UCMMA Resurrection, Troxy, East London. 6th February 2010 by Mark Craggy.

Full Fight Card (in running order);

Prelims -
GALORE BOSANDO V JEROME CAROL (WW) Carol wins via DSQ [illegal knee] 1:20 Rd 2
RICHARD GRIFFIN V CHRIS WOOLCOTT (WW) Griffin via Submission [Rear naked choke] 3:17 Rd 2
BRAD WHEELER V DOMINIC PLUMB (LW) Wheeler via Submission [Armbar] 0:36 Rd1
EARL BROWN V BOLA OMOYELE (MW) Omoyele via TKO [punches] 2:16 Rd 1
RYAN CAMPBELL V DAN MOVAHEDI (MW) Movahedi via TKO [punches] 1:16 Rd1
STEVE DOSSETT V CHRIS GREIG (MW) Greig via Submission [Guillotine] 2:52 Rd 1
PABLO BEN V COLIN FRENCH (WW) French via Submission [Arm triangle] 1:49 Rd 1
DAVE NOBEL V RAFIK BENZIADA (LHW) Nobel via Decision [Unanimous]
BEN CRAGGY V JAMAINE FACEY (MW) TKO Punches 0:38 Rd 1

Main Card -
AZRAN QUASID V SCOTT JANSEN (LW) Jansen via Submission [Kimura] 4:44 Rd1. A good stand up fight with both fighters showing good kickboxing abilty. Jansen managed his 1st ever submission win once it went to the floor.

VALENTINO PETRESCU V JAMIE HEARN (LHW TITLE UK-1 ) VOID – Dave O’Donnell announced that Petrescu crashed his car & ended up having a fight with the other driver on the way down to the fight!! He had busted 3 fingers on his hand so was unable to fight. Jamie Hearn then entered the ring in a Batman costume to announce his up coming Ben Smith.

PETER YENDALL V KARLOS VEMOLA (HW) Vemola via KO [punches] Rd 0:49. Vemola enters ring with Terminator theme tune [also his nickname]. Picks up 115kg Yendall & slams him on his back then KO’s him with brutal ground & pound

EDGELSON LUA V JOHN MAGUIRE (WW) Maguire via Decision [majority]. Hard, even fight. Neither landed many clean shots throughout the fight. Lua had top position for much of 1st rd but couldnt do much with it. For most of 2nd & 3rd rd Maguire was trying for a Kimura and had top position, last 2 rounds was all on the ground with Maguire dominant.

SHOLA ADENIRAN V STAV ECONOMOU (HW) Stav wins via Submission [Rear Naked Choke] 1:30 1st rd. Stav catches a leg kick and takes Adeniran to floor, takes his back & wins via RNC

MARK WEIR V MARK EPSTEIN (MW TITLE UK-1) Weir via Decision [Unamimous] Weir dominates each round with good high kicks. Downed Epstein with headkick in 2nd rd then a spinning back head kick in 3rd. Spoke in ring about how he’d like to fight Alex Reid after beating him before

DEAN AMASINGER V ALBERTO MINA (WW TITLE) Mina via TKO [punches] 2:13 3rd Rd. Amasinger enters ring with Paul ‘Semtex’ Daly, Dan Hardy & Nick Osipczak in his corner. Both seemed respectful of each others abilities but both fighters timing seemed slightly out when striking with few landing clean. Fight when to ground at the end of 1st rd with Mina showing slick movement and an attempted armbar attempt which Amasinger escaped. In round 2 few strikes landed cleanly & both seemed more comfortable on the floor. Amasinger eventually gained top position but Mina was saved by the bell before any strikes were landed. In rd 3 again the fight went to the floor where Mina eventually took Amasingers back before landing continuous GnP until the ref ended things. Announced that Mina would fight John Maguire in his next fight

UFC / Cage Rage veteran Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman is to make his return to fighting by taking on Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick for the UCMMA UK1 Light Heavyweight Belt.

Freeman who last fought in November 2008 with a victory over Paul Cahoon has many a time hinted at his desire to return fighting. During his brief retirement from the sport he has continued to keep himself in shape whilst  providing seminars and his services as a ring announcer / MC.

He now wishes to start a career in K1 to show his stand up skill and KO punching power which Frank Mir famously ended up being on the wrong end of during Freeman’s time in the UFC.  Ian said “This is my first ever K1 bout and I have something to prove. I’ve built my reputation on my ground game but people underestimate my stand up game. I want to prove to the world that I can fight a stand up game and walk away with the title. I’ve been KO’d one fight in thirty – and I’m not perpared to compromise my record.”.

His opponent the younger 20 year old Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick said on the fight “This is my chance to beat my hero.  I jumped at the chance of this fight  – it’s a great opportunity for me. Freeman has beaten some fantastic fighters like Frank Mir over an impressive career. He’s a great fighter. It’s going to be a stand up war – I know I can throw some serious blows and he can do the same – I’ve got a good chin and don’t have to worry about the fight going to the floor.   This is an opportunity for me to fight a legend. I took his autograph but this is my chance to take him down and take the title.”

Bostwick  continues: “ I’ve only ever fought K1 once against Alex Reid in July and lost – I’ve learned from that. I’m not the same Jake Bostwick that will blast into the cage swinging for the fences, I’m keeping composed. There’s power in these hands. It’s the biggest fight of my career so far –I’m training hard to put on size and bulk up, become sharper and more powerful. This is not going to be an easy fight for him. Keep your hands up, because I’m going for the knock out!  I’m grabbing this opportunity with both hands. I’m the younger, stronger man and that’ll be a main factor. His chin is getting weaker – I’m getting stronger.”

UCMMA promoter Dave O’Donnell said: “Every time we are at the Troxy and Freeman’s on the microphone it’s obvious that he wants to get back down to business – a true fighter never wants to say ‘never.’ He thinks that he can do better than some of the guys in the cage and after the last event (5th December) said to me: “I know I could beat most of those guys – let’s talk.” He text me and said “I’m ready” and the rest is history.”

“K1 rules will be the biggest challenge of his life. Jake is so young and keen and up for it – he’s asked me to give him a chance. He comes out so fast – he’s not a walkover – this match up is classic youth V experience.  We all know that Jake has KO power in both hands – he only needs to catch Freeman once and that’s it.”

“Freeman is an MMA legend and is going for the title. He’s been out of the cage for over a year and now he’s back and on our card. He retired as the campion and he’s coming back into the cage to prove that he can stand up fight. This really is going to be one of the biggest match ups of 2010.”

The event will take place at Ultimate Challenge (UCMMA): ‘Adrenaline Rush’, March 27th 2010 at Troxy, London. For more details on tickets and general information, visit the UCMMA website.

Jimi Manuwa retained his title with a round 1 defeat of Shaun Lomas by means of TKO. Last minute replacement Jamie Hearn gained winning form by knocking out cold his opponent Tam Khan.

Neil Groves fight was off due to the Illness of Vemola.

Other notable fights were Luke Smith v Wesley Johnson which showed a very capable Smith gaining a TKO win and Simon Gill’s split decision win over John Kelly which brought on big boo’s from the crowd as to the view of most apart from the judges – it appeared that Kelly was the way more dominant fighter.

Full Results:

Michael Brown vs Joe Holder. No Contest Joe Holder Head Cut from Cage

Mike Edwards v Jake Bostwick – Edwards Rear Naked Choke Round 2.

Simon Gill v John Kelly – Gill by Split Decision.

Brett Basset v Dyson Roberts – Roberts by Submission TKO Round 1.

Earl Brown v Karl Lawrence – Earl Brown by Rear Naked Choke Round 2.

Luke Smith v Wesley Johnson – Smith by TKO Round 1.

Wayne Weaver v Ben Smith – Smith by TKO Round 2.

Jason Barret v Scott Jansen (K1 Bout) – Jansen by Decsion.

Michael Pastou v Mark Glover – Pastou by Uanimous Decision.

Tam Khan v Jamie Hearn – Hearn by KO Round 1.

Shaun Lomas v Jimi Manuwa – Manuwa by TKO Round 1.

UCMMA fighters all met weight with the exception of Jack Mason who had the misfortune of picking up a serious injury which will mean he cannot fight Tam Khan. A last minute replacement for Mason will be Jamie Hearn.

A relaxed Jimi Manuwa confidently explained that he did not have a plan for title challenger Lomas and that he would “Go out and fight as always”. Shaun Lomas grinning and happy go lucky as always was asked how he managed to compete so much having just fought at Shock N Awe and OMMAC over the past two weeks, he quietly noted that he enjoys to fight.

Neil Grove also looked relaxed and ready for the Challenger Karlos Vemola (who could not make the press conference thanks to London’s traffic). Grove will be looking to create again the knock out defeat he brought to Martin Thompson at the last UCMMA event ‘Dynamite’.

UCMMA ‘Fighting For Heroes’ will take place this Saturday the 5th of December at East London’s The Troxy.

On Saturday 24th October the Troxy in London once again plays host to a night of MMA and Uk1 action. Following on from the last event, which got a lot of press attention UCMMA have put together a great looking card with 5 Titles on the line.

Looking down the card the highlights include:

Martin Thompson vs Neil Grove - HeavyWeight Title Fight
Reigning champ Grove will be looking to successfully defend the belt he won against James McSweeny before his ill-fated venture to the UFC where he sustained a first round submission loss to Mike Ciesnolevicz. Thompson is the current Cage Gladiators, Strike & Submit and Ultimate Force HW champ and will be looking to add another strap to his collection. Thompson is on a 6 fight win streak including most recently a win over another UFC veteran – Colin Robinson and prior to that 2 impressive wins over highly ranked UK fighters Tengiz Tedoradze and Tom Blacklegde. Both men like to bang and have an impressive KO/TKO rate on their records. With firepower like this on display it’s a fairly safe bet that someone is getting KO’d in this fight!

Denniston Sutherland vs Tom Watson – Middleweight Title Fight
Both fighters are on a tear at middleweight at the moment and this is arguably a fight for the right to call themselves number 1 middleweight in the UK right now (although the author accepts there are other legitimate challengers for this position!). Sutherland has come down from heavyweight and is a powerhouse at middleweight. Watson has been honing his craft at one of the best MMA camps in the world: Jacksons MMA. The ever-confident Watson will no doubt be making one of his trademark entrances but once the cage door locks he’s all business – favouring the stand-game he will be looking to pick Sutherland off whilst setting up the big shots. Sutherland is no slouch though and despite Watson probably having the crisper standup game, he won’t be afraid to trade with him. This one is a potential contender for fight of the night in my opinion!

Alberto Mina vs Edgelson Lua - Welterweight Title Fight
Since Mohammed Khacha vacated the title through being unable to defend it, the undefeated Mina and Cage Rage /Bamma/Ultimate Challenge veteran Lua will contest the belt. Mina is an undefeated fighter and has never been out of the first round, winning his last 3 fights with quick submissions (albeit against mediocre opposition). Lua also has submissions in his arsenal and this could be an interesting battle to decide who walks away with the title. In his favour is the fact that Lua has been quite active this year with 3 fights already whereas Mina has not fought since his victory over Steve Elliot at Cage Rage 28.

Jason Young vs Abdul Mohamed Lightweight
Up and coming lightweight talent Jason Young faces off against one of his toughest opponents to date in the shape of veteran Abdul Mohamed. Everyone in UKMMA knows about Abdul, it’s like he has been around for ever and he is still one of the toughest lightweights out there. With awesome wrestling, powerful hands and great strength he is a difficult test for any fighter. However he is coming off the back of an uncharacteristically poor performance against Tim Radcliffe. Radcliffe fought an excellent gameplan against Abdul and managed to stuff his takedowns and keep Abdul totally off his game. One would think that Young will be looking to emulate this successful strategy against Mohamed – as one thing you don’t want is to get slammed by Abdul and then be looking up at him as he throws down those fists and elbows! For his part Mohamed will just be looking to get back to winning ways after his set back against Radcliffe when they contested the BAMMA Lightweight Title. Interestingly, Young and Mohammed both share losses to Radcliffe but Young has beaten Francis Heagney – who defeated Radcliffe to win the lightweight title at the last Ultimate Challenge. This could set up an interesting rematch for the title if Young can get past Abdul first. Abdul of course will have other ideas and will be looking to earn his own shot at the title.

Dean Amasinger vs Scott Jansen - Welterweight
Amasinger is coming off a stint in the TUF house on series 9 of the Ultimate Fighter. No doubt the training and experience there will have improved him as a fighter and training with UFC stars Paul Daley and Dan Hardy at the Rough House Gym in Nottingham makes him a strong favourite in this match. Jansen is a good striker with KO power and has just won the Ultimate Challenge UK1 title. His MMA form however is not so great, with 1 win in his last 5 fights. His best hope in this fight is to keep it on the feet, hit Amasinger with a big shot and end the fight. He has shown that he has great conditioning taking Ross Mason to a decision on Cage Rage so would be fine with a stand up war. Amasinger however will probably not be interested in playing Jansen at his own game and instead will be looking to put Jansen on his back and use his strength and wrestling ability to keep him there and pound him out for a win. If I was a betting man I’d put my money on Amasinger in this fight but this is MMA and anything can happen!

The Ultimate Challenge – Dynamite card is rounded out with the following undercard fights:
Brad Wheeler V John Joe Ellis – UK1 Featherweight Title
Lee Doski V Jamaine Facey
Ian Hawkin V Ashley Pollard – UK1 Heavyweight Title
Ben Craggy V Tam Khan
Scott Rogan V Michael Brown
Dai Smith V Joe Holder
Abdullah Hamden V Shah Hussain
Pablo Ben V Tommy Kelly

We also caught up with Pablo Ben who is looking to gain his first professional win at the event.  “I have been training on my stand up more than ever” said Ben. “I have been sparring with K1 world champion Galore Bofando. Working on my strength and technique. My wrestling is already good as I have been been wrestling for quite a while now. I also have a good ground game,  so nothing there to worry me”.

When asked on his opponent Tommy Kelly, Ben replied “I  do take each and every of my opponents seriously, but there isn’t anything special in him..I have fought better fighters before and there is nothing about him that scares me or worries me.  I’ m sure this man has got his own game but i’ll be by gods will very wary and ready for what his going to bring..”

Props to the UCMMA team for putting this together, the spotlighted fights alone make this a really strong card and it is great for UKMMA that fights like this are getting put together. The jury is still out on whether UCMMA can achieve the heights of Cage Rage in it’s heyday, but with cards like this it could be well on the way.

With this card, the finals of the UCMMA Grand prix matches, the upcoming Bushido MMA card, UFC 105 and ZTFightNight “The Tournament” all happening in the next 3 months. The UK MMA fan really is spoilt for choice when it comes to top class MMA in this country.