Issue 041
September 2008
Cage Rage 27: London, England, 12 July 2008
‘New York Bad Ass’ Phil Baroni has long been one of the sport’s most polarising, controversial figures. Yet he behaved impeccably in his welterweight debut, putting in a measured and clinically finished performance against evidently overmatched brawler Scott Jansen. UFC and Pride veteran Baroni looked trim, sharp and focused in one of his better showings in years. Jansen’s stubborn resistance to a lengthy kimura did the Englishman credit but he fell victim to an absolutely perfect right hook just over three minutes into the first. Perhaps even worse for Jansen, as he lay stricken on the mat his girlfriend verbally abused the winner and an exceptionally cowardly member of his comically bloated entourage headbutted Baroni and was lucky to be hustled away before enraged MMA legend Mark Coleman gave him what for.
Cage Warriors: Enter the Rough House, Nottingham, England, 12 July 2008
Paul Daley is always ranked as one of the UK’s top pound-for-pound fighters, and his demolition of Slovakian opponent Bojan Kosednar further cemented his place in the rankings. The Nottingham-based fighter, fighting on a major event on home turf for the first time, smashed Kosednar silly with a sublime left hook that ended the contest at 4.53 of the first. Supporting him was teammate Jim Wallhead, who out-pointed crafty Brazilian Fabricio Nascimento in a very strategic yet entertaining fight, while lightweights Andre Winner and Abdul Mohamed fought to a controversial draw.
Affliction: Banned, Anaheim, California, 19 July 2008
In just 36 seconds, Fedor Emelianenko affirmed hardcore MMA fans’ faith in the near-invincibility of ‘The Last Russian Emperor’. That was all it took for him to floor fellow top heavyweight and twice UFC titleholder Tim Sylvia with a lightning-fast combination of punches, take his back and slap on a rear naked choke for an unforgettable submission victory. A legitimate sporting superstar in his native Russia, Fedor’s win earned him the WAMMA (World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) title, a belt handed out by the kind of self-appointed ‘governing body’ which ruined kickboxing’s chances as a major professional sport and has done so much damage to boxing over the past 30 years. That said, after this display, there is absolutely no doubt Fedor Emelianenko truly is the sport’s very best heavyweight.
In other notable heavyweight action from the t-shirt purveyor’s plunge into MMA promotion, former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett emphatically avenged his February 2001 KO loss to Pedro Rizzo. Barnett cleanly KO’ed the plodding, past-his-prime puncher with a beautifully-timed left hook early in the second round of a match fought entirely on their feet. A star in Japan, Barnett is finally getting the attention he deserves in his home country and at his best, can beat any heavyweight in the sport, perhaps even Fedor.
Another dethroned UFC heavyweight King, Andrei Arlovski promised a return to his destructive best against former IFL standout and Miletich camp hardman Ben Rothwell. The Chicago-based Belorussian wasn’t lying. Stalking and striking his bloodied, battered opponent, Arlovski was simply ferocious with fast, hard punches and a superb jumping knee at the end of the second round. Saved by the bell there, a shaky Rothwell finally went down early in the third a vicious combination of a right cross and a follow-up right uppercut that reeked of vintage Arlovski.
UFC Fight Night, Las Vegas, Nevada, 19 July 2008
Determined to crush the Affliction promotion’s debut show with some well-placed counter-programming, the UFC gave their loyal Spike TV audience a live, free appearance by one of the sport’s very best in Anderson Silva. Testing the waters at light heavyweight, the effortlessly dominant middleweight champ faced James Irvin, an aggressive puncher fresh off a stunning 8 second KO of the dangerous Houston Alexander. As usual, the peerless Silva didn’t disappoint with yet another display of striking artistry. ‘The Spider’ grabbed a kick with his left hand and unleashed a brutally precise right that dropped Irvin to the mat like a mortally wounded mammoth. A few more brutally fast punches saw the referee intervene after just 61 seconds.
DREAM 5: Lightweight GP Finals, Osaka, Japan, 21 July 2008
Coming into this tournament semi-final a clear favourite over 33-year-old veteran Caol Uno, the popular Shinya Aoki used his slick, creative and relentless submission game to dominate long stretches of a tactical, intriguing fight. Late in the first round he tried a stunningly fast triangle choke but Uno fought his way free to survive the session. The second round was more of the same as Uno simply couldn’t break free from the constantly moving, tight-gripped Aoki and mount any offence at all. Aoki walked into the finals with the clearest of decisions.
In the other semi-final, the tournament’s breakout star Eddie Alvarez hammered the strong, technically adept Tatsuya Kawajiri to defeat in a fantastic fight. Kawajiri had looked uncharacteristically flat for much of this tournament but the 24-year-old American forced him into a terrific, fast-paced brawl. Both scored knockdowns before Alvarez heavily floored ‘the Crusher’ after some spectacular exchanges and finished the Japanese fighter with punches on the ground. But Alvarez paid a terrible price for his typically crowd pleasing victory, emerging from the fight with a badly swollen right eye that kept him out of the final. An emotional Alvarez addressed the crowd and paid tribute to his replacement Joachim Hansen, a man Alvarez beat in an awesome fight in May. Hansen made his way to the final with a quick armbar win over Kultar Gill in the evening’s reserve fight.
No matter what, the Grand Prix final was going to be somewhat anti-climactic without Alvarez. For Hansen though, this was a perfect chance to avenge his shocking gogoplata loss to Aoki in 2006. At first, Hansen seemed to be playing into Aoki’s hands by falling into a grappling match, but as soon as he saw the smallest opening, Norway’s fiercest son since the Vikings rampaged across Europe blasted away with a barrage of punches to claim the TKO win and the DREAM lightweight title only 4:19 into the first round. After the fight, a jubilant ‘Hellboy’ assured the crowd his first title defence would be against Alvarez.
