It’s time for the great and the good of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to take centre stage again, and this time they’re doing it on free television with their 18th Ultimate Fight Night, shown live here in Britain in the early hours of this past Thursday on Setanta Sports. As always, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are handling commentary duties.

The show begins with Cole Miller taking on Junie Browning in the lightweight division. I’d heard a lot about Browning in the run up to this one, and perhaps it wasn’t justified. Browning began well, taking Cole’s back earlier on, but Miller was soon able to move onto his back before getting back to his feet. Seconds later Miller had synched in a guillotine, with Browning quickly tapping out, giving Miller the submission victory. A good performance from Miller here, coming back from a disadvantageous position, but as for Browning, the jury is still out I’m afraid.

The lightweight action continued with Tyson Griffin against Rafael Dos Anjos. This was a very interesting fight. The first round began with both fighters trading shots. When it got down to the ground, Dos Anjos managed to get what looked like a unique looking leg lock, trapping Griffin’s leg between his own calf and hamstring, contorting the knee and the rest of the leg. Griffin managed to get out of the hold, but when they went upright again, he was limping visibly, unable to get any snap into his kicks and hindered somewhat as he moved around the cage.

The apparent injury hampered Griffin as he went into the second round, although he continued to throw kicks and punches, and apart from a couple of attempts to go to the ground, the fighters traded blows throughout the round.

Griffin clearly overcame his injury in the final round. Both fighters looked good with their punches and their kicks as the round progressed, showing no sign of fatigue as the round went on. It was only in the final minute of the fight that it went to the ground. As Griffin went for a single leg Dos Anjos tried for a kimura, and the fight came to an end with Griffin going for the ground and pound. So with the fight going the distance, it went down to the judges, who gave the unanimous decision to Griffin. A very good fight, and I personally thought that Griffin was finished after the leg lock.

Then it’s up to the light heavyweight division, with Ryan Bader against Carmelo Marrero. An excellent first round saw Bader, the Ultimate Fighter winner, put in a dominating performance, controlling Marrero, the former WEC champion, from the outset in all aspects, but especially on the ground, almost locking in a kimura, and seconds later, an armbar before Marrero was able to escape.

It was the same story in the second round. When the fight went to the ground, Bader dominated again. All Marrero could do was hang in there as Bader went for the ground and pound and made a couple of submission attempts.

Round three, same story. Bader dominated again when the fight went to the ground, with Marrero adopting a defensive position. At one point Bader looked like he was going to get the submission win with an arm triangle, until Marrero managed to get the arm out. The referee stood the fighters up because of inactivity, but it soon went back to the ground in the final minute of the fight, with Bader once again in the dominant position. The second judges decision of the night went to Bader, with all three giving him the win, and rightfully so. It was a truly dominating performance, and this is one man whose career I’ll be following closely in the future.

Main event time, welterweight action, with Carlos Condit going up against Martin Kampmann. Unlike his fellow former WEC alumni Marrero, Condit put in a great showing in a first round that was a great technical battle and back and forth affair. One moment Kampmann was on top on the ground, but then Condit quickly reversed things and took the upper hand. There were also quite a few submission attempts, with Kampmann trying to a leg lock and two guillotines, although the second attempt came at the very end of the round, although Kampmann went back to his corner with a cut under his left eye, courtesy of a Condit knee.

Both fighters began round two where they’d left off in round one. Kampmann controlled the early moments on the ground, but even though he was on top Condit continued to fight. When they got back to their feet they traded blows, each fighter getting their fair share of good shots in. It soon went back to the ground though, and both men had the chance to finish the fight, Kampmann with another guillotine, and Condit with a rear naked choke as he took his back seconds later.

The third round proved to be just as good as the previous two, although it began with Condit inadvertently poking Kampmann in the eye with his thumb. Kampmann soon took the fight to the ground, and began to dominate in the way that Condit had in the first. Condit fought back briefly first with a kimura attempt, and then with a heel hook attempt. However, despite Kampmann’s domination, the fight ended with Condit attempting a guillotine, but as with his opponent in the first round, it came too late. So with the fight going the distance, the judges were asked to render a decision again, with Kampmann getting the split decision. To say that this was a great fight would be an understatement, although one couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Condit.

In conclusion - a submission a three judges decisions made for a great show. There may have been no big marquee names here, but the lesser lights, if that isn’t too harsh a term to use, proved that they can deliver just as well as the big guns, with Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann giving us a fight worthy of it’s main event status. A great match to end a great show.

And so the marathon continues. Having reviewed the first two events of the Ultimate Combat Legacy Volume 1 box set, we now move on to the third of the six events, Ultimate Combat 3: Warriors Quest.

We begin with Jon Williams facing Andrew Liu in a British Lightweight title eliminator. This was a great way to open the show. Both fighters went full tilt from the opening bell, taking it to the ground early on, where they both nearly got the win with submissions, Liu with a rear naked choke, and Williams with an arm bar. But despite this, things came to an end with a knock out, with Williams connecting with a hard right uppercut that sent Liu crashing to the mat. Nice stuff here fellas.

Then it was on to Ross Pettifer against Shaun Parkin in a semi-pro light heavyweight fight. This fight was all Pettifer. He charged at Parkin as soon as the bell rang, slammed him down to the mat seconds later, then worked on the ground before locking in neck crank, with Parkin tapping almost immediately. The time, only 55 seconds, and explosive stuff, especially when you consider that Pettifer was only 17 years old at the time.

The second British Lightweight title eliminator followed, with Paul Sutherland against Chris Smith. While the first round looked to be a pretty even affair, with both men having luck with submissions and ground and pound, the second clearly belonged to Sutherland, who out fought Smith at every opportunity, and when it looked like the fight could go the two round distance, Smith began to turtle up on the mat. Sutherland went for the ground and pound, connected with one blow, and then Smith tapped out. Whether it was because the blow was so damn painful or because he’d just had enough of Sutherland’s onslaught I don’t know, but either way it seemed like a sour sort of ending for me, even though Sutherland’s dominance of the second round was deserving of the victory.

The lightweight action continued with Alex Owen taking on Luke Cole in a semi-pro fight. A quick one here. After a few combinations from both fighters, it soon went down to the mat, and just after the minute mark Owen locked in an armbar which Cole tapped out to almost immediately. Nice stuff from both fighters here.

Then it was up to the welterweight division, with Oliver Ellis up against Pete Tiarks. Fought at a much slower pace, this fight featured a lot of good work on the ground from both men, and at one time Tiarks looked like he was going to try and emulate the great Sakuraba with a jumping stomp as Ellis lay on his back. The end came just seconds after the referee ordered Ellis back to his feet. As the end of the first round approached, Tiarks connected with a knee to the head as Ellis looked like he was going for a shot. Ellis was out cold, and the fight was stopped immediately, giving Tiarks the knock out victory in a very entertaining fight.

Another British Lightweight title eliminator followed. This one featured Mark Chen and Rob Hannis. This was the first fight of the show to go the two round distance, and it didn’t exactly make for inspiring viewing. There were moments when it seemed like nothing was happening, and perhaps it would have been better if the referee stood the fighters up because of inactivity. But as he didn’t what we got was a ground-based battle that looked pretty even, with Chen getting the unanimous judges decision.

The show continued with yet more lightweight action, with Ozzy Haluk facing Craig Mitchell. Now this was more like it. A good fight here, with Haluk’s arrogance (or should that be confidence) apparent for all to see, although he was a little over-eager at times, which earned him a warning in the second round for striking the back of Mitchell’s head. But in the end Haluk’s skill gave him the win as he outfought Mitchell in the stand-up game in the second round when a left to the body sent Mitchell down to his knees, with the referee stepping in immediately to call a halt to proceedings, with Haluk getting the TKO win. Very enjoyable fight here.

Then it was on to international action, with Scotland’s Sandy Geddes taking on Denmark’s Eddie Christensen in the middleweight division. This fight was definitely a bit hit or miss. When the fighters were standing, both of them would flail wildly as they attempted to connect. Then, when it went to the ground, the action slowed considerably, with the referee standing the fighters up at one point. A few moments later Christensen almost got an armbar submission, but the hold was broken up when the fighters went into the ropes. Things got a lot better in the second round, and it wasn’t long before the Dane took the fight to the mat again, unleashing with the ground and pound, with the referee stopping the contest to save the Scot from any further punishment. The proverbial game of two halves here, a so-so first round followed by an explosive end to the second.

The next fight saw more middleweight action, with Sol Gilbert going up against Guy Stainthorp. This one only lasted a few seconds. Both men began to swing for the trees, before a grappling session that soon took both men to the mat. Then, as they grappled some more, the referee stopped the fight, with Stainthorp suffering what looked like a broken nose. Hard to know what to make of this one, especially because of the early injury.

The action continued with John Waite and Dave McLaughlin in the final British Lightweight title eliminator. A good example of the ground game here. McLaughlin took the fight downstairs early on, and controlled Waite well, taking his back. But when it looked like he was about to apply a rear naked choke, the referee stopped the fight so the ringside doctor could take a look at a cut underneath Waite’s eye. Waite was allowed to continue, and came back well when the fight was restarted, slowly taking over on the ground as the first round ended. The second round, though, didn’t last long. Once again McLaughlin dominated early on, taking it to the ground early, and applying a kimura seconds later. Waite had no choice but to tap out, giving McLaughlin a much deserved victory.

Next up, more international action, this time in the light heavyweight division, with England’s Paul Johnson against American Pierre Guillet. Another quickie saw Guillet take the fight to the mat immediately, and within seconds, he applied an armbar. Johnson had no choice but to tap, and just like that it was all over. Explosive stuff from the American here, looking impressive in the process.

The next fight saw England’s John Jones take on Denmark’s Lars Besand at middleweight. This was, by far, the best fight of the show so far, a back and forth affair in which both fighters gave a very good account of themselves. Both men had their moments as they went all out on the ground, and the fight was so close that the judges ordered a two minute overtime round, which proved just as good as the first two, even though there was a brief stoppage so the doctor could check on Jones’ bloodied nose. So with the fight going the two round distance and into overtime, the judges gave the majority decision to Besand. A superb fight here, although I thought that the judges would have given something to Jones.

Next up was a free-weight international fight, with Spain’s Daniel Tabera taking on American Tony Zamora. This wasn’t exactly the best fight I’ve seen over the years. The first round involved lots of body locks, and when the fight went down to the ground, the moments of inactivity seemed to last forever. The second round wasn’t much better, and just a few seconds in Zamora suffered a knee injury which forced his withdrawl from the fight, giving the victory to Tabera. This isn’t one I’d recommend to any new MMA fans.

Main event time, with Shain Tovell against Paul Jenkins, with the British Middleweight title on the line. A blink and you’ll miss it affair. The fight quickly went to the ground, and as Tovell applied a guillotine choke, both fighters moved into the ropes. When the referee separated them, intending to stand them up, he found that Jenkins was actually unconscious, and stopped the fight immediately, and giving Tovell not only the submission victory but the British Middleweight title as well. The time - just twenty nine seconds. Good stuff here.

Unlike the previous discs, this disc contains an in-ring interview with Frank Shamrock, who sadly wasn’t fighting on the show.

In conclusion - despite there being a couple of fights that won’t go down in history as the best seen on British shores, Ultimate Combat 3 was a very good show, and the best show on the collection so far. The production standards were a lot better, with the introduction of a stationary hard cam a welcome addition. The camera work was also a whole lot better than the previous two shows, which really increased my enjoyment of the event. Sadly, still no commentary, but I suppose you can’t have everything, can you?

So with Ultimate Combat 3 out of the way, it’s on to the fourth show, which has an added, special attraction for yours truly. The Beast is in the house!

Ultimate Combat 3: Warriors Quest is part of the Ultimate Combat Legacy Volume 1 six event set, and is available to buy online at www.mmauniverse.com.

And so the marathon continues. Having reviewed the first event of the Ultimate Combat Legacy, Volume 1 six event set, we now move on to the second event, Ultimate Combat 2: The World Warriors.

The show begins with action from the middleweight division with Mark Spencer facing Robbie Miller. A good little fight to start the show with. Unlike many of the fights on the first show, these two didn’t rush into things, fighting mainly on the ground and showing some good grappling and submission techniques in the process. However, neither man could get the job during the two rounds, so the decision went to the judges, who gave the fight to Miller.

Next up was Ben Willis taking on Greg Mitchell in the lightweight division. The second good fight in a row was another example of ground fighting at it’s best. While Mitchell clearly controlled the first round, Willis came back into it a little in the second, only to fall to a Mitchell armbar three minutes in. Nice stuff here.

Then it was on to Max Sperring against Ross Pettifer in the light heavyweight division. A semi-professional bout fought over one round, Pettifer controlled this from the outset, beginning with an opening barrage before taking the fight to the ground and quickly locking in an armbar, which Sperring tapped out to almost immediately. A very good performance from Pettifer. Impressive stuff.

The fourth fight saw more semi-professional action, this time in the lightweight division, with Mark Chen and Alex Owen. It’s a shame that this was only a one round bout, because both men showed great technical skill in what was a tremendous, fast-paced back and forth encounter. The fight was so even I was surprised that the judges could separate them, but they did, giving the fight to Owen. These two really needed more time to show their skills.

It was a return to professional two round action next, with Paul Sutherland taking on Lee Shone at lightweight. These two clearly weren’t getting paid by the hour. A fast start saw both fighters swinging for the trees before the fight went to the ground, with Shone getting the armbar submission, putting in a great showing in what was his first professional fight.

Then it was the turn of Mark Collett and Colin Burton in a semi-professional middleweight bout. A somewhat scrappy affair here, and nowhere near the standard of the previous fights saw both men go for leg lock submissions at the same time - twice. Apart from that this was nothing special, a fight which went the distance, with the judges giving the decision to Collett.

Action from the light heavyweight division followed, with Shaun Parkin facing Gidion Ackermans. This fight was all Ackermans. The Dutchman controlled things as soon as it went to the ground, delivering the ground and pound before applying a kimura which Parkin quickly tapped out to after just sixty five seconds. A good display from the Dutchman here, one of those fights you can’t help but like.

Back to semi-pro action, with Ross Mackenzie taking on Brazilian Pedro Martins in the middleweight division. This fight was all Martins. The Brazilian’s ground skills totally befuddled MacKenzie from the outset. The Englishmen failed to take the advice of his corner men, and that proved costly, as Martins tied him up in knots before getting the armbar submission.  An excellent performance from the visiting star. Just a shame though that MacKenzie seemed incapable of listening to a little advice.

Then it was on to tournament action, to the semi-finals of the British Middleweight title tournament, with Shain Tovell facing John Jones. This one began quickly, with Jones unloading, before going to the ground, where Tovell, from his back, managed to move around so he could apply a triangle choke for the win. Another example of how a good grappler will always beat a good striker. Well, most of the time.

Down to the welterweight division for the next semi-professional fight, with Kevin O’Hagan and Andy Proctor in an England v Scotland battle. For a one round fight, these guys weren’t exactly in much of a hurry. Many moments were spent walking around the ring in a circle, and when the fight went to the mat, Proctor spent most of the time doing nothing, while O’Hagan spent most of the time looking for a submission when ground and pound was obviously the better option. But in the end O’Hagan’s superior work rate on the ground won over the judges, who gave him the unanimous decision.

The second British Middleweight title semi-final followed, with Simon Bloom facing Paul Jenkins. This was probably the best fight of the show so far, and the first significant use of strikes on the show as well. Jenkins controlled the pace from the beginning, and made good use of the knees when he had Bloom in a front face lock, so much so that Bloom was soon busted open, which saw a brief intervention from the ringside doctor. Bloom was allowed to continue, but by then it was a given that Jenkins would win, and given his relentless assault, and Bloom’s inability to defend himself against the ground and pound, it came as no surprise when the referee stepped in and stopped the bout, giving Jenkins the TKO win and a shot at the title.

Next up, international middleweight action, with France’s Patrick Leberton and the UK’s Gaz Roriston. Leberton was announced as one of MMA’s most controversial figures. Well, his apparent reputation didn’t do him any good in this fight. Roriston controlled the action from the beginning, and showed great work on the ground, almost synching in a kimura before getting the winning submission moments later with a well executed arm bar. Good stuff from the UK boy. But then again, I am somewhat biased in these sort of things.

The final fight of the show was announced as a free weight super fight, and featured Spain’s Rafael Gomes against the UK’s Glen Brown. You know, when a fight is announced as an international super fight, and one of the fighters is meant to be the Spanish Vale Tudo champion, you expect to see something. Sadly, that didn’t happen in this one. This is probably one of the most boring MMA fights I’ve ever seen. Most of the time the fighters spent engaging in a body lock around the ring, and even though both of their corners cried out at them to connect with knees, most of the time they seemed reluctant to do so. So as this went on for the two round duration, the judges were unable to separate the fighters, so the bout went into two minutes of overtime. And guess what happened then! Yep, you guessed it, an almost two minute body lock, and even after all of this “action”, the judges were finally able to render a decision, giving the fight to Gomes. I really can’t see how the judges came to this decision though, because both men were as bad as each other.

In conclusion - this was another good show from the Ultimate Combat team. I really enjoyed the majority of the fights. Well, I suppose eleven out of thirteen isn’t that bad. There was a ton of good action here, helped along by the excellent ring announcer (whose name I sadly can’t remember). Hell, he did an even better job than Bruce Buffer on the first show! And while I’m here, let’s not forget the gorgeous, curvy ring girl as well.

But, and this is a big but, as with the first show, Ultimate Combat 2 is again let down by the production standards. Once again there’s no commentary, and the camera work is pretty awful at times. One example of this is that, on several occasions, I watched an empty part of the ring while the action went on just a few feet away. For a professional produced DVD, this just isn’t acceptable.

So in closing - fights, good. Ring announcer, very good. Ring girl, very nice. Production qualities, bad. So let’s hope they’ve improved on the next show, Ultimate Combat 3: Warrior’s Quest, which I’ll review in due course.

Ultimate Combat 2: The World Warriors is part of a six event set, Ultimate Combat Legacy Volume 1, and is available to buy online at www.mmauniverse.com.

It’s that time of the month again where the great and good of the Ultimate Fighting Championship gather for their latest pay-per-view offering, and this month two of the biggest names in the light heavyweight division are doing battle in UFC 96: Jackson v Jardine, shown live here in Britain on Setanta Sports.

The show begins with action from the lightweight division, with Gray Maynard taking on Jim Miller. From the beginning, this fight belonged to one man. Former Ultimate Fighter contestant Maynard controlled things from the outset. The superior wrestler showed tremendous boxing skills as he outfought Miller. Miller tried to take Maynard down in the first round, but, having grabbed hold of one leg, he found his opponent hopping around while delivering repeated blows to the head. From this moment on Miller looked like a beaten man, with blood pouring from his damaged nose and his left eye beginning to swell. By the end of the first round Miller looked like he’d fought for more than five minutes. Miller had some luck on the ground in the third round, but by then it was too little too late. All three judges gave the fight to Maynard, and rightfully so. A good performance from the bully to get the show started.

Then it was on to Matt Hamill against Mark Munoz in the light heavyweight division. The UFC’s other Hammer came out like a man possessed. Fighting in front of his home state fans, Hamill fought the perfect fight, defending the take downs well, and beating Munoz to the punch almost every time. Then, as the fight entered it’s fifth minute, a high right kick to the head sent Munoz crashing down to the mat. He was out before he even hit the ground, and Hamill got off a couple of punches before the referee jumped in. An excellent knock out performance from Hamill.

Pete Sell then took on Matt Brown in a welterweight contest. No feeling out process in this one, and not even a touch of the gloves to begin with. Brown took it to Sell from the beginning, and after knocking him down early on, there was a little confusion as the referee pulled them apart. But the fight wasn’t stopped, and as Brown continued to punch and kick away at Sell, Brown more or less pleaded with the referee to stop the fight. The referee soon saw it Brown’s way and stopped the fight, giving Brown the TKO victory. No technical nonsense here, this was just a brawl, and a damn entertaining one at that. Good stuff from Brown, and nice to see him showing some compassion for his opponent.

Filler material time, with Kendall Grove tackling Jason Day at middleweight. This one looked pretty even to begin with, with some good boxing exchanges between the two, but as is often the case with many MMA fights, this turned on an instant. A straight right hand from Grove sent Day down. Grove went for the ground and pound, but by then it was all over. The UFC’s other Spider was back, and it took him just over a minute as he looked great on his comeback fight.

Then it was time for the big boys to take centre stage, the heavyweights, with the man who more or less ended Mirko Cro Cop’s UFC career, Gabriel Gonzaga, facing Shane Carwin. Early on it looked like Gonzaga was going to control the fight, but as with the previous fight, it turned on an instant. After Gonzaga connected with a hard right, Carwin connected with an even harder right. The Brazilian slumped to the mat, and it was all over. Gonzaga didn’t know what hit him as Carwin announced himself as a heavyweight contender with one big punch.

More filler material, with Tamoan McCrory taking on Ryan Madigan at welterweight. The two rather lanky gentleman produced the first extended ground fighting period of the broadcast. Having had mainly knock outs so far, it was good to see some good grappling, with both men having their moments, and although Madigan controlled things early on, McCrory upped his game within moments, taking the full mount and unleashing the ground and pound, opening Madigan up, with the referee stepping in as Madigan tapped. Nice grappling here, more than welcome after having had so many stand up knock outs.

Main event time, top action from the light heavyweight division with “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine facing Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. This was just everything a UFC main event should be, and from the beginning it had that “big fight” feeling. It began with the rather unique stare down, to the back and forth stand up trades, and to the way that Jackson more or less just shrugged off Jardine’s inadvertent low kick, this was the kind of fight that made you glad to be a mixed martial arts fan. By the time the third and final round began this looked like a pretty even fight, and it continued to do so right until the final minute. It was then that Rampage began to really unloaded, staggering Jardine in the final thirty seconds, and knocking him down with a left hook as the fight came to an end. The judges decision - unanimous in favour of Jackson, giving him a title shot against Rashad Evans in May. A really enjoyable fight here, with two very good performances, although it was almost overshadowed by the eye-to-eye between Rampage and Rashad afterwards!

Yet more filler material, beginning with more action from the light heavyweight division as Brandon Vera faced Mike Patt. This was probably the best performance I’ve seen from Vera. The Truth rattled off kick after kick after kick, to the point where, just over a minute into the second round, the repeated kicks to Patt’s left leg became too much, and having been knocked down for the second time in the round, the referee called a halt to the proceedings. Impressive stuff from Vera, who seems to have finally found his niche in the light heavyweight division.

The filler material continued with yet more light heavyweight action, this time between Tim Boetsch and Jason Brilz. If ever you needed an example of the proverbial game of two halves, then this fight would be a good example of that. Boetsch clearly won the first round with his superior striking, gaining the upper hand early on to the point where, between rounds, Brilz’s corner reminded him that he wasn’t a boxer. Brilz took heed of their advice, and quickly took his opponent down in the second round, controlling the fight with some great grappling. It was the same story in the third, and although Boetsch was clearly superior in the boxing game, Brilz was superior on the ground, almost synching in a choke or two, and opening up a cut near Boetsch’s left eye with his ground and pound. But with the fight going the distance, it went down to the judges, who gave the fight two rounds to one to Brilz. In a show that was somewhat lacking in ground work, this fight was a welcome addition to the card, even though it was only meant to be a preliminary fight. A good performance from Brilz, and hopefully we’ll see some more of him in the future.

In conclusion - having recently watched an MMA show that was woefully lacking in certain production standards, it was good to get back to normal service as it were with the UFC. Good fights throughout, especially the main event between Rampage and Jardine, although I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t much ground work on show here. But then again you can’t have everything, and this was still a very good show. So in short, good show, and if you haven’t watched it yet then do so soon.

So the good people at MMA Universe have set me a task. They’ve asked me to review Ultimate Combat Legacy Volume 1, a six disc collection featuring the first six shows from British MMA promotion Ultimate Combat. Six Events. Sixteen hours. Seventy-eight fights. So instead of reviewing all of these shows in one big whopping review, I thought it would be best to do review each show individually, one at a time, over the next few weeks or so, or however long it takes me to get through them. So what better place to start than at the first show, aptly titled Ultimate Combat.

The show begins with a British Middleweight title eliminator, with Shain Tovell facing Richard Stopgate. No feeling out period for these boys as they went at it straight away. It wasn’t long before the fight went down to the mat, where both men showed good technique. They soon got back to their feet, but not to duke it out, as Tovell synched in a standing guillotine to get the submission victory in the first round.

Then it was down to the lightweight division, as Rob Hannis took on Leighton Hill. This was another one that began quickly, as the action went back and forth, with both men having their moments, until the referee stopped the fight in favour of Hill.

The debuting Greg Stockwell was next, taking on Nick Jones. Not much in this one. Jones soon managed to get a take down, then applied a choke hold, making Stockwell tap after just forty one seconds.

More debutants followed, with Darryl Jackson facing Alex Owen in the lightweight division. Owen, harking back to the early days of Royce Gracie in the UFC, fought  in a gi in what was a dominating performance. Jackson had a couple of good moments, but it was all Owen as he went for submission after submission after submission, before finally applying a triangle choke which Jackson just couldn’t escape from.

The next fight saw John Jones tackle Sandy Geddes in the second British Middleweight title eliminator. This one was fought at a much slower pace, for a few seconds that is, until, having pulled guard, Jones applied an armbar which saw Geddes tapping immediately.

Then it was back to the lightweight division, with Paul Sutherland against Dave McLaughlin. Now unlike the previous fighters these two didn’t go straight at each other, instead fighting a more technical game which was great to watch. Sutherland went for an armbar, but McLaughlin was able to work his way back into the fight, soon taking Sutherland’s back and synching in a rear naked choke.

Up next, Brian Blewitt against Ross Mackenzie in welterweight action. A one round fight, this was a somewhat scrappy affair in which both men had their moments, but neither was really able to get the advantage for any length of time. The judges decision went to Ross Mackenzie.



Then it was on to Mike Penwarden against Suley Mahmoud at middleweight. Mahmoud dominated this one from the opening bell, taking Penwarden down quickly, and then working so he could apply the armbar, with Penwarden tapping almost immediately.

Frenchman Damien Riccio was next up, taking on Jake Seal in the light-heavyweight division. Billed as a European super fight, this was another quick fight, with both guys going at it full pelt, but with the Frenchman coming out on top, synching in a choke which saw Seal tapping quickly.

The third British Middleweight title eliminator followed, with Guy Stainthorpe and Paul Jenkins. Unlike the previous fights, this one actually had a feeling out period, and it actually went into the second and deciding round. The fight was a little scrappy at times, but both Stainthorpe and Jenkins gave a good account of themselves, with Jenkins getting the unanimous decision.

The final British Middleweight title eliminator was next, as Simon Bloom faced Gareth Roberts. A little scrappy to begin with, it soon settled down to an interesting battle on the ground, with Roberts coming out on top with an armbar.

Another European super fight followed, this one in the heavyweight division, with Frenchman Matthias Riccio taking on England’s Tom Blackledge. This was fought at a truly hectic pace, with both men almost getting the submission win, before Riccio applied the armbar to get the submission victory himself. Although I must say that Blackledge looked more like a middleweight than a heavyweight.

The final fight of the show was an England v Ireland lightweight super fight, as John Kavanagh took on Leigh Remedios. This one proved to be a very interesting fight between two evenly matched competitors, so even in fact that, unlike the majority of other fighters on this show, they couldn’t settle it in the first or second rounds, so it went into overtime, with Remedios eventually getting the judge’s decision.

In conclusion - the first show of this six show release is definitely a mixed bag.

Let’s start with the fighter’s performances. I can’t fault them. Every fighter gave their all, and every fighter gave a good account of themselves, be they winner or loser.

But this DVD is let down by a number of things.

Firstly, when the show began, a large amount of confetti came down into the ring before the first fight - and was left there. Now surely someone in the building had a broom and could have swept the ring before the action began. The confetti was on the mat right up until the final fight.

Then there’s the production side of things. Let’s begin with the commentary, or rather lack thereof. They could afford to fly Bruce Buffer in as the ring announcer, but couldn’t afford any commentators, which meant that there wasn’t anyone who could give us any background details on the fighters. I knew who a few of them were, but as for the rest, they may have well called themselves Joe Public as far as I was concerned.

Then there’s the camera work. Long-time readers will know that when I review an MMA show or DVD release I normally give a blow-by-blow account of what happened in the fights. I just couldn’t do that with this release. To be blunt, the camera work was awful. There was no hard camera so you couldn’t get a wide view of the ring, and those holding the ringside cameras looked like they got their training by watching a few episodes of You’ve Been Framed. No, wait. I’ll take that back. The stuff on You’ve Been Framed looked far more professional.

So in short - fights good, everything else bad, and I hope that when I get around to viewing Ultimate Combat 2, things will be a little bit better.

Ultimate Combat is part of a six event set, Ultimate Combat Legacy Volume 1, and is available to buy online at www.mmauniverse.com.