Great title to attract readers: A new BCF dynasty in 2015!

DAVEFAN95 · September 24, 2015

Tough luck with the first Duffy fight! He turned out to be the drawing card of the season in terms of entertainment, though. I have something planned for the eliminated fighters in the relatively near future though, so if your guys get eliminated, don't be too upset!

Not to worry. Once I saw Duffy facing a grappler I knew he was out which is why i hoped he was facing a striker first, unfortunately it was not to be. I always thought Hartnett was my best opportunity to win the tournament anyway but Benson looks like the favourite in these early stages. Duffy has made an impact with his mouth though, so that's a plus also

Rob Baines vs Vincent Henderson

Curt Kitson vs Souleymane Ya Konan

Adrian Majoram vs Jeremy Hunt

Dave Lennon vs Aleksander Ivanov

Cheslav Kaminski vs Freddy Lomax

Dominick Oppenheimer vs Xavi Castillejo

Matt Deeley vs Ivano Ancic

Sid Morgan vs Grigory Kabalevsky

Jacob Matthaus vs Murray O’Hare

Koenraad Belien vs Daniel Hornsby

Thesnake101 · September 24, 2015

Rob Baines vs Vincent Henderson

Curt Kitson vs Souleymane Ya Konan

Adrian Majoram vs Jeremy Hunt

Dave Lennon vs Aleksander Ivanov

Cheslav Kaminski vs Freddy Lomax

Dominick Oppenheimer vs Xavi Castillejo

Matt Deeley vs Ivano Ancic

Sid Morgan vs Grigory Kabalevsky

Jacob Matthaus vs Murray O’Hare

Koenraad Belien vs Daniel Hornsby

CageRage · September 25, 2015

Rob Baines vs Vincent Henderson

Curt Kitson vs Souleymane Ya Konan

Adrian Majoram vs Jeremy Hunt

Dave Lennon vs Aleksander Ivanov

Cheslav Kaminski vs Freddy Lomax

Dominick Oppenheimer vs Xavi Castillejo

Matt Deeley vs Ivano Ancic

Sid Morgan vs Grigory Kabalevsky

Jacob Matthaus vs Murray O’Hare

Koenraad Belien vs Daniel Hornsby

Paatero · September 28, 2015

BCF: Baines vs Henderson

Saturday Week 3 of March, 2005 in Scotland

Broadcast by United Kingdom Choice (PPV)

Prelims:

Koenraad Belien (16-6) vs Daniel Hornsby (17-7) at light heavyweight

The English veteran Hornsby gives a quick and convincing performance, slamming Belien to the ground with ease, mounting the helpless Belgian and pounding on him until he was forced to give up his back. Moments later Belien was forced to tap to a rear naked choke. There’s some life left in old Hornsby yet.

Result: Daniel Hornsby (18-7) defeats Koenraad Belien (16-7) by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:41 of round 1.

Hornsby calls out Crow Leddy after the fight, looking for redemption for his last loss. Probably not the fight I’m looking to make unless injuries force it.

Jacob Matthaus (21-13) vs Murray O’Hare (9-7) at light heavyweight

O’Hare comes in hard as usual, throwing big punches and connecting with uncharacteristically efficient technique, putting Matthaus down in the first round. The second round sees a drastic change in substance of the fight as Matthaus pushes his opponent around, takes him down and beats him up from the mount and back mount, but is unable to secure a finish and may be down a point after a bad first round. Another bad round follows for the German, as O’Hara manages to keep it standing in the third and knock him down once more. We go to the judges’ scorecards, however.

Result: Murray O’Hare (10-7) defeats Jacob Matthaus (21-14) by majority decision (29-26, 28-28, 29-28).

Matthaus announced his retirement from MMA after the fight. Having competed in 35 bouts at the age of 38, I’d think it’s a good time to call it after two straight defeats. Despite going through a bit of a resurgence in the past few years, Matthaus did not manage to score a victory in BCF, unsuccessfully challenging Danny Akabaro before falling to O’Hare.

Sid Morgan (11-4) vs Grigory Kabalevsky (10-5) at lightweight

Kabalevsky tries to put his judo and wrestling roots to use as expected, but Morgan does a good job of keeping the Russian at the end of his punches and avoiding the shorter man’s attempts to clinch.

An accidental eye poke from Kabalevsky in the second round puts a momentary halt in Morgan’s momentum, but only seems to lower his volume slightly. Kabalevsky manages to get a takedown into side control late in the second round, but Morgan quickly regains full guard.

Morgan seems to have recovered in the third round and keeps picking his opponent apart with his quicker and more educated hands. Kabalevsky gets another takedown but Morgan again frustrates him by regaining full guard and thwarting any offense. The three rounder does a lot to show which fighter is more complete in their skill set, and there should be no doubt that Morgan took this.

Result: Sid Morgan (12-4) defeats Grigory Kabalevsky (10-6) by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27).

Matt Deeley (6-0) vs Ivano Ancic (11-3) at featherweight

The Englishman comes into the cage looking absolutely tiny, standing nine inches shorter than his Croatian counterpart. He quickly negates that, however, by pushing into the clinch and starting to wear Ancic down with close range strikes. The first round is a mix of outside striking, where Ancic lands sharp kicks and punches, and the clinch, where Deeley has almost free reign. Close one to call. The next two rounds follow a similar pattern, with Ancic landing the more meaningful strikes on the outside but getting controlled against the cage a lot in terms of time. A lot of work was put into these fifteen minutes, just not the most convincing kind.

Result: Ivano Ancic (12-3) defeats Matt Deeley (6-1) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

Dominick Oppenheimer (9-6) vs Xavi Castillejo (11-3) at lightweight

Both men prove to be experts at remaining elusive targets, so each fighter has to really work to get significant connection to the other early on. Most strikes landed in the first round are leg kicks and body kicks disguised by double jabs and feints, but in the second round Oppenheimer starts to find his range with punches as well. The Englishman starts to take control of the fight with his superior accuracy and tighter defense, and Castillejo is forced to hunt him down in the third. The Spanish fighter has some success and manages to control Oppenheimer against the cage for a short period near the final bell, likely taking the third round.

Result: Xavi Castillejo (12-3) defeats Dominick Oppenheimer (9-7) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

The commentators call the score a disgrace and a robbery, but I’d say it was just a close fight. Statistically Oppenheimer landed more, but factors such as aggression and quality of strikes are not taken into account there. Lots of split decisions tonight.

Main card:

Cheslav Kaminski (8-2) vs Freddy Lomax (13-1) at featherweight

The former champion Lomax outlines a clear strategy in the first round, using his reach to land jabs and punishing low kicks. He has Kaminski noticeably limping before the round has gone three minutes, and goes on to land a big right hand followed by a head kick that wobbles the Bulgarian grappler. Another right hand floors Kaminski, but he survives the round.

Lomax flows well in the second round and carries on where he left off and finds the opening to land a head kick that makes a sickening crunch and leaves Kaminski flat on the mat. Ouch!

Result: Freddy Lomax (14-1) defeats Cheslav Kaminski (8-3) by KO (head kick) at 1:33 of round 2.

Lomax calls out Lars Bohlin, not Gunnarsson. Interesting. Timing might work out for the Sweden show in June, and that would line up perfectly with the championship, too.

Dave Lennon (18-7-1NC) vs Aleksander Ivanov (13-1) at heavyweight

The touch of the gloves is all the connection Lennon gets with his fists as Ivanov lands a combination right away that puts Lennon down and finishes quickly and efficiently with some big hammers on the ground. 69 seconds and Ivanov is looking like a potential title contender.

Result: Aleksander Ivanov (14-1) defeats Dave Lennon (18-8-1NC) by TKO (punches) at 1:09 of round 1.

Lennon officially retires after the fight, bringing to end a very mixed career. On the one hand he had a great resurgence after the age of 35 by becoming the BCF heavyweight champion and beating Fritz Phipps to defend it, while on the other he suffered the stain of a failed drug test and a final, devastating defeat at the hands of a younger, more technical fighter. All in all, Lennon was a respectable heavyweight competitor that was always down to fight and always a good main card addition.

Adrian Majoram (13-3) vs Jeremy Hunt (10-0) at light heavyweight

In typical Jeremy Hunt style the fight starts quickly and aggressively. In a more untypical style, Hunt rushes into two big punches and gets knocked out cold by his Scottish foe, finished by a beautiful(ly brutal) uppercut to the jaw.

Result: Adrian Majoram (14-3) defeats Jeremy Hunt (10-1) by KO (punches) at 0:36 of round 1.

Curt Kitson (21-0) vs Souleymane Ya Konan (15-5-1NC) at heavyweight

The massive showcase starts with a touch of the gloves and Kitson shows he is not afraid to stand and trade with the enormous Ivorian kickboxer, landing effective combinations and avoiding the counters. A three punch combination lands perfectly for the Scottish champion, dropping Ya Konan. Kitson follows him to the ground like a snake and gets the mount and sinks in the arm triangle choke, which has to be something of a trademark for him at this point. The Scotland crowd has to be going crazy at this point.

Result: Curt Kitson (22-0) defeats Souleymane Ya Konan (15-6-1NC) by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:10 of round 1.

Main Event:

Rob Baines (37-11) vs Vincent Henderson (9-0) for the BCF middleweight championship

From the early looks Baines seems to want to stand and trade, but Henderson forces him to grapple in the clinch, using his strength and wrestling skills to impose control and wear on the champion. The first round goes past with that rather simple dynamic as its central theme, though Baines lands a few straight punches when he is not trapped against the cage.

The second round is relatively similar, but Henderson seems to put more effort in and blasts Baines with a hard left hand in the clinch that seems to stun him momentarily. Most of the rest of the round is about Henderson’s unbreakable control and unrelenting pressure in the clinch. I would not like to be in that grinder, even if it’s not the most dangerous style.

The third round goes along the same lines, but this time Henderson doesn’t have time to plant his feet to land many strikes as Baines desperately works to struggle free. The champion doesn’t get his offense going but does seem to start to find ways to free himself. Perhaps Henderson is tiring more, or maybe not.

The fourth round proves that Henderson still has enough in the tank to follow his game plan to a T, forcing Baines to attempt to pull guard, which the Scot shrugs off with a lift and slam, after which he steps away. It is the smart fight, although it is probably dull to watch for many (and dull to write every round the same, dammit).

Baines seems to be in deep trouble going into the fifth round. The trouble does not cease, as Henderson does what he does best and controls him for five more minutes in the clinch, working short shots on the inside. Well, that was the most monotone fight description I think I’ve had to write so far. I believe we have a new champion, though.

Result: Vincent Henderson (10-0) defeats Rob Baines (37-12) by unanimous decision (50-45 x2, 48-47) to win the BCF middleweight championship.

Which rounds might Baines have won? Maybe the first two with the couple of punches he managed to land. Henderson landed a staggering 250 punches in total, though pretty much all of them were inside the clinch. The fight rating ended up being average, which is not as bad as I expected. I guess the activity from Henderson made up for the one dimensional nature of it.

Post Show Thoughts:

Bonuses: $2500

FotN: Kitson & Ya Konan

KotN: Lomax

SotN: Kitson

2021 people came to watch live in Scotland for a gate of $221,310. Both ratings were 72%, resulting in a 3.1% popularity rise. $3,112,000 was made on pay per view sales. The event broke the records for live attendance as well as broadcast revenue for a BCF event!

Vincent Henderson has made it from 2-0 developmental prospect back in 2002 to 10-0 BCF champion in 2005. A pretty long road for three years, but the Scot did it in Curt Kitson’s footsteps and suffered no defeats on the way. ”The Virus” as he is also known, has a very unique fighting style that does not necessarily help him as a main stream commodity, but something in his character has made him one of the biggest draws within the company, breaking two big records with his first championship fight. There is an element of curiosity in seeing how far one can get with such a single minded approach to MMA as Henderson has shown in the recent years, and it turns out the answer is ”pretty far”. I don’t like writing Henderson’s fights because nothing surprising happens in them, but I like having him as champion after building him up from the very beginning, having had no idea how far he might go. I don’t see anyone in the division currently having the cure for this Virus. As an aside, Henderson is currently fifth in the ”jab punches thrown” category on Blurcat’s Strength by Numbers with 1412.

There’s a new contender at heavyweight. You may know him, his name is Curt Kitson and he’s 22-0. After a period of relative drought, the heavyweight division is suddenly possibly the most top-stacked division in BCF with Ozzy Bintley, Roope Kuqi, Armen Sarkisian, Rav Kapur and Curt Kitson all being able to draw big and possibly hold the title if the match up presents itself. Then there is the addition of Aleksander Ivanov who is not as well known but puts people away like it’s his job (it kind of is).

Adrian Majoram and Freddy Lomax scored impressive knock outs on the main card, putting themselves significantly closer to title shots in their respective weight classes. Both fighters also have easy short term plans to make for their next appointments - I’m planning to put Majoram against Leddy in a rematch of their 1998 bout, while Lomax wanted to fight Lars Bohlin next. If those fights happen sometime in the summer, big title fights might await the winners in the fall or early winter.

The preliminary fights were quite unspectacular tonight, with solid performances from Sid Morgan and Daniel Hornsby to get back to the win column. Ivano Ancic also turned back the challenge of debuting Matt Deeley, evening his BCF score to 3-3. All in all the prelims did not produce anybody to keep a particularly close eye on in the immediate future, but acted as set ups for further set ups that may eventually make something happen.

Predictions:

MasterSkuxly: 6/10

DAVEFAN95: 9/10

TheSnake101: 6/10

CageRage: 8/10

Paatero · September 28, 2015

BCF Conquest Episode 7 Recap:

Friday Week 4 of March

The seventh episode is in the books, and despite Graeme Duffy being quieter following his opening round defeat, the entertainment value was still high and there was a new focal point in Sweden’s Peter Lidström, who really shone in the spotlight in Duffy’s absence. The second to last qualifier was set up between Ireland’s Jeremy Michaels (2-0) and Scotland’s Leon Austin (11-0).

Jeremy Michaels is a 23-year old Irish fighter from a grappling base who started his professional MMA career in 2003, scoring two quick stoppages on the British local scene prior to joining the Conquest cast. Known for a power based style that is a mix of folk style wrestling and heavy punching, Michaels is a threat to any competitor on the cast, and the more experience he gains, the more dangerous he becomes.

Leon Austin is the most experienced competitor on the show and has an impressive 11-0 record. Coming from Glasgow, Scotland, Austin’s style revolves around creative volume kickboxing attacks, which has helped him score 10 (T)KO victories on the British local scene. If there is a question about the Scot’s resume, it is that his grappling is still very much untested - something that might prove crucial against his inexperienced but dangerous foe.

The fight turned out a good mix of both fighters’ strengths, but in the end Austin’s grappling was exposed as a weakness as Michaels scored the upset submission victory to advance to the next round.

BCF Review for March, 2005:

Fantastic news hit early in March as Rav Kapur (15-0) has decided to make his return from his absence of almost two years. The undefeated 32-year old will likely fight for the BCF heavyweight title in 2005, but the situation at the top of the division is currently unclear. I would have liked to match up Bintley and Kapur, as they are the two most popular heavyweights in the British Isles and have styles that would make for a bomb of commercial success, but since Bintley and Kuqi are already locked in to coach BCF Conquest, they will fight first in May and we’ll see what happens after that. There is a potential massive fight for Kapur to shake the rust off against Armen Sarkisian, which could headline a show close to the pay per view in May.

Some fight bookings are in for the aforementioned event. 22-year old lightweight prospect Lance Diaz (9-0) returns to face the dangerous Nigel Collett (11-4) in a co-main event clash of streaking lightweights. At light heavyweight, Scotland’s Lenny McFadden (18-4) returns to face Irish ”Iceman” Nathan Vedder (10-1) on the main card, and rising welterweight star Roger Quince (10-0) faces his biggest test to date in former champion Vikram Sithalayan (22-5).

Speaking of fight bookings, we’ll try our luck with that accursed light heavyweight match up once again. I scheduled a BCF TV event for week 3 of April, headlined by Danny Akabaro (13-2) and Aleksei Chekhov (26-7). This match up will be for the interim BCF light heavyweight title so that if Curt Kitson decides to switch permanently to heavyweight, the winner will be the title holder at 205 pounds. The co-main event will see Tim Oldacres (12-3) try to make a case for himself as a top contender at lightweight by getting past the legendary Fumiaki Hayashi (23-9) in an extremely interesting and important match up.

I also scheduled BCF TV: Gunnarsson vs Dee 2 for early June in Sweden. This will be only the second time the BCF has ventured into the Scandinavia region, the first time being back in 2002. The featherweight title fight between Snorri Gunnarsson (30-4-1NC) and Colm Dee (21-7) will be the headliner, while lightweight contenders Patrik Pedersen (13-1) and Harald Hubner (12-4) will take the co-main event slot.

March’s SIGMA event came and went, and some BCF relevant results are in. Jason Dalglish (23-8) submitted fellow BCF featherweight Heiko Pander (10-2-1NC) by kimura in the second round on the prelims, putting a win between him and his loss to Snorri Gunnarsson in May of last year.

Manish Khan (14-7) lost a close split decision to Pedro Alves (17-9) on the main card, getting stuck in the clinch with the jiu-jitsu fighter and rendered unable to use his boxing advantage.

Faas Smit (42-20) looked to be on his way to a big victory on the feet when he hurt his hand in the first round, which hampered the rest of his performance. Matti Kurri (14-3-1) managed to pull off the win by unanimous decision, but the fight wasn’t altogether very impressive in the end.

The main event was a high level, back and forth battle in all areas of MMA, with Swedish veteran Lars Bohlin (56-7-1NC) pulling it off over five rounds, using a mix of experience, conditioning, striking and defensive wrestling to outwork the 12 years younger Portuguese prospect Nuno Valentino (13-2) and claim the SIGMA featherweight title. It was a good, redeeming win for the 38-year old Bohlin who is coming off a suspension, and this may set him up to fight at home in Sweden in June if he doesn’t get another here.

MasterSkuxly · September 28, 2015

I did pretty bad on those predictions wow. Curt Kitson has to be considered the best fighter in BCF history at this point, so impressive. Also the two guys who I wanted my guy to face on conquest got matched up which means Rene has to fight the grappler. Unfortunate but I still have faith.

Paatero · September 30, 2015

Monthly MMA Review for March, 2005:

At GAMMA Battle Lines 20, Brazilian Murilo Satinho made the first defense of his recently reclaimed heavyweight belt by defeating the legendary James Foster for the second time. The co-headliner saw former long time middleweight champion Matthew Dean emerge victorious in a three round battle with Thomas Smith.

WEFF 40 featured a flyweight title fight, where Canadian submission expert Steph Smith made the first defense of her championship with a fourth round armbar of American grappler Lisa Labone. The co-main event also ended in an armbar, as featherweight Hope Lehane made short work of Haley Croft, forcing the tap before the two minute mark of the first round.

At SIGMA: Bohlin vs Valentino Swedish featherweight veteran Lars Bohlin outworked the talented Nuno Valentino to earn a unanimous decision victory. A light heavyweight co-feature saw Matti Kurri come back and defeat Faas Smit by unanimous decision after a tough first round.

ALPHA-1’s middleweight title was on the line in Kanto, and one of Japan’s finest, Heiji Endo, reigned victorious over Russian Fjodor Kanchelskis, outworking the sambo specialist through six rounds. In a dull but pivotal co-headliner, blue chip light heavyweight prospect Yoshi Someya improved to 10-1 with a decision over the more experienced Naozane Yamaguchia.

At GAMMA’s second show of the month, Battle Lines 21, Louisiana welterweight prospect Evan Pizzarro scored a big win by submitting the experienced Alan Kendall by kimura in the fourth round of their main event clash. The co-headliner saw middleweight star Bill Brown extend his finishing streak to four with an armbar submission of the dangerous Nathan Ronald.

The FLB lightweight belt was on the line at FLB: Campos vs Branco II in Brazil, where Lazaro Campos put an emphatic stop to their second bout, knocking out the former champion early in the fifth round to defend his newly claimed title. A welterweight co-main event featured Peruvian veteran Claudio Palacios making a statement by submitting the experienced jiu-jitsu ace Afonso Romero.

BCF Conquest Episode 8 Recap:

Friday Week 1 of April

The final episode of the qualifier phase is in the books and a new star is emerging within the cast. Peter Lidström, whose fight with Rene Baudin ended up being the last qualifier bout, stole the show for the second week in a row after Graeme Duffy was eliminated.

Peter Lidström (4-0-1) is a 21-year old Swedish fighter from Krylbo. Standing a towering 6’8, ”Sticky” as he is sometimes called, is a jiu-jitsu fighter known for his lankiness and flexibility as well as excellent top game. At such a young age and with Lidström’s already dangerous skill set, the Swede may be one of the top prospects to watch out for in the future.

Rene Baudin (3-1) is a 23-year old French savate fighter known mainly for his quick kicks and athleticism, but he also possesses a solid background in jiu-jitsu training prompted by the loss in his first pro fight via submission. With a whole lot of combat sports experience thanks to his savate roots, Baudin has one of the stronger bases for MMA for fighters his age.

The fight ended up being the fight of the season so far, with both fighters utilizing their best qualities to good effect. Peter Lidström ended up being successful in exploiting his advantage in grappling, eventually submitting the Frenchman and becoming the last quarter finalist. With such a fantastic fight from both men it is unlikely that this is the last time we see Baudin, whose style endeared him greatly to viewers.

BCF Conquest Episode 9 Recap:

Friday Week 2 of April

The quarterfinal phase is underway but the ratings are slightly down from the fantastic qualifier phase. Along with the first quarterfinal fight there was a great focus on some fun antics with the cast with last week’s big winner Peter Lidström once again in the center of all the action. The first quarterfinal was set up between Kyle Henderson (3-1) and David Hartnett (0-0).

Cornwall’s Kyle Henderson won his qualifier bout by submission over Roger Perez in week 2 and looked like one of the better grapplers on the cast. The confident 24-year old is known for his tricky catch wrestling style with a strong emphasis on takedowns and choke holds. While he is more experienced than his 20-year old opponent that has yet to officially debut in MMA, how Henderson deals with his size and physicality will be interesting.

The Irish Giant David Hartnett proved himself as a dark horse in the competition by submitting James Gallagher in week 4 despite being the least experienced fighter in the competition. A dangerous submission specialist, the big challenge for Hartnett along with the experience factor is making weight consistently with only weeks between fights on the show.

The first quarterfinal turned out being an unspectacular but technical fight, likely due to the elevated stakes in the second round of the competition. As mentioned earlier, weight cutting may have become a factor as Kyle Henderson outworked the young Irishman en route to a unanimous decision victory, making himself the first semi-finalist. Hartnett will certainly have chances to rebound at just 20 years of age, and with his size and skill set he will be someone to keep an eye on regardless of his placing in the tournament.

Paatero · September 30, 2015

BCF TV: Akabaro vs Chekhov announcement

Friday Week 3 of April, 2005 in Midlands

Broadcast by Euro Cable Sports 1

Interim BCF Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Danny Akabaro (13-2) vs Aleksei Chekhov (26-7)

Well, this one is finally official, but it did take some work (the third time is the charm, it seems). The hope and expectation here is that these two top light heavyweights provide a thriller that also helps clear up the top of the division - the winner will be crowned interim champion and could well become the real deal should Kitson stay at heavyweight. There is a 10 year age difference between these two but Akabaro has already knocked out some much more experienced fighters, including Faas Smit and Daniil Skala. Someone’s winning streak needs to crash here.

Lightweight Bout: Tim Oldacres (12-3) vs Fumiyaki Hayashi (23-9)

I’m pretty excited to be able to bring in choice international fighters that fit into the BCF, and Hayashi certainly fits that mold. The 37-year old Japanese fighter gets a tough first test, facing a perennial top lightweight in the company, but this is also Oldacres’ toughest fight to date. The strategical aspect will be interesting to see play out, as both fighters are known as strikers but have lately used other areas to prevail in fights.

Heavyweight Bout: Carter Potter (22-7) vs Mark Bicknell (14-5)

These two are heavyweights that require no introduction to BCF followers, but Potter and Bicknell are both at a crucial point in their careers that seem to be turning toward the tail end. Potter is coming off devastating KO defeat to Ozzy Bintley in August of last year, while Bicknell surprised everyone in his BCF comeback by submitting Matas Fialkowski - this will be about which heavyweight stalwart has more left in the tank at this point.

Welterweight Bout: Martin Cupples (14-3) vs Matt Kerr (9-1)

Matt Kerr made his debut in BCF by smothering Jerome Atkins to defeat back in November, and will need to put his well rounded skills to good use against Martin Cupples, who may be an even more dangerous knock out threat. Cupples took this fight on short notice when Kerr’s original opponent Timothy Latchkey pulled out with an injury, and the short notice will be something to keep an eye on, especially if the fight goes long.

Middleweight Bout: Timothy White (9-2) vs Rhys Buck (10-3)

The clash of young middleweight strikers is designed to open the main card up with style as Wales’ Rhys Buck and England’s Timothy White look to build momentum following solid victories. White, 24, holds a 35 second victory over the aforementioned Matt Kerr and his only defeats are to Snuffy Fontana and Tucker Plumm, so any MMA mathematicians can make their calculations based on that.

Prelims:

Heavyweight Bout: Linton Renn (13-5) vs Christopher Drew (10-2)

Two solid English heavyweights who need to win to stay relevant in the suddenly competitive division, Renn and Drew are both coming off disappointing defeats to Bast Moulke and Roope Kuqi respectively.

Featherweight Bout: Roman Danielyan (11-4) vs Fernando Peragon (15-5)

Both of these featherweights have a 3-2 record in BCF and are looking for the momentum they need to catapult themselves to the upper echelon of the weight class. The 31-year old Spaniard Peragon has already fought for the title but has still looked to be improving as of late, while Romania’s Danielyan is looking for that marquee win to make a name.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Michael Klaughnschue (11-6) vs Garry McSweegan (25-13)

This is most likely a loser gets released fight as both Klaughnschue and McSweegan have struggled lately in the BCF light heavyweight division. McSweegan’s saving grace is his entertaining style, while his German counterpart usually wins in dull fashion, if he wins at all.

Welterweight Bout: Javid Khan (13-6) vs Scott Gillespie (9-6)

Khan and Gillespie are two lower tier welterweights coming off some pretty bad defeats - a win here is very much needed for job security, though the welterweight division is not that badly bloated.

Welterweight Bout: Vjekoslav Sarich (10-5) vs Roland Furtwangler (13-6)

Two European welterweights who also dearly need to win, Sarich and Furtwangler have made names for themselves in BCF in different ways. I have a soft spot for the Croatian Sarich for his entertaining style and guts to stand up to anybody, while Furtwangler surprised many by dominating and submitting the dangerous Malloy Mahoney before losing to Roger Quince last November.

Featherweight Bout: Lukás Kaminski (4-4) vs Henri Haugen (5-2)

These featherweight rookies who are known as some of the best strikers in their respective countries, Kaminski and Haugen will likely provide the undercard with some fast paced entertainment. A loss for either will likely send them back to the regional scene to gather experience, while a win gets them a second wind.

Featherweight Bout: Jaime Gil (6-2-1NC) vs Johan Klein (8-2)

This is a fight in a similar vein as the previous, as both featherweight strikers need to perform to stay relevant, though their track records provide them with a little more leeway and perhaps one more chance if they don’t pull it off this time. Gil is one of the better Spanish kickboxer to cross over to MMA, while Klein is a German boxer whose trademark win is a KO of Pedro Alves in SIGMA.

Predictions? Suggestions? Comments?

Danny Akabaro vs Aleksei Chekhov

Tim Oldacres vs Fumiyaki Hayashi

Carter Potter vs Mark Bicknell

Martin Cupples vs Matt Kerr

Timothy White vs Rhys Buck

Linton Renn vs Christopher Drew

Roman Danielyan vs Fernando Peragon

Michael Klaughnschue vs Garry McSweegan

Javid Khan vs Scott Gillespie

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Roland Furtwangler

Lukás Kaminski vs Henri Haugen

Jaime Gil vs Johan Klein

DAVEFAN95 · September 30, 2015

Extremely disappointed to see both Duffy and Hartnett out already. I really thought both guys would go far yet it was not to be.

Danny Akabaro vs Aleksei Chekhov

Tim Oldacres vs Fumiyaki Hayashi

Carter Potter vs Mark Bicknell

Martin Cupples vs Matt Kerr

Timothy White vs Rhys Buck

Linton Renn vs Christopher Drew

Roman Danielyan vs Fernando Peragon

Michael Klaughnschue vs Garry McSweegan

Javid Khan vs Scott Gillespie

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Roland Furtwangler

Lukás Kaminski vs Henri Haugen

Jaime Gil vs Johan Klein

MasterSkuxly · September 30, 2015

Tough out for Baudin but I am confident of his chances in the future.

Danny Akabaro vs Aleksei Chekhov

Tim Oldacres vs Fumiyaki Hayashi

Carter Potter vs Mark Bicknell

Martin Cupples vs Matt Kerr

Timothy White vs Rhys Buck

Linton Renn vs Christopher Drew

Roman Danielyan vs Fernando Peragon

Michael Klaughnschue vs Garry McSweegan

Javid Khan vs Scott Gillespie

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Roland Furtwangler

Lukás Kaminski vs Henri Haugen

Jaime Gil vs Johan Klein

Thesnake101 · October 1, 2015

Danny Akabaro vs Aleksei Chekhov

Tim Oldacres vs Fumiyaki Hayashi

Carter Potter vs Mark Bicknell

Martin Cupples vs Matt Kerr

Timothy White vs Rhys Buck

Linton Renn vs Christopher Drew

Roman Danielyan vs Fernando Peragon

Michael Klaughnschue vs Garry McSweegan

Javid Khan vs Scott Gillespie

Vjekoslav Sarich vs Roland Furtwangler

Lukás Kaminski vs Henri Haugen

Jaime Gil vs Johan Klein

Paatero · October 1, 2015

BCF TV: Akabaro vs Chekhov

Friday Week 3 of April, 2005 in Midlands

Broadcast by Euro Cable Sports 1

Prelims:

Jaime Gil (6-2-1NC) vs Johan Klein (8-2) at featherweight

The German fighter is the aggressor early but falls short of much success as Gil proves the be the more technical striker. At the end of round one the Spaniard surprises Klein by taking him to the ground and controlling a good portion of the late going. In the second round Gil finds his range big time with a right hand that wobbles Klein, and a massive high kick follows and knocks Klein out. Flawless victory.

Result: Jaime Gil (7-2-1NC) defeats Johan Klein (8-3) by KO (head kick) at 3:35 of round 2.

Lukás Kaminski (4-4) vs Henri Haugen (5-2) at featherweight

The second featherweight feature opens as expected, in entertaining fashion, as the two kickboxers go to war on the feet. Haugen seems content to pick his shots and wear on Kaminski with shots to the body and legs, while Kaminski looks for the bigger blows but falls short on most. In the second round the Czech fighter takes Haugen down to the floor but is threatened by the Finn’s trademark armbar, leaving the round up in the air. In the final round Haugen starts to land heavy blows and even manages to take Kaminski down, very likely securing the victory.

Result: Henri Haugen (6-2) defeats Lukás Kaminski (4-5) by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27).

Haugen takes the mic post fight and says he cannot stand Roman Danielyan and that he wants the chance to beat him up after his fight later tonight. We’ll see how that works out, but that’s a grudge I knew nothing about.

Vjekoslav Sarich (10-5) vs Roland Furtwangler (13-6) at welterweight

The action doesn’t slow down much even though two men a couple of sizes bigger step in the cage. Furtwangler controls round one in the clinch and keeps a good pace with his dirty boxing, even getting Sarich to the floor at the end of the first frame. In the second Sarich lands a trio of huge blows but his German opponent manages to close the distance and survive, controlling the rest of the round. The third round ends up being very much like the first, Furtwangler proving to be the fresher fighter and Sarich not getting much done.

Result: Roland Furtwangler (14-6) defeats Vjekoslav Sarich (10-6) by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

Javid Khan (13-6) vs Scott Gillespie (9-6) at welterweight

Khan gets a quick takedown in the first round and spends the five minutes in mount pounding away at the hapless Gillespie, but does not opt to go for any submissions despite his reputation as a submission fighter. It may have cost him as Gillespie comes back in the second and knocks him down with a mix of head kicks and big punches and gains strong control of the fight. In the third round Khan uses the clinch and short strikes to secure the fight, which makes for a somewhat disappointing end to a great fight.

Result: Javid Khan (14-6) defeats Scott Gillespie (9-7) by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

Michael Klaughnschue (11-6) vs Garry McSweegan (25-13) at light heavyweight

The first half of the first five minutes is a boxing show as McSweegan lights the German fighter up on the feet, smashing his nose with a big left. In the second half Klaughnschue throws McSweegan to the floor and controls him, but not much damage is done on the ground. In the second round McSweegan wastes no time wobbling Klaughnschue and putting an absolute beating on him throughout, but does not manage to finish the job. The final round consists of Klaughnschue trying to survive by holding on in the clinch, managing to do so but not leaving unscathed tonight.

Result: Michael Klaughnschue (12-6) defeats Garry McSweegan (25-14) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

Well, that has to be the only way both fighters keep their jobs. I don’t see how Klaughnschue won the fight in the least, but the judges did, so I guess both guys kind of won.

Roman Danielyan (11-4) vs Fernando Peragon (15-5) at featherweight

It only takes a minute and change for Peragon to land a clobbering right that floors Danielyan and a barrage on the ground forces the referee to intervene (if a bit slowly according to the commentators, Danielyan did take quite a beating).

Result: Fernando Peragon (16-5) defeats Roman Danielyan (11-5) by TKO (punches) at 1:19 of round 1.

Linton Renn (13-5) vs Christopher Drew (10-2) at heavyweight

An awesome first round sees both fighters showing their best qualities as Drew controls the early going with his technical and powerful striking, landing one or two shots before moving away from the heavier Renn. Renn eventually catches up to Drew, takes him down and punishes him on the ground, taking his back and almost submitting him with the RNC. The Halifax Smasher continues quickly in the second, slamming Drew down and smashing his way through to victory with some heavy ground and pound. Fantastic heavyweight scrap!

Result: Linton Renn (14-5) defeats Christopher Drew (10-3) by TKO (punches) at 1:01 of round 2.

Main card:

Timothy White (9-2) vs Rhys Buck (10-3) at middleweight

A dominant first round is turned in by the Welshman who starts to find his range after a slow first couple of minutes and drops White with a beautiful combination. White survives to see the second round, but not for long as Buck keeps the pressure on him and finishes the job efficiently - a fantastic performance by Buck.

Result: Rhys Buck (11-3) defeats Timothy White (9-3) by TKO (punches) at 1:22 of round 1.

Martin Cupples (14-3) vs Matt Kerr (9-1) at welterweight

Somewhat surprisingly after his debut performance, Kerr seems perfectly happy to stand and trade punches with Cupples in the first round. It ends up not paying off as The Crippler drops him with a big left hook late in the round and scoring big, and the second round sees Kerr switch plans to a more clinch oriented style. A whirlwind on knees and elbows do a number on Cupples, but he manages to pull free and land some more punches late in the round.

An extremely close third round may end up deciding things as Cupples lands a number of heavy combinations but gets wrestled to the fence by Kerr who cuts him open with sharp elbows and punishes him with knees to the body and legs. Both fighters are pretty battered after the fight and we go to the scorecards after a great three rounder.

Result: Martin Cupples (15-3) defeats Matt Kerr (9-2) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

Carter Potter (22-7) vs Mark Bicknell (14-5) at heavyweight

Bicknell shoots right off the glove touch and pushes Potter to the fence. An elbow lands to distract the former champion and Bicknell trips him to the floor, immediately going for his guillotine attack. Potter defends valiantly and keeps Bicknell from advancing to a more dominant position, but gives up the first round on the scorecards.

The second round is tentative as Potter looks for striking opportunities but Bicknell moves away from the crosses and hooks, only eating a few pawing jabs. Bicknell whittles away some of the clock by clinching and controlling, but not a lot of damage is done to either party.

Potter finally opens up in the third and lands a number of heavy shots before being taken down again by the English wrestler. Bicknell works in close in the guard, obviously wary of Potter’s submissions that are notorious in the late rounds, and the heavyweights go to the scorecards for a close call.

Result: Carter Potter (23-7) defeats Mark Bicknell (14-6) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

A lot of close fights tonight. None of them have ended up in robberies, but you could have scored that one for either man, as with the fight before.

Tim Oldacres (12-3) vs Fumiyaki Hayashi (23-9) at lightweight

Hayashi opens confidently with some of his flashy spinning kicks as Oldacres tries to walk him down and use his power advantage. It seems difficult for both fighters to land significantly early on, but Oldacres eventually catches Hayashi with a massive right hook that puts him down and some sickening ground and pound sledgehammers force the referee to rescue the Japanese legend. Oldacres came through in a big way in his highest profile bout to date, perhaps now he can finally work his way to the title shot.

Result: Tim Oldacres (13-3) defeats Fumiyaki Hayashi (23-10) by TKO (punches) at 3:44 of round 1.

Main Event:

Danny Akabaro (13-2) vs Aleksei Chekhov (26-7) for the interim BCF light heavyweight championship

After a brief session of feeling each other out the two brawlers go to work as expected, swinging at each other with murderous intent. Akabaro lands clean strikes and blocks away most of Chekhov’s offerings, and it ends up being a steady fall and crash for Chekhov who finds himself on the canvas just two minutes in. The short fight is kind of disappointing, but it was also kind of awesome!

Result: Danny Akabaro (14-2) defeats Aleksei Chekhov (26-8) by KO (punches) at 2:07 of round 1 to win the interim BCF light heavyweight championship.

Post Show Thoughts:

Bonuses: $1500

FotN: Akabaro & Chekhov, Renn & Drew (2 awarded for no SotN)

KotN: Akabaro

SotN: N/A

571 people were in the live audience for a gate of $62,810. Ratings were 53% commercial and 73% critical, which I count as a success for a BCF TV event. Our British Isles popularity remained the same, but Europe and Russia both got a solid 1.0% bump, which is what we are looking for.

Results-wise it was an almost perfect show. A new star was made at light heavyweight as Danny Akabaro popped to low level national with the title win, and with +5 momentum he is basically a money machine right now. If Kitson decides to return to 205, Akabaro is a fresh fight for him for the unification bout, but I’m not sure if I want to do that just yet. Maybe after one more fight for both to even the odds a little bit as Akabaro is still 25 and improving.

Tim Oldacres scored a big stoppage and made himself a viable contender at lightweight once again. Hopefully he can stay healthy this time as the previous time he was this close to contender status he suffered a major arm injury that left him on the sidelines for more than a year. I was worried that the hurt arm had permanently changed Oldacres’ fighting style, but here he proved that he can still crack with that right hand. There may be one more fight for Oldacres before title shot as Darryl Batch seems to be the next challenger, but I have to figure out what fights make sense.

The heavyweight bout was a bit of a dull affair and left a rather indecisive result. Carter Potter is back to neutral momentum and with his name recognition he is a key player in the division, but I don’t know how much he has left in terms of competitive ability. A fight against Curt Kitson would be a fun marquee fight between two long time BCF mainstays, but I’m not sure yet about timing and whether that would end up a total slaughter.

Martin Cupples got a second straight win by decision, the first time that particular streak has happened in his career. This time the judges did not come into play for lack of effort as Cupples hurt Kerr several times with big punches, but the tough newcomer held on and fought back hard. Matt Kerr may just be the most entertaining clinch based fighter on the roster, as he has scored great ratings in both of his BCF fights so far.

Rhys Buck is a nice rising star at middleweight with three straight wins and +1 momentum. At 26 he still has some ways to go in terms of skill development, but his overall game seems to be improving steadily. There are very few good Welsh fighters currently on the scene, so I may want to develop Buck a little for that market. His next fight may well be on home turf, as a matter of fact.

There are so many prelims nowadays that it’s difficult to talk about them all, but there were some fantastic fights and finishes on this undercard. Linton Renn got back to the win column with a commanding performance over a dangerous Christopher Drew, while Fernando Peragon showed that he can still be a contender at featherweight. Henri Haugen made a splash with a mature, well rounded performance and an angry call out, and Jaime Gil scored a big head kick KO in his third BCF effort.

Lukas Kamínski is released after going to negative win ratio in his second BCF loss.

Predictions:

DAVEFAN95: 5/12

MasterSkuxly: 9/12

TheSnake101: 9/12

Paatero · October 2, 2015

BCF Conquest Episode 10 Recap:

Friday Week 3 of April

The tenth episode of Conquest was very well received, although ratings did not reach the opening eight weeks’ blockbuster level for a reason I can’t decipher - perhaps Graeme Duffy’s absence is a factor? Peter Lidström was entertaining once more, while the resident lovable weirdo Seumas Duncan (3-0) was shown buddying up with Gavin Benson during training - an alliance of some of the best grapplers on the show. Seumas Duncan was set up to fight in the quarterfinals in the episode against Irish Jeremy Michaels (2-0).

The Scottish bear was talked about early as a boring fighter with no finishing instincts, but that talk quickly faded away as he submitted the undefeated Lloyd Lewis in the qualifiers. It seems people have also started to come around to Duncan’s quirky, unique personality and look, and he is developing into a popular entity on the social media surrounding European MMA.

Jeremy Michaels is one of the least experienced fighters left in the competition, but his lack of experience did not stop him from putting away the 11-0 Leon Austin in the first phase of the tournament. Holding the distinction of scoring the biggest upset of the season so far, Michaels will be looking for more of the same against the Scottish bear.

Lightning did not strike twice for the underdog - instead, a one-sided mauling ended his run in the tournament as The Bear put the youngster away, scoring another submission in a good, dominant performance.

BCF Conquest Episode 11 Recap:

Friday Week 4 of April

The new episode had a straight forward focus on competitive qualities as the quarterfinal fight was revealed to be between the always entertaining Peter Lidström (4-0-1) and Gavin Benson (5-0). The submission abilities of both fighters made for some high level anticipation among hardcore fans.

Peter Lidström was the last to advance through the first phase of the show, submitting Rene Baudin. The 6’8 Swede is an undefeated submission specialist who uses his length to control people on the ground, and on the feet his reach makes him difficult to deal with.

His opponent, Gavin Benson, is a favorite on the show due to his high level competitive background in judo. At 28 years of age, Benson seems committed to catapult himself right into the midst of top light heavyweights in Europe by winning the show and moving on to BCF - his first round Conquest victory was a submission over the dangerous Graeme Duffy.

The fight delivered the kind of good grappling exchange that was expected, with Gavin Benson prevailing by submission. Lidström provided a game effort, but Benson’s grappling and physical dominance were too much in the end, which was impressive considering the Swede’s towering size.

BCF Review for April, 2005:

23-year old Barry Gonzales (9-1) gets his first chance at professional MMA gold as SIGMA booked the Irishman to face undefeated Italian Vittorio Pescatelli (11-0) for the vacant SIGMA heavyweight title. I like the match up for Gonzales, who will only need to get the wrestler down to the ground once to end it and build up his stock.

Other BCF fighters booked for the event are Fritz Phipps (11-4) who faces Bast Moulke (9-0) in a tough heavyweight bout, and Tikhon Diev (13-3) who faces 27-year old Dutchman Rens de Beus (8-3). Diev almost certainly wins his fight, but I’m a little worried about Phipps and would like for someone to get injured to save him from a tough fight for another company.

Monthly MMA Review for April, 2005:

GAMMA 75 took place in California in the first week of April. Former super heavyweight champion Davey Rushton scored an impressive win in the main event, submitting Wally Bryant by rear naked choke in the second round. A lackluster middleweight co-feature saw Leonardo da Costa edge Dexter Darling by split decision.

OMEGA held a show in Northern Mexico featuring two title fights. In the main event two American lightweights went to war over the belt with Kenny Magilton prevailing over Ross Smith by third round RNC. In the co-headliner Mexican welterweight prospects clashed for the 170-pound title, and Louis De La Torre beat Diego Arteta by TKO in the third round.

At ALPHA-1 in Japan, world class welterweights Ichisake Miyagi and Noach van der Capellen clashed for the fourth time, with the Japanese champion prevailing by unanimous decision for the third consecutive time, defending his title for the fifth time in his third reign. In the co-headlining slot veteran light heavyweight Yoritomo Ina built momentum with a first round drubbing of the talented but inexperienced wrestling convert Tatsui Ienari.

GAMMA 76 featured a big light heavyweight main event where Znovimir Asanovic defeated Toby Sorkin by unanimous decision in a close, technical five round fight to solidify himself as one of the top fighters in the company and weight class. The penultimate fight of the evening took home two awards as Gideon Navarro and Bobby Brubaker brought entertainment for almost three rounds until the Hawaiian forced the referee to rescue the former champion, landing a big TKO win.

KDM FC 36 took place in China and was headlined by the conclusion to the lightweight trilogy, Malaysian submission expert Chan Kim Huat outworking the Egyptian former champion Ahmed Mohamed Farag en route to a unanimous decision win and his first professional MMA title. A featherweight co-main event saw Kanji Togo submit Sophan Sastrowardoya by arm triangle in the first round.

ALPHA-1’s second show brought the lightweight championship bout to Kanto, where Brazilian Helio claimed the belt from Indonesian combat sports legend Sukarno, knocking him out in the first round. Two top Japanese lightweights did battle in the co-main event and came to a disappointing end as the ringside doctors were forced to stop the fight due to a cut to Go Yamamoto, making it a TKO win to his opponent Naizen Hamacho.

Paatero · October 3, 2015

BCF Conquest Episode 12 Recap:

Friday Week 1 of May

The last quarterfinal episode is in the books and the ratings boom seems to have calmed a little bit as the competitors have steadily dropped from the tournament. Scottish Seumas Duncan still entertained with his quirky persona, but the drama and action provided by Graeme Duffy and Peter Lidström were perhaps missed by many viewers. The last quarterfinal was set between Johnny Ward (4-0-1) and Matti Meikäläinen (3-1-1).

Johnny ”Wipeout” Ward advanced to the quarterfinals with a fight of the season candidate over Nicholas Preston. The 22-year old former boxer showed excellent conditioning and precise striking in that fight, and will likely hold a technical advantage standing against his opponent Meikäläinen.

Matti Meikäläinen surprised national level wrestler Gary Hart with a submission in the very first fight of the season, putting him through to the quarterfinals. His time between fights is the longest of any of the competitors left on the show, and it will be interesting to see how he performs in an entirely different stylistic match up against Ward.

Johnny Ward emerged victorious by unanimous decision, outworking and outboxing the unorthodox Finn. The fight was good but not great, as both competitors were clearly looking for the safest path to the semifinals, as they would need to fight soon in the following phase. With two comprehensive victories over two striking based fighters, Ward made a case for himself as probably the best stand up fighter on the cast, but his grappling still leaves questions.

BCF Conquest Episode 13 Recap:

Friday Week 2 of May

The fantastic ratings were back for week 13 as the semifinals got underway and anticipation kept building. The castmate interactions between the remaining contestants were entertaining in a tense manner as four men trained and lived with each other not knowing which one of the other three they would face for an opportunity to fight on the live finale. The first semifinal match up was set between last week’s winner Johnny Ward (4-0-1NC) and Olympic judo competitor Gavin Benson (5-0).

Johnny Ward advanced to the semifinals with two decision victories over Nicholas Preston in the opening round and Matti Meikäläinen in the quarterfinals. The Irishman showed excellent technical boxing skills and defense on his road to the semifinals and will be a clear favorite on the feet against any of the remaining competitors, but has yet to answer the question of how he deals with a high level grappler such as Benson.

Gavin Benson’s path to the semifinals was a tough yet dominant one. The 28-year old, life long competitor was a favorite in the tournament from the get go due to his competitive experience and athletic abilities, but his powerful grappling and dangerous submissions have proved to be at least equal in importance. Benson submitted both Graeme Duffy and Peter Lidström in his two tournament bouts so far, showing obvious talent for finishing fights against tough opposition.

The first semifinal was a grappler versus striker match, and it ended in the grappler’s favor - Gavin Benson submitted Johnny Ward in a great fight, another candidate for fight of the season. Next week’s fight will determine who faces Gavin Benson in the first ever BCF Conquest Finale, as the last two fighters will clash: Kyle Henderson (3-1) and Seumas Duncan (3-0). Will ”God’s Gift” use his catch wrestling abilities to make it an all English affair, or will the Scottish bear maul another foe, advancing to face the only castmate he really bonded with?

BCF Conquest Episode 14 Recap

Friday Week 3 of May

The final episode of the first season of Conquest is done and dusted, and we have a final fight set to happen live on a BCF event in the fall. The final episode had surprisingly low (while still good) numbers in terms of viewership despite its conclusive nature, perhaps a nod to the styles and personalities of the two remaining contestants, who have their own following but not a mainstream intrigue like some of the other competitors on the cast. The final two competitors were Kyle Henderson (3-1) and Seumas Duncan (3-0).

Kyle Henderson advanced to the semifinals with a submission win over Roger Perez and an unanimous decision victory against David Hartnett. The 24-year old Englishman is a catch wrestler, known for his dominant grappling and takedowns, as well as his arsenal of chokes. Though sometimes criticized as being content to ride fights out on top to earn decision victories, Henderson proved himself capable of putting away a strong, athletic foe in Roger Perez in the opening round.

Seumas Duncan has had some of the same criticism leveled toward him before, but the Scot answered it by submitting both of his opponents (Lloyd Lewis and Jeremy Michaels) en route to his semifinal fight. Duncan’s fight against Henderson will likely come down to which grappler gets to dictate their game plan on the other, though it could also become a striking match if neither of them is willing to go through the effort to take down another grappling powerhouse.

The decently entertaining battle of submission style wrestlers ended in Kyle Henderson’s favor by unanimous decision, and ”God’s Gift” becomes the second Conquest finalist. Only two fighters are left standing after a 14-week tournament and only two are guaranteed spots on the live BCF Conquest Finale this fall, but many of the fourteen eliminated competitors will have a chance to start their own BCF careers through the ”Redemption” tournament! Redemption will feature eight fighters chosen from those eliminated throughout the season before the semifinals, while the two semifinalists will have other bouts to give them a chance at redemption. The Redemption tournament will be detailed further as the BCF Conquest Finale draws nearer.

Finalists Spotlight:

Gavin Benson (5-0), 28 years old from London, England

def. Johnny Ward by submission

def. Peter Lidström by submission

def. Graeme Duffy by submission

Kyle Henderson (3-1), 24-years old from Cornwall, England

def. Seumas Duncan by unanimous decision

def. David Hartnett by unanimous decision

def. Roger Perez by submission

Paatero · October 3, 2015

BCF: Bintley vs Kuqi announcement

Saturday Week 3 of May, 2005 in London

Broadcast by United Kingdom Choice (PPV)

BCF Heavyweight Championship Bout: Ozzy Bintley (13-0) vs Roope Kuqi (12-0)

Conquest is over and the coaches are set to clash inside the BCF cage. The 24-year old Finnish challenger presents a dangerous set of challenges for the English champion, and is considered a slight favorite by the bookies despite Bintley’s bigger reputation and popularity. In the end someone’s undefeated record will suffer its first blemish, and with the styles matching up as they do, I’m predicting a dramatic ending.

Lightweight Bout: Nigel Collett (11-4) vs Lance Diaz (9-0)

”The Crusader” is back after a hand injury sidelined him in September of last year, and he faces a dangerous striker on a four fight winning streak in ”Nasty” Nigel Collett. Diaz, the popular 22-year old lightweight prospect, is looking for his fourth BCF victory, and this one may be his most dangerous test to date - Collett has recorded three knock outs in his last four fights. Diaz will need to use his overwhelming physicality and versatility to circumvent the striking threat his foe presents, while Collett mostly needs to just land the right punch to prevail.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Lenny McFadden (18-4) vs Nathan Vedder (10-1)

Two talented light heavyweights face off on the main card to determine who takes the crucial step toward contendership and who gets thrown right back into the crowd in the increasingly competitive division. McFadden is returning with vengeance after being released in 2003 after a rough patch, while Vedder is trying to build on his quick submission victory last Christmas and establish his first BCF winning streak. McFadden is the more known commodity, but Vedder’s grappling talents make him a dangerous match up for the Scot - meanwhile, Vedder’s tendency to remain hittable on the feet is a feature McFadden has been known to exploit in the past.

Welterweight Bout: Vikram Sithalayan (22-5) vs Roger Quince (10-0)

This is one of those match ups that seems to be tough for both fighters on paper. It’s a tough comeback for Sithalayan who lost his championship in very lopsided fashion, and it’s a big step up for the 26-year old rising star Quince, who is 3-0 in his young BCF career. Both men have strong grappling backgrounds but with different disciplines, so I’m hoping this provides some hardcore fireworks in the form of a technical grappling showcase.

Middleweight Bout: Kojuro Kudo (16-7-1NC) vs Snuffy Fontana (13-2)

The opening main card fight is an intriguing stylistic match up and a crucial match in terms of rankings in the middleweight division. Kojuro Kudo is really good in a couple of areas of MMA and pretty good at many others - similar in many ways to his opponent Fontana. It should come down to who picks the right areas to utilize at the right time, and I’m thinking it will be an all over the place kind of fight.

Prelims:

Heavyweight Bout: Matas Fialkowski (8-2) vs Larry Johnson (9-1)

After suffering tough defeats to vastly more experienced competitors, Johnson and Fialkowski will face each other in a more evenly matched fight in terms of pro bouts. The Pole is the much larger man and has a bigger arsenal of fight ending threats, but has been outwrestled before, and if there’s one thing Johnson can do it is wrestle.

Middleweight Bout: Hans-Peter Schneider (20-11) vs Casim Yenkini (14-8)

Two veterans of the European middleweight scene fight to go for one more run at the division’s top. Schneider isn’t far removed from his two razor-close contests with Rob Baines for the BCF title, and Yenkini showed he still has teeth last summer by submitting Luka Hajek. Both men are coming off losses (3 in the case of Schneider), so it is really important that they perform well.

Middleweight Bout: Uwe Maier (16-8) vs Tore Herlovsen (13-7)

Two more European veteran middleweights coming off defeats, Herlovsen and Maier are also on the chopping block if the need arises to shed some middleweights. Luckily for them the need isn’t here just yet, so even a loss won’t guarantee their getting cut, but a win would be preferable.

Featherweight Bout: Glen Mustafa (6-0) vs Marc Morris (6-0)

Out of all the prelims, this one is my favorite. Two 24-year old undefeated featherweights from England making their BCF debuts, Liverpool versus Manchester. Both of them have been prospects I’ve had my eye on for a while, and now they get the chance to prove themselves against one another. Liverpool’s Mustafa is a submission wrestler with all six of his pro wins coming by finish in the first round, two in less than a minute. Manchester’s Morris is an MMA fighter who specializes in grappling but has shown a complete arsenal, scoring four submissions and two knock outs in his six bouts.

Lightweight Bout: Darren Fry (8-2) vs Vladimir Baskov (10-5)

Two lightweights go for their first BCF win after unsuccessful debuts. Fry lost to Tim Oldacres, which isn’t a bad person to lose to in your debut, while Baskov was edged by Sid Morgan in a back and forth fight. Baskov has more experience at a high level of competitior and has the advantage in grappling, but Fry is a solid muay thai striker who is a consistent performer and a resilient scrapper.

Featherweight Bout: Wesley Jackson (5-1) vs Dom Yorke (10-5)

These featherweights are pretty distinct from each other in style and resume, but they share the fact that they were stopped by Stephen Conti. Jackson since rebounded with a decision win over Irving Braun, while Yorke is still trying to rebound. It is a match up of wrestling versus muay thai - Jackson will need to avoid Yorke’s takedowns and set up as many of his big kicks as possible.

Predictions? Suggestions? Comments?

Ozzy Bintley vs Roope Kuqi

Nigel Collett vs Lance Diaz

Lenny McFadden vs Nathan Vedder

Vikram Sithalayan vs Roger Quince

Kojuro Kudo vs Snuffy Fontana

Matas Fialkowski vs Larry Johnson

Hans-Peter Schneider vs Casim Yenkini

Uwe Maier vs Tore Herlovsen

Glen Mustafa vs Marc Morris

Darren Fry vs Vladimir Baskov

Wesley Jackson vs Dom Yorke

MasterSkuxly · October 3, 2015

A Redemption tournament you say? That's awesome! Just remember when choosing the contestants that my two guys were involved in potential fights of the season . Also Gavin Benson is my pick for best fighter in the tournament, what a beast.

Ozzy Bintley vs Roope Kuqi

Nigel Collett vs Lance Diaz

Lenny McFadden vs Nathan Vedder

Vikram Sithalayan vs Roger Quince

Kojuro Kudo vs Snuffy Fontana

Matas Fialkowski vs Larry Johnson

Hans-Peter Schneider vs Casim Yenkini

Uwe Maier vs Tore Herlovsen

Glen Mustafa vs Marc Morris

Darren Fry vs Vladimir Baskov

Wesley Jackson vs Dom Yorke

Paatero · October 3, 2015

Yeah, Benson ought to be the favorite due to finishing all of his fights, seems like a promising light heavyweight. However, if there were catch wrestling olympics, Henderson would have done well there, he's definitely a live competitor .

I like the Redemption tournament idea because now we get to actually see the fights play out, we'll learn a lot about the contestants .

CageRage · October 4, 2015

Ozzy Bintley vs Roope Kuqi

Nigel Collett vs Lance Diaz

Lenny McFadden vs Nathan Vedder

Vikram Sithalayan vs Roger Quince

Kojuro Kudo vs Snuffy Fontana

Matas Fialkowski vs Larry Johnson

Hans-Peter Schneider vs Casim Yenkini

Uwe Maier vs Tore Herlovsen

Glen Mustafa vs Marc Morris

Darren Fry vs Vladimir Baskov

Wesley Jackson vs Dom Yorke

Paatero · October 4, 2015

BCF: Bintley vs Kuqi

Saturday Week 3 of May, 2005 in London

Broadcast by United Kingdom Choice (PPV)

Prelims:

Wesley Jackson (5-1) vs Dom Yorke (10-5) at featherweight

Jackson lands a few of his strikes early, but gets taken down by Yorke and his back taken within minutes. Some ground and pound punishment from the wrestler sets up a rear naked choke less than three minutes into the fight. Great comeback for Yorke.

Result: Dom Yorke (11-5) defeats Wesley Jackson (5-2) by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:48 of round 1.

Yorke calls out Henri Haugen after the fight, perhaps angling for more spotlight with a more popular fighter that is also a plausible match up. Clever.

Darren Fry (8-2) vs Vladimir Baskov (10-5) at lightweight

Another quick submission is in the cards for the night as Fry refuses to touch gloves, whiffs on a couple of punches, gets taken down, mounted, and taps to an armbar. Baskov made it look like a drill.

Result: Vladimir Baskov (11-5) defeats Darren Fry (8-3) by submission (armbar) at 2:36 of round 1.

Glen Mustafa (6-0) vs Marc Morris (6-0) at featherweight

Morris initiates the striking exchange right away and you can see why, as the Manchester product keeps landing the same two punches over and over again, finally switching it up and coming under the guard for an uppercut, knocking Mustafa out in the first round. A memorable debut for Marc Morris!

Result: Marc Morris (7-0) defeats Glen Mustafa (6-1) by KO (punches) at 2:24 of round 1.

Uwe Maier (16-8) vs Tore Herlovsen (13-7) at middleweight

A fantastic brawl highlights the evening so far as the middleweight veterans go to battle. Maier seems to be the more precise striker in the first round as both men try to find their range to land meaningful shots. It doesn’t seem to matter though, as Herlovsen lands a bomb in the second round that rocks Maier and finishes the fight shortly thereafter, swarming his German opponent with punches.

Result: Tore Herlovsen (14-7) defeats Uwe Maier (16-9) by TKO (punches) at 0:56 of round 2.

Hans-Peter Schneider (20-11) vs Casim Yenkini (14-8) at middleweight

A close three rounder takes place between these middleweights, as Yenkini successfully implements his wrestling to control the German fighter, while Schneider uses the moments when he is free to pick his shots on the outside. In the last round the biggest moment comes when Schneider stuffs a Yenkini takedown, reverses and takes his back and seems close to sinking in the rear naked choke but the time runs out.

Result: Casim Yenkini (15-8) defeats Hans-Peter Schneider (20-12) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

Matas Fialkowski (8-2) vs Larry Johnson (9-1) at heavyweight

Johnson shows his hand right away, looking to grab a hold of the Polish giant and control him along the fence, but has a hard time keeping the much larger man pinned and eats some strikes for his troubles. The Irishman starts to find more success as time goes on and Fialkowski starts to tire, but some big strikes still land and we’re left with another close fight to call for the judges.

Result: Matas Fialkowski (9-2) defeats Larry Johnson (9-2) by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29).

Main card:

Kojuro Kudo (16-7-1NC) vs Snuffy Fontana (13-2) at middleweight

The first round is a technical and calculated striking exchange as Fontana seems content to go second and counter. While the strategy seems to work OK, Kudo seems to land the more significant and numerous strikes, mixing up his punches with kicks to the body and a couple to the head, though no real major moments seem to materialize for either fighter.

The same strategy seems to continue to begin round two, but Fontana suddenly switches gears and pushes into the clinch and forces Kudo’s back to the fence. After a brief salvo of dirty boxing Fontana easily takes him down and lands more punches on the ground. Kudo briefly escapes off a hasty attempt to mount, but Fontana puts him right back down again, showing that he can dominate the wrestling exchanges with ease.

Fontana keeps with the plan that worked in the third round and quickly clinches with his opponent and takes him down. This time he manages to take Kudo’s back but the Japanese veteran defends the position extremely well, preventing any hooks from being entered and eventually finding his way back to his feet, though it seems to be too little too late.

Result: Snuffy Fontana (14-2) defeats Kojuro Kudo (16-8-1NC) by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29).

Weird scores by the one judge that had it for Kudo - Fontana definitely won the last two rounds. The victor calls out Rob Baines for a rematch in his post fight interview. Interesting thought, I kind of already counted Baines out as retired, but he did in fact not retire after losing his belt. That could be something, the first fight was competitive and fun to watch, and it’s been almost three years.

Vikram Sithalayan (22-5) vs Roger Quince (10-0) at welterweight

The two grapplers open up with a striking exchange, where the Pakistani former champion seems to get the better of things. Quince looks for the clinch, but Sithalayan surprises the judoka by dropping levels and landing a takedown into his guard. After an extended exchange of armbar attempts by Quince from the bottom and leg attacks by Sithalayan, one of the many scrambles leaves Quince on top but with too little time to do much with it.

In the second round Quince tries to force the clinchfighting but Sithalayan’s defense proves too good for him to be controlled for extended periods of time, and at distance he picks and lands the better shots. The crowd seems to enjoy the contrast in styles and cheers loudly after the second round.

The third round is once again a struggle for clinch dominance - it is difficult to say which fighter had the more effective offense as very little was actually done in the final five minutes. The commentary team seems to think Quince got the better of the last round, but this will be close to call, once again.

Result: Roger Quince (11-0) defeats Vikram Sithalayan (22-6) by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

Quince calls out Iain Fussell after the win, but I have other plans for Fussell. Also with such a poor performance, even in victory, I hesitate to move Quince forward too much. He overcame his biggest test, but only by virtue of the judges - he did very little to put Sithalayan away, while the former champion worked his strikes whenever he could. There was the brief exchange of submission attempts in round one that was pretty fun, but the rest of Quince’s game seemed to be about holding.

Lenny McFadden (18-4) vs Nathan Vedder (10-1) at light heavyweight

Vedder wastes no time pushing into the clinch, taking McFadden down and attacking with a variety of submissions. It ends up being an ankle lock that forces McFadden to tap only two minutes into the fight - quite a statement by the Irishman!

Result: Nathan Vedder (11-1) defeats Lenny McFadden (18-5) by submission (ankle lock) at 2:03 of round 1.

Nigel Collett (11-4) vs Lance Diaz (9-0) at lightweight

Diaz gets hit with a pair of clobbering punches in the first exchange and he decides that enough is enough, clinching up with his opponent and taking him to the mat. An arm triangle seems to hit the spot right away and it’s in deep - Collett is forced to tap only moments after hitting the floor!

Result: Lance Diaz (10-0) defeats Nigel Collett (11-5) by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:31 of round 1.

Main Event:

Ozzy Bintley (13-0) vs Roope Kuqi (12-0) for the BCF heavyweight championship

The challenger quickly gets a hold of Bintley and spends the first five minutes wearing on him against the cage, landing the occasional punch or foot stomp. Slow start to the championship fight, looking much like a Vincent Henderson type of fight.

The second round becomes a bit more hectic after a few minutes of the same as the first round. Bintley gets separation and lands a big punch, but Kuqi eats it and takes him down with a double underhook leg sweep to end the round on top.

Bintley lands a sharp jab and a right hand to the body, but gets slammed to the mat right after. Kuqi uses his size and strength to force his way to the mount and punishes the champion with some heavy ground strikes, forcing him to give up his back. He goes for the choke but Bintley defends until the third round ends.

The fourth round is rather uneventful - clinch control by Kuqi, a few missed big shots by Bintley, a slam takedown by Kuqi at the end of the round. Bintley really needs to go after it in the final round, but doing that opens him up for the takedown even more.

The final round is somewhat anticlimactic as a few feints almost draw Kuqi in but Bintley just misses on his big strikes and once again gets stuck in the clinch with the stronger grappler and controlled until the bell rings for the end of the fifth round.

Result: Roope Kuqi (13-0) defeats Ozzy Bintley (13-1) by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 48-47) to win the BCF heavyweight championship.

Post Show Thoughts:

Bonuses: $2500

FotN: Herlovsen & Maier

KotN: Morris

SotN: Diaz

2124 people in attendance for a gate of $292,050, and $3,016,000 was made on PPV. Ratings were high as expected, 71% commercial and 68% critical, resulting in a 2.6% growth in popularity.

There were quite a few close and unexciting fights on this card, luckily counterbalanced by some dynamic and exciting stoppages and a few fights in between those two categories. The main event was unfortunately the kind of fight I feared it could be, but the result is not terrible: Roope Kuqi very nearly turned into a star, being only 0.4% off low level national in the Isles, and Ozzy Bintley did not suffer negative momentum thanks to surviving to the final bell. He did sustain some damage on the ground in the second round, and so will have to take four months off to recuperate, but I think I’ll be able to set him up for another big fight soon after that. There’s a chance Rav Kapur becomes champion before 2005 is done, so that fight might eventually happen and do big business.

There were a few other ”nearly star turns” on the card, including Lance Diaz and Nathan Vedder. Both of them scored big, impressive first round submissions and were left only very slightly off low level national status. Both of them are also healthy following their victories, so they can capitalize on their momentum and fight again before the year is over. Diaz is only 22 and thus not in a hurry, but Vedder is 32 and looking for big fights as soon as possible.

Roger Quince’s win was not really what I hoped for. I mean that mostly in terms of the quality of fight it became, though Sithalayan re-establishing himself would also not have been bad. Luckily Quince is 26 and has +2 momentum, so he will still get chances to impress, but Sithalayan has a tough road back to the title at 34 years of age and two back to back defeats, especially with neither performance being particularly impressive.

Snuffy Fontana scored his third straight win over a tough MMA veteran in a close fight. The 28-year old is one of the top contenders at middleweight but will likely fight one more time before getting a title shot as there is a queue right now for who gets to face the champion. The Rob Baines rematch Fontana suggested might be a good idea, though I’m not sure what I’d do if Baines won - probably give him a title fight or another big fight, as he is such a big name. I don’t know if that is interesting or not, especially as Baines might just retire whenever.

The prelims had a couple of great performances and a couple of snoozers. Marc Morris made quite the splash in his debut, while Vladimir Baskov and Dom Yorke erased the memories of defeat with strong victories. Tore Herlovsen also earned a chance to rebuild himself with a fight of the night TKO finish, scoring his first BCF victory after two tough losses. Overall, it was a good night of fights with a few highly anticipated fights that did not quite deliver.

P.S: Roger Quince's fight becomes a no contest as he fails a post fight drug test. Therefore only 10 predictions are valid.

Predictions:

MasterSkuxly: 3/10

CageRage: 4/10

Tough predictions on this one, so many new fighters you couldn't know a lot about! This is one of those events where we learned something about quite a few of those fighters, but there are still some questions left unanswered.

Paatero · October 6, 2015

BCF Review for May, 2005:

A homecoming is set for former BCF heavyweight champion Rav Kapur (15-0) who faces Armen Sarkisian (29-7) in Birmingham in late July. BCF TV: Kapur vs Sarkisian will see a contender be crowned for the heavyweight title and the blockbuster fight will have a strong supporting cast to boot. Light heavyweight phenom Matthew Michael Kirby (11-2) returns to face the surging Patrick Aldana (10-1), Graeme Spark (13-3) and Louie Sullivan (12-2) will meet at featherweight, and top welterweight prospect Benjamin Morgan (7-0-1NC) fights dangerous veteran Timothy Latchkey (12-4). Other bouts are being added and will be announced closer to the event.

SIGMA’s event fortified with BCF fighters took place on the first weekend of May. The results were perfect for us as BCF faithful went 3-0; Tikhon Diev (14-3) knocked Rens de Beus (8-4) silly in the second round, Fritz Phipps (12-4) dominated and submitted Bast Moulke (9-1), breaking the German prospect’s undefeated streak, and finally the night’s big winner, Barry Gonzales (10-1), took home the SIGMA heavyweight title. The 23-year old Irishman showed true guts as well as lethal technique, persevering through big strikes from the formerly undefeated Italian Vittorio Pescatelli (11-1) to rally late in the second round to tap him out with an arm triangle.

Event bookings for the summer are starting to be complete as August gets a big time pay per view event; BCF: Henderson vs Oakley will take place on week 2 of August in Scotland. Scottish champion Vincent Henderson (10-0) goes for his first title defense against the surging and dangerous Charlie Oakley (11-1), as Crow Leddy (14-2) gets a chance to redeem his first ever loss against Scotland’s own Adrian Majoram (14-3) in a potential light heavyweight title eliminator.

I decided to give Oakley the title shot ahead of Kaladaris because Henderson has already beaten him before in March of 2003. Henderson also called out Oakley following his win over Tikhon Diev in November of last year, so he gets his wish in the process - this gives me a chance to give Kaladaris one more fight and if he wins, he will be at national popularity and make for a massive title fight afterward.

After careful consideration I have decided the fight in question. It will happen on the same August PPV as the championship, and the co-headliner will pit Heath Kaladaris (13-1) against Paul Goodfellow (9-1) to determine the next middleweight challenger. The anticipation for the fight is high as both young contenders are riding waves right now, and their styles seem to match up really well. The fight could easily be a great main event on a separate show anywhere in the UK, but I instead opted to stack the August show to try how much stacking an event increases its profits, as well as to better line up the match up timings at middleweight. This works as an injury security policy, as well.

In an announcement that likely comes as a surprise to all but the select few in the BCF ”inner circle”, the British company has acquired their long time competitor, the German promotion SIGMA. The German organization has been known to struggle financially as Europe’s economy is suffering through a slump and there are no broadcasting networks willing to sign with many MMA companies, and the BCF has volunteered to pay off their loans and proceed as SIGMA’s parent company. This means the BCF has access to all of the German company’s talent and titles, but I’m not yet decided on what to use as of right now. There are weight classes that could use some fresh talent, but having a developmental promotion for future talent could also work nicely.

A disappointing welterweight development was announced on the last Sunday of the month as Roger Quince has tested positive for PED’s following his decision victory over Vikram Sithalayan. The result has been overturned to a no contest and Quince is suspended for one year. The 26-year old blamed the result on a lab error, claiming that he had not put illegal substances into his system.

Monthly MMA Review for May, 2005:

The month of May opened with a WEFF television special called Validation 6. In the main event Canadian prospects Gaetane Morel and Elisamarie Roux rematched for the featherweight title, and it ended up in another razor-close split decision, this time in favor of 24-year old Montreal-based Morel, who improved to 10-1. In the co-headliner Leslie Myers submitted Chanelle Robert by second round arm triangle choke.

GAMMA 77 featured the welterweight title fight between champion Nathan Chambers and challenger Gabriel Gallego. Chambers surprisingly kept the fight on the feet for the whole contest and knocked Gallego out in the third round to successfully defend his title for the fourth time. Welterweight contenders Darin Blood and Josh Aldarisio clashed in the co-main event, with Blood knocking Aldarisio out via third round head kick.

ALPHA-1 light heavyweight championship changed hands as Jiroemon Hasegawa claimed the strap from Jin Katou by first round kimura. In a welterweight co-headliner Manuel Silva knocked out Fukusaburo Hirano with a brutal knee strike.

FLB brought two title fights in May, with the light heavyweight title going to Rio’s Silvio Leite, who beat Gustavo Spagnol by unanimous decision. The welterweight belt also changed hands as Valdo Calamari outworked Lucas en route to another five round decision.

GAMMA 78: Sampson vs Polter II was one of the two events closing off the month, where 41-year old Gary Sampson submitted Hanley Polter by fifth round RNC after a sloppy, exhausting to watch fight. Luckily the co-headliner fight of the night rescued the night somewhat, as Jack Humphreys and Rufus Stephens battled for welterweight superiority, with Humphreys prevailing by unanimous decision.

ALPHA-1 had a stellar night (not for Japanese fighters, though) where heavyweight icon Hassan Fezzik reclaimed his heavyweight title from young Japanese star Kanezane Fujii by rear naked choke submission late in the first round, taking fight of the night and submission of the night honors in the process. Nilton Fantoni edged Ryuji Ganaha by split decision in a light heavyweight contenders’ bout.

Paatero · October 6, 2015

BCF TV: Gunnarsson vs Dee 2 announcement

Friday Week 1 of June, 2005 in Scandinavia

Broadcast by Euro Cable Sports 1

BCF Featherweight Championship Bout: Snorri Gunnarsson (30-4-1NC) vs Colm Dee (21-7)

The dominant Icelandic champion has not been challenged very much in his BCF career so far, but the tough Irish challenger Colm Dee is looking to change that in his first title shot with the company. Coming off three impressive wins, Dee is definitely a deserving challenger and is known to be a powerful striker with an iron chin - a combination that can be a threat to any fighter. The problem for the challenger is Gunnarsson’s unmatched grappling game, something that has proven to be Dee’s weakness in the past - although he did submit his previous opponent, Swithens Corcoran, in rather spectacular fashion.

Lightweight Bout: Patrik Pedersen (13-1) vs Harald Hubner (12-4)

Swedish contender Pedersen gets a home showcase against a man that gave Seth O’Breen one of his toughest fights yet, Harald Hubner. Both lightweights are strong wrestlers with solid striking skills, but Pedersen’s power is a significant advantage he brings to almost any fight. Hubner has good power of his own, as he proved by knocking down the lightweight champion in the first round of their 2004 fight, but has been known to excel more in the grappling department, utilizing his strong top game.

Welterweight Bout: Malloy Mahoney (11-3) vs Lev Safanov (13-3)

Two welterweights look to stake their claim at being somebody to watch in the division as London striker Malloy Mahoney faces Russian grappler Lev Safanov. Both men look to add to their previous victories and build a streak, preferably in impressive fashion, as neither man has much momentum going for them currently.

Lightweight Bout: George Astaire (17-10) vs Jesse Hill (9-0)

27-year old undefeated Jesse Hill gets his biggest test in the BCF cage as he faces the #10 ranked veteran George Astaire in a pivotal lightweight clash. Both men are from judo backgrounds and excel at the submission game, with the match up possibly coming down to youth versus experience.

Featherweight Bout: Webster Fittleworth (13-3) vs Jay Dorridge (13-5)

A clash of black belts opens the televised portion of the card as recently promoted BJJ specialist Webster Fittleworth faces judoka Jay Dorridge, with both men looking to flush away the taste of defeat coming off their previous bouts. Both men lost to champions, former or current, which leaves them in position to set themselves up among the top featherweights with a convincing victory here.

Prelims:

Light Heavyweight Bout: Gordon Shearer (11-1) vs Markku Mikkola (12-2)

Two light heavyweights with the potential to rise to the upper echelon of the division in BCF, Mikkola and Shearer are also looking to get back to their winning ways with an impressive win to cap off the prelims and lead into the main card. This is a pretty typical striker versus grappler match up, with the Finn having a sizable advantage in the grappling arts, while Shearer excels when he has space to work with his unorthodox striking despite having recorded most of his wins by submission.

Middleweight Bout: Augustus Shorrock (11-5) vs Drazen Gabelich (12-4)

Two talented 30-year old middleweights face off after suffering KO defeats to top competitors in their weight class in their last fights. Northern Ireland’s Shorrock is a ground and pound specialist with good takedowns and a stocky, powerful physique, while the Croatian Gabelich is a technical overall grappler who prefers to finish by submission.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Billy Orton (7-2) vs Daniil Skala (25-12)

This is a fight that I’m tipping as an early fight of the night candidate. Former heavyweight prospect Billy Orton drops down to 205 pounds after consecutive defeats in the BCF heavyweight class to face 36-year old Russian veteran Daniil Skala, who has had mixed results in his recent fights. Both men are offensively minded strikers who finish a good portion of their victories, and both competitors really need this win to secure their spots on the roster.

Heavyweight Bout: Nelson Kenney (5-3) vs Simon Youngman (6-1)

This is a pretty straightforward fight to analyze beforehand: two big, tough brawlers are going to slug it out and see which one lands the better shot, or perhaps which one lands a decent shot earlier. Both men suffered defeats in their previous BCF outings and will need to impress to secure their future with the company.

Predictions? Suggestions? Comments?

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Colm Dee

Patrik Pedersen vs Harald Hubner

Malloy Mahoney vs Lev Safanov

George Astaire vs Jesse Hill

Webster Fittleworth vs Jay Dorridge

Gordon Shearer vs Markku Mikkola

Augustus Shorrock vs Drazen Gabelich

Billy Orton vs Daniil Skala

Nelson Kenney vs Simon Youngman

CageRage · October 6, 2015

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Colm Dee

Patrik Pedersen vs Harald Hubner

Malloy Mahoney vs Lev Safanov

George Astaire vs Jesse Hill

Webster Fittleworth vs Jay Dorridge

Gordon Shearer vs Markku Mikkola

Augustus Shorrock vs Drazen Gabelich

Billy Orton vs Daniil Skala

Nelson Kenney vs Simon Youngman

MasterSkuxly · October 6, 2015

I like Colm Dee's style but he has no chance against the grappling of Snorri

Snorri Gunnarsson vs Colm Dee

Patrik Pedersen vs Harald Hubner

Malloy Mahoney vs Lev Safanov

George Astaire vs Jesse Hill

Webster Fittleworth vs Jay Dorridge

Gordon Shearer vs Markku Mikkola

Augustus Shorrock vs Drazen Gabelich

Billy Orton vs Daniil Skala

Nelson Kenney vs Simon Youngman

Paatero · October 7, 2015

BCF TV: Gunnarsson vs Dee 2

Friday Week 1 of June, 2005 in Scandinavia

Broadcast by Euro Cable Sports 1

Prelims:

Nelson Kenney (5-3) vs Simon Youngman (6-1) at heavyweight

Somewhat surprisingly, Kenney tries to use his takedown skills to circumvent the apparent striking advantage of the Australian, but only has limited success. Youngman controls most of the fifteen minutes with his superior boxing en route to what should be a unanimous decision win.

Result: Simon Youngman (7-1) defeats Nelson Kenney (5-4) by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

Billy Orton (7-2) vs Daniil Skala (25-12) at light heavyweight

Skala, known for his stoic manner inside the cage, does not bother to even touch gloves prior to going after his opponent with his striking attacks. Orton proves to be technically superior in the first round, avoiding most of Skala’s big, wound up strikes while landing quick counter shots on the back end, hurting the Russian’s jaw late in the first round. Skala shoots in for a takedown in the second round, which Orton stuffs and then continues to pick the veteran apart with his boxing, finally knocking the tough Russian out a minute left in the second round.

Result: Billy Orton (8-2) defeats Daniil Skala (25-13) by KO (punches) at 4:03 of round 2.

Augustus Shorrock (11-5) vs Drazen Gabelich (12-4) at middleweight

A frantic first round sees Shorrock prove himself as the better striker, landing heavy shots on the feet and defending the Croatian’s takedowns until the very end of the round, where Gabelich gets a trip against the fence and ends up in dominant position. From there he spends little time in locking in a deep kimura that forces the tap to end an entertaining, back and forth one round fight.

Result: Drazen Gabelich (13-4) defeats Augustus Shorrock (11-6) by submission (kimura) at 4:20 of round 1.

Gordon Shearer (11-1) vs Markku Mikkola (12-2) at light heavyweight

Mikkola wastes no time taking Shearer down to the ground, beating him up with punches and elbows and eventually passing to side control and locking in the second kimura of the night. An efficient performance and a one sided beating in favor of the Finn.

Result: Markku Mikkola (13-2) defeats Gordon Shearer (11-2) by submission (kimura) at 2:50 of round 1.

Mikkola respectfully calls out Tikhon Diev after the fight, saying he believes it’d be a great fight. I don’t believe that it would, but it’s a fight that makes some sense in terms of rankings.

Main card:

Webster Fittleworth (13-3) vs Jay Dorridge (13-5) at featherweight

The few opening minutes of the fight are spent on the feet, which does not provide a great showing for either man. As Fittleworth goes for his first takedown of the fight, Dorridge catches him in the clinch and lands a beautiful hip toss and gets dominant position to possibly claim the round. A very similar pattern is realized in the second as Fittleworth initiates grappling after some very poor luck landing strikes on his feet, but Dorridge proves to be the better grappler standing up and gets top position.

The third round sees a change in strategy and momentum as Fittleworth gets a clinch takedown right at the beginning, ending up in Dorridge’s half guard. The judoka scrambles but Fittleworth manages to rotate to his back, though only briefly. Dorridge finds his way back up and pushes his man to the cage, spending the rest of the round there.

Result: Webster Fittleworth (14-3) defeats Jay Dorridge (13-6) by split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30).

The fans boo after the fight as they seem to disagree with the decision. So did I to be honest, I felt Dorridge won two rounds to one, but it was a close fight. It was also rather well rated, the Scandinavian fans seemed to appreciate the technical grappling display.

George Astaire (17-10) vs Jesse Hill (9-0) at lightweight

The fight opens with some fire as Astaire ignores Hill’s glove touch and goes after the rookie with some punches. Neither man has trouble connecting their punches early, but Astaire switches gears midway through and takes Hill down and easily passes through his guard to side control, likely taking the round.

In the second round Hill takes Astaire down after some struggle, only to be stood right back up as the crafty veteran effectively nullifies him on the ground. The Scot then turns the tables again and takes Hill down, working in a little ground and pound to convince the judges.

The third and final round is spent entirely on the feet, where Astaire does a great job of outworking Hill with combinations while stepping out of range of the shorter man’s counters. Hill seems to be quite winded and unable to change the way the fight is progressing, and it seems like a solid decision win for the Scottish veteran.

Result: George Astaire (18-10) defeats Jesse Hill (9-1) by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27).

Malloy Mahoney (11-3) vs Lev Safanov (13-3) at welterweight

Safanov does what he does best, bumrushing Mahoney with no regard to the strikes the Englishman throws to fend him off. A big takedown lands, the guard is easily passed and Safanov relentlessly punishes Mahoney with ground strikes until the referee has to step in and stop it. Easily the biggest and most impressive win for Safanov so far.

Result: Lev Safanov (14-3) defeats Malloy Mahoney (11-4) by TKO (punches) at 2:42 of round 1.

Safanov calls out Martin Cupples after the win, which is definitely a possibility after such a great main card win.

Patrik Pedersen (13-1) vs Harald Hubner (12-4) at lightweight

The early going is characterized by a difficulty to connect for both men as they swing big but struggle to find their range. Pedersen eventually starts to mix up his shots and timing a bit better and finds more success than his German counterpart, but the tempo generally ramps up toward the end of the first round and the crowd appreciates the action.

Some ways into round to Hubner ducks under a massive Pedersen right hand and closes the distance and clinches. He pushes the Swede to the fence and tries to strike up close, but does not have as much success there as Pedersen had on the feet earlier. The commentary team seems to think Hubner is in a tough position going into round three.

Big combinations just seem to fall into place and land at will for Pedersen early in the third round and Hubner falls down after absorbing a dozen shots with his face, still managing to defend himself on the mat and reclaim full guard after the onslaught. Pedersen certainly secured the win with the final round, but Hubner proved himself to be a very tough nut to crack indeed.

Result: Patrik Pedersen (14-1) defeats Harald Hubner (12-5) by unanimous decision (30-27 x3).

Main event:

Snorri Gunnarsson (30-4-1NC) vs Colm Dee (21-7) for the BCF featherweight championship

The early first round is an interesting display as Gunnarsson seemingly chooses to stand and trade punches with the Irish boxer, giving Dee the opportunity to land some of his sharp, powerful punches, but he also has to eat some crisp combinations from the champion. Near the four minute mark Gunnarsson switches things up and quickly takes Dee down next to the fence, advances to mount and sinks in a tight arm triangle for a convincing first round submission win.

Result: Snorri Gunnarsson (31-4-1NC) defeats Colm Dee (21-8) by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:56 of round 1 to retain the BCF featherweight championship.

Post Show Thoughts:

Bonuses: $1500

FotN: Pedersen & Hubner

KotN: Orton

SotN: Gunnarsson

220 people were in attendance in Scandinavia for a gate of $22,550. Ratings were 56% commercial and 78% critical for popularity boosts of 0.4% / 1.0% / 1.0% in the UK / EU / RU. A record number of $707,520 was made in subscriptions.

The main event ended up being entertaining but perhaps the least competitive bout of Gunnarsson’s championship reign as the only first round finish of the champion’s three successful defenses. The fight very nearly put Gunnarsson over to national level in the UK, as he already is in Europe. Gunnarsson’s next fight could well headline a pay per view for the first time, which is something I am planning for the end of the year or early next.

Patrik Pedersen solidified his spot as a legitimate title contender with his fifth straight victory. As a strong wrestler with big punching power, he is one of the more interesting challengers for O’Breen’s title and could find himself across the cage from the champ sooner rather than later. Darryl Batch may be more popular, but Pedersen’s skill set seems more complete and may make for a more competitive bout.

Lev Safanov had a surprisingly impressive performance on the main card and may have set himself up for a rather big fight next, calling out Martin Cupples. The fight makes sense in terms of momentum and timing, so it’s something I’m looking to do next. Both men are looking to improve their resumes and build momentum at mid level regional name value, and despite his longer tenure and bigger reputation Cupples needs to build momentum before getting into headlining positions.

George Astaire’s win may not have been a highlight of the show, but it was an important one for the 33-year old Scot who has struggled with momentum in his long BCF career. As of recently he is 4-1 in his last 5 fights - an impressive feat in the lightweight division - but he still needs to cross that barrier of becoming a convincing contender for the title. His performance against Jesse Hill was mature and well rounded, but what he needs now is to put a stamp on another legitimate fighter to really push himself to the top tier.

Webster Fittleworth might have got lucky to win the decision over Jay Dorridge, but he has shown to be able to compete with some of the division’s better fighters and will continue to be a useful member of the roster. Dorridge’s stock also did not fall much with this fight, but he will have to wait until another time to shake the negative momentum from his crushing title loss to Gunnarsson.

The prelims were all in all pretty good. Two fighters re-established their relevancy in their divisional rankings in Markku Mikkola and Drazen Gabelich, while Billy Orton made a successful (and violent) light heavyweight debut and Simon Youngman came back from his first pro loss with a solid win.

Predictions:

CageRage: 5/9

MasterSkuxly: 6/9

Paatero · October 7, 2015

BCF Review for June, 2005:

September gets a big BCF PPV as Jayden Karp (13-1) puts his welterweight title on the line against Iain Fussell (14-3) in a fight that could be the biggest domestic welterweight title match yet, contested between two surging young Englishmen with lots of potential. A big lightweight bout co-features as Jake Keane (29-7) faces Tim Oldacres (13-3) in what could finally give Oldacres his first shot at a professional MMA title or line Keane up for a rubber match with Seth O’Breen.

A couple of notable signings are inked in June and put into action right away. ”The Drifter” Daniel Caulfield (12-0) is a 21-year old Northern Irish heavyweight prospect from a kickboxing background, most noted for his victories over former BCF fighters Howard Pursglove, Bob Dozier and Basil McCrystle - the undefeated finishing machine also possesses a high knock out ratio, with only one of his twelve fights going the distance. Caulfield is slotted into fight Bastian Neske (10-4) on the main card of the September PPV.

David Allen (19-8) is a 33-year old American MMA veteran who has fought many of the welterweight division’s best all over the world. Allen joins BCF after a long stint with GAMMA, and is coming off a submission win over John Bonello on a smaller American show, and will be facing David Webb (23-6) in September on the main card.

A massive heavyweight showdown is added to the BCF schedule as the company returns to Wales with a rare Saturday night BCF TV event. In the headlining fight, Curt Kitson (22-0) faces Carter Potter (23-7) while Welsh prospect Rhys Buck (11-3) faces former champion Davis Spyrou (25-9) in a middleweight co-feature.

Monthly MMA Review for June, 2005:

OMEGA held a show in South Eastern Mexico before 1558 people with two titles on the line. John Fitzwallace submitted Frank Analysis in the first round by RNC to take the heavyweight crown, while undefeated super heavyweight prospects Roberto Duran and Mateo Lozano went to war for three rounds, with Duran claiming the strap by knock out.

Newly crowned GAMMA lightweight champion Benny Danare did not reign for long as at GAMMA 79 perennial contender Truck Gleeson finally got a championship to his resume, scoring a TKO victory in the fifth and final round. In a heavyweight co-main event, undefeated Texan Sam Hoynes defeated Puerto Rico’s John Rivero by unanimous decision.

At ALPHA-1: Endo vs Deguchi two Japanese middleweight stars did battle for the championship, with the 29-year old phenom Kadonomaro Deguchi staying undefeated at 17-0 with a split decision victory, claiming the title from the long time champion. In a light heavyweight co-main event, Niko Soldo’s slide continued as the legendary Tamadasa Yamada forced him to submit to a RNC in the second round.

KDM FC’s 37th installment featured a women’s title fight, with Japanese Sayoko Ebisawa defending her title successfully, scoring a narrow decision victory over countrywoman Yutsuko Sasaki. Japan also shined in the co-headliner as Yoshiro Makamori made short work of Chinese prospect Dewei Yao by kneebar submission.

WEFF 41 took place in Ontario at the end of June and it was headlined by undefeated bantamweight champion and undisputed women’s pound for pound queen Pamela O’Neill defending her title, knocking out Thea Higgins early in the fourth round. In a closely contested bout of bantamweight contenders, Gianna Russo beat Monica Masters by majority decision.

Sign In

Great title to attract readers: A new BCF dynasty in 2015!

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Archived