SIGMA - Rise of European MMA

batsnumbereleven · February 8, 2014

News and Notes from around the MMA world: June 2001

Signings

ALPHA-1: Yoritomo Ina (0-2 UCFF after a previous 1-3 spell in ALPHA-1), Jin Yamane, Brett Krakowski, Seiho Okawa, Amanullah Karzai, Guilherme Barbosa, Yoichi Kubo,

GAMMA: Floyd Haywood, Alvin Deal, Warren Kitt, Chester Griffin, Julian Beals,

OMEGA: Joseph King,

BCF: -

FLB: Ramon da Silva Ramos, Fausto Barbosa,

XCC: -

WEFF: -

WARRIORS: Randall Donnelly (0-3 GAMMA), Osmosis Benn (6-3 GAMMA), Ieyoshi Yamashita (3-3 ALPHA-1), Bhumibol Ektawatkul (7-2 KDMFC), Chojiro Goto (0-3 ALPHA-1), Waly da Cunha (1-2 FLB), Dennis Gallagher (0-2 BCF), Lenny McFadden (1-3 BCF, 2-0 UCFF), Wayne McKellen (0-3 BCF), Denbe Ekiguchi (0-3 ALPHA-1), Heath Kaladaris, (1-2 ALPHA-1), Giovanni Conti, Jean-Pierre Richelleau (2-6 SIGMA – see below), Edgar Hoskins,

UCFF: Juan Puga (0-2 FLB), Mukhran Guramov,

Events

Ring WARRIORS held their debut event on Thursday 4th June, in Dublin, Ireland, featuring a Heavyweight fight between former GAMMA stalwart Fatuma Roy, and former BCF title prospect Dave Lennon. The three round fight went the distance, and the judges scored in to Dave Lennon (17-7) in a split decision. In the co-headliner, Efren Luat (8-2) beat England's Perry Barr (14-8) by second round TKO stoppage. The attendance was 167.

Saturday 6th June saw FLB 26: Liberation, where FLB Heavyweight champion Elzo Alves Moura (#6, 17-0) made his fifth successful defence of the title, defeating Gladstone Lopes (#9, 19-2-1) for a second time, this time by unanimous decision after five mediocre rounds. The Fight of the Night saw Braulio Moura (#6, 24-3-1NC) TKO Marco de Almeida (26-16) in just under four minutes of the first round.

Friday 12th June saw XCC: Siemaszko v Southall, with the XCC Lightweight title on the line. Glen Siemaszko (#7, 12-0) retained in a close and exciting bout over Darren Southall (10-2) on two of the three judges scorecards. In the co-main Rafael Tavares (#6FW, 18-4) took a surprise loss to Green Bay, Wisconsin's Markus Waller (4-0) in a poor bout, with all three judges seeing it Waller's way.

GAMMA 58: MacReary v Carlton took place on Saturday 13th June, with Nate MacReary (#12, 8-0) making his first defense of the GAMMA Heavyweight title he took from Raul Hughes last year with a 2nd round TKO of veteran grappler Jeff Carlton (#6, 36-9). It was a good bout that took Fight of the Night honors, and also rewarded MacReary with the KO of the Night on an otherwise fairly average card. The only other finish among the 6 prelim and main card fights was Joshua Hope's (9-2) 2nd round rear naked choke victory over Ramiro Benitez (1-2) in something of a Light-Heavyweight mis-match.

Hassan Fezzik (#1, 31-0) continued his domination of the ALPHA-1 Heavyweight division on Saturday 20th June as he defeated rising star Koyoko Matsuhiro (#2, 6-1) by second round knock out to retain his ALPHA-1 Heavyweight title in front of more than 15,000 in Kanto, picking up Fight of the Night and KO of the Night honors along the way. Also on the card Chinese Heavyweight Pai Cheng (#21, 10-2) fell to a surprising TKO defeat to unheralded Canadian grappler Eddie Fry (3-2).

OMEGA: de Terreros v Pinke took place on Sunday 28th June, with American wrestler Tyrone Pinke (#5, 4-1) taking the OMEGA Welterweight title from Mauricio de Terreros (6-1) by first round TKO.

Other Notable news

GAMMA fell back to Mid Level National on June 6th.

batsnumbereleven · February 8, 2014

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BigRedMachine" data-cite="BigRedMachine" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>... speaking of since neither is a champion anymore i would really like to see the Cabal/Otkay rematch if its possible, </div></blockquote> It'll come... just not immediately <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

batsnumbereleven · February 9, 2014

Event Report

SIGMA 55: Nouri v O'Hara

Glyfada Indoor Hall, Athens, Greece.

Friday 26th June 2001

Attendance: 3835 for a gate of $306,800

PPV Buys: 148,185 for revenue of $889,110

Preliminary fights

Falko Herzog (1-1) v Ilya Fedorov (1-1)

>Moving on to the next match, in which 'The Prussian' Falko Herzog competes against Ilya Fedorov in the SIGMA Featherweight division.

>And here we go!
>Fedorov steps back to avoid a tight combination of punches after falling for a clever feint.
>A leg kick misses badly, giving Herzog an opening to score with a couple of tight angled jabs and a scorching right hook to the body.
>Fedorov avoids several big right hands and counters with a crisp left hand punch.
>Herzog avoids a kick to the leg and hits a powerful right hook to the body.
>Fedorov counters a left jab with a swift right kick to the leg.
>There's a short stalemate as both fighters advance and throw strikes, but neither hits.
>Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling.
>Using his wrestling skills, Fedorov is trying to push Herzog up against the cage.
>Fedorov manages it, and controls Herzog up against the cage.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>Fedorov breaks the grapple and prepares to launch some strikes at Herzog.
>Fedorov dodges a jab, and fires back with a swift leg kick.
>Falko Herzog is going to end up limping if he takes too many more of those strikes.
>Herzog falls to the ground, that kick looks like it may have been an accidental low blow!
>The referee checks on him and gets an assurance that he will be fit to continue.
>The referee stops the clock and gives him a minute to recover.
>Herzog throws a looping punch, but Fedorov avoids it.
>Not letting Herzog settle at all, Fedorov comes in closer.
>Herzog counters a wayward left jab with a barrage of huge rights, knocking Fedorov down!
>Herzog quickly pounces, looking to rain down punches on the stunned Fedorov!
>Herzog pounds away with punches and Fedorov is having trouble doing anything about it!
>The referee jumps in and saves Fedorov from taking any more shots!
>By TKO, the winner is Falko Herzog!

>Official Result: 'The Prussian' Falko Herzog defeats Ilya Fedorov (TKO (Strikes) in 3:59 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: Looked like a good match-up in the early going. Herzog must have been fired up by the low blow, as he came on really strongly after that and deserved the TKO.

Jerome Atkins (4-0) v Ludwig Metzler (1-1)

>In the last of the preliminary matches, Jerome 'Retribution' Atkins takes on Ludwig Metzler in the SIGMA Middleweight division.

>And here we go!
>Atkins moves in quickly after a wayward punch and hits a brutal flying knee strike, Metzler goes down and he is out cold!
>The winner, by Knock Out; Jerome Atkins!

>Official Result: Jerome 'Retribution' Atkins defeats Ludwig Metzler (Knock Out (Knee) in 0:34 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: Short, sweet, conclusive. Not much else you can deduce from the 34 seconds of work here about either man. Atkins makes a statement on his debut.

Main card

Shane Gilchrist (15-7) v Matthew Michael Kirby (7-0)

>Moving on, Shane 'The Butcher' Gilchrist battles Matthew Michael Kirby in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division.

>We are underway!
>Gilchrist avoids a nice combination.
>A left hand misses, allowing Kirby to counter with a barrage of hard right hands, enough to put Gilchrist down!
>Kirby quickly pounces, looking to rain down punches on the stunned Gilchrist!
>Kirby unloads with massive punches, Gilchrist is getting destroyed!
>The referee pulls Kirby away, stopping the match!
>The winner, by TKO, is Matthew Michael Kirby!

>Official Result: Matthew Michael Kirby defeats Shane 'The Butcher' Gilchrist (TKO (Strikes) in 1:01 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good.

Comments: As with the previous fight, this one was short-lived and one-sided. Kirby looked so much better here than in his previous fight against Pierre Chagall and should get a tough opponent next time out.

Bjarne Bjerre (7-4) v Stain Agdestein (4-2)

>Moving on, Bjarne Bjerre squares off with Stian Agdestein in the SIGMA Welterweight division.

>Round one begins!
>Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything.
>From the pocket, Agdestein shoots in for a double leg.
>The takedown is completed, Agdestein came in hard and fast and was too much for Bjerre.
>Agdestein ends up holding a seated Bjerre around the waist, pressing him up against the cage.
>The clock runs down as Bjerre is being smothered against the cage wall by Agdestein.
>Agdestein looks to get a more dominant position by pushing Bjerre from a seated position onto his back.
>He is much too good for Bjerre, and gets the mount!
>Agdestein pounds away on Bjerre with elbows, but few of the shots lands clean.
>Bjerre has been cut above his eye, blood is trickling down.
>Agdestein tries to ensnare Bjerre in an armbar.
>Bjerre gets caught by the armbar, and it's deep enough that he has to tap!
>By submission, the winner is Stian Agdestein!

>Official Result: Stian Agdestein defeats Bjarne Bjerre (Submission (Armbar) in 2:42 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great.

Comments: Another first round finish, and could easily have been another TKO – perhaps Agdestein knew he wasn't going to win KO of the Night so took the submission instead to try and earn a bonus! Agdestein asks for a fight with Filip Hristov, and he might well get it.

Rav Kapur (#14, 10-1) v Christopher Drew (5-1)

>Moving on to the next match, in which 'The Beast Of Birmingham' Rav Kapur battles Christopher Drew in the SIGMA Heavyweight division.

>There's the opening bell!
>Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike.
>An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage.
>Kapur counters an errant left jab with a quick series of shots to the body, showing great hand speed.
>An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage.
>In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch.
>The grapple breaks up after a short struggle, and the two fighters step apart.
>Kapur glances a strike off the side of the shoulder.
>Drew comes in closer to press the issue.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>Drew feints rushing in, but withdraws.
>Both fighters throw strikes, no significant damage is inflicted by either.
>A straight left fails to land and Kapur is able to fire back with a right body kick.
>Drew avoids a quick jab and hits a solid left jab.
>We have one minute of the round remaining.
>Moving forward, Kapur counters a left jab with a hard leg kick.
>Kapur suddenly fakes dropping down for a double leg to try and get Drew to commit to a sprawl, but gets no joy.
>Round one is brought to an end as time runs out.
>I think Kapur took that round, 10-9 on my score card.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning.
>Kapur throws a left jab but Drew avoids it.
>Drew drops a shoulder, trying to sucker Kapur in with a feint.
>Drew circles as he plans his next move.
>Kapur seems to be waiting for Drew to make a move.
>Drew avoids a nice combination.
>We go past the halfway point of this round.
>Drew avoids a jab.
>Drew steps back to avoid a kick to the body.
>Drew sees a body kick coming and hits a left jab to the cheek.
>Drew tries for a left jab but Kapur moves out of range.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Kapur keeps his cool as Drew throws a feint to the left.
>Drew circles, looking for an opening.
>Kapur seems to be waiting for Drew to make a move.
>Drew moves out of range of a tidy combination of punches.
>Time expires and we come to the end of round two.
>That was a horrible round to watch, and the fans are booing quite loudly.
>That was a very close round, but I think Drew just about edged it.

>We are back underway!
>Drew counters an errant left jab with a straight left.
>Drew slips out of the way of a leg kick.
>A showdown where they both exchange strikes only results in a stalemate.
>Drew throws a feint.
>A left jab misses and Drew strikes back with a crisp jab.
>Drew moves out of range of a tidy combination of punches.
>Drew gets Kapur with a punch to the ribs, but it lacked power.
>Not letting Drew settle at all, Kapur comes in closer.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>A nice combination fails to land, allowing Drew to hit back with a crisp jab.
>Kapur gets Drew with a punch to the ribs, but it lacked power.
>Drew quickly gets in closer, looking to attack.
>Drew slips past a barrage of big punches and fires back with a couple of shots to the body and a nice right uppercut.
>Drew looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Kapur.
>Drew moves into the pocket.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>Using head movement, Kapur slips past a left jab and counters with a barrage of big rights, knocking Drew down!
>Rav Kapur is looking really tired.
>Kapur quickly mounts the dazed Drew!
>Kapur pounds away on Drew, landing several good shots in the process.
>We reach the time limit and this fight is over.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Kapur.

>Here come the official scores.
>The judges have scored it 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
>The winner, by unanimous decision, is Rav Kapur!

>Official Result: 'The Beast Of Birmingham' Rav Kapur defeats Christopher Drew (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor.

Comments: Kapur was a little underwhelming here, not really pressing for the big win he always seems to be capable of until the last part of the third round, by which time he hadn't left himself long enough to finish it off. Drew will be disappointed than he didn't take advantage of Kapur's off day.

Co-main

Lars Bohlin (#13, 52-8) v Hans Christian Bloch (5-1)

>The co-main event is up next. 'Ice Cold' Lars Bohlin will battle Hans Christian Bloch in the SIGMA Featherweight division.

>The fight begins!
>Bohlin doesn't get drawn in as Bloch feints a kick.
>Bloch throws out a couple of jabs as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown.
>The takedown is successful, Bohlin pulls guard.
>Bloch unloads with some big elbows, but Bohlin deals with them comfortably.
>Bohlin throws out some punches, but Bloch leans back to avoid them.
>Bloch looks to pass guard and get side control.
>Bohlin keeps his guard secure.
>Bloch leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Bohlin.
>Bloch attempts to pass guard.
>Bloch struggles but cannot find a way past and remains stuck in guard.
>Bloch deflects a couple of punches that Bohlin threw from below.
>We've now passed the halfway mark in this round.
>In guard, Bloch begins working to pass to side control.
>Bohlin is ready for the attempt though, and keeps Bloch firmly in guard.
>Bloch leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Bohlin.
>Bloch is trying to pass guard.
>He can't quite manage to get past guard on this attempt.
>Bloch leans back to avoid a couple of wild swings from Bohlin.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round one.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Bloch.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Bohlin slips out of the way of a leg kick, having been suckered in with a feint.
>Bohlin looks to be trying to close the distance between them.
>Bloch ends up grappling for supremacy with Bohlin.
>Using his wrestling skills, Bohlin is trying to push Bloch up against the cage.
>Bohlin manages it, and controls Bloch up against the cage.
>Bohlin uses dirty boxing to punish Bloch while he is pressed up against the cage.
>Bohlin looks to try and maintain control via his wrestling skills, but Bloch fights it every inch of the way.
>Bohlin tries to keep him up against the cage with wrestling, but Bloch reverses so that he is the one in control.
>Bloch has worked in the underhooks and looks to take Bohlin down.
>Bloch doesn't get the takedown, Bohlin instead wrestles his way into controlling the grapple.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Bohlin tries to keep him up against the cage with wrestling, but Bloch reverses so that he is the one in control.
>Bohlin waits for Bloch to lift a leg to attempt a foot stomp, then turns him around so that he now has his back to the cage.
>Hans Christian Bloch doesn't look like he has much left in the tank.
>Bohlin looks to try and maintain control via his wrestling skills, but Bloch proves too good and manages to turn them around so that he is in the dominant position.
>Bloch uses underhooks to gain solid control, and is looking for a takedown.
>Bloch can't get the takedown, as Bohlin wrestles his way into a dominant position.
>There's under a minute left in this round.
>Bohlin catches Bloch with a hard right hand to the ribs.
>Hans Christian Bloch looks like he doesn't have a lot left to give.
>Bohlin looks to try and maintain control via his wrestling skills, but Bloch proves too good and manages to turn them around so that he is in the dominant position.
>Lars Bohlin doesn't look like he has much left in the tank.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round two.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Bohlin.

>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Bloch throws a feint.
>Bloch throws a couple of jabs, a set up for a tired-looking takedown attempt on Bohlin.
>Bloch can't get the takedown, Bohlin defends it well and pulls them into a clinch.
>Bohlin is trying to push Bloch so that his back is up against the cage.
>Bohlin manages it, and controls Bloch up against the cage.
>Hans Christian Bloch looks exhausted.
>Bohlin uses a vicious foot stomp.
>Bloch is controlled up against the cage and takes a hard foot stomp.
>With Bloch stuck against the cage, Bohlin gets the underhooks and looks for a takedown.
>Bohlin can't get the takedown, as Bloch wrestles his way into a dominant position.
>Lars Bohlin seems to be fighting against exhaustion.
>Bloch has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take Bohlin to the ground.
>Bohlin will not go down, he blocks the takedown despite the best efforts of Bloch, but does give up his back in the struggle.
>Bloch loses control of Bohlin, who circles out and returns to the center.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Bohlin counters a wayward left jab with a solid left jab.
>Bloch, who looks drained, comes forward looking for a takedown.
>Bohlin looks to grab a guillotine off the takedown.
>Bohlin can't get the guillotine choke.
>Bloch gets a single leg takedown! Bohlin pulls guard off it.
>Bloch looks to pass guard and get side control.
>Bohlin keeps his guard secure.
>Bohlin tries to pull Bloch in close and pepper him with short strikes, but can't.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Bloch attempts to pass guard and gain a better position.
>Bohlin comfortably blocks the attempt and keeps Bloch in guard.
>Time runs out and that's the end of the fight.
>That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Bohlin.

>Here come the official scores.
>Judge #1 gives a score of 29-28 in favour of Bloch.
>Judge #2: 29-28 Bohlin.
>Judge #3 has scored it 29-28 Bohlin.
>So the winner, by split decision, is 'Ice Cold' Lars Bohlin!

>Official Result: 'Ice Cold' Lars Bohlin defeats Hans Christian Bloch (Split Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Poor.

Comments: Very tough to score, I had this 29-28 to Bloch with the takedown at the end of the third sealing it, but I can't complain if the judges saw it the other way. A lot of grappling that seemed to go nowhere, with the two fighters cancelling each other out. Bohlin asks to face Vaclav Reitsma next, perhaps sensing that a title fight isn't on the table at the moment, and it's something for us to consider.

Main Event

Georges Nouri (#18, 13-2) v Gregory O'Hara (#22, 9-0)

>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'The Sharpshooter' Georges Nouri fights Gregory 'Chief' O'Hara in the SIGMA Lightweight division.

>We are underway!
>Nouri avoids a nice combination.
>Nouri avoids a tight combination.
>Nouri comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in.
>O'Hara tries to avoid Nouri.
>O'Hara avoids the takedown attempt.
>O'Hara counters a right jab with a nice right hand.
>An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage.
>In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch.
>Nouri has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take O'Hara to the ground.
>Nouri doesn't get the takedown, O'Hara blocked it.
>O'Hara turns Nouri slightly, but can't create enough space to get free of the clinch.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>Using his wrestling skills, Nouri is trying to push O'Hara up against the cage.
>Nouri manages it, and controls O'Hara up against the cage.
>Nouri misses with a foot stomp.
>O'Hara is controlled up against the cage and takes a hard foot stomp.
>We're into the final minute of the round.
>Nouri attempts to set up a judo-based throw to take O'Hara to the ground.
>O'Hara is taken down by a quick inside leg trip, he can do nothing but pull guard!
>Nouri begins trying to pass guard and get a better position.
>O'Hara is ready for the attempt though, and keeps Nouri firmly in guard.
>O'Hara tries to catch Nouri with a punch, but it is not on target.
>Round one is brought to an end as time runs out.
>That round goes to Nouri, 10-9 on my card.

>We are back underway!
>An errant jab sets O'Hara up to counter-strike with a pair of jabs and a big left hook.
>Moving in closer, O'Hara looks like he may want to wrestle Nouri.
>Nouri is pulled into a grapple.
>O'Hara is trying to muscle Nouri up against the cage.
>O'Hara does it, Nouri is stuck with his back to the cage.
>O'Hara tries to hit Nouri with an elbow, but Nouri takes the opportunity to switch it around so that he is in control and O'Hara is the one backed against the cage.
>With O'Hara stuck against the cage, Nouri gets the underhooks and looks for a takedown.
>O'Hara stops the takedown attempt, then uses his wrestling to take control of the grapple and put Nouri against the cage.
>O'Hara tries to keep him up against the cage with wrestling, but Nouri struggles and doesn't let himself get controlled.
>O'Hara tries to hit Nouri with a knee strike, but Nouri takes the opportunity to switch it around so that he is in control and O'Hara is the one backed against the cage.
>We pass the halfway mark of this round.
>Nouri looks to take O'Hara down by setting up a judo throw.
>Nouri doesn't get the throw, O'Hara instead wrestles his way into controlling the grapple.
>O'Hara looks for a knee strike, but Nouri out-wrestles him and switches them around so that he is in the dominant position.
>With the cage trapping O'Hara, Nouri looks to be attempting to set up a judo throw.
>O'Hara shows stubborn resistance and does not get thrown, but Nouri does manage to slip behind him so that he has the back.
>O'Hara turns Nouri slightly, but can't create enough space to get free of the clinch.
>The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left.
>Nouri tries to get up onto the back of O'Hara and apply a choke.
>Nouri gets the hooks in, and he forces O'Hara to the floor.
>O'Hara is face down with Nouri on his back.
>Georges Nouri doesn't look like he has much left in the tank.
>Nouri tries to get his hooks in, but can't.
>Nouri blocks O'Hara as he tries to roll over.
>The time is up, and that's the end of round two.
>An extremely close round, could have gone either way, but personally I'll give it to Nouri 10-9.

>O'Hara is already up and pacing around, psyching himself up for the final round.
>There's the bell for the start of the round!
>Between rounds we could hear the corner of O'Hara telling him to take it to the ground early.

>A jab misses, allowing O'Hara to counter-strike with a right jab to the cheek.
>O'Hara looks to be trying to close the distance between them.
>Seeing a takedown opportunity, Nouri goes for a single leg, but O'Hara is equal to it.
>Gregory O'Hara is breathing very hard.
>A tired-looking Nouri throws a couple of ragged punches to get O'Hara to cover up, then tries a takedown.
>Nouri doesn't get the takedown, O'Hara was equal to it and pulls them into a clinch.
>Using his wrestling skills, O'Hara is trying to push Nouri up against the cage.
>Nouri ends up backed against the cage.
>Georges Nouri looks like he doesn't have a lot left to give.
>With Nouri stuck against the cage, O'Hara gets the underhooks and looks for a takedown.
>He lifts his opponent and drives him down with a Greco-Roman slam! He gets side control of it!
>Gregory O'Hara looks very, very tired.
>O'Hara throws a few left hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath.
>Nouri tries to lock on an arm-in guillotine from the bottom of side control.
>A guillotine choke is applied; O'Hara isn't tapping out though!
>It looks like O'Hara must have been able to stop the choke from being fully sunk in.
>Nouri releases the hold, perhaps having gassed his arms by squeezing for too long.
>We move into the second half of this round.
>O'Hara begins trying to pass guard and get a better position.
>Nouri keeps O'Hara in guard.
>Nouri tries to ensnare O'Hara in a guillotine.
>Nouri can't get the submission from it, but does use it as the basis for a sweep to side control.
>The time expires on round three, and that is the end of the fight.
>I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of O'Hara.

>The judges have given their scores, which are about to be announced.
>All three judges give 29-28.
>So the winner, by unanimous decision, is Gregory 'Chief' O'Hara!

>Official Result: Gregory 'Chief' O'Hara defeats 'The Sharpshooter' Georges Nouri (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Average.

Comments: Another bout where I scored it to the losing fighter. To me Nouri did much more than O'Hara in the first two rounds, with takedowns in both and better control of the grappling. This was a slightly more exciting affair than the previous one, but still a little below what I expected out of these two.

Show summary

Critical rating: Decent

Commercial success: Good

Fight of the Night: Stian Agdestein v Bjarne Bjerre

Knockout of the Night: Jerome Atkins

Submission of the Night: Stian Agdestein

Comments: A great undercard was let down somewhat by the top three matches, which didn't really live up to their billing. The Lightweight title picture isn't helped by the win for O'Hara, who was far from convincing, but he's 10-0 and highly ranked, so it may only be a matter of time.

batsnumbereleven · February 9, 2014

Prediction results

5/7 – CageRage (263/356)

4/7 – BigRedMachine (56/82)

Injury report

A number of injuries from tonight's event, but fortunately no really serious ones. Rav Kapur twisted something in his back early in his fight, which he says during the post-event press conference hampered him somewhat, and he'll be out for around a month. Jerome Atkins has a problem with his hand, and I'm reliably informed that it was actually a problem before the fight, hence him leading with the knee – he'll have a 6 week break to recover. Shane Gilchrist has a concussion, and will be reassessed in 6-7 weeks, and Lars Bohlin has a groin pull that will see him out of training for a while, and not accepting fights for around two months.

As usual the Athletic Commission have also had their say and have stood down Bjarne Bjerre, Ilya Fedorov, Ludwig Metzler and Shane Gilchrist for a month and Falko Herzog for two months.

batsnumbereleven · February 10, 2014

Monday 1st July 2001 <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 delighted to announce the signing of current BCF Light-Heavyweight champion Daniel Hornsby (#11, 16-4) to the roster after a fierce battle for his contract with BCF and ALPHA-1. Hornsby comes into SIGMA on a five fight winning streak after taking that title from Curt Kitson (now also on the SIGMA roster) last October and with two successful defenses under his belt. The 32-year-old from Romford in Essex is a stand-out grappler and has great ground-and pound, and admits that he hopes to make a quick and early mark in SIGMA. “I'm here to win the title, of course,” Hornsby said at today's press conference, “but I'll fight whoever they want to put in front of me. I'm sure Curt wants a re-match, but SIGMA's Light-Heavyweight division is full of talent – you only have to see that from their recent capture of Zvonimir Asanovic.” SIGMA CEO Scott Avatar was coy about what the immediate prospects fro Hornsby's introduction to the SIGMA cage would involved. “There's no 'grand plan' as such,” Avatar insisted. “Hornsby has been a top level talent in BCF for several years and we like the way he fits into the profile of the fighters we have in the division. “Whoever he fights will be a tough opponent, and we take pride in the competitiveness of the match-ups we put together.” Hornsby still has three weeks to run on his BCF contract, but is expected to be lined up for a fight fairly soon after that. </div></blockquote> SIGMA contracts Niko Soldo has been offered a further 6 fights, but termination proceedings have taken place with the representatives of Jean-Pierre Richelleau, after going 2-6 over the last three and a half years. Matthew Michael Kirby and Lars Bohlin have been given 6-fight extensions, and Georges Nouri a further 5 fights. <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 Welterweight rankings 1. Vikram Sithalayan, BCF 2. Julio Regueiro, GAMMA 3. Manuel Silva, FLB 4. Tyrone Pinke, OMEGA 5. Templeton Crumb, SIGMA 6. Carlos da Guia, ALPHA-1 7. Ichisake Miyagi, ALPHA-1 8. Nathan Chambers, GAMMA 9. Noach Van Der Capellen, SIGMA 10. Procopio Golias, FLB</div></blockquote>

iverbure · February 10, 2014

holy just stacking that LHW division.

batsnumbereleven · February 10, 2014

Tuesday 2nd July 2001 <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 the first overseas visit for our showcase television broadcast SIGMA Gefecht TV, as we head to the Nanterre suburb of Paris, France for the next show on Sunday 14th July, which will be held at the Palais des Sports Maureice Thorez. Headlining the show in his own country will be Calais, France's former SIGMA Heavyweight champion Terron Cabal (14-2), as he puts he recent failure to regain the title from Aleksander Ivanov at SIGMA 47 behind him and launches a new campaign to get back to the top of the Heavyweight tree. His opponent in Paris will be English ground-and-pounder Fritz Phipps (8-2), whose last cage visit was a decision defeat to Mugur Boc at SIGMA 51. An all-French fight will take place in the Welterweight division, as Guilherme Faure (16-9) looks to try and end his disappointing recent run by dropping down a weight class, and the Besancon native faces 25-year-old Luc Lagrange (1-2) who will have his home-city crowd cheering him on. At Lightweight, debuting Feliciano Costa (4-0), an Italian karate fighter will have his hands full with Lithuanian wrestler Egidijus Fomenka (1-4), and two English Middleweights will open up the card, with London's Ollie Castle (6-2) putting up against Liverpool's Brandon Naess (2-1). Don't forget that the card will be aired in full, as-live on Euro Cable Sports 4 from 2245 CET!</div></blockquote> Card for picks: SIGMA Gefecht TV Terron Cabal v Fritz Phipps Guilherme Faure v Luc Lagrange Feliciano Costa v Egidijus Fomenka Ollie Castle v Brandon Naess

BigRedMachine · February 10, 2014

SIGMA Gefecht TV

Terron Cabal v Fritz Phipps

Guilherme Faure v Luc Lagrange

Feliciano Costa v Egidijus Fomenka

Ollie Castle v Brandon Naess

I'm impressed with your Light Heavyweight division but suprised how well Hornsby has done in your game i usually see him as Kurt's token defence like Dexter Darling loosing to Matthew Dean and Kikuchi loosing to Fezzik

iverbure · February 10, 2014

Wolfgang Taktarov is he regen of someone or do you have a mod that created him?

Aldenvdk · February 10, 2014

SIGMA Gefecht TV

Terron Cabal v Fritz Phipps

Guilherme Faure v Luc Lagrange

Feliciano Costa v Egidijus Fomenka

Ollie Castle v Brandon Naess

batsnumbereleven · February 11, 2014

holy just stacking that LHW division.

Yeah - I want to see if he's as good in this game as he appears to have been, given his run so far... LHW is up to 39% of ranking points now, but is actually my smallest division at the moment, with only 20 fighters.

I'm impressed with your Light Heavyweight division but suprised how well Hornsby has done in your game i usually see him as Kurt's token defence like Dexter Darling loosing to Matthew Dean and Kikuchi loosing to Fezzik

Me too, which is one reason I've picked him up - the re-match with Kitson is something I'd like to do, but both need to build a little more popularity to make it a main event or co-main at this stage.

Wolfgang Taktarov is he regen of someone or do you have a mod that created him?

Taktarov is one of about 200+ fighters I've added using renders supplied on the boards, but my own characters for them. He's got strong skills all round but was set up with weaknesses in tactical awareness and killer instinct.

CageRage · February 11, 2014

SIGMA Gefecht TV

Terron Cabal v Fritz Phipps

Guilherme Faure v Luc Lagrange

Feliciano Costa v Egidijus Fomenka

Ollie Castle v Brandon Naess

batsnumbereleven · February 11, 2014

Event report SIGMA Gefecht TV As-live from Krefeld, Germany. Attendance: 1460 for a gate of $116,800 Ollie Castle (6-2) v Brandon Naess (2-1) <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, 'Dynamite' Ollie Castle takes on 'The Submission Expert' Brandon Naess in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Castle feints left and throws an excellent combination but Naess is just able to cover up in time. >An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage. >A weak body kick is countered by Castle with a pair of jabs and a big right hook. >Castle uses a feint to get Naess off balance, but the nice sequence of punches that follow don't find their mark. >Naess throws a combination of rights and lefts, using them as cover so that he can shoot in. >Castle tries to avoid Naess. >The takedown is unsuccessful, Castle avoided Naess. >Castle comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Naess lets Castle get closer. >Castle dodges a body kick and returns fire with a series of quick punches. >We move into the second half of this round. >A left jab misses, giving Castle the chance to hit back with a crisp left hook to the body. >Using head movement to slip past a left jab, Castle hits a nice jab. >Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything. >Castle dodges a body kick and returns fire with a flurry of jabs and straight punches. >Naess covers up to absorb a tight combination of punches. >An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Naess tries to wrestle Castle backward and up against the cage. >Naess manages it, and controls Castle up against the cage. >Naess uses a hard foot stomp. >Castle, stuck against the cage, gets blasted with a right hand, but manages to pull Naess in close to stop any more coming in. >Round one is brought to an end as time runs out. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Castle. >There's the bell and round number two begins! >Between rounds we could hear the corner of Castle telling him to swing for the fences. >Both fighters fire off strikes, neither produces any significant damage. >Naess shoots in for a takedown. >Castle cannot stop the takedown, and has to pull guard. >Naess looks to get past the guard. >Naess gets past the guard with a certain degree of ease and gains side control. >Naess tries to lock Castle in an armbar. >The armbar is locked in, tight enough that Castle has to tap out! >The winner, by submission, is 'The Submission Expert' Brandon Naess!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Submission Expert' Brandon Naess defeats 'Dynamite' Ollie Castle (Submission (Armbar) in 2:11 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Castle looked great whilst the fight was still standing, but just doesn't have the takedown defense he needs nor the bottom game to be comfortable on the ground, and Naess took advantage of that weakness here. Feliciano Costa (4-0) v Egidijus Fomenka (1-4) >Moving on, 'The Admiral' Feliciano Costa will battle Egidijus Fomenka 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>>There's the opening bell! >Fomenka slips out of the way of a leg kick. >Both fighters come in and exchange strikes, but neither does any damage. >Both fighters come in and throw strikes, there is no real damage done by either. >Fomenka comes in, looking for a quick double leg takedown from close range. >The takedown doesn't work, Costa stuffed it. >A speculative right hand from Fomenka doesn't find a home. >Not letting Fomenka settle at all, Costa comes in closer. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Fomenka moves out of range of a tidy combination of punches. >Fomenka steps back to avoid a left jab. >Costa tries for a leg kick but Fomenka moves out of range. >Costa hops around from foot to foot, looking for an opening. >Fomenka doesn't press the issue, allowing Costa to circle. >There's under a minute left in this round. >A feint puts him off balance, but Fomenka is still able to slip out of the way of a body kick. >Fomenka steps back to avoid a wild spinning back fist. >The time is up, and that's the end of round one. >I think Costa took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >Round two begins! >From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Fomenka has been instructed to try and get Costa to the floor in this round. >Costa tries for a leg kick but Fomenka moves out of range. >Both fighters throw strikes, no significant damage is inflicted by either. >Both fighters come in and throw strikes, there is no real damage done by either. >Costa backs away from Fomenka, creating some space between them. >Fomenka hops around from foot to foot, looking for an opening. >Costa doesn't press the issue, allowing Fomenka to circle. >Moving in closer, Costa looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Fomenka lets Costa get closer. >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Slipping past a left jab, Costa hits a right hook to the body. >They exchange strikes, but neither fighter inflicts any real damage. >Standing in the pocket, Costa throws an inside leg kick but Fomenka shows good footwork to avoid it. >Costa backs away to create some more space. >Backing out of range, Fomenka circles tentatively. >Costa steps in closer to force the issue. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Costa comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Standing his ground, Fomenka looks happy to engage Costa in the pocket. >An exchange of strikes doesn't really lead to anything. >Fomenka backs away from Costa, creating some space between them. >Costa is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket. >The two fighters move closer, ready to strike. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >The fans are booing after a really poor round. >That round goes to Costa, 10-9 on my card. >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Between rounds, his corner told Costa to try and keep it standing in this round. >Both fighters throw strikes at the same time, both miss. >They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >Fomenka attempts to pick Costa up for a slam. >Fomenka gets it! Costa manages to pull guard upon impact. >Fomenka begins trying to pass the guard. >Fomenka struggles but cannot find a way past and remains stuck in guard. >Fomenka deflects a couple of punches that Costa threw from below. >Fomenka attempts to pass guard. >Fomenka isn't able to pass guard on this attempt. >Costa brings his legs up and tries to lock Fomenka in a triangle choke. >Fomenka blocks the attempt. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >In guard, Fomenka throws a couple of punches designed to keep Costa guessing. >Fomenka looks to pass guard and get side control. >He can't quite manage to get past guard on this attempt. >Costa attempts a triangle choke on Fomenka from the bottom of the guard. >Fomenka blocks the triangle attempt. >We reach the time limit and this fight is over. >I think Fomenka took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >The ring announcer is now giving the official scores. >All three judges score the contest as 29-28. >Making 'The Admiral' Feliciano Costa the winner by unanimous decision!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Admiral' Feliciano Costa defeats Egidijus Fomenka (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Very Poor. Comments: A very tentative performance from both men led to a very poor fight. To me Fomenka took all three rounds, and he will be very disappointed with the judges decision, but that's the problem with leaving the outcome to the judges. Guilherme Faure (16-9) v Luc Lagrange (1-2) <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. Guilherme 'The Panther' Faure fights 'Lucky Luc' Luc Lagrange in the SIGMA Welterweight division. >The fight begins! >A flurry of punches fail to land, giving Faure the opportunity to counter with a clean jab. >Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything. >An exchange of strikes doesn't lead to any real damage. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes, but neither scores. >Lagrange uses head movement to slip past a vicious right and he hits a nice sequence of jabs. >Faure uses head movement to dodge a punch, then strikes back with a nice left. >Seeing a low kick coming, Lagrange strikes first with a flurry of quick punches to sting Faure. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Lagrange tries for a left jab but Faure uses head movement to avoid it. >Faure uses head movement to dodge a punch, then strikes back with an enormous right hook, Lagrange is out before he hits the ground! >The winner, by Knock Out; Guilherme Faure!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: Guilherme 'The Panther' Faure defeats 'Lucky Luc' Luc Lagrange (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:17 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: Faure makes his Welterweight debut with a big finish, and potentially resurrect his career, but he'll have to show he can do it against better opposition than this yet. Main Event Terron Cabal (14-2) v Fritz Phipps (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>>It's time for the main event of the evening! 'The Baddest Man In MMA' Terron Cabal will battle 'The Not-So-Gentle Giant' Fritz Phipps in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >We are underway! >Both fighters throw strikes at the same time, both miss. >Phipps is stung by a sharp kick to the shin. >Both fighters come in and exchange strikes, but neither does any damage. >Stepping back, Phipps creates a bit of distance. >Phipps looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Cabal. >Not wanting to grapple, Cabal uses strikes to keep Phipps at a distance. >Phipps steps back to avoid a tight combination of punches after falling for a clever feint. >Phipps steps back to avoid a leg kick. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Cabal tries for a leg kick but Phipps moves out of range. >Cabal hops around from foot to foot, looking for an opening. >Phipps doesn't press the issue, allowing Cabal to circle. >Cabal throws a left jab but Phipps avoids it. >Cabal circles as he plans his next move. >Not letting Cabal settle at all, Phipps comes in closer. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Both throw strikes at each other, both easily defend the other's attempt. >Cabal backs away from Phipps, creating some space between them. >A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning. >Round one is brought to an end as time runs out. >The fans are booing loudly after a dire round that featured little in the way of action. >I think Cabal took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >There's the bell and round number two begins! >Cabal avoids a quick jab and hits a vicious leg kick. >Strikes to the leg like that will take their toll. >Both fighters come toe-to-toe and strike, but none of the strikes result in significant damage being done. >Phipps steps back to avoid a leg kick, having been suckered in with a feinted high kick. >Cabal looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Backing off, Phipps makes sure to keep out of range. >A left jab misses and Cabal strikes back with a kick to the inside of the left thigh. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Phipps throws three punches in quick succession, but Cabal was out of range. >Not letting up, Cabal steps in closer to pressure Phipps into action. >Cabal looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Phipps. >He gets into range. >Cabal lets a jab sail wide and counter-strikes with a leg kick. >Fritz Phipps is limping slightly. >It's a clever strategy by Cabal to work the legs. >It will clearly slow Phipps down and weaken his striking. >They both meet with strikes, but neither does any damage. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >Phipps tries to wrestle Cabal backward and up against the cage. >He does so, and now has Cabal pinned to the cage. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Phipps attempts to use some close-range elbow strikes but Cabal pulls the clinch tighter, making it impossible to launch them. >Phipps drives a knee to the thigh area. >The time is up, and that's the end of round two. >I have to give that round to Cabal, but only a 10-9. >As he sits on his stool, Phipps starts getting psyched up - he knows it's now or never. >Round three begins! >Both throw strikes at each other, both easily defend the other's attempt. >Having stepped near each other to throw their strikes, they both start throwing punches at close range! >Cabal smashes Phipps with a huge right hand and he is knocked clean out! >'The Baddest Man In MMA' Terron Cabal takes the win by Knock Out!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Baddest Man In MMA' Terron Cabal defeats 'The Not-So-Gentle Giant' Fritz Phipps (Knock Out (Punch) in 0:46 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Patient approach from Cabal, who took the first two rounds handily and then was first to the punch when the leather actually started flying. Not sure anyone will be seeing any highlights from the first round though! Show summary Critical rating: Good Commercial success: Decent Fight of the Night: Brandon Naess v Ollie Castle Knockout of the Night: Terron Cabal Submission of the Night: Brandon Naess Comments: Not a great deal to say about this card . Cabal was the big star and he did his job without looking anything special.

batsnumbereleven · February 11, 2014

Prediction results

Three out of four for everyone, though BigRedMachine took a slightly different route to it.

Totals

CageRage 266/360

BigRedMachine 59/86

Aldenvdk – I think that these were your first picks, (so 3 /4 to date), but let me know if I've missed previous ones you made!!

Injury report

No injuries or suspensions this time around.

batsnumbereleven · February 11, 2014

Monday 15th July 2001 <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 delighted to be able to announce that it is bringing MMA to the delightful cathedral city of Magdeburg for the first time. Emanating from the new Bordelandhalle on Friday 26th July, and available via Pay-per-View through EuroNet throughout Europe, Russia and the UK, SIGMA 56 will be headlined by former SIGMA Welterweight champion Noach Van Der Capellen (#10, 25-4) and undefeated English jiu jitsu exponent Iain Fussell (#25, 9-0), as both men look to take a stride nearer a title fight. Van Der Capellen lost the title to Templeton Crumb back at SIGMA 42, but put in a stirring performance in front of his hometown fans at SIGMA 49 in Rotterdam to put away the dangerous Dominykas Jankovic. Fussell, meanwhile, has racked up a string of victories against lower ranked opposition, but has also defeated Filip Hristov (by KO), Jens Halle, and Carmelo Rossi (both by decision) and will have his credentials as a future champion well tested here. At Light-Heavyweight, another former champion, Nicolai Mickiewicz (#14, 23-6), fresh off a decisive victory over the heavily-hyped Mikel Tupolov, will serve as opposition for Russian kick boxer Aleksei Chekhov (22-6) whose recent contract extension came with a warning to up his game. Chekhov was last in action in defeating veteran Mantas Andreyev by unanimous decision in a dour contest at SIGMA 50. Manish Khan (11-4) will be searching for a return to the form that once saw him SIGMA Featherweight champion, as he takes on another in the same boat, Munich's Benedikt Streit (22-8), who since dropping the title to Lars Bohlin at SIGMA 33 has lost twice more, to Francesco Marazzina and Snorri Gunnarsson. At Heavyweight, Zsolt Hargitay (6-2), who lost to debutant Masimiliano Locatelli last time out, faces 20-year-old Finn Roope Kuqi (3-2), who lost a tepid decision to Ozzy Bintley at the same event. 22-year-old Russian Andrey Kizilashvili (#10, 5-3-1-1NC) has returned to the Blurcat.com Middleweight top 10 after his submission victory over Jaromir Grygera at SIGMA 46, and will be up against rising Dutch kick boxer Edgar van den Hoogenband (5-2), whilst in the 155lb weight class Hanover's Jochen Bellof (5-4) will fight French taekwondo expert Alain Saul (4-3) with both men coming off a win There will be two preliminary contests for those in attendance at the Bordelandhalle: the first will see Massimiliano Locatelli (1-0) as the opponent for the debuting Calchas Gekas, a jiu jitsu fighter from Greece at Heavyweight, and Conrad Bueller (1-2) will match-up against fellow kick boxer Paul Goodfellow (1-0), who also makes his SIGMA debut.</div></blockquote> Card for picks SIGMA 56 Noach Van Der Capellen v Iain Fussell Nicolai Mickiewicz v Aleksei Chekhov Manish Khan v Benedikt Streit Zsolt Hargitay v Roope Kuqi Andrey Kizilashvili v Edgar van den Hoogenband Jochen Bellof v Alain Saul (prelim) Massimiliano Locatelli v Calchas Gekas (prelim) Conrad Bueller v Paul Goodfellow

batsnumbereleven · February 12, 2014

Sunday 21st July 2001 <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 As one of the most recognisable faces in North American MMA, James Foster has made a decent living from the sport, primarily as the face of GAMMA over the last ten years, where he spent a considerable period as GAMMA Heavyweight champion. Since 1997 though, his form has been very poor, and he seems to have lost the edge that made him an effective Heavyweight fighter with good takedowns, excellent ground and pound and very solid grappling and submission skills. However, during his recent travails, we have seen him lose three of his last four fights in GAMMA, dropping the Heavyweight title to Leon Banks at GAMMA 34 after being knocked out in just 34 seconds, then failing to get out of the first round in a much-anticipated bout with veteran Jeff Carlton who some say Foster had avoided for a long time. In the wake of these two defeats, a match up against the dangerous Tim Boyer might have been considered a risky move by GAMMA officials, but they went ahead with the bout in any case, and Boyer proved Foster's critics correct, taking a unanimous decision victory that put Foster on a three-fight skid. What has come as something of a surprise, however, is that rather than allowing Foster to take on lesser opposition that he would still likely draw in good crowds for, GAMMA have allowed him to leave the organisation and sign with Mexican promotion OMEGA. OMEGA must be licking their chops at the tickets they will sell with one of the continents most visible MMA presences at their shows, let alone the match-ups they might make for him. It isn’t likely that they could come up with anyone who could challenge Foster seriously, in the way that GAMMA might have done lower down the card, so one can only surmise that their intention is to plug him straight in to a Heavyweight title bout and ride the cash cow that any challengers to him will bring over the next few years, before his skills decline to the point where he loses the title and becomes completely irrelevant. Fighting in GAMMA's lower card, where the likes of Christopher Sharp or Chuck Dooley could use him as a stepping stone to a title is one thing but in OMEGA, such bouts are likely only to lead to his reputation becoming spoiled, and the last thing that MMA wants to see is one of its pioneers becoming reduced to a physical wreck and fighting (and losing to) nonentities in Mexico. </div></blockquote>

CageRage · February 12, 2014

SIGMA 56

Noach Van Der Capellen v Iain Fussell

Nicolai Mickiewicz v Aleksei Chekhov

Manish Khan v Benedikt Streit

Zsolt Hargitay v Roope Kuqi

Andrey Kizilashvili v Edgar van den Hoogenband

Jochen Bellof v Alain Saul

(prelim) Massimiliano Locatelli v Calchas Gekas

(prelim) Conrad Bueller v Paul Goodfellow

batsnumbereleven · February 12, 2014

News and Notes from around the MMA world: July 2001

Signings

ALPHA-1: Sanzo Nakajima, Jon Silvers (3-1 UCFF),

GAMMA: Agustin Gonzalez, Vytautas Nemec, Craig Clean, Zeke Eliot, Jack Mitchell (0-3 OMEGA), Craig Hulme,

OMEGA: James Foster (1-3 GAMMA), Hakim Ali-Jabiri,

BCF: -

FLB: Edu Gattai, Welvis Andre de Arruda, Inacio Barroso, Alceau de Castro, Inejiro Chiba (4-6 ALPHA-1), Lucas Munoz,

XCC: LaMichael Denver, #5FW Yoshio Makamori (5-1 KDMFC), Mark Lee, Boyd Cooper, Gregory Wong,

WEFF: Kimberley Hunt, Former KDMFC Womens champion Tanika Uchiyama (3-2 KDMFC),

WARRIORS: Volker Schultz, Keaton Spratt, Mac Fuller (0-4 GAMMA), Rick Houston, John Nundano (0-2 OMEGA),

UCFF: Sean Deeley (1-2 OMEGA),

Events

BCF: Keane v Morgan took place on Thursday 4th July, with the BCF Lightweight title on the line. Defending champion Jake Keane (#13, 29-5) took a guillotine submission victory over Sid Morgan (6-1) with mere seconds remaining in the third round. Elsewhere on the card, excessively hyped American lightweight Felix Mudd (#1, 6-0) maintained his unbeaten record with a dominant TKO victory over Donald Ferguson (0-2).

Saturday 6th July saw GAMMA 59: Brown v Reid in front of 10,700 in New Jersey. Bill Brown (6-2) who took the title from Stuart Strange at GAMMA 55 back in March, was unable to hold out for the last few seconds of the third round and had to tap to a Triangle/Armbar combination applied by veteran JJ Reid (##4, 29-6), who took Submission of the Night honors for his efforts. In the co-main, the one-time hero of American MMA James Foster (33-7-1) won for the first time in four years as he took a 2nd round TKO victory over highly-considered taekwondo convert Walter Carpenter (0-2) as Foster made his farewell appearance in GAMMA. GAMMA returned to High Level National status with this event.

ALPHA-1: Takeuchi v Wai was held on Saturday 13th July in Hokkaido, and just under 14,000 turned up to see Tomohiro Takeuchi (#5, 23-3) retain his ALPHA-1 Lightweight championship against Masato Wai (7-2) with a TKO stoppage towards the end of the first round.

Saturday 20th July saw UCFF 8: Silvers v Teshigahara, where Gyukudo Teshigahara (8-2) took the UCFF Light-Heavyweight title from Jon Silvers (#20, 10-1) by TKO towards the end of the third round of their title fight. Just over 250 were in attendance at the North African venue.

batsnumbereleven · February 12, 2014

Event Report SIGMA 56: Van Der Capellen v Fussell Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany. Friday 26th July 2001 Attendance: 3786 for a gate of $302,880 PPV Buys: 148,815 for revenue of $892,890 Preliminary fights Conrad Bueller (1-2) v Paul Goodfellow (1-0) <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 to the next match, in which Conrad 'The Radical' Bueller goes head to head with Paul 'The Demolisher' Goodfellow in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >And here we go! >Bueller throws a feint. >Goodfellow counters a weak right kick with a quick series of punches. >Bueller avoids a flurry of rights and lefts and hits a kick to the outside of the left knee. >Moving in closer, Goodfellow looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Bueller now has Goodfellow standing in the pocket. >Slipping past a flurry of punches, Bueller counters with a picture-perfect roundhouse kick to the side of the ribs. >Slipping past a left jab, Bueller hits a nice left. >Goodfellow checks a low kick and then steps forward to hit a series of quick, sharp punches. >We move into the second half of this round. >A left jab misses the mark and allows Goodfellow to counter with a nice left. >Bueller uses head movement to cause a left jab to sail harmlessly by. >Goodfellow checks a leg kick and comes right back with a jab. >A left jab misses the mark and allows Bueller to counter with a right hook that flattens Goodfellow! He is out! >By Knock Out, the winner is Conrad Bueller! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Conrad 'The Radical' Bueller defeats Paul 'The Demolisher' Goodfellow (Knock Out (Punch) in 3:35 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: This one looked like it had a finish on it from the first seconds as both men threw limbs with aplomb. Massimiliano Locatelli (1-0) v Calchas Gekas (0-0) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>In the last of the preliminary matches, Massimiliano Locatelli takes on 'Blink' Calchas Gekas in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >We are underway! >Gekas slips out of the way of a flurry of punches. >A left jab misses and Gekas strikes back with a nice jab. >Gekas uses a flurry of lefts and rights to get Locatelli to cover up, then shoots in looking for a takedown. >Locatelli sprawls, stopping the takedown and forcing Gekas down to the ground into a type of turtle position. >Locatelli fires away with punches, and Gekas takes several shots that threaten to end the fight! >Locatelli pounds away on the body and side of the head, Gekas struggles to deal with them. >Locatelli pounds away on the body and side of the head, Gekas struggles to deal with them. >Locatelli pounds away with right hands, but Gekas absorbs them and manages to stand back up. >Gekas snaps off a jab that catches Locatelli coming in. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Locatelli gets hit with a crisp left jab. >Moving in closer, Locatelli looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Keen to maintain some distance, Gekas uses strikes to keep Locatelli away. >Gekas shoots in for a takedown. >A counter right cross is too slow to catch Gekas. >Gekas drives forward and gets the takedown! Locatelli couldn't quite stop it. >Gekas ends up holding a seated Locatelli around the waist, pressing him up against the cage. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Gekas tries to put Locatelli into a guillotine choke. >The guillotine choke is locked in, deep enough that Locatelli has to tap out! >The winner, by submission, is 'Blink' Calchas Gekas! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'Blink' Calchas Gekas defeats Massimiliano Locatelli (Submission (Guillotine) in 4:47 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Super adjustment by Gekas to get the takedown on the second attempt, though Locatelli might have been better sprawling again, given his success with that the first time. No hesitation by the Greek in getting the hold cinched in tightly. Main card Jochen Bellof (5-4) v Alain Saul (4-3) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>>Another match is about to begin; Jochen 'The Barrage' Bellof goes up against Alain Saul in the SIGMA Lightweight division. >The fight begins! >Countering a wild off-target spinning back fist, Bellof hits a nice one-two combination. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits. >Bellof avoids a leg kick and scores with a nice jab. >A right kick to the legs misses and Bellof fires back with a couple of hard rights! >Saul uses head movement to avoid a combination of short sharp punches, then fires back with a kick to the outside of the knee. >They both meet with strikes, but neither does any damage. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling. >Saul uses some dirty boxing as he grapples with Bellof. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Bellof gets caught with a couple of nice short punches as Saul uses his dirty boxing to inflict some punishment. >Saul uses dirty boxing and gets in a few crisp punches on Bellof as they grapple. >Saul hits Bellof with some short strikes to the side of the head while grappling. >Bellof uses his wrestling to smother Saul and stop him from using any dirty boxing. >Bellof is trying to push Saul so that his back is up against the cage. >Bellof doesn't manage it though, as Saul slips out of the grapple and gets away. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >An exchange of strikes goes nowhere. >Saul isn't drawn in by Bellof feinting to his left. >The time runs out on round one. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Bellof. >And here we go, round two! >Judging from what we heard from his corner, Saul is looking to push the pace with strikes in this round. >Saul throws a left jab but Bellof avoids it. >Bellof darts in, feints a jab, darts back out. >Bellof counters a wayward low right kick with a couple of jabs and a right cross. >Moving in closer, Bellof looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Bellof is now standing in the pocket. >Bellof checks a low kick and then steps forward to hit a solid punch. >Bellof slips past a jab and scores with a nice left. >Slipping past a one-two combination, Saul has the angle to counter with a solid left jab. >A left jab misses the mark and allows Saul to counter with a nice left. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Bellof uses head movement to avoid a left jab. >Both fighters fire off strikes, but neither does any significant damage. >Going toe-to-toe, both fighters start exchanging close range strikes! >A right hook lands from Saul, the best punch of the exchange. >Saul slips past a tidy combination and hits a sharp kick to the shin. >Strikes to the leg like that will take their toll. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Both fighters exchange strikes, but neither hits anything significant. >Saul uses head movement to cause a left jab to sail harmlessly by. >Bellof comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Saul. >Bellof grabs Saul and pulls him into a grapple. >The time runs out on round two. >I have to give that round to Saul, but only a 10-9. >Round three begins! >From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Saul has been instructed to try and pick Bellof off with counter striking in this round. >Bellof sees a body kick coming and hits a couple of hard rights! >Saul manages to avoid a nice combination and counters with a nasty-looking kick to the inside of the knee. >Bellof falls to the ground, that kick looks like it may have been an accidental low blow! >Luckily he looks like he will be able to continue. >The referee gives him one minute to recover, with the fight clock stopped. >A tight combination narrowly misses Saul and allow him to counter-strike with a sharp kick to the shin. >Jochen Bellof is finding it hard to put any weight on his injured leg. >An attempted inside leg kick misses, giving Bellof the opportunity to counter with a pair of nice shots to the body. >A jab misses and Saul counters with a kick to the outside of the left knee. >Jochen Bellof winces in pain after yet another shot to the leg. >Saul feints stepping in. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Saul moves in quickly after a wayward punch and hits a picture-perfect right roundhouse kick to the side of the ribs. >Saul gets suckered in by a feint, and is lucky to avoid the combination that follows. >Saul gets suckered in by a feint, and is lucky to avoid the combination that follows. >Bellof counters a right kick to the legs with a jab. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >A jab doesn't find its intended target, allowing Saul to fire back with a big right kick to the outside of the thigh. >Alain Saul is breathing very hard. >Bellof slips past a left jab and fires back with a left jab to the cheek. >The time runs out and that round is over, and so is the fight. >I think Saul took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >The ring announcer is now giving the official scores. >Judge #1 scores the contest as 29-28 to Saul. >Judge #2 has scored it 29-28 Bellof. >Judge #3 scores the contest as 29-28 to Saul. >So the winner, by split decision, is Alain Saul! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Alain Saul defeats Jochen 'The Barrage' Bellof (Split Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: Entertaining contest, but very difficult to score. I had all three rounds to Saul, but I'm not going to quibble with any of the judges on this one. Bellof will be desperate to win next time as he falls to 2-3 in SIGMA. Andrey Kizilashvili (#10, 5-3-1-1NC) v Edgar van den Hoogenband (5-2) <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 to the next match, in which 'AK-47' Andrey Kizilashvili goes head to head with Edgar van den Hoogenband in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >Round one begins! >Kizilashvili counters a wayward left jab with a clean jab. >Kizilashvili has to cover up to absorb a nice one-two combination, having been off balance after falling for a feint. >A left hand misses, allowing van den Hoogenband to counter with a big right kick to the outside of the thigh. >Kizilashvili comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >van den Hoogenband sees the takedown coming and tries to move. >van den Hoogenband gets taken down by a single leg, and has to pull guard. >Kizilashvili attempts to pass guard and gain a better position. >Kizilashvili passes to side control with ease. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Kizilashvili attempts to roll van den Hoogenband slightly and take his back. >He takes the back! >Kizilashvili pounds away, and van den Hoogenband is in serious trouble! >Kizilashvili pounds away with right hands, hitting several big shots. >Kizilashvili tries to hook van den Hoogenband in a rear naked choke. >van den Hoogenband fights off the rear naked choke attempt. >Kizilashvili blocks an attempt to roll him off of the back. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Kizilashvili tries to hook van den Hoogenband in a rear naked choke. >The rear naked choke is fully applied, and not only that but it's an arm-trap version, there is no option but for van den Hoogenband to tap! >The winner, by submission, is 'AK-47' Andrey Kizilashvili! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'AK-47' Andrey Kizilashvili defeats Edgar van den Hoogenband (Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:41 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Kizilashvili puts away another opponent and will be looking for a higher profile fight next time to justify the high ranking that the media have given him. Good passing that van den Hoogenband had no answer to and a clinical finish – threatening with strikes to set up the submission. Van den Hoogenband would like to face Thorbjorn Rekdal next, but that's unlikely at the moment, since Rekdal is close to a title shot and the Dutchman isn't. Zsolt Hargitay (6-2) v Roope Kuqi (3-2) <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 to the next match, in which 'The Hungry Hungarian' Zsolt Hargitay will take on Roope 'The Second Generation Star' Kuqi in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >We are underway! >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot. >Kuqi avoids a quick jab and hits a left. >Kuqi uses a flurry of lefts and rights to get Hargitay to cover up, then shoots in looking for a takedown. >Kuqi can't get past the sprawl of Hargitay, and finds himself pushed face-down to the ground. >Hargitay pounds away on the body and side of the head, Kuqi struggles to deal with them. >Hargitay unloads with big right hands to the side of the head, landing several that clearly hurt Kuqi. >Hargitay fires away with big right hands, but can't stop Kuqi getting to his feet. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >An exchange of strikes doesn't really lead to anything. >There's a double leg attempt from Kuqi, from the pocket. >Hargitay sprawls, stopping the takedown and forcing Kuqi down to the ground into a type of turtle position. >Hargitay fires away with big right hands, but can't stop Kuqi getting to his feet. >Kuqi counters a left jab by hitting a quick series of punches. >Hargitay looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >They start grappling, Kuqi looks happy to engage Hargitay at close quarters. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Kuqi has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take Hargitay to the ground. >Hargitay stops the takedown attempt, then uses his wrestling to take control of the grapple. >The grappling doesn't last long, as they soon break away from each other. >The time runs out on round one. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Hargitay. >There's the bell and round number two begins! >A left jab misses and Kuqi counters with a straight left. >Kuqi chooses to shoot in on Hargitay. >Hargitay tries to avoid the takedown. >Kuqi can't get the takedown, Hargitay was too quick to back away. >Advancing, Kuqi counters a left jab by using a left jab to the cheek. >Moving in closer, Kuqi looks like he may want to wrestle Hargitay. >Hargitay finds himself pulled into a grappling contest. >Kuqi has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take Hargitay to the ground. >Hargitay cannot stop being lifted up and blasted with a Greco-Roman slam, he can only pull guard! >Kuqi attempts to pass guard. >He passes guard fairly easily, getting to side control. >Kuqi attempts to roll Hargitay slightly and take his back. >Kuqi takes the back, Hargitay couldn't stop it. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Kuqi tries to lock Hargitay in an armbar. >Kuqi rolls onto his back to try and get the armbar, but Hargitay pulls free and gets side control. >Hargitay lets go of side control and stands up, then backs off, wanting the fight standing. >Kuqi shoots in, looking for a takedown. >Kuqi is stopped by a good sprawl, and is pulled down to the ground in a loose front facelock until he is on his knees. >Hargitay pounds away on the body and side of the head, Kuqi struggles to deal with them. >Breathing very hard, Zsolt Hargitay is looking ragged. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Kuqi takes a few punches on the way, but manages to get back to standing. >A showdown where they both exchange strikes only results in a stalemate. >A couple of quick punches are used to set up a takedown attempt from Kuqi. >Hargitay attempts to avoid Kuqi as he shoots in. >Hargitay avoids the takedown attempt. >Breathing very hard, Roope Kuqi is looking ragged. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >Fantastic round, the fans have been out of their seats the entire time. >That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Kuqi. >And here we go, round three! >Kuqi throws a left jab but Hargitay avoids it. >A left jab misses and Kuqi strikes back with a left hand. >A jab doesn't find its intended target, allowing Kuqi to fire back with a hard leg kick. >There's a ragged-looking takedown attempt from a visibly tired Kuqi. >Hargitay sprawls to stop the takedown, then pulls Kuqi up close into a clinch. >Zsolt Hargitay looks like he is on the verge of exhaustion. >The grapple breaks up after a short struggle, and the two fighters step apart. >A visibly tired Kuqi is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Hargitay. >Hargitay is pulled into a grapple. >From the looks of things, I don't think Roope Kuqi has much energy left. >Kuqi is looking to muscle Hargitay back against the cage. >Hargitay ends up backed against the cage. >We move into the second half of this round. >Hargitay wrestles back against Kuqi, not letting him maintain control for any length of time. >Hargitay waits for Kuqi to throw an elbow, then uses wrestling to turn him around so that Kuqi now has his back to the cage. >Roope Kuqi looks like he is completely out of gas. >Hargitay breaks the grapple and prepares to launch some strikes at Kuqi. >Kuqi uses head movement to avoid a left jab. >Slipping past a left jab, Hargitay hits a barrage of hard rights, enough to put Kuqi down! >Almost immediately Kuqi has shaken it off and is ready for Hargitay. >Hargitay motions for Kuqi to stand up, which he does. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >A visibly tired Kuqi is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Hargitay. >Kuqi can't get close enough to grapple, Hargitay makes sure to keep out of range. >Zsolt Hargitay looks exhausted. >A jab misses, allowing Kuqi to counter-strike with a right hand. >Although visibly tired, Kuqi looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Kuqi moves into the pocket. >Time runs out and that's the end of the fight. >I have to give that round to Hargitay, but only a 10-9. >Here come the official scores. >Judge #1 scores the contest as 29-28 to Kuqi. >Judge #2 gives a score of 29-28 in favour of Hargitay. >Judge #3 gives a score of 29-28 in favour of Hargitay. >Making 'The Hungry Hungarian' Zsolt Hargitay the winner by split decision! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Hungry Hungarian' Zsolt Hargitay defeats Roope 'The Second Generation Star' Kuqi (Split Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Another tough call for the judges, and I agree with the majority of them in this case, with Kuqi taking the second round where he was more effective grappling and Hargitay the other two where he was able to prevent the takedowns with ease and land some telling blows. Kuqi wants Peltonen next, but that doesn't sound like an entertaining bout to me! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36914" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Manish Khan (11-4) v Benedikt Streit (22-8) </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>>Another match is about to begin; 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan battles 'Bulldozer' Benedikt Streit in the SIGMA Featherweight division. >And here we go! >Streit steps back to avoid a one-two combination. >Streit slips out of the way of a jab. >Streit swings with a couple of wild punches, then chooses to shoot in on Khan. >Khan attempts to avoid Streit as he shoots in. >The takedown doesn't work, Khan saw it coming and got out of range. >A jab doesn't find its intended target, allowing Khan to fire back with a solid left jab. >A jab misses, allowing Khan to counter-strike with a hard right kick to the legs. >There is an exchange of strikes, but neither fighter does any damage. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Streit comes in swinging wildly, using the strikes as cover so that he can shoot in. >Khan first stuffs the takedown attempt, then manages to wrestle Streit the the floor and take his back! >Khan tries to get his hooks in, but can't. >Streit tries to move Khan off his back but can't. >Khan tries to ensnare Streit in an armbar. >Streit pulls his arm free at the last second, and is able to secure side control over Khan. >Streit begins trying to get himself into a mount. >Khan doesn't allow Streit to get the mount. >Khan tries to sweep Streit but can't. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Streit begins trying to get himself into a mount. >He can't get the mount. >Round one ends as time expires. >I have to give that round to Khan, but only a 10-9. >And here we go, round two! >A feint allows Khan to hit a brutal right head kick, but Streit somehow doesn't go down! >Streit might be in real trouble here, he is backing off but looks really unsteady on his feet! >Khan steps in to finish him off, but Streit instinctively drops down and looks for a double leg. >The takedown is unsuccessful, Khan blocked Streit. >Streit is looking to turn this into a wrestling match, and is getting in closer to Khan. >Khan counters with a right hand that catches Streit flush, rocking him! >Streit gets suckered in by a feint, and is lucky to avoid the combination that follows. >Streit comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >Khan tries to avoid the takedown. >The takedown is unsuccessful, Khan avoided Streit. >Backing out of range, Streit circles tentatively. >Khan steps in to put some pressure on. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >A feint sets Khan up for an inside leg kick, but Streit evades it. >Khan gets Streit with a punch to the ribs, but it lacked power. >Streit presses in closer to attack. >A showdown where they both exchange strikes only results in a stalemate. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Moving in closer, Khan looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Streit sees a chance for a takedown attempt, but Khan is able to defend it. >Streit steps back to avoid a leg kick, having been suckered in with a feinted high kick. >Round two ends as time expires. >I have to give that round to Khan, but only a 10-9. >Round three begins! >From what we could hear of his corner, it sounds like Khan has been instructed to try and pick Streit off with counter striking in this round. >They both meet with strikes, but neither does any damage. >Khan tries for a left jab but Streit uses head movement to avoid it. >Streit looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with Khan. >Streit eats a stiff counter right hand and almost goes down! >Moving in closer, Khan looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Seeing a takedown opportunity, Streit goes for a single leg, but Khan is equal to it. >Streit circles around Khan. >It seems that Khan is happy to let Streit circle for the moment. >Streit hops around from foot to foot, looking for an opening. >It seems that Khan is happy to let Streit circle for the moment. >Breathing very hard, Manish Khan is looking ragged. >We move into the second half of this round. >Streit looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >Khan ends up grappling for supremacy with Streit. >Getting underhooks, Streit looks for a takedown. >He lifts his opponent and drives him down with a Greco-Roman slam! Khan pulls guard. >Benedikt Streit doesn't look like he has much left in the tank. >Streit fires off a handful of punches, each easily being blocked with gloves. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Streit throws a few right hands as he takes a moment to plan ahead. >Streit begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >He passes to side control. >We reach the time limit and this fight is over. >I think Streit took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >The ring announcer is now giving the official scores. >All three judges have given 29-28. >Making 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan the winner by unanimous decision! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'Kid Britain' Manish Khan defeats 'Bulldozer' Benedikt Streit (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Khan looked sure to win this when he rocked Streit twice in the second round, but Streit did well to recover, and Khan failed to press his advantage. It was a classic striker vs. grappler encounter, with Khan clearly the better in the stand-up and Streit with the better wrestling, but Khan defended well enough when he finally got taken down in the third. Streit has lost four straight since winning the Featherweight title, and may be a spent force as far as any further title aspirations are concerned. Khan calls out Featherweight champ Nuno Valentino in his post-fight interview, but 2-3 in his last five fights really doesn't cut it in terms of a title challenge. Co-main Nicolai Mickiewicz (#14, 23-6) v Aleksei Chekhov (22-6) <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 Scourge Of Europe' Nicolai Mickiewicz will battle Aleksei 'Fists Of Death' Chekhov in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Mickiewicz steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches. >Mickiewicz isn't drawn in by Chekhov feinting to his left. >Moving forward, Mickiewicz counters a left jab with a flurry of small strikes. >Chekhov looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Mickiewicz. >Mickiewicz now has Chekhov standing in the pocket. >An exchange of blows doesn't really produce any damage or a clear advantage. >Chekhov backs away to create some more space. >There's a takedown attempt from Mickiewicz. >He has the takedown! It's a single leg, and Chekhov has to pull guard. >Mickiewicz looks to get past the guard. >He does excellently, getting past the guard and into side control. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Mickiewicz holds Chekhov in position with side control and hits a knee into the ribs. >In side control, Mickiewicz begins working to get a mount. >Mickiewicz shows his ground skills and slips to mount. >Mickiewicz unloads with massive elbows from the mount, and Chekhov is getting destroyed! >The referee is forced to jump in and stop the match! >Nicolai Mickiewicz takes the victory by way of TKO!</div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Scourge Of Europe' Nicolai Mickiewicz defeats Aleksei 'Fists Of Death' Chekhov (TKO (Strikes) in 3:53 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Superb display from Mickiewicz, who has put himself right back in the title hunt with this third straight win. Chekhov once again looked seriously outclassed against one of the better fighters in the division. Main Event Noach Van Der Capellen (#10, 25-4) v Iain Fussell (#25, 9-0) <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! 'The Super Animal' Noach Van Der Capellen squares off with Iain 'The Elite' Fussell in the SIGMA Welterweight division. >The fight begins! >Both fighters throw strikes at the same time, both miss. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling. >Clinched with Van Der Capellen, Fussell looks to try and take him down. >Fussell can't get the takedown, Van Der Capellen defended it well. >Fussell loses control of Van Der Capellen, who breaks free from the grapple and backs off. >Van Der Capellen counters a left jab with a couple of nice shots. >Van Der Capellen throws a barrage of big right hands but Fussell moves out of range. >Fussell slips out of the way of a body kick. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Fussell avoids a tight combination. >A feint allows Van Der Capellen to set up a spinning back fist, but Fussell manages to duck under it at the last possible moment. >Fussell avoids a low kick. >Fussell steps back to avoid a barrage of big punches, having been off balance momentarily after a clever feint. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Fussell steps back to avoid a leg kick. >Fussell counters a left jab by hitting a left jab to the cheek. >Van Der Capellen throws out a quick left jab. >Not letting Van Der Capellen settle, Fussell moves in closer. >The time is up, and that's the end of round one. >I have to give that round to Van Der Capellen, but only a 10-9. >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Fussell bobs and weaves, trying to get Van Der Capellen to commit. >There is an exchange of strikes, but neither fighter does any damage. >Fussell is getting in closer to Van Der Capellen, perhaps looking for a clinch. >He pulls Van Der Capellen into a Muay Thai clinch. >Fussell tries a knee strike, but Van Der Capellen blocks it and wrestles his way out of the Muay Thai clinch. >Van Der Capellen is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket. >Fussell sees a chance for a takedown attempt, but Van Der Capellen is able to defend it. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Fussell goes to the body and then to the head with a tidy combination to get Van Der Capellen to cover up, then shoots in. >Van Der Capellen sprawls, stopping the takedown and forcing Fussell down to the ground into a type of turtle position. >Fussell takes a few punches on the way, but manages to get back to standing. >Both fighters advance and strike, but neither hits anything. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Fussell counters a left jab by hitting a left jab to the cheek. >Van Der Capellen comes in closer, looking to clinch with Fussell. >Fussell tries to catch him by surprise with a takedown attempt, but it is blocked. >Round two ends as time expires. >That was a very close round, but I think Van Der Capellen just about edged it. >As he sits on his stool, Fussell starts getting psyched up - he knows it's now or never. >Round three begins! >Fussell avoids a nice combination and hits a clean jab. >A nicely executed one-two combination sets up a takedown attempt from Fussell. >Van Der Capellen sees the takedown coming and tries to move. >Fussell doesn't get the takedown, Van Der Capellen avoided it. >Fussell comes in closer, looking to clinch with Van Der Capellen. >Van Der Capellen tries to counter Fussell with a huge right hand, but it doesn't hit the target. >Fussell is getting in closer to Van Der Capellen, perhaps looking for a clinch. >Fussell eats a stiff counter right hand and almost goes down! >Fussell has to cover up to absorb a nice one-two combination, having been off balance after falling for a feint. >A left hand misses, allowing Van Der Capellen to counter with a kick to the inside of the left thigh. >We move into the second half of this round. >Fussell comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >Van Der Capellen tries to avoid Fussell. >Van Der Capellen avoids the takedown attempt. >Fussell looks like he might be trying to get in close to clinch with Van Der Capellen. >Fussell grabs Van Der Capellen and pulls him into a Muay Thai clinch. >Van Der Capellen uses his grappling to move from being stuck in a Muay Thai clinch to the collar-and-elbow position. >Clinched with Van Der Capellen, Fussell looks to try and take him down. >Fussell gets the takedown! Van Der Capellen pulls guard. >Fussell is trying to pass guard. >Fussell passes to side control with ease. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Fussell tries to ensnare Van Der Capellen in an armbar. >An armbar is applied, Van Der Capellen is trapped! >No! He pops his arm free. That was really close. >Noach Van Der Capellen doesn't look like he has much left in the tank. >Fussell blocks an attempt to pull guard. >The time expires on round three, and that is the end of the fight. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Fussell. >The judges' scores are now being announced. >Judge #1 scores the contest as 29-28 to Van Der Capellen. >Judge #2 has given 29-28 to Fussell. >Judge #3 has given 29-28 to Fussell. >Iain 'The Elite' Fussell wins by split decision! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Iain 'The Elite' Fussell defeats 'The Super Animal' Noach Van Der Capellen (Split Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Well that came as a complete surprise. Until the takedown with 1:40 left in the fight, I was scoring this as a comprehensive victory for Van Der Capellen, and even with that success I still had it clearly 29-28 to the Dutchman. He'll be very disappointed with this. There's an argument for an immediate rematch here, but it isn't our normal modus operandi. Fussell remains unbeaten but it's difficult to justify a title shot on this evidence, simply because most people don't think he won the fight. Show summary Critical rating: Good Commercial success: Average Fight of the Night: Calchas Gekas v Massimiliano Locatelli Knockout of the Night: Conrad Bueller Submission of the Night: Andrey Kizilashvili Comments: Good fights tonight – even the ones that went the full three rounds were entertaining this evening, and of course everyone loves controversy. We're just a smidgen below the threshold for Mid Level National now.

batsnumbereleven · February 12, 2014

Prediction results

Just CageRage involved this time, with 4/8 for a total of 270/368

Injury report

Aleksei Chekhov has been diagnosed with a separated shoulder following his fight and will be out for at least 6 weeks, whilst the Athletic Commission have imposed a suspension of a month on him and on Massimiliano Locatelli, two months on Edgar van den Hoogenband and Paul Goodfellow and three months on Jochen Bellof.

SIGMA contracts/signings

Terron Cabal and Brandon Naess were rewarded with 5 fight extensions to their contracts after SIGMA Gefecht TV, and Guilherme Faure will get 3 more fights to see how well the drop down to 170lbs goes. Luc Lagrange and Ollie Castle (both with 1-3 records in SIGMA) will be allowed to leave once their contracts expire after their next fight, or if another organisation comes in for them in the interim.

Noach Van Der Capellen has been offered a new 5-fight deal.

batsnumbereleven · February 12, 2014

Monday 1st August 2001 <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 its return to the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in the Winterhude quarter of Hamburg on Sunday 14th August for SIGMA 57: Oktay v Bintley. The main event will feature former SIGMA Heavyweight champion Lefter Oktay (#17, 17-1) in action once again, after his split decision victory over another former champ Grzegorz Boniek at SIGMA 50. He will be up against stiff opposition in unbeaten English all-rounder Ozzy Bintley (#22, 6-0) who has defeated Roopi Kuqi, Bastian Neske and Jean-Pierre Richelleau in his last three fights, the latter two by stoppage. In the co-headlining slot, recently defeated SIGMA Light-Heavyweight champ Rafael van der Moot (#23, 11-1) will return after dropping that title to Matti Kurri at SIGMA 49, and he will face the veteran Russian sambo fighter Mantas Andreyev (39-15) in what may be the final fight in the 44-year-old's career. Andreyev has also lost to Matti Kurri, and has since also been beaten by the erratic Aleksei Chekhov. In the Featherweight division, Italian judoka Francesco Marazzina (#22, 23-8) sees another opportunity to move towards a title fight, as he faces the wild and wonderful talents of Spain's Fernando Peragon (12-5), another erstwhile SIGMA champion, in what we think will be an entertaining brawl, whilst perennial Welterweight contenders Alberto Basora (20-10) and Dominykas Jankovic (11-5) will square off. At Middleweight, departing Greek striker Spiridon Domazos (5-5) will provide a test for the well-named Estonian Osvald Kikkas (5-1), and Xavi Castillejo (4-2) returns from a break of nearly a year to take on Dresden's highly-rated Ludvig Strauss (0-1) in a Lightweight clash of strikers to kick off the main card. In preliminary action, two Englishmen will go at it, as wrestler Graeme Spark (7-2) fights striker Duey Rickert (8-2) in a classic match-up at Featherweight, and Hannover's Volker Herzog (3-0) will face 24-year-old Slovenian Dejan Srebotnik (1-0) as two men who won their debut fights in SIGMA go head-to-head. All the action starts at 1900 CET, and is available on Pay-per-View through EuroNet all across Europe and Russia, so don't miss out! </div></blockquote> Card for picks SIGMA 57 Lefter Oktay v Ozzy Bintley Rafael van der Moot v Mantas Andreyev Francesco Marazzina v Fernando Peragon Alberto Basora v Dominykas Jankovic Spiridon Domazos v Osvald Kikkas Xavi Castillejo v Ludvig Strauss (prelim) Graeme Spark v Duey Rickert (prelim) Volker Herzog v Dejan Srebotnik

CageRage · February 13, 2014

SIGMA 57

Lefter Oktay v Ozzy Bintley

Rafael van der Moot v Mantas Andreyev

Francesco Marazzina v Fernando Peragon

Alberto Basora v Dominykas Jankovic

Spiridon Domazos v Osvald Kikkas

Xavi Castillejo v Ludvig Strauss

(prelim) Graeme Spark v Duey Rickert

(prelim) Volker Herzog v Dejan Srebotnik

BigRedMachine · February 13, 2014

SIGMA 57

Lefter Oktay v Ozzy Bintley

Rafael van der Moot v Mantas Andreyev

Francesco Marazzina v Fernando Peragon

Alberto Basora v Dominykas Jankovic

Spiridon Domazos v Osvald Kikkas

Xavi Castillejo v Ludvig Strauss

(prelim) Graeme Spark v Duey Rickert

(prelim) Volker Herzog v Dejan Srebotnik

batsnumbereleven · February 13, 2014

Event Report SIGMA 57: Oktay v Bintley Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany. Sunday 14th August 2001 Attendance: 3474 for a gate of $277,920 PPV Buys: 149,445 for revenue of $896,670 Preliminary fights Volker Herzog (3-0) v Dejan Srebotnik (1-0) <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, Volker Herzog will take on Dejan 'Shrapnel' Srebotnik in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Srebotnik avoids a huge right hand. >Herzog throws a vicious right uppercut but Srebotnik avoids it. >Herzog slips out of the way of a flurry of punches. >Herzog avoids a flurry of rights and lefts and hits a barrage of hard right hands, enough to put Srebotnik down! >Herzog knows that this is a golden opportunity, and quickly pounces on Srebotnik, looking to finish him off by raining down punches! >Herzog pounds away with punches and Srebotnik is having trouble doing anything about it! >The referee is forced to jump in and stop the match! >By TKO, the winner is Volker Herzog! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Volker Herzog defeats Dejan 'Shrapnel' Srebotnik (TKO (Strikes) in 1:54 of round 1). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: Herzog was determined to show fans that his impressive victory over Koenraad Belien was no fluke, and I think you can say he gave us a convincing argument here, throwing big shots right from the bell. Graeme Spark (7-2) v Duey Rickert (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>>In the last of the preliminary matches, Graeme 'Sparky' Spark fights Duey Rickert in the SIGMA Featherweight division. >There's the opening bell! >Rickert feints an attack, keeping Spark on his toes. >Spark keeps his cool as Rickert throws a feint to the left. >Spark steps back to avoid a left jab. >Spark steps back to avoid a left jab. >A left hand misses, allowing Rickert to counter with a hard right kick to the legs. >Spark avoids a flurry of punches. >Rickert comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Spark seems happy to engage with Rickert in the pocket. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Spark comes in, looking for a quick double leg takedown from close range. >A counter right cross is too slow to catch Spark. >The takedown is completed, it was a single leg and Rickert is left on his back pulling guard. >Spark begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >Spark is too much for Rickert, passing guard and gaining side control. >Spark attempts to roll Rickert slightly and take his back. >Spark takes the back, Rickert could do nothing about it. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Spark successfully gets both hooks in, and seems primed to finish. >Spark pounds away on Rickert, landing several great shots that rock Rickert! >Time expires and we come to the end of round one. >That round certainly got the fans going. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Spark. >Round two begins! >It sounded like his corner told Spark to attempt to get Rickert to the floor in this round. >Spark steps back to avoid a flurry of punches after falling for a clever feint. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits. >In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch. >Spark, controlling the grapple with Rickert, tries to scoop him up for a slam. >There's the slam! Rickert is planted onto his back, and pulls half guard. >Spark looks to pass half guard and get side control. >Spark gains side control after getting his leg free from half guard. >Spark holds Rickert in position with side control and hits a knee into the ribs. >In side control, Spark begins working to get a mount. >Spark shifts to mount. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Spark pounds away on Rickert. >Rickert had better start defending himself, or this will be over! >The referee has seen enough, he pulls Spark off! >The winner, by TKO; Graeme Spark! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Graeme 'Sparky' Spark defeats Duey Rickert (TKO (Strikes) in 2:56 of round 2). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Solid rebound win for Spark, who looked lacklustre in his first two SIGMA fights, particularly last time out against Ivano Ancic. This was more his cup of tea, where he could get the takedown and dominate with his grappling on the floor. Rickert will want to forget this one. Main card Xavi Castillejo (4-2) v Ludvig Strauss (0-1) <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 is a match in which Xavi Castillejo goes up against 'The Composer' Ludvig Strauss in the SIGMA Lightweight division. >We are underway! >Strauss counters a wayward low right kick with a barrage of huge rights, knocking Castillejo down! >Almost immediately Castillejo has shaken it off and is ready for Strauss. >Castillejo is allowed to stand back up, Strauss simply stepped away. >Moving forward, Castillejo counters a series of wayward big punches with a straight left. >Advancing, Strauss counters a left jab by using a couple of jabs and a right cross. >Strauss gets Castillejo with a punch to the ribs, but it lacked power. >Not letting up, Castillejo quickly steps in closer to attack Strauss. >Castillejo side-steps a barrage of big punches and hits a sharp body kick. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Moving in closer, Strauss looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Strauss is in the pocket, ready to attack Castillejo. >Both fighters exchange strikes, but neither hits anything significant. >Both throw strikes at each other, both easily defend the other's attempt. >Ludvig Strauss looks very tired out there. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, both fighters start swinging! >Castillejo eats a right cross during the exchange. >Castillejo catches Strauss with a hard kick to the outside of the knee. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Strauss takes a hard inside leg kick. >There's only so many of those strikes to the legs that can be taken before they become an issue. >They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >Castillejo hits Strauss with some short strikes to the side of the head while grappling. >Round one ends as time expires. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Strauss. >And here we go, round two! >Judging from what we heard from his corner, Castillejo is looking to hit and run in this round. >Castillejo stings Strauss with a kick to the left thigh. >Castillejo catches Strauss with a scything inside leg kick. >Ludvig Strauss is limping, he clearly has a damaged leg. >Moving forward, Castillejo counters a left jab with a big right kick to the outside of the thigh. >Wincing, Ludvig Strauss must be in agony by now, his leg is bruised and battered. >Castillejo throws a speculative right, but it is nowhere near hitting. >Strauss doesn't press the issue, allowing Castillejo to circle. >Castillejo tries for a leg kick but Strauss moves out of range. >Castillejo uses a feint to get Strauss off balance, but the nice sequence of punches that follow don't find their mark. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >A jab misses, allowing Castillejo to counter-strike with a body kick. >A straight left from Strauss fails to land. >Castillejo steps in to put some pressure on. >A left hand misses, allowing Castillejo to counter with a nice three-punch combination. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Castillejo feints an attack, keeping Strauss on his toes. >An exchange of strikes doesn't lead to any real damage. >The time runs out on round two. >That round goes to Castillejo, 10-9 on my card. >Round three begins! >Castillejo avoids a huge right hand and hits a left. >Ludvig Strauss seems to be fighting against exhaustion. >Both fighters fire off strikes, but neither does any significant damage. >They wind up in a tight clinch. >Strauss and Castillejo separate and we're back to a stand-off. >Castillejo avoids a barrage of big right hands. >Castillejo narrowly misses Strauss with a right uppercut. >Strauss doesn't let Castillejo settle, stepping in closer to impose himself. >Castillejo slips out of the way of a jab. >Ludvig Strauss looks totally gassed. >Strauss throws a looping punch, but Castillejo avoids it. >Castillejo doesn't let Strauss settle, stepping in closer to impose himself. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Castillejo uses a big kick to the outside of the left thigh. >Castillejo catches Strauss with a scything inside leg kick. >Ludvig Strauss visibly winced then as another shot landed to the legs. >Strauss gets caught with a sharp kick just above the hip. >An exchange of strikes doesn't really lead to anything. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Castillejo scores with a picture-perfect roundhouse kick to the side of the ribs. >Strauss circles, looking for an opening. >Castillejo presses in closer to attack. >The fight comes to an end as the time limit expires. >I have to give that round to Castillejo, but only a 10-9. >The ring announcer is now giving the official scores. >All three judges give 29-28. >Making Xavi Castillejo the winner by unanimous decision! >Post-Fight: In an interview, Strauss confirms that he was not happy with how his training went, and that he feels that it seriously affected his performance. </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Xavi Castillejo defeats 'The Composer' Ludvig Strauss (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Excuses from Strauss won't be tolerated – he was gassed inside the first three minutes, and that had nothing to do with how good his camp was, it was purely about his lack of conditioning, and he should be ashamed of trying to excuse it. Castillejo did a good professional job to come back from being knocked down in the first round, and deservedly took the other two, but perhaps could have made more of his success with his kicks. Spiridon Domazos (5-5) v Osvald Kikkas (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>>Next up, Spiridon 'Bang' Domazos competes against Osvald Kikkas in the SIGMA Middleweight division. >The fight begins! >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >Both throw strikes at each other, both easily defend the other's attempt. >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >Kikkas comes in, looking for a quick takedown. >Domazos tries to avoid Kikkas. >Kikkas doesn't get the takedown, Domazos avoided it. >Both fighters throw strikes at the same time, both miss. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling. >Kikkas has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take Domazos to the ground. >He lifts his opponent and drives him down with a Greco-Roman slam! Domazos pulls guard. >Kikkas is trying to pass guard. >Kikkas passes to side control with ease. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Kikkas is trying to move from side control to mount. >He doesn't get the mount, but only because Domazos rolled over and gave up his back instead. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Domazos is in huge trouble now, as Kikkas successfully gets both hooks in. >With both hooks in and therefore great control of the body, Kikkas tries to finish Domazos off with a rear naked choke. >Domazos stops Kikkas from getting his arm under the chin and completing the choke. >The time is up, and that's the end of round one. >I think Kikkas took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Domazos feints left and tries to get Kikkas to commit to a strike, but gets no joy. >Kikkas slips out of the way of a jab. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits. >Domazos comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Domazos moves into the pocket. >Both fighters exchange strikes, but neither hits anything significant. >Kikkas throws a right jab but Domazos uses good head movement to make sure it slips by. >There's a stalemate as both fighters throw strikes but neither hits. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Kikkas uses head movement to avoid a combination of punches, then counters with a kick to the outside of the knee. >Standing in the pocket, Kikkas throws an inside leg kick but Domazos shows good footwork to avoid it. >There's a double leg attempt from Kikkas, from the pocket. >Kikkas gets a single leg takedown! Domazos pulls guard off it. >Kikkas attempts to pass guard and gain a better position. >He does excellently, getting past the guard and into side control. >The end of the round is coming quick, there's under a minute left. >Kikkas attempts to roll Domazos slightly and take his back. >Domazos tries to escape but only succeeds in giving up his back! >Domazos is in increasing trouble, as Kikkas gets both hooks in. >The time is up, and that's the end of round two. >That round goes to Kikkas, 10-9 on my card. >And here we go, round three! >A weak left kick is countered by Domazos with a clean jab. >Domazos avoids a leg kick and scores with a clever combination that finishes with a nice left cross. >Kikkas steps back to avoid a one-two combination. >Moving in closer, Domazos looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >The two fighters move closer, ready to strike. >Domazos uses head movement to slip past a punch, then hits some heavy left hands! >Kikkas backs off but does not look at all steady on his feet, he has clearly been rocked by that last blow! >In danger, the instincts of Kikkas take over and he immediately shoots in to try and take Domazos down. >Domazos stuffs the takedown, but gets pushed up against the cage instead. >Spiridon Domazos is looking really tired. >Domazos takes a sharp stomp to the foot. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Domazos is controlled up against the cage and takes a few left hands via some dirty boxing. >Kikkas smothers Domazos against the cage, then scores with a right to the side of the stomach. >Domazos is trapped against the cage and Kikkas hits him with a short right uppercut. >Osvald Kikkas doesn't look like he has much left in the tank. >Kikkas has worked in the underhooks and looks to take Domazos down. >Kikkas sweeps the legs and takes Domazos down, hard. >Kikkas ends up holding a seated Domazos around the waist, pressing him up against the cage. >Spiridon Domazos seems to be fighting against exhaustion. >Kikkas tries to lock Domazos in a choke. >Domazos gets caught by the guillotine, and it's tight enough that he has to tap! >Osvald Kikkas takes the victory by way of submission! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Osvald Kikkas defeats Spiridon 'Bang' Domazos (Submission (Guillotine) in 3:54 of round 3). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Enterprising performance from Kikkas, who took the first two rounds and came close to finishing in both, but then got caught with a good left from Domazos that threatened to turn the fight completely around, but instinctively got the takedown and then got into position to finish. Domazos leaves us after a 1-5 run. Alberto Basora (20-10) v Dominykas Jankovic (11-5) <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 Alberto Basora will battle Dominykas 'Slamkovic' Jankovic in the SIGMA Welterweight division. >The fight begins! >Basora slips out of the way of a flurry of punches. >Jankovic feints left and tries to get Basora to commit to a strike, but gets no joy. >An exchange of strikes doesn't really lead to anything. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >The grappling doesn't last long, as they soon break away from each other. >Jankovic chooses to shoot in on Basora. >The takedown is successful, it's a single leg that leaves Basora pulling guard. >Jankovic begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >Jankovic passes to side control with ease. >Jankovic tries to ensnare Basora in an armbar. >Jankovic gets an armbar fully applied! >No! Basora manages to get his arm free. Clearly the hold couldn't have been as tight as it looked. >Basora tries to transition to a guard, but can't manage it. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Jankovic starts trying to work to go from side control to mount. >Jankovic shifts to mount. >Jankovic pounds away with elbows, but doesn't do much damage, if any, Basora covers up well. >Basora tries to move Jankovic enough to get half guard, but can't get enough space. >Jankovic fires away with big elbows, but Basora covers up and doesn't take any undue damage. >Jankovic controls Basora, who was trying to wriggle to half guard. >There's under a minute left in this round. >Jankovic pounds away from the mount with elbows, but Basora covers up and defends them well. >Basora tries to get to half guard but can't. >Time expires and we come to the end of round one. >There are some audible boos from the crowd, that wasn't the most exciting round we've ever seen. >That round goes to Jankovic, 10-9 on my card. >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Basora slips out of the way of a jab. >Jankovic feints stepping in. >Jankovic shoots in, looking for a takedown. >Basora attempts to avoid Jankovic as he shoots in. >Jankovic gets a single leg takedown! Basora pulls guard off it. >Jankovic lies on top of Basora, basically smothering him. >Jankovic throws some small strikes, but is clearly just taking a moment to try and catch his breath. >Time slips away as Jankovic successfully keeps Basora stuck against the ground. >Jankovic begins trying to pass guard and get a better position. >Jankovic is too much for Basora, passing guard and gaining side control. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Jankovic throws a few right hands, but is mainly trying to catch his breath. >Jankovic fires away with big elbows, but Basora covers up and doesn't take any undue damage. >Basora tries to transition to a guard, but can't manage it. >Jankovic uses side control to hit a knee just above the hip. >Jankovic begins trying to get himself behind Basora. >He takes the back! >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Basora is in increasing trouble, as Jankovic gets both hooks in. >Jankovic, with both hooks in, attempts to get a rear naked choke fully applied. >Basora doesn't allow the arm to go under his chin. >Basora tries to improve his chances of survival by breaking free of the hooks, but they're too tight. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >Some fans are booing after a round that didn't feature much action. >That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Jankovic. >There's the bell and round number three begins! >A jab misses and Jankovic counters with a clean jab. >Basora counters a left jab by hitting a left jab to the cheek. >Jankovic hits Basora with a kick to the inside of the left leg. >Jankovic steps back to avoid a left jab. >Jankovic comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in. >Basora attempts to avoid Jankovic as he shoots in. >He has the takedown! It's a single leg, and Basora has to pull guard. >Basora is controlled against the ground, unable to shift Jankovic off of him. >Dominykas Jankovic is breathing very hard. >We go past the halfway point of this round. >Jankovic looks to get past the guard. >Jankovic is too much for Basora, passing guard and gaining side control. >Jankovic tries to ensnare Basora in an arm triangle. >The arm triangle is locked in, tight enough that Basora has to tap out! >Dominykas 'Slamkovic' Jankovic takes the win by submission! >Post-Fight: In an interview, Basora confirms that he was not happy with how his training went, and that he feels that it seriously affected his performance. </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Dominykas 'Slamkovic' Jankovic defeats Alberto Basora (Submission (Arm Triangle) in 3:53 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Another one with ready excuses after a poor performance. It looked to me that Jankovic was simply doing a good job in getting the fight to the mat and controlling things. Francesco Marazzina (#22, 23-8) v Fernando Peragon (12-5) <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 to the next match, in which Francesco Marazzina battles 'The Peragon Of Virtue' Fernando Peragon in the SIGMA Featherweight division. >And here we go! >An exchange of strikes goes nowhere. >Peragon feints an attack, keeping Marazzina on his toes. >Marazzina throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Peragon. >The takedown is blocked, and the sprawl allows Peragon to wrestle Marazzina down to the ground instead! Peragon takes his back in the process! >Peragon tries to increase his control by getting both hooks in, but Marazzina blocks it. >Marazzina tries a roll, but doesn't budge Peragon. >Peragon tries to get both hooks in, but can't quite manage it. >Marazzina turtles up with Peragon still on top of him. >We are now at the halfway point of the round. >Peragon pounds away with right hands, but Marazzina absorbs them and manages to stand back up. >Moving forward, Marazzina counters a series of wayward big punches with a jab. >Peragon comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Seeing a takedown opportunity, Marazzina goes for a single leg, but Peragon is equal to it. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Peragon uses a nice feint to get Marazzina off balance, then hits a flurry of quick punches. >Marazzina avoids a flurry of rights and lefts. >Peragon slips past a left jab and counters with a series of quick punches. >The time runs out on round one. >I think Peragon took that round, 10-9 on my score card. >And here we go, round two! >They come together and strike, but neither can land a clean shot. >A left hand misses, allowing Peragon to counter with a right kick to the thigh. >Marazzina comes in with a couple of jabs, using them as cover so that he can shoot in. >Peragon tries to step away from the takedown. >Marazzina can't get the takedown, Peragon was too quick to back away. >Moving in closer, Peragon looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Marazzina drops down to try and catch him by surprise with a single leg attempt, but it is blocked. >Marazzina throws three punches in quick succession, but Peragon was out of range. >Not letting up, Peragon steps in closer to pressure Marazzina into action. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Peragon looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Marazzina tries to catch him by surprise with a takedown attempt, but it is blocked. >Peragon glances a strike off the side of the shoulder. >Marazzina doesn't let Peragon settle, stepping in closer to impose himself. >Marazzina throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on Peragon. >Peragon counters with a right hand that catches Marazzina flush, rocking him! >Peragon comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Seeing a takedown opportunity, Marazzina goes for a single leg, but Peragon is equal to it. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Peragon narrowly misses Marazzina with a right uppercut. >Marazzina comes in closer to press the issue. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >That round goes to Peragon, 10-9 on my card. >As he sits on his stool, Marazzina starts getting psyched up - he knows it's now or never. >There's the bell and round number three begins! >Peragon avoids a jab. >They exchange strikes, but neither fighter inflicts any real damage. >A left jab misses and Peragon strikes back with a series of quick lefts. >A jab misses and Peragon counters with a barrage of hard right hands, enough to put Marazzina down! >Marazzina shakes off the cobwebs quickly though, and is alert. >Peragon leans in and hits Marazzina with a solid right hand, but doesn't get pulled down into guard. >Peragon steps back and allows Marazzina to stand back up. >Marazzina circles as he plans his next move. >Peragon quickly gets in closer, looking to attack. >Breathing very hard, Fernando Peragon is looking ragged. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Although visibly tired, Peragon looks to move in and stand in the pocket. >Marazzina tries to counter by dropping down and going for a single leg, but Peragon defended it well. >Francesco Marazzina is looking really tired. >Moving forward, Peragon counters a left jab with a series of lefts. >Peragon comes in closer, despite his tiredness, looking to attack from the pocket. >Peragon and Marazzina get closer, both looking eager to engage at close range. >From the pocket, a tired-looking Marazzina shoots in for a double leg. >Peragon tries to strike first with a solid right hook, but isn't quick enough. >Peragon cannot stop the takedown, and has to pull guard. >In guard, Marazzina begins working to pass to side control. >Peragon comfortably blocks the attempt and keeps Marazzina in guard. >Peragon works some separation, then tries to quickly scramble his way into a better position. >It's a bad choice though, as Marazzina seizes the opportunity to leap forward and secure side control. >We're into the final minute of the round. >Marazzina starts trying to work to use side control as a way to get behind Peragon. >Peragon can't stop it and gives up his back! >Francesco Marazzina looks like he doesn't have a lot left to give. >Time runs out and that's the end of the fight. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Peragon. >The judges have given their scores, which are about to be announced. >All three judges have given 30-27. >Fernando Peragon wins by unanimous decision! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: 'The Peragon Of Virtue' Fernando Peragon defeats Francesco Marazzina (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The match was rated as being Decent. Comments: Good performance from Peragon here, showing that he has more than just wild striking to his game. Marazzina's gameplan to get the fight to the mat just wasn't able to be executed, as Peragon kept stuffing those takedown attempts. Co-main Rafael van der Moot (#23, 11-1) v Matas Andreyev (39-15) <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. Rafael van der Moot will battle Mantas Andreyev in the SIGMA Light Heavyweight division. >The fight begins! >Andreyev steps back to avoid a left jab. >There is an exchange of strikes, but neither fighter does any damage. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling. >Andreyev has gotten underhooks in and is looking to take van der Moot to the ground. >The takedown doesn't work, van der Moot defended it well. >van der Moot uses a whizzer to turn Andreyev slightly, creating enough space for him to break free of the grappling entirely. >Andreyev chooses to shoot in on van der Moot. >van der Moot tries to avoid Andreyev. >Andreyev doesn't get the takedown, van der Moot avoided it. >They exchange strikes, but neither fighter inflicts any real damage. >Stepping back, van der Moot creates a bit of distance. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >Andreyev avoids a jab. >Moving in closer, van der Moot looks like he wants to strike from the pocket. >Andreyev seems happy to engage with van der Moot in the pocket. >van der Moot looks like he might be trying to get in close to clinch with Andreyev. >Andreyev tries to counter with a takedown, but van der Moot defended it well. >van der Moot comes in closer, looking to attack from the pocket. >Andreyev sees a chance to dive for a single leg, but van der Moot is able to defend against it. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >van der Moot misses with an attempted right hook to the body. >Not letting van der Moot settle at all, Andreyev comes in closer. >Andreyev looks like he might be trying to get in close and wrestle with van der Moot. >Andreyev gets caught with a right cross though, and he is momentarily wobbly! >The time runs out on round one. >That was a good round, full of action, hopefully we've got more of the same to come. >That has to go down as a 10-9 round to van der Moot. >There's the bell and round number two begins! >Between rounds we could hear the corner of van der Moot telling him to lure Andreyev in and catch him on the counter. >A quick exchange of strikes produces nothing worth mentioning. >From the missed strikes they clinch. >Andreyev tries to pick van der Moot up for a slam. >van der Moot defends it well and slips away from his opponent. >van der Moot throws a right kick to the body but Andreyev avoids it. >van der Moot looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >Andreyev sees a chance for a takedown attempt, but van der Moot is able to defend it. >van der Moot tries for a left jab but Andreyev moves out of range. >Andreyev throws a couple of jabs, then chooses to shoot in on van der Moot. >van der Moot attempts to avoid Andreyev as he shoots in. >Andreyev can't get the takedown, van der Moot was too quick to back away. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >van der Moot looks like he wants to stand in the pocket and strike with Andreyev. >Andreyev tries to take down van der Moot as he steps in, but he blocks it. >van der Moot is looking to get in close and strike from the pocket. >Andreyev tries to take down van der Moot as he steps in, but he blocks it. >Mantas Andreyev is looking really tired. >There's under a minute left in this round. >A tired-looking Andreyev approaches, looking for a takedown. >van der Moot sprawls well, and Andreyev is forced down to his knees, almost turtled up. >van der Moot pounds away with right hands, but Andreyev absorbs them and manages to stand back up. >Rafael van der Moot doesn't look like he has much left in the tank. >The time runs out on round two. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of van der Moot. >Andreyev is already up and pacing around, psyching himself up for the final round. >There's the bell and round number three begins! >Both fighters throw strikes, no significant damage is inflicted by either. >Andreyev throws a wild and sloppy right hand as a set up, then shoots in for a takedown. >van der Moot strikes first and manages to rock Andreyev with a solid right hook, sending him down to the ground, stunned! >Without hesitation, van der Moot mounts his stunned opponent! >van der Moot has solid control over Andreyev, and starts pounding away with strikes. >Unless he finds a way out of this position soon, Andreyev is going to lose this fight! >With Andreyev stuck and taking a pounding, the referee has to stop the match! >By TKO, the winner is Rafael van der Moot! </div></blockquote> >Official Result: Rafael van der Moot defeats Mantas Andreyev (TKO (Strikes) in 1:20 of round 3). The match was rated as being Good. Comments: Good effort by Andreyev, who leaves us after his third straight defeat, likely to head for retirement rather than another organisation, though he hasn't confirmed that yet. Van der Moot was efficient rather than exciting, but capitalised on the opportunity to finish things once it appeared to him. Main Event Lefter Oktay (#17, 17-1) v Ozzy Bintley (#22, 6-0) <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! Lefter 'The Beast' Oktay battles Ozzy Bintley in the SIGMA Heavyweight division. >There's the opening bell! >A tidy combination doesn't find a home, giving Bintley the opportunity to counter with a stinging left jab. >Oktay throws a combination of rights and lefts, using them as cover so that he can shoot in. >He has the takedown! It's a single leg, and Bintley has to pull guard. >Oktay attempts to pass guard and gain a better position. >Bintley finds his opponent too skilled, and Oktay passes guard into side control. >Oktay begins trying to get himself into a mount. >He mounts Bintley. >Oktay pounds away on Bintley with elbows, but few of the shots lands clean. >Oktay has solid control over Bintley, and starts pounding away with strikes. >Bintley had better start defending himself, or this will be over! >The referee gives Bintley time to do something, but eventually has to come in and stop the fight! >Lefter Oktay takes the victory by way of TKO! </div></blockquote>>Official Result: Lefter 'The Beast' Oktay defeats Ozzy Bintley (TKO (Strikes) in 2:35 of round 1). The match was rated as being Great. Comments: Oktay shows why he deserves to be at the top of the card and among those who could challenge next for the title. Bintley never got going here, and will no doubt come again. Bintley asks to fight Fritz Phipps next in an all-English affair, but I'm not sure if that's on the cards at the moment. Show summary Critical rating: Great Commercial success: Decent Fight of the Night: Osvald Kikkas v Spiridon Domazos Knockout of the Night: Lefter Oktay Submission of the Night: Dominykas Jankovic Comments: Disappointing to hear two fighters making excuses for their defeats – that's not the sort of organisation we pride ourselves on being. Oktay makes a case for a re-match for the Heavyweight title, and van der Moot similarly at Light-Heavyweight. The critical success of the fights tonight really hit the mark with the media, and with this show we inch just under two percentage points into Mid Level National.

batsnumbereleven · February 13, 2014

Prediction results

5/8 for both of you this time, albeit in different ways.

Totals

CageRage 275/376

BigRedMachine 64/94

Injury report

No injuries to report from tonight's action, but Alberto Basora gets a month's suspension from the Athletic Commission, Dejan Srebotnik, Duey Rickert and Ozzy Bintley are sidelined for two months and Ludvig Strauss is held out of competition for three months.

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