Archive for May 2010
BAMMA 3 Extra
Directly across the cage from me was the circus that is the life of Alex Reid and Katie Price. Cage right; a burly tattooed guy dressed a Jordan complete with little black dress and pneumatic enhancements. With him/her- a gorilla in a wheelchair wearing an “I AM ALEX REID” T-shirt. Cage left; a front row composed entirely of Frankfurt Hells Angels sporting their colours. This was no ordinary crowd.
Daniel Weichel is a high quality performer who has long been tipped for a step up to the big show. He has also been something of European gatekeeper, opposing both Dan Hardy and Paul Daley just before they stepped up to the UFC and Strikeforce respectively. Rob Sinclair dealt with the German emphatically and must feel he is ready to follow in the footsteps of the Rough House pair. The only meaningful domestic match up out there for him at the moment would be Jason Ball. Daddy Cool has flown up the rankings with impressive recent performances. Ball’s last defeat was a year ago against Sinclair’s brother Mick at Cage Gladiators. Both are durable strikers with underrated ground games. It’s a match begging to me made. The fight would be a war and the winner would be recognized as the #1 UK Lightweight outside the UFC.
Mark Adams was highly impressive, shutting down the threat posed by the highly touted Alan Omer to take the BAMMA title. With Grimshaw and Lawson impressing, Dave Hill and Vaughn Lee bubbling under, Danny Batten on the comeback trail (injury permitting) and Paul Reed no doubt eager to prove a point- the domestic Featherweight scene has suddenly become red hot.
Punk rock moment of the night- Seth Petruzelli, with his spirit of 1977 hairstyle, walked to the cage to the strains of My Way by Sid Vicious. He celebrated his victory over Ryan White by throwing his gumshield into the crowd. A disgruntled punter tossed it straight back. Seth shrugged, picked it up, rubbed it vigorously against his groin area then chucked it back into the same area of seating.
I saw a couple of women with microphones knocking about. Someone told me they were making a “cage fighting” documentary for the BBC. Quite what they made of the Jordan impersonator simulating sex with an inflatable banana I can only imagine. Should be a surreal listen if they think that is normal crowd behaviour.
Forget all the porno maniac, shock horror headlines- War Machine was a model citizen at BAMMA. He choked Zach Light out in a minute then he made a gracious speech. This included a dubious tribute to Light- thanking him for being a man by opting for unconsciousness over submission. War explained that, in his universe, tap outs are strictly for pussies.
GSP was not the only celebrity at the LG Arena. I am reliably informed that the blonde ring girl was Rhian Sugden. Although this names means nothing to us at hurtbusiness towers, our downmarket informant assures us that Sugden is famous for exchanging ‘saucy texts’ with Vernon Kay.
BAMMA put together another entertaining card of well matched fights. They pay well and treat fighters with the respect they deserve. In short, they are doing the things that fans have been crying out for. If you want them to carry on doing this, it’s up to you to get out there and support them.
Ashleigh Grimshaw and Jeff Lawson both scored big wins on Saturday night. Both provide a good argument for watching more telly. Grimshaw bounced to the cage with the usual Titan swagger, but was soon eating a few too many punches against Paul Reed. As his corner team briefed him between the rounds, Ashleigh watched highlights on the big screen. Seeing himself getting beaten up obviously had a stirring effect. In the second, he unleashed the left hand from Hell to flatten his opponent. Lawson’s fight with Dave Lee was like an episode of Columbo; you knew what was going to go down from the off. Up on the screen, Jeff told the crowd and anyone else who was listening that he would take Lee down and then submit him. I took him less than a minute to make good on his promise.
From my observation, German Hells Angels like: Ring girls, beers, War Machine and “Three Lions” Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds
The post fight interviews work well (unlike on most shows). A chance to give a shout to sponsors, mates and anyone else that deserves it. The difference with other shows is- you can actually hear what they are saying. The production values on BAMMA are top drawer.
Matt Horwich strolled to the cage clasping a copy of the Holy Bible in his hand. A really bold choice of Reid replacement by BAMMA. As expected, Horwich went the distance, out-wrestled Watson and showcased a bit of crazy 10th Planet jiu jitsu. It would have been easy for the promoters to bring in a warm body for Tom to beat up, but instead they opted for a live opponent who came to fight.
Best ring walk tune has a shock winner. Jeff Lawson played safe with Hypnotize by Biggie and Alan Omer went for the slightly too obvious Hit Em Up by Tupac, but neither could compete with Rob Sinclair. Three Lions sounds like a naff choice for an England v Germany clash, but it went down a storm, sparking a full on sing-a-long.
Worst chant of the night. Take your pick from “Jordan wants a gang bang”, “Alex is a pussy” and “Jordan wears a strap on”. Pathetic. On a similar note, Alex Reid was assaulted by a punter with a large banana (insert your own gag here).
Amid the insanity generated by the punters, Tom Kong’s entrance (sombrero wearing dancing gorilla followed by Georges St Pierre carrying an English / Quebec flag) seemed a bit low key.
Read about the fight reports at the main site
BAMMA 3 Report
There is a full report on the BAMMA 3 fights on the main site:
Much more to follow about an extraordinary night of MMA.
BAMMA 3 Preview
BAMMA are back and their third chapter boasts one of the juiciest cards of the year.
At the top of the bill at the LG Arena on Saturday, the no show of the supposed star attraction has resulted in an improved main event. Tom Watson is a European top ten middleweight and generally considered the current UK #2 behind Bisping. “Kong” has sought out the best training in the world and his time at Jackson’s MMA has paid dividends in the form of a seven fight unbeaten run. These days, there’s so much more to Watson than clean striking and gorilla costumes, but he faces a stiff test in Matt Horwich. Away from the cage, Horwich is a Jesus loving hippy. Once the cage door shuts, he is all business. “The Suave” is best known for his performances with the Portland Wolfpack in the now defunct International Fight League. He claimed that organization’s Middleweight belt when he knocked out renowned striker Benji Radach.
Virtually impossible to stop and possessing a solid jiu jitsu game honed under weed smoking maverick Eddie Bravo, Horwich has all the tools to give Watson the hardest night of his career. If Tom can overcome the UFC vet, he will confirm himself as a fighter ready for the big stage.
The rest of the card features an entertaining mix of solid fights and bat shit crazy accidents waiting to happen. Rob Sinclair v Danny Weichel is a great match. Sinclair is a fearsome ground and pound merchant who has fought against the very best on the domestic circuit and only tasted defeat twice. Weichel is one of the classiest grapplers in European MMA. The German had his moments on the canvas against Dan Hardy in the Outlaw’s final fight before he joined the UFC. Weichel’s Achilles heel has always been his striking. It may well pay for Sinclair to keep it standing and use his power to punish his man; the same strategy that Paul Daley used to great effect against Weichel a few years back at FX3.
Alan Omer showed his toughness and his skill when taking the BAMMA belt. He survived Paul Reid’s relentless onslaught to score with a triangle. Omer was born in Iraq, but his family fled the country to settle in Stuttgart. The 20 year old has quickly emerged as one of the hottest prospects in German MMA. A born crowd pleaser, he mixes solid stand up with an all action ground game (Check out how he starts this fight for proof). Omer’s two defeats have both come when he has fought out of his weight class. Now settled at featherweight, he is looking to cement his position a man on the way up. The unbeaten Mark Adams will be hoping to steal his momentum and his title.
Seth Petruzelli v Ryan White is an intriguing contest. Petruzelli has name recognition from his victory over Kimbo and his stint on the Ultimate Fighter. Ryan White is an exciting performer who is rarely in a bad fight. All the makings of a decent scrap.
When it comes to pre- fight hype, Ashleigh Grimshaw and Paul Reed are top class operators. Reedy will be hoping to re-establish himself after grasping defeat from the jaws of victory last time out against Omer. Grimshaw took the Cage Gladiator’s featherweight title with an identikit triangle against the aggressive Vaughn Lee and will be hoping that Reed will fall for the same trick twice. Paul’s an all action guy with a dig on him. Ashleigh can be stopped, as Mick Sinclair proved when his shin connected with the Grimshaw skull, but he has nasty leg kicks that punish opponents who want to press the action. You can guarantee some swagger, some dancing and some quality verbals in the build up. When the action starts, we may well get the fight of the night.
From the sublime to the ridiculous. What’s you favourite War Machine moment? His arrest for going wild at a party during his career as a porn star? Having a bag put over his head to prevent him spitting at cops who nicked him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon? The time he got arrested for choking someone out on the street? For me, it’s his victory over Jared Rollins on his TUF season finale show. Unfortunately, he has turned into an X rated real life soap star since then. His is still advertised as due to fight former Wolfslair wrestling coach Zach Light, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Close your eyes and imagine the most obscene thing you can do in Birmingham, multiply it by ten and that’s your Sunday War Machine headline ( if he miraculously manages to dodge immigration control).
Follow the dude with the grenade tattoo on Twitter to hear his exploits first hand:
Back in the world of fighting, we have a gems like Dave Lee v Jeff Lawson and John Maguire against the Norwegian glamour boy and future megastar Simeon “The Grin” Thoresen.
On the strength of the this line up- BAMMA are set to become a major force on the UK MMA scene.
FULL FIGHTCARD
Bamma Middleweight Title Fight
Tom Watson vs Matt Horwich
Ryan White vs Seth Petruzelli – (Light Heavyweight)
Bamma Lightweight Title Fight
Rob Sinclair vs. Daniel Weichel
Zach Light vs War Machine – (Welterweight)
Bamma Featherweight Title Fight
Alan Omer (14-2) vs. Mark Adams (5-0)
John Maguire vs. Simeon Thoresen- (Welterweight)
Mike Ling vs. Carl Noon (Middleweight)
David Lee vs. Jeff Lawson (Featherweight)
Ashleigh Grimshaw vs. Paul Reed (Featherweight)
Billy Harris vs Neil Seery (Flyweight)
Mike Wood vs Martin McDonough (Featherweight)
A full report will be available on the main site
hurtbusiness 
