Freeman (left) vs. Manhoef

Freeman Takes Shot at Cage Rage Title

Cage Rage has announced that the July 1 clash between Ian "The Machine" Freeman and "the Manhunter" Melvin Manhoef will no longer be a catch-weight match: the pair will now vie for the Cage Rage Light-Heavyweight World Title. Manhoef won the title when he knocked out Chute Boxe’s Fabio Piemonte, then defended his belt in spectacular fashion against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos in April. Freeman will be coming out of retirement for the match and making his first outing in the (under) 205-pound weight division at the same time.

Cage Rage: Contenders Fight Card

In addition to their show on July 1, this Sunday sees the debut of Cage Rage’s new feeder show, Contenders, to be held at their old stomping grounds of Caesar’s Nightclub in South London. Suley Mahmoud was set to headline, but was forced out by injury and Jess Liaudin has taken his place to face Lee Doski. There is plenty of talent on the card, including Marius Zaromskis, a thunder-fisted Lithuanian training with London Shootfighters who has won all three of his fights to date by stoppage. Zaromskis will face Cambridge-based fighter Afnan Saheed, who won a wild slugfest with Rich Kenny at Intense Fighting 3, so this one promises fireworks.

Undefeated featherweight Ronnie Mann (7-0-0) will tangle with London Pancrase’s Ashley Grimshaw (2-2-0), whilst Chris Freeborn, who holds a win over Cage Rage’s Featherweight Champion Brad Pickett, will face Ricky Andrews in a lightweight contest as Andrews moves down from welterweight.

Current Contenders Fight Card:

Lee Doski vs. Jess Liaudin
Dennis Kelly vs. Dave Lee
Brad Conway vs. Attila Kubilay
Ronnie Mann vs. Ashley Grimshaw
Chris Freeborn vs. Ricky Andrews
Afnan Saheed vs. Marius Zaromskis
Dorlan O’ Mally vs. Ed Smith
Paulo Milan vs. Sami Berik
Jake Bostwick vs. Torey Groman
Matt Sellars vs. Danny Mann
Jordan Miller vs. Mark Smith
Vaughan Harvey vs. Stuart Grant

ZT Fight Night 2 Coming June 25

After a successful debut show in February, fighter and promoter Sol Gilbert has announced the line-up for the second ZT Fight Night, scheduled for June 25 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort, just south of London. Four members of Team SHOOT Espana, including UFC and Cage Rage veteran Tulio Palhares are on the bill. Palhares will meet Tom Watson, from the Gorilla Academy, who overwhelmed Michael Watson at the first ZT Fight Night. The highly unorthodox welterweight Sami Berik will test his Chinese martial arts against Lee Doski, provided both are in one piece after their matches at Cage Rage: Contenders. Heavyweight prospect Ryan White (3-0-0), who has never had an opponent last beyond the first round in three matches, will meet Martin Thompson (2-1-0), coming off a loss at Cage Rage 16.

ZT Fight Night 2 Current Card:

MMA
Ryan White vs. Martin Thompson
Sami Berik vs. Lee Doski
Tom Watson vs. Tulio Palhares
Brian Adams vs. Armando Sixel
Nigel Whitear vs. Richard Walker
Jon Hathaway vs. Jim Morris
Alex Backhouse vs. Steve Bagley
Martin Hayman vs. Lloyd Lovejoy
Carlos Granell vs. Phil Else
Enrique Anton vs. Alberto Mira

Cristiane Cyborg

BRAZIL, May 21 — Not even the cold rainy weather gracing the city of Curitiba could put a stop to the will of the young fighters that stepped inside the Storm Samurai ring for yet one more edition of the already traditional event. Only three fights out of eleven ended up going the distance, with many submissions and knockouts presented to the crowd. Once again the crowd that showed was a good number, but it could have been more with some better weather, as lots of ticket buyers chose not to attend. The audience that did partake were almost fully composed of Chute Boxe supporters, as is easily understandable with Curitiba being the hometown of the famous team.

The Chute Boxe fighters didn’t disappoint their fans that night. With Fabio Silva controlling the action against opponent Jorge Bezerra, who wasn’t willing to engage throughout most of the fight; Marcio Gracinha showing interesting composure for a young fighter facing an experienced opponent in Felipe Borges; Cristiane "Cyborg" mauling her opponent once again; and Michael "Maicon" Costa exploding into fierce action for a quick submission in around one minute of his fight, Chute Boxe fans were bound to be pleased after the show.

The most technical bout of the night, however, featured seasoned veteran Gustavo "Ximu" Machado, from Gracie Barra, facing the tough and talented Marcelo Brito. The bout was very even with Ximu using all his experience, striking skills and clinch work to dominate in win the first and third rounds, while Brito fought hard and managed to give him some trouble in round number two, showing that the two of them will be seen again in many shows to come around the world. FCF will have more Storm Samurai coverage in its next issue.

Ninja, Wanderlei & Shogun

Ximu in a clinch with Brito

Storm Samurai 11 Results

• Jeferson "Cascao" def. Luis Fernando – TKO R1
• Cassiano Tytschyo def. Fabio Cesar – Submission (Guillotine choke) R1
• Luciano "Monge" def. Alexandre "Jacare" – Submission (Armbar) R2
• Luciano "Macarrao" def. Waldo Rego – TKO (Ref stoppage) R2
• Gil Freitas def. Fernando Betega – TKO (Ref stoppage) R3
• Marcio Gracinha def. Felipe Borges – Unanimous decision
• Fernando Lageano def. Paulo Souza – Submission (Kata gatame choke) R2
• Michael "Maicon" Costa def. Julio Cesar Bilik – Submission (Triangle choke) R1
• Gustavo "Ximu" Machado def. Marcelo Brito – Split decision
• Cristiane "Cyborg" def. Elaine Santiago – TKO (Corner threw in towel) R1
• Fabio Silva def. Jorge Bezerra – Unanimous decision

Pendergarst (left) vs. Eilers

(May 20th, Atlantic City, New Jersey) One of the top bangers in the Northeast took on a UFC veteran tonight at Combat in the Cage II, and fans were treated to an absolute slugfest as these two heavyweights had their showdown. In promoter Ed Hsu’s latest installment of his pro-MMA event, there were submission, knockouts, and the kind of seesaw battles that keeps the crowd on their feet – and Boardwalk Hall was certainly rocking. Highlights of the night included:

• Team Carvalho’s Erick Tavares, he dropped Jerry Spiegel with his fast and accurate hands.
• Team Carvalho’s Franklin Ferrer and Real Combat’s Stephane Cloud, who waged war for the duration of their bout.
• The back-and-forth battle between UFC-veteran Justin Eilers and local stud Sherman Pendergarst, which saw both men inflict damage before Eilers ended it with repeated body shots.

Results:

• Kevin Manderson (freestyle-154lbs) vs. John Mahlow (St. Augustine Combat Club-155lbs)
  Mahlow via rear choke at 4:16 of R1.

• Jerry Spiegel (Team Lionkill-186lbs) vs. Erick Tavares (Team Carvahlo-184lbs)
  Tavares via KO at 1:01 of R1.

• Anthony Montanaro (Pitts Penn-156lbs) vs. Khristian Geraci (Real Combat-156lbs)
  No Contest due to an accidental knee to the groin.

• Mike Schneck Jr. (Xtreme Fitness-158lbs) vs. Tom Gallechio (Rhino Fight Team-168lbs)
  Gallechio via split decision.

• Franklin Ferrer (Team Carvalho-184lbs) vs. Stephane Cloud (Real Combat-185lbs)
  Ferrer via armbar at 4:25 of R1 – a great fight!

• Leremy Johnson (Advanced BKJ-205lbs) vs. Joe Doerksen (Team Extreme-201lbs)
  Doerksen via tap out due to strikes at 4:30 of R1 – total domination by Doerksen.

• Jamie Toney (Team Jorge Gurgel-166lbs) vs. Billy Craparo (Pitts Penn-171lbs)
  Toney via rear choke at 3:35 of R1.

• Sherman Pendergarst (Raww Dogg-248lbs) vs. Justin Eilers (Team Extreme-235lbs)
  Eilers via KO at 4:34 of R2 – an awesome performance by both men!