Cage Gladiators Vids
The videos of the fights from Cage Gladiators XII: Immortals are now available at:
Rob Sinclair on his CG Fight and Paul Sass
hurtbusiness caught up with Rob Sinclair after his second round TKO win over Alexandre Izidro at Cage Gladiators XII: Immortals. (report on main site)
The CG champ had been due to fight Paul Sass, but injury caused the unbeaten up and comer to pullout. The two outstanding lightweights are now due to meet later in the year.
Can you talk me through the fight from your point of view?
When I came out, I wanted to take a few shots because I haven’t really taken many shots in my career. I just wanted to feel him out first, get into the fight a little bit. As soon as I got into it; I realised that he probably didn’t have as much power as I expected. Then I stepped it up a bit and went in for the kill.
Was it difficult for you that your opponent got changed?
Yes and no. He was a submission guy. The same sort of thing; probably wants it on the ground, but Izidro’s the kind of person who jumps for submissions so you’ve got to be a bit more aware. Paul Sass sets things up a little bit and he creeps for submissions. Nothing really changed in training though.
As well as taking a few shots, you spent a bit of time on your back in the first. It’s a position we don’t see you in very often; were you happy with the way you handled it?
Yeah- I nearly caught him didn’t I. I’m actually decent off my back- it’s just I never seem to end up there. I nearly caught him but he got out of it.
In the second round- you really stepped it up and hunted him down. Were you happy about the way it finished?
I knew I could catch him. He drops the left hand quite a lot and we worked on that. I watched him do it recently- he got caught with an overhand right. I caught him with the overhand right and I dropped him. I don’t remember throwing the shot to honest. I just saw him on the floor and unloaded from there and fortunately I finished him.
Now Sass is on the horizon. Everybody who has fought him has been watching for the triangle. What are you going to do that’s different to everyone else he’s ever fought?
I think the thing is: everyone has an idea of what he wants to do so people defend the triangle choke. When it’s half coming on- people let it come on then try and escape it instead of not getting there in the first place. I’m pretty difficult to sub anyway. It’ll be a good fight.
Excluding those fighting on international shows; would you say that this is the unofficial British lightweight championship?
We’ve got to get it on haven’t we. He’s walked through everyone he’s fought to be fair. Beaten them in the first round, except for Jason Ball who was a bit unlucky. It should be a good fight.
Many people would look at it as: will you be able to pound him out before he gets a triangle. Is that the way you see it?
Yeah. He’s got to take a shot to get close in. Can he take a shot? I don’t know.
Cage Gladiators XII: Immortals
Fantastic to see a major UK show headlined by a Bantamweight bout. The match between James Doolan and James McGuinness is for the vacant British Title.
James Doolan is best known for his Muay Thai but pulls off enough sub’s to show he is the biz. He fights out of the Griphouse in Glasgow, home of European #1 Muff Buzz McVeigh, and is unbeaten since coming unstuck in the Japanese GCM tournament last year. McGuinness has performed well in his previous Olympia fights, but this represents a step up in class for the Glimmer Man. A win here for Doolan would bring the inevitable Dinky Ninja invasion of the WEC a step closer.
Read James Doolan MMA Unlimited Interview here
Rob Sinclair has to be fancied to beat Alexandre Izidro. Sinclair has ground and pounded the stuffing out of everyone in his path lately and will want to put in a big performance before his mega fight with Paul Sass on August 1st.
As usual on a Cage Gladiators’ show, there are quality match ups down the card. Ronnie Mann has vacated his British title due to his commitments in Sengoku. Ashleigh Grimshaw and Vaughn Harvey will battle for the crown. With a solid supporting cast featuring a plenty of Scouse crowd faves, it promises to be another good un.V
Vacant British Bantamweight Title
James Doolan v James McGuiness
Vacant British Featherweight Title
Ashleigh Grimshaw and Vaughn Harvey
73kg Rob Sinclair v Alexandre Izidro
70kg Luke Smith v Aaron Wilkinson
84kg Kev Axworthy v Alex Makonin
70kg Richie Downes v Colm Gillane
77kg James Gladden v Lee Doski
73kg Danny Withington v tbc
90kg Richie Ryder v Mike Edwards
61kg Chris Garry v Antony Murphy
77kg James Manning v Tom Morris
HW Sean Jones v Ashley Pollard
For further details and tickets visit:
M-1 Challenge: England vs France
Team England take on France in the next round of the M-1 Challenge on Friday Night at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, USA. Our boys made a real statement on their debut, smashing Japan 4-1 on their home turf, and will be looking to keep the momentum going.
This time, injury means that glamour boy light heavyweight Tom Blackledge will be replaced by Danny Giblin.
The excellent M-1 website has full coverage- including interviews with some of the UK guys.
Check www.cagewarriors.com for news on the UK team and (hopefully) for a live stream of the event.
England vs France
Lightweight- Ian Butlin (England) vs. Makhtar Gueye (France)
Welterweight- Simon Phillips (England) vs. Gael Grimaud (France)
Middleweight- Matt Thorpe (England) vs. Christophe Dafreville (France)
Light Heavyweight- Danny Giblin (England) vs. Johan Romming (France)
Heavyweight- Rob Broughton (England) vs. Soufian Elgarne (France)
Absolute Combat
Absolute Combat promises to be a stormer.
Check out the card here
Paul McVeigh v Marcelo Costa
Paul Reed v Fred Fernandez
The top two fights are as good as you’ll find anywhere in Europe and there are gems right down the card. With the likes of Paul Jenkins and Tom Haddock taking on the locals- you are guaranteed fireworks. hurtbusiness is particularly pleased to see the return of Manslaughter O’Toole. The Irishman always puts on a show and his clash with Allan Love is a potential fight of the night.
Interview with co promoter James Doolan here
Interview with Paul Reed here
Interview with Paul McVeigh here
Ultimate Force Extra
Jim Wallhead clocked up another impressive win, but a clue to his success may have been outside the cage. The Rough House guys always turn out in numbers to support their team mates. In attendance at the Donny Dome were: international superstars Hardy and Daley, TV heart throbs Amasinger and Winner, Lee Livingstone, Jim’s management and no doubt plenty of others I didn’t recognise. Fighting is the ultimate individual sport. You’re all alone; but having the backing of a good camp makes a huge difference.
Jason Ball’s shorts bore a British Fighting Championship logo. A reminder of a massive missed opportunity.
Marc Goddard: great ref, but sometimes he lets the fans down. During the Gary Enderby / Chris Fields fight, the eagle eyed Brummie noticed the cage door was unlocked. The action was stopped until the problem was sorted. Of course fighter safety is important and all that but, in these troubled times, wouldn’t we all enjoy the slapstick gold of two blokes leaning on an open door and falling through it.
Neil Fraser was wrongly announced as being from Barnsley, Fortunately, he was able to clear matters up by turning round and pointing out the huge, claret and blue Burnley tattoo on his back to the audience.
Back to team work. Neil Fraser had the Sinclair brothers in his corner. To get the most of their wisdom, he planted Chris Stringer bang in front of them at the start of the second. As the pair urged him on- they were able to point at the exact areas they wanted Fraser to work on. In no other sport do you get your coach literally in your ear while you work.
With hindsight, the main report didn’t give the Fraser / Stringer fight enough praise. Fraser was coming off a string of good wins, including dominant turn against Leeroy Barnes and the way he controlled Stringer was impressive. He wasn’t able to find a way to finish, but that is credit to his opponent. I looked up Chris “Menace 2 Society” Stringer’s record again. He’s got a few Ls but mainly early on and check the names: Grzegorz Tredowski, Samy Schiavo, Augusto Frota and Bendy. There’s coming up the hard way but that’s taking the piss. The more I think about it, the better his win over Fraser was.
Decent numbers turned up at the Dome on Saturday. Down on some previous shows, but still respectable considering the economic meltdown. They got value for money as always.
Danny Mitchel looks to have a rosy future. He got caught up in a leg lock duel early in his title challenge, kept his composure and nicked the win. Danny already brings a sizeable following at the Dome and he looks set for big things if he works hard and keeps his feet on the ground. Then again, he’s only young. He could probably get away with going totally off the rails and waste a couple of years in a haze of drink, drugs and loose women and still have time to come back and have decent career. It would make his autobiography a juicier read as well.
Ultimate Force: Oblivion – Preview
Ultimate Force is never less than a great night out. Ace venue, the most enthusiastic fans in UK MMA and a roster of quality regulars. For a variety of reasons, Saturday’s event looks like being even better than usual.
The main event sees a classic up and comer versus veteran match up for the European Welterweight title. Danny Mitchel won the Title Challenge at Total Combat 28, earning himself a grand and a massive boost to his reputation. On a night when all around were losing their heads- Danny got past homeboy and future superstar Andy McQueen and “The Viking” Runar Gundersen. Back on home turf and backed by his always noisy fan club- Mitchel will be hoping to push on. Facing him is veteran Lee Doski. Doski has been in with everyone who’s anyone on the UK scene. On his last visit to Doncaster, he showed his class when submitting the ultra-game Gary Savage. Since then- he has endured a spell out injured and a three fight losing streak. When you see that those losses came against Simon Phillips, Peter Irving and in a Pancrase rules fight against Jess Liaudin- it doesn’t seem nearly as bad. A chance for both fighters to make a statement. Doski needs a win to show he really is on his way back. A win for Mitchel would mean he becomes a player on the domestic Welterweight scene.
Jim Wallhead is undoubtedly a player on the domestic Welterweight scene. “Judo” Jim was the clear favourite to take the British Fighting Championship title before that organisation imploded. He was due to face Fabio Taldo in the first round of the BFC. Ultimate Force have stepped in and the fight will now go ahead. Wallhead will be expected to prevail. His last two fights have demonstrated why he is one of the most feared Welters outside the big shows. His display of controlled aggression against Fabricio Nascimento highlighted his vastly improved stand up in the UK fight of the year. His destruction of jiu jitsu ace Igor Araujo proved beyond doubt he is ready to step up to the next level. Overlooked for TUF 9, Jimmy will just have to keep dishing out the pain until the one of the major promotions hand over his long overdue contract. My only experience of Taldo was seeing his win over Edgelson Lua at the first Ultimate Challenge. Taldo took his man down and looked for a heel hook for three minutes before earning the tap. Hopefully, he has more than the Ken Shamrock plan #1 in his locker or it could be in for a brief but highly unpleasant experience.
Wayne Murrie v James Bateman is another salvaged BFC first round bout. Bateman has graduated to the Dome via impressive displays at the Storm Force / Phoenix Fights feeder shows in Rotherham. In Murrie, he is facing one of the stars of Ultimate Force. Rarely in a dull fight, “Mayhem” has a habit of getting the crowd on their feet, most notably when choking out Djamel Moula at Ultimate Force 6: Battle of Waterloo. Last November, his thrilling third TKO win over Leslee Ojugbana allowed Murrie to show off his all round game. On that form, it’s hard to look beyond a Wayne Murrie win.
Ian Jones headlined the last Ultimate Force and was comprehensively beaten by Ross Pearson. No shame in that as Pearson looks to be the outstanding prospect in UK MMA and is currently winning fans on both sides of the Atlantic due to his starring role in TUF 9. Jones will take on Tommy Maguire on Saturday.
Jason “Daddy Cool” Ball will return to the scene of his greatest triumphs in the hope of revitalising his career as a lightweight. Since dropping down from Welter, Ball has clocked up wins against Aidan Marron and Glenn Mincer. He has also dropped a decision to Mick Sinclair and came closer than anyone to beating the phenomenal Paul Sass. Doncaster’s favourite David Haye lookalike battered the Scouse prodigy for eleven minutes and twenty six seconds before being snared in the inevitable triangle. His opponent Alexandre “Xandinho” Izidro will be a good measuring stick. He loses a few- but only because he chooses to mix it with the very best. Both men are always in great shape and the judges may be called on to separate them.
On top of these goodies- you’ve got another nine fights to enjoy. The Dome is one of the most luxurious venues on the UK MMA circuit and, with this many local heroes on the bill, you can guarantee a special atmosphere. Add in the attractions of the cheekiest ring card girls in the business and the extra large beer glasses and you’ve got pretty much the perfect night out.
Be there.
For full details, go to Ultimate Force website
BFC Dream Over
Back in February, at the launch of the British Fighting Championship, I asked one of the organisers: “When is it all going to go wrong?”
It was a joke. Basking in the optimism generated in the UTC, it looked clear that the idea was a winner. A huge step on the road to establishing the sport in this country. The comment did have a deeper edge however. UK MMA has a history of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. The scene is populated by many great people who work diligently to keep the sport alive. Unfortunately, there are also a large number of con artists, carpetbaggers and all round tosspots who will stop at nothing in their quest to nick a pound note off out of someone else’s pocket.
The collapse of the BFC is a disaster for UK MMA. All those who tried to make it work deserve credit. Those who actively worked to destroy it deserve nothing but contempt.
Everyone who is involved in the UK MMA scene will suffer as a result of this.
BFC Kick Off
The British Fighting Championship is finally here. After the predictable lies, pull outs and backstabbing that we associate with UK MMA, the BFC is going ahead with a much stronger roster than many would have predicted.
The three first round megacards take place in Nottingham (16 May), Newport (30 May) and Barnsley (26 June). Before that, a tasty aperitif, as two of the brightest youngsters in the UK clash for the honour of a place in the Bantamweight first round proper. James Saville and Dan Korbley have been tipped for big things for a long time. A fight between the two would be a big deal any time. The fact that it is the official kick off of the BFC makes this even more significant.
The winner will get a shot at Steve “Taz” McCombe. A dubious honour: the chance to eat punches from a hard hitting veteran in your second pro fight. On the other hand: it’s the chance to catapult yourself up the rankings by claiming a big scalp. In other words; this is the perfect example of why the BFC is the best idea to come out of UK MMA in ages.
Another reason to be cheerful this week is the debut of the UK M-1 team. Rob Broughton, Tom Blackledge, Matt Thorpe, Simon Phillips and Ian Butlin fly out on Saturday and fight in Japan on Wednesday. hurtbusiness has always been a huge fan of the M-1 Challenge and can’t wait for the UK team to get started.
You will be able to see the fights streamed live on cagewarriors.com next Wednesday morning.
