Combat In The Cage Iii: Marked Territory
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Combat in the Cage III: Marked Territory Report by Jim Genia – Photos by Tom DeFazio (September 30th, Lincroft, New Jersey) The Collins Arena at Brookdale College was rocking tonight, as some of the best fighters in the North East threw down and fans and family alike cheered them on. Promoter Ed Hsu’s Combat in the Cage III had a roster filled with almost every local favorite, and it was a sure-fire recipe for success. There were submissions and strikes, wars and upsets — and before it was all over, three champs were crowned. Highlights of the night included:
Results:
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Cage Rage 18: Battleground Held Sep. 30, 2006 – Wembley Arena, London, England By David West Before a packed house of 8,000 people, Ian "The Machine" Freeman took the British Light-Heavyweight title from Mark "The Beast" Epstein by outwrestling his opponent and roughing him up on the floor. Freeman survived a knockdown early in the first round, when Epstein’s left hook found the mark, and thereafter he chose to keep the fight on the canvas for the remainder of the match, grinding out the win over a frustrated Epstein who clearly would have preferred to stand and duke it out. Mark "The Wizard" Weir and Murilo "Ninja" Rua delivered plenty of drama in their clash, with Weir twice escaping two arm triangles in the first round before blasting a tiring Rua at the start of the second. Weir’s fast high kicks staggered Rua and a knee to the face had him reeling, but the Brazilian managed to score a takedown and his third arm triangle of the match finally sunk in tight, forcing Weir to tap out moments after he had been on the verge of knocking his man out. British heavyweight champ Rob Broughton looked nervous coming down the ramp to make his first title defence against Robert "Buzz" Berry and when Berry came out swinging, Broughton initially looked unsure how to respond. However, he quickly found his confidence when he started getting the better of Berry as they traded haymaker for haymaker, until Broughton drove Berry to the fence and blasted him out cold with a barrage of huge punches. Broughton’s star continues to rise and he has become a favourite of the London crowd.
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro completed his first defense of his World Lightweight crown with another jujitsu clinic. After exchanging punches with Adbul Mohamed, Ribeiro took him down and passed to mount. When Mohamed tried to escape, Ribeiro smoothly slipped around for a Kimura and Mohamed had nowhere to turn after 4:27 of round one. Tony Fryklund took Alex Reid down after some energetic milling in the clinch and when Fryklund dropped back for a heel hook, Reid kicked him twice in the face whilst they were both on the floor – a flagrant foul and an interesting one since at the rules meeting the day before Reid had specifically asked about the legality of kicking to the face in that situation. An enraged Fryklund cranked furiously on the heel hook leaving Reid no choice but to tap after 1:32. Paul Daley confirmed his place at the top of the UK Welterweights knocking out Sol Gilbert to keep his British title in the second round with a display of brutal ground and pound, while Robbie Olivier totally dominated Brad "One Punch" Pickett to take the British Featherweight title in a devastating performance. Olivier scored numerous takedowns and punished Pickett on the floor, giving him a huge black eye by the third round. Pickett never stopped trying to turn the fight around, but Olivier was relentless and when he took Pickett’s back in the third round he sunk in the choke that ended the fight and gave Olivier the title he had so fervently hungered for.
Full Results Zelg Galesic def. James Evans-Nicolle – TKO (ref stoppage – strikes) 2:02 R1 Xavier Foupa-Pokam def. Alex Cook – Armbar 4:45 R1 Robbie Olivier def. Brad Pickett – Rear-naked choke 3:03 R3 Paul Daley def. Sol Gilbert – KO 2:58 R2 Alexandru Lungu def. Mark Buchanan – Key lock 1:5 R1 Mustapha Al-Turk def. Henry Miller – TKO (ref stoppage – strikes) 0:56 R1 Tony Fryklund def. Alex Reid – Heel hook 1:32 R1 Vitor Ribeiro def. Abdul Mohamed – Kimura 4:27 R1 Rob Broughton def. Robert Berry – KO 3:33 R1 Dave Legeno def. Kimo Leopoldo – Guillotine 3:21 R1 Murilo Rua def. Mark Weir – Arm triangle 1:15 R2 Ian Freeman def. Mark Epstein – Unanimous decision |
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Elite Fighting 2: The Ultimate Decision Held Sep. 29, 2006 – PNE Agrodome Vancouver, British Columbia By Mike Neva "I turned the triangle into an arm bar and I was taking that arm home with me," said an excited Blake Fredrickson following his submission victory at the second edition of Elite Fighting. Fredrickson battled Posener Pankration stand-out, George Kassimatis, for the honor of being the first Elite Fighting 155 lb world champion. Although Kassimatis did leave the ring with all limbs in tact, Fredrickson did take home a shinny belt and the title of Elite Fighting champion. After a brief feeling out period in which neither fighter was able to land any telling blows, Fredrickson rushed for bodylock and dumped Kassimatis to his back landing in the half guard. Fredrickson picked away with punches until backing out of the guard and bringing the fight back to the standing position. Following a number of back and forth exchanges it was Kassimatis that took Fredrickson to the mat. From his back the newest member of Team Revolution, Fredrickson, stayed patient and methodically slid his leg up for a triangle switching off to an arm bar for the tap out late in the first round. "I sucked – pretty much, to be honest," said Fredrickson. "I’m a slow starter, I usually get beat up in the first round and need to get hit to know I’m in a fight. But hey, I’m the Elite Fighting 155 pound world champion."
In other action, Vernon White took on late replacement Victor Valimaki in what turned out to a slow paced the main event. The first round looked like a scene out of Dan Severn vs. Ken Shamrock 2, with neither man willing to engage, and as the round commenced the Vancouver crowd showed their displeasure with chorus of boos. Mercifully, Valimaki turned up the heat in the second round with multiple takedowns and some solid ground and pound, which lumped up the crafty White. During the third round it seemed that White had little to counter Valimaki’s continued ground assault. As time ticked away White’s cornerman, Kit Cope, pleaded with the Lion’s Den fighter to do anything, but White seemed to have nothing left in the gas tank as the final bell sounded. Ultimately it was Valimaki who took the unanimous decision victory. Results Logan Boucher def. Pete Adamcik by TKO doctor stoppage from a cut at 2:28 of R3 |
