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It was meant to happen last December, but bad weather meant that Stav Economu never got the chance to take on the mighty Bob Sapp. But with former UFC star Paul Daley replacing the Beast and the Crazy Bear in the main event, the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) returned to live action this past Saturday night with their fifth show, broadcast live on Syfy here in Britain.

The broadcast began with middleweight action as Alex Makhonin faced “Professor X” Xavier Foupa-Pokam.

Many predicted that Xavier would get the win here, but one mistake turned this fight in an instant.

For the majority of the first two rounds Xavier looked good with his strikes and knees in the clinch, although one did stray south of the border.

But then Xavier made an error while going for a take down, with Makhonin landing on top. He quickly took the mount and went to work with the ground and pound, with several busting him open. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight, giving Makhonin the TKO win.

It was up to heavyweight for the next fight as former Ultimate Fighter contestant James McSweeney faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez.

A nice three round affair saw some early success from McSweeney as a right hand sent Rodriguez down.

But that was his only real success. From then on Rodriguez dominated on the ground, going for a number of submission attempts, and whenever McSweeney managed to get to his feet Rodriguez took him straight back down again.

So after three rounds it was down to the judges, with all three scoring in favour of Rodriguez.

The main event saw welterweight action as Paul Daley took on Japanese star Yuya Shirai. Originally this was meant to be for the vacant Welterweight title, but when Daley just failed to make the weight it was changed from a five round to a three round affair.

It wasn’t long before Daley went to work in this one, knocking Shirai down with a simple jab. From there it was only a matter of time, with Daley’s trademark left hook sending Shirai crashing for a third time, the referee stopping the fight just seconds later.

The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the welterweight clash between Leeroy Barnes and Mohsen Bahari.

A quick one here which saw both fighters testing the waters a little before a left/right combination sent Barnes down. A short period of ground and pound followed before the referee stepped in after just 40 seconds.

In conclusion – the disruption followed the cancellation of December’s show, as well as the closing down of their previous television home meant that BAMMA had to come back strongly.

They achieved this with their fifth outing. Although we only got to see three live fights, and although it wasn’t as hyped as much as the Alex Reid/Tom Watson affair at BAMMA 4 this show certainly delivered.

Production-wise it was okay, although given a few errors with regards to camera angles it may have been better to put out a two hour highlights show instead of going live. Hopefully they’ll learn from their mistakes when BAMMA 6 takes place in May.

So in all BAMMA 5 gets the thumbs up from me, a worthy edition to British television’s current MMA content, although, like Ultimate Challenge, I do wish they’d consider releasing their full events on DVD. If it works for Cage Wars why couldn’t it work for them?

It’s three-for-one time as I take a look back at the three most recent offerings from Strikeforce, only one of which was shown on television here in Britain. How did I get these shows? Surely you don’t need to ask that this far into the 21st century.

Diaz vs. Cyborg began with light heavyweight action as Trevor Prangley faced Roger Gracie.

After an early feeling out period it wasn’t long before Gracie took control on the ground, securing the mount before taking Prangley’s back and taking advantage of his opponent’s self-confessed “glass neck”, synching in a rear naked choke for the very impressive first round submission win.

It was up to heavyweight for the next fight as Scott Carson went up against Herschel Walker.

A one-sided battle saw Walker go to work after a quick Carson head kick. This was all Walker needed to light his fire as a left from the former American football star sent Carson crashing.

From there it was all Walker as he went to work with the ground and pound. Carson briefly escaped, only to be taken straight back down. More ground and pound followed, and with Carson offering nothing in return it wasn’t long before the referee stepped in to give Walker the TKO win.

The first title fight of the evening saw Jacare Souza defending the Middleweight title against Robbie Lawler.

This was an awesome performance from the champion. Although Lawler managed to get off a few good strikes Souza all but dominated with his excellent ground work.

It was a thing of beauty to watch as Souza seemed able to transition at will, adding in some nice ground and pound and a couple of arm bar attempts in the second.

The end came in the third round when Souza took Lawler’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the well deserved submission win.

The main event saw Evangelista Cyborg challenging Nick Diaz for the Welterweight title.

This proved to be an enthralling encounter. For nearly two complete rounds these two put on a hell of a striking battle.

It began with Cyborg attacking Diaz’s right leg, following up with some crisp striking. But it wasn’t long before Diaz came back and rocked Cyborg with some great strikes of his own.

And that was how the action played out until the final thirty seconds of round two. Cyborg took the fight to the ground with Diaz quickly attacking his arm and locking in an arm bar for the submission win. Who would have thought it after that great striking battle.

Fedor vs. Silva was a show full of heavyweight action, beginning with K-1 legend Ray Sefo facing Valentin Overeem.

I really wanted old Sugarfoot to win this one, but even though he got off some fast strikes early on it was all over as soon as Overeem took the fight to the ground. A neck crank later and it was all over, Overeem getting the submission win.

Next up was Chadd Griggs as he went up against Gian Villante.

This may not have been technically brilliant but it was great to watch. Both fighters came out swinging, and it wasn’t long before Griggs began to rock Villante with some big shots. Villante managed to get in one big kick, but Griggs’ attack was so relentless he was able to knock Villante down twice, following him down the second time to secure the TKI win.

The next fight saw Shane Del Rosario going up against Lavar Johnson.

A very intriguing back and forth battle saw Johnson get in some good powerful shots early on, but his insistence on taking the fight to the ground played right into Del Rosario’s hands.

Del Rosario soon took the mount and unleashed with the ground and pound before he moved to the side and locked in an arm bar for the submission win.

Then it was on to the World Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament quarter-finals, beginning with Andrei Arlovski against Sergei Kharitonov.

I really wanted Arlovski to win here, but I knew deep down it wasn’t going to be. Arlovski began well with some nice strikes and dirty boxing, but when Kharitonov began to unload with the heavy stuff a right hand sent him crashing. A brief moment of ground and pound followed until the referee wisely stepped in to stop the fight, giving the Russian the big TKO win.

The second quarter-final, and main event, saw Fedor Emelianenko going up against Antonio Silva.

The first fight of the show to make it out of the first round once again showed that the great Russian hope is actually human.

From the moment the fight started Fedor looked very cautious against his much bigger opponent, and he had his moments Silva was more than able to keep up with him.

The second round completely belonged to Silva. As soon as he took Fedor down he controlled the Russian, showing some great transitions and submission attempts.

But it was the ground and pound that did the most damage, his massive fists causing a ton of damage to Fedor’s eye. The Russian’s only real moment of offence came with a knee bar attempt at the end of the round.

The fight was called off soon afterwards when the doctor examined Fedor’s eye, calling the fight off when he deemed him unable to continue, giving Silva the tremendous win.

Strikeforce Challengers 14 began with a catchweight bout, made at 150 pounds, between David Douglas and Nick Gonzalez.

Douglas came into this one with a big height and reach advantage, and he used that to great effect from the start, coming forward early with some nice combinations before sending Gonzalez down with a left.

Douglas quickly followed him down, and a rear naked choke later the submission win was his in just 65 seconds.

It was up to the welterweight division next as Erik Apple faced Ryan Larson.

A great display of grappling by Larson saw him control almost every aspect of the ground fight. Apple’s only offence of note came with a heel hook attempt towards the end of the first round.

Larson continued his dominance in the second round, and after transitioning from position to position he secured the submission win with a triangle choke, just reward for a great display.

Lightweight action in the form of Ryan Couture against Lee Higgins followed.

After an extensive feeling out period this fight didn’t really spring into life until the second round when Couture took control after dropping Higgins with a right. From there he controlled the action on the ground, although Higgins showed some sound defensive skills.

Higgins came back slightly at the start of the third, but Couture soon re-established control, finally securing the submission win in the dying seconds with a rear naked choke.

Another catchweight bout, made at 160 pounds, saw Bryan Travers taking on Carlo Prater.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair of the show. Prater got the quick take down, locked in the d’arce choke, with Travers quickly tapping out after just 38 seconds.

The main event saw Lyle Beerbohm taking on Pat Healy in the lightweight division.

This was an intriguing back and forth affair. Through three rounds both men put on great grappling displays.

The best moment came in the second round when Healy applied a reverse leg triangle while going for a kimura at the same time, something I’ve never seen before.

With the fight going the distance it was down to the judges to render a decision as Healy took the close unanimous win.

In conclusion – this is the first time in ages I’ve reviewed three MMA shows like this, and I was half expecting the odd stinker in here.

But there wasn’t one. Each and every fight on all three shows delivered as we saw great displays of both striking and grappling, as well as a couple of upsets along the way.

So in all these three shows get the big thumbs up from this particular writer. If you haven’t seen them already I recommend that you do.

British MMA is on the agenda once again, and this time we’re going to take a look at the latest offering from Dave O’Donnell’s Ultimate Challenge crew, Face Off, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The show began with welterweight action as Brendan Cookman went up against Bola Omayele.

This one featured an excellent display of ground and pound from Omayele. As soon as the fight went downstairs he went to work, completely overpowering Cookman, who simply had no defence against the onslaught. It wasn’t long before the referee wisely stepped in to give Omayele the first round TKO win.

UK1 kickboxing action followed as Simon Kyurchiev faced Luke Sines for the Welterweight title.

A pretty even looking three rounder saw both fighters getting off some good shots in what was a difficult fight to score. Thankfully I didn’t have to as the official judges gave Sines the unanimous decision.

It was back to MMA action for the next fight as Denniston Sutherland faced Jack Mason in the middleweight division.

Sutherland came out with all guns blazing, quickly connecting with a right uppercut that sent Mason crashing to the ground.

But despite the initial onslaught Mason recovered and came back strongly, going for a few submissions, including a guillotine in the dying seconds of the first round.

I’m guessing that nothing more of note happened in this fight as the entire second round and the majority of the third round were cut, although I’m also guessing that Sutherland had the upper hand because he took the judge’s decision.

It was up to the light heavyweight division for the next fight as Rolandas Cizauskas went up against Linton Vassell.

From the moment this fight went to the ground Vassell dominated, quickly taking Cizauskas’ back and going to work with the ground and pound.

Simply put, there was nothing that Cizauskas could do, and as the first round entered it’s last minute Vassell flattened his man out and quickened the tempo as the referee stopped the fight to give the impressive Vassell the TKO win.

Then it was on to Tim Radcliff challenging Michael Pastou for the Lightweight title.

This was another fight that began with a knockdown as a big right from Pastou sent Radcliff crashing. But despite the onslaught from the champion Radcliff managed to work his way back to the point where, just over 30 seconds from the end of the first round, he connected with a left leg to the head that sent Pastou down. Seconds later the referee stopped the fight, giving Radcliff the title winning knockout win.

The final fight of the show saw Dean Amasinger challenging John Maguire for the Welterweight title.

This was another of those even looking contests. Both guys looked good in the stand up and on the ground as they seemed to negate each other.

But it was all over when Maguire scored with a second round take down. He quickly took Amasinger’s back and synched in a rear naked choke. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant fought it for as long as he could until he passed out, giving Maguire the submission win.

In conclusion – another impressive outing from the Ultimate Challenge crew here, with some great fights and outstanding performances, particularly from Tim Radcliff and John Maguire.

The only disappointing aspect came with the cuts in the Kyurchiev/Sines and Sutherland/Mason fights. But then again maybe this is a sign that Sky Sports need to give the a longer time slot, or that Mr. O’Donnell needs to start releasing the full shows, undercard fights and all, on DVD. We can but hope.

It was a battle of Brazilian greats as Vitor Belfort challenged Anderson Silva for the Middleweight title in the main event of UFC 126, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began with the preliminaries, starting with Chad Mendes against Michihiro Omigawa in the featherweight division.

This division is really starting to come into it’s own in such a short space of time, and this was a perfect example of that.

We had two good performances here. Mendes’ striking was crisp, especially when he connected with a big right in the stand-up and on the ground with a right elbow that opened up a nasty cut just above Omigawa’s left eye.

Omigawa, for his part, looked good on the ground at times as he was able to get in a couple of submission attempts.

With the fight going the distance the judges came into play as Mendes earned the unanimous decision.

It was up to light heavyweight for the next fight as Kyle Kingsbury faced Ricardo Romero.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair. Kingsbury began with a couple of knees to the bread basket in the clinch, as well as a couple of right hands. As the fighters broke Kingsbury connected with a left that sent Romero falling, with the referee stepping in to give Kingsbury the impressive TKO win.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Donald Cerrone went up against Paul Kelly.

There was a little bit of controversy at the beginning of this one. As Cerrone went to touch gloves Kelly went for a big right before they quickly moved to the ground.

From there we saw Kelly putting Cerrone off his stride with some nice striking before the fight went to the ground again as Cerrone opened up a cut above Kelly’s left eye.

The ending came in the second round. After Kelly continued with his striking tactics he pulled guard and took the fight to the ground. That proved to be the beginning of the end as Cerrone took Kelly’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

The main show began in the bantamweight division as Miguel Angel Torres took on Antonio Banuelos.

This certainly wasn’t the best UFC fight I’ve ever seen. From the beginning Torres used his 13 inch reach advantage to good effect, keeping Banuelos at bay with a succession of left jabs mixed in with the occasional kick.

Banuelos for his part just couldn’t close the distance, and that’s how the fight played out for all three rounds. It wasn’t flashy but it was effective as all three judges scored in Torres’ favour.

Welterweight action followed as Jake Ellenberger faced Carlos Eduardo Rocha.

Now this was more like it. After a quick start Rocha controlled the first round with some excellent ground work as he transitioned at will, going for a number of submission attempts.

Ellenberger seemed to come back a little from the second round onwards as they engaged in a striking battle, although Rocha was able to get off some good strikes himself as well as going for an arm bar at the end of the second.

Once again the judges were called into action as  Ellenberger earned the split decision, although I thought that Rocha just edged it.

It was back to the light heavyweight division for the next fight as Jon Jones took on Ryan Bader.

The first marquee fight of the show saw Jones putting on a dominating performance. His ground work in the first round was excellent, especially when he went for a north/south guillotine.

Jones continued the performance into the second as he kept Bader at bay in the stand up before the fight went to the ground where Jones secured the submission win with a guillotine. A great performance from Bones here as he earned his shot at the light heavyweight title.

The light heavyweight action continued with the battle of two people you can’t help but like as Rich Franklin faced Forrest Griffin.

Although this fight didn’t feature any big knockdowns or flashy submission moves it did feature two very solid performances from two of the best in the world.

Griffin put in some great work on the ground in the first round, although Franklin’s defensive work was just as sound.

Griffin also showed some excellent striking skills, putting together some good combinations, rocking Franklin with a big left at one point.

Franklin’s best moments came towards the end of the fight as he finally got the take down. But by then it was too little too late as all three judges scored in favour of Griffin, a great performance after over a year out of action.

The main event saw Vitor Belfort challenging Anderson Silva for the Middleweight title.

When these two spent the first few minutes circling each other and hardly doing anything I thought that we were going to get a re-run of the Maia fight.

But then it suddenly sprang into life when Belfort went for a couple of big shots. Seconds later Silva connected with a front kick to the Belfort’s jaw. The challenger was out of it before he hit the ground as the referee quickly stepped in to give Silva the knockout win. Who would have thought it? An Anderson Silva fight ending in the first round!

Then it was on to the filler material, beginning with Paul Taylor against Gabe Ruediger in the lightweight division.

Taylor put on a very good display of striking here. Throughout the fight he caught Ruediger with a number of combinations which left him exposed and vulnerable, and when Ruediger tried to counter with a take down Taylor’s defensive work was top notch.

The end came in the second when Ruediger was again on the receiving end of a torrent of blows from Taylor. A left head kick later and it was all over as Taylor secured the deserved knockout win.

The show rounded out with another showing of the Cerrone/Kelly fight.

In conclusion – if you forget about the uninspiring Torres/Banuelos fight then UFC 126 will go down as a pretty good show.

Once again the one hour prelim show served as a great appetiser for what was to come, and after great performances from the likes of Jon Jones and Forrest Griffin it only seemed right that the main event should end with Anderson Silva knocking Vitor out, although I still can’t quite believe it.

So in all UFC 126 gets the big thumbs up from this particular writer as I now look forward to my next slice of good old British MMA action this coming Wednesday night.

UFC & FightDVD are spoiling us, yet another double DVD release boasting a championship showdown. Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar defends his lightweight title, giving former champ BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn a chance of redemption.

Penn v Edgar is for the purists, co-main eventing is the huge drawing freak-show fight of boxer versus wrestler, pitting former Heavyweight and Light-heavyweight Champion Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture against James ‘Lights Out’ Toney – former IBA and NABO Heavyweight boxing Champion.

As always I suggest watching the Countdown Show first (disc 2) , gotta be done to get yourself hyped up to view the main fights! This featurette superbly tells the story behind Penn v Edgar 2, complete with words from challenger and champ.

Talking of words heavyweight boxer James Toney is a man who talked his way into co-main eventing at UFC 118, selling himself to head honcho Dana White. Witness Toney transition to MMA, preparing to face legendary Hall of Famer – Couture. The question posed here is will Toney KO Couture or will Randy take-down the heavyweight slugger and tap him out?

Lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard also receive the countdown treatment, indicating the importance of their match-up for a shot at the owner of the lightweight strap.

Popping in disc 1, skipping forward to the hotly anticipated freak show marquee match – boxer James Toney stepping into the octagon to face wrestler (and elite mixed martial artist) Randy Couture, demonstrates why a wrestler can beat a boxer. Couture immediately takes down the slugger, applying pressure on top, tapping out Toney via Arm-triangle within the first round. Not a long drawn out affair like Antonio Inoki’s tangle against the legendary boxer heavyweight Muhammed Ali decades earlier but still a freak show attraction none-the-less. Listen out for UFC chants.

Rubber match – BJ Penn v Frankie Edgar, for lightweight strap sees Edgar prove he’s the rightful wearer of the gold. You get a full 5 rounds of championship action, valiant warrior Penn doesn’t have the answer for Jersey Boy – Edgar.

Nate Diaz – a personal favourite fighter features in welterweight competition against Marcus ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ Davis. Street-tough Diaz, rarely in a unexciting bout delivers. The bad-ass Californian out boxes the boxer Davis, splitting his face open. Nate finishes the fight on the mat, putting the Boston native to sleep.

Lightweight number 1 contender decider – Kenny Florian facing Gray ‘The Bully’ Maynard, sees undefeated Maynard (excluding loss to Nate Diaz on The Ultimate Fighter) live up to his moniker, bullying his way to challenge Frankie Edgar.

You’ll find all the preliminary contests over on disc 2, including 2 Brits in octagon action: Andre Winner and Nick Osipczak.

Boston home-town favourite Joe Lauzon puts on a clinic, defeating Gabe Ruediger via Arm-bar submission. Lauzon never gives Ruediger a single inch. Total domination in the words of Mike Goldberg.

As to be expected from UFC DVD releases UFC 118 comes loaded with additional material on disc 2: Weigh In Show, Behind The Scenes plus Fighter Interviews. Another high quality value for money addition to your MMA DVD collection.

UFC 118 Edgar vs. Penn 2 is out now on DVD, available direct from www.fightdvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

Keep visiting BluRayMMA.com for more reviews of brand new UFC, related combat sport and martial arts DVD & Blu-ray releases.

UFC DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Keeping a careful eye on the Sky TV guide, I’ve spotted Fight Club – K1 World GP Final from Japan, on Eurosport 2 for kickboxing fanatics this evening (February 1). Eurosport have also announced via their website to be the new home for Strikeforce in the UK.

Extreme Sports (Sky 419) list WEC cards: 44 – Brown vs Aldo on Wednesday night and 45 – Cerrone vs Ratcliff for this coming Thursday.

Premier UK mixed martial arts promoters BAMMA reportedly have a deal with Sy Fy channel. Hopefully we’ll confirmed details soon.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com