Wanderlei Silva and Cain Velasquez both celebrated as the Victor’s of Australia’s first UFC event ‘UFC 110′.

Silva won via a unanimous decision by being the more dominative fighter by two occasions where Bisping may have been saved by the bell from a guillotine choke at the end of the second round and a knock down at the end of the third.

Velasquez defeated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira by a definate KO in the first round in a never before seen demonstration of his KO power.

Preliminary Card

* Light Heavyweight Bout: James Te-Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac

Te-Huna defeated Pokrajac via TKO (strikes) at 3:26 of round 3.

* Middleweight Bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic

Dollaway defeated Reljic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

* Welterweight Bout: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster

Lytle defeated Foster via submission (kneebar) at 1:41 of round 1.

* Light Heavyweight Bout: Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Soszynski defeated Bonnar via TKO (cut) at 1:04 of round 3.

Main Card

* Heavyweight Bout: Mirko Filipovi? vs. Anthony Perosh

Filipovi? defeated Perosh via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2.

* Light Heavyweight Bout: Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader

Bader defeated Jardine via KO (punch) at 2:10 of round 3.

* Lightweight Bout:  Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos

Sotiropoulos defeated Stevenson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

* Middleweight Bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping

Silva defeated Bisping via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

* Heavyweight Bout: Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez

Velasquez defeated Nogueira via KO (punches) at 2:20 of round 1.

Press Release:

Warrior Promotions Fighter Management (WPFM) are proud to announce they will have three fighters battling it out this weekend at Knuckleup: Origins, which takes place at the luxurious 2000 seater Centaur Arena, which is located inside the grounds of the famous Cheltenham Racecourse in South West England.

Headlining this event is an intriguing domestic clash for the vacant Knuckleup Middleweight Title, as the Warrior Promotions managed fighter and 2009 Team England M-1 Challenge member Matt “12 Gauge” Thorpe (13-10-0) takes on the former Welsh amateur Boxing star John Phillips (9-3-0-1nc).

Matt Thorpe is a near eight year veteran of the sport and spent the whole of 2009 fighting around the world representing his country in the M-1 Challenge.  Currently ranked eighth in the British Middleweight rankings, Thorpe is known for his all-round skills and height. After Thorpe moved up a division in 2009 he joined the English M-1 Challenge team and picked-up individual victories over Yasuke Masuda (Team Japan) and Rafael Rodriguez (Team Spain).  However like his opponent; Thorpe has a lot to prove after coming off two straight losses against top European opposition,.  Nevertheless Thorpe’s record is still quite deceiving, due to his vastly underrated stand-up game for a fighter with 11 Submission wins and he’ll be looking to claim his first Title at 185lbs this weekend.

Whilst Phillips is a veteran of Cage Rage and several other top events and is known for his KO power with all of his wins coming inside the distance. He’ll be keen to get back to winning ways after a heartbreaking loss against Denniston Sutherland at the inaugural BAMMA show last June, when he was forced to tap-out after dislocating is shoulder midway through round 1. With an improving all-round game and previous big fight experience, Phillips will not be fazed by the occasion and will be looking to walk away with the vacant Title.

This bout is much more than your classical striker vs. grappler clash and with considerable hype already surrounding this bout on internet forums, it promises to be an intriguing main event for the vacant Knuckleup Title on Saturday night.

Another Warrior Promotions managed fighter in action this weekend is the Welshman Daniel “Denzil” Thomas (16-6-0).  He faces a late replacement in the form of Stuart Davies (6-3-0). Both men have met before at Ultimate Warrior Challenge in Essex 2 years ago; where “Denzil” defeated the F’s Freestyle fighter by TKO in round 3. Since then both men have showed a lot of improvement, with Davies racking up several impressive wins on the domestic circuit. Whilst Thomas is now a British Champion in his own right and has won his last 6 bouts, which includes impressive wins over the talented Irishman Kevin McAlonan and most recently a fantastic win over the 6-1-0 Dutch BJJ fighter Duane van Helvoirt in Ireland.  “Denzil” was originally due to face Matt Sellars (7-2-0) for the Lightweight Knuckleup Title.  However injury forced the Champion to withdraw. Despite this inconvenience, “Denzil” is looking to go to war and show his potential in a stacked European Lightweight scene.

Whilst in Welterweight action Simon Phillips (10-4-0) makes his first appearance in the UK since fighting overseas in the 2009 M-1 Challenge. After going 2-2 overseas last year, this WPFM fighter now faces a tough bout against the unbeaten Doncaster based prodigy Danny Mitchell (7-0-0).  Mitchell returns to Knuckleup after defeating Jordan James in November last year at “Knuckleup at the Manor”.  This youngster has rightfully earnt a reputation as one of the UK’s rising stars due to his slick submission work and high tempo fighting style. However the veteran from Exeter is Mitchell’s toughest test to date and Phillips will look to use his considerable experience which has seen him defeat the likes of Hidehiko Hasegawa and Jonathan Leon to kickstart his 2010 campaign and secure his own top 10 domestic ranking.

Other featured bouts see the Knuckleup Welterweight Champion Jake Blyth (8-1-0) return to defend his Title against another Welsh challenger in the form of Kevin Reed (7-10-0). Blyth captured the Knuckleup Title last August with a quick first round win over Richard Weatherall in Somerset. Working under the tutorage of the former UFC and Pride FC veteran Mark Weir, the current Champion has plied his trade around the UK circuit and despite being ranked ninth in the UK Rankings, is still seen by many as an unknown commodity.

This bout could well be his big coming out party against a tough opponent who has earned a reputation for taking on the best fighters in the LW and WW division. Although Kevin Reed starts as a considerable underdog on paper, he is coming off a TKO win from the last Knuckleup show against Nigel Whitear and will be looking to make it two-in-a-row and leave Cheltenham with the Knuckleup Title.

Whilst the night’s other key encounter see UFC veteran Leigh Remedios (24-7-4) dip his toes for the second time into the Bantamweight division, as he faces the tough Irish submission fighter Paddy Doherty (6-7-0) from the EFR Fight Team. With rumours of Remedios looking to challenge Europe’s elite in this division during 2010, he will be looking to impress again after defeating Doherty’s team mate Steve McCombe back in May last year.

Also look out for two of the UK’s top young Featherweights in action, as Dino Gambatesa (5-1-0) and Dave Hill (6-0-0) take on Ross Mould (4-5-0) and James Lutman (2-4-0) respectively.

With this exciting fightcard Knuckleup hope to raise the expectations and level of UK MMA once again, and WPFM are excited to be part of another stacked card which features some of the UK’s best up-and-coming talent.

The increasingly popular ShockNAwe promotion returns for their 3rd show this weekend. There aren’t enough MMA shows on the south coast and promoters Brian and Gareth work hard to put on an event that showcases local up and coming talent as well as some of the more established names of the UK scene. With a stacked card of MMA and K1 rules matches, fight fans are in for a great afternoon of action!

U77kg Pro MMA – MAIN EVENT
Mok Rahman (SCS) 6.1.0 vs Paul Rocha (Bulldog) 5.2.0

U65.8kg Pro MMA – CO MAIN EVENT
Jeff Lawson (Bulldog) 13.3.0 vs Karsten Lenjoint 6.0.0. Leicester Shootfighters/ Liberty Gym

U65.8kg Pro MMA
Paddy Moore (SCS) 3.3.0 vs Jarred Ferre 5.2.0 (Nova Forca)

Heavy Weight Pro MMA
Mark Strider (FS Jiu Jitsu) 0.1.0 vs Freddy Naghizadeh (Independent) 1.3.0

U70kg Pro MMA
Sam Rocha (Bulldog) 9.3.0 vs Azran Quasid (Team Obscene) 3.5.0

U77kg Pro MMA
Sean Hardy (Bulldog) 0.1.0 vs James Matingley (Gods of War) 1.0.0

U93kg K1 Kickboxing
Karl Langley (DKJ) 1.0.0. vs Miguel Bernard (House of Pain) 5.3.1.

U73kg Semi Pro MMA
Kenny Kennard (SCS) 1.0.0 vs Jamie Wooley 0.1.0 (Waterside MMA)

U70kg Semi Pro MMA
James Sutherland (SCS) 2.0.0 vs Harry Fox 0.1.0 (Waterside MMA)

U70kg Semi Pro MMA
Jamie Skinner (SCS) 1.1.0 vs Marek Gonda 1.3.0 (House of Pain)

U65.8kg Semi Pro MMA
Brett O`Brien (SCS) 1.0.0 vs Paul Gonzalez 2.0.0 (House of Pain)

U70kg K1 Kickboxing
Tom Devine (DKJ) 0.0.0 vs Conan Snell (FS Jiu Jitsu) 0.0.0

The two main event matches sell this event on their own.

TUF9 alummni Jeff Lawson faces off against the undefeated Karsten Lenjoint in his first fight at featherweight. Both men have strong submission skills and rarely do their fights get out of the first round, so we can expect a fast and furious opening to this fight as each seeks to gain the positional advantage on the other. Lenjoint probably edges this fight whilst the fighters stay at striking range and he may well look to keep this fight there, as Lawsons is known for his ability to translate his high level judo skills into the MMA arena and his ground game is superb. Lenjoint is no slouch on the floor either it has to be said, and the first few minutes will likely set the tone for the whole fight, with Lawson looking to take this down to the mat and Lenjoint looking to pick him off with his striking.

South Coast Submissions prospect Mok Rahman will be looking to extend his winning run with a victory over Lawsons Bulldog Gym teammate Paul Rocha in a welterweight contest. Fresh off his 12 second KO at the last shock n awe, crowd favourite Rahman has dropped down from middleweight and will no doubt come into the cage a lot heavier than the 77k limit. He is a very powerful striker with great wrestling and ground and pound and a decent submission game. Rocha is no stranger to GnP himself with the majority of his wins coming by way of TKO. This one will be a barnstormer and could well end in KO of the night fashion.

At the lower end of the card, the eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted the name of Miguel Bernard. He recently took part in the epic 8 man heavyweight MMA tournament despite having never had an MMA fight. Although he was defeated in the first round of his fight, he showed flashes of his thaiboxing skill with some solid legkicks. In a K1 rules match against local fighter Karl Langley he is in his element and Langley will need to be right on his game in this one.

If you are on the southcoast and are a fan of great fights in a terrific atmosphere you could do a lot worse than get yourself along to ShockNAwe to check out what they have to offer. You won’t be disappointed. If you can’t get down to the event, don’t fret: Full results will be posted up here on the site as soon as we can.

ShockNAwe 3 is being held at Ferneham Hall in Fareham, Hants. Doors open at 1pm and the first fight is shceduled to start at 2pm. Tickets are available from MMAConnect or you can contact the promoters directly, all details are on their website

We recently caught up with Jason Young after his Majority Decision win against UK veteran Abdul Mohamed and ahead of his coming title fight against Paul Sass. Young first came onto the UK scene back at Cage Rage 2 where he finished off his first opponent 26 seconds into the first round. Since then he has gone on to chalk up a 6 – 2 record and improve all round into the fighter that he is today.

When asked what it meant to beat Mohamed he confirmed to us just how important that victory was “Abdul was the number 1 guy for ages in the UK and has beaten some great names. I have been a fan of his for a long time. Beating him proved to me and to a lot of other people that I am a top contender.” The win certainly raised Young’s profile and escalated his position into the top ten for the UK lightweight standings. He now has the chance to take the top spot in the UK domestic ranks by taking on Kaobon’s Paul Sass.

Sass has been triangling his way through 8 opponents and is yet to be defeated after his 9th fight was a victory against Rob Sinclair at OMMAC 2 via a Spilt Decision. Young vs Sass promises to be the classic striker vs grappler match up where Sass will be looking to take it to the ground and Young will be wanting to keep it standing. On Sass, Young respectfully spoke of his opponent “He is really good, tough and has great ground which is obvious. He is a dangerous opponent and is clearly the best in England right now, and I’m grateful I have got a shot against him.”

The fight at OMMAC 4 will be for the lightweight title, but a lot more is at stake as well. It’s quite likely that the winner of this one will be an attractive signing to international promoters looking to UK shores to find its new talent. So both Young and Sass know just how important this bout will be and how it can define the path’s of both fighters.

Considering all that is at stake, preparation for this fight will see Young training with several gyms to utilize as much as possible the talent the UK has on offer. Young told us of his fight camp for the Sass bout, “I have been training with Kieran Keddle again and the guys at Semtex where I do my standup and with Brad, Ashleigh and Mikey at Titan with wrestling and ground work and general MMA game. I am also going to spend some time with Rough House and Leicester shootfighters for this fight, this is the first time I have gone to another gym for a fight, but I feel they have the best guys in Europe there and with a fight like this you need to make sure you have done everything you can to win. I am friends with Dre (Andre Winner) and Paul (Daley) for a while and I spoke to them and Nathan (Leverton) at UCMMA and I cant wait to get there.”

When we spoke to young on how he thinks the fight will unfold he responded confidently with “I think it will go the same way as the Abdul fight, Paul trying to take me down and me beating him up for 3 rounds just waiting for me to catch him with a knee or an uppercut on the way in, maybe an elbow too, maybe all 3 at once! ”

Young has proved before that he is capable of keeping things standing and is more then capable to get back to his feet “In my fights before Abdul, I have been forced to use my wrestling against my opponents as they wouldn’t stand with me, I have had this problem in all my fights, no one will stand with me, but I think people don’t realize I’m not that easy to take down, and I’m defiantly not easy to keep down. I don’t mind keeping fight on the ground as my wrestling is pretty good, but this fight is a no brainer, just like the Abdul fight, its going to stay standing, and I’m going to use my standup and takedown defense and game plan to win.”

Jason Young vs Paul Sass will be held at OMMAC 4 on the 6th of March alongside the Middleweight title fight between Paul Cahoon v Alex Makhonin.

More details can be found on ommac.tv.

(London, Feb 10th 2010) UCMMA, announced today that they will be implementing mandatory blood testing for all fighters, with immediate effect.

Dave O’Donnell, founder of UCMMA said: “As the UK’s biggest promotion, we are proud to lead the way in fighter safety. Fighters will have to produce their blood test results at the weigh in, with test results being no older than one month.”

Fighter safety is our number one priority. We employ professional paramedics at all our events and are one of the few UK promotions to ban elbows on the ground to protect the fighters. Following the mandatory blood testing, effective from our March 27th event (Adrenaline Rush) we are also looking to implement random drug testing in the very near future. We hope that other promotions will follow our lead and prioritise fighter safety. All fighters can step into the cage at UCMMA events secure in the knowledge that we put fighter safety first.”