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It’s time for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to make their latest appearance on free TV with the twentieth Ultimate Fight Night, shown live in the early hours of this past Monday morning on ESPN here in Britain, and featuring Nate Diaz taking on old rival Gray Maynard in the main event. As always, commentary was handled by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan.

The opening fight saw Amir Sadollah taking on Brad Blackburn. This proved to be a great contest. Blackburn had his moments, but this one belong to Sadollah from the opening round as he showed good stand up work and great work on the ground. Sadollah looked like he was going to get the win in the third after he rocked Blackburn with a flying knee, but Blackburn survived, only to be dominated on the ground. In the end the unanimous decision went to Sadollah, as he continued the impressive form he started against Phil Baroni.

Fight two saw Tom Lawlor face Aaron Simpson at middleweight. The second fight to go the distance was an entertaining contest. Lawlor dominated the first round with his fighting skills, and he looked like he was going to get the knockout win. But Simpson managed to recover and work his way back into the fight. By the time the third came around Simpson was dominating as Lawlor was visibly tiring. It was enough to give Simpson the split decision win, and while many in the crowd disagreed with the decision, this writer thought it was the right one.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Efrain Escudero took on Evan Dunham. This was very similar to the previous fight. Escudero took the first round, dropping Dunham with a big right, and showed some good work on the ground. But Dunham made his comeback in the second, scoring with the take downs and the ground and pound. The end came in the third. After escaping Escudero’s guillotine, Dunham took his man down, taking his back before applying an arm bar. Escudero’s arm was at a horrible angle, and he tapped out later than he should have, giving Dunham the deserved submission win. In fact, Escudero was hurting so badly that he didn’t stick around for the official announcement.

The main event saw further lightweight action as Gray Maynard faced Nate Diaz in a rematch from the Ultimate Fighter 5 semi-finals. To be honest with you, this one was a tad disappointing. While the fight action was okay in parts, and the performances of those involved can’t be faulted, it just lacked that certain something. This may have been because Maynard was intent on getting the knockout win. Both men had their moments, but in the end Maynard’s superior boxing earned him the split decision, and possibly a title shot against B.J. Penn.

I(n conclusion, although, for the first time in ages, I’ve expressed some disappointment in a UFC fight, Ultimate Fight Night 20 proved to be a good card. For me Escudero/Dunham was the fight of the night, with Lawlor/Simpson a close second.

I was also pleased that, unlike their counterparts at Spike across the pond, ESPN didn’t go to a break between the rounds. Seeing what’s going on in the corners between the rounds adds to the drama of the fight, so kudos to ESPN for this one, as we now look forward to the battle of the legends in a few weeks.

THE TWO SHEDS REVIEW by Julian Radbourne – now in it’s 10th year!
E-mail: julian@twoshedsreview.com
Website: www.twoshedsreview.com
Blog: www.myspace.com/twosheds316
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Once again I’m going to dip into the pile of discs that Tom Tailford of A1 Productions sent to me, for my first slice of German MMA action, Gods of War 2: Worlds Collide, which was held at the Hall of Champions in Baumholder in March 2008.

The show began with quite a technical battle, as Anthony Durnell faced Sam Lambica. After a brief feeling out period Durnell took complete control with a take down. There was a bit of work from the guard before Durnell stood up, grabbed Lambica’s leg and applied the ankle lock. Lambica quickly tapped, giving Durnell an impressive submission win.

Then it was on to Zdenda Hrach against James Mann in the first blink and you’ll miss it affair of the evening. Hrach came forward early with some blows, but Mann countered quickly with a take down. However, this left Mann vulnerable to Hrach’s guillotine choke, and although he fought it at first it wasn’t long before he tapped, giving Hrach the second submission win of the show.

Up next were Aaron Reed and Jonathan Harcourt. This was another explosive fight with some fast opening exchanges, and Reed quickly taking the fight to the ground. From there we had some sporadic moments of ground and pound until Reed went up a gear and the referee stopped the fight, giving Reed the TKO win, so after two impressive submissions we had an impressive TKO.

The explosive action continued with Jesse Anderson against Micah Herbert. After a quick exchange at the start Anderson scored with a big take down, delivering several hard elbows before Herbert managed to escape. But a wild attack proved to be Herbert’s undoing as Anderson took his back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win. Anderson looked tremendous in this one.

Gauthier Engala against Angelo Zambakikas followed, a somewhat controversial blink and you’ll miss it affair. After Engala gook advantage of Angelo’s wild blows, he took him down and soon got the mount. A torrent of blows followed, and with Angelo failing to respond the referee stopped the fight after just forty five seconds. Angelo wasn’t too happy though, and I could see his point, because even though he wasn’t attacking he was defending himself. Still, it was good stuff from Engala though.

The only fight to get past the first round was next, with Ibrahim Moginot taking on Jirka Kalas. Round one featured some good ground work from Moginot, who looked like he could get the submission any moment. But as the fight entered the second round Kalas began to look visibly tired, and after a couple of stand ups Moginot changed his tactics and began to hack away at Kalas’ legs. It proved to be one kick too many as the referee stepped in and called time. Good work from Moginot here, although I’m not too sure what to make of Kalas’ contribution.

Dennis Stutzinger and Fred Tusil were up next. This was a wild one, as both men began to swing for the trees at the beginning, before it settled down into a more sedate, technical battle, with Stutzinger unleashing a left/right combination that sent Tusil down, giving him the KO win. A mixed bag this one, and I was glad it settled down a little towards the end.

Cedric Jouvet was up next, against Jordan Flick in a rather quick encounter. Flick tried to pull guard early on, but Jouvet quickly took his back, and when he couldn’t get the rear naked choke he wanted he went for the ground and pound, and soon got the deserved TKO win.

A real blink and you’ll miss it affair was up next, with Michal Slambor facing Damian Gilbert. After Gilbert quickly pulled guard, Slambor took the mount and went to work with the ground and pound. It lasted a matter of seconds as the referee quickly stopped the fight with just eighteen seconds on the clock. It left me scratching my head a little, especially as the somewhat knowledgeable crowd voiced their disappointment.

The fight numbers reached double figures as Oli Ulave took on Romain Schact. Ulave got the quick take down, and after some good work on the ground took Schact’s back as he tried to escape. Ulave then sank the hooks in and applied a rear naked choke. Schact tried to fight it, but it was only a matter of time before he tapped out. I really enjoyed Ulave’s performance here. Good stuff.

We then moved on to Kim Andre Sundsby against Jiri Demetrov. There was some good technical ground work at the start of this one, but after Sundsby reversed the positions Demetrov went for an arm bar. Sundsby countered with a stomp to the head which knocked Demetrov out cold. Although this was a good battle I’m not sure what to make of Sundsby’s winning move.

The penultimate bout saw Jason Gunlock face Pao Zoro. This was a mixture of wild brawling and sound ground work as both men flailed away at the beginning, before Zoro got the take down, with Gunlock reversing and locking up Zoro’s left arm while trying to apply a submission to his right. When this didn’t work some good old fashioned ground and pound got the job done for Gunlock in another mixed bag of a fight.

The final fight of the show saw Bogdan Cristea against Daniel Thomas. Out of the thirteen fights here I enjoyed this one the most. There was some nice back and forth action, both on the ground and in the stand up, before a big left from Cristea sent Thomas crashing, with the referee stopping the fight when Cristea went for the ground and pound.

In conclusion – while there were a couple of down points with regards to performances and questionable decisions, Gods of War 2 was a very enjoyable show. I was very grateful that there wasn’t any of the wild hit-and-miss kind of brawling that seemed prevalent in other A1 DVD releases. Production wise it was okay, although I was very surprised to see a cameraman actually in the cage during the fights. The poor fellow went on the back foot a few times when the action got a little too close for comfort!

There was one thing that annoyed me though – the lack of on-screen captions as the fighters entered the cage. This made things a little confusing at times, and it also meant that you didn’t really find out who was who until the result was announced.

But apart from that I would definitely recommend this release.

For information on how to obtain a copy of Gods of War 2: Worlds Collide, contact Tom Tailford via www.fight-factory.co.uk.

THE TWO SHEDS REVIEW by Julian Radbourne – now in it’s 10th year!
E-mail: julian@twoshedsreview.com
Website: www.twoshedsreview.com
Blog: www.myspace.com/twosheds316
Facebook: www.facebook.com/twosheds316 – add me as your friend!
Online Store: www.lulu.com/twosheds316 – download Anglo-Force & The Valkyrie Chronicles for FREE!

And why not? The guy deserves a break. In the media the Ultimate Challenge UK1 kickboxing middleweight champion has been made to look a villain, as a member of Team Pricey. Granted he wasn’t known as a fan favourite before hooking up with glamour girl Katie Price but we all know that is all part of the show when it comes to getting heat and selling a fight. Look at the examples of UFC fighters Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz.  A fighter who receives boos is great for the box office.

I have decided to back Aldershot lad Alex Reid, as a fan of MMA but fear the majority of the voting public will vote him out early, due to the nation’s backlash against Katie Price. On the other hand there is the possibility of the cage fighter receiving some level of sympathy following Jordan dumping him live on air, when she left ITV’s reality TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Who knows, we shall have to wait and see.

According to many sources it appears Alex and Jordan are back on good terms, in fact Jordan has given her seal of approval to mixed martial artist Alex appearing the show. The press are saying she held a party before the contestants entered the CBB7 house, attended by both Alex Reid and her old flame Dane Bowers, formerly of pop R&B sensation. Oh and don’t believe the hype, that these 2 Big Bro contestants had a punch-up. From my understanding they are mutual friends of Katie Price, not 2 blokes fighting over the former page 3 model.

It’s early days, so far Alex has made  a good impression, interacting well with the rest of the Celebrity Big Brother 7 house mates. He doesn’t come across a villain he is often portrayed to be.

I feel Alex Reid despite his cross-dressing antics the tabloids have all leapt on, he is doing Brit MMA a lot of good, helping it go mainstream. Let’s face it any fighter be it in a mixed martial arts bout or stand-up K1 rules contest facing Alex Reid will be making a name for themselves off his name. It all equals more tickets sold which cannot be a bad thing for all involved in the British MMA business.

It was the first UFC show of the year, but it wasn’t the main event we wanted. With no Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans faced off against Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC 108 Evans v Silva, shown live here in Britain in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN, with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling commentary duties.

The broadcast began with the much travelled Gilbert Yvel making his UFC debut against the hard hitting Junior Dos Santos. It was another impressive outing for the Brazilian, who after some good exchanges dropped Yvel with a big left, with the referee stopping the fight after some quick ground and pound, giving Dos Santos the TKO win. This was another great outing from Dos Santos, who must surely be close to a title eliminator now.

Then it was down to the lightweight division, with Jim Miller and Duane Ludwig. This proved to be another good fight, with both men getting in some good combinations before a right from Miller knocked Ludwig down. Miller followed him down to the ground, quickly getting the mount. Ludwig tried to escape, but soon found himself in an arm bar with no choice but to tap. Both guys looked good in this one, but Miller was just that bit better, adding his name to the somewhat crowded list of contenders.

The first filler material saw more lightweight action, with Cole Miller and Dan Lauzon. This was an explosive back and forth affair, with both men rocking the other before the action went down to the ground. Miller then showed some impressive skills before getting the submission win with a kimura/inverted triangle combination. That’s three good fights in a row, with Miller continuing to impress this particular writer.

It was big brother’s turn next, with Joe Lauzon taking on Sam Stout. Lauzon looked like he was going to get the early win here, after busting Stout open with an elbow and going for a kimura. But after Stout escaped he put on a hell of a performance, defending Lauzon’s take down attempts and putting on a great kickboxing display. Indeed, it wasn’t until the third round that Lauzon briefly came back into the fight, getting his much sought after take down, before moving onto a guillotine attempt that Stout managed to escape from. But it was too little too late as Stout’s performance earned him the unanimous judges decision. It was a tremendous performance from the Canadian, meaning that that list just got a little more crowded.

Welterweight action followed, with Martin Kampmann facing Jacob Volkmann. Another great one round encounter saw Kampmann back on track with a good performance as he outclassed Volkmann, eventually knocking his opponent down, before getting the win with a unique looking guillotine, which looked like a reverse rear naked choke. Good work from Kampmann here though.

More welterweight action followed, with Dustin Hazelett facing my fellow Brit Paul Daley. Daley actually came in just over the welterweight limit. Lots of feeling out at the beginning of this one, which was followed by Daley’s explosive left hook, which sent Hazelett crashing to the ground. Brief ground and pound followed, before the referee stoppage gave Daley his second UFC win. Another great performance from Daley. This guy has impressed me from the first day I saw him, and I’d love to see him get a crack at the welterweight title.

Then it was back to more filler material, middleweight action with Mark Munoz and Ryan Jensen. A good start from both men, before the action went down to the mat, with Munoz delivering a sustained period of ground and pound. Jensen had no choice but to tap, although the referee missed this at first. Nice performance from Munoz, who looked far more comfortable at middleweight than he did at light heavyweight.

The main event saw Rashad Evans facing Thiago Silva in the light heavyweight division. This fight was definitely worthy of it’s spot on the card. Evans looked great in the first two rounds as he was seemingly able to take Silva down at will. By the time the third round came by it was obvious that Evans was winning. Then Silva began to showboat, urging Evans to fight, before rocking him with a big right. Evans was there for the taking, but instead of going for the kill, Silva began showboating again as he tried to preserve his energy. It cost him dearly. Evans had done enough in the first two rounds to earn the unanimous decision, and rightfully so. He then threw out the challenge to Rampage Jackson. Hopefully we’ll see this fight sometime soon.

The final filler material saw Mike Pyle taking on Jake Ellenberger at welterweight. The first round saw some great groundwork, particularly from Pyle, as he frustrated Ellenberger with some great defensive work. But it was at the end of the first round that Pyle suffered a rib injury, which clearly hampered him going into the second, as Ellenberger unloaded with a big right that dropped Pyle, earning him the deserved TKO win.

In conclusion – 2010 certainly got off to a good start for the UFC. Evans and Silva put on a great showing in the main event, ably supported by a strong undercard. So as you can probably tell I really enjoyed this show, and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming year.

Review courtesy www.twoshedsreview.com