Combat In The Cage “evolutions”
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Combat in the Cage "Evolutions" By Gaby Genia Asbury Park, New Jersey, Dec. 9 — There were thrills, and there were surprises, and at the end of it all, a champ proved his mettle. Combat in the Cage "Evolutions" was the pro show capping off a day-long MMA affair, and despite a slew of eleventh-hour drop-outs and last-minute replacements, promoter Ed Hsu pulled it off once again. Highlights of the night included:
Full Results
*Much to the dismay of the fans, the Greg Soto/Jay Coleman fight was canceled due to Coleman’s inability to make weight. Given that Coleman had accepted the fight less than 24 hours prior to the weigh-ins, it was an understandable outcome. |
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Across the Pond: British MMA News Cage Rage 19: Fearless Results By David West Britain’s Rob "The Bear" Broughton was never in any danger against Eric "Butterbean" Esch at the top of the bill for Cage Rage 19. Broughton scored all the takedowns off an ankle pick that Butterbean could not defend and when they were on their feet Broughton used his reach advantage to pump his jab in Butterbean’s face without ever letting the heavy-hitting American get in range. In the second round Broughton scored another ankle pick takedown and after a failed key lock attempt pounded Butterbean until he tapped at the 3:43 mark. Broughton’s popularity continues to grow with every appearance he makes in the cage.
In thirty MMA fights, Mark "The Wizard" Weir had only ever lost once to a fellow Briton, that being Trevor Cunningham way back in April 2000 when Weir was just starting out. In the six years since The Wizard has disposed of every domestic opponent and cemented his place at the top of the British middleweight rankings, but tonight his reign came to an abrupt end at the hands of Zelg Galesic. Born in Croatia, but training out of Trojan Free Fighters in Cheltenham, Galesic took Weir down after a spirited stand-up exchange, then sat up in Weir’s half-guard and blasted him with ten straight punches that knocked Weir out cold. It took Galesic just twenty seconds to become the new British Middleweight champion in the biggest upset of the night. Elvis Sinosic felt the punching power of London’s Mark Epstein, who cut Sinosic early, but the self-proclaimed King of Rock N Rumble managed to down Epstein with a trip and slip on the armbar that forced Epstein to tap out at the 2:47 mark. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro completed his second World Lightweight Title defence against the very game Daisuke Nakamura. After Nakamura resisted a kimura, Ribeiro switched to a figure four arm bar from the bottom and badly hyper-extended Nakamura’s elbow, which looked as though it was popped right out of joint. Referee Leon Roberts stopped the fight much to the surprise of Nakamura, who wanted to continue despite the damage to his elbow. Ribeiro’s team-mate Danilo Cherman dominated the first two rounds of his match with Jean Silva, turning the MMA fight into a jujitsu showcase. However, in the third round Silva countered a shot from Cherman by slapping on an arm bar, cranking on the submission furiously as Cherman refused to tap. Eventually Cherman manoeuvred around the arm bar and continued fighting, taking the unanimous decision. It was only after the final bell that it became clear that his arm was broken, but he had ignored the injury and kept fighting. You can teach technique, but you can’t teach tough, as Nakamura and Cherman demonstrated. Luiz Azeredo out-wrestled Paul Daley to take the unanimous decision. The Chute Boxe fighter consistently took Daley down throughout the match and while he rarely had Daley in any danger on the floor, he dominated positions and shut down Daley’s stand-up arsenal. The contest between Alex Reid and Xavier Foupa-Pokam ended messily, with Reid being struck in the eyes in the first and second rounds. After the second incident, which was deemed to be accidental by the referee, Reid’s trainer refused to let his man continue, so the fight went to the scorecards, which gave Foupa-Pokam the decision win. Jess Liaudin pulled off an upset against the highly ranked British welterweight Ross Mason. Liaudin dominated the stand-up, scored the takedowns, and then finished Mason with a heel hook 2:55 into round one in the most polished performance of his career.
Sadly, the heavyweight clash between Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Tengiz Tedoradze was cancelled. Apparently Cabbage left his hotel to get a bottle of water around 6 AM and was attacked, being struck on the head from behind. Suffering from a concussion, Cabbage could not be medically cleared to fight. The Metropolitan Police are investigating the attack and more details will be posted as they become available. Cabbage appeared at the show to apologize for not being able to compete and hopefully will fight Tedoradze at a later date. Full Results: Suley Mahmoud def. Francesco Ligato by rear-naked choke 0:37 R1 Matt Ewin def. Alan McCauley by rear-naked choke 1:53 R1 Jess Liaudin def. Ross Mason by heel hook 2:55 R1 Xavier Foupa-Pokam def. Alex Reid by unanimous decision after 0:54 R2 Dave Legeno def. Alan Murdock by rear-naked choke 4:10 R1 Danilo Cherman def. Jean Silva by unanimous decision after 3 rounds Luiz Azeredo def. Paul Daley by unanimous decision after 3 rounds Vitor Ribeiro def. Daisuke Nakamura by referee stoppage (figure-four armbar) 3:55 R1 Elvis Sinosic def. Mark Epstein by armbar 2:47 R1 Zelg Galesic def. Mark Weir by KO 0:20 R1 Rob Broughton def. Eric "Butterbean" Esch by tap out to Strikes 3:43 R2 |
