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It was a show of main event changes as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in the main event of UFC 130, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

No review of the preliminaries this month as ESPN had technical problems (again), so it’s on to the main show, beginning with middleweight action as Brian Stann faced Jorge Santiago.

The All-American is really starting to come into his own. After a somewhat cagey start from both men Stann connected with a left that sent Santiago down. Stann followed him down for the ground and pound but couldn’t quite get the job done.

Stann continued his great work in the second, and a big right to the temple sent Santiago down again. A brief period of ground and pound followed before the referee stepped in to give Stann the impressive TKO win.

It was down to welterweight for the next fight as Thiago Alves faced Rick Story.

This was a very good encounter. Story put on a great display of grappling for the first two rounds, neutralizing Alves’ superior striking ability. Alves got in some good strikes, but Story was able to respond in kind.

We saw more striking from Alves in the third, as well as some exciting exchanges, with Alves rocking his man a number of times, the fight ending with both men swinging for the fences.

So with the fight going the distance it went down to the judges, with Story getting the unanimous decision.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Stefan Struve faced Travis Browne.

This battle of the big men began with both fighters connecting with a series of kicks. A clinch against the cage was followed by a brief foray to the ground before they returned to the striking game.

Seconds later and it was all over. Browne connected with a Superman punch that sent Struve crashing, the referee quickly stepping in to give Browne the great knockout win.

The heavyweight action continued as Frank Mir went up against Roy Nelson.

This battle of home town boys proved to be a highly entertaining affair. We also got a lesson about conditioning.

Mir dominated the majority of the fight, putting on a performance that was far superior than his effort against Mirko Cro Cop.

Big Country had his moments, but as time went on Nelson’s lack of physical conditioning showed, and as he sat on his stool between the second and third rounds he had the look of a beaten and exhausted man, with Mir once again dominating with his grapping and his ground and pound.

No surprise with the judges decision as all three gave the fight to Mir. A great performance from the former champion, and an example of how Nelson really needs to go back to the drawing board.

The main event saw Quinton Jackson taking on Matt Hamill in the light heavyweight division.

Rampage seemed to have Hamill worked out from the start. Whenever Hamill went for a take down Jackson was able to defend easily. It was the same whenever Hamill went for a clinch.

As for the striking Rampage had that department covered as well, out striking his opponent and connecting with some hard knees and shots to the body.

So with another fight going the distance it went to the judges again, with all three giving the fight to Rampage. It may not have been pretty but it was effective.

The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the lightweight encounter between Gleison Tibau and Rafaello Oliveira.

This all Brazilian affair was a nice way to end the show. Things looked pretty even in the first as both men got off some crisp strikes and showed some good work during the brief trip to the ground.

It was pretty much the same in the second until Tibau connected with a big left that sent Oliveira down. Moments later Tibau took his man’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion – they’ve done it again.

Even though this was devoid of a title fight after both Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar pulled out injured it was still a very good show, and although a couple of the performances were a little disappointing that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment . So in all UFC 130 gets the thumbs up from me.

Let’s hope ESPN don’t screw up any more shows though!

MMA is turning up in some strange places on television these days, and this review proves that point as we take a look at a new British promotion, World Fighting Championship, and their debut show, A New Beginning, shown on music station Channel AKA this past Wednesday night.

The broadcast began in the middleweight division as Geoff Snelling took on Piotr Ptanski.

Ptanski began the action with an early take down, delivering a few shots to the ribs while Snelling looked for submission opportunities.

And that was all we saw of this fight. Technical problems meant that the screen pixilated and the signal was lost for the next few minutes. The next thing we saw was a happy looking Ptanski at the end of an interview, so I’m guessing he won.

It was up to light heavyweight for the next fight as Christopher Malcolm took on Chad Brown.

Two guys looking to make inroads early in their careers put on a very entertaining battle.

Brown began the first with a Superman punch attempt, only to find himself on the end of a Malcolm take down.

From there we saw some solid back and forth action, with Brown gaining the upper hand as the round came to an end.

Brown secured the win early in the second. After beginning with another Superman punch he connected with a short right hand, with Malcolm dropping like a sack of spuds as Brown took the knockout win.

The first title fight followed as Alexandre Izidro faced Tim Radcliffe for the vacant Lightweight title.

This was a very intriguing battle early on. There was an extensive feeling out period lasting into the final minute of the first round.

The action continued in this way through the second, with only a big slam from Izidro standing out.

When the third started Radcliffe took control, knocking Izidro down with a big left and sealing the deal with an anaconda choke.

More technical problems followed, but thankfully no fight action went unseen, so it was on to the next fight as Kevin Jennings faced Dawid Farycki in the bantamweight division.

This semi-pro bout saw Farycki score with the early take down into side control. He then quickly transitioned into position to he could apply a reverse triangle for the submission win.

More light heavyweight action followed as Neil Bittong went up against Robert Kreceski.

I really enjoyed this one. The first round was filled with excellent back and forth action, with plenty of transitions on the ground and some nice striking exchanges.

The pace slowed a little in the second as Kreceski took control on the ground, and in the final minute he tired Bittong up, taking the TKO win with a succession of unanswered blows to the head.

The main event saw Henrique Santana taking on Danny Mitchell for the vacant Welterweight title.

Having been told by our announcers that this fight probably wouldn’t go to the ground early Santana promptly scored with the take down to counter Mitchell’s early jabs.

For the next two rounds Santana put in a solid and workmanlike performance, and in the dying seconds of each of those rounds he took Mitchell’s back, looking for the rear naked choke.

Having had a point deducted for an illegal up kick in the second Mitchell upped his game in the third, taking control from his back as Santana visibly tired. But it was too little too late, and as the fight ended Mitchell commented on how he would have gone further if the fight had been a five rounder.

So it was down to the judges to decide the outcome, all three giving the fight and the title to Santana.

In conclusion – despite the technical difficulties the WFC’s debut show was a pretty enjoyable affair.

I really enjoyed the fights I saw, with the Santana/Mitchell the highlight of the show for me.

Production-wise it was okay, nothing overly flashy and the sort of standard you’d expect from a British MMA company. However, I’m not sure about the font they use for the logo. It’s too similar to the UFC’s, and in the long term they could come across as a poor man’s UFC when they should be trying to establish their own unique identity.

But apart from that somewhat minor grip I’m giving WFC the thumbs up. Let’s hope they can keep their momentum going in the lead up to future shows.

The second of my British MMA double bill sees us going back to Wembley Arena in London this past Saturday as Murilo “Ninja” Rua challenged Tom “Kong” Watson for the Middleweight title at BAMMA 6, shown live on Syfy here in Britain.

The broadcast began with action from the middleweight division as Matt Ewin faced Ivan Salaverry.

Salaverry took this fight at two week’s notice after a three year absence from the fight game, and he certainly looked like a man who’d been out of it for a few years.

Ewin, one year old than Salaverry at 41, looked in great form as he stalked his man around the cage, connecting with a series of crisp blows.

Ewin fought the perfect fight, taking his time as Salaverry looked to get rid of the rust.

The only real ground action came in the third when Ewin took the take down. They didn’t stay there for long though, and although Salaverry upped his game a little towards the end of the fight it wasn’t enough as all three judges scored in favour of Ewin.

The middleweight action continued as John Phillips took on Frank Trigg.

Trigg was looking to make a big statement after being cut by the UFC last year, and make that statement he did, scoring with the early take down and going for the ground and pound immediately.

It was a brutal performance from Trigg as he quickly opened up three deep cuts on Phillips’ head. The red stuff was soon flowing into Phillips’ eyes, so the referee stepped in, checked with the doctor, and called the fight off, giving Trigg the TKO win.

The main event saw Murilo Rua challenging Tom Watson for the Middleweight title.

This proved to be a tremendous fight. As soon as the action began Watson went to work, rolling off a series of combinations and devastating kicks to Rua’s lead leg.

It was brutal watching Kong going to work like this. Rua scored with only one take down but didn’t have much time to go to work.

The end came in the third round. Rua’s left knee and face were swelling up badly, and as a flurry sent Rua crashing to the mat his corner threw in the towel as the referee stopped the fight, both coming to the same conclusion at the same time, giving Watson the tremendous TKO win.

Filler material rounded out the show as Che Mills faced Marcio Cesar in the welterweight division.

This one featured some nice grappling from both men, first from Mills and then from Cesar.

The Brazilian looked the stronger when on the ground, but when Mills re-established control a sustained period of ground and pound saw the referee stepping in to give Mills the TKO win.

In conclusion – another strong and very enjoyable show from the BAMMA crew here, with four very good fights show, topped off nicely by the excellent main event.

Tom Watson’s demolition job was certainly the highlight of the night and must certainly put the Kong man up with the likes of Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy as Britain’s top MMA fighters.

So in all BAMMA 6 gets the big thumbs up from me.

The first of a British MMA double bill sees us going back to last weekend and The Troxy in London as we take a look at the latest Ultimate Challenge MMA show, Fists of Fire, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the middleweight division as David Zetolofsky faced Karl Lawrence.

Lawrence began by testing the waters with a few strike, Zetolofsky responding with a couple of take downs.

However, he didn’t stay in top position too long as Lawrence soon reversed. Zetolofsky went for an arm bar, but Lawrence survived, taking Zetolofsky’s back seconds later and getting the win with a knockout.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Deivida Banaitis took on Ben Smith.

Smith was looking to get back to winning ways after losing the title to Oli Thompson. Things didn’t go his way though.

Banaitis came forward with the heavy leather early on. An inadvertent low blow stopped his progress for a few seconds before an uppercut sent Smith down.

Banaitis then unleashed with the ground and pound from behind. Smith tried to cover up, but when things got too much he tapped out, giving Banaitis the stoppage win.

The first championship fight saw Nathan Beer challenging Dave Lee for the Featherweight title.

The first fight on the broadcast to make it out of the first round was an intriguing three rounder in which both fighters gave their all.

Beer did a good job early on the ground, although Lee managed to neutralize him at times. Beer upped his game from the second round onwards, particularly in the striking department.

Both men look exhausted at the start of the third, but that didn’t stop them from unloading with the big blows.

But in the end neither man could get the job done, so the judges came into play as all three scored in favour of Beer, giving him the big title win.

It was back up to heavyweight for the next fight as Tomasz Czerwinski went up against Amokrane Sabet.

No fancy dan stuff in this one. These two began swinging for the fences from the start. It was fought at a frantic pace to begin with, but it was obvious that the big unit that was Czerwinski wouldn’t be able to keep up that pace for long.

Indeed, after just two minutes Czerwinski was gassed, and actually stopped a couple of times to take in deep breaths.

But just as Sabet looked like he was going in for the kill Czerwinski connected with a big right that sent Sabet crashing. He was completely out of it as the referee stepped in to give Czerwinski the knockout win.

The main event saw Jamaine Facey challenging John Maguire for the Welterweight title.

The best was saved for last with this one. Maguire put in a great performance on the ground, although Facey didn’t make things easy for him.

The action went to the ground quickly, only for Facey to tie Maguire up with a couple of over hooks. It was a sound defensive tactic. He also put on an acrobatic display of sorts, flipping out from under Maguire while the champion was on the offensive.

It was in the second round where Maguire took control, taking the mount and going for the ground and pound a couple of times before locking in a kimura to get the hard fought title retaining win.

In conclusion – UCMMA’s 20th outing proved to be a very enjoyable show.

Every fight shown delivered, and I even found myself enjoying the wild brawl between Sabet and Czerwinski. Nothing could match the main event though.

So in all another good show from the UCMMA crew, and a big thumbs up from me.

One word for head honcho Dave O’Donnell, and his singing performance at the beginning of the show. Don’t give up the day job mate!

As the Extreme Sports channel continues with their regular rotation of old World Extreme Cagefighting shows we’re now going back to December 2008 as Manny Tapia challenged Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title at WEC 37.

The broadcast began with bantamweight action as Joseph Benavidez faced Danny Martinez.

An encounter between two debuting fighters proved to be an intriguing if unspectacular three rounder. Both guys put on a good display of striking, although as the fight went on Benavidez took control with his jab/hook tactics.

Benavidez may have been in control in the third but as the fight came to an end Martinez sprang to live with a flurry of blows.

All three judges scored in favour of Benavidez.

The bantamweight action continued as Brian Bowles faced Will Ribeiro.

Bowles put in a great performance here. His striking was crisp and his ground work was good, especially in the third round when he locked in a guillotine choke that Ribeiro barely escaped from.

The Brazilian had his moments, but these didn’t happen that often, and when he went for a take down in the third Bowles countered with a guillotine. Once again Ribeiro tried to fight it, but it wasn’t long before he tapped out to give Bowles the submission win.

Then it was up to featherweight and two more debuting fighters as Wagnney Fabiano took on Akitoshi Tamura.

If you ever want to see a good example of effective ground fighting then give this one a look.

It went to the ground early, and while Fabiano put on a great offensive display Tamura was up to the task with some sound defensive work.

However, the Japanese star just couldn’t get much offence going off his back, with Fabiano escaping from his guillotine attempt by wall walking to relieve the pressure.

The end came towards the end of the third round as Fabiano locked in an arm triangle for the submission win.

The main event saw Manny Tapia challenging Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title.

Torres came into this fight with a huge reach advantage, and he used it to good effect, keeping Tapia at bay with his stinging jabs.

Tapia got in a few good body shots, but as the fight entered the second round Torres took control.

A big right rocked Tapia and sent him to the ground. Another big right sent Tapia down for the second time, with Torres following him down for some ground and pound. It wasn’t long before the referee had seen enough as he stopped the fight to give Torres the  title retaining TKO win.

In conclusion – another good show from the UFC’s little brother. Although it wasn’t packed with spectacular action the majority of the fighting was sound, with the performance of Miguel Torres the highlight of the night for me.

So in all a good show, and once again I’ll say that if you live in Britain and haven’t seen this show yet don’t worry. Just keep an eye on the Extreme Sports channel. I’m sure it will be on again.

mIt featured the second Superfight, the debut of the pit fighter, the introduction of new rules, and a controversial semi-final as the Ultimate Fighting Championship presented their sixth show, Clash of the Titans, in July 1995.

The show began with the tournament quarter-finals, beginning with pit fighter Tank Abbott taking on Hawaiian bone breaker John Matua.

This was a wild and quick affair. Abbott caught Matua with some lunging blows as Matua staggered around like a baby learning to walk until he fell to the ground. Abbott got in another punch before referee “Big” John McCarthy stepped in to give Abbott the knockout win after just 18 seconds.

Next up was tae kwon do fighter Cal Worsham against trap fighter Paul Varelans.

These two came out swinging, with Worsham wobbling his bigger opponent. But Varelans worked his way back, and a left elbow to the back of the head sent Worsham crashing, with the referee stopping the fight as Varelans took the knockout win.

Then it was on to kenpo karate fighter Rudyard Moncayo against kickboxer and former tournament finalist Pat Smith.

Smith ran across the cage at the start, knocking Moncayo down with a front kick. He then showed how much he’d improved in the grapping game, going for a standing guillotine before getting the take down, taking Moncayo’s back and synching in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

The final-quarter final saw wrestler and UFC finalist Dave Beneteau taking on sambo expert Oleg Taktarov.

A fast paced fight saw Beneteau score with the early take down. But the Russian quickly got his feet, and after Beneteau went for some strikes Taktarov got a take down of his own, locking8 in a guillotine for the impressive submission win.

The semi-finals began with Tank Abbott taking on Paul Varelans.

Abbott put in another big punching display here, taking the big man down and unloading with the ground and pound.

At one point Abbott grabbed the cage as he kneed Varelans in the face, smiling to the crowd as he went.

With his left knee on Varelans’ face Abbott connected with a series of lefts. It wasn’t long before the referee intervened to give Abbott the TKO win.

The second semi-final was a controversial affair as Oleg Taktarov faced muay thai boxer Anthony Macias, who had replaced the injured Pat Smith.

Both fighters were managed by a guy called Buddy Alvin, who was also the manager of the other alternate, Guy Mezger. When Smith pulled out there was a slight delay. The story goes that neither Mezger or Macias wanted to fight their training partner, until Macias finally stepped up to the plate, with Alvin taking his place in Taktarov’s corner.

When the fight began Macias ran straight into a Taktarov guillotine, tapping out within seconds. The look on the Russian’s face afterwards said everything as the crowd and the commentators voice their displeasure. It was pretty obvious that Macias had taken a dive, and because of this it would prove to be his final UFC appearance.

After a brief interview with UFC 7 entrant Marco Ruas it was on to the bout for the Superfight title as Ken Shamrock faced Dan Severn.

This was a great display of grappling. Both men jockeyed for position at the start, and a few moments later Severn escaped from Shamrock’s initial guillotine attempt.

Seconds later Shamrock outwrestled Severn and went for the guillotine again. It wasn’t long before the Beast tapped out, giving Shamrock the win and the Superfight Championship.

Then it was on to the tournament final between Tank Abbott and Oleg Taktarov.

This was by far the longest fight on the show. Abbott began with his usual brawling but he soon began to visibly tire.

The fight soon went to the ground, with Abbott taking Taktarov’s guard, accessional going for a few blows while the Russian looked for an arm bar a couple of times.

It was basically a war of attrition, very much in the Royce Gracie style, with the referee eventually exercising his new authority and standing the fighters up.

Abbott managed to connect with a big left against the cage before Taktarov came back with a standing guillotine. Abbott slumped to the ground as Taktarov took his back, eventually securing a rear naked choke for the tournament winning submission victory.

In conclusion – UFC 6 turned out to be a pretty good show. Okay, the early fights looked little more than a car part brawl, and the whole Macias affair left a nasty taste in the mouth, but on the whole the show delivered.

As for the rule changes they were really what the UFC needed. Giving the referee the power to stand fighters up due to inactivity certainly made the final a more enjoyable affair.

So in all UFC 6 gets the thumbs up as another interesting slice of MMA history, and one you should check out if you get the opportunity.

As British MMA is going to feature heavily in this column in the next week what better way to start than with a retro review?

So let’s go back in time to Portsmouth, July 27th, 2003 and the fourth Cage Warriors show, entitled UK versus France.

We begin with Rob Mitchell against Glen Appleby.

This one got off to a fast start, with Appleby countering Mitchell’s initial onslaught with a take down.

However, it wasn’t long before Mitchell took control, going for a couple of submission attempts as well as unleashing with the ground and pound.

Appleby looked out of it at the end of the round, and when he didn’t come out of his corner at the start of the second Mitchell was given the stoppage win.

Then it was on to Graham Day against Gav Bradley.

Bradley began the fight by running out of his corner and getting the early takedown. But after Day managed to get to his feet it wasn’t long before he took control on the ground, keeping the pressure on with strikes before taking the submission win with a guillotine.

The next encounter, described as a “UK lightweight Superfight” saw Dave Elliot taking on Andy Butlin.

A quick affair saw Butlin start with a couple of kicks before the fight went to the ground, but as Butlin tried to posture up Elliot locked in an arm bar for the submission win.

Up next were Ricky Moore, who only took the fight that morning, against Guillaume Monono in the first of the UK versus France fights.

A very intriguing battle saw Monono getting the early take down. Moore soon reversed the positions and got in some good shots, but it wasn’t long before Monono regained control.

The Frenchman went for a triangle choke, but when Moore tried to slam his way out it only succeeded in helping Monono tighten his grip, with Moore tapping out seconds later.

The international action continued as Andy Cooper faced Mohamed Khacha.

The first fight to actually make it into the second round saw Khacha dominate after he got the quick take down, swelling Cooper’s right eye as he went to work with the ground and pound.

But the roles were soon reversed in the second round. Khacha tried to carry on where he’d left off until Copper took control, taking Khacha’s back, flattening him out and synching in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

Then we saw another one who took that fight that morning, Andy Lagden, against Laurent Bonnafoux.

Like others before him Bonnafoux took the early take down, controlling the fight until Lagden was able to reverse into side control.

Seconds later both men returned to their feet, and when Lagden connected with a knee to the head in the clinch Bonnafoux went down like a sack of spuds, Lagden getting the impressive knockout win.

None other than future UFC and Strikeforce star Paul Daley was next, taking on Florentin Amorim in only the Brit’s second professional outing.

Daley’s weak ground game has been exposed a few times over the years, and when he slipped while trying to deliver a kick Amorim was all over him, quickly taking Daley’s back.

Daley tried to defend, but it wasn’t long before Amorim synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

Next up was Robbie Olivier, going up against Emmanuel Fernandez.

This final UK/France battle saw Fernandez putting on a good display on the ground. Olivier did a good job of defending at first before taking the guard himself.

However, Fernandez continued to fight as he locked in a triangle choke for the submission win.

Then it was on to the title fights, beginning with Dave McLaughlin challenging Paul McVeigh for the Under 65 kilo title.

A dominant performance from McVeigh saw him begin with a couple of strikes that opened up a cut above McLaughlin’s right eye.

McVeigh then took the fight to the ground, and although McLaughlin got to his feet McVeigh soon took him back down, going to work with the ground and pound. Realising that there was nothing he could do against this onslaught McLaughlin tapped to give McVeigh the impressive win.

Then Paul Sutherland faced Ozzy Haluk for the vacant Lightweight title.

The second fight to go into the second round saw Sutherland take control early on when he took the fight to the ground, and although he put in some good work Haluk did a good job of defending himself.

Sutherland took his game up a notch in the second, again take the fight down and going for the ground and pound. Haluk just couldn’t handle Sutherland’s attack and wisely tapped out, giving Sutherland the title win.

The third title fight saw Adrian Degorski challenging Paul Jenkins for the Welterweight title.

This fight began with a quick exchange before Degorski took the fight to the ground, briefly taking Jenkins’ back before they returned to their feet.

A brief clinch against the cage followed before another exchange of blows, with the Pole dropping the champion with a big right. Degorski followed him down, with the referee stepping in to stop the fight, giving Degorski the title winning TKO win.

The final title fight saw Ross Pettifer taking on Matt Ewing for the vacant Middleweight title.

This was a great back and forth encounter. After jockeying for position in a clinch against the cage the fight went to the ground as Pettifer took control, almost synching in an arm bar.

The frantic action continued into the second, with both fighters going for guillotines until Ewing took control after sweeping Pettifer and taking the guard. Seconds later Ewing took his back, locking in a neck crank for the great submission win.

In conclusion – even though I’ve got quite a few of their shows from their days on The Wrestling Channel it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen any Cage Warriors action.

As this show took place almost eight years ago it was interesting to see how much British MMA has progressed since then. The commentators mentioned that British fighters were having a hard time getting into the UFC, something which is a lot easier these days given the UFC’s global appeal.

All of the fights shown here were pretty decent, and it was good to see Paul Daley in only his second professional fight. I kept wondering though if he’ll ever overcome his weakness in the ground game.

It was also interesting to see tabloid darling Alex Reid serve as referee for some of the earlier fights. Maybe now he’s away from the clutches of Katie Price and the newspapers aren’t fixated on his cross dressing fetish he’ll start concentrating on his fighting career again.

So in all the fourth Cage Warriors show gets the thumbs up, not just for the fights but for this interesting lesson in the development of British MMA.

Before you ask, Cage Warriors are still going strong, and for information on their upcoming shows visit www.cagewarriors.com.

And don’t forget to check out my site at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

It was delayed by a hurricane for two months, and further tarnished when a defending champion failed to make weight. It’s also be shown numerous times on Britain’s Extreme Sports channel since it’s debut last February. The show in question is WEC 36: Faber versus Brown, and it’s the first WEC show I’ve ever reviewed.

The broadcast began in the middleweight division as Jake Rosholt faced Nissen Osterneck.

This was another example of a great striker versus grappler battle. Osterneck came forward early with some combinations, and his strikes almost got him the win in the second round.

The only problem was that whenever he got the upper hand Rosholt took him down and took the upper hand himself with some nice grapping, and it was this, allied with some effective ground and pound that earned Rosholt the TKO win in the second round.

It was down to featherweight for the next fight as Jens Pulver went up against Leonard Garcia.

A part of Little Evil’s downward spiral, Pulver connected with a big left that staggered Garcia early on, but within a minute Garcia was unloading with the heavy leather. Pulver slumped to the ground against the cage, and the referee quickly stepped in to give Garcia the TKO win.

Then it was back up to middleweight as David Avellan took on Aaron Simpson.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair of the show. Just  seconds into the fight Simpson connected with an overhand right. Avellan quickly went down, with the referee stopping the fight after just 18 seconds to give Simpson the knockout win.

The next fight was also meant to be in the middleweight division, with Paulo Filho defending his title against Chael Sonnen. But when Filho did the unforgivable and failed to make the weight it was turned into a three round catchweight affair.

The story of this fight was simple. Filho wanted to go to the ground, but Sonnen was having none of it, controlling the fight with his boxing and making Filho get back to his feet after the champion invited him down.

It didn’t make for an exciting fight, and most of the time Filho seemed to treat it like a sparring session, so it wasn’t really surprising when the crowd broke out the bull***t chant.

No surprise with the judges decision as all three gave every round to Sonnen.

The main event saw Mike Brown challenging Urijah Faber for the Featherweight title.

An exciting fight saw Faber begin with a right/left combination, but just when it looked like the champion was about to up his game Brown connected with a right the sent Faber down.

Brown followed him down to the ground, and with Faber offering nothing in response to the onslaught the referee stopped the fight, giving Brown what was considered the upset win.

In conclusion – well, it took a while for the UFC’s little brother to make it to British television, and it was a little disappointing that it happened after the company ceased to be, but it’s nice to finally see what the WEC was all about.

My first impressions were pretty good. WEC 36 was an enjoyable show, and although the Filho/Sonnen fight was disappointing, the other four made up for that.

So does this show get the thumbs up? Most definitely, and I’m looking forward to seeing another WEC show in the near future.

If you live in Britain don’t worry if you haven’t seen this show yet. At the moment Extreme Sports seem to be showing this one every two weeks, so you haven’t missed a thing.

Although I do hope they start showing new WEC shows soon!

If you mentioned the name of Henry Cooper to anyone, more likely than not they’d reply with the words “our ‘Enry”.

Henry Cooper was regarded as a true gentleman of boxing. A former British, Commonwealth and European Heavyweight Champion Cooper was Britain’s best known heavyweight. This despite the fact that he only had one shot at the World title.

Born on May 3rd, 1934 along with his twin brother George, Cooper was a left handed fighter who, unlike other left handers, fought in an orthodox stance. After a successful amateur career which saw him win the ABA title and compete in the 1952 Olympics Cooper turned professional.

During a storied career he fought the likes of Ingamar Johannsen, Zora Folley, Brian London and Floyd Patterson. His most famous fights however were against none other than Muhammad Ali.

It was at Wembley Stadium in London in 1963 that Cooper first fought a young Cassius Clay. In the fourth round Cooper unleashed his trademark punch, “‘Enry’s Hammer”, a left hook that sent Clay crashing down to the canvas.

Legend has it that Clay’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, used a few tricks to buy his man some recovery time, such as cutting his gloves so he’d need a replacement. When the fifth round eventually began Clay hit Cooper with a hard right that opened up a nasty cut under his eye, and even though Cooper was ahead on points the referee stopped the fight, giving the TKO win to Clay.
Three years later Cooper challenged the now-Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight title at Arsenal’s Highbury stadium. Ali was now more weary of Cooper’s skills, although Cooper once again cut up badly as Ali was given another TKO win. Again, Cooper was ahead on points.

After losing to Floyd Patterson in his next fight Cooper went undefeated until March 1971, where he defended his British, European and Commonwealth titles against the young up-and-comer Joe Bugner. Bugner defeated Cooper on points, winning all three titles and ending Cooper’s career. Cooper was so beloved by the British public that they never took to Bugner afterwards, despite the fact that he twice challenged Muhammad Ali for the World title in the 70’s.

Along with his in-ring achievements, Cooper is one of only three people to have been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in 1967 and 1970. He was awarded an OBE in 1969, and knighted in 2000. He kept a high public profile after his retirement, most notably for his appearances in Brut aftershave commercials.

Cooper passed away this past Sunday at the age of 76.

Sir Henry Cooper will always be regarded as one of Britain’s greatest ever sportsmen. He was always held in high regard not just by the fans but by his peers. In all my years of watching and reading about boxing I’ve never heard or seen a bad word about him. His death is a great loss to the sport he loved and served so well.

Rest in peace Sir ‘Enry.

It was the battle of the unbeaten streaks as Jake Shields challenged Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title in the main event of UFC 129, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began with the preliminaries, starting with Sean Pierson against Jake Ellenberger in the welterweight division.

Ellenberger tested the waters early with some strikes, and after Pierson escaped from a take down Ellenberger soon opened up a cut above his man’s right eye.

Seconds later and it was all over, another left sending the Canadian crashing to the mat. Pierson was out before he hit the ground as Ellenberger took the impressive knockout win.

It was down to bantamweight for the next fight as Ivan Menjivar faced Charlie Valencia.

Another quick fight began with a few kicks before both men jockeyed for position in a clinch. Menjivar then connected with a left elbow to Valencia’s nose. The cracking sound was sickening, and moments later the referee stepped in to give Menjivar the TKO win.

Then it was back up to welterweight as Nate Diaz faced Rory MacDonald.

This proved to be a very intriguing three rounder. For the first two periods the fight looked pretty even. Both men had their moments but neither could take overall control.

That was until the third round. MacDonald really upped his game, taking the fight to Diaz and taking him down with three suplexes, adding some crisp strikes and nice grappling to the equation.

All three judges gave the fight to MacDonald, and rightfully so. But I’m left to wonder what happened to the brash and cocky nature the Diaz boys normally display.

Middleweight action followed as Jason MacDonald went up against Ryan Jensen.

This fight went to the ground straight away, with Jensen going for an early guillotine. MacDonald soon escaped and put on a great display of grappling, locking in a triangle choke for the submission win.

The main show began in the lightweight division as Mark Bocek took on Ben Henderson.

This was the first time I’d seen Henderson in action, and he put inv a pretty good performance, especially with his striking.

Bocek had a few good moments, especially on the ground in the second, going for an anaconda choke before switching to a guillotine attempt.

But it wasn’t enough as all three judges gave the fight to Henderson. You know, I think I’m going to have to dig out those old WEC shows I recorded from Extreme Sports so I can take another look at this Henderson guy.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division as Vladimir Matyushenko took on Jason Brilz.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair of the show. Matyushenko came forward early, a left/right combination sending Brilz down. Matyushenko followed him down for a few more blows before the referee wisely stepped in to give Vladimir the knockout win after just 20 seconds.

Featherweight action in the form of Yves Jabouin against Pablo Garza followed.

Garza looked to use his size advantage early, but it wasn’t long before Jabouin began to hack away with leg kicks, knocking Garza down several times.

But then, from out of nowhere, Garza came back with a flying4 triangle. Jabouin tried to fight it for as long as he could but eventually it was too much as he tapped out to give Garza the great submission win.

More light heavyweight action followed, the battle of the former champions as Randy Couture faced Lyoto Machida.

I think you know who I wanted to win this one. Sadly it didn’t happen. Couture tried to impose his will on the fight, but Machida’s superior striking meant that he couldn’t get a clinch going. Machida kept the momentum going, controlling the remainder of the round.

The end came in the second round. Machida feigned a left but connected with a jumping right kick that sent Couture down. And that was it, Machida had the knockout win, with Couture immediately announcing his retirement, bringing an end to a glittering career.

After another showing of the Menjivar/Valencia fight it was on to the first title fight of the evening as Mark Hominick challenged Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title.

Aldo was another of those guys I’d heard a lot about but never seen before, and everything I’d heard was true.

What we had here were two great performance as Hominick’s display of kickboxing was top notch as he had Aldo on the defensive on more than one occasion.

Aldo put in some good ground work, and it was his ground and pound in the forth that swelled Hominick’s forehead like a balloon.

But despite the swelling and possible problems with his eyes Hominick took it to the champion in the final round, taking the fight down and unleashing with the ground and pound.

But it was too little too late for the hometown challenger, with all three judges scoring in favour of Aldo.

The main event saw Jake Shields challenging Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title.

Once again GSP proved that he is just so far above everyone else in the division.

For the majority of the fight GSP was able to beat Shields in the striking game, and whenever Shields went for a take down the champion easily defended.

However, a jab to GSP’s left eye affected his vision, and more jabs from Shields opened up a cut underneath, so by the time the fifth round started GSP couldn’t see out of that eye. But despite this handicap he did enough to negate Shields once again.

The judges’ decision, not surprisingly, went to GSP, another worthy win for an outstanding champion.

And then, because the show was over-running by 20 minutes, ESPN called it a day, cutting out the remaining filler material.

In conclusion – in front of 55,000 rabid fans (and that’s a term I’ve used to describe Canadians before), the UFC’s biggest show ever certainly delivered.

From the opening match in the preliminaries right up to the main event we were treated to some great performances from the likes of Aldo and Henderson. But the event was also tinged with sadness as we saw Randy Couture fight for the last time.

As for Georges St-Pierre, once again I’m left to wonder who will be able to beat this man. I have a feeling that answer could lie in the middleweight division.

So in all UFC 129 gets the thumbs up from this particular writer, although ESPN gets the thumbs down for the way they abruptly ended their coverage. I guess they couldn’t do without showing the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter for the umpteenth time, could they?

With thanks to big brother Mark for lending me his copy after my Sky box decided to turn itself off two hours into the show. Check out his blog at http://playingtoanaudienceof.blogspot.com/.