This coming Saturday Brock Lesnar will undertake the biggest challenge of his athletic career. Having already attained superstar status in the professional wrestling world, he’ll be looking to attain the same status in the mixed martial arts world when he attempts to dethrone current UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture. So what better time is there to take a look at his MMA debut against Min Soo Kim on the DVD release of K-1’s Dynamite USA, held at the prestigious Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Handling commentary for this one is probably the best play-by-play guy in MMA, Mauro Ranallo, Jay Glazer, and another former pro wrestling superstar, Bill Goldberg.

The main feature disc begins with former NFL star Johnnie Morton, making his MMA debut, and Bernard Ackah in the heavyweight division. This one was quick. Morton immediately began to swing for the trees, scoring with the take down seconds later, with Ackah getting straight back up immediately. Then Ackah connected with a big right hand and knocked Morton out cold, with the referee stopping the fight immediately, with Morton carried from the ring on a stretcher. Explosive stuff from the African, getting the win in just 38 seconds.

Up to the really big guys next, the super-heavyweights, with Mighty Mo taking on Ruben “Warpath” Villareal. Another quick fight, which began in the same way as the previous fight, with both fighters exchanging blows before going into a clinch up against the ropes. When this went nowhere, they began to exchange blows again. Mo connected with a left hook, and with Warpath tripping over the ropes, he was soon down on the mat. Mo took the opportunity by taking Warpath’s back, finishing him off with a left hand to the face. That was it for Warpath, as the referee called a halt to proceedings, awarding the victory to Mo via strikes. I’m not really sure how to rate this one, but because Warpath’s downfall came because he tripped over the bottom rope, it’s a good example of why a cage is sometime better than the ring.

Then it’s down to the light-heavyweight division with Melvin Manhoef and Dong-Sik Yoon. This was originally meant to be the second fight on the show, but a backstage disagreement over ankle strapping saw Yoon originally pull out of the fight, before quickly changing his mind. So with that short explanation out of the way, let’s get back to business. The first round began with the feeling out process, and it wasn’t long before Manhoef went to work, unleashing with the big shots that sent Yoon to the ground. They soon got back to their feet, with Yoon stopping the assault by going for a clinch, before taking Manhoef down to the ground and into his guard. An armbar attempt failed, and saw Manhoef send down another barrage of blows, which Yoon, again, stopped with another clinch, eventually taking Manhoef down and gaining side control, soon getting the full mount. Yoon then connected with a series of blows, trying to set up for an armbar, which he almost synched in. The Dutchman’s response was to unload once more, before he almost fell out of the ring.

Round two began slowly, with each fighter looking for an opening. Yoon soon got the takedown from a clinch, soon gaining full mount and going for the ground and pound, before quickly taking Manhoef’s back, then quickly synching in an armbar. There was nowhere the Dutchman could go as he tapped out immediately. An amazing, action packed, back and forth fight.

Then it’s on to a bonus fight, with Britain’s Brad Pickett facing Hideo Tokoro in the lightweight division. It began with both fighters testing the waters as it were, with Pickett connecting with one shot that caught Tokoro unawares a little. Tokoro then got the take down, which was followed by a couple of quick transitions, and a Tokoro armbar attempt. An overhand right saw Tokoro go over, and when both men got to the mat the Japanese star went for another submission, this time a heel hook. More grappling followed until Pickett got into the half guard. But this didn’t do anything for him, as Tokoro soon succeeded with his second armbar attempt, with the Brit tapping almost immediately. Another fight with some great action. Just a shame that my fellow Brit didn’t get the win!

Main event time #1 in the middleweight division, the battle of the legends, with Kazushi Sakuraba facing Royce Gracie. This was the one I was really looking forward to. Round one began with the feeling out process, testing each other with feigning kicks, before a right hand from Sakuraba sent Gracie down to the mat. After a skirmish on the mat. Sakuraba got back to his feet, while Gracie stayed on the floor, intent on kicking Sakuraba’s legs, who responded with a few kicks of his own. After a few moments Sakuraba went down to the mat, and as both men grappled for position, they soon got back up to their feet in a clinch against the ropes. Sakuraba then failed with his throw attempt, before both fighters returned to the centre of the ring as the first round came to an end.

Round two began in the same way as the first, until Sakuraba went for a take down that was well defended by Gracie. The Brazilian began to mix up his strikes and kicks, until both fighters got into a clinch in the ropes, with Gracie using knees and kicks to attack Sakuraba’s right leg. But when the action stopped, the referee separated them. Back in the middle of the ring Sakuraba went for a take down that Gracie was able to defend, only for Sakuraba to unleash a series of blows and knees against him. Another clinch against the ropes followed, which continued until the end of the round.

Round three saw the same beginning, with both fighters exchanging kicks and, until Gracie pulled Sakuraba into his guard, looking for a submission. But Sakuraba defended well, stopping Gracie’s attempts, until he took the fight back up, with both fighters still looking for a submission. But then the action along the ropes stagnated a little, until Gracie unloaded with a series of shots to Sakuraba’s head. Then the clinch returned, this time in one of the corners, but the lack of activity saw the referee call for a break. As the fight entered the last thirty seconds, both fighters exchanged blows, before going to the ground in the final few seconds with Sakuraba attempting an armbar. So with the fight going the three round distance, it went down to the judges decision, with all three scoring in favour of Royce Gracie. A very good fight here, although some of the fans in attendance clearly didn’t understand what was going on half the time, and given Gracie’s victory, it’s a shame that it was tarnished by his failed drug’s test afterwards.

Main event time #2 in the heavyweight division, with the debuting Brock Lesnar facing Min Soo Kim, a late replacement for the giant Hong Man Choi. This one was quick. Lesnar took Kim down early, and immediately went for the ground and pound, even though Kim was trying to smother him. This was the only defence that Kim seemed to offer, and as Lesnar continued to pound away, Kim tapped. While there wasn’t much to look at it this fight, Lesnar’s power was more than apparent, as it seemed as it Kim had totally underestimated him.

But that’s not all as far as fighting action goes, because as well as the K-1 fights, there’s a few EliteXC fights here with their own separate show in the same venue. This segment begins with heavyweights, as Tim Persey faces Jonathan Wiezorek. Round one began slowly, until Persey came rushing forward into a clinch, which took them to the ropes. This resulted in a stalemate, with the referee rightfully separating them. This only resulted in another, and this saw a little more action as Wiezorek scored with an inadvertent low blow. Persey only took a short rest period, and when the fight re-started he rocked Wiezorek with a big left, sending him to the mat before taking the guard, and while Wiezorek looked to go for a submission, Persey looked for the knockout blow. Wiezorek looked to be winning the battle as first he went for a kimura and then went for a straight armbar. Persey retaliated with a big blow, and with thirty seconds to go in the fight Wiezorek got the take down.

Round two, and Persey unloaded with a couple of shots before Wiezorek got the body lock and took his man down, taking Persey’s back and going for the ground and pound. Persey offered no defence to this onslaught, and it wasn’t long before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Good stuff here, the kind of back and forth fight I, and probably millions of others, really like.

Fight two sees welterweight action, with Jake Shields taking on Ido Pariente. The beginning saw Shields test the waters with a kick, before taking Pariente down to the mat. Shields then easily transitioned into the full guard, going for the ground and pound. Pariente tried to buck his hips to escape, but this tactic had little effect. Shields then took Pariente’s back, synching in the rear naked choke. Pariente resisted for a moment, but eventually tapped. A dominating performance from Shields, and an impressive one as well.

There’s also two more bonus fights on this disc, lightweight action with J.Z. Calvancanti facing Nam Phan, and Katsuhiko Takada taking on Isaiah Hill. But that’s not the end of the extras - there’s two more discs worth of them, including special countdown shows, special features on some of the fighters, training session footage, interviews and the complete opening ceremony.

In conclusion - this is a very enjoyable show. I was a little disappointed that some of the fights didn’t last long, but then again that’s the unpredictable nature of the mixed martial arts business, and you can’t have long, drawn-out classics all the time, can you? All the fighters featured on this collection put in good showings. As for Lesnar’s MMA debut, he did a good job here, and it’s interesting to see how far he’s come in such a short space of time.

Production wise, commentators Ranallo, Goldberg and Glazer did a great job of calling the action. However, I’m not sure about the choice of venue for this show. The L.A. Coliseum may have been good for Olympics and big American football games, but there just didn’t seem to be much of an atmosphere for an MMA show, and if I was the head of K-1’s MMA arm, and I wanted to hold a debut show in America, I would have chosen a smaller venue.

But if my only criticism of this show is the choice of venue, then it must have been a good show.

K-1 Dynamite USA is available to buy online at www.mmauniverse.com.

This edition of The Two Sheds Review sees us making a return to Japan, to take a look at the DVD release of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s first show of 2007, First Navigation, headlined by Mitsuhara Misawa defending the GHC Heavyweight title against Takeshi Morishima, and available to buy online via A-Merchandise. Commentary, in English, for this one is handled by Ken Hiriyama and Wally Yamaguchi.

The show begins with tag-team action, with Kentaro Shiga, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Dakota facing Muhammad Yone, Taiji Ishimori, and Atsushi Aoki. It’s the usual good solid start for a NOAH show, with great technical wrestling mixed in with some high spots, and a comedy moment or two regarding the hair of Shiga and Yone. There’s just something about Yone in particular that makes him so damn watchable, and I’m not just talking about his afro. In fact mention must also be made of American star Dakota. Harley Race’s student looked really good in this one. The end - after plenty of false finishes between Kanemaru and Aoki, Kanemaru got the pin after a spinning suplex. Great stuff, but then again I’ve already said that!

Match two sees Tamon Honda, Junji Izumida and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi take on Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue and Kishin Kawabata. Slightly slower paced than the first match, mainly because all of the wrestlers in this one are firmly in the heavyweight division. Good to start off with, with some great hard-hitting stuff, but later on it got a bit messy, and that was thanks to Honda. As the match went on he clearly looked tired, and it was most evident when he was whipped into the corners and in his selling. Whether this was intentional or not I don’t know. Thankfully, when he tagged out things got a lot better again, and Kikuchi and Izumida were able to pick up the slack a little. In the end it was Inoue who got the victory for his team, picking up the pin with a side roll cradle. Mixed bag here.

Singles action followed, with Akira Taue taking on Makoto Hashi. This one began before the bell sounded, and to say that it had a certain intensity about it would not be an understatement. From the way that they were going it made you think that they weren’t exactly fond of each other, and it’s all of this put together that made this match compelling viewing. Hashi tried to take Taue apart, and looked like he was going to get the win with his powerful head butts, but just when he was about to go for his modified fisherman’s suplex for a second time, Taue reversed and scored the pin with that simplest of moves, the small package. It may not have lasted that long, but it was still that good.

Then it’s on to Britain’s Doug Williams and Nigel Mc****ss, as they go up against Yoshinari Ogawa and Shuhei Taniguchi. As always, the two Brits put in a good, solid performance, but then again, that’s always what you get with Williams and Mc****ss. Ogawa and Taniguchi were great foils for them. The Brits’ team work was great, even though they suffered a breakdown in communications a couple of times, but this didn’t stop them getting the win, with Williams pinning Taniguchi with what we Brits call his chaos theory, but what NOAH calls the roll-through German suplex. It’s still a bloody good move whatever you call it!

More singles action follows, with Takuma Sano and Takashi Sugiura. Technical wrestling is the order of the day for this one, and even though it’s quite slow paced, that’s okay, because you don’t need to go at a thousand miles an hour to put on a good match. It kind of reminds me of an old style British rules match with a few MMA stylings mixed in. There was also a fair amount of drama here, especially as Sano tried to take Sagiura out with multiple double foot stomps from the top rope, one of them while Sagiura was on the arena floor, which resulted in him almost losing by count out. A ton of false finishes follows, with Sano getting the win after he knocked Sugiura out with a series of kicks. You know, I could watch this kind of match all day.

The singles matches continue with Jun Akiyama taking on Go Shiozaki. When I saw that this match was on this DVD I immediately thought that it would be something. These two tore at each other before the opening bell, before Akiyama began to heavily punish Shiozaki’s injured right arm. The attack was so intense that whenever Shiozaki tried to use the arm against Akiyama it had little to no effect - at first, because as the match went on he was able to use his arm more and more, although Akiyama would always counter a Shiozaki move by returning to the injured limb. In the end Akiyama was finally able to counter Shiozaki’s never say die resistance by taking him down with a second exploder suplex. This was an extremely compelling match, with a great storyline that just made you root for the injured underdog.

The first title match of the evening follows, with the Briscoes defending their GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Championship against Kotaro Suzuki and Ricky Marvin. Lasting nearly thirty minutes, this was a perfect example of tag-team wrestling at it’s finest. Once again Jay and Mark Briscoe show just why they’re considered one of the best tag-teams in the world today, and Suzuki and Marvin showed tremendous team-work and ability as well. This was the sort of match you just couldn’t take your eyes off, it was that good. The end, and I was kind of disappointed when it did, saw Suzuki win the match for his team with the blue destiny move, with an assist from his partner. Hell of a match.

Next, the final six man match, with Takeshi Rikioh, Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA taking on SUWA, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshihiro Takayama. The mixture of heavyweight and light-heavyweight wrestlers made for an interesting match. If such a match had taken place on a certain American company’s show, then the smaller guys would have been treated like jobbers. But here the smaller guys were treated as equals, and that’s why this match worked. We had some great hard-hitting action, high spots, and even a couple of comedy moments as well, but it didn’t have the ending I was expecting. In the final moments, SUWA, apparently in his last NOAH grabbed a big blue plastic box from somewhere and started clobbering everyone, including his own team-mates. This resulted in a five-on-one attack on him, with Suzuki and Takayama eventually leaving him to the mercy of their opponents, and ended with KENTA finishing him off and getting the pin after the go 2 sleep. A very good match, with a very interesting finish.

Main event time, with Mitsuhara Misawa defending the GHC Heavyweight title Takeshi Morishima. A great way to end the show, pitting the youth and superior power of Morishima against the wily veteran that is Misawa. Morishima used his size advantage to simply overpower Misawa, which included a power bomb and a DDT on the arena floor, and it seemed that no matter what Misawa tried, he just couldn’t do anything to keep the younger man down. Eventually, though, the champion’s experience came through, and after a series of heavy blows and an almost botched tiger driver, Misawa took Morishima down with a running elbow smash to get the title retaining pin. This may not have been the best match on the show, but it was still damn good.

The only extra to speak of here is a brief interview with Doug Williams and Nigel Mc****ss and a look behind the scenes.

In conclusion - by now you should be able to tell that I really enjoyed this release. Aside from Tamon Honda’s fading performance early on every match here made sense and served it’s purpose, which was what made this release such great viewing. As I said during my last NOAH review, the English commentary of Ken Hiriyama and Wally Yamaguchi is a great help on these releases, and once again, if you’ve never seen a Pro Wrestling NOAH show, or you’ve never seen one with English commentary, then I would suggest getting these DVDs. As the old saying goes, you won’t be disappointed.

With thanks to Mark Sloan for supplying a copy of this release. Pro Wrestling NOAH First Navigation 2007 can be purchased online by visiting www.a-merchandise.co.uk.

It’s Britain’s answer to The Ultimate Fighter, and I haven’t seen any of the episodes. In fact I didn’t even know that the live final was being shown until I checked the digital television guide to see if there was live boxing on Nuts TV. So this past Saturday, after a near two hour power cut, I tuned into the aforementioned Nuts TV for the live final of Cage Rage’s Fighting Hurts, or as some others would call it, Cage Rage Contenders 11, held at The Troxy in London.

The show begins in the light-heavyweight division, with Peter Bowen taking on Carl Lawrence. No feeling out process for these two debutants in the first round. Bowen swung a little, and Lawrence tried to get a guillotine straight away, but with that going nowhere, he took Bowen down. Quick transitions followed, with Bowen getting into the top position. Both guys worked well, each getting the advantage at one point or another. As the round entered it’s final minute, Lawrence was in the guard, trying to look for an opening.

Round two began with both fighters trading blows, before it quickly went back down to the mat with Bowen trying to synch in a guillotine, which like Lawrence’s in the previous round, came to nothing. The pace really began to slow down early on, and it told as the referee stood the fighters up when nothing was achieved on the ground. When it went back to the stand-up, the fatigue was there for all to see as they tried to land a shot or two. A second trip to the mat resulted in a second order to stand back up. This round was certainly lacking the intensity of the first. Everything about it was so much poorer, as both fighters just looked too tired to fight. But after the referee stood them up for a third time, Bowen got his second wind, knocking Lawrence down with a big right hand, before finishing off his bloodied opponent with the ground and pound, and with Lawrence offering nothing in return, the referee stepped in and called a halt to proceedings. Definitely the proverbial game of two halves, an explosive first round and a somewhat sloppy second round, before Bowen sucked it in and connected with the big blow.

Then it was down to the middleweight division, with Steve Dossett facing Brett Bassett. Round one, and Dossett immediately tested the waters with a couple of snapping low kicks. Bassett responded with a couple of rights as both fighters began to weigh each other up. But then Dossett scored a knockdown, and quickly got into the guard position, looking for the ground and pound, while Bassett responded with a triangle choke, a move which proved successful, as Dossett tapped within seconds of the choke being applied. A very good fight here, even though it was a little short.

Right down to the featherweight division next, with Davin Byfield against Giorgio Andrews. No feeling out process in the first round as the fighters quickly went down to the mat, with quick transitions that saw them quickly return to their feet before engaging in a clinch that took them around the cage, and Andrews soon getting the take down. But Byfield was soon able to get back to his feet, if only for a few seconds as Andrews took it back down to the mat and took side mount, before moving into half guard, with Byfield doing all he could to defend his position. It certainly was interesting to watch as Byfield once again escaped, only for Andrews to return the fight to the ground. As the round went into it’s last minute, Byfield finally went onto the offensive, getting into Andrew’s guard, only for Andrews to reverse the situation, get into the mount position, before taking Byfield’s back and synching in the rear naked choke. There was only one thing that Byfield could do, and that was tap. An extremely good performance from Andrews in this one, dominating for the most part.

Welterweight action follows, with Steve Elliot taking on Richard Griffin. Round one saw the fighters trade early, until Elliot slammed Griffin down with authority. After some quick work on the ground the fighters returned to their feet briefly, until Elliot took the fight back down to the mat. Griffin tried for a guillotine that came to nothing, which was followed by Elliot taking side control momentarily. Seconds later they returned to their feet, and a knee strike from Griffin inadvertently caught Elliot south of the border. After a brief rest period, the fighters began to exchange again, before going back down to the mat, with Elliot looking for the knee bar and then the heel hook. Griffin then went for the ground and pound, before Elliot reversed into the guard position, transitioning into an armbar attempt, which Griffin defended with more ground and pound. After Griffin freed his arm, he upped his ground and pound, and Griffin looked in trouble for a while until the bell saved him.

Round two began with Elliot showing the effects of Griffin’s attack. Griffin went on the offence from the get go, and he was soon in the guard and going for the ground and pound again. All Elliot could do was defend, until he went for another armbar and quickly got back into Griffin’s guard, going for the ground and pound of his own. But Griffin was able to reverse the move himself, getting into Elliot’s guard, only to find himself in another Elliot armbar attempt. Griffin was able to escape, but immediately found himself in a side choke attempt, which also failed. So with Griffin again returning to the guard position, he again went for the ground and pound, but looked tired in doing so. This gave Elliot the chance he needed, locking in a kimura, with Griffin tapping immediately. This was one of those fights you just couldn’t take your eyes off, a back and forth affair good enough to be on a main Cage Rage card, so maybe we’ll get to see these two against each other on the main stage soon.

On to the lightweight division next, with Sami Berik facing Afnan Saeed. Round one and Berik began to tease Saeed immediately, switching stances as he came forward. But seconds later the fight went down to the mat, with Saeed taking the guard. But they soon returned to their feet, and Berik’s quick fists staggered Saeed, and the fight soon went back downstairs, but a quick return to their feet saw Berik connect with a big left hook which knocked Saeed senseless, but didn’t sent him down, still on his feet but leaning against the cage, but clearly unconscious. Berik hit him with a right, but when he realised that Saeed was out of hit, he immediately apologised to the referee, who called an halt to proceedings straight away. Good little fight here, with Berik’s performance a good one.

Main event time, the Fighting Hurts final, a light-heavyweight fight with Leigh Alliss and Dyson Roberts. The first round began with the fighters exchanging blows, with Roberts favouring the low kick. The exchanges continued for a while, until Alliss’ right hand got the better of Roberts, who responded immediately with a take down, quickly going into side mount. Alliss soon reversed the position, and went for a guillotine, which went to nowhere. Then it was Roberts’ turn to try a guillotine, which Alliss defended by slamming his opponent down. More transitioning followed, with Roberts going for another guillotine. Both fighters remained busy on the ground, but not enough for the referee, who stood the fighters up, and in the last thirty seconds Alliss’ boxing credentials showed again as he connected with a couple of good shots, with Roberts coming back with a take down.

Round two, and both fighters began to swing for the trees again. Alliss got a good shot on Roberts, who responded with another takedown, taking the mount position, and then transitioning with another guillotine. But it wasn’t long before Alliss took the guard, with Roberts responding with an armbar attempt. More work on the ground followed, but it wasn’t enough as the referee stood them up. Back on their feet both fighters began trading blows again, but Roberts’ subsequent shoot was well defended by Alliss, who took control on the ground before going for the ground and pound. All Roberts seemed to be able to do was to hold on and wait for the end of the round.

Round three, and with the fighters clearly looking tired, Alliss once again showed his superior striking ability. Roberts went for a take down, and once again Alliss defended, soon taking Roberts’ back, synching in a rear naked choke which Roberts tapped out to almost immediately. This was an extraordinary fight, with Roberts looking good early on, and Alliss coming back strongly, showing that he’s not just a good striker, but he can work on the ground as well.

In conclusion - having suffered a tremendous blow following the demise of their American partner Elite XC, Cage Rage put on a very enjoyable show. Every fight on the televised card was good, with the Fighting Hurts final probably the fight of the night.

But although the fights were good, the same couldn’t be said of the broadcast itself. While the announcers and the presenters did a good job, some aspects of the show did leave a little to be desired. While the previous shows, held at Wembley Arena, were well put together, there just seems to be something missing from their new venue, The Troxy. The atmosphere there is a lot different, and do we really need Dave O’Donnell or O.J. Borg interviewing drunk punters and fighters who aren’t on the card? I think not. And let’s not forget the technical problems as well.

So in all - good fights, but they need to return to their old production values, as well as returning to a venue like Wembley Arena.

A little later than planned due to a thumb injury and a power cut this past Saturday, this edition of The Two Sheds Review sees me venturing into the stand-up world of K-1 again, with this year’s World Max final, broadcast on Eurosport this past Friday night as part of their Fight Club series.

As is the custom with Eurosport these days, we cut straight to the semi-finals, with Yoshihiro Sato taking on his Japanese countryman Masato. The battle of the kick boxers was action packed from the opening bell. It was nice to see Sato employ the front kick to good effect, something I don’t think I’ve seen in a while in either K-1 or MMA. Both fighters certainly had their moments. While Masato controlled the second round, Sato came back well in the third with a knock down. It was difficult to tell which fighter would get the decision, so much so that the judges called for a fourth round. This proved to be just as action packed as the previous rounds, with Masato doing just that little bit more to get the win and the spot in the final.

The second semi-final saw kick boxer Artur Kyshenko facing karate stylist Andy Souwer. This one proved to be just as good as the first semi-final, even though it was fought at a somewhat slower pace at times. Souwer had his hands full with the relative newcomer. Souwer was the fighter who came forward the most, and Kyshenko seemed happy to counter attack after every Souwer combination. But it was during the third round that Kyshenko began to come forward a lot more, often delivering the first blow in any exchange, forcing Souwer to display his defensive skills. In fact if this fight was scored on the third round alone, then it would probably be scored as a draw, and after three rounds, the entire fight was scored as a draw, so that made it two semi-finals out of two in which the extra round was called for. Kyshenko was clearly confident in this round, which Souwer less so, judging by the fact that his accuracy seemed a little off. Kyshenko was simply outworking the champion, and it came as no surprise that Kyshenko got the judge’s decision.

Then it’s on to a super fight, with kick boxers Joeri Mes and Taishin Kohiruimaki. This one was a little bit messy at times and not as technical as the semi-finals, although Mes looked impressive as he scored two knock downs in the first round with some good shots. Mes’ attack in the second round was relentless, and although Kohiruimaki came back well at times, as well as doing a lot of holding, which earned him a warning, it was Mes who emerged victorious, a hard right knocking Kohiruimaki  down like the proverbial sack of spuds in the final seconds of the fight, with the referee not even bothering to administer a ten count, as Kohiruimaki was out like a light.

Final time followed, with Masato facing Kyshenko. Despite their exertions in the previous round, both men went at it full tilt from the get go. An action packed first round was followed by Kyshenko scoring a knock down early in the second. The Ukrainian continued to dominate for the next few moments, until Masato got his second wind and came back strongly, putting the pressure on Kyshenko as the round went on. The third round saw both fighters swinging for the proverbial trees with both hits and misses, and as it progressed it proved to be just as good as the previous rounds. Masato was, well, Masato, constantly trying to look for an opening. But then again Kyshenko was just as good, more than able to keep up with the more experienced opponent. Once again, the judges couldn’t separate the fighters, so once again the fourth round was called for. Masato went to work straight away as Kyshenko began to look weary as the Japanese star began to dominate, and it was this dominance that earned him the victory and the championship.

In conclusion - four top notch fights on the latest edition of Fight Club. I really can’t find fault with any of them.

But what I can find fault with is Eurosport’s coverage of K-1. Once again fights were cut from the broadcast. We missed all of the quarter-finals as well as most of the super fights. It’s about time that Eurosport realises that not everybody here in Britain has access to their high definition channel, which, from what I understand, broadcasts the full shows.

So my final recommendation would be this - as K-1 DVDs are now released on a regular basis here in Britain, wait for that to come out. At least you’d be able to see all of the show, and it would be a hell of a lot cheaper than getting a Sky HD box and an HD television.

Maybe it’s time for me to start a Facebook group calling for either Sky or Setanta to get K-1. Watch this space.

It’s the time of the year when WWE goes interactive - well, sort of (see the rant at the end), as they ask their fans to choose stipulation and match types with Cyber Sunday, shown live on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The show begins with Rey Mysterio and Kane renewing their rivalry - the stipulation - no holds barred with 39 per cent of the vote. An enjoyable start to the show, and another good David v Goliath type of battle, with the Big Red Machine simply overpowering Mysterio, who countered with his superior speed and aerial ability. Not much weapons use though, even though this was a no holds barred match. Mysterio came out on top after his 619/top rope splash combination. I’m left to wonder though how much longer this rivalry can go on, enjoyable as it is.

Match two is the fist title match of the evening, with Matt Hardy defending the ECW title against Evan Bourne, with 69 per cent, so thankfully no Mark Henry this month. This is the first time I’ve seen Bourne in action, so this is a new experience for me. The guy really impressed me in this outing with the mega-over Hardy, and in a way he kind of reminded me of a younger version of the Hardy Boys. There were a couple of moments that weren’t exactly well executed (Bourne’s attempted leg sweep on Hardy), but overall it was a good match, a real back-and-forth affair with plenty of false finishes, and Hardy taking Bourne out with the twist of fate at the second attempt. Boy was this good.

Tag-team action follows, with Cryme Tyme v The Miz and John Morrison getting 38 per cent. This was another example of great tag-team wrestling, featuring two teams which have a great chemistry with each other. I’m finally beginning to warm to the Miz, and it’s all down to his team with Morrison, and Cryme Tyme have always had good matches in them. A good match with both members of Tyme getting double-teamed, a mass brawl towards the end, and Morrison taking Shad out with his midnight ride to get the win. If only WWE gave us more tag-teams like these two.

More title action follows, with Santino Marella, accompanied by Beth Phoenix, defending the Intercontinental title against the Honkytonk Man, with 35 per cent. Much jaw-jacking to begin with, followed by Honky challenging Marella to a dancing contest, which ended with the champion clobbering the challenger. The match itself didn’t actually last that long, as Marella was disqualified when Beth tripped Honky as he came off the ropes, which only served to enrage the champion. But as he went to leave, he was stopped by the other two wrestlers in the vote, Goldust and Roddy Piper. All three veterans proceeded to take him out, which proved to be more entertaining than the match itself.

Another rivalry is renewed next, with the Undertaker taking on the Big Show - the stipulation - last man standing with 49 per cent. Before the match begins Jim Ross tells us that a win can be obtained via pin or submission. I’m guessing here that Vince was shouting down his ear about this error, before telling Taz to tell the fans the correct rules. Once again the two big men put on another good battle. It’s not pretty, no rest holds here as these two tried to beat the hell out of each other, with their fists, heads, and anything else they could get their hands on. Even the ECW announcers table took a beating, when Show choke slammed Undertaker from the barricade. This wasn’t enough to put the dead man away, and neither did Show’s big right hand. In fact it was the Undertaker who managed to beat the ten count. After surviving a chair shot, he synched in his choke hold submission, and even though Show tapped, the match didn’t end. It was only after the big man was counted out that the Undertaker was declared the victor. A very good match, with two outstanding performances from those concerned.

Then it’s on to the Diva Halloween costume thing, with Mickie James winning for her Lara Croft costume. Needless to say there was the inevitable cat fight afterwards. Just what purpose this served I fail to see.

Main event time #1, with Triple H defending the WWE title against Jeff Hardy with 57 per cent. After their last singles match, this one had a lot to live up to. They just about managed it. Some good, solid wrestling throughout this one, and the chemistry between these two is increasing all the time. As good as Triple H was here, you couldn’t help but hope that Hardy would finally get that win and the title. But sadly it was not to be. The twist of fate and the senton couldn’t put him the Game away, who retained the title by stopping what was probably going to be a third senton from the top rope, stopping that move and dragging him from the top rope to finish it with the pedigree. You know, I could watch these two go at it all day, and I still wouldn’t be disappointed.

Main event time #2, with Chris Jericho defending the World title against Batista, with Steve Austin as special referee with 74 per cent. Jericho looked a worried man going into this one, having spent the evening trying to get various people to take out Batista, getting the no answer all the time, and the choice of special referee didn’t do much for his mood either. As far as match quality goes, well, I just couldn’t get into this one. Technically it was fine, with a good storyline and good execution, but after the excitement of the previous match this one just didn’t do it for me. Austin did a good job as referee, only really getting involved a couple of times early on, until he got accidentally clobbered by Batista when Jericho ducked out of the way. This brought Shawn Michaels, one of the other special referees in the vote, down to the ring after Jericho took Batista down with the code breaker. Michaels, for obvious reasons, didn’t administer the count, and it looked like Michaels would make the final count after Batista speared Jericho. But this didn’t happen because JBL came down and pulled Michaels out of the ring. Then, as Austin was slowly getting back in, third choice referee Randy Orton came down, only to get stunned by Austin, and after all of this went on, Batista took Jericho out with the Batista bomb, and with Austin making the three count, we had a new world champion. As I said, it was okay, but were all the run-ins from the other referees and JBL really necessary?

In conclusion - I really enjoyed WWE’s latest attempt at making their new universe more interactive. The matches ranged from good to great, although there were a couple of moments where I was left scratching my head a little. However (and this is the rant I promised earlier), by only allowing fans to vote mainly by text, those WWE fans outside North America were more or less alienated, having had their voices taken away. This for me diminishes the entire concept of the event, and it was done just so WWE could make a bit more cash. Asking their fans to pay for text voting as well as the pay-per-view is going a bit far in my opinion.

The WWE now ram the concept of their “universe” down our throats, trying to make us feel like a part of a worldwide community, but they ignored a big part of that universe with Cyber Sunday.