Fighters Only

Issue 006

August 2005

THE OLYMPIA LIVERPOOL UK

It pays to have friends in high places. It pays even better to have friends that own and operate a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion, especially when they give you free reign to choose your own opponents! If normal people were to find themselves in this position, you might expect them to hand-pick opponents designed to bolster their records and their reputations. Not so in the case of Liverpool-based fighter Paul Cahoon. Oh no! Since the inception of local promotion Cage Fighting Championships, Cahoon has used his contacts to do just the opposite. Choosing to face only the toughest, meanest and most dangerous of international fighters, Cahoon constantly surprises everyone when announcing his opponents.

This time around his opponent of choice was going to be Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran and Canadian ‘TKO’ Middleweight Champion David Loiseau at Paul’s new fighting weight of 85kg. But following his recent UFC performance, Loiseau claimed to be suffering an injury and Paul was left without an opponent with literally days to spare. A few frantic phone calls were made, and an even tougher opponent was brought in as a replacement.

The Monster vs The Bulldog

Dutchman Melvin Manhoef doesn’t boast the nickname ‘The Monster’ for no reason. A solid 93kg of pure fast-twitch muscle fibre, he is a destructive Thai-boxing stylist with a penchant for kicking people in the head and a record that boasts stoppage after stoppage. Like Cahoon, Manhoef is no stranger to competing in both his native Holland and also Russian events such as M1, and recently TKO’d Frenchman Mathias Riccio in devastating fashion at Cage Rage. Cahoon and Manhoef had fought once before, way back in 2002, but revenge was obviously prominent in Paul’s mind as he promised to give his home crowd a performance like no other. Coming into the cage at a spry 85kg compared to Manhoef’s 92kg, Cahoon showed no signs of appearing intimidated by his opponent’s considerable size advantage.

The cage they would be fighting in was a cosy 20ft, which meant there would be no running away in this battle. Up close and personal, the two met in the centre of the cage in a storm of flying fists and feet. Melvin used his compact yet muscular frame to swing in his signature murderous hooks, while Cahoon initially elected to box clever and counter-jabbed flush to the jaw. Melvin ate more than a couple of these shots before Cahoon switched tactics and made the error of wanting to trade with Manhoef. It wasn’t long before Manhoef’s punches started finding their way through Cahoon’s guard, and once satisfied he had found his range Melvin began adding low and high kicks into the mix, one of which crashed into the side of Cahoon’s head, staggering him.

All of a sudden the balance of the fight shifted. Cahoon was no longer attacking, nor even counter-attacking, but surviving. Closing distance into a clinch, he attempted to tie up Manhoef’s legs, but the Dutch fighter kept his balance and avoided any attempts at a takedown. As Manhoef tied up high, he began firing strong knees to the midsection, and when he let another hard hook go on the break Cahoon stumbled and stood leaning against the fence. Offering no defence other than to cover up, a good 20 unanswered shots were landed by Manhoef before the fight was stopped.

A terrible yet beautiful thing to behold, Manhoef committed an act of supreme demolition in the way he mercilessly thudded in an array of punches and kicks to the head, body and legs of Cahoon. The Liverpool fighter may well have been a standing punch bag at this point, his head whipped from side to side as each hook fell and his legs buckled with each kick landed, but one remarkable thing about this contest will forever stay in my mind. Cahoon wouldn’t go down.

How on earth Cahoon could remain standing under such an onslaught is baffling. He recovered within seconds of the fight being stopped, playfully joking with Manhoef once the announcements had been made and the trophies had been exchanged. Even suffering a size and weight disadvantage to his foe, Cahoon put in a performance well deserving of his nickname: The British Bulldog.

You need look no further to find a classic example of the indefatigable British spirit.

Round up

Pride veteran and top European light-heavyweight Fatih Kocamis easily handled the over-matched Frenchman Yaya Lalanne, barely breaking into a sweat in the process. The German Dion Starling had a far harder challenge in facing the wily Aziz Karaoglu of Holland. Weathering a huge initial onslaught from the Golden Glory team member, Starling found himself battered by a furious barrage of punches and kicks, and could offer little when on the ground, finding himself mounted and getting punched repeatedly.

He seemed moments away from defeat for much of the first round, and none more so than at that crucial point in the contest, but sensationally turned his fortunes around by rolling Karaoglu and ground ‘n’ pounding him with a series of extremely accurate punches. An exhausted Karaoglu could not come out for the second round and Starling walked away bruised and battered, yet victorious.

Brazilian fighter Luciano Azevedo gave up the best part of 10kg to opponent Paul Jenkins but pulled out a flawless performance and submitted him in little over three minutes. Jason Tan had an equally impressive showing in the cage but found Leslee Ojugbana to be a tougher nut to crack. Holding Ojugbana in a triangle for close to two and a half minutes, he finally managed to force a tap out with seconds to spare in the first round.

Fellow Liverpudlians Chris Shaw displayed some fine grappling skills in submitting Danny Rogerson with an unorthodox yet effective armbar, while Craig Cunliffe and Terry Etim both went on to win their contests with some devastating strikes. Cunliffe unleashed a flurry of punches that cut Andy Miles badly, both above and below his left eye, and Etim enjoyed the rare treat of a high kick KO in his tussle with Neil Barber.

Cage Fighting Championships returns in September, currently billed as England vs Brazil, and will be held at what is now the home for Liverpool MMA, the Olympia. Expect another quality show with plenty of guaranteed action.