closer and hits a right hook to the body, getting a jab to the cheek in return. Semenov throws another two punches, both to the body, then steps back to avoid an uppercut. Galesic lets fly with a scorching punch though, and it catches Semenov by surprise, putting him down! Galesic follows up and starts raining down right hands. Semenov covers up as best he can, but it's not enough as the referee pulls Galesic off, the match is over. Official time of the TKO is 2:39 of the first. Winner: Zelg Galesic by T.K.O. @ 2:39 of R1 Featherweight Tournament Round One Fight: Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) vs. Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato (24-12-1) Round 1 Fast start by Fabiano, who has thrown three crisp jabs in the first twenty seconds, although none of them got past the gloves. Sato circles, drawing a lunge from Fabiano, allowing him to score with a nice low kick to the front leg. Fabiano ignores that and darts in for a takedown, but only ends up holding one leg, Sato hopping on the other to remain vertical. Fabiano tries to push forward to complete the takedown, but Sato manages to pull them all the way back to the cage before ultimately going down. That's a much better position to be in though, he has his corner right there, and can use the cage to effectively cut off any form of attack to the left hand side of his body. Fabiano has one leg trapped between Sato's, and is struggling to get it free. He throws a couple of punches, none of them doing much damage, and then tries to work on one of the arms. It might be a kimura that he looking for. Sato defends it well, without fully escaping it, Fabiano can't really do a lot with it due to how much he is having to stretch to apply it, due to his leg being trapped. Sato suddenly releases the leg and scrambles up, looking to take Fabiano's back. Fabiano was ready for it though, and blocks it by pinning a half-standing Sato up against the cage. It's a precarious position for both fighters. Sato throws a couple of short-range punches. Fabiano gets a leg in and trips Sato, putting him back on the ground, albeit this time in full guard. It was a nice escape attempt from Sato, at least he can take heart from the fact that it resulted in a better defensive position. Time is running out, it looks like this round will end with them in this position. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Fabiano. Round 2 Sato hits the first punch of the round, scoring with a jab to the cheek. Fabiano throws a left hook in response, but it's well wide of the mark. Sato steps in and hits a low kick. Fabiano ignores it and shoots in for a takedown. Sato saw it coming though, and defends it brilliantly, sprawling at first, then pushing Fabiano face-down to the ground so that he can take his back. Fabiano turtles up. Sato hits a couple of hard shots to the body, but can't stop Fabiano working his way up and turning over, pulling guard. Sato tries to grab an arm to work a submission, but Fabiano is defending it well by using short, sharp strikes to keep him back. Sato tries to pass the guard, but has no luck. A punch from Sato connects, but there was no real power behind it. Sato fakes Fabiano out cleverly, and slips to a half mount. Fabiano manages to hit a firm elbow, then is forced to defend the full mount attempt. Sato switches tactics and tries to work a kimura on the other arm, but Fabiano blocks it, squirms his leg free, and secures the guard again. Sato looks frustrated at losing the half mount after having worked so hard to get it in the first place. Fabiano is liable to lose the round on points, but he has done a fine job of defending the submissions attempts so far. Sato tries to secure a leglock, but the guard is tight and Fabiano is safe. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Sato. Round 3 Exchange of strikes to start. Fabiano suddenly shoots in and gets a takedown, ending up in guard. Sato keeps the guard high. Fabiano half-stands and throws a big right hand, narrowly missing the mark. Another punch connects, but Fabiano leans into it too much and Sato brings his legs up and closes them around the arm. It's Fabiano now on the defensive, trying to get out of the armbar attempt. He gets in close to stop any pressure being applied, but that allows Sato to sweep him from that position. A scramble for position ends with the situation being completely reversed, with Sato on top in Fabiano's guard. Sato stands into a half-crouching position, dragging Fabiano's guard with him. Fabiano reaches up, parries away a couple of strikes, and tries to grab an arm to apply an armbar to. Sato knocks the attempt away and nails a hard shot to the ribs before reaching over and trying to nail a downward punch to the chin. Fabiano blocks it. Sato floats over and gets into side control. Fabiano scrambles to try and get back up, but is too close to the cage, which works against him. Sato lays in a couple of punches to the chest to soften Fabiano up, then tries to move up and isolate one of the arms. Fabiano makes sure to bring his body around to give him as much protection as possible. It works, as Sato can't get either arm isolated properly. Sato changes tactics and tries to get into crucifix position. Fabiano fights it for as long as he possibly can, but eventually gets caught. The length of struggle is, in itself, a good defence though, as the round ends before Sato can do anything with the position he has achieved, which will frustrate him enormously. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Sato by 10-9. The three judges all give the match as 29-28 to Rumina Sato. Winner: Rumina Sato by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) [b]Middleweight Fight: David "The Crow" Loiseau (18-9) vs. Kalib Starnes (9-3)[/b] Round 1 Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Loiseau works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with Starnes backed up against the cage. Loiseau gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by Starnes, who uses his legs well to defend. Loiseau pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. Starnes gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Loiseau follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Loiseau hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. Starnes tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. Starnes leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Loiseau. Round 2 Right hand from Loiseau was thrown with power, but bounced off the gloves of Starnes. Loiseau follows up by coming in close, but Starnes is ready with a straight right hand that glances off the side of the head. Loiseau throws a right hand, narrowly missing. Starnes almost seems to be inviting him on to throw punches, he could be trying to lure him into over-committing. Loiseau throws a jab that connects, albeit without much power, but it causes Starnes to back up quickly, back toward the cage. Loiseau comes in quickly, throwing looping punches, but gets reckless and Starnes grabs the opportunity by nailing a big right cross! Loiseau collapses in a heap, his left leg buckling underneath him in at an awkward angle. Starnes has knocked him out cold with a killer punch. Starnes wins via knock out at 1:29 of the second round. Winner: Kalib Starnes by KTFO!! @ 1:29 of R2 [b]Welterweight Fight: Paul "Semtex" Daley (19-7-2) vs. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-11)[/b] Round 1 Tentative start to the round by both fighters, neither looks willing to commit themselves and make the first mistake. Daley stalks Baroni, working him back toward the cage. There's an exchange of strikes...and Daley is down! Baroni goes to finish it, but gets sucked into the guard position. Replays show that Baroni stunned Daley with a nice straight right to the cheek during the earlier flurry, and that's what dropped him. Baroni almost gets caught in a surprise armbar, leaving his arm in for far too long after a punch. Daley tries to twist it while wrapping his legs around it, but Baroni pulls free, and it allows him an opportunity to get side control due to Daley's legs being out of position. He lies across Daley's chest. Daley has locked up Baroni's right shoulder well, it's preventing him from doing much. Baroni drives a knee into the ribs, but can't generate much force. Baroni tries to spin around and get into north and south position, but Daley blocks it by tenaciously holding onto the right arm. Baroni uses his legs to break Daley's arms apart and trap the right one. It's a semi-crucifix position, Daley is quite exposed. Fortunately for him then time expires before Baroni can turn it into a better attacking opportunity. End of round 1. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Baroni. Round 2 Slow start, Baroni looks content to sit back and let Daley commit himself, perhaps looking to capitalise on any mistake. Daley does indeed commit himself, and it's to throw a big right hand, and it hits hard into the gloves, forcing Baroni to back up against the cage. Daley steps in and unleashes a second, but this time Baroni was ready and a right hand counter hits Daley, who is leaning in to his own punch, right on the chin. Daley goes down, stunned. Baroni dives in and hits a beauty of a right hand, but gets sucked into the guard before he can do any more damage. Good recovery from Daley. Baroni rains down three big punches, Daley covers up and doesn't take too much damage. Baroni works one leg free, but Daley has the other tightly wrapped up between his own. Baroni fires off three rapid-fire elbows to the ribs to try and soften Daley up, but can't get the leg free. This is not a good position for Daley though, and Baroni is looking dangerous. Baroni pushes down, then brings his free leg forward to drive a knee into the lower back. Daley can't do a lot to stop that strike. Baroni hits a further knee, and that is enough to allow him to move into side control. Daley is in huge trouble here. Elbow to the face, only partially blocked. Baroni briefly gets a forearm across the throat of Daley, but it is knocked away before it can develop into a choke. Daley tries to scramble out of it, and almost manages to pull guard again, but Baroni maintains side control. Knee to the ribs again. Daley is taking a lot of punishment from those knee strikes. Baroni switches tactic and tries to grab an arm lock of some kind, Daley almost got caught by surprise but not quite. The round is almost over, and there is no question that this round has gone to Baroni, it has been utter dominance. Daley tries to get a knee strike of his own in, but it misses and Baroni responds with a hard elbow to the chest. That'll be the last action of the round. The second round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Baroni. Round 3 Baroni isn't hanging around, right from the start Daley is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Daley circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but Baroni 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 Baroni, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Daley is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. Baroni really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Daley was wide open for a moment there. Baroni hits a high kick, catching Daley on the shoulder. Jab from Daley finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. Baroni fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Daley scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of Baroni, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Baroni. Phil Baroni wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges. Winner: Phil Baroni by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]Cage Rage World Heavyweight Title Fight: Tengiz Tedoradze (c) (24-8-1) vs. Stav "Crazy Bear" Economou (8-0)[/b] Winner and NEW Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion: Stav Economou by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) [b]RAW Welterweight Title Fight: Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (c) (17-2) vs. Ryan "The Real Deal" Ford (9-1)[/b] Winner and NEW RAW Welterweight Champion: Ryan Ford by T.K.O. @ 0:27 of R3 [b]OOC[/b] Unfortunately I've been using Notepad which doesn't have an auto-save feature (or spell check!) to jot down results and sadly my computer crashed halfway through taking the results, hence the missing reports for the main event and penultimate fight. This kinda threw me off a bit, but I'm happy to continue the legacy now.

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