Issue 051

June 2009

With so many events taking place around the world it’s impossible to feature them all, but here is a selection of our outstanding moments from recent action.

Best Flying Knee

Daniel Abrol vs JC Pennington

Taken at Northern Ireland’s long-running promotion, Cage Wars, this sequence perfectly shows how effective a well-timed flying knee can be. Lightweight Daniel Abrol launched himself through the air, directing his knee at Rich Clementi-trained JC Pennington’s head, who survived the attack and went on to win by second-round submission.  

Best Fight

Miguel Torres vs Takeya Mizugaki

Miguel Angel Torres, who seems incapable of having a boring fight, does it again. This wasn’t just the best fight this month, this is a potential Fight of the Year. Thrilling.  

Best Comeback

Eddie Alvarez vs Greg Loughran

Alvarez is the kind of pressure fighter who is used to making people shoot in for a takedown. His energetic and heavy-handed striking has caught out many a lightweight, but he nearly met his match in plucky Ulsterman Greg Loughran, who dropped the Philadelphia-based scrapper with a peach of a left hook. Eddie went to a knee but survived the follow-up, eventually trapping Greg in a tight guillotine.  

Most Spectacular Kick

Wagnney Fabiano vs Fredson Paixao

Featherweight firebrand Wagnney Fabiano is the kind of fighter who keeps you on the edge of your seat. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he is no one-dimensional fighter. With power in both his fists and kicks that would put a heavyweight to shame, he used his full arsenal of weapons in this fight against countryman Fredson Paixao.  

Most Vicious Beatdown

Sakurai vs Aoki

Shiny-pant wearing submission wizard Shinya Aoki is a phenomenon on the floor. He holds tap out wins over the likes of Eddie Alvarez and Joachim Hansen, but bit off more than he could chew by going up in weight to take on veteran Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai. Mach fought his way out from bottom and laid Aoki out with a series of knees and punches in only 27 savage seconds. Ouch!

Biggest Payday

Frank Shamrock

When Nick Diaz moved up in weight to take on Frank Shamrock, he did so in front of over 15,000 people inside the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Facing off with the former UFC champion at a catchweight of 179lb, Diaz was the favorite to win, but no one expected him to dominate Shamrock the way he did. Diaz peppered Shamrock with punches and kicks before stopping him with a sustained barrage of blows as seen in this image. But most shocking was Shamrock’s salary for the fight, a disclosed purse of no less than $369,790. In contrast, Diaz earned only $39,950 (which included a $10,000 win bonus).

Best Submission

Jason High vs Yuya Shirai

It took only three punches to drop Shirai and another three to soften him up, before Jason High slipped in the fight-finishing choke that left his Japanese opponent face down, asleep on the canvas.