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It’s time to step into the world of British mixed martial arts once again as we take a look at the 24th Ultimate Challenge show, Hands of War, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The broadcast began with action from the welterweight division as Andy Cona went up against Luke Newman.

This was a dominating performance from Newman. He took control as soon as the fight went to the ground, taking the mount and working into position so he could take Cona’s back and apply a rear naked choke for the very impressive submission win.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Tom Maguire faced Joe Holder.

We saw an excellent display of ground fighting from Maguire in this one. As soon as the fight went down he dominated. Holder was on the defensive throughout as Maguire went to work, going for a couple of rear naked chokes, one of which Holder looked lucky to survive, before finally getting the submission in the second round with a kimura.

It was back to welterweight for the next fight as Lee Doski took on Bola Omoyele.

After two excellent ground displays it was the striking game that saw the end of this one. After Doski tried for a take down we saw a clinch up against the cage. From there Omoyele connected with a knee to the temple. Doski went down, and the referee quickly stepped in to give Omoyele the TKO win.

More lightweight action followed as Dominic Plumb faced Michael Pastou.

The only fight on the broadcast to last the three round limit was an intriguing affair. Pastou dominated the first two rounds with some excellent ground work, opening up a cut under Plumb’s left eye with his impressive ground and pound. Plumb just didn’t seem to have an answer to his attack.

Until the second round that was when it was Plumb’s turn to score with the early take down. However he didn’t have things all his own way as Pastou put in some great work off his back, going for a couple of kimura attempts before getting to his feet and finishing the fight with a clinch against the cage.

No surprise with the judge’s decision in the end as Pastou earned the unanimous decision.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Tomasz Czerwinski went up against Ian Hawkins.

I wasn’t expecting a technical classic here. This was a brawl, plain and simple, with big Czerwinski unloading with a barrage of haymakers that soon had Hawkins on the back foot.

Hawkins refused to go down though as the big man continued his onslaught, and he looked out on his feet as the referee saved him from further punishment to give Czerwinski the TKO win.

The main event saw Nick Chapman challenging Jimi Manuwa for the Light Heavyweight title.

Chapman went for the early take down here, but after Manuwa defended they engaged in a clinch up against the cage.

It wasn’t long before Manuwa got into a position where he could deliver a series of left knees to Chapman, moving from head to body to leg, opening up a big cut on Chapman’s forehead, with the referee stepping in as the blood poured down the challenger’s face, giving Manuwa the title retaining TKO win.

In conclusion – the 24th show under the Ultimate Challenge proved to be a highly entertaining affair that gave us great displays of the two main aspects of MMA, with some excellent ground work and nice striking. It was another example of British mixed martial arts at it’s finest, and it’s for these reasons that Dave O’Donnell and his crew are getting the big thumbs up from this particular writer.

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It’s time to look into the British MMA scene once again, and having tested the waters of the pay-per-view market Ultimate Challenge MMA returned to their regular television home with their latest show, Go 4 It!, shown on Sky Sports this past Wednesday evening .

The broadcast began with middleweight action as Bret Bassett faced Ben Craggy.

This was a nice way to start the show. Craggy was hoping to keep the fight upright, but after Bassett caught one of his kicks it was downhill all the way.

Bassett soon scored with an impressive take down and dominated on the ground in the first round before taking his good form into the second where he went for a variety of leg submissions before Craggy managed to work his way out and into Bassett’s guard.

It wasn’t long before Bassett was back into control and going for an arm bar. Craggy tried to fight the hold but was soon verbally tapping, giving Bassett the impressive submission win.

Then it on to a catchweight fight as Davin Byfield took on Rae Edgar.

Edgar, who was making his professional debut, soon found out what the game was all about. After Byfield caught his kick he was pushed back against the cage. Byfield then applied a standing arm triangle, quickly taking it to the ground.

However, his positions weren’t quite right, and Edgar eventually managed to escape. But he soon began to look like a fish out of water as Byfield went to work, dominating on the ground and getting the submission win with a rear naked choke. Good work from Byfield, but Edgar looked completely out of his depth.

Action from the welterweight division followed as Ross Pointon took on Jamaine Facey.

This was a strange one. The fight began with both men eyeing each other up for the first minute or so before Pointon scored with the takedown.

Facey managed to reverse the positions though, and after a brief ground and pound flurry the fighters got back to their feet where Facey delivered some more heavy blows.

But instead of going in for the kill Facey held back, and once again the fighters began to eye each other up for a minute or so, and I couldn’t help but think that if Facey had kept up his attack he’d have had the win in the bag.

Then Facey suddenly exploded into action with a big knee that rocked Pointon. He followed this up with some ground and pound before the referee stepped in to give Facey the TKO win.

The Featherweight title was on the line next as challenger Cory Tait went up against champion Nathan Beer.

This was an intriguing and rather scrappy battle. Beer scored with the early takedown and looked to dominate on the ground, but Tait found some novel ways of escaping.

The striking battle looked a little scrappy at times, but by the time the second round started Beer scored with another takedown, only for Tait to escape again.

Moments later Tait locked in a standing guillotine against the cage, and although he managed to escape he looked out of it. Tait took control with a series of kicks and punches, and with Beer looking out on his feet, and with me wondering why the referee hadn’t stepped in, Tait connected with a spinning back fist that sent the champion crashing to the mat, with the referee stepping in to give Tait the title winning KO win.

The title action continued with Darren Towler facing Ben Smith for the vacant Heavyweight title.

Towler came forward early on, unloading with the heavy leather. Smith tried to counter with a takedown but it wasn’t long before Towler was unloading with the heavy stuff once again, connecting with a knee to the head that opened up a nasty cut on Smith’s forehead.

The referee immediately stopped the fight and called in the doctor, and the fight was called seconds later, giving Towler the title win.

The main event saw Peter Irving challenging John Maguire for the Welterweight title.

The only fight on the broadcast to go the three round distance looked to be an interesting back and forth affair. We saw some good striking from both men and some nice ground work as well, with Maguire going for a kimura in the final minute, and Irving looking completely chilled out in the hold as the fight came to an end.

So with the fight going the distance the judges came into play, with all three giving the fight to Maguire.

In conclusion – on the day the British mainstream press were beginning their latest uninformed assault on the world of mixed martial arts I would like to say that UCMMA came along with another quality show.

That’s what I’d like to say. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good performances shown here, but we television fans didn’t get to see everything.

Little cuts to the footage were made here and there so five minute rounds were drastically shortened, and the main event between Maguire and Irving was so clipped it was hard to follow the action, spoiling what looked like a tremendous fight.

Now I know that UCMMA had to do this because of the time limitations, but surely some of the non-title fights could have been left off the show.

Perhaps in future they could try and get either a longer time slot or a live broadcast on Sky Sports. After all, it’s been a few years since Paul Daley swore on live post-watershed Saturday night television. Surely Sky Sports have forgiven them by now!

So in all I’m afraid that the 23rd show under Dave O’Donnell’s UCMMA banner (or is it Cage Rage again now?) gets the thumbs down. I so wanted to enjoy this. I really did.

Don’t forget to visit my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

It was an event built up on cheap heat and professional wrestling-style promos as the darling of the tabloid press Alex Reid took on advertisement actor Jason Barrett in the main event of Ultimate Challenge’s Warrior Creed, shown live this past Saturday night on the Primetime pay-per-view channel here in Britain.

The broadcast began with women’s bantamweight action as Anna Zucchelli faced Karen Ousey.

What we had here were two girls making their professional debuts, and given that both of them came from kickboxing backgrounds it was pretty obvious how this one was going to play out.

While both girls put on great striking displays in this back and forth encounter, but even though both fighters were technically sound there were no attempts to take the fight to the ground, and for many this was just too close to call.

So we basically had fifteen minutes of kickboxing action, with one judge scoring the fight even and the other two giving it to Ousey. As entertaining as this was you have to wonder what would happen if either of these two had been put in with a grappler.

Then it was on to Andy McEwan against Spencer Hewitt in the bantamweight division.

After a sound striking battle we were treated to a nice ground battle. McEwan began the fight by going for a standing guillotine, but Hewitt was easily able to escape.

Moments later Hewitt managed to take McEwan’s back, but try as he might he just couldn’t sink in the rear naked choke he was looking for as McEwan showed some sound defensive skills.

But with McEwan tiring in the second round Hewitt managed to reverse the positions on the ground, taking Hewitt’s back again seconds later, finally locking in the rear naked choke for the submission win.

Action from the light heavyweight division followed as Karl Lawrence faced Iain Martell.

This was the fight I was really looking forward to, mainly because Martell is a fellow Norfolk boy.

Martell came forward as soon as the fight began, unloading with a couple of shots before scoring with the early take down. From there he dominated the action, transitioning well and delivering the ground and pound at periodic intervals before taking Lawrence’s back and locking in the rear naked choke for the very impressive submission win. Well done to my felloe Na’folk boy!

Then it was on to UK1 kickboxing action as former Dean Amasinger faced Luke Sines for Super Middleweight Championship.

Amasinger, a late replacement for the injured Tom “Kong” Watson, did okay to start off with, but his progress was halted by an inadvertent low knee. When he’d recovered the action was fast a furious, but a left kick from Sines to Amasinger’s body doubled the former Ultimate Fighter contestant up, and even though he managed to be the count the referee called the fight, giving Sines the title winning TKO win.

The main event saw Alex Reid taking on Jason Barrett for the Super Middleweight title.

This one began with Barrett coming forward and throwing a few punches as Reid covered up. This was followed by a brief clinch against the cage before the action eventually went to the ground.

From there Reid took control, and it wasn’t long before Reid took the mount and pulled Barrett into position so he could apply a triangle choke for the submission win.

Well, that’s what happened, but as soon as the fight began things just didn’t seem right. All the punches and knees seemed pulled, and when Reid went for the triangle it seemed that Reid was almost pulling Barrett into position. In short this wasn’t fighting, this was a fix.

In conclusion – having presented his shows on several channels, most notably Sky Sports, over the past few years this was Dave O’Donnell’s first foray into a pay-per-view, and while it was a bold step it was also the wrong one.

The first four fights on this broadcast can’t be faulted. The action was sound and each of them delivered in varying ways.

The main event, on the other hand, was another matter.

The various filmed segments which saw such events as Barrett taunting Reid outside his gym and Barrett fighting Reid and his bodyguards outside a restaurant came right out of Vince McMahon’s playbook. It’s pretty obvious they were staged. The only problem was that they weren’t staged very well. Sure, this was a professional wrestling-style angle, but it was poorly executed.

As for the fight itself it was one of the worst things I’ve seen from UCMMA. It was obvious the fight was fixed. Reid and Barrett looked like two rookie professional wrestlers putting on an exhibition match for their trainer at a wrestling school, and believe me, I’ve seen quite a few of those over the years so I know what I’m taking about, and if you were to look on their Facebook page as well as various MMA news sites you’d see that I’m not the only one who thinks that this whole situation was rotten.

The move to pay-per-view was also a bad idea. Reid versus Barrett was not a pay-per-view quality match, not even in name value, and I’d be interested to know just how many buys UCMMA will get in the end after all of the repeat showings because for the prices they were charging for this you can get up three UFC shows with ESPN’s monthly subscription, as well as a ton of other sports including boxing, football, American football and baseball, not to mention the other free MMA shows you can get on various other channels.

So in all while I’m going to give the first four fights the thumbs up I’m giving everything else the thumbs down. Alex Reid, Jason Barrett and Dave O’Donnell may have taken British MMA into the mainstream with this fight but the mainstream may be laughing their backsides off with the fake nonsense they put on in the main event.

Don’t forget to visit my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

British MMA is on the agenda again as we take a look at the latest offering from Ultimate Challenge MMA, with two titles on the line at Stand Your Ground, shown this past Wednesday on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the welterweight division with Trevor Sukonater taking on Bola Omoyele.

Lots of feeling out at the beginning of this one, with the first action of note coming two minutes into the fight when Omoyele scored with the take down.

Omoyele took control from there, unleashing with the ground and pound. Sukonater went for an arm bar, but all this did was give Omoyele the chance to take side control, and after a series of unanswered blows Sukonater tapped to give Omoyele the TKO win.

The welterweight action continued with Ross Pointon facing Dean Amasinger.

As soon as Amasinger scored with the early take down it was obvious how this fight was going to pan out. For three rounds Amasinger dominated on the ground with his reversals and transitions. Pointon had a few good moments, but they weren’t enough to take control away from Amasinger.

Things got worse for Pointon when he earned a point deduction for continually grabbing the fence. But by then it didn’t matter as all three judges gave the fight to Amasinger.

After a segment which saw co-host Jason Barrett confronting tabloid darling Alex Reid (more on that later) it was on to the heavyweight division as Ian Hawkins took on Ben Smith.

Smith began his assault with an early take down, and from there the former champion unloaded with the heavy leather, taking periodic rests so he wouldn’t gas out, with the referee stepping in in the last minute of the round to give Smith the TKO win.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Dominic Plumb faced Michael Pastou.

A controversial fight saw an extensive feeling out period before Pastou went for a take down.

But when Plumb connected with a couple of 12-6 elbows the referee quickly stepped in. Pastou slumped to the ground, and seconds later the fight was called off as the referee disqualified Plumb, giving Pastou the win he didn’t really want.

The first title fight saw Denniston Sutherland challenging the ever youthful Mark Weir for the Middleweight title.

Weir tested the waters with a couple of kicks early on, but it wasn’t long before Sutherland’s combinations sent Weir down to the ground.

An inadvertent poke to Weir’s eye stopped the action for a few seconds, but Sutherland soon picked up where he’d left off with a big right hand that sent the Wizard crashing down again. Weir was out of it was Sutherland took the knockout win and the title.

The main event saw Mark Potter challenging Oli Thompson for the Heavyweight title.

Thompson put in a dominating performance in this one. The former Britain’s Strongest Man champion went for an early take down, and although an inadvertent low blow slowed his progress for a few seconds he soon went back to work with the ground and pound, opening up a small cut above Potter’s left eye and bloodying his nose.

Seconds later it was all over as Thompson synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion – another great advertisement for British mixed martial arts here, a nice night of fight action topped off with two explosive title fights, and another example of how a British MMA promotion doesn’t need to fly in overseas fighters to put on a good show.

However, the only downside was the Jason Barrett/Alex Reid segment, which saw a filmed segment involving Barrett confronting Reid outside his gym before they squared off in the cage just came across as a poor professional wrestling-style segment. Was this thing really needed to promote Reid’s possible return to action? This is MMA after all, and not WWE.

But apart from that particular moment the 21st Ultimate Challenge show gets the thumbs up from me. I just hope they stay away from the scripted confrontations in the future.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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!

British MMA was on the agenda as Ultimate Challenge presented their 19th show, Lights Out, shown this Wednesday on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The broadcast began with action from the welterweight division as Dyson Roberts faced Colin French.

This was an action packed encounter. Roberts rocked French early on with a nice combination. French tried to counter with take down attempts, but Roberts easily defended against these.

From there it developed into a great back and forth battle, with both men going for guillotines at the same time at one point.

After a couple of triangle attempts from French Roberts unleashed with the ground and pound, and as the first round neared it’s final minute French had had enough, verbally tapping to give Roberts the impressive win.

It was down to the lightweight division next as Joe Holder went up against Dejo Lema.

A lengthy feeling out period at the beginning of the fight ended when Holder went for a take down, which Lema managed to defend against for what seemed like an age.

Then the fight suddenly exploded into action when Lema began connecting with strikes. The fight quickly went to the ground where Holder went for a couple of heel hooks. Lema countered with some vicious strikes, while Holder continued with his submission attempts.

Eventually the onslaught was too much for Holder as he verbally tapped to Lema’s final assault.

Light heavyweight action followed as Chris Harman took on Ian Martell.

The experts expected this to be a stand up war, but they were pleasantly surprised when Martell scored with the early take down.

Martell dominated from there, controlling with the ground and pound. Harman tried to escape but Martell soon re-established control.

With Martell taking the mount he soon went back to work with the ground and pound, and when Harman was knocked out for a split second the referee wisely stepped in to stop the fight, giving Martell the highly impressive win.

The first title action of the night followed as Giorgio Andrews and James Lutman fought it out over the vacant Bantamweight title.

Andrews came forward early in this one, Lutman countering with an extended take down attempt against the cage.

Lutman eventually took Andrews’ back, with Andrews soon reversing the positions into the guard.

It wasn’t long before Andrews postured up, and a hard shot to Lutman’s eye was enough, the referee stopping the fight as Lutman grabbed his eye, giving Andrews the title clinching TKO win.

The first of two heavyweight fights followed as Ian Hawkins went up against Marcin Bartkiewicz.

These two behemoths began swinging as soon as the fight began, the brawling only stopping because of a clinch against the cage.

Bartkiewicz then began to unload with the heavy stuff, but try as he might Hawkins just wouldn’t go down.

Hawkins managed to get the take down towards the end of the first, but by then he was too tired to do anything.

Both fighters began the second round looking like they were moving around in slow motion, but when Bartkiewicz got the take down it was all over bar the shouting.

Hawkins just didn’t have any response to Bartkiewicz’s ground and pound, and it wasn’t surprising when the referee stepped in to give Bartkiewicz the TKO win.

The main event saw former strongman competitor Oli Thompson challenging Ben Smith for the heavyweight title.

Unlike the previous fight these two knew how to pace themselves, and it made for a much more enjoyable fight.

These two big guys took it to each other from the outset. Thompson looked great with his take downs, putting in some great work on the ground, particularly with his transitions.

The great action continued into the second round. Smith put in some more good work, although once again Thompson took control with his take downs, eventually taking Smith’s back and locking in the rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion – when I heard that a former World’s Strongest Man competitor was in the  main event I wondered if Dave O’Donnell was going back to his Cage Rage roots and the freak show main events. I also had visions of Mariusz Pudzianowski’s lumbering performance for Moosin MMA a while back.

But with Oli Thompson putting in a great effort to dethrone Ben Smith it once again proved that British MMA is getting stronger every day, and this show was the perfect example of that.

So once again UCMMA gets the big thumbs up from this particular writer. Nice work all round.

Although I do with they’d start releasing their full shows on DVD. Think of the money you could be earning Dave! You’d certainly be having it large!

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.

Just hours before Strikeforce and the UFC went head to head in America Britain’s own Ultimate Challenge presented their final show of the year, Kings of the Cage, shown this past Wednesday night on Sky Sports here in Britain.

The first fight of the broadcast saw John Kelly challenging Dave Lee for the Featherweight title.

A great performance from Lee saw him controlling the action as soon as they went to the ground. Lee soon worked into a position where he could take Kelly’s back. The challenger tried to escape but it wasn’t long before Lee locked in a rear naked choke. Kelly was unconscious before the referee stopped the fight. Impressive ground work from the champion here.

It was up to lightweight for the next encounter as Brad Wheeler faced Djo Lema.

An exciting battle saw Wheeler running forward as soon as the bell sounded, only to be met by Lema’s right hand. The Frenchman was relentless with his assault, opening up a nasty cut under Wheeler’s left eye.

But Wheeler survived, and as the fight progressed he began to work his way back on the ground. Lema tried to escape, but Wheeler was having none of it, soon reasserting control and getting the submission win with a leg triangle in the final minute of the second round, something I thought would never happen after Wheeler’s opening salvo.

The big boys, and I mean big, came out to play next as Tomasz Czerwinski took on Mark Potter in the heavyweight division.

The massive Czerwinski didn’t stand a chance. A big Potter right sent the Pole crashing. Potter soon followed him down, and with Czerwinski offering nothing in defence the referee stepped in just twenty seconds into the fight to give Potter the win.

After highlights from some of the other fights on the show it was on to light heavyweight action as David Zetolofsky faced Nick Chapman.

Great ground work throughout here. Chapman scored with a big slam early on, and he would have surely taken the submission win with an arm triangle had he been able to get out of Zetolofsky’s half guard.

Zetolofsky slowly worked his way back into the fight with some excellent ground work, but as the second round began Chapman upped his game and finally got the win with his submission hold of choice, the arm triangle. Nice action throughout here.

The main event saw Irving Daniels taking on Ben Smith for the vacant Heavyweight title.

This was Daniels’ first fight in a while, and he certainly looked like he was suffering from a great deal of ring rust as Smith dominated from the outset on the ground.

Smith was able to transition at will, and Daniels looked completely powerless as Smith unleashed with the ground and pound, tapping out in the final minute of the second round.

In conclusion – with BAMMA having cancelled their big show, which was to be headlined by Bob Sapp, because of bad weather Dave O’Donnell and his crew certainly picked up the ball and showed what British MMA is all about with another great show. No disappointing fights here, with the highlight of the night being Ben Smith’s dominating title victory.

So how does this show compare with the UFC and Strikeforce shows? Pretty damn well, and although Strikeforce is still my favourite show of the three Ultimate Challenge comes a close joint second with the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter finale, and with a packed schedule announced for 2011 it looks like Ultimate Challenge will continue to go from strength to strength.

One final note: keep Ian “The Machine” Freeman as a commentator. His performance with the headset on was excellent, and his knowledge and expertise would be wasted if he returned to his previous cage announcing duties.

British MMA returned to television screens this past Wednesday night as Ultimate Challenge presented their most recent offering. Unbelievable, on Sky Sports.

The broadcast began with Tommy Kelly facing Khalid Ismail in the welterweight division.

Two fights separated these two experience-wise, and both of those were defeats for Kelly, and if I’m to be completely honest he put in a very disappointing performance against the debuting Ismail.

Ismail rocked Kelly within seconds of the start, and it wasn’t long before he knocked him down again, securing the win seconds later when the referee stepped in during a sustained period of ground and pound.

The action continued in the bantamweight division as Cory Tait went up against Dino Gambatesa.

This title eliminator proved to be an exciting contest. Both men came out swinging and kicking at the start, but it wasn’t long before they went to the ground with both fighters jockeying for position.

The end came in the first few seconds of the second round. Tait unloaded with a crescent kick that sent Gambatesa crashing down to the mat, giving Tait the knockout win.

UK1 kickboxing followed as David Zetolofsky faced Jake Bostwick for the Light Heavyweight title.

An entertaining three round affair, although it was a little messy in the first round when it seemed as if they’d forgotten they weren’t fighting under MMA rules.

Zetolofsky’s lack of preparation time told at times when Bostwick rocked him with some good combinations, although he was able to work his way back into the fight, knocking Bostwick down in the third.

With the fight going the distance, the judges were called into action. One judge scored in favour of Bostwick, one in favour of Zetolofsky, while the third scored it even, resulting in the fight being declared a draw, which means they’ll probably have to do it all over again in the future.

The kickboxing action continued as Luke Sines challenged Mark Weir for the UK1 Middleweight title.

This was more patient and technical than the previous fight. Weir seemed very comfortable fighting on the counter. He was also comfortable with the fact that he couldn’t be taken down. Sines looked okay, but his best just wasn’t good enough.

No surprise with the decision as all three judges gave the fight to Weir.

The main event saw former Ultimate Fighter contestant Dean Amasinger going up against Jamaine Facey in a welterweight title eliminator.

They save the best for last with this show. The first round was fought at a frantic pace, and although Amasinger controlled the action early on Facey soon took control, taking Amasinger’s back as he looked for the win with a rear naked choke.

Facey visibly tired from the second round onwards, and Amasinger upped his game as the third round began, although it was obvious what his plan was, to control Facey on the ground with just enough effort to see him through to the end of the fight. It didn’t quite work though as Facey eventually escaped and took Amasinger’s back again.

But it was too little too late as far as the judges were concerned, as all three gave the fight to Amasinger. You have to wonder though what would have happened if Facey’s energy levels hadn’t dropped so drastically after his exertions in the first round.

In conclusion – another great five fight TV show from Dave O’Donnell and his crew as they once again proved they’re Britain’s best MMA promotion at the moment.

All the fights delivered, and I’m even starting to come round to the UK1 kickboxing action, although I wish they’d go back to using traditional boxing gloves for these fights rather than the fingerless MMA ones.

So in all top notch stuff, and another thumbs up for this slice of British MMA action.

Ahead of UCMMA 15: Showdown, taking place at London’s Troxy, this Saturday – September 18, we were fortunate to grab a few words with match-maker extraordinaire and ever popular face of Ultimate Challenge Dave O’Donnell.

The interview works well as an introduction to those less familiar with UCMMA, plus in an incite into the world of the larger than life cage-fighting promoter.

What’s your current favourite song?

WE NO SPEAK AMERICANO

YOLANDA BE COOL VS D CUP

How do you relax in your spare time?

- As always I spent the whole weekend in my magical garden, watering plants and working out new ideas – it just really chills me out.

For MMA fans new to Ultimate Challenge, can you tell us who are your current champions and which upcoming competitors to look out for?

Current champions are:

Neil Grove – HW

Jimi Manuwa – LH

Mark Weir – MW

WW – (Maguire V Santana – to be decided this Sat at UCMMA 15)

LW – Michael Pastou

FW – Dave Lee

Look out for Nick ‘Head Hunter’ Chapman, who’s a great ambassador for the sport plus Djo Lema.

UCMMA 15: Showdown is loaded with 4 title fights, can you tell us a little about each one, so the readers know what to expect?

Smith V Sabet: This Superfight Title is a question of honour rematch. Kiane is seeking revenge, as last time he fought injured but this time he’s 100 per cent animal and ready for what Ben has to throw at him. Ben has said it’s just another day in the office for him and that the only reason he took the rematch is to set the record straight – Ben’s saying injury or no injury, it’s going be the same outcome. These are two big guys with honour at stake and only one of them is going to leave that cage with their head held high.

Pastou V Olivier – Olivier has been around since the beginning of time, he first fought on Cage Rage 1 and was the former undisputed FW champ at Cage Rage. He is now stepping up a weight to prove that he’s back bigger and stronger – the only thing that will be the deciding factor is that Pastou (who walks around at 84 kilos and cuts to an amazing 70) will be far too big and strong for the likes of poor little Robbie.

Maguire V Santana – Alberto Mina, our former WW champ has relinquished his title, as another one of our champs has moved to Bellator in the US (it seems that all our UCMMA champs do well – is it luck or is it the fact that we can pick a winner?) This will be a battle of BJJ and stamina – they are so evenly matched the one with the biggest heart will take this title.

Djo Lema V Elijah Grinell – these guys have sick striking and magical skills – but let’s see if they can pull it out of the bag on the night because Djo Lema is the real deal and you’ll need more than magic to beat him.

UCMMA cards feature UK1 kick-boxing bouts, I’m a big fan of these fast-paced exciting fights, it offers variety. Do you feel this makes UCMMA unique?

It’s not just the UK-1 fights that make UCMMA unique – it’s the whole show. It’s the production values, the atmosphere, the fighters – the entire experience which makes it a night to remember. We continue to have sell out shows that start on time and run smoothly – for pure fan entertainment. With dancing girls, fighter promos, entertainment and celebrities – not forgetting the amazing fights – UCMMA is unstoppable.

Something else unique about UCMMA 15 is for the first time ever fellow journalist – Mark Amor-Carling is to compete inside the cage. From what I hear Mark is a very brave man entering into MMA combat with just 12 weeks training. How has he got on in that time?

Mark has done extremely well – his attitude to pain and hard training is ‘the more the merrier’ – I’ve never known a guy to be more dedicated and make more MMA friends in such a short time. Will he win – who knows – but one things’ for sure – it’ll be the fight of his life.

Can you tell us the charity the fight is aid of ?

Carling’s raising money for the Kiyan Prince foundation - http://www.kiyan.org/ which was set up by former boxing champ Mark Prince.

Which match-up are you predicting to steal the show on September 18?

A really hard question – as every fight we put on has a lot of meaning. I don’t think one fight will steal the show but at least 4 will. If you’re unlucky enough not to get a ticket – tune into Sky Sports on Wednesday 22nd September to watch the drama unfold.

Former UCMMA fighters Alex Reid and Tom ‘Kong’ Watson are fighting this month for a different promotion, who do you predict winning?

A lot of people write off Alex but I’ve known him for years and have put him up against the toughest fighters the world has seen – everyone close to him knows that he’s been training for this fight – but it’s the first time that Alex will have gone 5 x 5 mins so that could be the deciding factor. I never like to sit on the fence, but this time I’m perched very high.

Do you see either fighter returning to compete for Ultimate Challenge in the near future?

I’ve spoken to both camps but who knows – this is the fight game. I’ve learnt one thing in my time, fighters come and go but the promotion will stay strong.

A-Team or The Expendables?

I’m proper old school so I liked The Expendables – but for entertainment value the A-Team just nicked it. But I will say one thing – it’s fantastic to see MMA fighters headline in both films- you couldn’t ask for more, MMA is mainstream!

Bisping or Akiyama?

Bisping – you’ve always got to go with your home boys.

Lesnar or Velasquez?

Lesnar – I like his style.

Where can our site visitors find out more about UCMMA?

www.ucmma.com

Interview by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com