Wembley Arena, London, England. March 8th 2008

Report & Photographs by Hywel Teague

I’ve been lucky enough to have been cage-side for the majority of Cage Rage’s events over the last four years, and in that time I’ve witnessed the promotion grow from the confines of a smoky nightclub in a ghetto area of town to one of the capital’s most prestigious arenas.

In that time, I’ve seen future UFC and K-1 champions strut their stuff in front of the London fans, and I’ve seen some of the greatest fights of my life up close and personal.

But I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Cage Rage. It’s a funny thing really. I’ve marvelled at the brilliance of some of their bookings, amazed at the talent they have brought in, while other hirings have left me not only unimpressed, but turned off. I had mixed feelings when I saw the booking of Ken Shamrock in the main event, even more so when I heard he would be taking on ‘Buzz’ Berry, and I’ll explain why.

No longer ‘Dangerous’

Shamrock, the legend that he is, is old at 44. Unfortunately, he’s no Randy Couture. He had lost eight of his last nine fights going into his match with Berry, and though he looked in good physical shape when he stepped in the cage, he wasn’t half the fighter who broke legs for a living back in the 90s.

Berry, in comparison, looked in the best shape of his career. A full 15lb leaner than usual, he had changed his training and obviously put plenty of effort in preparation for the biggest fight of his life. Not only did he get his body ready, but he got his game plan together too. Benefiting from a good couple of inches height and reach advantage, Berry used a clever stick and move strategy that kept Shamrock on the end of a stiff jab. When Shamrock moved in, Berry would angle off and resume. Shamrock only attempted one takedown, a bodylock which the Englishman fended off with ease.

Berry’s blows were landing cleaner and cleaner as the round progressed. With Shamrock covering and attempting to counterpunch, Berry started to land more often, combining his jab with a looping overhand right. It was a big right hand that felled Shamrock only 3.26 into the first. The American went down with a thud, and Buzz pounced on him to finish the job.

With Shamrock landing barely 12 inches in front of me, I could see the state he was in. His face was marked up, he took time to regaining his feet and his wits, and I could hear the impact from Berry’s shot as it landed. But then I started hearing whispers from people backstage, and they weren’t good. They were saying that Ken had done something he has been suspected of before. They say he took a dive.

Admittedly, watching the fight back on video, it appears Berry’s final blows were a stiff jab and an overhand right. The jab lands clean and partially turns Shamrock, and the right lands high on his shoulder. It was this clubbing blow that sent him down and the tongues of doubters wagging. I watched the replay. I watched it again, and again, and again. And I came to this conclusion: Shamrock did not dive. The jab was the punch that rocked him, while the brute force of the overhand took him off his feet in his dazed state. He did not attempt to defend himself as he dropped, nor recover position. We’ve seen him get put out quickly (his last two fights with Ortiz, his loss to Sakuraba) and years of pro wrestling and MMA mean one thing: Shamrock’s chin is gone. The 44-year-old veteran just can’t take a shot any more.

If you’re not convinced, consider this. Shamrock was rumoured to be an opponent for Kimbo after this fight. If this were true, how would EliteXC build any hype by putting Kimbo in with a fighter coming off such a notable loss? Also, Ken has been talking for ages of a potential fight with adopted brother Frank, which could have been a huge moneymaker. Not so in Ken’s current state. The simple truth is, it didn’t make sense for Shamrock to take a dive, not in the long run at least. If he knew something we don’t, like this was his last fight and he wanted an easy payday, then fair enough, but I doubt he threw this fight for such a trivial reason. If he wanted money, he should have held out for a bigger fight.

Imanari shreds Silva’s knee

Masakatsu Imanari is one of the world’s most entertaining featherweight fighters, and has hovered around the top ten for some time. He holds the Cage Rage featherweight title, as well as that of the Japanese promotion DEEP, and his nickname ‘Ashikan Judan’ means ‘Master of Leglocks’. With a name like that, it’s easy to guess what his speciality is, and Imanari is feared for his brutal leglocks. Jean Silva is a flamboyant and veteran fighter who has made London his base for many years. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and capoeira stylist, he combines unorthodox striking with slick ground skills, and a match with a fighter like Imanari guaranteed fireworks.

Silva started well, firing in low kicks that troubled Imanari, but on the mat the Japanese fighter had his way with the BJJ black belt. An omoplata sweep from rubber guard that Eddie Bravo would have been proud of saw Silva threatened only seconds after the mat hit the floor, and though they scrambled it from here, once Imanari had a leg in his grasp, Silva was sinking in quicksand. Imanari’s ruthlessness with leglocks, especially heelhooks, is well known, and he showed no mercy in cranking on a nasty inverted heelhook as Silva was trapped against the cage. Silva was left clutching his knee in agony, and had to be carried out on a stretcher. He was said to be walking unaided the next day, but this reporter saw him carried around over his teammates’ shoulders hours after the fight.

Best of the Rest

Cage Rage followed one of EliteXC’s leads and held it’s first female fight in five years by featuring Aisling Daley of Ireland against Aysen Berik, sister of well-known UK journeyman Sami Berik. Aisling proved too strong and too experienced for the debutant Berik, winning by a dominant ground ‘n pound TKO in the first. Tom Watson landed a well-timed upkick to end his fight with Pierre Guillet. As the American dived in a with a Fedor-style strike into Watson’s guard, he caught a heel to the eye that left him unable to see for many hours after.

Full Results

John Phillips def Jake Bostwick def TKO (Strikes) 4:10 Rd1

John Hathaway def Marvin Arnold Bleau def TKO 1:32 Rd1

Giorgio Andrews def Ryan Shamrock def TKO (Injury) 5.00 Rd1

Aisling Daly def Aysen Berik def TKO (Strikes) 1:49 Rd1

Henrique Santana def Michael Johnson def Unanimous Decision

Ivan Serati def Roman Webber def TKO (Strikes) 0:48 Rd1

Mustapha al Turk def Gary Turner def Submission (Strikes) 3:19 Rd1

Tom Watson def Pierre Guillet def TKO (Strikes) 2:05 Rd1

Rob Broughton def Neil Grove def Majority Decision

Masakazu Imanari def Jean Silva def Submission (Heel Hook)

2:30 Rd1