SIGMA - Rise of European MMA

batsnumbereleven · October 22, 2013

Monday 1st January 1998

Press Release

Signature Martial Arts welcomes Scott Avatar as the new CEO of the company this morning. Mr Avatar has no previous experience managing a Mixed Martial Arts company, but has a reputation for being good at spotting talent and negotiating contracts, which we hope will help him lead SIGMA into the next century as the leading MMA organisation in Europe and in a position to challenge the likes of ALPHA-1 and GAMMA as the place for the best fighters in the world to compete.

Mr Avatar's first task will be to ensure the company as a viable, profit-making concern. There is money in the bank to enable this, but SIGMA must become a self-sustaining entity.

SIGMA Directors

Blurcat.com

At a press conference today, Scott Avatar, the new CEO of Signature Martial Arts (SIGMA) made his first statements to the media. Mr Avatar was well spoken and addressed several topics.

On the subject of the first event under his management, Mr Avatar indicated that an announcement would be made very shortly. He indicated that he would evaluate the current roster before making any decisions about the future, and declined to comment on specific individuals.

Asked about new signings, Mr Avatar indicated that nothing should be expected until at least after the next event, but that whilst he had confidence in the existing roster, there was no doubt that some signings would be necessary, simply to ensure that the cream of young European Martial Artists were brought under contract to SIGMA.

batsnumbereleven · October 22, 2013

Introduction

This is a SIGMA diary using the default database but with around 400 additional fighters from various sources, including around 100 that I've created profiles and background for using Renders from the Mods thread. I've also incorporated a number of organisations that can debut at any time (again, culled from various mods) The only other change that I've made is to increase the finances of KDM FC so that they have a chance of survival.

I've run a Lucky Dip for Scott Avatar, which has given him 6 in Negotiating and in Eye for Talent, but 0 in Match Making and in Promotion!

I've also decided upon some hiring restrictions. As SIGMA starts as a Mid Level Regional company, I can only hire European fighters for now. Once I make High Level Regional, I will be allowed to hire Russian, British and Irish fighters. At Mid Level National I can hire Middle Eastern and North African fighters, and at Low Level International, the hiring restrictions are lifted. There's no restriction on re-signing existing fighters though.

No fighters will be signed until after the first show, to allow other organisations first shot at filling any gaps in their rosters.

Finally, I'll post the news for the first month and a preview for the first show shortly, but the report/results for the first show won't come for a few days (I'm away on holiday <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ). Feel free to post predictions for the first show though.

batsnumbereleven · October 22, 2013

Tuesday 2nd January 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Press Release Signature Martial Arts is proud to announce its next feast of MMA. To be held on Friday 26th January, in Bremen, Germany, it will be styled SIGMA 1: Boniek v Papaioannou, and will be the first main event for our feature Heavyweight division, as SIGMA Heavyweight champion Grzegorz Boniek puts his title on the line against Greece's star wrestler, Stratos 'Atlas' Papaioannou. The co-main event will see a Featherweight bout between two former boxers with Ireland's Colm Dee and England's Manish Khan facing off, hoping to position themselves for a shot at the title, currently held by Lars Bohlin. Also on the card, Russian kickboxer Gavriil Sviridov will take on Belgium's Koenraad Belien in the Light-Heavyweight division, Frenchman Bixente Fontaine will take on unbeaten Norwegian Middleweight Tore Herlovsen, two wrestlers - Bjarne Bjerre and Viacheslav Chaliapin - will do battle at Welterweight, and promising Czech Lightweight sambo specialist Lubos Plasil will defend his burgeoning unbeaten record against Bremen's own prodigy Harald Hubner. Running order for the undercard is still to be decided.</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Blurcat.com Following the announcement of SIGMA 1: Boniek v Papaioannou, Scott Avatar, newly-appointed CEO for SIGMA remarked: "It is fitting that our new era of MMA begins with our top two Heavyweights headlining. We've got a lot of talented fighters, all who are itching to take a chance to show their skills off in the SIGMA cage." When pressed to pick a winner on the evening, Mr Avatar demurred, merely advising that "the undercard will be worth watching - there are a lot of different styles there, not to mention a home-town hero". </div></blockquote> Card for picks: SIGMA 1 Grzegorz Boniek © v Stratos Papaioannou Colm Dee v Manish Khan Lubos Plasil v Harald Hubner Gavriil Sviridov v Koenraad Belien Bjarne Bjerre v Viacheslav Chaliapin Bixente Fontaine v Tore Herlovsen

CageRage · October 23, 2013

SIGMA 1

Grzegorz Boniek © v Stratos Papaioannou

Colm Dee v Manish Khan

Lubos Plasil v Harald Hubner

Gavriil Sviridov v Koenraad Belien

Bjarne Bjerre v Viacheslav Chaliapin

Bixente Fontaine v Tore Herlovsen

batsnumbereleven · October 23, 2013

News and Notes from around the MMA world: January 1998

Signings

ALPHA-1: -

GAMMA: -

BCF: Sid Morgan, Jonathan Rice, Felix Mudd, Dave Shanahan, William Powell, Marcos Mendoza, Rupert Lennox, Ron Chuckle.

FLB: Laerte Portinari, Nazario Pessao, Helton Nascimento, Gustavo Bautista

XCC: David James Diggle, Joel Adams, Lamont Banner, Rory McEnterry, Marcus Speed, Greg Grable, Daniel Ortiz

WEFF: Giana Russo, Debra Everett, Piper Evergood, Kirsten Page, Stella Massey, Henrietta Stein

KDMFC: Nabib Sri Aziz bin Zai, Tan Su, Bae Yoon,

Events

FLB 7: Blown Away took place on Saturday 27th January and saw Manuel Silva (#5, 14-0) retain his Welterweight title against Gabriel Gallego (#11, 15-5)with a first round knockout. Elsewhere in the Welterweight division Ruy Mendes da Rocha (10-3) sprung an upset with a Unanimous Decision victory over #22 ranked Charles Stiles (14-3).

Other notable news

None

batsnumbereleven · October 28, 2013

Event report SIGMA 1: Boniek v Papaioannou Friday 26th January 1998 Stadthalle Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Attendance: 461 for a gate of $18,440 PPV Buys: N/A Bixente Fontaine (8-2) v Tore Herlovsen (4-0) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Next up is a match in which 'Thunder Foot' Bixente Fontaine squares off with 'The Ice Man' Tore Herlovsen in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Herlovsen counters a left jab by using a series of quick lefts. >Herlovsen counters a left jab by using a solid left. >Fontaine steps back to avoid a flurry of punches. >Herlovsen avoids a kick to the leg and hits a crisp jab. >Fontaine keeps out of range, assessing the situation. >Not letting Fontaine settle at all, Herlovsen comes in closer. >Fontaine avoids a barrage of big right hands. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Herlovsen keeps out of range, assessing the situation. >Fontaine doesn't press the issue, allowing Herlovsen to circle. >Fontaine throws out a quick left jab. >Herlovsen quickly gets in closer, looking to attack. >Herlovsen counters a right kick to the legs with a solid left jab. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Herlovsen counters a left jab with a flurry of jabs and straight punches. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes, but neither scores. >Fontaine throws a looping punch, but Herlovsen avoids it. >The fight slows as Herlovsen sits back and allows Fontaine to circle. >Round one is brought to an end as time runs out. >Loud boos from the crowd can be heard, and after that round I'm really not surprised. >That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Herlovsen. >Round two begins! >Herlovsen scores with a solid left jab. >A straight left fails to land and Herlovsen is able to fire back with a nice left hand. >Herlovsen hits Fontaine with a nice left jab. >From the looks of it, that shot may have smashed the nose of Fontaine. >That's really going to affect his breathing. >Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything. >Herlovsen catches Fontaine with a solid left jab. >Fontaine feints rushing in, but Herlovsen doesn't fall for it. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Fontaine narrowly misses Herlovsen with a right uppercut. >Herlovsen doesn't press the issue, allowing Fontaine to circle. >A showdown where they both exchange strikes only results in a stalemate. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up clinched. >Herlovsen is trying to push Fontaine so that his back is up against the cage. >He does so, and now has Fontaine pinned to the cage. >Fontaine takes a knee strike to the inside of his own knee. >Herlovsen steps back from Fontaine and looks to unleash some strikes. >Herlovsen throws a wild right hand, but Fontaine covers up and absorbs the strike. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Fontaine circles away, creating some distance between them. >A body kick misses, giving Herlovsen an opening to score with a flurry of quick punches. >Round two ends as time expires. >That round goes to Herlovsen, 10-9 on my card. >We are back underway! >Judging from what we heard from his corner, Herlovsen is looking to hit and run in this round. >Fontaine feints going high, but Herlovsen doesn't buy it. >Herlovsen feints rushing in, but Fontaine doesn't fall for it. >Herlovsen steps back to avoid a left jab. >Both fighters throw strikes, no significant damage is inflicted by either. >Fontaine avoids a flurry of rights and lefts. >A straight left fails to land and Herlovsen is able to fire back with a series of quick punches. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >Stepping back, Fontaine creates a bit of distance. >Herlovsen throws a barrage of big rights but Fontaine is quick to move out of range. >A wayward low right kick allows Herlovsen to hit a solid left jab. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >There's a short stalemate as both fighters advance and throw strikes, but neither hits. >Fontaine circles as he plans his next move. >Herlovsen presses in closer to attack. >The fight comes to an end as the time limit expires. >I think Herlovsen took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >The judges' scores are now being announced. >All three judges have given 30-27. >The winner, by unanimous decision, is Tore Herlovsen! </div></blockquote>> Post-Fight: Fontaine confirms that he was ill in the run up to this fight, but refuses to blame the loss on that, instead giving credit to his opponent. >Official Result: 'The Ice Man' Tore Herlovsen defeats 'Thunder Foot' Bixente Fontaine (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Very Poor. Comments: Horrible, just horrible. I mean, fair on Fontaine for not blaming the illness for his poor performance, but he put in no effort and no offense at all. 19 strikes in 15 minutes, and not a one connected. Two fights left on his contract, and unless the next effort is much better he won't be getting re-signed, whether he wins or loses. Tough to fault Herlovsen for it, but doing “just enough” isn't going to get you any high profile fights in the near future. Bjarne Bjerre (3-1) v Viacheslav Chaliapin (6-2) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Next up is a match in which Bjarne Bjerre will take on Viacheslav 'The Winter Soldier' Chaliapin in the SIGMA Welterweight division. >The fight begins! >Bjerre avoids a flurry of rights and lefts. >A left jab misses and Chaliapin counters with a jab. >Bjerre moves out of range of a flurry of punches. >Bjerre counters a wayward left jab with a nice jab. >Chaliapin comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in. >Chaliapin can't get past the sprawl of Bjerre, and finds himself pushed face-down to the ground. >Bjerre fires away with right hands, and Chaliapin is stung by several big shots to the side of the head. >Chaliapin, turtled up, can do nothing to prevent Bjerre from taking his back. >Bjerre tries to stretch Chaliapin out for a rear naked choke. >With his opponent turtled tightly, Bjerre cannot get the rear naked choke applied. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Bjerre tries to get the hooks in and lock on a rear naked choke. >Chaliapin can't fight off the rear naked choke, and once he is flattened out he has to tap! >The winner, by submission; Bjarne Bjerre! </div></blockquote>> Official Result: Bjarne Bjerre defeats Viacheslav 'The Winter Soldier' Chaliapin (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:17 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Great performance by Bjerre. Capitalised on a bad mistake by Chaliapin in not getting the takedown when he went for it. Gavriil Sviridov (4-1) v Koenraad Belien (8-2) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Next up, Gavriil Sviridov squares off with Koenraad Belien in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division. >And here we go! >Sviridov throws a barrage of big right hands after using a feint to trick Belien into committing to a strike, but he moves out of range just in time. >Both fighters fire off strikes, but neither does any significant damage. >Sviridov explodes on Belien with a barrage of big right hands. >Belien gets caught with a barrage of big right hands from the pocket, and despite covering up is eventually knocked to the ground! >Sviridov quickly secures side control over his stunned opponent. >Sviridov fires off a few punches as he catches his breath. >In side control, Sviridov catches his breath, content just to throw a couple of punches to the body. >Belien tries a sweep from side control. >The sweep is successful, and both fighters scramble back to their feet. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Belien steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches. >Belien avoids a body kick. >Belien avoids a flurry of punches. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Sviridov looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Belien catches the advancing Sviridov by surprise with a takedown. >The clock runs down as Sviridov is being smothered against the ground by Belien. >The time is up, and that's the end of round one. >That round goes to Sviridov, 10-9 on my card. >And here we go, round two! >They exchange strikes, but neither fighter inflicts any real damage. >Belien backs away to create some more space. >Sviridov throws a leg kick but Belien avoids it. >Belien comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >Belien gets caught out and eats a stiff left jab. >They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot. >Moving in closer, Belien looks like he may want to wrestle Sviridov. >Belien can't get close enough to grapple, Sviridov keeps him away with strikes. >Belien avoids a body kick. >Sviridov looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Sviridov and Belien get closer, both looking eager to engage at close range. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Belien comes in, looking for a quick double leg takedown from close range. >Sviridov tries to strike first with a solid right hook, but isn't quick enough. >Sviridov gets taken down by a single leg, and has to pull guard. >Belien attempts to pass guard and gain a better position. >Sviridov can't do anything about the pass, and is left under side control. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Belien pounds away with elbows from side control, but is unable to land many clean shots on Sviridov. >Belien begins trying to get himself into mount. >Belien shows his ground skills and slips to mount. >Belien pounds away from the mount, and Sviridov struggles to deal with them. >The referee leaps in and stops the fight! >Most of the fans are booing loudly now, that really was a very premature stoppage and Sviridov is quite rightly furious! >Koenraad Belien takes the victory by way of TKO! </div></blockquote>> Official Result: Koenraad Belien defeats Gavriil Sviridov (TKO (Strikes) in 4:59 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Not sure I agree with Sviridov and the crowd here, but with bare seconds left in the round, the ref might have let it go just a little. Good performance from Belien to recover from the knock down in the first round and to get the fight to the ground where he was clearly more comfortable. Belien would like to fight Jacob Matthaus next, but I'm not sure that facing a wrestler will give us a good fight... we'll see. Lubos Plasil (4-0) v Harald Hubner (5-1) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Moving on, Lubos 'The Experiment' Plasil fights Harald 'Hammer' Hubner in the SIGMA Lightweight division. >The fight begins! >A jab misses, allowing Plasil to counter-strike with a crisp jab. >Plasil shoots in, looking for a takedown. >Hubner attempts to avoid Plasil as he shoots in. >The takedown is successful, Hubner pulls guard. >Plasil starts trying to work to get past the guard. >Hubner finds his opponent too skilled, and Plasil passes guard into side control. >Plasil tries to lock Hubner in an arm triangle. >The arm triangle is locked in, tight enough that Hubner has to tap out! >Lubos Plasil takes the victory by way of submission!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: Lubos 'The Experiment' Plasil defeats Harald 'Hammer' Hubner (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 2:10 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Great work by Plasil, but Hubner obviously wasn't good enough. Plasil would like to fight Karate expert Rudonja next, which is a possibility if their schedules work out. Co-main Event Manish Khan (8-1) v Colm Dee (12-2) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>The co-main event is up next. 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan fights Colm 'The Celtic Warrior' Dee in the SIGMA Featherweight division. >Round one begins! >A straight left fails to land and Khan is able to fire back with a barrage of big right hands, knocking Dee down! >Khan senses victory and starts to unload with punches! >Khan pounds away with punches and Dee is having trouble doing anything about it! >The referee is forced to jump in and stop the match! >The winner, by TKO, is 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan defeats Colm 'The Celtic Warrior' Dee (TKO (Strikes) in 0:40 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: 40 seconds...hmm... whoever we put Dee up against next, we probably need to protect that chin a bit. Khan has made a decent case for a title shot, but we'll see whether he has the best case. Main Event SIGMA Heavyweight Championship Grzegorz Boniek © (33-4) v Stratos Papaioannou (26-5) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'Polish Power' Grzegorz Boniek fights Stratos 'Atlas' Papaioannou in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >This is a SIGMA Heavyweight title fight. >There's the opening bell! >Boniek avoids a flurry of punches and hits a clean left. >Boniek comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Papaioannou. >Papaioannou ends up grappling for supremacy with Boniek. >Boniek is looking to muscle Papaioannou back against the cage. >He does so, and now has Papaioannou pinned to the cage. >Boniek breaks the grapple and prepares to launch some strikes at Papaioannou. >Papaioannou shows good head movement to avoid getting caught with a jab. >Boniek backs away to create some more space. >Boniek uses a right hook to the body, but misses. >Papaioannou doesn't let Boniek settle, stepping in closer to impose himself. >Papaioannou shoots in, looking for a takedown. >Papaioannou can't get the takedown, Boniek defended it well. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Boniek is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Papaioannou. >Papaioannou tries to counter by dropping down and going for a single leg, but Boniek defended it well. >Boniek looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Papaioannou. >Papaioannou tries to single leg Boniek as he moves forward, but he is too quick to step away. >Papaioannou comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >Papaioannou doesn't get the takedown, Boniek was equal to it and pulls them into a clinch. >Boniek is trying to muscle Papaioannou up against the cage. >Boniek achieves it, pinning Papaioannou to the cage. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Papaioannou is trapped up against the cage and takes repeated small punches to the body from that position. The round ends like that. >The time runs out on round one. >I think Boniek took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >And here we go, round two! >A flurry of punches miss Boniek and allow him to counter-strike with a solid left. >Boniek looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >Boniek grapples with Papaioannou, who made no attempt to escape. >Boniek tries to throw some close-range strikes as they grapple, but the attempts are smothered by Papaioannou. >Using his wrestling skills, Boniek is trying to push Papaioannou up against the cage. >He does so, and now has Papaioannou pinned to the cage. >Boniek tries to hit Papaioannou with a knee strike, but Papaioannou takes the opportunity to switch it around so that he is in control and Boniek is the one backed against the cage. >Papaioannou has worked in the underhooks and looks to take Boniek down. >Boniek digs in and manages to defend the takedown. >Circling out, Boniek breaks free of Papaioannou and regroups in the center. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Boniek comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Papaioannou. >Boniek grapples with Papaioannou, who made no attempt to escape. >Boniek tries to wrestle Papaioannou backward and up against the cage. >Boniek achieves it, pinning Papaioannou to the cage. >Papaioannou is pressed up against the cage and simply can't break the control that Boniek has over him. This goes on for about thirty seconds. >Papaioannou waits for Boniek to try some dirty boxing, then quickly uses wrestling to turn him around so that he now has his back to the cage. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Papaioannou has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take Boniek to the ground. >Boniek keeps his composure, and Papaioannou cannot get past his takedown defence. >Grzegorz Boniek is looking really tired. >Stratos Papaioannou is looking really tired. >Boniek uses a whizzer to half turn Papaioannou, creating enough space for him to break away from the grapple and return to the center. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >I think Boniek took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >There's the bell and round number three begins! >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits. >Slowly moving in closer, a ragged-looking Boniek wants to wrestle Papaioannou. >He pulls Papaioannou into a grapple. >Boniek is looking to muscle Papaioannou back against the cage. >Boniek manages it, and controls Papaioannou up against the cage. >Boniek pins Papaioannou up against the cage and uses dirty boxing to inflict some damage. >Boniek tries to hit Papaioannou with an elbow, but Papaioannou takes the opportunity to switch it around so that he is in control and Boniek is the one backed against the cage. >Grzegorz Boniek looks very, very tired. >Papaioannou tries to hit Boniek with an elbow, but Boniek takes the opportunity to switch it around so that he is in control and Papaioannou is the one backed against the cage. >Boniek smothers Papaioannou against the cage, then uses his dirty boxing skills to his advantage. >Boniek uses dirty boxing to punish Papaioannou while he is pressed up against the cage. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Boniek has worked in the underhooks and looks to take Papaioannou down. >Boniek gets the takedown by using the underhooks for control and working a trip! Papaioannou pulls guard. >Stratos Papaioannou looks like he is on the verge of exhaustion. >Boniek smothers Papaioannou with his body by pushing forward and down. >Grzegorz Boniek looks like he is almost out on his feet with exhaustion. >Boniek is trying to pass guard. >He passes to side control. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Boniek tries to ensnare Papaioannou in an armbar. >Papaioannou fights off the armbar attempt. >Boniek blocks Papaioannou as he tries a transition to guard. >Boniek relinquishes side control and stands up, letting Papaioannou stand too. >The time runs out on round three. >That round goes to Boniek, 10-9 on my card. >There's the bell and round number four begins! >Boniek waits out a flurry of punches and then hits two hard right hands! >Papaioannou is on wobbly legs, he almost fell over as he attempted to back off! >Boniek starts throwing a barrage of big punches to try and finish, but Papaioannou covers up and weathers the storm well. >A visibly tired Boniek is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Papaioannou. >Boniek can't get close enough to grapple, Papaioannou makes sure to keep out of range. >A straight left by Papaioannou keeps Boniek from advancing. >Time slips away as Boniek doesn't press Papaioannou, allowing him to circle. >Slowly moving in closer, a ragged-looking Boniek wants to wrestle Papaioannou. >Papaioannou ends up grappling for supremacy with Boniek. >Boniek tries to wrestle Papaioannou backward and up against the cage. >Boniek manages it, and controls Papaioannou up against the cage. >Stratos Papaioannou looks totally gassed. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Unable to break free, Papaioannou is smothered up against the cage, taking short blows to the body, for about thirty seconds. >Papaioannou waits for Boniek to try some dirty boxing, then quickly uses wrestling to turn him around so that he now has his back to the cage. >Papaioannou looks for a knee strike, but Boniek out-wrestles him and switches them around so that he is in the dominant position. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Boniek tries to use his dirty boxing skills, but Papaioannou uses wrestling to prevent any strikes from being launched. >Boniek tries to keep him pressed up against the cage with wrestling, but Papaioannou isn't allowing it. >Papaioannou tries to slip on a guillotine choke, but can't quite hook it. >Papaioannou waits for Boniek to throw a knee strike, then uses wrestling to turn him around so that Boniek now has his back to the cage. >The time runs out on round four. >I think Boniek took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >And here we go, round five! >An errant jab sets Papaioannou up to counter-strike with a jab. >Boniek catches Papaioannou moving in with a jab. >Papaioannou avoids a quick jab and hits a left. >Moving in closer, a tired-looking Papaioannou apparently wants to strike from the pocket. >Boniek lets Papaioannou get closer. >A visibly tired Boniek is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Papaioannou. >Papaioannou ends up grappling for supremacy with Boniek. >Boniek is trying to muscle Papaioannou up against the cage. >Boniek does it, Papaioannou is stuck with his back to the cage. >We move into the second half of this round. >Unable to get free, Papaioannou is smothered up against the cage for about sixty seconds. >Boniek tries to use his dirty boxing skills, but Papaioannou uses wrestling to prevent any strikes from being launched. >Showing how good he can be at controlling opponents, Boniek keeps Papaioannou stuck against the cage for about thirty seconds. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Boniek has worked in the underhooks and looks to take Papaioannou down. >A sweep of the legs is successful, Papaioannou has to pull guard. >Boniek throws a few right hands to the body. >The time expires on round five, and that is the end of the fight. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Boniek. >Here come the official scores. >All three judges give 50-45. >Making 'Polish Power' Grzegorz Boniek the winner by unanimous decision!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'Polish Power' Grzegorz Boniek defeats Stratos 'Atlas' Papaioannou (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 5). The match was rated as being Poor. Comments: The right winner, as the champ was clearly the better man, but not the most enthralling fight – consistent grind up against the cage doesn't make for pretty viewing and I'm a bit surprised we didn't get more reaction from the crowd. Show summary Critical rating: Decent Commercial success: Great Fight of the Night: Belien v Sviridov Knockout of the Night: Manish Khan Submission of the Night: Lubos Plasil Comments: Decent enough for a first show – the great middle bouts made up for the shocking opener and underwhelming finale.

batsnumbereleven · October 28, 2013

Prediction results

CageRage 5/6

Injury report

Gavriil Sviridov suffered an elbow injury and is out for 1-2 months.

Tore Herlovsen will miss 2-6 months with a foot injury.

Bixente Fontaine picked up injuries to both his neck and his face, but it is the latter that will keep him out longest, possibly up to six months.

Sviridov, Huber and Viacheslav both picked up 2 month medical suspensions from the doctor, and Colm Dee picked up 4 months – one for each ten seconds of his fight, I suppose.

End of month finances

A loss of $11k on turnover of $38k isn't great, but with $2.5 million in the bank it's not a concern and we've plenty of time to turn a profit.

batsnumbereleven · October 28, 2013

Monday 1st February 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Press Release Signature Martial Arts announces the signing of the following fighters to the roster, each to standard SIGMA 5 fight/51 month contracts: Heavyweight: German boxer Bastian Neske (2-0) Light Heavyweight: 22-year-old Spanish kickboxer Andoni Olano and Norwegian Emil Karlsson (1-0) Middleweight: 27-year-old German veteran striker Franz Ludwig (10-7) Welterweight: Kickboxer Benni Peyroux (1-0) from Bordeaux, France. Lightweight: French Taekwondo expert Alain Saul (1-0), and 24-year-old German boxer Dieter Kolzig (2-0) </div></blockquote>

batsnumbereleven · October 28, 2013

Tuesday 2nd February 1998

Press Release

Signature Martial Arts is pleased to announce that SIGMA 2 will take place on Friday 26th February 1998 and will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight title bout between our champion, Croatian kick boxer Nico Soldo and powerful Belorussian wrestler Nicolai Mickiewicz. The event will take place at the Ostragehege in Dresden.

The co-main event will see Berliner Uwe Maier take on the “Super Eagle”, Nigerian wrestler Casim Yenkini at Middleweight.

Other bouts on the evening will see two unbeaten Heavyweights clash, as New Zealand's Kurt McDonald takes on Muscovite sambo artist Aleksander Ivanov, Polish Welterweight Piotr Dabrowski face Italian Carmelo Rossi, Vladimir Baskov and Rodolphe Gygax meet at Lightweight, and Featherweights Alvaro Negredo from Spain and Iceland's Snorri Gunnarsson put their diverse styles to the test.

SIGMA CEO Scott Avatar said: "This should be a fine test for our champion, and these guys have shown in the past that they deserve to headline a key card for us as we continue our evaluation of talent and assessment of priorities."

Card for picks:

Nico Soldo © v Nicolai Mickiewicz

Uwe Maier v Casim Yenkini

Kurt McDonald v Aleksander Ivanov

Piotr Dabrowski v Carmelo Rossi

Vladimir Baskov v Rodolphe Gygax

Alvaro Negredo v Snorri Gunnarsson

CageRage · October 28, 2013

Nico Soldo © v Nicolai Mickiewicz

Uwe Maier v Casim Yenkini

Kurt McDonald v Aleksander Ivanov

Piotr Dabrowski v Carmelo Rossi

Vladimir Baskov v Rodolphe Gygax

Alvaro Negredo v Snorri Gunnarsson

batsnumbereleven · October 29, 2013

News and Notes from around the MMA world: February 1998

Signings

ALPHA-1: -

GAMMA: -

BCF: -

FLB: Selton de Oliveira, Ilson de Lima

XCC: -

WEFF: Thea Higgins, Mio Mochizuki, Shauna Underwood, Junko Yamada

KDMFC: Yee Tsuji, Min-Soo Sik

Events

XCC presented Maclean v Vaughan on Friday 5th February, where in a good main event, the challenger Sarah Vaughan took the title from Hester Maclean in the 5th round with an Arm Triangle submission, and extended her record to 9-0. In the co-main between world ranked Featherweights, Luiz Machado (#9, 23-4) defeated Atlanta, Georgia's Easton Frye (#11, 13-5) by Armbar in the 2nd round.

Tuesday 9th February saw KDMFC's latest event, with Atep of Indonesia (#22, 9-0) shocking the world by ending the reign of undefeated Lightweight legend Sukarno (#1, 23-1) and taking the KDMFC Lightweight title into the bargain. The two Indonesian warriors put on a good show across the five round contest, but the challenger was much sharper in the stand-up, outstriking Sukarno 51-10, and was sufficiently resistant on the ground, successfully defending 4 submission attacks and absorbing some 20+ ground strikes to take a Unanimous Judges decision.

ALPHA-1 held their latest event on Saturday 13th February, with a main event pitting Middleweight champion Heijo Endo (#14) against Mal Phe Roby (#22). The champion retained by Unanimous decision to move to 13-1. Elsewhere on the card, Armenian Heavyweight Armen Sarksisian (#4, 23-2) defeated Hiro Arai (#14, 14-5) by TKO towards the end of the 1st round.

On the same night, GAMMA 22: Morrison v Gleeson took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Lightweight champion Sean Morrison (#2, 28-3) overcoming Truck Gleeson (#10, 21-5-1NC) by Rear Naked Choke to retain in Round 1. Other ranked fighters to win included Dexter Darling, Junior Patinkin and Rufus Stephens, who beat Adam White, Bill Cumming and Peter Bracewell respectively, whilst #21 Welterweight Jim Carpenter lost by TKO to Canadian Bobby Brubaker.

WEFF 4 took place on Monday 15th February. Women's #1 Bantamweight Michelle Adams extended her perfect record to 8 wins in defending her WEFF Lightweight title against #5 Vicki Summers by TKO in just 1:35 of the first round. Meanwhile, the #2 ranked fighter, Erica Page was submitted by #24 Lisa Labone (4-0) in an upset.

On Wednesday 17th February, BCF: Keane v O'Breen saw Seth O'Breen (#23, 13-0) wrest the BCF lightweight title from Jake Keane (#6, 22-5) by TKO in the 5th round. The former champ will be disappointed as he had much the better of the first four rounds, but wasn't able to put the Irishman away.

Other notable news

Retirements: Noah Musch (28-17) 40 years old, Adam Kennedy (4-15-1) 27 years old, Rashid Challow (3-17) 27 years old, Lee Bould (16-9) 33 years old, Kevin Portman (9-5) 33 years old, Bence Bodor (34-18) 41 years old

batsnumbereleven · October 29, 2013

Event report

SIGMA 2: Soldo v Mickiewicz

Friday 26th February 1998

Ostragehege, Dresden, Germany.

Attendance: 464 for a gate of $18,560

PPV Buys: N/A

Alvaro Negredo (#17, 19-9) v Snorri Gunnarsson (#7, 20-4-1NC)

>Next up is a match in which Alvaro 'The Hornet' Negredo goes up against Snorri Gunnarsson in the SIGMA Featherweight division.
>Round one begins!
>An errant jab sets Negredo up to counter-strike with a kick to the inside of the left thigh.
>Gunnarsson slips out of the way of a leg kick.
>Gunnarsson just slips out of the way of a flurry of strikes, having been off balance after falling for a feint.
>Gunnarsson chooses to shoot in on Negredo.
>A good sprawl stops the takedown, and Gunnarsson is brought down to the mat in a loose front facelock.
>Negredo tries to roll Gunnarsson and get a side mount, but can't do it.
>Taking advantage of a pause, Gunnarsson stands up.
>A feint puts him off balance, but Gunnarsson is still able to slip out of the way of a body kick.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Gunnarsson comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket.
>Negredo tries to counter Gunnarsson with a huge right hand, but it doesn't hit the target.
>Negredo slips past a left jab and fires back with a left jab to the cheek.
>Gunnarsson throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Negredo.
>Negredo tries to time a counter right hand, but can't get it.
>The takedown is completed, Negredo is on his back and pulls guard.
>Gunnarsson pounds away with right hands from the guard and Negredo is in big trouble!
>Gunnarsson pounds away from the guard, but Negredo isn't troubled by the strikes.
>Negredo tries to pull Gunnarsson in close and smother him, but doesn't get anywhere with it.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Gunnarsson throws a few weak-looking punches as he decides on his next move.
>Gunnarsson attempts to pass guard.
>Gunnarsson is too much for Negredo, passing guard and gaining side control.
>Round one is brought to an end as time runs out.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Gunnarsson.

>There's the bell and round number two begins!
>Negredo throws a barrage of big right hands after using a feint to trick Gunnarsson into committing to a strike, but he moves out of range just in time.
>Gunnarsson fakes a shot, but gets no reaction from Negredo.
>Both fighters come in and exchange strikes, but neither does any damage.
>Both fighters exchange strikes, but neither hits anything significant.
>Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything.
>A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning.
>Gunnarsson steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches, having been off balance momentarily after a clever feint.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>A feint to the right gets Gunnarsson to move forward, and Negredo almost clips him with a massive overhand right.
>Negredo feints left and throws a flurry of punches but Gunnarsson is just able to avoid them.
>Negredo throws a left jab but Gunnarsson avoids it.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>A jab doesn't find its intended target, allowing Negredo to fire back with a hard leg kick.
>There's only so many of those strikes to the legs that can be taken before they become an issue.
>They both meet with strikes, but neither does any damage.
>Gunnarsson steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches, having been off balance momentarily after a clever feint.
>The time runs out on round two.
>Really bad round, there was a whole lot of nothing going on there.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Negredo.

>There's the bell and round number three begins!
>Both fighters throw strikes, no significant damage is inflicted by either.
>Negredo uses a feint to get Gunnarsson off balance, but the flurry of rights and lefts that follow don't find their mark.
>A feint sets up a body kick from Negredo, but Gunnarsson is able to move out of range in time.
>Negredo steps back to avoid a flurry of punches.
>Gunnarsson throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Negredo.
>Negredo tries to strike first with a solid right hook, but isn't quick enough.
>Gunnarsson drives forward, and despite the best efforts of Negredo to stay upright, the takedown is completed!
>Negredo winds up seated, his back to the cage, with Gunnarsson pressing onto him.
>Gunnarsson smothers Negredo up against the cage wall.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>The clock runs down as Negredo is being smothered against the cage wall by Gunnarsson.
>Gunnarsson starts trying to get Negredo on his back so that he can gain a better position.
>Gunnarsson shifts his position brilliantly to get mount!
>Gunnarsson pounds away on Negredo, landing several great shots that threaten to knock him out!
>The referee pulls Gunnarsson away, stopping the match!
>The winner, by TKO, is Snorri Gunnarsson!

>Official Result: Snorri Gunnarsson defeats Alvaro 'The Hornet' Negredo (TKO (Strikes) in 3:59 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent.

Comments: Gunnarsson might have finished this in the first round, but made up for it by getting the job done in the third. Negredo was fairly ineffective here, scoring with just 3 of 43 strikes and unable to make his one takedown count for anything.

Piotr Dabrowski (16-5) v Carmelo Rossi (8-2)

>Another match is about to begin; Piotr Dabrowski competes against Carmelo Rossi in the SIGMA Welterweight division.
>The fight begins!
>Dabrowski tries for a left jab but Rossi moves out of range.
>Rossi waits for a flurry of punches to stop, then hits a jab.
>A flurry of rights and lefts miss, allowing Rossi to hit back with a left jab to the cheek.
>Dabrowski doesn't get drawn in as Rossi feints a kick.
>Dabrowski is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Rossi.
>Rossi keeps himself moving out of range, not wanting to grapple.
>Rossi feints rushing in, but withdraws.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Rossi drops a shoulder, trying to sucker Dabrowski in with a feint.
>Dabrowski avoids a jab.
>Dabrowski avoids a jab.
>Dabrowski snaps off a left jab that catches Rossi stepping in.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>A straight left by Rossi keeps Dabrowski from advancing.
>Not letting Rossi settle at all, Dabrowski comes in closer.
>Advancing, Dabrowski counters a left jab by using a series of quick punches.
>Rossi feints stepping in.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round one.
>That was a close round, but I'm giving it to Rossi, 10-9.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Dabrowski avoids a jab.
>Rossi feints an attack, keeping Dabrowski on his toes.
>Rossi throws a left jab but Dabrowski avoids it.
>Rossi steps back to avoid a left jab.
>Rossi is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket.
>He gets into range.
>Rossi tries for a left jab but Dabrowski uses head movement to avoid it.
>Rossi circles away, creating some distance between them.
>Dabrowski is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket.
>Rossi uses movement to keep out reach, frustrating Dabrowski.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Dabrowski throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Rossi.
>Rossi sees the takedown coming and tries to move.
>The takedown doesn't work, Rossi saw it coming and got out of range.
>A straight left fails to land and Dabrowski is able to fire back with a crisp left hand punch.
>Rossi looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Dabrowski.
>Rossi can't get near enough to engage, Dabrowski uses strikes to keep him out of range.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Rossi tries for a left jab but Dabrowski moves out of range.
>Rossi darts in and out of range quickly, trying to get Dabrowski to commit to throwing a strike.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round two.
>An extremely close round, could have gone either way, but personally I'll give it to Rossi 10-9.

>And here we go, round three!
>Rossi counters an errant left jab with a crisp left hand punch.
>Rossi waits for a flurry of punches to stop, then hits a jab.
>Dabrowski throws out a couple of jabs as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown.
>The takedown is blocked with a sprawl! Rossi has Dabrowski at close quarters and wrestles him to the floor, taking his back!
>Rossi gets both hooks in, and is now in a really dominant position.
>Rossi attempts to complete a rear naked choke, having both hooks fully in.
>Dabrowski defends himself well against the choke.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Rossi, with both hooks in, attempts to get a rear naked choke fully applied.
>Dabrowski doesn't allow the rear naked choke to be applied.
>Rossi maintains his hooks, despite Dabrowski trying to break them.
>Rossi tries to pound on Dabrowski, but can't balance properly due to the squirming going on, and cannot hit anything cleanly.
>Dabrowski tries to improve his chances of survival by breaking free of the hooks, but they're too tight.
>Rossi fires away with small punches, but doesn't do much damage, if any, as Dabrowski covers up well.
>We have one minute of the round remaining.
>Rossi tries to pound on Dabrowski, but can't balance properly due to the squirming going on, and cannot hit anything cleanly.
>Carmelo Rossi doesn't look like he has much left in the tank.
>Rossi tries to pound away, but Dabrowski covers up and defends them well.
>The time expires on round three, and that is the end of the fight.
>I have to give that round to Rossi, but only a 10-9.

>The judges' scores are now being announced.
>All three judges give a score of 29-28.
>Making Piotr Dabrowski the winner by unanimous decision!

>Official Result: Piotr Dabrowski defeats Carmelo Rossi (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor.

Comments: Not a great fight, with very little actual contact in the first two rounds. Rossi took the advantage when he got it to the floor, but didn't do enough in the eyes of the judges, whose job was not made easy for the first two rounds, so I have no qualms about their decision here.

Rodolphe Gygax (21-12) v Vladimir Baskov (4-1)

>Next up is a match in which 'G-Force' Rodolphe Gygax will battle Vladimir 'The Impaler' Baskov in the SIGMA Lightweight division.
>Round one begins!
>Baskov steps back to avoid a left jab.
>Baskov avoids a flurry of punches.
>Baskov avoids a flurry of punches.
>Baskov shoots in, looking for a takedown.
>Gygax attempts to avoid Baskov as he shoots in.
>Gygax avoids the takedown attempt.
>A flicked jab from Baskov only finds gloves.
>Not letting Baskov settle, Gygax moves in closer.
>Baskov steps back to avoid a left jab.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>A couple of quick punches are used to set up a takedown attempt from Baskov.
>Gygax sprawls, stopping the takedown and forcing Baskov down to the ground into a type of turtle position.
>Baskov springs back to his feet, albeit at the expense of a few punches to the body and head.
>Gygax comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket.
>Baskov now has Gygax standing in the pocket.
>Gygax lets a jab sail wide and counter-strikes with a clean left jab.
>Gygax throws a flurry of punches but Baskov covers up and takes them easily.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Baskov looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Gygax.
>Baskov cannot get close enough to the elusive Gygax to grapple.
>Gygax steps in, feints a kick, then darts back out.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round one.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Gygax.

>There's the bell and round number two begins!
>Gygax avoids a jab and scores with a series of quick lefts.
>Baskov side-steps a barrage of big punches and hits a solid left.
>A jab misses and Gygax counters with a flurry of quick punches to sting Baskov.
>Baskov moves out of range of a flurry of punches.
>Baskov looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Gygax.
>Baskov eats a stiff counter right and is down hard!
>Gygax starts pounding away on Baskov, looking to finish him off!
>Baskov shows great instincts, pulling half guard to put a halt to the shower of punches.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>Gygax wants to stand up, but cannot get out of half guard.
>Baskov tries to ensnare an arm.
>A straight armbar is applied, Gygax has to tap out before his arm is hyper-extended!
>Vladimir Baskov takes the victory by way of submission!

>Official Result: Vladimir 'The Impaler' Baskov defeats 'G-Force' Rodolphe Gygax (Submission (Armbar) in 3:28 of round 2). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: Oh dear! Poor Gygax, getting the takedown and looking to finish the fight, but getting caught. Points for aggression here, but double points to Baskov for taking his opportunity and getting the submission when he needed it.

Aleksander Ivanov (6-0) v Kurt McDonald (3-0)

>Moving on to the next match, in which 'The Great Bear' Aleksander Ivanov goes up against Kurt 'Chopper' McDonald in the SIGMA Heavyweight division.
>The fight begins!
>McDonald counters a left jab by using a right.
>McDonald counters a left jab by hitting a big left kick to the outside of the thigh.
>McDonald counters a wayward left jab with a nice right hand.
>McDonald looks to move in and stand in the pocket.
>Ivanov lets McDonald get closer.
>A left jab misses the mark and allows McDonald to counter with a flurry of quick punches to sting Ivanov.
>Ivanov covers up to safely defend against a flurry of rights and lefts.
>From the pocket, Ivanov shoots in for a double leg.
>Ivanov goes under an attempted counter left hand.
>Ivanov gets a single leg takedown! McDonald pulls guard off it.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Ivanov pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, McDonald is comfortable holding guard.
>Ivanov deflects a couple of punches that McDonald threw from below.
>Ivanov smothers McDonald with his body by pushing forward and down.
>Ivanov lies on top of McDonald, basically smothering him.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Ivanov tries to pound on McDonald with elbow strikes, but all the blows are comfortably dealt with.
>Ivanov leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from McDonald.
>Ivanov fires away with big punches, but McDonald keeps the guard secure and doesn't take any undue damage.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round one.
>There was very little to separate them in that round, but I'll give that one 10-9 to Ivanov.

>And here we go, round two!
>Between rounds, his corner told McDonald to try and use counter striking in this round.
>A feint tricks Ivanov into dropping his hands lower, and he is almost caught out by a quick head kick.
>An exchange of strikes doesn't really lead to anything.
>In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch.
>With McDonald in his grasp, Ivanov tries to set up a judo-style throw.
>McDonald is taken down by a quick inside leg trip, he can do nothing but pull guard!
>Ivanov pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, McDonald is comfortable holding guard.
>McDonald throws out some punches, but Ivanov leans back to avoid them.
>Ivanov lies on top of McDonald, basically smothering him.
>Ivanov looks to pass guard and get side control.
>Ivanov passes to side control with ease.
>We are now at the halfway point of the round.
>Ivanov looks to get a mount.
>He easily gets the mount.
>Ivanov pounds away with elbows from the mount, but doesn't really do a great deal of damage.
>Ivanov has good control, and starts pounding away on McDonald.
>There's lots of strikes landing, McDonald needs to find a way out of this position quickly!
>The referee has seen enough, he pulls Ivanov off!
>Aleksander Ivanov takes the victory by way of TKO!

>Official Result: 'The Great Bear' Aleksander Ivanov defeats Kurt 'Chopper' McDonald (TKO (Strikes) in 4:08 of round 2). The match was rated as being Decent.

Comments: Ivanov started slowly but soon realised that taking it to the ground was the right plan. McDonald will be disappointed he didn't put up a better show, but Ivanov is expected to be one of the future stars of the Heavyweight division, so there will be better days for the New Zealander.

Co-main Event

Uwe Maier (8-2) v Casim Yenkini (10-2)

>The co-main event is up next. Uwe 'Max' Maier competes against 'The Super Eagle' Casim Yenkini in the SIGMA Middleweight division.
>Round one begins!
>Yenkini sees a body kick coming and hits a left.
>A jab misses and Maier counters with a flurry of quick punches to sting Yenkini.
>Yenkini catches a weak right kick to the legs and uses it to go for a takedown, and gets it! Maier has to pull guard.
>Yenkini pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Maier is comfortable holding guard.
>Yenkini leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Maier.
>Yenkini pounds away from the guard with elbows, but Maier isn't troubled by them.
>Yenkini leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Maier.
>Yenkini unloads with some big right hands, but Maier deals with them comfortably.
>Yenkini leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Maier.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Yenkini tries to pound on Maier, but all the blows are comfortably dealt with.
>Yenkini leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Maier.
>Yenkini pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Maier is comfortable holding guard.
>Yenkini deflects a couple of punches that Maier threw from below.
>Yenkini throws a few strikes, but they are without venom.
>Maier tries to catch Yenkini with a punch, but it is not on target.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>In guard, Yenkini begins working to pass to side control.
>Maier can't do anything about the pass, and is left under side control.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round one.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Yenkini.

>Round two begins!
>Yenkini moves in quickly after a wayward punch and hits a stinging left jab.
>Yenkini steps back to avoid a kick to the body.
>Yenkini catches a weak right kick to the legs and uses it to go for a takedown, and gets it! Maier pulls guard.
>Yenkini fires away with big punches, but Maier keeps the guard secure and doesn't take any undue damage.
>Yenkini leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Maier.
>Yenkini lies on top of Maier, basically smothering him.
>Maier is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Yenkini off of him.
>Yenkini throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath.
>Yenkini deflects a couple of punches that Maier threw from below.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Yenkini tries to pound on Maier with elbow strikes, but all the blows are comfortably dealt with.
>Maier throws out some punches, but Yenkini leans back to avoid them.
>Yenkini looks to get past the guard.
>He passes the guard well, gaining side control.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Yenkini attempts an arm triangle.
>Yenkini gets the arm triangle, sinks it in deeply, and Maier has to tap!
>The winner, by submission, is 'The Super Eagle' Casim Yenkini!

>Official Result: 'The Super Eagle' Casim Yenkini defeats Uwe 'Max' Maier (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 4:58 of round 2). The match was rated as being Decent.

Comments: Maier looked pretty comfortable in guard, defending well against the ground and pound, but had no answer to Yenkini's guard pass or sub attempts, both of which were successful immediately. Maier fancies a match against fellow kick boxer Bixente Fontaine (as do half the roster, no doubt, after Fontaine's most recent performance), and he might well get it, as facing a good wrestler definitely didn't allow him to show off his skills! Yenkini showed that he could use a step up in competition.

Main Event

SIGMA Light Heavyweight Championship

Nico Soldo © (#5, 14-1-1) v Nicolai Mickiewicz (#14, 19-4)

>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'The Gladiator' Niko Soldo will battle 'The Scourge Of Europe' Nicolai Mickiewicz in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division.
>The SIGMA Light Heavyweight title on the line in this match.
>The fight begins!
>Soldo uses a feint to get Mickiewicz off balance, but the nice sequence of punches that follow don't find their mark.
>Soldo tries for a right body kick but Mickiewicz moves out of range.
>Soldo darts in and out of range quickly, trying to get Mickiewicz to commit to throwing a strike.
>Mickiewicz avoids a jab.
>A couple of quick punches are used to set up a takedown attempt from Mickiewicz.
>Soldo tries to step away from the takedown.
>Soldo avoids the takedown attempt.
>Soldo gets Mickiewicz with a punch to the ribs, but it lacked power.
>Mickiewicz steps in to put some pressure on.
>We are now at the halfway point of the round.
>Soldo slips out of the way of a jab.
>Soldo counters a left jab with a surprise flying knee strike; Mickiewicz is momentarily wobbly!
>Both fighters fire off strikes, but neither does any significant damage.
>In the pocket, Mickiewicz has to be alert to avoid a spinning back elbow.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Soldo tries for a body kick but Mickiewicz sees it coming and avoids it.
>From the pocket, Mickiewicz shoots in for a double leg.
>Soldo not only stops the takedown, he manages to wrestle Mickiewicz to the floor! Mickiewicz pulls guard.
>The time runs out on round one.
>That round goes to Soldo, 10-9 on my card.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot.
>A showdown where they both exchange strikes only results in a stalemate.
>Not comfortable in the pocket, Soldo steps back and creates some space.
>Soldo looks to be trying to close the distance between them.
>Mickiewicz tries to catch him by surprise with a takedown attempt, but it is blocked.
>Mickiewicz shoots in, looking for a takedown.
>A counter left catches Mickiewicz above the eye.
>They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot.
>Mickiewicz comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in.
>Soldo counters with a left jab that catches Mickiewicz hard.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Soldo is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket.
>Mickiewicz tries to counter by dropping down and going for a single leg, but Soldo defended it well.
>Mickiewicz glances a strike off the side of the shoulder.
>Time slips away as Soldo doesn't press Mickiewicz, allowing him to circle.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Mickiewicz throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Soldo.
>Soldo tries to step away from the takedown.
>Mickiewicz can't get the takedown, Soldo was too quick to back away.
>Mickiewicz looks to be trying to close the distance between them.
>Mickiewicz can't get close enough to grapple, Soldo keeps him away with strikes.
>Round two ends as time expires.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Soldo.

>Round three begins!
>Mickiewicz slips out of the way of a leg kick.
>Advancing, Soldo counters a left jab by using a jab.
>Mickiewicz looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Soldo.
>Mickiewicz gets caught out and eats a stiff left jab.
>Soldo looks to move in and stand in the pocket.
>Mickiewicz catches the advancing Soldo by surprise with a takedown.
>Niko Soldo is looking really tired.
>Time slips away as Mickiewicz successfully keeps Soldo stuck against the ground.
>In guard, Mickiewicz begins working to pass to side control.
>Advancing his position fairly easily, he passes to side control.
>Mickiewicz uses side control to hit a knee just above the hip.
>We are now at the halfway point of the round.
>Mickiewicz begins trying to get himself into mount.
>Soldo can't fend off his opponent and is mounted.
>Mickiewicz fires away with big punches, but Soldo covers up and doesn't take any undue damage.
>Soldo tries to roll Mickiewicz, but only succeeds in giving up his back!
>Mickiewicz tries to get Soldo locked in a rear naked choke.
>Soldo does well to roll over and spin out, ending up in his opponent's guard.
>Mickiewicz paid the price for not getting his hooks in first.
>Soldo fires off a few punches as he catches his breath.
>We have one minute of the round remaining.
>Soldo fires off a few punches, but they aren't thrown with any great force.
>Soldo throws a few strikes, but they are without venom.
>The time runs out on round three.
>I think Mickiewicz took that round, 10-9 on my score card.

>Round four begins!
>Moving forward, Soldo counters a left jab with a stinging left jab.
>Mickiewicz comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in.
>Soldo tries to avoid the takedown.
>Mickiewicz can't get the takedown, Soldo was too quick to back away.
>Mickiewicz looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Soldo.
>Mickiewicz gets caught out and eats a stiff left jab.
>An exchange of strikes goes nowhere.
>Mickiewicz slips past a nice combination and hits a clean punch.
>Soldo dodges a jab, and fires back with a clean punch.
>Mickiewicz sees a low kick being set up and strikes first with a straight left.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Mickiewicz uses good head movement to avoid a huge right hook and counters with a nice left.
>Niko Soldo looks like he is on the verge of exhaustion.
>A flurry of rights and lefts all miss, allowing Mickiewicz to hit a punch.
>Using good head movement, Mickiewicz slips past a punch and hits a clean punch.
>A left jab misses, Mickiewicz counters with a clean left jab.
>Using good head movement, Mickiewicz ducks under a punch and scores with a nice jab.
>A left jab misses, Mickiewicz counters with a nice jab.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Using head movement, Soldo slips past a left jab and counters with a nice sequence of jabs.
>Slipping past a left jab, Soldo hits a kick to the body.
>Mickiewicz uses head movement to slip past a punch, then hits a crisp left.
>Round four ends as time expires.
>That was the sort of round that MMA fans love; full of action, effort and drama. Great stuff.
>I have to give that round to Mickiewicz, but only a 10-9.

>There's the bell and round number five begins!
>Mickiewicz avoids a flurry of rights and lefts.
>Mickiewicz shoots in, looking for a takedown.
>Soldo stuffs the takedown, so Mickiewicz has to settle for pushing him up against the cage.
>Niko Soldo looks like he is completely out of gas.
>Soldo takes a hard foot stomp.
>Mickiewicz uses underhooks to gain solid control, and is looking for a takedown.
>Mickiewicz gets the takedown by using the underhooks for control and working a trip! Soldo pulls guard.
>Mickiewicz begins trying to pass guard and get a better position.
>Soldo finds his opponent too skilled, and Mickiewicz passes guard into side control.
>Nicolai Mickiewicz is breathing very hard.
>Mickiewicz unloads with some big right hands, but Soldo deals with them comfortably.
>Soldo tries to pull guard on Mickiewicz but doesn't get anywhere with the attempt.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Mickiewicz is trying to move from side control to mount.
>Mickiewicz mounts Soldo.
>Mickiewicz pounds away from the mount with elbow strikes, and Soldo struggles to deal with them.
>Mickiewicz pounds away from the mount with elbow strikes, and Soldo struggles to deal with them.
>Blood is visible on Soldo, that strike looks to have opened up a nasty cut above his eye.
>From the looks of things, I don't think Nicolai Mickiewicz has much energy left.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Mickiewicz pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Soldo covers up well.
>Mickiewicz counters an attempt by Soldo to move him from mount by taking his back!
>Mickiewicz successfully gets both hooks in, and seems primed to finish.
>With both hooks in, Mickiewicz tries to flatten Soldo out for the rear naked choke.
>Soldo defends himself well against the choke.
>The time expires on round five, and that is the end of the fight.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Mickiewicz.

>The judges' scores are now being announced.
>All three judges have given 48-47.
>The winner, by unanimous decision, is Nicolai Mickiewicz!

>Official Result: 'The Scourge Of Europe' Nicolai Mickiewicz defeats 'The Gladiator' Niko Soldo (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 5). The match was rated as being Great.

Comments: After the first two rounds, I thought that Soldo would take this fairly easily, but Mickiewicz worked his way back into the fight by going to his strength – wrestling – and controlling the rest of the contest. This gave him the confidence to back his striking as well, and in the 4th and 5th held his own in the stand-up before nearly pulling off the finish. I can't complain about the scoring, though it could easily have gone 48-47 the other way too, given the closeness of rounds 3 and 4. Mickiewicz was definitely looking stronger at the end of the fight.

A re-match looks likely down the road at some point, but probably not immediately given that there are other contenders knocking at my door!

Show summary

Critical rating: Good

Commercial success: Great

Fight of the Night: Soldo v Mickiewicz

Knockout of the Night: Snorri Gunnarsson

Submission of the Night: Vladimir Baskov

Comments: The main event made up for some decidedly poor matches earlier in the night. Our first title change also means finding a suitable opponent for Soldo to determine whether or not he'll stay towards the top of the rankings.

batsnumbereleven · October 30, 2013

Prediction results

CageRage – 3/6 (8/12)

Injury report

No specific injuries to report, but the athletic commission has given precautionary 1 month suspensions to Kurt McDonald and Snorri Gunnarsson, 2 months to Rodolphe Gygax and Uwe Maier, and 3 months to Alvaro Negredo.

End of month finances

A loss of $18k this month – more than January because of the signings but still nothing to worry about at this stage.

batsnumbereleven · October 30, 2013

Monday 1st March 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Press release Signature Martial Arts is pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with for Carmelo Rossi and Aleksander Ivanov for five further fights each with SIGMA over the next four years. Rossi (28), sports a record of 8-3 and fights in the Welterweight division, whilst the unbeaten 21-year-old Ivanov (7-0) is seen as a future Heavyweight champion. </div></blockquote> Tuesday 2nd March 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Press release Signature Martial Arts welcomes six new fighters to its roster today. We are pleased to see Featherweights Hans Christian Bloch (2-0) and Heiko Pander (1-0) join us as possible future stars in the division. Also signed to exclusive SIGMA contracts are Romanian Heavyweight kick boxer Iancu Trailescu (4-0), 23-year-old wrestler Klaus Greis (1-0), Czech sambo artist Libor Pudil (1-0), and German Light Heavyweight wrestler Michael Klaughnschue (3-0). We hope to announce fights for each of our newcomers in the coming months.</div></blockquote>

batsnumbereleven · October 30, 2013

Wednesday 3rd March 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Press Release Signature Martial Arts presents SIGMA 3: Basora v Mellberg from the Rheinlandhalle in Krefeld, home of the Krefeld Pinguine, which will take place on Friday 26th March 1998. The headliners will be judoka Luis Basora and ju-jitsu practitioner Lukas Mellberg, and they will be contending for the SIGMA Lightweight championship. Co-headlining will be a Light heavyweight contest between Australian Shane Gilchrist and unbeaten Finn Matti Kurri. French kickboxer Jean-Pierre Richelleau will take on Croatian wrestler Stjepan Andric at Heavyweight, unbeaten Norwegian Middleweight Thorbjorn Rekdal fights Oleg Tariverdiev, Munich's Benedickt Streit faces Serbian Milovan Ajetovic in the Featherweight division, and two strikers clash at Welterweight as Jens Halle from Norway fights Greece's Christakis Boutzikos.</div></blockquote> Card for predictions SIGMA 3 Luis Basora © v Lukas Mellberg Shane Gilchrist v Matti Kurri Jean-Pierre Richelleau v Stjepan Andric Thorbjorn Rekdal v Oleg Tariverdiev Benedikt Streit v Milan Ajetovic Jens Halle v Christakis Boutzikos

batsnumbereleven · October 31, 2013

News and Notes from around the MMA world: March 1998

Signings

None.

Events

MMA Legend Hassan Fezzik took on his 26th opponent on Saturday 20th March, #4 ranked Heavyweight Kunimichi Kikuchi, during ALPHA-1's latest event, and promptly dispatched him to go 26-0 by submission in the first round, retaining the ALPHA-1 Heavyweight championship in the process. #4 Welterweight Ichisake Miyagi (22-3) also fought on the card, taking a Unanimous Decision victory over Yeijiro Yamamoto (15-4).

GAMMA 23: Dean v Thomas saw the GAMMA Middleweight title on the line. Matthew Dean (32-5) retained the title in the first round by TKO. Also in the Middleweight division, a pair of undefeated title contenders squared off, with Buddy Garner (#16, 14-0) beating Neil Napier (#8, 15-1) by Triangle choke in the third round. Elsewhere, #15 Heavyweight Tony McCall was knocked out by Leon Banks.

Other Notable news

Retirements: Tobias Goulet (15-14) Aged 33, Phil Verdigree (20-14-1-1NC) Aged 35, Paulo Boas (14-12) Aged 33, Richard Smith (18-14) Aged 35,

batsnumbereleven · November 1, 2013

Event report

SIGMA 3: Basora v Mellberg

Friday 26th March 1998

Rheinlandhalle, Krefeld, Germany.

Attendance: 501 for a gate of $20,040

PPV Buys: N/A

Jens Halle (13-2) v Christakis Boutzikos (3-0)

>Next up is a match in which Jens 'Battery' Halle fights Christakis Boutzikos in the SIGMA Welterweight division.

>Round one begins!
>Boutzikos steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches, having been off balance momentarily after a clever feint.
>Boutzikos steps back to avoid a flurry of punches.
>They come together and throw strikes, both miss.
>Halle tries for a left jab but Boutzikos uses head movement to avoid it.
>Boutzikos covers up to take several right hands.
>Boutzikos shoots in, looking for a close range double leg.
>Halle sprawls well, and Boutzikos is forced down to his knees, almost turtled up.
>We go past the halfway point of this round.
>Halle unloads with big right hands to the side of the head, landing several that clearly hurt Boutzikos.
>Halle pounds away with rights, hitting several big shots to the body and side of the head.
>Halle pounds away on Boutzikos, landing several good shots to the side of the head in the process.
>Boutzikos springs back to his feet, albeit at the expense of a few punches to the body and head.
>Boutzikos moves out of range of a flurry of punches.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Halle counters a left jab by using a clean jab.
>Halle avoids a jab.
>Boutzikos shoots in for a takedown.
>Halle is too quick, and manages to hit Boutzikos with a good clean left jab.
>The time runs out on round one.
>Good round, that's the sort of action we like to see.
>I have to give that round to Halle, but only a 10-9.

>There's the bell and round number two begins!
>Halle avoids a jab.
>An exchange of strikes doesn't lead to any real damage.
>Boutzikos steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches.
>Halle looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Boutzikos.
>The two fighters move closer, ready to strike.
>Moving in closer, Boutzikos looks like he may want to wrestle Halle.
>He pulls Halle into a grapple.
>With underhooks giving him solid control over Halle, Boutzikos looks for a takedown.
>Boutzikos doesn't get the takedown, Halle blocked it.
>Halle tries to get clear of the grapple, but Boutzikos holds him in place.
>Boutzikos tries to wrestle Halle backward and up against the cage.
>Boutzikos does it, Halle is stuck with his back to the cage.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Boutzikos pins Halle up against the cage and stomps down hard on his foot.
>Showing his ability to exert control, Boutzikos smothers Halle up against the cage for a minute or so, wearing him down with occasional sharp punches to the ribs.
>Boutzikos uses a hard foot stomp.
>Boutzikos uses underhooks to gain solid control, and is looking for a takedown.
>Boutzikos tries hard but cannot get Halle off of his feet, and has to settle for slipping behind him instead.
>Halle tries to get clear of the grapple, but Boutzikos holds him in place.
>Jens Halle is breathing very hard.
>We have one minute of the round remaining.
>Boutzikos tries to take Halle down from behind.
>Halle does a great job defending the takedown, and eventually manages to turn so that Boutzikos is pinned to the cage.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round two.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Boutzikos.

>There's the bell and round number three begins!
>A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning.
>Boutzikos counters a left jab by using a crisp left hand punch.
>Boutzikos avoids a flurry of rights and lefts.
>Boutzikos avoids a flurry of rights and lefts.
>From the looks of things, I don't think Jens Halle has much energy left.
>An errant jab sets Halle up to counter-strike with a clean left.
>Halle tries for a left jab but Boutzikos moves out of range.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>There's a takedown attempt from Boutzikos.
>Halle attempts to avoid Boutzikos as he shoots in.
>The takedown is unsuccessful, Halle avoided Boutzikos.
>Halle circles, looking for an opening.
>Boutzikos steps in to put some pressure on.
>Boutzikos looks to move in and stand in the pocket.
>Halle keeps himself moving out of range.
>Halle avoids a jab.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Halle throws a looping punch, but Boutzikos avoids it.
>Not letting Halle settle at all, Boutzikos comes in closer.
>Jens Halle looks totally gassed.
>Christakis Boutzikos is breathing very hard.
>Time runs out and that's the end of the fight.
>That was a very close round, but I think Boutzikos just about edged it.
>The judges have given their scores, which are about to be announced.

>Judge #1 has scored it 29-28 Halle.
>Judge #2 has scored it 29-28 Boutzikos.
>Judge #3 has given 29-28 to Halle.
>Making Jens 'Battery' Halle the winner by split decision!

>Official Result: Jens 'Battery' Halle defeats Christakis Boutzikos (Split Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor.

Comments: The first round was definitely Halle's but the other two could have gone either way. Boutzikos' control apparently impressed the judges in the second and the final stanza was a big bunch of nothing, which was very disappointing given that the bout was there for the taking for both men. Not how we want to start the Event, and I'd pegged this as a fairly comfortable victory for the Norwegian, so will have to reassess his position in the division.

Benedikt Streit (18-5) v Milan Ajetovic (4-0)

>Next up, 'Bulldozer' Benedikt Streit goes head to head with 'The Serbian Psycho' Milovan Ajetovic in the SIGMA Featherweight division.

>And here we go!
>Streit grabs a slow leg kick and goes straight for a takedown, getting it! Ajetovic pulls guard.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>Ajetovic is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Streit off of him.
>Streit punches down at Ajetovic, but they are easily taken on the gloves.
>Streit throws a few strikes, but is clearly slowing things down so that he can catch his breath.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Streit throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath.
>Ajetovic tries to pull Streit in close and pepper him with short strikes, but can't.
>Streit smothers Ajetovic with his body by pushing forward and down.
>We move into the final sixty seconds of this round.
>Streit fires off a few punches, but they aren't thrown with any great force.
>Ajetovic tries to pull Streit in close and pepper him with short strikes, but can't.
>The time runs out on round one.
>That round was pretty dire, and the fans are letting the fighters know it.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Streit.

>Round two begins!
>From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Streit has been instructed to try and get Ajetovic to the floor in this round.
>Streit counters a leg kick by grabbing it and attempting a takedown, down goes Ajetovic! He pulls guard though.
>Streit smothers Ajetovic with his body by pushing forward and down.
>The clock runs down as Ajetovic is being smothered against the ground by Streit.
>Ajetovic is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Streit off of him.
>Ajetovic is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Streit off of him.
>Streit lies on top of Ajetovic, basically smothering him.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>Streit smothers Ajetovic with his body by pushing forward and down.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>The clock runs down as Ajetovic is being smothered against the ground by Streit.
>Streit lies on top of Ajetovic, basically smothering him.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round two.
>I think Streit took that round, 10-9 on my score card.

>And here we go, round three!
>It sounded like his corner told Ajetovic to stand with Streit, but to be careful not to get caught.
>Streit moves out of range of a flurry of punches.
>Both fighters come toe-to-toe and strike, but none of the strikes result in significant damage being done.
>Both fighters exchange strikes, but neither hits anything significant.
>Streit, standing in the pocket, is close enough to grab a body kick and go for the takedown, getting it! Ajetovic manages to pull guard.
>Streit pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Ajetovic is comfortable holding guard.
>Ajetovic applies double underhooks and keeps Streit from launching any attacks.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>Streit pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Ajetovic is comfortable holding guard.
>Streit deflects a couple of punches that Ajetovic threw from below.
>Streit throws a few weak-looking punches as he decides on his next move.
>Time slips away as Streit successfully keeps Ajetovic stuck against the ground.
>We have one minute of the round remaining.
>Streit throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath.
>Streit throws a few strikes, but is clearly slowing things down so that he can catch his breath.
>The time runs out and that round is over, and so is the fight.
>I think Streit took that round, 10-9 on my score card.
>The judges have given their scores, which are about to be announced.

>All three judges give 30-27.
>The winner, by unanimous decision, is Benedikt Streit!

>Official Result: 'Bulldozer' Benedikt Streit defeats 'The Serbian Psycho' Milovan Ajetovic (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Awful.

Comments: I'm not a fan of this refereeing – the bout should have been brought back to the feet in each round, as Streit basically did no work from top position at all. Ajetovic seemed pretty hopeless off his back, so desperately needs to do more work on his takedown defense. Streit allegedly scored with 24 ground strikes (in 15 minutes) but it didn't even seem like that many.

Thorbjorn Rekdal (6-0) v Oleg Tariverdiev (6-1)

>Next up is a match in which 'Brickhouse' Thorbjorn Rekdal goes head to head with Oleg Tariverdiev in the SIGMA Middleweight division.

>The fight begins!
>Rekdal avoids a jab.
>Tariverdiev steps back to avoid a tight combination of punches after falling for a clever feint.
>Both fighters come toe-to-toe and strike, but none of the strikes result in significant damage being done.
>Rekdal steps back to avoid a left jab.
>Tariverdiev steps back to avoid a leg kick.
>Tariverdiev circles around Rekdal.
>Rekdal doesn't let Tariverdiev settle, stepping in closer to impose himself.
>Rekdal counters a left jab by hitting a kick to the side of the ribs.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>A feinted high kick gets a reaction, and Tariverdiev is lucky to avoid the follow-up inside leg kick.
>Rekdal counters a left jab by using a sharp kick just above the hip.
>Backing out of range, Rekdal circles tentatively.
>Not letting Rekdal settle, Tariverdiev moves in closer.
>Tariverdiev comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Rekdal.
>Rekdal uses his strikes to stop Tariverdiev from getting close enough to grapple.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Rekdal throws a left jab but Tariverdiev avoids it.
>Tariverdiev misses with an attempted right hook to the body.
>Rekdal doesn't let Tariverdiev settle, stepping in closer to impose himself.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round one.
>I have to give that round to Rekdal, but only a 10-9.

>We are back underway!
>Between rounds we could hear the corner of Rekdal telling him to lure Tariverdiev in and catch him on the counter.
>Both fighters come in and exchange strikes, but neither does any damage.
>From the missed strikes they clinch.
>With control of the clinch, Tariverdiev tries to complete a takedown.
>The takedown is completed, Rekdal is on his back and pulls guard.
>Tariverdiev begins trying to pass guard and get a better position.
>He passes to side control.
>Tariverdiev attempts an armbar.
>An armbar is applied, Rekdal is trapped!
>No! Rekdal manages to get his arm free. Clearly the hold couldn't have been as tight as it looked.
>Rekdal uses an underhook to work some separation, then quickly scrambles.
>The scramble results in Tariverdiev turtled with Rekdal on his back.
>Tariverdiev takes the opportunity to stand up, albeit under back control.
>We are now at the halfway point of the round.
>Rekdal gives up back control and steps back, unhappy with his position.
>Rekdal is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket.
>Tariverdiev sees a chance for a takedown attempt, but Rekdal is able to defend it.
>Rekdal is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket.
>The two fighters move closer, ready to strike.
>Tariverdiev looks to be trying to close the distance between them.
>He pulls Rekdal into a grapple.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>Clinched with Rekdal, Tariverdiev looks to try and take him down.
>Rekdal blocks the takedown attempt.
>A whizzer almost allows Rekdal to create enough space to get free, but Tariverdiev shuts that opportunity down.
>Tariverdiev tries to take Rekdal down.
>Rekdal blocks the takedown attempt.
>Round two is brought to an end as time runs out.
>That was a fun round to watch.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Tariverdiev.

>We are back underway!
>From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Tariverdiev has been instructed to try and get Rekdal to the floor in this round.
>Rekdal throws a barrage of big rights but Tariverdiev is quick to move out of range.
>Rekdal feints left and throws an excellent combination but Tariverdiev is just able to cover up in time.
>Tariverdiev steps back to avoid a leg kick.
>Both fighters come toe-to-toe and strike, but none of the strikes result in significant damage being done.
>Rekdal steps back to avoid a left jab.
>Tariverdiev steps back to avoid a leg kick.
>Tariverdiev circles around Rekdal.
>Rekdal doesn't let Tariverdiev settle, stepping in closer to impose himself.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Rekdal counters a left jab by hitting a kick to the side of the ribs.
>A feinted high kick gets a reaction, and Tariverdiev is lucky to avoid the follow-up inside leg kick.
>Rekdal counters a left jab by using a kick to the inside of the left leg.
>They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot.
>In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>Tariverdiev grabs an arm and tries and pull Rekdal down to the ground into his guard.
>Rekdal cannot prevent it, and is sucked into the guard.
>Tariverdiev attempts to grab an arm of Rekdal from the bottom of the guard.
>Rekdal gets caught in a kimura...and has no choice but to tap out!
>The winner, by submission, is Oleg Tariverdiev!

>Official Result: Oleg Tariverdiev defeats 'Brickhouse' Thorbjorn Rekdal (Submission (Kimura) in 4:56 of round 3). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: This was a bit more like it. After the first round I thought we might be in for another snoozer here, but these two showed how a fight can be made entertaining when it goes to the ground. Rekdal would probably have fared better with the fight standing, but his Russian opponent found a way to take it to the mat anyway. Good win for Tariverdiev.

Jean-Pierre Richelleau (#20, 22-7) v Stjepan Andric (12-5)

>Next up, 'The Count' Jean-Pierre Richelleau takes on Stjepan 'The Mammoth' Andric in the SIGMA Heavyweight division.

>Round one begins!
>Both fighters fire off strikes, but neither does any significant damage.
>Richelleau throws a right kick to the body but Andric avoids it.
>Andric moves in closer but takes a crisp jab to the face.
>Andric throws a looping punch, but Richelleau avoids it.
>Not letting Andric settle, Richelleau moves in closer.
>Andric avoids a flurry of rights and lefts.
>Richelleau circles as he plans his next move.
>Andric doesn't press the issue, allowing Richelleau to circle.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Richelleau looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Andric.
>Seeing an opportunity, Andric goes straight for a takedown, but Richelleau is equal to it.
>Richelleau looks to move in and stand in the pocket.
>Andric seems happy to engage with Richelleau in the pocket.
>Andric is stung by a sharp inside leg kick.
>A low kick is checked by Andric.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Richelleau throws a kick to the body but Andric dodges it.
>Moving in closer, Andric looks like he may want to wrestle Richelleau.
>Richelleau finds himself pulled into a grappling contest.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round one.
>That round goes to Richelleau, 10-9 on my card.

>Round two begins!
>Richelleau avoids a jab.
>Richelleau counters a left jab by hitting a series of quick punches.
>Richelleau uses a stiff left jab to stop Andric from advancing.
>Andric circles around Richelleau.
>Time slips away as Richelleau doesn't press Andric, allowing him to circle.
>Andric throws a speculative right, but it is nowhere near hitting.
>It seems that Richelleau is happy to let Andric circle for the moment.
>A jab misses and Richelleau counters with a kick to the inside of the left leg.
>Stjepan Andric won't want to take too many unchecked strikes to the legs like that.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Richelleau slips past a left jab and counters with a flurry of quick punches.
>A straight left from Andric fails to land.
>Richelleau steps in closer to force the issue.
>Richelleau feints rushing in, but Andric doesn't fall for it.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>A jab misses and Richelleau counters with a nasty-looking kick to the inside of the left knee.
>Richelleau comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket.
>Andric now has Richelleau standing in the pocket.
>Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything.
>They wind up in a tight clinch.
>The grappling doesn't last long, as they soon break away from each other.
>Round two ends as time expires.
>I have to give that round to Richelleau, but only a 10-9.

>We are back underway!
>There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits.
>Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up clinched.
>Andric tries to use his dirty boxing skills, but Richelleau uses wrestling to smother the attacks.
>The grappling doesn't go anywhere, and they break apart.
>An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage.
>Having ended up close together from the strikes they threw, a wild exchange of punches begins!
>Richelleau hits a right uppercut, Andric is laid out cold!
>'The Count' Jean-Pierre Richelleau takes the win by Knock Out!

>Official Result: 'The Count' Jean-Pierre Richelleau defeats Stjepan 'The Mammoth' Andric (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:31 of round 3). The match was rated as being Average.

Comments: Whoa! An out of the blue finish here, after a fairly lengthy feeling-out process. Richelleau was definitely ahead on my card based on the first two rounds, with Andric looking rather tentative at times, but the Frenchman obviously packs a punch, and will get to move on to bigger and better things. Andric says he'd like to fight Stratos Papaioannou next, but I'm not convinced that's wise after this result.

Co-main

Shane Gilchrist (12-4) v Matti Kurri (7-0-1)

>The co-main event is up next. Shane 'The Butcher' Gilchrist competes against Matti 'The Hammer' Kurri in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division.

>There's the opening bell!
>A straight left fails to land and Kurri is able to fire back with a clean left.
>An exchange of strikes doesn't lead to any real damage.
>Kurri throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Gilchrist.
>Gilchrist cannot stop the takedown, and has to pull guard.
>Kurri attempts to pass guard.
>Gilchrist can't do anything about the pass, and is left under side control.
>Kurri fires away with rights, and Gilchrist is taking powerful shot after powerful shot!
>The referee is forced to jump in and stop the match!
>The winner, by TKO; Matti Kurri!

>Official Result: Matti 'The Hammer' Kurri defeats Shane 'The Butcher' Gilchrist (TKO (Strikes) in 1:46 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: Big statement made here by Kurri – he's a strong contender to be the next opponent for the Light Heavyweight champion and this sort of performance only makes his case healthier. Gilchrist was never given a chance by the Finn's ruthless takedown and G&P.

Main Event

Lightweight Championship

Luis Basora (#4, 19-3) v Lukas Mellberg (#13, 16-3)

>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'El Diablo' Luis Basora squares off with 'The Ice Cold Swede' Lukas Mellberg in the SIGMA Lightweight division.
>This match is for the SIGMA Lightweight title.

>We are underway!
>A straight left fails to land and Basora is able to fire back with a flurry of quick punches to sting Mellberg.
>A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning.
>There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes, but neither scores.
>Mellberg tries for a left jab but Basora moves out of range.
>Basora throws out a couple of jabs as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown.
>Mellberg tries to step away from the takedown.
>The takedown is completed, Mellberg is on his back and pulls guard.
>In guard, Basora catches his breath, content just to throw a couple of punches to the body.
>Basora looks to get past the guard.
>Mellberg is ready for the attempt though, and keeps Basora firmly in guard.
>Mellberg grabs an arm and raises his legs, trying to lock Basora into a triangle choke.
>Basora counters the triangle attempt superbly by twisting out of it and gaining side control.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>Basora tries to lock Mellberg into an armbar.
>Mellberg fights off the armbar attempt.
>Basora blocks an attempted sweep.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Basora attempts the mount.
>He can't get the mount.
>Mellberg tries to move to guard, but Basora doesn't allow it.
>Round one is brought to an end as time runs out.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Basora.

>Round two begins!
>A jab misses and Basora counters with a series of quick punches.
>A straight left fails to land and Basora is able to fire back with a series of quick punches.
>Basora slips out of the way of a jab.
>Basora avoids a jab.
>Basora looks to move in and stand in the pocket.
>Keen to keep space between them, Mellberg backs away.
>Basora looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Mellberg.
>Mellberg now has Basora standing in the pocket.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>A flurry of rights and lefts all miss, allowing Mellberg to hit a solid left jab.
>A left jab misses the mark and allows Mellberg to counter with a clean punch.
>Basora uses head movement to avoid a left jab.
>Basora uses head movement to cause a left jab to sail harmlessly by.
>Mellberg backs away to create some more space.
>Basora counters an errant left jab with a series of quick lefts.
>We move into the final sixty seconds of this round.
>Basora shoots in, looking for a takedown.
>Mellberg gets taken down by a single leg, and has to pull guard.
>Basora starts trying to work to get past the guard.
>He can't get free of the guard.
>Round two is brought to an end as time runs out.
>I have to give that round to Basora, but only a 10-9.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Between rounds, his corner told Mellberg to be ready to sprawl if Basora shoots in.
>A left hand misses, allowing Basora to counter with a series of quick punches.
>Basora looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Mellberg.
>Mellberg is pulled into a grapple.
>Basora is looking to muscle Mellberg back against the cage.
>Basora manages it, and controls Mellberg up against the cage.
>Mellberg is controlled up against the cage and takes a hard foot stomp.
>Showing his ability to exert control, Basora smothers Mellberg up against the cage for a minute or so, wearing him down with occasional sharp punches to the ribs.
>With the cage trapping Mellberg, Basora looks to be attempting to set up a judo throw.
>He executes an outside leg trip, sweeping Mellberg to the mat where he pulls half guard!
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Basora throws a few strikes, but they are without venom.
>Basora tries to ensnare Mellberg in an arm triangle.
>Mellberg doesn't allow the arm triangle to be applied.
>Mellberg tries to lock onto an arm from the bottom of half guard.
>Basora doesn't let his arm get taken.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Basora attempts to arm triangle Mellberg from the top of half guard.
>Mellberg stops Basora from applying it.
>Mellberg attempts a guillotine choke from the bottom of half guard.
>Basora stops Mellberg from applying it.
>Round three ends as time expires.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Basora.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Judging from what we heard from his corner, Mellberg is looking to avoid strikes and take it to the ground in this round.
>Mellberg waits for a flurry of punches to stop, then hits a crisp left hand punch.
>Mellberg comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in.
>Mellberg doesn't get the takedown, Basora was equal to it and pulls them into a clinch.
>Basora attempts to pick Mellberg up for a slam.
>Mellberg defends it well though, and slips away from Basora.
>Basora comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in.
>Mellberg looks to grab a guillotine off the takedown.
>The guillotine attempt doesn't work.
>Mellberg cannot stop the takedown, and only catches Basora in half guard.
>Luis Basora looks very tired out there.
>Basora tries to ensnare Mellberg in an arm triangle.
>Mellberg doesn't allow the arm triangle to be applied.
>Basora blocks an attempted move from half guard to full guard.
>Basora is trying to get out of half guard and into a better position.
>Basora struggles but cannot find a way past and remains stuck in half guard.
>Mellberg tries to ensnare Basora in a guillotine.
>Basora gets caught by the guillotine, and it's tight enough that he has to tap!
>'The Ice Cold Swede' Lukas Mellberg takes the win by submission!

>Official Result: 'The Ice Cold Swede' Lukas Mellberg defeats 'El Diablo' Luis Basora (Submission (Guillotine) in 3:54 of round 4). The match was rated as being Decent.

Comments: Big win for Mellberg here, as he was well behind with the judges, having been taken down in each round. His bottom game was good though, and his submission defence excellent, allowing him to take the W with a submission of his own. Basora must be livid with himself to be caught that way, and will no doubt be looking for a re-match before too long.

Show summary

Critical rating: Decent

Commercial success: Great

Fight of the Night: Matti Kurri v Shane Gilchrist

Knockout of the Night: Jean-Pierre Richelleau

Submission of the Night: Lukas Mellberg

Comments: A card that started off badly but was salvaged later on by Matti Kurri and the Lightweight title bout. Just as well that the roster is strong enough at this level to ensure that the commercial success can counter any failings in quality.

batsnumbereleven · November 1, 2013

Prediction results

No predictions submitted for this event.

Injury report

Milan Ajetovic picked up a broken rib during his smothering by Benedikt Streit and will be out for between 2 and 6 months recovering.

The athletic commission have imposed precautionary suspensions of 1month for defeated Lightweight champion Luis Basora and Oleg Tariverdiev, 2 months for Shane Gilchrist, 3 months for Thorbjorn Rekdal and a whopping 4 months for Stjepan Andric.

End of month finances

Still losing money - $27k this month, primarily driven by payouts for our former Lightweight champion, who accounted for approximately a quarter of the payroll this month.

Sunday 28th March 1998

Blurcat.com

Signature Martial Arts today announced four new signings for their roster.

The keystone signing looks like it will be Featherweight phenom Nuno Valentino. The 19-year-old Portuguese was spotted fighting at a recent event in Eastern Europe, where he displayed his command of Jiu-Jitsu and was reportedly snapped up by SIGMA scouts immediately post-fight.

Unsurprisingly, two of the recent signings are Germans. Lothar Weissman is an uninspiring veteran brawler out of Frankfurt with a mixed record in his 30 previous fights (16-12-1-1NC) but has reputedly been given a boost by techniques picked up on a visit to the London Kickboxing Academy. Roland Furtwangler is a 23-year-old Welterweight sambo practitioner from Hamburg, but little else is known about him.

The dark horse of these signings though is Lightweight taekwondo fighter Folke Dalen. The 20-year-old Swede has a good grasp of MMA striking already, and will these basics to build on may be a future star if he can complement these skills with some grappling and ground game.

batsnumbereleven · November 1, 2013

Monday 1st April 1998

Press Release

Signature Martial Arts is proud to announce that their next event, SIGMA 4, will feature a Heavyweight contest between former Heavyweight champion Gunnar Nilsson and Polish wrestler Stanislaw Lipnicki. Both men are coming off a loss in their last bout. The event will take place on Friday 26th April at the Scania Arena in Duisberg.

“The Hand Grenade” Valentin Taneyev will put his unbeaten record on the line against SIGMA's #4 rated Light Heavyweight, fellow Russian Daniil Skala, whilst Czech wrestler Jaromir Grygera will face former amateur boxer Spiridon Domazos at Middleweight. Lightweight Franak Pavlichenko from Belarus will fight Hamburg's Lucas Mueller, and at Featherweight Marco Bernacci will aim to tame the wildness of Fernando Peragon.

Card for predictions:

SIGMA 4

Gunnar Nilsson v Stanislaw Lipnicki

Valentin Taneyev v Daniil Skala

Jaromir Grygera v Spiridon Domazos

Franak Pavlichenko v Luca Mueller

Marco Bernacci v Fernando Peragon

CageRage · November 1, 2013

SIGMA 4

Gunnar Nilsson v Stanislaw Lipnicki

Valentin Taneyev v Daniil Skala

Jaromir Grygera v Spiridon Domazos

Franak Pavlichenko v Luca Mueller

Marco Bernacci v Fernando Peragon

batsnumbereleven · November 2, 2013

News and Notes from around the MMA world: April 1998

Signings

ALPHA-1: Hyun-Shik Lim, Naozane Yamaguchiya, Khru Duangjan, Koyoka Matsuhiro, Pai Cheng, Gyukudo Teshigahara, Kanezane Fujii, Jiroemon Hasegawa, Jutaro Honma, Sharaku Kon, Nilton Fantoni,

GAMMA: -

BCF: -

FLB: -

XCC: -

WEFF: -

KDMFC: -

Events

Monday 1st April saw XCC present Ziskie v Nunes from California, where the main event saw XCC Featherweight champion Philip Ziskie (#2, 18-1-1) successfully defend his title against Venezuela's Azor Portela Nunes (#24, 21-4) by TKO in the first round. In the co-main, #15 Womens Featherweight Helen Fox extended her record to 5-0 with victory over Simone King (3-1).

KDMFC 5 took place on Wednesday 3rd April, with Tokyo's Mizuki Watanabe (#4, 6-0) beating compatriot Chiyo Yanagimoto (#3, 8-1) by Unanimous Decision.

On Wednesday 10th April, FLB presented FLB 8: Tough Love. The main event saw a surprise, as veteran Zaco (#15, 44-14), overturned FLB Middleweight champion Braulio Moura (#3, 19-3-1NC) in a fantastic match, with the end coming via ground strikes at 4:25 of the 3rd Round. There were also wins for #6 ranked Lightweight Helio (16-1), #7 Welterweight Thais Antonio Taffarel (19-2) and #20 Middleweight Jerezo (32-9).

GAMMA 24: Regueiro v Humphreys took place on Saturday 20th April, with GAMMA Welterweight champion Julio Regueiro (#1, 21-0) successfully defending against Jack Humphreys (#16, 22-7). The challenger was forced to submit to a Guillotine choke in the 5th round of the contest. Elsewhere, #2 Middleweight Dexter Darling (19-2-1) beat Woody Fierstein (10-3) by TKO in the 1st round and #9 Light Heavyweight Junior Patinkin (16-1) defeated Kendall Tracey (8-2) by Unanimous Decision. In a tight bout at Middleweight between two top 25 ranked fighters, JJ Reid (25-5) took the decision over veteran Mac Fuller (32-9).

On Tuesday 23rd April, BCF: Alois v Potter took place, and New Zealander Carter Potter (#18, 16-4) took the BCF Heavyweight title from Stafford Alois (#9, 26-9) by TKO in Round 4. At Light Heavyweight, #16 ranked Garry McSweegan (22-7) displayed his title credentials by knocking out fellow Scot Lenny McFadden (9-1) in the 1st Round.

WEFF 5 took place on Friday 16th April, and #11 Womens Featherweight Haley Croft (6-0) retained her championship over #17 Hope Lehane (3-1) by Unanimous Decision. #3 Bantamweight Lisa Labone (5-0) stepped up her campaign for a title fight with a 1st round TKO of Tammy Westenra (4-3).

Saturday 27th April saw ALPHA-1: da Guia v Hirano. In the Main Event, #5 Welterweight Carlos da Guia extended his unbeaten record to 16 fights win a KO kick victory over #19 Fukusubaru Hirano (10-1-1) in round 3 to retain his ALPHA-1 Welterweight title. In the Heavyweight division, Canadian karate expert Mason Archer (#7, 17-3) took a first round TKO win over Denbe Ekiguchi (6-4), and Finland's Ari Peltonen (#10, 24-7) despatched Takefumi Ando (14-12) by Rear Naked Choke in 8:38 of round 1.

Other Notable news

Retirements announced:

Travis Jones (28-19) 40yo, Jack Cobblepot (38-9-3) 36yo, Vincent Chapin (21-14) 38yo, Yegor Semoyonev (35-9-2) 34yo,

batsnumbereleven · November 2, 2013

Event report SIGMA 4: Nilsson v Lipnicki Friday 26th April 1998 Scania Arena, Duisberg, Germany. Attendance: 500 for a gate of $20,000 PPV Buys: N/A Fernando Peragon (8-2) v Marco Bernacci (4-1) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Next up, Marco 'The Bomb' Bernacci takes on 'The Peragon Of Virtue' Fernando Peragon in the SIGMA Featherweight division. >Round one begins! >A wayward low left kick allows Peragon to hit a flurry of quick punches. >Peragon counters a left kick to the body by hitting a series of big punches, putting Bernacci down on the ground! >Peragon quickly pounces, looking to rain down punches on the stunned Bernacci! >Peragon unloads with massive punches, Bernacci is getting destroyed! >The referee has no option but to leap in and stop the fight! >The winner, by TKO; Fernando Peragon!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Peragon Of Virtue' Fernando Peragon defeats Marco 'The Bomb' Bernacci (TKO (Strikes) in 1:10 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: Great win for Peragon, demonstrating his punching power to great effect. Bernacci might just have to be matched up against someone with less prowess as he didn't even get a look in here. Franak Pavlichenko (11-5) v Lucas Mueller (7-1) >Another match is about to begin; Franak Pavilchenko takes on 'The Wrecking Ball' Lucas Mueller in the SIGMA Lightweight division. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> >Round one begins! >A left jab misses and Pavilchenko counters with a solid left jab. >Pavilchenko slips past a left jab and counters with a crisp left hand punch. >Mueller throws a left jab but Pavilchenko avoids it. >Pavilchenko avoids a flurry of rights and lefts. >Mueller is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket. >Pavilchenko sees a chance to dive for a single leg, but Mueller is able to defend against it. >There's a takedown attempt from Pavilchenko. >Pavilchenko drives forward with the takedown, but Mueller is able to stay on his feet and turn them around. >The end result is Pavilchenko being held with his back pressed against the cage. >Mueller breaks the grapple and prepares to launch some strikes at Pavilchenko. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Pavilchenko uses head movement to avoid a left jab. >Mueller gets tagged with a crisp jab. >Mueller takes a stiff jab. >A left jab misses the mark and allows Pavilchenko to counter with a solid left jab. >Pavilchenko throws a left jab but Mueller uses good head movement to make sure it slips by. >Pavilchenko uses a nice left jab from the pocket. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Mueller uses head movement to avoid a left jab. >Using good head movement, Pavilchenko slips past a punch and hits a stinging jab. >Pavilchenko throws a left jab but Mueller uses good head movement to make sure it slips by. >Good head movement allows Pavilchenko to avoid a wildly thrown right hand. >Time expires and we come to the end of round one. >Fantastic round, the fans have been out of their seats the entire time. >I think Pavilchenko took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >We are back underway! >Between rounds, his corner told Mueller to use his movement more in this round. >A jab misses, allowing Mueller to counter-strike with a solid left jab. >Pavilchenko steps back to avoid a left jab. >Mueller avoids a quick jab and hits a crisp jab. >Backing out of range, Mueller circles tentatively. >Not letting up, Pavilchenko steps in closer to pressure Mueller into action. >An errant jab sets Pavilchenko up to counter-strike with a crisp jab. >Pavilchenko throws a left jab but Mueller avoids it. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Pavilchenko avoids a flurry of punches. >Pavilchenko avoids a jab. >Pavilchenko slips out of the way of a jab. >Pavilchenko snaps off a crisp jab. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Mueller throws a swift jab but doesn't do any damage. >Pavilchenko steps in closer to force the issue. >Pavilchenko looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Mueller. >He pulls Mueller into a grapple. >Time expires and we come to the end of round two. >There are some audible boos from the crowd, that wasn't the most exciting round we've ever seen. >There was very little to separate them in that round, but I'll give that one 10-9 to Mueller. >Round three begins! >Moving forward, Pavilchenko counters a series of wayward big punches with a left jab to the cheek. >Pavilchenko slips out of the way of a flurry of wild swings. >Lucas Mueller is looking really tired. >Pavilchenko throws a couple of wild punches as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown. >Pavilchenko gets the takedown! Mueller pulls guard. >Pavilchenko pounds away with right hands, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Mueller is comfortable holding guard. >Mueller attempts a triangle choke on Pavilchenko from the bottom of the guard. >Pavilchenko defends well against it. >Mueller is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Pavilchenko off of him. >Pavilchenko fires off a handful of punches, each easily being blocked with gloves. >Mueller attempts a triangle choke on Pavilchenko from the bottom of the guard. >Pavilchenko pulls free before the triangle can be locked in. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Pavilchenko tries to pound on Mueller, but all the blows are comfortably dealt with. >Pavilchenko gets pushed back thanks to a butterfly guard, and Mueller quickly scrambles. >He isn't fast enough, and has to turtle up with Pavilchenko on top of him. >Lucas Mueller seems to be fighting against exhaustion. >Pavilchenko unloads with big punches, Mueller is struggling to cope! >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Pavilchenko pounds away on the body and side of the head, Mueller struggles to deal with them. >Mueller springs back to his feet, albeit at the expense of a few punches to the body and head. >Franak Pavilchenko is breathing very hard. >Mueller slips past a left jab and fires back with a left jab to the cheek. >A speculative right hand from Mueller doesn't find a home. >Pavilchenko seems to be waiting for Mueller to make a move. >The time runs out and that round is over, and so is the fight. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Pavilchenko. >The judges' scores are now being announced. >The judges have scored it 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. >The winner, by unanimous decision, is Franak Pavilchenko!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: Franak Pavilchenko defeats 'The Wrecking Ball' Lucas Mueller (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: I thought Pavilchenko took all three rounds, but Mueller did show a little more in the stand-up in Round 2, to avoid the stiff shots he was eating in the first. Pavilchenko might have finished the match with ground and pound in the third, but Mueller did well to get back to his feet. Mueller wants to fight Vladimir Baskov next, but at the moment that's unlikely as Baskov won last time out. Jaromir Grygera (17-5) v Spiridon Domazos (4-1) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Next up, Jaromir Grygera squares off with Spiridon 'Bang' Domazos in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >The fight begins! >A jab misses, allowing Domazos to counter-strike with a nice jab. >Grygera avoids a tight combination. >Grygera feints to the right, trying to draw Domazos into throwing a strike. >Domazos keeps his cool as Grygera throws a feint to the left. >A jab doesn't find its intended target, allowing Grygera to fire back with a solid left. >Moving in closer, Domazos looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Domazos is now standing in the pocket. >Showing good head movement, Grygera slips past a flurry of strikes. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Grygera lets a jab sail wide and counter-strikes with a solid punch. >A left jab misses the mark and allows Domazos to counter with a right jab to the cheek. >Domazos throws a flurry of punches but Grygera covers up and takes them easily. >Domazos backs away from Grygera, creating some space between them. >Grygera shoots in, looking for a takedown. >He gets a big takedown and he ends up in half guard. >Grygera looks to pass half guard and get side control. >Grygera gets past the guard, but doesn't go for side control after all, instead shifting straight into a mount. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Grygera pounds away from the mount, and Domazos struggles to deal with them. >Grygera forces Domazos to turn away from the strikes, giving up his back! >Grygera pounds away on Domazos, landing several good shots in the process. >Time expires and we come to the end of round one. >Good round, that's the sort of action we like to see. >I think Grygera took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >Round two begins! >From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Domazos has been instructed to try and pick Grygera off with counter striking in this round. >Grygera avoids a tight combination. >Grygera avoids a nice combination. >Grygera chooses to shoot in on Domazos. >Domazos cannot stop the takedown, and only catches Grygera in half guard. >Grygera is trying to get out of half guard and into a better position. >Grygera shows his skill, slipping from half guard straight into a mount with minimum fuss. >Grygera has solid control over Domazos, and starts pounding away with strikes. >Domazos is barely able to do anything at all, he cannot get out from under Grygera! >The referee has seen enough, he pulls Grygera off! >By TKO, the winner is Jaromir Grygera! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Jaromir Grygera defeats Spiridon 'Bang' Domazos (TKO (Strikes) in 2:14 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Not sure I agree that this was all that great a fight, but Grygera was dominant here, and once he got the fight to the ground, Domazos seemed to have little answer. A tougher test is likely to await next time out. Co-main Valentin Taneyev (5-0) v Daniil Skala (19-5) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>The co-main event is up next. 'The Hand Grenade' Valentin Taneyev fights Daniil 'Skull Crusher' Skala in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Taneyev feints going high but then throws a leg kick, Skala just avoids it. >Taneyev uses a nice combination as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown. >Taneyev goes under an attempted counter right hand. >Taneyev gets a single leg takedown! Skala pulls guard off it. >Taneyev unloads with some big right hands, but Skala deals with them comfortably. >Skala tries to catch Taneyev with a punch, but it is not on target. >Taneyev tries to pass the guard. >He passes guard fairly easily, getting to side control. >Taneyev begins trying to get himself into mount. >Skala can't stop it and gets mounted. >We move into the second half of this round. >Taneyev tries to lock Skala in an armbar. >Taneyev gets the armbar fully applied and Skala has to tap out! >The winner, by submission, is 'The Hand Grenade' Valentin Taneyev!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Hand Grenade' Valentin Taneyev defeats Daniil 'Skull Crusher' Skala (Submission (Armbar) in 3:23 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Great work on the ground by Taneyev to secure the quick win here, and another fight that I think was overrated, but still delivered nicely. Skala had very little answer to Taneyev's guard passing, so his next opponent will no doubt be taking note of that. Main Event Gunnar Nilsson (42-11) v Stanislaw Lipnicki (13-5) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'Swedish Superman' Gunnar Nilsson battles Stanislaw 'Big Daddy' Lipnicki in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >Round one begins! >Nilsson counters a left jab by hitting a jab. >Nilsson avoids a jab. >Nilsson throws a left jab but Lipnicki avoids it. >Nilsson uses a flurry of lefts and rights to get Lipnicki to cover up, then shoots in looking for a takedown. >Lipnicki tries to avoid Nilsson. >The takedown is successful, it's a single leg that leaves Lipnicki pulling guard. >Time slips away as Nilsson successfully keeps Lipnicki stuck against the ground. >Nilsson fires away with punches, but Lipnicki deals with them fairly well. >Lipnicki throws out some punches, but Nilsson leans back to avoid them. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Nilsson smothers Lipnicki with his body by pushing forward and down. >Nilsson unloads with big right hands from the guard, but Lipnicki is able to deal with most of them. >Nilsson leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Lipnicki. >Nilsson looks to pass guard and get side control. >Lipnicki comfortably blocks the attempt and keeps Nilsson in guard. >Lipnicki tries to pull Nilsson in close and pepper him with short strikes, but can't. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Nilsson lies on top of Lipnicki, basically smothering him. >The time runs out on round one. >Not a lot happened in that round and the fans are getting a bit restless as a result. >That round goes to Nilsson, 10-9 on my card. >Round two begins! >Nilsson counters a left jab by using a flurry of small strikes. >Nilsson slips past a left jab and fires back with a crisp jab. >Lipnicki throws a left jab but Nilsson avoids it. >Nilsson throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Lipnicki. >Lipnicki tries to step away from the takedown. >He has the takedown! Lipnicki pulls guard. >Nilsson pounds away from the guard, but Lipnicki isn't troubled by the strikes. >Lipnicki tries to catch Nilsson with a punch, but it is not on target. >Nilsson fires away with big punches, but Lipnicki keeps the guard secure and doesn't take any undue damage. >Lipnicki tries to pull Nilsson in close and pepper him with short strikes, but can't. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Nilsson lies on top of Lipnicki, basically smothering him. >Nilsson throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath. >Nilsson throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Nilsson begins trying to pass the guard. >Lipnicki keeps Nilsson in guard. >Gunnar Nilsson is breathing very hard. >Lipnicki throws out some punches, but Nilsson leans back to avoid them. >Nilsson begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >Nilsson struggles but cannot find a way past and remains stuck in guard. >The time runs out on round two. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Nilsson. >We are back underway! >Between rounds, his corner told Lipnicki to take it to the ground as early as possible in this round. >Nilsson slips past a left jab and counters with a crisp jab. >Lipnicki chooses to shoot in on Nilsson. >Nilsson tries to step away from the takedown. >Nilsson avoids the takedown attempt. >Lipnicki comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Nilsson. >He pulls Nilsson into a grapple. >Lipnicki is trying to push Nilsson so that his back is up against the cage. >Lipnicki can't move Nilsson at all though, and finds himself being out-wrestled. >Nilsson is trying to push Lipnicki so that his back is up against the cage. >He does so, and now has Lipnicki pinned to the cage. >Gunnar Nilsson seems to be fighting against exhaustion. >With Lipnicki stuck against the cage, Nilsson gets the underhooks and looks for a takedown. >The underhooks are used to set up a trip, Lipnicki is left on his back and has to pull guard. >Nilsson throws a few weak-looking punches as he decides on his next move. >Lipnicki attempts a triangle choke on Nilsson from the bottom of the guard. >Nilsson blocks the attempt. >Stanislaw Lipnicki looks very tired out there. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Nilsson lies on top of Lipnicki, basically smothering him. >Nilsson begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >Lipnicki can't fend off the effort, and can only stop Nilsson at half guard. >Gunnar Nilsson looks like he is completely out of gas. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Nilsson fires off a few punches, but they aren't thrown with any great force. >Nilsson blocks an attempted move from half guard to full guard. >The time runs out and that round is over, and so is the fight. >I think Nilsson took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >The judges' scores are now being announced. >All three judges score the contest as 30-27. >So the winner, by unanimous decision, is 'Swedish Superman' Gunnar Nilsson! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'Swedish Superman' Gunnar Nilsson defeats Stanislaw 'Big Daddy' Lipnicki (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor. Comments: As a means of getting the former champ back into winning ways, I suppose this bout could be considered a success, but in most other ways it was anything but. Nilsson looked jaded and unable to offer anything to bring the fight to a close, whilst Lipnicki had no takedown defense or attacks off his back that could change the game, making for rather a drab contest. Nilsson definitely doesn't get a title shot on the basis of that performance – he'll have to be much more convincing to earn it. Show summary Critical rating: Decent Commercial success: Good Fight of the Night: Jaromir Grygera v Spiridon Domazos Knockout of the Night: Fernando Peragon Submission of the Night: Valentin Taneyev Comments: A real mix and match tonight – the feeling after the main event is definitely of being underwhelmed by the show, despite the great work from Grygera, Peragon and Taneyev, who rightly picked up the bonuses.

batsnumbereleven · November 3, 2013

Prediction results CageRage – 5/5 congratulations! (13/17) Injury report Stanislaw Lipnicki looks like he'll need around 7 weeks to recover from a shoulder injury suffered in the main event. The athletic commission have imposed precautionary suspensions of 1 month for Marco Bernacci, 2 months for Spiridon Domazos and 3 months for Daniil Skala. End of month finances: A loss of just under £12k for April. Monday 1st May 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Blurcat.com SIGMA today unveiled four new signings that look to be targeting the long-term future of the organisation rather than for the immediacy. Continuing to focus on home-grown talent, the first of these is 20-year-old Gelsenkirchen Heavyweight wrestler Heinz Schroder. Adding to depth at Featherweight, Pole Jan Ilic, reputed to have a hard right hand, also joins the roster. 23-year-old Norwegian sambo fighter Stian Agdenstein will provide additional match ups in the Welterweight division, probably SIGMA's weakest at present, and finally 20-year-old Spanish kick boxer Xavi Castillejo aims to make an impact at Lightweight. Agdenstein is most likely of these to make an immediate impact, but all are good prospects though all also have obvious weaknesses at this stage of their career, which will need refining if they are to be MMA stars of the future.</div></blockquote>

batsnumbereleven · November 3, 2013

Monday 1st May 1998 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Press Release Signature Martial Arts' next event will feature a headlining bout between unbeaten Fjodor Kanchelskis and Spain's Fernando Amaro for the Middleweight title. SIGMA 5: Kanchelskis v Amaro will also see unbeaten heavyweights Souleymane Ya Konan, from the Ivory Coast and Mugur Boc from Moldova face off and someone's “0” has to go! The card, to be held on Sunday 14th May at the Munich Volleyballhalle, will also see a top Featherweight bout, between Portugal's Pedro Alves and Scotland's Jason Dalglish, who are both highly rated jiu-jitsu fighters. On the undercard, there will be a duel between kick boxers, as the experienced Serb Andranik Paletilolu seeks to end the unbeaten run of Rotterdam's Rafael van der Moot, and Lightweights George Nouri and Maurice Braudel match up to round out the list.</div></blockquote> Card for picks: SIGMA 5 Fjodor Kanchelskis © v Fernando Amaro Pedro Alves v Jason Dalglish Souleyman Ya Konan v Mugur Boc Andranik Paletilolu v Rafael van der Moot Georges Nouri v Maurice Braudel

CageRage · November 4, 2013

SIGMA 5

Pedro Alves v Jason Dalglish

Souleyman Ya Konan v Mugur Boc

Andranik Paletilolu v Rafael van der Moot

Georges Nouri v Maurice Braudel

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