Fighters Only

Issue 021

January 2007

Octagon Centre, Sheffield, 19^th November 2006

Written and photographed by Hywel Teague

CageWarriors may not be the biggest or the best MMA show in the United Kingdom, but they’ve got plenty of self-confidence when it comes to trying new things. Ever the innovators, they stay away from trying to dazzle fans with flashy light shows, save money by not booking big names from overseas, and instead offer a stripped-down no-nonsense product that places the emphasis on actual quality over perceived quality.

What’s the difference? Well perceived quality is when you’re led to believe that the show you’re going to see will feature all your favourites in action, that the fights will be brutal and that you’re getting the best possible entertainment you can imagine. When you get there and see that the over-the-hill fighter who had his day in 1997 is fighting a no-name chump the quality is nowhere to be seen. Actual quality is when you get the goods so to speak.

You won’t see PRIDE fighters turning up at a CW event, but you will get solid domestic and international fighters battling it out in the proving grounds of the middle ranks of their divisions. The number of fighters who go on from CW to appear on bigger shows is quite long. The UFC and PRIDE feature many of their veterans.

The latest experiment from CageWarriors was a lightweight title eliminator in the shape of a one-night 8-man tournament. With fighters from the UK, Europe, the USA and Japan battling it out, the winner would go on to face champion Alexandre Izidrio.

The Tourney

The first fight of the evening was between English fighter Ian ‘M16’ Butlin (5-4-0) and Frenchman Emmanuel Geay. Geay (2-1-0) is the student of an old nemesis of Butlin’s, BJJ blackbelt Manu Fernandez. Fernandez had triangled Butlin back in 2004, and if Geay had any sense he would try to out grapple the former amateur boxer.

That what he tried, shooting early and landing in the guard but a restart for inactivity saw them back up on the feet. At one point Butlin seemed to gain a brief mount by stuffing a double leg, but his moment came at 3.39 into the first round. Geay’s woeful stand up had holes the size of France – Butlin saw this and delivered a knee to the chin that dropped his foe against the fence, bagging him his first ever stoppage win from standing strikes.

Norwegian fighter Thomas Hytten (15-5-1) was a sensible bet for a possible overall winner of the tourney, yet he went out to Jarkko Latomäki of Finland (9-2-0) by unanimous decision.

Hytten already had a win over the Finn, and he seemed poised to take it again with a series of tight submissions in the first round. A guillotine choke and a triangle would have tapped out lesser fighters, but Latomäki toughed them out. He cruised his way to a decision victory by controlling the second, shrugging off a tight armbar and dropping some good ground and pound.

Japanese fighter Tomonari Kanomata (known as TK and with a record of 6-1-3) has a reputation for being boring, but you wouldn’t believe it seeing him fight in this tournament.

He outstruck, took down and pounded out lost-looking American Bryan Cohen in only 57 seconds. Cohen was making his debut in this tournament. You can only ask ‘why?’ as he clearly had no right to be there.

The last of the quarter finals had Peter Irving against Mick Sinclair in an all-English affair. Irving’s record at 4-5-0 is deceiving – he is a well travelled and durable fighter with a habit of taking tough matches on short notice. Sinclair is his opposite, with only one pro fight to his name he is an up-and-comer and is trained by Mike Bisping. Irving’s experience paid off though, as he neutralised any offence Sinclair could offer and dominated his way to a second round submission win. Sinclair wanted to grapple, but Irving’s superior wrestling and jiu-jitsu was too good and he took top position throughout both rounds, forcing the tap 3.46 into the second.

Semi Finals

Latomäki met Butlin in the first of the semi-finals and took the fight to the Englishman from the very off. Shooting in under Butlin’s punches with a quick double, he persistently worked for the takedown off the fence, eventually landing in Butlin’s guard. From there he pressured forward with strikes, gritting his way out of another triangle and frustrating Butlin, who was trapped against the fence. Latomäki managed to force Butlin into giving his back and caught the rear naked choke at 3.21 of the first, booking himself a spot in the final.

TK would be a tough test for Peter Irving in the other semi final, and while the Newcastle-based fighter might not have passed with flying colours, he was certainly awarded a merit for his tenacity and ability to avoid danger. Kanomata may have been the superior grappler, but he wouldn’t have his way with Irving like he did his other opponents. Shooting to avoid the Muay Thai skills of Irving, the Japanese fighter almost finished his foe with a hideous looking kimura in the first, but eventually trapped his man against the fence and pounded his way to a stoppage 3.36 into the second. Irving was stuck and looked poised to escape, but referee Marc Goddard wisely stopped the contest at just the right time.

The Final

Kanomata was unscathed and energetic going into the final, as was Latomäki. The Scandinavian had fought for longer than Kanomata but wasn’t any worse the wear for it. Both guys had shown a preference to grapple in their earlier fights, and it was the Japanese fighter who shot in first, going for a single leg. They clinched and moved around for a few moments before out of the blue Kanomata launched himself up with a flying triangle attack. Amazingly, he caught it, and though Latomäki had fought his way out of two earlier triangles, this one was the tightest yet, and he tapped out only 1.13 into the round. As reward for his efforts Kanomata will get his shot at Izidrio’s title early next year.