MMA action returned to Bravo’s screens here in Britain this past Sunday night with the debut of a new promotion, the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA). Nicknamed “The Fighting Premiership”, the promotion held semi-final bouts in tournaments to crown lightweight, welterweight and middleweight champions. Hosted by Cage Rage veteran O.J. Borg and radio DJ Christian O’Connell, with two other Cage Rage veterans handling commentary, Malcolm Martin and Rob Nutley, along with O’Connell.

The lightweight semi-finals were first, beginning with Zack Jones taking on Francis Heagney. This one was all Heagney. As soon as the fight went to the ground, Heagney went to work, setting up with punches and elbows before really going to work with the ground and pound. Jones could offer no defence, so it came as no surprise that the referee stepped in. Impressive stuff from the Irishman here as he progressed to the final.

The second saw Tim Radcliffe face Abdul Mohammed. Mohammed came into this one with a big reputation, but found himself outfought in almost every aspect. It was an astonishing performance from Radcliffe. He out-kicked and out-kicked him. When the fight went to the ground Radcliffe worked his guard so well that he was able to just kick him off, and in the third round when Mohammed went for a take down Radcliffe just pushed him away. With the fight going the three round distance, it came as no surprise that the judges gave Radcliffe the unanimous decision. An awesome performance from Radcliffe here.

Then it was on to the welterweight semi-finals, beginning with Eugene Fadiora going up against Nathan Champ. In this battle of youth against age, youth firmly came out on top. From the opening bell of the first round to the final bell of the third, it was all Fadiora. He controlled everything, using his vastly superior kick boxing skills to out fight Champ out every point. By the end of the second round Champ’s face was a bloody mess, with a nasty cut having opened under his right eye. The cut opened up again in the third, and it was only in the final minute or so of the final round that Champ finally sprang to life, getting off a few good shots. The judges decision - unanimous in favour of Fadiora. An excellent performance from Eugene here, but in the end the sixteen year age difference just proved too much for Champ.

Next up was Edgelson Lua taking on Ch’e Mills. This was the kind of fight that makes it great to be an MMA fan, a back and forth encounter with reversal after reversal, smooth transitions, and tremendous ground fighting. While Mills clearly took the first round, Lua worked his way back well in the second, on top for most of the round and out moving Mills whenever he could, only for Mills to come back strongly on the offence himself. By the time the third round started both fighters looked exhausted, and it came as no surprise that they fought at a slightly slower pace, but as the round went on Mills got the upper hand, taking Lua down with a jumping knee and unleashing with the ground and pound. As the fight went into it’s final ten seconds all Lua could do was hang on, and it looked like the referee was going to step in and stop things right up until the final bell. So after three hard fought rounds, the unanimous decision went in favour of Mills, and rightfully so. A tremendous performance.

The final two fights were the middleweight semi-finals, beginning with John Phillips going up against Denniston Sutherland. An interesting fight between two evenly matched opponents had an unfortunate ending. Technically sound early on, when Sutherland took Phillips down with a judo throw, Phillips went limp. Sutherland went in for the kill with the ground and pound, Phillips was unable to respond, and soon tapped out, revealing that he’d injured his shoulder. Needless to say that Phillips was disappointed, but in all it was a good performance from Sutherland.

The second semi-final saw John Maguire facing the Tom “Kong” Watson, a fight Maguire had been looking for for two years. A definite example of a good striker against a good ground fighter. Early on Watson looked great, rolling off the combinations and scoring with a couple of head kicks. Maguire, on the other hand, showed excellent control on the ground, seemingly able to take Watson down at will. But by the time the third round started, Maguire looked exhausted, and Watson began to take control with some excellent striking. Whenever he knocked Maguire down, he refused to follow his man down to the mat, not wanting to go back into his territory. So each time the referee stood Maguire up, Watson would just knock him down again, until it got to the point where Maguire could take no more, and the referee stepped in, giving Watson the TKO win in a tremendous fight for both men.


In conclusion - with Cage Rage having bitten the dust, it’s successor Ultimate Challenge UK losing it’s television slot when Nuts TV went off the air, and Cage Gladiators having disappeared from ITV4 schedules, BAMMA’s debut on Bravo saw a welcome return to British television for British mixed martial arts with a great show. Of the six fights featured, everyone delivered, making this a thrilling debut show. The match-making of former Cage Rage supremo Dave O’Donnell must be highly commended here.

Production-wise, it just can’t be faulted. Great production standards coupled with good presenting and excellent commentary from other former Cage Rage alumni added to the show, but I must make mention of Christian O’Connell’s efforts here. All I knew about the guy before hand was that he was a radio disc jockey for Absolute Radio here in Britain, and that he’d appeared on a few television panel shows as well. But his presenting, commentating and interview style fit in perfectly with this show. He came across as extremely knowledgeable about all things MMA, and in effect, he became BAMMA’s answer to Joe Rogan. I really hope that they hang on to this guy, because he definitely adds to the show.

So in all, this was an excellent advertisement for British mixed martial arts, and I’m really looking forward to seeing their next show in August, when the light heavies and heavyweights will get their chance. Well done all round.

It’s been a long twelve weeks. We had a case herpes, fainting incidents, guys failing to make weight, egg throwing, a guy hitting himself with a sledgehammer,  and a fighter gagging on his gum shield. Oh, and there were a few fights as well as mixed martial artists from America and Britain fought it out to make it to the lightweight and welterweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter at UFC’s The Ultimate Finale, shown live here in Britain on Setanta in the early hours of Sunday morning, with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling commentary duties.

The broadcast begins with action from the lightweight division, a battle between former Ultimate Fighter winners, with Nate Diaz facing Joe Stevenson. A great fight to start the show, with both guys putting in great performances. Diaz looked like he’d get the win early on with a guillotine, but Stevenson managed to work his way before tying Diaz up in knots. The back and forth action continued like this throughout the fight, with several more guillotine attempts from Diaz, and Stevenson always countering with some good work on his own. So with the fight going distance, it went down to the judges, who gave the unanimous decision to Stevenson. Good fight here, and the right decision.

Then it was time for the first final, with British team-mates Ross Pearson and Andre Winner going at it in the lightweight final. This was a very interesting, if not overly spectacular fight. The majority of this one was fought up against the cage, with both fighters seeming to prefer using the clinch while delivering knees and trying for takedowns. When they did move to the centre, Pearson showed some good boxing skills, but perhaps the problem with this fight was the fact that because they had trained together they knew each other so well, so they actually cancelled each other out most of the time. The fight went the distance, with all three judges giving the decision to Pearson. Another good decision from the judges, who just about edged it in my opinion.

Welterweight action followed, with Chris Lytle taking on Kevin Burns. A very interesting fight between two men with a vast experience gap between them. While the first round clearly belonged to Burns, who out boxed Lytle and rocked him a couple of times, the rest of the fight belonged to Lytle. Lytle really upped his boxing game in the second and third rounds, and by the second half of the second round Burns was beginning to breath heavily. A hard Lytle right in the third opened up a cut near Burns left eye, which saw the blood just flowing down his face and chest. Lytle rocked him several more times as the final round went on. Lytle went on to win the unanimous judges decision, with Burns’ three inadvertent low blows costing him dear in the eyes of the judges.

Then it was time for the welterweight final, with American Damarques Johnson taking on Brit James Wilkes. Having had three fights go the distance, it was nice to see an early finish. This was a very exciting fight, with Johnson beginning strongly, but Wilkes quickly getting into his stride and out moving Johnson at every turn, and as the first round entered it’s final ten seconds Wilkes synched in a rear naked choke, with Johnson tapping out seconds later. An outstanding fight, one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Main event time, with Diego Sanchez taking on Clay Guida in the lightweight division. This was definitely worth it’s main event status. Round one began with both fighters swinging like crazy, and continued in the same vein throughout, with a left head kick from Sanchez sending Guida crashing down to the mat. Round two was fought mainly on the ground, and although Guida was able to control things early on, towards the end of the round Sanchez connected with a torrent of elbows to the top of Guida’s head. Round three saw them fight in the upright and on the ground. They both rolled off some good combinations, and both went for submissions on the ground. This was one of those fights that you just didn’t want to end, but sadly it did, with Sanchez getting the split decision. A tremendous fight.

In conclusion - as you may have guessed from my introduction, this was the first Ultimate Fighter season, aside from DVD releases, that I’ve watched from the beginning. It was great to see how the fighters progressed through the various rounds and into the finals, and with three Brits representing Michael Bisping’s team, they showed that mixed martial arts in this country is not just alive and well, but thriving, and that was evident by the fact that we had three fighters in the finals, so congratulations to Ross Pearson and James Wilkes for winning their respective tournaments.

As for the rest of the fights, not a bad one among them folks, with the main event pitting Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida clearly fight of the night. Although this particular fight would have been a perfect addition to any pay-per-view card, in a way I’m glad that it was aired on free TV, because it as the perfect advertisement for what mixed martial arts is all about. So who knows, if someone watching UFC on Spike TV in America for the first saw this show, they might go ahead and buy a pay-per-view in the future, and what better place to start than with UFC 100!

It was a night of returns and great anticipation, with Caol Uno and Mirko Cro Cop making their Octagon returns, and Rich Franklin going up against Wanderlei Silva as the Ultimate Fighting Championship made their German debut at UFC 99: The Comeback, shown live on Setanta Sports here in Britain this past Saturday night, with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling the commentary duties.

The broadcast began with action from the welterweight division, with Marcus Davis facing Dan Hardy. Hardy had made the classic mistake in the build-up of questioning Davis’ Irish credentials, something you just don’t do, no matter how many generations removed they are from their homeland. This was one of the fights I was really looking forward to, given Davis’ recent displays, and it didn’t disappoint. We got a see-saw battle, with both men putting in a great effort in all departments and looking good in the process. Davis did his best work on the ground, while Hardy, with an explosive elbow and a big knee that sent Davis down looking tremendous in the stand-up game. Another elbow, this time from the guard, bloodied Davis on the ground in the third round, and by that time the Irish Hand Grenade had a nasty swelling around his left eye as well. In the end Hardy’s extra work earned him the split decision, and although I was kind of rooting for Davis, Hardy was a worth winner. A great fight to start the show with.

The first big return of the evening followed, with Caol Uno taking on Spencer Fisher in the lightweight division. Although this won’t go down as one of the most explosive fights in mixed martial arts history, technically it was excellent. As the majority of the fans in attendance voiced their displeasure, Fisher and Uno put on tremendous example of mixed martial arts, and even though they more or less cancelled each other out for three rounds, it was still great to watch. Uno looked like he’d sealed the win in the final few seconds, but the unanimous decision went to Fisher. As good as this was, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a re-match in the future.

Then it was back up to welterweight, with Mike Swick and Ben Saunders. This one left me scratching my head a little, given Saunders’ tactics. For the majority of the fight Saunders seemed happy just to hold Swick in his guard, and the quick one’s words early on really said it all. Saunders had some good moments, but Swick was the aggressor throughout, and a right to the temple in the second round dropped Saunders. Swick followed up with a series of lefts on the ground, and with Saunders failing to respond the referee stepped in and gave Swick the TKO win. Not the best fight I’ve seen, but Swick did make the most of a bad situation.

Then it was time for the second big return of the evening, this time in the heavyweight division, with Mirko Cro Cop taking on Mustapha Al-Turk. This was the second fight of the night in which I wasn’t rooting for my fellow Brit. I’ve been a big Cro Cop fan ever since I saw him knock out Bob Sapp in K-1 about six years ago. Unlike many before him, Al-Turk didn’t look afraid when the fight began, but it didn’t take long for the Croatian to assert his control, using his punching power to good effect. However, an inadvertent poke to the eye, missed by the referee, was the beginning of the end for Al-Turk, as he turned his back on Cro Cop, who went in for the kill. Al-Turk had no answer to Cro Cop’s onslaught, and the referee soon stepped in to stop the assault, giving Cro Cop the TKO win. Welcome back Mirko.

The heavyweight action continued with Cain Velasquez facing Cheick Kongo. Both of these men went into this one with a lot of hype and a lot to prove. Although Kongo had impressed in his last few fights, this was another example of how, as far as his ground game goes, he has massive holes in his overall game. Kongo was able to rock Velasquez a few times while on his feet, but as soon as it went to the ground Velasquez dominated in almost every aspect. His ground and pound was relentless at times, although he just couldn’t finish Kongo off. So with the fight going the distance, it came as no surprise that Velasquez got the unanimous decision. As Joe Rogan said, the heavyweight division now has a new contender. I wouldn’t mind seeing Velasquez going up against Cro Cop in the future.

Main event time, with Rich “Ace” Franklin taking on “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva. This one was fought at catch weight, with both guys weighing in at 194. Out of all the fights on this card, this was the one I was looking forward to the most. This fight was everything it promised to be. With very little work on the ground, this was mainly fought upright, a back-and-forth encounter with both men rocking the other with kicks and combinations. Both men looked exhausted by the end of the second round, but that didn’t stop them in the third round. The fight was as compelling as it had been in the previous rounds, and it was getting hard to predict just who would win. The end was great, with Franklin delivering punches from the back while Silva delivered elbows from the front. The judge’s unanimous decision went in favour of Franklin. I won’t argue with that. Perhaps Silva’s weight cut, rumoured to be twelve pounds in the last day, went against him, but in the end it’s this kind of fight that makes you feel good about being an MMA fan.

In conclusion - the UFC’s German debut can only be termed a success. All six fights on the main card provided great entertainment, with the main event definitely worthy of it’s status. It was a great way to lead in to the big one next month. UFC 100 certainly has a lot to live up to.

So who is the best light heavyweight in the UFC at the moment? That’s what I’m attempting to find out as I take a look at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, shown live on Setanta Sports here in Britain in the early hours of this past Sunday morning. As always, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are handling commentary duties.

The broadcast begins with action from the lightweight division, with Sean Sherk taking on Frank Edgar. An impressive performance from Edgar saw him befuddle the Muscle Shark with his kickboxing technique. Sherk looked like a one trick pony, using the same tactic over and over again. When Sherk tried to take the fight downstairs, Edgar quickly got back to his feet, and although he preferred the stand-up game throughout, Edgar almost got the submission win in the dying seconds with a guillotine. With the fight going the three round distance it came as no surprise when Edgar got the majority decision, and rightfully so.

Then it was up to the middleweight division, as Chael Sonnen faced Dan Miller. If you ever wanted to see a dominating performance in an MMA fight, then just look at Sonnen’s performance here. Only twice, at the beginning of the first and second rounds, did Miller put in any significant offence, when he attempted two guillotines, which Sonnen easily escaped from. From there, Sonnen controlled everything on the ground, beating down Miller at will. Miller just seemed completely helpless, and although many in the crowd didn’t like some of the action, this writer certainly did. So with another fight going the distance, Sonnen got the unanimous decision, and again, rightfully so.

The middleweight action continued with Drew McFedries and Xavier Foupa-Pokam. After two fights that went the distance, we got the blink and you’ll miss it affair. Things began quite slowly, until McFedries sprang into action, rocking Xavier with a left, and knocking him down with a right. McFedries went for the ground and pound, and Xavier got to his feet, still unsteady. A second later he was back on the ground, and as McFedries went in for the kill the referee pulled him away and stopped the fight, giving McFedries the win in just thirty-seven seconds. Impressive stuff from McFedries here.

Filler material followed, with Krzysztof Soszynski facing Andre Gusmao in the light heavyweight division. Both fighters got off some good combinations in this one, and both men began to look impressive when a combination from Soszynski sent Gusmao down to the ground, with the referee stepping in immediately to stop the fight, giving Soszynski the win in a good performance.

Then it was time for the big grudge match, the battle of the former champions with Matt Hughes taking on Matt Serra in the welterweight division. This was a tremendous fight, but it almost finished early. An accidental clash of heads rocked Hughes, and Serra tried to end the fight there and then with a barrage of blows. Hughes was nearly out of it, but managed to come back well, taking the fight to the ground and controlling Serra for the remainder of the first and all of the second. Both fighters had their moments in the third, and towards the end Serra finally scored his first take down, but by then it was too little too late, because with the fight going the three round distance the judges gave the unanimous decision to Hughes. Great to see the former champion get back to winning ways.

Main event time, with Lyoto Machida challenging Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. This one took a while to get going, but when it did, the action was certainly explosive. The first round contained a lot of feeling out, until Machida scored with a combination that sent Evans down. It was the same in the second, until Machida turned on the gas and went after Evans like a house afire, unloading with a barrage of blows on the champion that rocked him and sent him stumbling all over the cage. Finally, a left hand sent Evans down, knocking him out, with the referee stopping the fight immediately, giving Evans the Light-Heavyweight title. A very good performance from the Brazilian here, a deserving winner.

More filler material followed, with Brock Larson facing Mike Pyle in the welterweight division. A fast-paced fight saw both men going at it, with Larson soon gaining the upper hand, locking in an arm triangle for the submission victory.

The final fight of the show saw more filler material, with Pat Barry taking on Tim Hague in the heavyweight division. The proverbial back and forth encounter saw Barry rock Hague with a kick to the head. Barry went in for the kill, but Hague was able to counter by taking the fight to the ground. Barry tried to escape, but Hague soon locked in a guillotine. Barry tried to fight it, but it wasn’t long before Barry was tapping, giving Hague the submission victory with his great comeback performance.

In conclusion - another outstanding show from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both Hughes/Serra and Evans/Machida delivered with two great fights, well supported by a tremendous undercard, the highlight being Frank Edgar’s performance against Sean Sherk. This show definitely gets the two thumbs up treatment, and one I’ll watch again in the future.

This past Saturday night Britain’s Extreme Sports Channel once again delved into the Cage Rage archive, going back to March 2005 and the Wembley Conference Centre, as current UFC great Anderson Silva defended his World Middleweight title against Curtis Stout at Cage Rage 14: The Punishment.

Hour one began with action from the middleweight division, with Daijiro Matsui taking on Alex Reid. The announcers described this one perfectly - trench warfare. This was an outstanding fight that was fought at a frantic pace throughout. By the end of the first round both men looked like they’d been in a war, with Reid suffering from two cuts to the face and Matsui’s right eye closed completely. Matsui seemed to be the most aggressive in the first two rounds, with Reid coming on strongly in the latter half of the third, getting off some good shots after the referee stood both men up, and even though the man from Japan seemed to be the superior fighter, the judges saw it differently, scoring it as a majority draw, meaning that one judge gave the fight to one of the fighters. Matsui didn’t look to happy with the decision.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division, with Brian Adams facing Mark Epstein. A blink and you’ll miss it affair. Both men started by trading kicks, then just nineteen seconds in both men went down to the mat, with a left from Epstein knocking Adams out. The referee stepped in immediately, giving Epstein the knockout win. Explosive stuff from Epstein.

Down to welterweight for the next fight, with Darren Guisha and Ross “The Boss” Mason. A good performance from Mason saw him control the majority of the first round, looking like he was going to get the win with the ground and pound, only for the bell to save Guisha. It was the same in the second round, with Mason dominating again, and the referee stepping in as the Boss went to work with the ground and pound again. Guisha was simply outclassed by the superior fighter.

The big guys of the heavyweight division were next, with Marc Goddard and Robert “Buzz” Berry. Slightly more than a blink and you’ll miss it affair here, with Berry locking in the guillotine choke after just sixty seconds, even though the announcers didn’t think he’d be able to get it from a standing position. Just goes to show that they don’t know everything, doesn’t it!

Hour two began in the middleweight division, with Antonio Schembri going up against Matt Lindland. This was a very technically sound fight. Lindland showed some tremendous ground work, with Schembri on the defensive almost throughout. The Brazilian’s defence finally let him down in the third round as Lindland unleashed with the ground and pound, with the referee wisely calling a halt to proceedings. Terrific stuff from Lindland here, very enjoyable to watch.

The middleweight action continued with Xavier Foupa-Pokam facing Sol Gilbert. A fast paced and somewhat controversial fight. Both men looked good as they racked off the blows, but with Gilbert on all fours Xavier unleashed with a kick to the head, earning himself an immediate disqualification. A pity this one ended in this way, because this fight had promise.

Then it was down to the welterweight division for the next bout, with Nigel Whitear and Dean Bray. A fast start saw both men trading earlier, before it quickly went to the ground. Some excellent work from both men followed, with reversal following reversal, with Whitear locking in an armbar for the submission victory. If only all fights were as good as this!

The hour concluded with a Pride Bushido lightweight challenge match, pitting Michihiro Omigawa against Gesias Cavalcanti. Both fighters looked in good shape at the beginning, only for Cavalcanti to unload with a big right hand that rocked Omigawa. As the Japanese star wilted, Cavalcanti went in for the kill, with the referee stepping in, giving Cavalcanti the knockout and impressive win.

Hour three began with heavyweight action, and Alan Murdock tackling Dave Legeno. A fast start saw Legeno unloading with the heavy stuff early on, and the announcers predicting that this would end with a knockout. Murdock kept coming back, despite Legeno’s onslaught. Legeno’s pace soon caught up with him as he visibly tired. The fight soon went to the ground as Murdock fell to one of Legeno’s powerful shots, and the referee soon stopped the action as Murdock applied an armbar, and Legeno refused to tapped. A very enjoyable fight, although Legeno’s lack of experience clearly showed at the end.

Back down to the welterweight division for the next fight, with Joey Van Wanrooij and Paul “Semtex” Daley. This is the kind of fight that makes you realise just how great it is to be a mixed martial arts fan, a back and forth encounter with two good performances, and a little controversy when Van Wanrooij went for an illegal kick while Daley was on the ground, the kick being illegal because the referee hadn’t called for an open guard. However, unlike Xavier Foupa-Pokam earlier on, Van Wanrooij wasn’t disqualified because it didn’t look like he connected. Instead he got a stern warning from the referee. Apart from that little incident, this was a great contest, and with the fight going the distance, it went down to the judges, who gave the unanimous decision to Daley. A shame that the Dutchman didn’t get much from the judges though.

Main event time, with Curtis Stout challenging Anderson Silva for the Cage Rage Middleweight title. This was the one I was really looking forward to. A fight that began quickly with some blows from both men soon went down to the ground, where Silva showed some good work before Stout was able to get back to his feet. It wasn’t long before they went back down, and Silva showed the skills that have made him a world class fighter. A short time later, Silva went to work with the ground and pound. Stout failed to reply, and it wasn’t long before the referee stopped the fight, giving Silva the knockout win. A very impressive performance from the Brazilian here, really enjoyable.

In conclusion - I only really began to pay attention to Cage Rage with their sixteenth show, so when I found that Extreme Sports were showing their fourteenth show in one go, I just knew I had to see it. It was great to take a look back at the history of this sadly now-defunct promotion, and there were some great fights throughout this broadcast, topped off with just a little bit of controversy.

However, I am slightly disappointed that a few of the fights were cut from the broadcast, most notably the British Featherweight title fight between Robbie Oliver and Chris Freeborn, and the wins for Vitor Belfort and Mark Weir. But in all, a very good show, and I look forward to dipping into the Cage Rage archive again in the future.