Fighters Only

Issue 029

September 2007

Wembley Arena, London

July 14^th 2007

Report and photographs by Hywel Teague

Cage Rage have always described themselves as the best of British MMA, and they have consistently looked to improve upon each and every event, but their latest show, ‘Hard as Hell’, fell down slightly and was less than stellar. It was quieter than usual in the Wembley Arena for Cage Rage 22, with only around two thirds of the usual attendence, possibly a sign of a fight card that held no real marquee draws. Butterbean is a big name (literally) but his novelty is wearing off, and the lack of top figures from the sport definitely put a dampner on things even though the rest of the matches were solid enough. Cage Rage have promised that all efforts are currently being put into their September show though, with ‘huge’ names rumoured to appear, so watch this space.

The Bean gets Tengizzed

Tengiz Tedoaradze is the Georgian wrestler who was a presidential bodyguard in his homeland. The former-special forces member is possibly one of the most brutal ground and pounders in the sport, and his suplex is legendary. The rumours are that Cage Rage offered him double his money if he could suplex the 399lb American Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch. Credit to Tengiz, he actually braved Butterbean’s heavy hands to grab a clinch, but seeing as he couldn’t even lock his hands around the Bean’s torso, any notions of him hitting the suplex were out!

Tengiz elected to stand with the former boxer, an odd choice considering Butterbean’s pedigree and heavy right hand (and Tengiz’s notorious ‘chin-up’striking style). He landed a number of punches to Esch’s large dome, bloodying up his face and earning a smile of appreciation from the Alabama native. Butterbean was looking for the big shot though, and found it with a right-left hook combo that dropped Tengiz to the canvas. Butterbean dived on him to try to finish, but Tengiz recovered and slipped out, reversing his rotund opponent and pounding his way to victory towards the end of the frst.

Not taking anything away from Tengiz for his victory, but Butterbean is hardly a credible opponent, and his appearance in MMA has always been something of a novelty. The problem is that the novelty has really worn off now, evident in the number of boos that greeted him on his way to the cage. If Cage Rage want to pull the big crowds back in then they’re going to have to start rethinking their main events.

Thompson goes down in ten seconds

British MMA superstar James Thompson was shockingly KO’d in a brief battle with the unknown late replacement Neil Grove. Ten seconds was all it took for the 130kg ex-karateka to land a clubbing right hand that left the Pride veteran face-down on the canvas. The Colossus was originally touted to face Wesley ‘Cabbage’ Correira, who pulled out three days prior with a twisted ankle. Kimo Leopoldo was briefly mentioned as a possibility, but the 2-0 Grove was brought in to face the Bristol-based brawler. Where Thompson can go from here is unknown – his international career has come to a halt with Pride nowhere to be seen, and his domestic career has always been something of a cursed place for him.

Sperry surprises no-one with slick submission

Ze Mario Sperry, grappling legend and one of the heads of the Brazilian Top Team, choked out Lee Hasdell in a minute and a half in a fight that saw both fighters make their return to MMA. Both are now past the 40 mark, yet neither man looked any worse for wear. Hasdell was one of the pioneers of British MMA, appearing in old-school Japanese shoot wrestling before most people even knew what MMA was.

Sperry showed he still has the goods in taking Hasdell down and controlling him on the mat before sinking in a rear naked choke. Hasdell, the superior striker, didn’t get chance to fire one off and will be certainly be disheartened, but will certainly return as he has inked a three-fight deal with Cage Rage.

Turner forces Draggo to quit

Brazilian striker Edson Draggo quit between rounds with a broken hand in his battle with British K-1 fighter Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner. The English heavyweight proved no slouch in this fight, an entertaining mix of striking and groundwork. Both men are known for their striking ability and they certainly slugged it out, but they seemed equally at ease in the grappling range, each scoring with takedowns. Draggo retired at the end of the second round with a suspected broken hand, leaving ‘Smiler’ to pick up the win.

Cahoon cuts a swathe through Epstein

Liverpool light heavyweight Paul Cahoon dominated his fight with Mark Epstein and took home the British light heavyweight title to boot. A strong wrestler, Cahoon showed a much-improved stand-up game in this fight, cleverly outboxing Estein. The Londoner didn’t have an answer for Cahoon’s strong straight punches, and couldn’t make a dent on his iron chin. Whenever Epstein started to look too comfortable on his feet, Cahoon would take him down and work him over. Though both men were marked up at the end it was Cahoon, returning from a lengthy layoff due to injury, who walked away with the decision win.

Olivier shuts down Trojan attack

Ronnie Mann is a young up and comer, whereas Robbie Olivier is a seasoned veteran. Mann has performed very well in both MMA and Muay Thai, but Olivier’s experience was the deciding factor in this UK featherweight title fight, as the defending champ cruised to a three round decision victory. Mann put up a good fight and threatened in every range, but Olivier’s toughness and drive saw him grit his teeth and control the fight throughout. Mann has a bright future ahead of him and this could simply be a case of too much too soon.

The Boss gets blasted by Zaromskis

The fight of the night had to go to the battle between the explosive strikers Ross Mason and Marios Zaromskis. The Lithuanian (representing London Shootfighters) put the pressure on throughout the fight before ending it in spectacular fashion with a brutal flying knee. Mason didn’t go down without a fight though – even though Zaromskis fired in kick after kick, Mason showed his resiliance by answering back with kicks and punches aplenty, even stunning and dropping Zaromskis with a hefty right hand. It was Marios who controlled each round though, proving quicker off the mark in the exchanges and scoring a couple of crucial takedowns throughout the fight. When it came, the third round finish was as fitting as possible for a fight of it’s nature.

Pointon proves worth

“I’m never losing again,” were the words from Ross Pointon following his fight with Dean Bray. The UFC veteran showed improved skills in every area in his fight with the Londoner, proving to his detractors that he does have a future in the sport. Finally breaking his run of bad luck (and consecutive losses) he caught a tight guillotine choke in the second round of a rough and tumble fight.

In other action Michael Johnson took a win over tough Frenchman Damien Riccio, forcing him to retire between rounds with a broken nose, while Tom ‘Kong’ Watson smashed his way through London-based Ed Smith for a three-round decision. K-1 heavyweight fighter James McSweeney showed he has promise in MMA with a solid first round win over Mark Buchanon, and though he was in firm control, Herb Dean retired after the first round of a one-sided fight with Dave Legeno with an eye injury.