It was time for the Brits to shine again this past Saturday night as the Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MEN Arena in Manchester for their latest offering, with Randy Couture and Brandon Vera going at it in the main event of UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera, shown live here in Britain on ESPN, with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling commentary duties.

The broadcast began with Ultimate Fighter 9 lightweight winner Ross Pearson making his UFC debut proper against Aaron Riley. This was a hell of a debut for Pearson, as he put in a dominating performance, controlling the flow of the fight from the beginning, with Riley looking very tentative. Pearson looked great in all aspects, and he probably would have finished the fight himself if the doctors hadn’t stopped it, with Riley having sustained a nasty cut, courtesy of a Pearson flying knee. Good stuff from Pearson here, giving us Brits another fighter to keep an eye on.

Then it was on to James Wilks taking on Matt Brown at welterweight. Wilks looked good to begin with, but as the fight progressed Brown really got into his game, controlling the fight and putting in some nice work. He may well have got the submission win with a triangle in the second round, but the clock was against him. Wilks looked exhausted as the third round started, and it looked like he was about to stage something of a comeback until a sustained ground and pound attack from Brown earned him the TKO win. Another very good fight, with Brown in particular looking great.

Fight three was the proverbial blink and you’ll miss it affair, with Andre Winner facing Rolando Delgado in a lightweight encounter. Delgado went for a few knees and kicks early on, but a big right from Winner sent him crashing to the mat. It wasn’t long before Winner unloaded with the big right hand again, and this one completely knocked Delgado out as he fell to the ground like a sack of spuds, ending a very impressive performance from Winner here.

Britain’s most popular mixed martial artist, Michael Bisping, was up next, looking to get his career back on track as we went up against Denis Kang in a middleweight bout. Kang came into this one with a big reputation, and many people thought that this would be a cake walk for the former Pride star, and he put on a good display in the first round with his ground game. However, Bisping proved to be his equal, quickly shaking off the right hand that had knocked him down to put on a tremendous defensive display. So having been on the defensive in the first round, Bisping went on the offensive in the second, scoring with numerous take downs. When Bisping went for the ground and pound after the second take down, Kang got busted open, and from there you could tell it was only a matter of time, with the referee calling a halt to proceedings when Kang failed to respond to Bisping’s final ground and pound onslaught, earning him the TKO win in what was possibly the best performance of his career.

The second blink and you’ll miss it affair came next, with Alexander Gustafsson facing Jared Hamman in a light heavyweight fight. This one began as a slugfest, but soon saw Hamman down on the mat after a Gustafsson right. Brief ground and pound followed, but Hamman was out of it by the time the referee stepped in. A short but impressive display from Gustafsson here as he earned the TKO win.

The big welterweight fight followed, with Mike Swick facing Dan Hardy for a possible shot at Georges St-Pierre’s title. This may have been the best fight on the night, a great encounter between two fighters looking to get that big fight. Both men put on a good display in an even looking first two rounds, with Hardy really upping his game in the third, showing some good stand-up and ground work. All in all it was a very good fight, with Hardy getting the unanimous decision after three hard fought rounds, and rightfully so. This writer hopes that he gets that well deserved title shot.

The main event saw Randy Couture returning to the light heavyweight division to face a man who had recently gone down there himself, Brandon Vera. To say that the Natural got a great reception would be an understatement. This fight proved to be a little controversial to say the least. Couture’s game plan was to use his wrestling skills against Vera, and this involved controlling his opponent up against the cage. If truth be told, Couture did a good job here, but it was in the third round that many thought Vera had won it, rocking Couture with his punches and causing damage to his ribs with several great kicks. But this just didn’t seem to be enough in the eyes of the judges, with all three giving the fight to Couture, which didn’t sit too well with Vera. Many thought that even though Couture had controlled the majority of the fight, the damage Vera caused in the third was enough to get him the win. And I have to admit, I thought Vera had edged it.

In conclusion - the UFC’s latest foray to this side of the pond proved to be a very good show, and a very good advertisement for how far mixed martial arts has come in this country over the past few years, with Ross Pearson, Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy all putting in great performances. As for the main event decision, well, we’ve had two dodgy main event decisions in a row now. Let’s hope we don’t get another one next weekend.

A little bit later than planned due to health problems (I’ve got an infection in the left side of my jaw! Send get well messages to the usual address), we’re now going to take a look back at the recent Strikeforce/M-1 Global Fedor v Rogers show, shown on Bravo here in Britain on a one day delay. Is the Russian heavyweight really the best MMA fighter in the world?

The show began with heavyweight action, two Brazilians going up against each other with Fabricio Werdum taking on Antonio Silva. This was a great way to start the show. Silva tried to keep the fight upright in the first round, scoring with some good shots as he tried to stay away from Werdum’s ground game. This plan worked well in the first round, but as the fight went on Werdum began to stamp his authority on the fight, taking it to the mat and showing some good ground work. Naturally, the fighters began to tire in the third round, but this didn’t seem to stop their progress, and with the fight going the three round distance, Werdum took the unanimous decision. Nice stuff here, and a very enjoyable fight.

Then it was down to the light heavyweight division, with Gegard Mousasi facing Thierry Sokoudjou. The great fight action continued with this one. Both men looked good in a first round that was fought at a rather frantic pace, and Sokoudjou in particular looked quote impressive. Sadly, the man from Cameroon couldn’t keep his momentum going into the second round, with Mousasi soon getting the win after some good ground and pound work. A nice TKO win for the Dutchman here, but Sokoudjou can also be proud of his efforts in this one.

The third fight saw Jake Shields and Jason Miller fighting it out over the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight title. This was the title that Cung Le recently vacated when he retired, an retirement that hasn’t actually lasted that long, as he’s making a comeback next month. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. We got a tremendous display of ground fighting in this one, as Shields put on a great performance, although his excellent work wasn’t to the liking of the crowd at times, as they rained down a chorus of boos as he went to work. Miller look good as well, but as the fight went on it was obvious that Shields was the better fighter, although he just couldn’t get that final submission move. It really came as no surprise that Shields got the unanimous title winning decision, and although his fighting style wasn’t to everyone’s liking, this was a fine example of how you can get an exciting fight without a big knockout punch of quick submission victory.

The main event saw Russian sensation Fedor Emelianenko facing Brett Rogers. It seemed that everyone thought that Fedor would get a quick and decisive victory in this one, but I guess that Rogers didn’t read the script, especially in the first round when a left hook from the big American bloodied the Russian’s nose. Later on in the round Rogers’ ground and pound almost got him the win, but Fedor eventually escaped, almost getting the win himself with an arm triangle. The decisive moment came in the second, when Fedor’s big right hand sent Rogers crashing down to the ground. A brief moment of ground and pound followed, before the referee quickly stepped in and called a halt to the proceedings, giving Fedor the much anticipated victory, and capping off another fine performance from the Russian.

In conclusion - This is by far the best Strikeforce show I’ve seen, and the best MMA show outside of the UFC I’ve seen this year. Four outstanding fights, and a show that finished on a high note as Fedor got the expected win. But that big question is still waiting to be answered - is Fedor still the best heavyweight fighter of all time? Well, I’m afraid that, for me, this fight didn’t really answer that question. Strikeforce may be giving him a bigger platform, but that question won’t really be answered until he steps in to the UFC cage.

Mixed martial arts is on the agenda again as we take a look at the latest offering from Ultimate Challenge UK, Dynamite, held at the Troxy in London and shown on a three day delay on Sky Sports here in Britain. The show was hosted by O.J. Borg and Dave O’Donnell, with Andy Walker and Rob Nutley handling commentary duties.

The broadcast began with welterweight action, and Alberto Mina facing Edgelson Lua for the Welterweight title. Two good performances in this relatively short fight, with Lua looking good as he defending Mina’s early take down attempts. It wasn’t long before Mina got his wish though, as he took Lua down to the ground and showed some great transitions before he locked in an arm bar for the submission victory. Nice way to kick off the show.

The welterweight action continued with former Ultimate Fighter contestant Dean Amasinger taking on Scott Jansen. Amasinger looked tremendous here, quickly taking Jansen down and getting side control. Seconds later he had the win, courtesy of an arm triangle. The time, just forty-four seconds. Very good performance from Amasinger here, even though I forgot to use my blink and you’ll miss it affair line.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Abdul Mohammad faced Jason Young. This proved to be another enjoyable fight. Both men had their moments in the first fight on the show to make it past the first round, but as time went on Young began to assert himself more. With the fight going the three round distance, the judges were called on to make their decision, and they gave their respective nods to Young. A decision you definitely couldn’t argue with.

The usually watchable Tom “Kong” Watson was up next, defending his middleweight title against Denniston Sutherland. This was the second fight to go the distance, and although it featured some good action, it just seemed to lack that certain something, that little spark that usually make Watson fights great. Both men just seemed to cancel each other out, which was probably why the judges gave a split decision to Watson.

The main event featured the Goliath himself, Neil Grove, defending his Heavyweight title against Martin Thompson. Young Thompson looked dwarfed the massive Grove, and the champion used his size advantage to good effect, dropping Thompson with a big right hand before delivering the coup de grace with the ground and pound, knocking his man out. The referee wisely stepped in, giving Grove the title retaining win in just fifty-three seconds, giving us viewers our second blink and you’ll miss it affair of the night. See, I did manage to get that line in!

In conclusion - four out of five great fights made for a good showing, and another example of how Ultimate Challenge UK is the leading lights in British mixed martial arts at the moment. And you know what the great thing about this show was? Absolutely no mention of Katie Price and Alex Reid, proving that Dave O’Donnell and his crew don’t need to turn their product in a circus sideshow to draw in the punters. Nice work Dave.

It’s time to step into the world of mixed martial arts again, with two Brazilian greats in the former of Lyoto “Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battling out for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 104: Machida v Shogun, shown live here in Britain on ESPN, and featuring Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan on commentary.

As is the custom, ESPN joined Spike in America for the free preliminary bouts, beginning with a heavyweight battle between Antoni Hardonk and Pat Barry. This proved to be a good way of beginning the evening’s proceedings. Barry got accidentally poked in the eye in the first round, which somewhat worried him a little as the round went on, although these worries seemed to have been put aside as the fight progressed. By the end of the first he was on top, and in the second he looked great, knocking Hardonk down with a right. The referee stepped in when Barry went for the ground and pound, giving him the TKO win. Nice work by Barry, although Hardonk must take some credit for his bright start. But then again, perhaps Barry’s inadvertent eye injury worried him a little as well.

ESPN, in their infinite wisdom, came back from the first commercial break late, missing the beginning of the Stefan Struve/Chase Gormley fight, so the next full fight they showed was Ryan Bader versus Red Schafer at light heavyweight. This developed into a nice back and forth battle, with both fighters putting in a good performance, and the second eye poke of the evening when Bader took one in the face. This didn’t inhibit Bader in any way though, although Shafer also had his share of punishment, sustaining a cut over his eye after an accidental clash of heads while on the ground. This didn’t stop them from putting on a good fight, with Bader winning the unanimous decision, and rightfully so, although the judges’ decision making abilities would be questioned later in the evening.

On to the main show, with Anthony Johnson taking on Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the welterweight division. Well, it was meant to be at welterweight, but Johnson had problems making the weight. He still put in a hell of a performance, showing fast hand speed, putting Yoshida on the back foot, and knocking him down with a big right. Thankfully the referee quickly stepped in to save Yoshida from further punishment. This was a good outing from Johnson, and when our esteemed commentators said that Johnson’s walking around weight was normally around 220, I began to think that middleweight would be a better division for him.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson against Spencer “King” Fisher at lightweight was up next. Both fighters started well here, although it wasn’t long before Fisher sustained a cut over his right eye. Both men looked good in all aspects, until that critical moment in the second round when Stevenson took side control on the ground and trapped both of Fisher’s arms. From there he was able to deliver a sustained ground and pound attack, and with Fisher unable to defend himself, he soon tapped out. A very good performance from Stevenson here. If he keeps this up he’ll soon get a shot at the lightweight title.

Then it was up to the middleweight division, with Yushin Okami facing Chael Sonnen. The second fight of the evening to go the three round distance found Sonnen in dominating form, outfighting the Japanese star in almost every aspect. Sonnen looked tremendous here, although Okami did manage a kimura attempt in the third, although he soon released that particular hold when Sonnen let loose with a series of punches to the body. It really came as no surprise when Sonnen got the unanimous decision, concluding a nice evening’s work for the middleweight contender.

There were more weight problems in the next fight between Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau. This one should have been contested at lightweight, but with both fighters failing to make the weight, they decided to go ahead with it anyway. This fight followed a particular pattern - Tibau would score with a big take down, and, more often than not, Neer would get straight back up. It certainly looked spectacular to begin with, but after a while it began to look a bit repetitive. But in the end these take downs earned Tibau the unanimous judges decision. The fight may have been over a little sooner though had Tibau done a bit more work on the ground.

The co-main event saw heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez taking on fancied contender Ben Rothwell. Well, he was a fancied contender going into this fight. Cain put in a devastating and dominating performance, and no matter what Rothwell did, he just didn’t seem to have any answer for the new rising star of the heavyweight division, so it came as no surprise that Cain got the win here, although the manner in which he got it was a little controversial. As Cain unloaded with a barrage of blows against the fence, Rothwell began to get to his feet. It was then that the referee stepped in, putting a stop to the fight and giving Cain the TKO win. Rothwell was none too happy, and although he had a point about the timing of the stoppage, it was pretty obvious that Cain had the beating of him.

Then it was on to the main event, with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua challenging Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. To say that this fight was a tad controversial would be a slight understatement. Shogun put in a tremendous performance here, working over Machida time and time again with a series of leg kicks, bruising up his ribs and both of his legs, and although Machida himself got in some good kicks, it looked like Shogun had the beating of him. It was a hard fought, five round battle, and by the end Machida had the look of a beaten champion. However, the judges saw it differently, as they gave Machida the unanimous decision. Needless to say that I wasn’t the only one who wondered just what fight the judges had been watching. Shogun looked unbeatable in this fight, and Machida looked the shadow of his usual self.

The show finished with the aforementioned heavyweight battle between Stefan Struve and Chase Gormley. This proved to be a nice little battle that looked like it could go either way, until Struve applied an arm triangle for the submission win. At least we fans here in Britain got to see this one in full!

In conclusion - while UFC 104 will go down as another excellent show, it will always be remembered for the controversial decision in the main event. Shogun proved that he was back to his best after his recent injury problems, and he clearly should have won the fight and the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Kudos to Dana White though, for ordering an immediate re-match. Let’s just hope that they get some judges who actually watch the fight next time!

It’s time to step into the mixed martial arts world again, and this time we’re going to take a look at the debut show of British promotion Martial Arts Partnership Promotions UK, and their debut show The Champions, filmed by A1 Productions and held at the Cedar Court Hotel in Leeds back in May 2008, with a massive thirteen fights on the card.

The show began with Kevin Coop facing Alfas Miah. This proved to be a very enjoyable contest, but sadly it had a rather unfortunate ending. After putting in a very good performance, Coop connected with what looked like an inadvertent low knee. After a few moments it was deemed that Miah was unable to continue, with the MC saying that it was due to a blow to the head, which did confuse me a little. The fight was therefore ruled a no contest, which was a shame, because Coop would probably have won, given his performance here.

Fight two saw Dave Kettlewell taking on Chris Noon. Two rounds of great action here, with numerous take downs, reversals and submission attempts. Both men put on a good showing, impressing this particular writer. The end came in the last minute of the second round. Noon slammed Kettlewell close to the corner, with Kettlewell verbally submitting almost instantly, ending a nice little fight, with Noon just edging it for me performance wise.

Declan Williams against Oobie Rahman was next. This one was fought at a frantic pace, with Williams getting the first take down, Rahman countering, Williams countering him, and so on, and just over a minute into the fight Williams scored with another take down, locking on a guillotine choke with Rahman duly tapped out to. Not quite a blink and you’ll miss it affair, but good action nonetheless.

Then came the only fight of the show to go the two round distance, with Qasim Shafiq going up against Peter Lynch. Shafiq put in a tremendous performance here, seemingly able to take Lynch down at will, and almost getting the win with a kimura attempt that seemed to last for an age. It was pretty much the same for the entire fight, although Lynch took Shafiq’s back briefly, but didn’t really do anything. Shafiq took the unanimous judges decision for his display of dominance, and rightfully so.

Things returned to normal with the next fight, Neema Hashima against Bryan O’Connor. Hashima showed some good skill here, with some crisp-looking transitions, before locking in a triangle choke for the submission win. Nice stuff from Hashima here.

The next fight was a back and forth affair between Shadu Ali and Lee Jones. Both fighters showed some good skill with their striking and submission attempts, with Jones clearly winning the first round, and Ali really upping his game in the second, applying an arm bar early on in the round for the submission win, tapping off a nice comeback, and ending a very good fight.

Philip Hoban and Chris Jones (not sure if he’s any relation to Lee) almost went into the second round. Hoban was the dominating force here, working well on the ground, first getting the mount for some ground and pound, before transitioning to side control for a couple of submission attempts. Jones looked utterly helpless at times, and just thirteen seconds before the end of the round Hoban locked in a triangle choke, with Jones quickly tapping. A great performance from Hoban here. Jones didn’t really get a look in at all.

Tom Cunnington versus Pete Hill was the first blink and you’ll miss it affair of the night, and it had a rather strange beginning. As Hill entered the ring he took off his fight shorts, wanting to fight in his underwear. Of course, the referee was having none of that, and ordered him to put his shorts on again. This little exchange lasted longer than the fight. Hill got a quick take down and immediately went for an arm bar. Cunnington soon tapped. A nice performance from Hill here, but what was the deal with his underwear?

Andy Reid against Scott McClellan was just a few seconds longer than the previous fight. It was also a rather odd fight. Reid began with a kick before a right knocked McClellan down. The referee checked McClellan, and the fight continued. Then another quick right sent McClellan back down. McClellan promptly got up, and a third right promptly sent him down again, with the referee calling a halt to proceedings at the thirty-two second mark. I’m really not sure what to make of this one.

The fight number reached double figures with Tom Widnieski facing Steve Martin. (No, it’s not THAT Steve Martin). Widnieski was another of those fighters who dominated his opponent, able to transition at will. There was a brief stand up, but they soon went back down to the ground, with Widnieski going for a couple of kimura, and getting the submission at the second attempt in a really impressive outing.

Marcin Gorzala against Nathan Joseph was next. Another fight that went into the second round, the only thing of note to happen in the first was when the referee warned Joseph for kneeing Gorzala in the head while they were in the north/south position, and it was from that particular position that Gorzala got the win, unloading with a series of punches to Joseph’s mid-section, and when Joseph failed to respond to this attack, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, giving the TKO win to Gorzala. This was an okay fight, but it was the first time I’d seen someone get a TKO victory from the north/south position.

The penultimate fight saw Danny Carr face Niko Gjorka. Round one began with a quick exchange of blows, before Gjorka attempted a guillotine choke that seemed to last for ages. Not even a slam from Carr could get him to break the hold. Eventually Carr did, and he came back strongly in the second round, getting the win with a rear naked choke. This was a very exciting fight, and the fight of the night for me.

The main event saw Dave Hirst against Richard Taylor. Hirst put in a good little performance here, getting the take down after a clinch in the corner, and quickly moving to side control so he could lock in a side choke for the submission win.

DVD extras come on the form of a highlight reel, set to the tune of Queen’s classic “We Are The Champions”, and still photos from the event.

In conclusion - in case you haven’t guessed already, I really enjoyed this DVD. While I wasn’t exactly familiar with any of the fighters on show here, I was really impressed with some of the dominating performances here. It’s another case that if you scratch below the surface of the top MMA companies here in Britain, you may find something you like. So this DVD comes highly recommended.

With thanks Tom Tailford of A1 Productions for supplying a copy of this release. If you would like to purchase a copy of MAPP UK The Champions, visit either www.mappuk.com or www.fight-factory.co.uk for more details.