Fighters Magazine - October 2011

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12th & 13th MAY 2012

www.fightersmag.co.uk OCTOBER 2011 £3.95 All The Latest News & Reviews From UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, UCMMA & More!

RANDY COUTURE

Who Can Replace The MMA Legend?

JOACHIM HANSEN ’Hellboy’ Unleashed

ROSS PEARSON @ TMAS 2011

ANDERSON Exclusive

BAMMA SECTION

SILVA unbeatable!

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CONTENTS 6

Newsline Domestic & International

14

Wrestling News

By Teddy G

16

Mike Swick The Road to Recovery is Anything But Quick

18

Ross Pearson @ TMAS ‘11

24

Fighters BAMMA Section

38

Frankie Kazarian

By Teddy G

42

Randy Couture Who Can Replace The MMA Legend?

46

Joachim Hansen Hellboy Unleashed

50

Chris Sabin one half of the best tag teams in the business

52

Mark Potter Speed Kills

Keeping our feet firmly on home shores Fighters is proud to announce that we have teamed up with one of the UK’s premier MMA organisations, BAMMA. We will be bringing you exclusive news, previews, reviews, interviews and more every month.

56

Both Barrels with...

Jason ‘SHOTGUN’ Young

58

Chris Fishgold The Next Generation

Julie Kitchen is a name most of you will recognise. One of the most successful female fighters around in any disipline, we catch up with not only herself but her two daughters, Allaya and Amber. They are just starting out on their own careers but are already showing signs that they are chip’s off the old block by knocking a few blocks off!

62

Randy Savage In Memory

66

Alan Mortlock The Warriors Road

68

UFC Fight Night Live A Look Back at Some of the Greatest ‘Free’ Fights

72

Manchester TNA UK Fan Party Report By Teddy G

74

WFC 2

76

British Boxing at It’s Very Best Fury Beats Chisora, Theophane and Toms Retain Their Crowns In Style

Editorial Welcome to another edition of your favourite Full Contact Fighting magazine. This month sees another stacked issue of articles from around the globe to tantalise your taste buds.

For MMA fans we have lot’s for you to enjoy... all the latest news from the UFC including a round up of the latest 134 show.

We catch up with the UK’s very own Jason ‘Shotgun’ Young. After his recent switch from UCMMA to the UFC, we see how one of Britain’s brightest prospects is getting on after his big move.

Continuing our UFC coverage we take a look back at some of the great free offerings that have been dished up on the UFC’s Fight Night Live cards over the years including such memorable match ups like Anderson Silva vs Chris Leben and Rashad Evans vs Sean Salmon.

Staying with the UFC but a bit closer to home we catch up with Ross Pearson after his recent visit to The Martial Arts Show 2011. We see what he has been upto and ask about his future plans.

The world of Wrestling recently lost one of most recognisable characters and one of it’s all time greats in Randy Savage.

We take a look back at his unforgetable career and life.

We also catch up with two of the sports hottest young prospects, Chris Sabin and Frankie Kazarian as they give us exclusive interviews. Finally, get all the latest goings on and gossip in our regular monthly Wrestling news column.

So what are you waiting for, carry on, enjoy this months edition of Fighters and we will see you next month for another great offering of the best full contact mag around!

WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK Page

fightersmag.co.uk PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul S. Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com SENIOR DESIGNER Kevin Thompson WEBMASTER Nick Harley ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121-351-6930 fighters@btconnect.com PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 IRISH MMA SUB EDITOR Thomas McCullough UK THAI SUB EDITOR Dan Green

Page 56 Both Barrels with jason young

UK MMA SUB EDITOR Rob Nutley UK BJJ SUB EDITOR Carl Fisher UK KICKBOXING SUB EDITOR Cris Janson-Piers UK BOXING SUB EDITORS Luke Calvert, Mark Wilson Smith THAI / KICKBOXING Tony Myers, Shaun Boland, Paul Hennessy, Bob Spour, Neil Holden, Dean Sugden, Carl Emery CONTRIBUTORS Steve Dileo, Bryan Levick, Fergus Dullaghan, Ben Cartlidge, Teddy Galbally, Craig Bush, Rocki Sondhi, Tommy Thompson COVER PHOTOGRAPH Copywrite Zuffa LLC HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED Drop us an email at fighters@martialartsinprint.com or give the editorial team a call on 0121 351 6930 NEWS ITEMS For all news related items, simply mark your envelope “FIGHTERS NEWSLINE” and together with a photograph (if required) and a covering letter, send it to: FIGHTERS, Head Office or E-Mail: fighters.news@btconnect.com HEAD OFFICE: Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. Tel: 0121 351 6930 E-Mail: fighters.magazine@btconnect.com ADVERTISING DETAILS If you would like to advertise in FIGHTERS email us at fighters@martialartsinprint.com to obtain details, deadline dates and costs.

DISCLAIMER FIGHTERS is published by M.A. Publications Ltd, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. The publishers reserve the right to reject editorial and/or advertising material as they see fit. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. However, the Publishers will endeavour to return such matter providing that it is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Any material accepted by the Publishers shall be revised or altered should the Publisher deem it necessary to do so. The act of submitting manuscripts and/or materials shall be considered an express warranty that such material is original and in no way infringes upon the rights of others. It is expressly forbidden for any part of the magazine to be reported whatsoever without the permission of Editor / Publishers. The views or comments expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or Publisher.

Distribution by COMAG. No part of this magazine may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior permission.

Fighters, may not be sold at more than the recomended retail price shown on the cover.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES To take out a subscription to Fighters, just send your cheque for the correct amount made payable to M.A. Publications ltd. to: Subscription Dept. Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. or telephone: 0121-351 6930 12 issues = UK @ £44.95 EUROPE @ £75 (Airmail)

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NEWS ROUND-UP

Have you got news for us? You have? Then e-mail us at fighters.news@btconnect.com

NEWS ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2011

Beat off the burnout with Turbovite

For most getting yourself up for the gym or training isn’t normally that hard, but every now and then even the most committed and well-managed of athletes can feel sluggish and lazy.

However, burnout could be a thing of past thanks to a new energy drink for mind and body stimulation.

Turbovite Whiz-Fizz, a new fizzy orange drink, contains a whole host of good things to get your mind and body ready to train, and what’s more it comes in easy to use single serving sachet’s, meaning lugging around massive containers of supplements is no longer a hassle.

Whilst this exciting new ‘pick me up’ does contain caffeine, it is less than you would find in a normal cup of coffee, and instead it relies on the natural power of Ginseng to help give you a longer lasting energy and stamina boost, and another of its ingredient’s, ‘all natural’ Ginkgo Biloba, is essential for lifting mental alertness and concentration.

On top of this, fruit sugars add vital fuel for body and mind, whilst calcium and magnesium provide extra nutrients to help you work out at your best for longer.

Furthermore, Vitamins B & C not only aid with energy metabolism, but also give your immune system a boost, vitally important when you’re pushing yourself that little bit further.

So when you think you’re about to get struck down with a serious case of burnout, grab a sachet and feel the burn with Turbovite Whiz-Fizz.

For further details please visit www. verdurehealthcare.com

USN Pure Protein IGF-1 – it’s all about the taste!

If you are a sports and fitness enthusiast you will know that your three meals a day may not give you enough protein for your muscles to perform at their best, and recover quickly after exercise - so you need to supplement your diet with additional sources of protein.

USN have been developing protein supplements for many years and are well known not only for products that work but also for ensuring that all important ‘Taste Factor’.

New from USN are two spectacular new flavours for their popular protein shake - Pure Protein IGF-1. Pistachio and Cappuccino now join Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla to provide a great choice - and it’s a popular move for celebrity trainer Stefano Chiriaco, Personal Trainer of the Year*. www. sctrainer.co.uk “The taste of a protein drink is very important. It has to encourage you to make it an integral part of your exercise routine so you enjoy taking the extra protein that is so important for muscle recovery and lean muscle gains.

“My advice is to have a protein shake straight after training as it will help to transport nutrients, oxygen and nitrogen to your muscle cells and help

them repair and grow. Then take one before you go to sleep when your body goes into rest mode and needs lots of nutrients to feed your muscles and cells. When you wake up, your body has used its supply of protein and will need more. A liquid meal is easily absorbed and digested, making it both convenient and nutritious.

The fact that the USN ones taste so good means you can look forward to it too!”.

Product information USN’s Pure Protein IGF-1 is a STS (sustained transport system) protein blend consisting of a precise mixture of whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, egg albumen and soy protein isolate. It contains ZYMATECH Multiple Enayme Technology (including Lactase Enaymes & Fibre) for optimal protein digestion and amino acid uptake.

It is also fortified with L-glutamine for nitrogen transport and muscle recovery, and is suitable for lactose intolerant individuals. USN’s Pure Protein IGF-1 is extremely low in carbohydrates and contains a complete vitamin and mineral blend.

For more information visit: www.usn.co.uk

UFC 134 results round-up: The UFC's return to Brazil was a resounding success with all the big Brazillian names winning in spectacular fashion. Anderson Silva continued his reign as Middleweight champ with another flawless victory over Yushin Okami whilst Shogun Rua and Big Nog both despatched their opponents in similar knockout fashion. Ross Pearson was on the wrong end of a very close split descision loss to Edson Barboza.

Pearson can feel very unlucky as the descision could have gone either way with many feeling Ross did enough to win. The full list of results is as follows...

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NEWS ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2011 Page

NEWS ROUND-UP

Have you got news for us? You have? Then e-mail us at fighters.news@btconnect.com

NEWS ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2011 Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland via split decision (27–30, 29–28, 29–28).

Yuri Alcantara defeated Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28).

Erick Silva defeated Luis Ramos via TKO (punches) at 0:40 of round 1.

Raphael Assunção defeated Johnny Eduardo via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Paulo Thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Rousimar Palhares defeated Dan Miller via unanimous decision (29–27, 30–27, 30–25).

Thiago Tavares defeated Spencer Fisher via TKO (punches) at 2:51 in round 2.

Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz Cane via TKO (punches) at 4:20 of round 1.

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Brendan Schaub via KO (punches) at 3:09 of round 1.

Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28).

Maurício Rua defeated Forrest Griffin via TKO (punches) at 1:53 of round 1.

Anderson Silva defeated Yushin Okami via TKO (punches) at 2:04 of round 2 to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Bonuses: Fighters were awarded $100,000 bonuses Fight of the Night: Ross Pearson v Edson Barboza Knockout of the Night: Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

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NEWS ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2011

BUSY AS A BEE?

Boost your energy with New EnergyMel! The long days and late nights of our 24/7 lifestyle can play havoc with our bodies. These coupled with workplace stress, the second biggest cause of job–related illness in the UK, can result in exhaustion and lack of energy.

What’s more, feeling run down and stressed impacts our immune system, leaving us much more susceptible to falling ill.

Boost your energy and support your immune system during times of stress with help from EnergyMel, a new natural supplement made by some of nature’s hardest workers, the humble honeybee.

These busy bees are fed a diet of powerful plants with known restorative, energising and stressbusting properties. The active ingredients of the botanicals then enter the honey the bees produce, resulting in a natural supplement containing the combined healing health benefits of the individual herbs.

Just one spoonful of EnergyMel, twice a day, gives an all-round boost to those of us leading busy, stressful lives, helping to improve resilience and stamina and prevent fatigue. It is also beneficial for people recovering from

illness as it helps support and speed up the healing process.

The benefits of EnergyMel can be first felt within a half an hour of taking the supplement. Completely natural, EnergyMel can also be taken on a long-term basis to help maintain energy levels.

The botanicals in the feed for the EnergyMel bees include: Panax Ginseng Revered in traditional Chinese medicine, Panax Gingseng is a powerful adaptogen, allowing the body to better cope with change and external pressures. It also helps to stimulate the body, aiding recovering following illness.

For more information and samples please contact Katie Daniels or Julia Riddle at CCD PR on 0207 434 4100 or Katie@ccdpr.com / Julia@ccdpr.com

UCMMA launch i phone app

For just 59p you can now receive weekly knock-outs from Europe’s leading MMA promotion UCMMA (cage rage).

The app will be updated every Friday and will include knock-outs from some of the world’s top Mixed Martial Artists including: -

Anderson Silva Michael Bisping Paul Daley Neil Grove Ian Freeman Jimi Maunwa

Broadleaf Plantain (Soldier’s Herb) Rising star of Northern Irish Historically used as a battlefield MMA Joe ‘Kid Chaos’ Clarke signs wound healer and snakebite remedy, three fight deal with Clan Wars Broadleaf Plantain helps to boost the www.clanwarspromotions.com immune system and treat inflammation and infection.

The rising star of Northern Irish MMA Joe ‘Kid Chaos’ Clarke has signed a Siberian Gingseng three fight deal with growing Irish Used in Russia and China as a tonic promotion Clan Wars. in times of pressure, research has proven that Siberian Gingseng helps His first appearance was at Clan Wars to decreases levels of the ‘stress 8 on 27th August. Joe didn't hang hormone’ cortisol. It also helps around on his debut and finished his to boost the immune system and opponent Joe Frey in 1 minute 48 stimulate the body. seconds via guillotine.

Scabwort Scabwort helps to balance, support and enhance the body and immune system.

It is also a stimulant. Scabwort is very safe, even for the very young or elderly, and is especially recommended for people recovering from illness.

American Spikenard A plant renowned for its detoxifying and stimulating properties.

EnergyMel is available from health food stores nationwide and costs £25 for a 120g jar.

The 20-year-old Featherweight from Belfast is officially signed to Fight Management and has made a promising start to his MMA career winning his first two fights. Joe is now looking to build on that success.

Clan Wars are Ireland’s first fully sanctioned MMA event from the world recognised sanctioning body ISKA, the governing body behind many big shows such as Strikeforce, World Combat League and K1. Clan Wars is shown on Setanta Sports channel and Joe will compete at Clan Wars 8, August 27th.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

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NEWS ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2011 Joe Clarke said: ‘I’m really excited about being offered a three fight deal with one of the biggest promotions in Ireland. Clan Wars is growing show by show and I can’t wait for everyone to see what I can do!’

Paul McLaughlin, Clan Wars promoter said: ‘We are very excited about signing Joe Clarke exclusively to Clan Wars and think he is a very talented Irish fighter who will be before long flying the flag for Irish MMA on the top shows around the World. We plan to help Joe get that exposure through Clan Wars and look forward to seeing him progress. We now have a lot of eyes on the show from top promotions across the globe so we want to deliver a platform for the Irish, UK and European Talent to show case their skills; this is something we know Joe Clarke has in abundance. ‘ Joe’s Manager Wad Alameddine said: ‘I’m pleased to see Joe signed to a fast growing promotion like Clan Wars (www. clanwarspromotions.com <http:// www.clanwarspromotions.com> ). I believe that the organisation will achieve great things moving forward, and being a ISKA promotion, much like Strikeforce and OMMAC, the show has good opportunities and credibility to it.

Clan Wars is broadcast in Ireland on Setanta Sports and is in the process of securing a TV deal here as well, so it provides a great platform for Joe to showcase his skills. Following a long time off through injury, Joe’s first test at Clan Wars will come in the form of Judo Black Belt Andy Green from Huyton, Liverpool. It’s a tough test, but one I’m certain Joe will take head on and show why he’s one of the most promising young fighters in Northern Ireland.

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What Does the WRSA offer you?

• Insurance for Fighters, Instructors and Promoters So you are fully protected

• Regular Tournaments around the country.

Already 40 planned for 2009. See Website for details.

• Gradings with Specially designed certificates and badges.

Each Belt Grade Certificate is Unique

• Courses for Judges and Referees.

The WRSA encorages experienced fighters and coaches to take our judges and referees course so they understand what judges are looking for

• Regular Meetings

Meetings so member can express their views of how the WRSA is being run.

What they think is good and what they feel needs improving.

• Courses

First aid courses run by qualified instructors.

Training courses for ring craft, weapons course, etc.

• The WRSA does not interfere with how you run your club.

It does not restrict you or your fighter as to which shows you fight on.

• The WRSA welcomes

Kickboxing Clubs, Thai boxing clubs, Kung Fu Clubs, Traditional Karate clubs.

For Further Information contact the WRSA or Steve Humphrey, Cressdene, Evesham Road, Offenham, Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 8SA Tel: 01386 48452 Mobile: 07881 784839 Email: ukcba@lineone.net

www.worldringsportsassociation.com

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Page 14 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Wrestling News Well, the summer has finally landed and the wrestling world is already heating up. But before we get to all the latest news and gossip, we have to start with some sad news… The passing of Randy Savage.

On Friday 21st May, the wrestling world lost one of its greatest characters of all time.

Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage lost his life behind the wheel of his car. Although an official cause of death has yet to be confirmed, the most common belief is that he had a heart attack which led to him crashing his car. His wife was with him at the time but was not seriously injured. All the staff at Fighters, and especially myself, would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. We have a tribute to him elsewhere in this issue.

Wrestling Matters. Two words that TNA hope will send the message to its fans that it is committed to getting back to the fantastic in ring wrestling that made it a success in the first place. This has been reaffirmed by the recent name change of its flagship Impact program to Impact Wrestling. So far they have lived up to their word and have cut down on the waffle and returned to putting good quality matches back on its

programming. Indeed its Sacrifice PPV had some good quality matches that actually featured ‘wrestling’ (Kazarian in particular needs a mention for his recent stellar performances).

TNA have also announced the dates and venues for their UK leg of their January world tour. They are at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena on January 26th 2012, Manchester’s MEN Arena on January 27th, and London’s Wembley Arena on January 28th. Tickets are on sale now via gigsandtours.com and ticketmaster.co.uk but hurry as last year sold out in record time!

To celebrate the tour launch TNA held its second ever Fan Party at Manchester’s trendy Tiger Tiger bar recently. A full report can be read elsewhere in this issue, but it was a great event for the fans and it was full of surprises such The New Age Outlaws turning up! It was also good to catch up with friendly faces such as Magnus, Si Rothstein, and the Mr 1PW himself, Steve Lynskey (how much better are things running for those guys with him kicking backside now!).

Sticking with TNA and specifically Sacrifice, we saw the return of 2 faces not seen in a while. Matt Hardy’s mystery tag team partner to face Beer Money was Chris Harris of Americas Most Wanted fame, and Kurt Angle’s ‘mistress of pain’ was… Chyna!

Randy Savage

Yes Chyna was brought in for this one mixed tag team match to face Jeff and Karen Jarrett. As it turns out, TNA will be pretty glad it was a one shot deal, as Chyna announced to the world shortly afterwards that she has a new

porn film coming out (Backdoor To Chyna), not a good if you want to market your product as family friendly.

TNA have also started a feud between the X Division and Immortal as well as ‘invading’ AAA. This should ultimately lead to several AAA stars coming to TNA (as first speculated here way back in November). There is even the possibility that Destination X will feature TNA X-Division stars against AAA in a series of dream matches… lets hope they pull this off as it’s just the shot in the arm that both companies need (I will resist any cheap Jeff Hardy shots…).

Over in Vinnieland, also sometimes referred to as WWE, they have also been working on the quality of their in ring product. They have supplemented the signing of Sin Cara by also signing Averno (word is they will use the name Ray Ortiz II when he makes his debut). This is a reversal of 25 years of WWE’s hiring policy by going after smaller, faster, more talented guys. Previously they only signed ‘monsters’ and claimed the more athletic lucha type stars didn’t “know how to work” (the WWE ring style) – which was just another way of saying they didn’t like them showing up the big lumbering brawlers. Whatever the reason for the change of heart, it’s a win for the fans.

The rumour mill has already started for a possible heel turn for John Cena at Royal Rumble to build his match with The Rock at Wrestlemania. It makes sense as he will be perceived as the heel by the fans anyway in that one, so why not go the whole hog. They can easily turn him face again afterwards

WRESTLING NEWS Page 15

(they did it before with Shawn Michaels against Hulk Hogan a few years ago and against Undertaker so there is no reason they couldn’t do it with Cena).

Sticking with the rumour mill, the latest one is that Mick Foley is currently in negotiations to return to WWE. I am sure it’s a tempting prospect for him as WWE could offer him a ‘Legends’ deal (few appearances, big money, and DVD and Hall Of Fame spots). But is the time right for WWE to rehire him? Maybe in 6 months to build for Wrestlemania unless they have plans for him at Summer Slam?

Final rumour from Vinnieland is that they intend to pull out all the stops to land Brock Lesnar for next years Wrestlemania. As Lesnar is still tied in to a mega money contract with UFC I won’t hold my breath in this one unless something drastic happens, as although Lesnar is no longer champ, he is still a big money draw for them. Vince would be willing to break the bank for a one night deal, especially if it was Lesnar Vs Undertaker to ‘The Streak’ (don’t forget Undertaker goes for his 20th straight ‘mania win next year).

WWE could make a big big match out of that one.

Kharma has left WWE… for the time being at least, as she announced in a great in ring promo that she is pregnant (which is true). We wish her all the best and hope to see her back when she is ready (my money is just after Wrestlemania next year… Extreme Rules maybe?).

Finally a cheap shameless plug for Steve and the 1PW guys. Make sure you check out their website (www.oneprowrestling.com) for exciting news of their shows over the summer months (beers on you next time big man!)

By Teddy G. Matt Hardy

Mike Swick Page 16 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

The Road to Recovery is Anything but Quick

Mike Swick was quickly identified as one to watch when the first season of The Ultimate Fighter made celebrities out of sixteen unknowns. Swick was a legitimate prospect, losing only once to Chris Leben, before entering the house and looked to have all the tools to make a big impact in the UFC. He didn’t disappoint and quickly dispatched his first four opponents in a little over six minutes, earning the moniker “Quick”, and alerting the community to his presence.

Swick would also go on to defeat former title contender David Loiseau at UFC 63 but would run into the first obstacle in his championship run, in the form of Japanese roadblock Yushin Okami.

Swick, despite having homefield advantage at UFC 69, was mauled by the brutally strong Okami and was lucky not to be finished in several tough spots. It was all the motivation that Mike needed to make the drop down to 170lbs and look to reinvent his young career.

It was a move that seemed to be working well as, despite a slow start in beating Josh Burkman, Swick soon found his feet at the new weight and put together an impressive streak that saw him take out Marcus Davis, Jonathan Goulet and Ben Saunders.

It looked like a good career choice and his chance to earn a shot at the belt came, when he was matched up with Martin Kampmann in a number one contender match at UFC 103.

This was undoubtedly Swick’s time but an injury in training prevented him from competing and Paul Daley stepped into his place, and subsequently demolished Kampmann inside the first round.

Swick was upset but not defeated and was soon handed an opportunity to jump back into title contention with another number one contender match, this time against UK standout Dan Hardy.

It was a huge fight for Swick in front of Hardy’s home fans but he was unable to capitalise and seemed drained and lethargic, dropping a unanimous decision.

It was a bitter pill to swallow as Hardy went on to fight George St. Pierre for the title but Swick, once again, pledged to learn from his defeat and come back stronger as he was matched up with dangerous Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 109.

It was a much sharper Mike Swick that fought that night in Las Vegas but, following a good first round, Thiago landed a sweeping left hook that sent his foe crumbling to the canvas. Swick quickly regained his bearings but it was too late as Thiago locked on a vice-like D’arce choke and took a technical submission victory.

The fight with Paulo was a tough loss but it would be the catalyst for him to look at fixing a problem that had held him back for years.

Four years ago he had been diagnosed with Dyspepsia, an incurable stomach condition which had serious repercussions on his career and his everyday life. Dyspepsia is characterized by

abdominal pain, bloating and has severe dietary implications, which presented a professional athlete like Swick with a great deal of problems.

On the run up to his fight with Dan Hardy, Mike was clearly at his lowest ebb. He recently commented on this time saying: “Every aspect of it was terrible. I got almost no sleep. My stomach was at its worst. I was cramping pretty much non-stop and I wasn’t able to eat anything. I was just really malnourished.”

It was after the Paulo Thiago fight that Swick went back to see specialists about his condition and the results he received were staggering.

Swick had been misdiagnosed with Dyspepsia and the tests indicated that he was actually suffering from esophageal spasms and acid reflux.

Although the two conditions share similar symptoms, the big difference, between these two conditions is that Dyspepsia is largely incurable and Swick’s actual problem is not.

It won’t be the first time that Mike Swick will have to undergo medical treatment in pursuit of his dreams.

At just nineteen years of age, Swick undertook a potentially risky heart surgery to fix a congenital defect which stood in his way of achieving his goals of becoming a mixed martial artist.

MIKE SWICK - THE ROAD TO RECOVERY Page 17

“Hard workout today! Marathon roll, 10 x 5 minute rounds straight. Mats covered in sweat! Great Team, love my job!” Mike Swick via Twitter It’s good to see Mike getting back to full health as it’s hard to debate the fact he’s one of the more dynamic strikers that the UFC has.

His much anticipated return to the ring was recently announced by Dana White when he revealed that Mike will compete in the UFC’s emotional return to Brazil in August against newcomer Erick Silva.

With his team mates Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch forming an orderly queue to the belt, it’s hard to see what Swick’s plan of campaign will be at welterweight.

There was talk of him moving to middleweight, where he had initial success, but looking back at his original run at 185lbs his only opponents of note were Joe Riggs and David Loiseau. It’s easy to remember “Quick” Swick, but the UFC undoubtedly helped him out with some very accommodating matchmaking.

Swick in a lot of respects stands between a rock and a hard place in his career at the minute. It’ll be good to see him at full strength at welterweight, free from the shackles of his dietary worries, but it still remains that he’ll be forced to further evolve his fighting style to avoid being mauled by the brutish wrestlers that inhabit the division.

Swick has proved that he has the all round game to pose problems to most people in the division, it simply remains to be seen if he can overcome the small percentage of elite fighters that he has struggled to overcome in the past.

By Ben Cartlidge

He continues to update the fight community through social tools such at Twitter and Facebook and has very recently made a return to full training.

picture copyright

Swick’s road to recovery has already started as he has begun his course of medicine, including a neurotoxin injection into his throat, which should see him return to full health.

Page 18 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

The Relentless

Ross Pearson AT THE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7TH & 8TH MAY 2011

Live

Fighter Ross Pearson travelled the length and breadth of the UK arranging his own MMA fights, nearly one fight per month against the people he wanted to fight, no matter how crazy it appeared to others. He did his own PR and booked his own hotels. Ross did the hard work with support from the friends he trained with. He built his own way up, and got noticed by the UFC and now he trains with the elite and gets to choose his own ring girls in Vegas. Will he avoid the Hangover that Vegas creates when he visits this year for the Annual Fighters Summit. He told me...

“After Vegas I am off to San Diego for three weeks on a pre training camp with Alliance Gym, the likes of Brandon Vera and Dominick Cruz. I am really excited. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but have you seen The Hangover one and two? There could be a hangover three on Monday!”

During your travels and fights, did you stop and think to yourself “what the f**k am I doing here?

“I was taking fights that maybe I shouldn’t have taken, took a risk. I had an opportunity and I jumped on it the UFC noticed me, all that

hard work and fighting. I wanted it so bad. This was before I had a manager or PR team. There have been a couple of times, back in the day when I fought regularly, before the fight would start I’d be thinking ‘I am back here again, doing this again’ but once the fight started I love it.”

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His relentless belief paid off. Ross has studied Taekwondo, Judo, boxing and Muay thai since he was six.

“I started TKD at six and was massively into JCVD and Bruce Lee films and TKD taught me the spinning kicks and stuff. Growing up I got into scrapes as you do as a kid and judo was more physical, throws, controls, pins and submissions. I started phasing out the kicks and throwing people. In my teens everyone was boxing. I have never once thought I prefer this or that. My style is boxing and muay thai orientated. I enjoy punching, kneeing, kicking and elbowing people.”

In between fights Ross makes visits to events like the martial arts show, in which he will do the occasional MMA seminar.

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chess with your body. I feel like I am winning a fight when I am on my feet though. No area is less technical than the others there are other players out there that have their own techniques that are unorthodox, or not traditional. MMA is about using your technique to be the most effective fighter. You see guys who couldn’t string two or three punches together in a boxing gym/ring but they are knocking people out in MMA. It’s because the tools they use are effective.

With them little gloves on it is like being hit with a fist really.”

I am Van Damme “I don’t teach a class and I don’t have a gym. I am focussing on fighting, I believe that I am a fighter and I still need to learn to be the best fighter. I don’t think I am the finished article yet there is a lot more to come. Teaching will come at the end of my career, I need to sharpen my tools first.

“You need ground work in MMA but it is not the most important skill. You must be well rounded. Have a base in everything. Ju Jitsu and wrestling are a massive tool, you need to be at the top level competing really, I love training for it, it can win you fights – it is really clever, like playing

Ross came from working class background as a doorman and bricklayer. He is full time in MMA now and still sees the lads, will fame get the better of you?

“It is definitely a massive lifestyle change, I haven’t changed as a person. I still see the lads. I wanna be a fighter, I don’t wanna be a celebrity or a TV star. It is nice to meet nice people like you who are nice!

How do you balance it all to ensure you last the distance?

“I don’t want to drag my career/ name on too long but I am 26 yrs old now I don’t see why I can’t compete until I am 34-5 if I keep my body active, injury free. Randy picture copyright

Couture at 49 competed the other week, he didn’t win but was in great shape. I take the various supplements – protein shakes, amino acids, carbs, fish oils, glucosamine, creatine. You gotta have hobbies too I love riding my motor cross bike on a Sunday. I watch lots of films at the cinema or on DVDs, anything with Will Ferrell will suit me.”

Is there a new way of learning MMA now, rather than moving from one traditional style to another?

“I think it is the new thing, Brazilian ju jitsu and muay thai appear to be the most practiced traditional styles in the UK. They seem to be working in a realistic MMA fight still.

Even Judo and TKD don’t appear to be that prominent anymore.

Kids are learning MMA rather than traditional style first.

“Kids in martial arts learn discipline and respect and there are a lot of kids out there that need that. It is not even about keeping them off the streets anymore; everyone needs to hang out still. You learn confidence too. It helps with the peer pressure to join gangs and stuff. Any type of activity that channels you is good. I remember when I was a kid if I didn’t have something to do, to channel my thoughts and energy, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“My friend does MMA and has done martial arts all his life; he tried to put his son into martial arts, he just didn’t take to it. You can’t force someone – I think you are born with it, you either want to do it and you really love it or you don’t - like the marmite effect. To any kid who wants to do martial arts, professional or as a hobby, I would say enjoy it, take it for what it is.”

His next fight will be at UFC 134 the HSBC arena in Rio de Janiero on 27 August 2011. Ross fights Edson Barboza, Barboza is undefeated.

Ross I want to see you change his record please.

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GEORGIA GRAHAM (BAMMA GIRL) Height: 5ft 3” Bust: 32DD Waist: 24” Hips: 32”

I’m a petite, cheeky, smiley Geordie girl born and bred in the North East in a small sea side town! Maybe a tad cliché but I was the ugly kid at school who everyone laughed at for wanting to be a model, I had goofy teeth, a brace and no confidence, it was all down to a very supportive mum that I got where I am! I’m very grounded and have worked extremely hard for 3 years to finally get close to achieving my goals, I will never forget the people who have helped me get where I am and I am very appreciative to every single person who comes up and compliments me on my work! Me away from the glamour is very different!

I’m quite a shy girl, not into partying but more for chilled nights with good friends, I also like a good gig, very into punk/rock music! I’m very into cars and I love doing photography, oh and buy me an Oreo milkshake and I’m the happiest girl around!

I am hooked on MMA! I love the atmosphere and the skill that goes into it is unreal! I think it needs to be shown so much more as a skilled and great sport instead of people thinking it’s nothing but violent when if they watched it they would see the talent behind it all! I admire all the fighters for what they do, takes a lot to get into the cage and do what they do! Tom Watson is one fighter who to me stands out, after watching him go the 5 rounds with Alex Reid (who also deserves much respect for that!).

I look forward to seeing what he brings in 2011!

Follow me on TWITTER @LittleGeorgieG

BAMMA Launch First British Title

BAMMA have announced that they are to introduce their first ever British Title with a Middleweight contest between top contenders, Jack Marshman and Carl Noon.

Corporal very soon. His MMA record of 8-0-0 is even more impressive given that he has only been fighting professionally for 18 months. Marshman now joins the stacked BAMMA middleweight division, which includes champion Tom “Kong” Watson, Frank Trigg and former Commonwealth boxer John Phillips, to take on hot English prospect Carl Noon from Manchester.

As well as having a World title in each division, now the organization will put the British title in to the mix with the aim of developing a British champion in each weight class.

Unlike the World title bouts that are fought for over 5 x 5 minute rounds, British title fights will consist of 3 x 5 minute rounds but adopt exactly the same unified rules as all other bouts.

Marshman had this to say about signing with Europe’s leading MMA promotion, “It’s a real honour to sign with BAMMA. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time and can’t want to fight for their first ever British Title. Like I always do, on September 10th I will be fighting for my country and I promise every one of my fellow Welshmen that I will be bringing home the belt.”

Liam Fisher at BAMMA stated, “The introduction of a British Title allows us to develop the ever growing pool of talent in this country. Now we can give up-and-coming fighters a legitimate champion status to aspire to before they reach the level of fighting on a World stage. It’s only fitting that the pride of the Parachute Regiment from Wales will take on one of the toughest middleweight prospects in England to become the first ever BAMMA British Champion. It’s England vs Wales, so as always, expect fireworks from the first bell!”

Carl Noon is no stranger to BAMMA gold, having the honour of being stable mates with their World Lightweight Champion Rob Sinclair and World Featherweight Champion Mark Adams. Noon is undefeated in 3 years and enters the fight on a 7 fight win streak. He is known for delivering incredibly exciting fights, with 5 of his 7 wins finished in the very first round, including a first round submission win against Mike Ling at BAMMA 3 in 2010.

The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) Introduce Their First Ever British Title At BAMMA 7 With A Battle Between Wales And England!

As a member of the British Armed Forces and former Army Boxing champion, Gwent born Jack Marshman recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Currently ranked as a private serving with 3 Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, Marshman is expected to be promoted to Lance

The Team Kaobon fighter had this to say’ “Not only will Rob Sinclair walk away from BAMMA 7 with his belt, I will bring yet another title back to Kaobon. Like everyone, I respect Jack’s courage for putting his body on the line for our nation, but come September 10th and when the cage door closes, all respect goes out the window.

This belt is mine and there is no way a Welshman is taking it away from me!”

Compelling bout cards, arena sized venues, and high quality televised fight events. These are just

a few of the qualities set the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) apart from other fight promotions in the UK. These same qualities are what continue to draw top prospects to the fast-rising organization. Carl Noon and Jack Marshman are just two of the main top-level British fighters to recently sign for BAMMA. Other fighters include Jimmy Wallhead, Tim Radcliffe and Jason Ball.

Jack Marshman (Main Pic) & Carl Noon

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Efrain Escuderio vs Tim Radcliffe World Lightweight Championship, Rob Sinclair vs Leonardo Santos, Matt Ewin vs Valentino Petrescu

BAMMA 7 is shaping up to be the popular UK fight organizations most impressive card to date. The event will take place on Saturday, September the 10th at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK and marks the organisation’s third visit to the city of Birmingham.

The highly anticipated fight card is stacked from top to bottom with well-known marquee fighters and two title bouts. The card features a Lightweight Championship bout between BAMMA’s World Lightweight Champion Rob Sinclair and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Leonardo Santos. Also joining them on the is Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero (15-3-0), who will face reigning UCMMA Lightweight Champion Tim Radcliffe (11-4-0) and Gloucester’s Matt Ewin (229-1) who will collide with Valentino Petrescu (11-20) in a Middleweight bout with fight of the night potential.

Additional bouts will be revealed over the coming weeks so stay tuned! BAMMA 7 will take place on Saturday September 10, 2011 at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Tickets are on sale now at www. bamma.com.

Limited VIP packages are available for £150 and include a ringside seat, entrance to the VIP after party and more! The main card will be broadcast live on Syfy in the UK, Fight Network in Canada and www.bamma.tv Worldwide For more information on BAMMA 7 please visit www.Bamma.com.

Fans can also follow BAMMA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ bammauk and Twitter at www. twitter.com/bammauk.

Jimmy “Judo” Wallhead Replaces Injured Tom Watson to Face Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg.

Due to a back injury, Middleweight Champion Tom “Kong” Watson has had to withdraw from his title defense at BAMMA 7 against Frank Trigg.

Former Bellator welterweight tournament participant ‘Judo’ Jim Wallhead (21-6) has agreed to step in for the injured Watson and will face Trigg in a non-title bout on September the 10th at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Jim Wallhead (21-6) (stable mate of Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley and Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy) was riding an impressive eight fight win streak prior to suffering a recent loss to Rick Hawn at Bellator 35.

Wallhead went undefeated for three years prior to his loss to Hawn and clinched numerous victories, including impressive unanimous decision wins over Che Mills and Ryan Thomas. Determined to come back strong, Wallhead jumped at the opportunity to step in for the inured Watson to face UFC veteran Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg, in what is sure to be an all-out war in the cage.

Jimmy Wallhead had this to say, “I’m really grateful BAMMA have given me this chance to fight on such a big card against a high level athlete like Frank Trigg. It’s a test that I’m looking forward to but

I hope he doesn’t think I’m just a late replacement who is there for a quick payday, I’m there to get back to where I belong, at the top, above people like him.”

Tom Watson, who hopes to be fully recovered and back in action by December for BAMMA 8, asked BAMMA executives to issue the following statement regarding his withdrawal.

“It is with massive regret that I have to postpone my fight with Frank Trigg. As you may or may not know, I recently suffered a back injury.

Unfortunately, after several sessions with multiple doctors, I have been informed that I will not be cleared to fight. Two different doctors have said that they cannot clear me to fight in September, meaning that not only would I fail my medical, but also that BAMMA would be putting my health at risk, something they are not willing to do,” Respectfully, BAMMA has decided to move my title fight, as fighter safety is of paramount importance to the BAMMA organization. I am hoping to be fully recovered and cleared to fight in time for BAMMA 8 in December.

Please continue to read my blog on MSN.co.uk and follow me on Twitter at @tomkongwatson for updates on my recovery. I look forward to seeing you all at BAMMA 7 anyway for a great fight card. Adios for now, I’ll be back soon!”

Tom Watson.

BAMMA BACK IN BIRMINGHAM

BAMMA will be returning to its spiritual home for its seventh event at the NIA Arena in Birmingham. In what is promising to be the most explosive fight card yet in the series, BAMMA 7 will be featuring the top British and International MMA fighters for a night of pure adrenaline fueled entertainment.

It was at the NIA Arena in September last year that the epic BAMMA 4 cemented BAMMA’s reputation as the top MMA Promotion in Europe, after attracting close to a million viewers.

The main event saw BAMMA Middleweight Champion Tom Kong Watson defend his belt against Alex Reid. The media hype was unprecedented thanks in no small part to the Reidernator’s celebrity lifestyle and the two fighters did not disappoint. They gave the fans a spectacle they will never forget, trading blows for 5 rounds, forcing a unanimous decision that saw Watson retain his title. Since then, BAMMA has continued to build on its winning formula of great arena action, with a 2 hour live broadcast, fights streamed on Facebook (a first in the UK), BAMMATV broadcasting globally on the web and a highlights show that promotes the undercard as well as the headliners.

Fans can expect a similar spectacle as BAMMA will be delivering another night of action packed MMA on September 10th. We’ll be announcing more in the very near future, including the fightcard and ticket sales, so stay tuned and great ready for the UK’s best MMA fight night to date.

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8 FIGHTS ADDED TO BAMMA 7 CARD!

Andre Winner Vs. Jason Ball Tim Newman Vs. Shane Omer Dale Hardiman Vs. Scott Jansen Danny Compton Vs. Pindi Madahar Eugene Fadiora Vs. Robert Devane Lee Taylor Vs. Tom Breese Richard Walker Vs. Shah Hussein Robert Krecicki Vs. Fraser Opie

As Europe’s largest and most prominent Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion BAMMA confirmed 8 more fights for their upcoming BAMMA 7 card at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham for their September the 10th event.

Fresh off signing an exclusive multifight contract with BAMMA, UFC and TUF veteran Andre Winner will face lightweight prospect Jason Ball.

Grenadian born and Leicestershire resident, Andre Winner began his MMA career at Leicester Shootfighters, where training partners Paul “Semtex” Daley and Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy inspired him to take up the sport full time.

After a decision loss to Ross Pearson in The Ultimate Fighter Finale, Winner went on to fight six times in the UFC until he was released in July. Part of Team Rough House and joining the BAMMA lightweight division, currently consisting of champion Rob Sinclair, Leonardo Santos, fellow Ultimate Fighter participant Efrain Escudero and BJJ black belt Tim Radcliffe, Andre Winner is excited about a return to the UK. Winner had this to say about signing with Europe’s leading MMA promotion, “I’m really happy to be coming home and fighting for the very best in Europe. I look forward to putting on a good show for the fans.”

His opponent, Doncaster born Jason Ball, comes to the fight off a narrow decision loss to the current number one lightweight contender Leonardo Santos at BAMMA 6.

Looking for a win to get back in

the title race, Ball had this to say, “Andre is a great opponent and this will definitely make a great fight. But back to earn my title shot and if Andre is one of the men standing in my way then so be it.”

Coventry based kickboxing champion Pindi Madahar will make his professional MMA debut against Portsmouth’s Danny Compton and fellow Midlands fighter Eugene Fadiora will be looking to bounce back from his loss to Gunnar Nelson at BAMMA 4 by taking on top Irish contender Robert Devanne. Tim Newman steps in to take on Shan Omer with former Royal Marine Dale Hardiman fighting Scott Jansen. Lee Taylor returns after his 2nd round TKO win at BAMMA 6 to fight Birmingham based Tom Breese, Richard Walker will take on Shah Hussein and Fraser Opie returns after his BAMMA 6 loss to Ryan White, looking for redemption against Robert Krecicki.

BAMMA Aiming To Broadcast Into Half A Billion Homes Within A Year!

Europe’s Leading Mixed Martial Arts Promotion BAMMA Appoints Content Media Corporation To Handle Its International TV and Digital Distribution.

The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA), currently the largest and most prominent mixed martial arts organisation in Europe, today announced its new distribution deal with Content Media Corporation. Starting with immediate effect, Content Media will exclusively distribute BAMMA’s live broadcasts and existing archive footage across all platforms outside of the UK including TV and digital.

BAMMA has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past 18 months with events held at prestigious venues such as Manchester’s MEN Arena, Wembley Arena and The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and TV viewing figures going as high as 835,000 adults

for BAMMA 4, making it the most watched Mixed Martial Arts show in UK history.

Liam Fisher, Head of Business Development for BAMMA, said “We are delighted to be working with such a strategic and successful company as Content Media. With their experience, knowledge and contacts, I have no doubt that we will be broadcasting into over half a billion homes within a year.”

Greg Phillips, President of Content Television added “BAMMA content is a fantastic showcase of one of the world’s fastest growing sports and has great potential in the international marketplace. These hugely entertaining events have already proven their appeal with UK audiences giving us a solid starting point from which to build BAMMA into a major worldwide brand.”

BAMMA events are already highly anticipated by MMA fans worldwide and broadcast live on the NBC Universal owned channel Syfy in the UK. This new deal between Content Media and BAMMA will see the programming portfolio launched in the international broadcast and digital marketplace.

Several high-octane MMA fight events are lined up between now and the end of 2012.

ABOUT BAMMA:

BAMMA (The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) is Europe’s biggest and most premier MMA organization, launched in June 2009 with the aim of delivering Mixed Martial Arts events that fully capture the entertainment and sporting prowess on display in the world’s fastest growing sport. To achieve this aim, BAMMA brought together a team of highly skilled individuals with a wealth of combined experience across television production event organization, brand marketing and Mixed Martial Arts and set out to push the boundaries of MMA. BAMMA’s combination of arena sized venues, stunning fight cards and exceptional production values has led to BAMMA’s unrivalled position as Europe’s leading MMA promotion.

With a highly experienced team and a presenting crew that includes Michael Schiavello, each BAMMA event always delivers a highly anticipated and unique experience. For more information, please visit www.Bamma.com.

About Syfy UK:

Syfy is part of Universal Networks International, the global channels division of NBC Universal. United by the brand essence ‘Imagine Greater’, Syfy offers a unique mix of the best movies, drama series and entertainment from the worlds of fantasy, the supernatural, science fiction, and alternative science and reality. Syfy’s first run premium content includes Warehouse 13, Haven, A Town Called Eureka, and Fact or Faked.

Syfy is on Sky/Sky HD 114 (+1 Sky 205), Virgin Media 135, Syfy HD Virgin Media 165, and TalkTalk 22.

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BAMMA – Takes on the USA!

Europe’s Leading Mixed Martial Arts Promotion BAMMA Appoints Melissa Ingram PR to Handle U.S. Based Public Relations BAMMA is currently the largest and most prominent mixed martial arts fight promotion in the Europe, is about to get event bigger. The leading MMA promotion has big plans to increase their fan base outside of the UK by expanding into other markets, plans that include establishing a stronger presence in the U.S. market. BAMMA executives announced today that they have appointed Phoenix, Arizona based, Melissa Ingram PR, to spearhead these efforts.

Compelling bout cards, arena sized venues, and high quality televised fight events. These are just a few of the qualities that set the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) apart from other fight promotions in the UK. The organization, which has continued to rise in popularity since its inception, has successfully established itself as ‘Europe’s leading MMA promotion.’

BAMMA executives are now ready to build on that success.

According to Liam Fisher, Head of Business Development for BAMMA, “Our goal is to elevate the BAMMA brand to a whole new level in the coming months. Establishing a stronger presence in the North American market is our first step towards that goal, and we felt that engaging a U.S. based public relations firm was the best way to do that.”

The BAMMA team was very strategic when choosing a PR firm in the United States. They were not only looking for an established state side firm with a proven track record, they wanted a firm that was well versed and wellconnected in the combat sports industry. In the end Melissa Ingram PR was the clear choice.

According to Fisher, “We are truly honored to be working with Melissa Ingram. She has a stellar reputation within the combat sports industry and came highly recommended by our U.S. media partners. We were also impressed with Ms. Ingram’s knowledge of the sport and wellestablished relationships within the industry. Her firm boasts an A-list client roster that speaks volumes. The roster includes many of the industries elite including Keith Jardine, Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock. We are confident that Ms. Ingram will successfully elevate BAMMA’s media presence in the U.S.” BAMMA events are highly anticipated by MMA fans worldwide and broadcast live on the NBC Universal owned channel Syfy in the UK. So far fight fans outside of the UK have been able to watch BAMMA events live via BAMMA. tv, however in the coming weeks, the organization plan to announce some very exciting and interesting international TV deals taking the brand to a whole new level. With the popular UK fight promotion planning to host several highoctane MMA fight events between now and the end of 2012, the future looks very bright for BAMMA.

About Melissa Ingram PR:

Melissa Ingram PR (MIP), led by public relations specialist Melissa Ingram, is a full service media relations firm with personalized service, nationwide contacts, and customized public relations programs that yield measurable results. MIP positions athletes, celebrities, and companies within the sports, entertainment, and consumer product industries at the forefront of the markets they serve. Melissa Ingram, the founder of the firm, is also a trusted and highly sought after public relations specialist within the mixed martial arts arena. Her reputation is second to none when it comes to gaining media exposure for fighters, fight promotions, fight events, MMA gyms and related businesses.

About The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

Go Daddy is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence.

Go Daddy provides a variety of domain name registration plans and website design and hosting packages, as well as a broad array of on-demand services.

Go Daddy has more than 40 cloudbased products and services.

These include products such as SSL Certificates, Domains by Proxy private registration, ecommerce website hosting, blog software, search engine optimization utilities, podcast packages and online photo hosting.

The Go Daddy Group has more than 49 million domain names under management. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers more than one domain name every second of every day.

GoDaddy.com is the world’s largest Web hosting provider and is the world’s No. 1 domain name registrar according to Name Intelligence, Inc. In 2010, The Go Daddy Group registered more than one-third of all new domain names created in the top six generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .mobi.

Official BAMMA Website – www.bamma.com Official BAMMA Facebook – www.facebook.com/bammauk Official BAMMA Twitter – www.twitter.com/bammauk

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on BAMMA have signed one of the top-ranked fighters in the world, former UFC contender Nate Marquardt. Liam Fisher at BAMMA stated, “As soon as we received word that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission lifted Marquardt’s suspension we jumped at the chance to sign him. He is a top ranked contender and an asset to any promotion. Words cannot express how excited we are that Marquardt is now fighting under the BAMMA banner.”

The three-time Middleweight King of Pancrase Champion and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender boasts knock out of the night and fight of the night honors and has faced some of the toughest competition in the world.

Marquardt holds notable wins over names like Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann, Rousimar Palhares and many others.

Marquardt had this to say about signing with BAMMA, Offers came in from several fight promotions, but we felt that BAMMA was definitely the best fit. They put on high-quality shows, stack their cards with toplevel fighters, and sign those fighters to multi-fight deals. They are also the only fight organization in the UK that implements PED testing. To be honest, that is one of the main reasons that we chose BAMMA. I want to prove to my fans and to

the world that I’m the real deal and that I belong on top.

Marquardt recently made the decision to drop down to the 170lb division and was expected to make his welterweight debut in June at UFC on Versus 4 against Rick Story, but was unexpectedly pulled from the card the day of weigh-ins due medical clearance issues. Shortly after, he was released by the UFC. It was later revealed that medically prescribed hormone replacement therapy caused the elevated testosterone levels that lead to his release. Marquardt’s suspension has since been lifted and he has found a new home with the BAMMA. According to Marquardt’s manager Lex McMahon, “Nate & I are very excited to establish a strategic relationship with BAMMA, as they are the premiere brand of MMA in Europe and a significant global player in the

industry. BAMMA has stepped up and will be putting on top notch fights with elite fighters. Nate is honored to represent BAMMA and looks forward to a long term & mutually beneficial relationship. As Nate mentioned, one of the key factors in our decision to work with BAMMA is their aggressive steps to bring regulation to the forefront of European MMA. Additionally, Nate is a highly marketable athlete and we feel that he will quickly become one of the most sought after corporate spokesmen in Europe.”

Marquardt went on to say, Now that my suspension has been lifted and I’ve found a home with a new fight promotion, I can move forward and turn my focus back to my fight career. This has been an extremely difficult time and I’m very thankful to those who stood by me.

I’m looking forward to getting back

to fighting and there are some guys out there that I would definitely like to get my hands on. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m talking about the fighters that kicked me while I was down. BAMMA is known for signing top talent ...so I may just get my chance.â&#x20AC;?

For more information on BAMMA please visit www.Bamma.com.

Fans can also follow BAMMA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ bammauk and Twitter at www. twitter.com/bammauk.

Buy Tickets from www.bamma.com and www.theticketfactory.com Watch it live and exclusive on Syfy (UK) at 9pm GMT, The Fight Network (Canada) and worldwide at www. bamma.tv at 4pm ET / 1pm PT

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on A mouth-watering Light Heavyweight clash between Robert Krecicki and Fraser Opie opens the card at BAMMA 7, a matchup which should perfectly set the tone for the rest of the evening’s entertainment. And even though Krecicki has become accustomed to headlining events, most notably his recent title win against Toni Valtonen, he is looking forward to the opportunity to commence proceedings; “It’s a great opportunity for me to be the first fight on BAMMA 7. But my position on the card alters nothing. I train equally as hard whether on the prelims or the main card.”

Robert Krecicki And generally, he appears buoyant heading into the highest profile fight of his young career; “This is a great opportunity and challenge for me to fight on the BAMMA promotion. It’s a big show. It’s easily the biggest organisation for which I’ve fought.

I look forward to displaying my skills in front of a large crowd, which will include many of my friends.”

The Pole they call “Big Rob”, who is often informed of his resemblance to Vitali Klitschko, arrived in the UK five years ago from Elk in North Poland, and works as a porter at Cheltenham hospital when not training down at his resident Trojan Free Fighters gym.

In May 2010 Krecicki decided to attend his local MMA gym; “I’ve always been interested in MMA and my friends were constantly encouraging me to try it out.” He was already no stranger to the noble arts; “In Poland, I’ve trained previously in boxing and kickboxing and competed at an amateur level. But my principal skill is judo, which I’ve been practising for over a decade.”

Within 3 months of entering an MMA gym, Krecicki craved the competition; “After a few months I decided I wanted to fight. If I’m training, I like to test myself”. And he has wasted absolutely no time in accumulating an impressive 5-1 professional record during his first year of highly-active competition.

BAMMA 7 will showcase his seventh outing in what has constituted a busy 12-month period.

His training partners have certainly assisted in his meteoric rise; “I train with some high-class teammates including Che Mills, Matt Ewin and Antanas Jabutis and many other great fighters at the gym.” Yet whilst this calibre of training has instilled confidence into the Polish native, he’s still aware of the difficult task at hand; “He’s a good fighter Fraser Opie. I’ve seen a few of his fights online. He’s particularly dangerous at the start of a fight.”

Krecicki is acutely aware of his opponent’s deficiencies, with all of Opie’s five career losses arriving via submission, but he realises that it’s a facet of the game in which “The Omen” will have improved; “I’ve seen him lose his last two via guillotine, but he’ll be training hard to avoid those mistakes. My guillotine is decent, but I’m not banking on it alone.” And whilst many presume that this will be a classic case of striker vs grappler, Krecicki insists that he’s content fighting in whichever domain; “I can’t predict the nature of the fight as they are all different. My game plan ensures that I’m going to be confident fighting on the feet or on the ground.”

Matter-of-factness underpins Krecicki’s calm outward demeanour and his parting message for Opie is ominous; “I’m a fighter. That’s it. I just want to fight, and if he wants to fight as well, it should be an exciting contest. He’ll be looking for a quick finish, but so will I. Ultimately I would like to become BAMMA’s inaugural LHW champion, though first I can’t look past a good opponent like Opie.”

GoDaddy.com presents BAMMA 7 in association with Lonsdale and PKR.com Saturday September 10th at The National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, UK

Interview by Jonathan Shrager

cti se

fighters

on When it comes to combat sports, few can match the passion displayed by the Irish. Whether it be boxing legends Wayne McCullough, Barry McGuigan, or even current British heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (well, he’s of Irish descent!), all show incredible heart and courage every time they step into the ring.

As you would expect, MMA is becoming more popular by the day on the Emerald Isle where BAMMA fighter and Combat magazine columnist Robert ‘The Druid’ Devane runs two MMA gyms, teaching the champions of tomorrow the martial art of today.

“I guess I was part of the Bruce Lee boom. ‘The Big Boss’ was definitely what got me into martial arts!”

A martial artist since the age of six, Robert started his career in karate where he tasted world championship gold several times, before moving on to kickboxing, then mixed martial arts. He faces fast rising British prospect Eugene

Fadiora, a muay Thai specialist with an impressive record of knockouts.

Both are no strangers to the BAMMA cage, having both appeared at BAMMA 4, also at the Birmingham NIA, almost a year ago. Robert definitely feels this is his biggest fight to date.

“Sure, I’d say it is the biggest [of my career], every fight is. If you ask me again the next time I’ll tell you the same. I treat every fight that way.”

Robert is relishing the chance to enter the cage with a fighter known for his stand-up prowess, having primarily faced grapplers in his previous bouts.

“In my other fights I’ve faced stifling wrestlers, all my training has been guard and takedown defence. I want to show my stand up skills and this will be a good opportunity. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s a rising star, that’s great for me.”

He is also not too worried about Fadiora’s impressive record of 10-1 with 5 TKO’s.

“To be honest, I don’t have as much MMA experience as him, that’s clear by our records. But I have way more martial arts experience which will serve me well in there. I want to fight more, to be more consistent, so this is a good way to start.”

When this article is published, Robert will be plying his trade at the world famous Jackson’s MMA academy in New Mexico, home to such MMA superstars as UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Diego Sanchez and BAMMA’s very own Tom ‘Kong’ Watson. After training for many years at the equally well known Tri Star gym in Montreal, Robert met and trained with Watson, who invited him down to join him at Jackson’s.

“That worked out great for me, since Tom was a major influence on me and a great fighter.”

Joining Tom Watson on the books of Europe’s leading MMA promotion is also something Robert relishes.

Interview by Toby Smith

“BAMMA is truly an amazing opportunity for me. I think it’s the biggest MMA showcase in the UK, if not Europe.”

You can follow Robert on Twitter @ robertdevane GoDaddy.com presents BAMMA 7 in association with Lonsdale and PKR.com Saturday September 10th at The National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, UK Buy Tickets from www.bamma.com and www.theticketfactory.com Watch it live and exclusive on Syfy (UK) at 9pm GMT, The Fight Network (Canada) and worldwide at www. bamma.tv at 4pm ET / 1pm PT

Rob’s opponent @ BAMMA 7 Eugene Fadiora

Kazarian

By Teddy G

As he prepared to defend his X-Division title in Manchester on the recent TNA European Tour, I was fortunate (no pun intended) enough to catch up with Kazarian. One of the longest serving and hardest working members on the TNA roster, he was more than happy to take time out of his preparations to chat for our readers...

So Kazarian, how are you?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: I’m doing great thank you.

Enjoying the European Tour so far?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Yeah, we’ve been all over Europe so far... some late nights and early mornings, connecting flights and shows later that night and stuff which can be rough, but you know, every time we’ve over here its fun, and the fans have been great, always really happy to see us guys, really hot. It’s been awesome.

You are the current X-Division champion, but am I right in thinking you used to be under the mask of Suicide?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: (with a wry smile on his face) You’d have to ask Suicide that... (laughing) Fair enough, we’ll leave that one there... I like you in your role in Fortune at the moment, and it’s great that you are finally getting the push you deserve, but can you tell us how it all started for you and how you got into the sport to begin with?

I watched you tour last year at Coventry too, and the show itself was awesome.

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Pro Wrestling is just like everything, you have to go to school. And I think that the better the school you go to the better the wrestler you turn out to be.

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Our house shows are notorious for just incredible wrestling, and when we are over here we like to show the European fans what TNA wrestling is all about.

I was trained by Killer Kowalski, who was a dear friend and mentor, and I used to wear his name all over my wrist, as to this day he’s meant the world to me and took me under his wing.

It was 1988, I moved to Massachusetts and broke in (to the sport) and started getting the ball rolling from there, and I’ve been with TNA since 2003. It’s been a pretty long run and I’ve been there almost from the beginning and I’ve seen the company grow into a global thing in 8 years and it’s been awesome.

Who where you favourites and inspirations in the sport when you where growing up?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: You know, I really liked the ‘characters’. I liked the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, but my favourites where the likes of Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana, Brett Hart, The British Bulldogs, Owen Hart, and other guys that may not have been huge, but where the best technical wrestlers. And of course I was a huge fan of Ric Flair, who was a combination of both. A great character and a great wrestler.

It was the characters that drew me to wrestling, but what kept my attention was the guys that could get it done in the ring, the technical wrestlers.

As I said earlier, you are a member of Fortune. What’s it like being in such a hot faction like that?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: It’s awesome man! You know... being with Ric flair is very humbling. It’s an incredible expe-

rience and we’re blessed, we’re all blessed to have him as a mentor...

He really is wrestling royalty isn’t he...

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Oh he is, he really is, and it’s kind of surreal you know to call him a friend. He’s a pal of mine now (said with a big grin on his face).

You know, you have four guys that have been with TNA a long time now, and you know you get your good and bad, your ups and downs.

AJ Styles who’s one of my best friends in and out of the ring for a long time, James Storm and I go back a long time, and it’s great and it fits and it works well, and it comes across that way.

I think it’s good that guys like yourself, Beer Money, and Motor City Machine Guns, are all finally getting the recognition and push you’ve worked so hard to get...

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: It is, and it’s gratifying. You mention the Motor City Machine Guns and their matches last year with Beer Money are the best tag team matches in a decade. You won’t see a better tag team match than them guys. My hats off to TNA for still showcasing tag team wrestling because you don’t see that anywhere else. With matches and teams like the Machine Guns versus Beer Money, as a fan, I’m just sitting waiting for the next one and the next one and the next one... It’s awesome.

This interview is for Fighters Magazine which covers all forms of fighting sports, and the hottest one at the moment is MMA... Have you ever been tempted to try your hand at MMA?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Absolutely not.

I’m a pro wrestler first and foremost. I’m a mild fan of MMA, I enjoy UFC and I watch the Pay Per Views. I respect all the guys there and I’ve trained with a few, and they are all really good guys and really good athletes. That’s their world, it’s a different world, and I have no desire to do it. I did martial arts when I was younger and that helped a lot in terms of discipline and dedication, but that’s their world and our world is completely separate.

What if Dana White was to offer you $10 Million....

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Well, money talks, but it’s just a different beast you know? I’m drawn to the

entertainment aspect of wrestling. In MMA the entertainment aspect is to see someone get knocked out or tap out.

Had they been able to tempt you, who would be your ideal opponent?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Well I guess GSP is the best fighter around right now. Hmmm... I guess maybe just the guy that would knock me the hell out the quickest and get it over with (laughs) There’s no stipulation I have to last so many rounds!

It’s funny, but Mick Foley said exactly the same thing to me...

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: I guess the male pride in me would make me try my best but that’s just a different world. The same as if you took any of those guys and put them in a pro wrestling ring, they would be exposed. I think there’s a lot mutual respect there. There are people out there who say that fighters don’t respect wrestlers because its entertainment, but eith every fighter I’ve met that’s just not the case. They respect us and that respect is earned, and it’s earned on their part too, especially with UFC now. With UFC there’s this great business where pro wrestling was 10-12 years ago.

So what are your primary goals going forward into 2011?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Well I don’t see anything slowing down for me or for Fortune, or for TNA for that matter. I’m the X-Division Champion right now; I definitely have aspirations to break out of that mould and to be (World) Heavyweight Champion. I’ve always said that if you don’t wanna be a heavyweight champion then you’ve got no business being a pro wrestler if you just want to flounder at a certain level. The rest of us wanna be (world) champion. I’m just looking forward to moving forward with Fortune, with TNA, and expanding the product and geting the name out there.

Who do you think are likely to be the breakthrough stars in 2011?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Breakthrough’s kind of a tricky word because there’s a lot of guys that have already broken through.

Okay, to rephrase that, who do you think should get the recognition and push in 2011 as you did in 2010?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Well, there’s a lot of talent. You’ve got hot teams like Generation Me who I think if the focus is put on them in the right way then they could really break out. A guy like The Pope, who’s already a star, just not at that level... who else... I don’t’ know, let me come back to you on that (laughs).

As we reach the end of this interview, have you got any message for the UK fans that have come out to cheer you on?

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Yes. Thank you guys for the support, it’s been awesome. I wish we could do a couple of tours over here every year. You guys only get to see us once a year but you guys are hot every night, you’re hungry for TNA, and thank you for doing your part in making us a success.

Keep watching the sport, keep watching our TV shows and pay per views.

You guys are great and I really hope we continue this relationship and we get to come back a couple of times per year and cover all of the places we missed this time around.

Frankie Kazarian, thank you very much for your time, and good luck for tonight.

FRANKIE KAZARIAN: Hey, you’re welcome man!

Page 42 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Randy Couture

Ran

RANDY COUTURE - WHO CAN REPLACE HIM? Page 43

dy Couture Is There Anyone Who Could Possibly Replace the MMA Legend?

With the retirement of Randy Couture following his loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 coupled with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell hanging up his gloves recently, is there anyone on the UFC roster who could be viewed as the elder statesman. Is there a fighter who the UFC can bank on to help them out of a desperate situation whether or not it benefits them personally the way Liddell and Couture did on so many occasions?

It’s very rare that an organization has a fighter who is willing to put the needs of their employer before their very own the way Couture has. When they needed a main event for UFC 105 they called on Couture to take on the much younger Brandon Vera. When Tito Ortiz bailed out of his bout with Mark Coleman, Couture stepped in despite having nothing to gain personally. When James Toney ran his mouth and belittled the sport who came through to shut the boxers mouth and prove just how different the two sports truly are?

There aren’t many fighters around today who could ever dream of becoming the icon Couture is.

What is most important though is whether or not there is somebody who can be a true ambassador for the sport and follow the example “The Natural” has set during his illustrious career.

Rich Franklin

Rich Franklin was the first fighter who came to mind when I first thought about writing this article.

A true company man if there ever was one, Franklin has fought anyone the UFC has asked him to. Not only has he taken on all comers, he has done so as a

middleweight, light heavyweight and has fought a handful of fights at a catch-weight. Let’s not forget how Franklin came to the rescue when Tito Ortiz bailed out of his bout with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 last year and his coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter.

Silva, Tanner (2X), David Loiseau, Yushin Okami and Liddell. Not only is he a great fighter, he is a true gentleman and carries himself with the utmost dignity. You will never hear the words controversial and Rich Franklin uttered in the same sentence.

The former math teacher from Ohio has had a very successful career highlighted by capturing the UFC middleweight championship against Evan Tanner in 2005. He has beaten the likes of Wanderlei

Franklin is truly a fighter who the UFC can rely on to help them market the sport, grow their brand and show the world how truly special these athletes are.

Rich Franklin & Wanderlei Silva

Page 44 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

BJ Penn

Forrest Griffin

I realize that Forrest Griffin is far from perfect, he has shown a side of him that could be construed as obnoxious or condescending, but when it comes down to it, Griffin has been at the forefront of the sport’s growth and is one of the more recognizable names and faces on the UFC roster. His bout with Stephan Bonnar at the first Ultimate Fighter Finale will never be forgotten and it one of the main reasons I am writing this article and you are reading it.

Griffin is another guy who has a take on all comers attitude. When the UFC wanted to introduce their prize acquisition, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, it was Griffin who stepped up and said he would fight him. Not only did he take the

former Pride Grand Prix Champion on, he choked him out. He turned that victory into a spot opposite then UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and a shot at his title.

of attitude that goes along way in earning the respect of fans and fighters alike. He can come off as lazy and abrasive, but he can also show a side that proves just how much he loves the sport.

When Anderson Silva was beginning to get booed because of his lackluster, uninterested performances against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, the UFC called upon Griffin to fight Silva at UFC 101. Griffin had to know that Silva was going to be out for blood and he took a beating at the hands of Silva as the UFC attempted to rehab Silva’s image.

When Penn talks people listen, it’s that simple. Who better to send into new markets to teach the rules of the sport and help grow the UFC name? Penn will be involved in mixed martial arts long after his career is over. You can’t help but be impressed with his toughness and his overall resume.

He is funny, he is smart and he is articulate. Let’s not forget he has grown under the watchful eye of Couture and has been more than willing to help the UFC accomplish their goals before his own.

BJ Penn

We all know that Penn can be hot and cold at any time. He has a tendency to lose or gain interest in his career at the drop of a dime, but at the end of the day he is one of the all time greats and truly loves the sport of mixed martial arts. He is the type of fighter who loves to teach, especially when it comes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

He is another fighter who will fight anyone, any time in any weight class. He has fought as a lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and has even taken on Lyoto Machida who was fighting at 220lbs at the time. It is that type

Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin

Wanderlei Silva

Is there any fighter alive who is more popular than Silva? He was welcomed back in to the UFC after spending seven years dominating the Pride Middleweight division.

Affectionately known as “The Axe Murderer,” Silva is one of the most approachable, fan friendly fighters that the UFC has on its roster.

His in-ring work speaks for itself, he been through countless wars, fighting guys bigger than he on many occasions. His return bout to the UFC was a much anticipated dream bout with Liddell that despite taking so long to come to fruition, did not disappoint in any way, form or fashion. For 15 minutes the two legends went toe-to-toe showing fans that age was nothing more than a number.

His wars with Liddell, Dan Henderson, Cro-Cop, Rampage and Kazushi Sakuraba are the fights legends are made of. He is a great example of what a mixed martial artist should be and with his own gym and fight team, he will be around for a long time.

Cain Velasquez

He works as hard if not harder than any other fighter, he doesn’t shy away from anyone or anything and he is quickly becoming one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. Velasquez has readily accepted how the UFC turned his march towards the UFC Heavyweight Championship into something all Mexicans could be proud of. Truth be told, they are 100% right. He is a great leader and someone people of all races can look up to.

RANDY COUTURE - WHO CAN REPLACE HIM? Page 45

When you think of someone the UFC can bank on to help grow their sport and help them out in a pinch, Velasquez certainly fits the bill. You will not hear anything negative said about him other than things fans of his opponents may say. He is the guy the UFC will look to once they decide to expand into South America.

You can bet he will do the job with pride and be just as successful as he has been inside the Octagon.

Cain Velasquez pictures copyright

All that he has accomplished has come in such a short period of time as Velasquez has all of nine career fights in under five years. Velasquez extinguished the giant, Brock Lesnar, when no one thought it was possible. At just 28 -yearsold, the sky is the limit for him and the years in the sport are plentiful. His background is wrestling which is something he can go and teach for many years after he decides his fighting days are over.

Page 46 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Joachim Hansen “Hellboy” Unleashed!

MMA, by its very nature, is at times a cliché ridden arena. Often, however, the kind of guy who’d like to dismember you in a cage isn’t necessarily the kind of guy who’ll spend forty minutes at the bar at Hooters telling you about it.

Brock Lesnar is a more perfect fit for the UFC than anyone could have ever imagined. His unique blend of fifty percent Davy Crockett and fifty percent Zangief has fascinated the masses since the moment he laced up the oversized gloves.

The Viking era Brock Lesnar, due to some shrewd marketing from the UFC and a hastily grown beard, was a huge visual win for the organisation. It’s a pity, for Lesnar at least, that his Nordic period ended in such spectacular fashion.

Lesnar’s longboat ran aground at UFC 121 when, in a scene more brutal than a Deadliest Warrior reconstruction, he was soundly thrashed by a modern day Jaguar in Cain Velasquez.

There are few people walking the face of the earth who have the physical presence of Brock Lesnar but, in mixed martial arts, there are several who present an altogether more sinister proposition.

Joachim Hansen may not look like a villain from Fist of the North Star a la Lesnar; but there is no doubt that he is every bit the cerebral assassin.

I caught up with the Scandinavian nightmare recently, thanks to Fortuna PR, and he spoke at length about all manner of vicious topics including his upcoming bout with Tatsuya Kawajiri.

I’ll cut straight to the chase with some obvious mma questions. When did you first realise that you could beat people up for a living?

When they gave me money!

Ha ha, that must have been a good day at the office. What do you enjoy more suplexing somebody, submitting them or punching them repeatedly in the face?

I like poetry, philosophy and occult history.

Ok going with the occult then; there’s a zombie apocalypse and the dead are walking the streets.

How would you ensure that you survive the longest?

There IS a zombie apocalypse and the dead ARE walking the streets. I told you poetry, philosophy, occult history… and mma.

Ok that makes a lot more sense. There’s only time to listen to one song before the zombies storm into

your house. What song do you put on to ensure maximum carnage?

They deserve to die by Cannibal Corpse.

This is really starting to freak me out. I’ll go back to the safety of mma questions for a bit. What is your most outstanding memory of Pride FC? The shows were divine, I’m very fortunate to be able to have fights there. I love everything about Japan and the Japanese Bushido spirit. Dream and Pride shows feel exactly the same and I’m honoured every single time I get to fight there.

You had some wars during that era of your career.

How do you constantly prepare your body and mind for that level of punishment?

I think about the Vikings and others who came before me and my grandfather who was at war in the sea, constantly every second for 5 years, and I feel strong when going to the fight. If it`s not in your blood thy will never understand.

Who had the best chin out of all your opponents?

All of them have been very strong; maybe Luiz Azeredo.

Your next fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri is sure to be a huge test. How do you plan on tackling a monster like Crusher?

I will fight Kawajiri with everything, it will be a tough fight for me and I hope it will be an exciting fight for you to watch.

JOACHIM HANSEN - HELLBOY UNLEASHED! Page 47

By Ben Cartlidge

DLA001/01

Federation of Traditional Martial Arts Unhappy with your current organisation?

Want?

Complete independance No politics Access to qualifications CRB checks Insurance Grading support

TEL: 01234 353865 AFC001/01

Email: ftma@hotmail.co.uk www.ftma.org.uk FTM001/01

JOACHIM HANSEN - HELLBOY UNLEASHED! Page 49

This past year has seen a great number of fighters from Team Hellboy, like Mohsen Bahari and Jack Hermansson, record impressive wins. How are you taking to life as a coach as well as a fighter?

It’s difficult sometimes because nobody comes on time and when the training starts and they all make bad excuses. I always hear, “I fell asleep on the bus”; “it was slippery outside, so I couldn’t walk so fast” or “I am pregnant and my belly hurts.” Before my next fight I will close and lock the door.

Very wise. Ok time for some quick questions to finish. If you had to fight one of the original eight fighters from Street Fighter 2 who would it be?

I’m not a Street Fighter fan. It’s Tekken and I’d fight Heihachi Mishima; no one under and no one above.

Heihachi Mishima? That’s a gutsy call. Ok, what if you could only have one more fight?

Thanks very much for the time Joachim and the best of luck in all your upcoming violence.

That’s easy; Bono from U2. I hate that band.

It’s clear that Japan has welcomed Hansen with open arms and it’s a sentiment that the Scandinavian warrior is clearly happy to reciprocate.

It’s the last day of a music festival and Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer are all playing on different stages at the same time.

Who do you see?

I was never into any Anthrax.

Metallica nowadays just makes me cry and they’re not tears of joy.

I lost the connection with Slayer at the Diabolus in Musica album.

Dave Mustaine is still going strong though, Id see Megadeth.

Ok keeping it metal, Dimmu Borgir or Burzum?

Burzum. He plays the ancient way.

Rocky or Rambo?

Can I be Macguyver?

I honestly don’t think we’re going to top that one.

Joachim Hansen’s allegiance to Dream and Japanese mma is unquestionable and Hellboy recently affirmed this by signing a four fight deal with the Japanese promotion.

It’s uncertain just what route to the Dream championship belt Hansen will take but, with Tatsuya Kawajiri waiting for him in September and potentially Hiroyuki Takaya in the future, it’s clear that Hellboy’s most epic battles could well be yet to come.

Page 50 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Chris Sabin Chris Sabin, often thought of as one half of the best tag teams in the business, The Motor City Machine Guns, but with his tag team partner, Alex Shelly, currently sidelined through injury, Fighters recently had the opportunity to catch up with the man himself.

Hi Chris, good to finally meet you.

CHRIS SABIN: Hi, nice to meet you too.

How’s Alex doing, I believe he’s currently still injured?

CHRIS SABIN: Yeah, he broke his collar bone in a house show in… Alabama? I’m not sure, I’ve been on the road for the past 5 days so I’ve lost track of time and location (laughs).

Although you are often thought of as one half of a tag team, can I ask how you personally got in to the sport in the first place?

CHRIS SABIN: Professional wrestling? I started off growing up watching wrestling and I always had a love for professional wrestling for as long as I can remember.

Who where your idols as a kid?

CHRIS SABIN: Growing up Hulk Hogan was my favourite, then as I got a bit older I remember watching the Brett Hart era. Brett Hart was ‘the man’ back then. As I got a little older and got into high school it was the boom period of wrestling, around 1996 – 2000, that sort of period. I started to become more aware of WCW and ECW and started watching those organizations more than the WWF. WCW had the Cruiserweight Division and those guys where more my kind of size. Like Guerrero, Malenko, Benoit, those guys where like wow, they where giving me more hope than WWF. Guys like Rob Van Dam gave me more hope because I always wanted to be a professional wrestler.

Well I think you have found the right home as TNA really do push the smaller, faster, more skilled guys, and I think it’s great that guys like you and Alex get the push you deserve.

CHRIS SABIN: Thank you.

Although you are you and Alex are an awesome tag team, you obviously both had singles careers before. Which do you personally prefer? Singles or tag team?

CHRIS SABIN: To be honest I like both really. I’m in a really good tag team right now and we really both click as a tag team and it’s worked really well but at the same time I enjoy being a singles wrestler. I started my career as a singles wrestler and obviously Alex is injured at the moment and until he comes back I guess I’m gonna be a singles wrestler. So I am ready to take advantage of whatever situation is presented to me whether it be tag team or singles. I will do my best to take the best advantage of it.

In a different interview I was discussing with Kazarian your series with Beer Money last year and we both agreed that your series were easily the best tag team matches of 2010, and probably for several years. But you have also had some phenomenal matches with just about every other tag team in TNA. Who would you say are your favourite guys to wrestle?

CHRIS SABIN: Thanks man, it’s nice to know our work is appreciated.

As for favourite guys to work with? In TNA? Beer Money.

I’ve been doing tag team wrestling for the last 3 or 4 years in TNA and Beer Money are right up there. Team 3D too. We had some really good matches with Team 3D. Generation Me is another good one, really good wrestlers. Ink Inc we’ve only wrestled a couple of time but we’ve had really good matches with them.

It’s refreshing that TNA take tag team wrestling seriously compared to WWE, who have some talented guys, but just don’t use them.

CHRIS SABIN: Yeah, it’s something different. Tag team wrestling hasn’t really been in the spotlight for a while if you know what I mean, so it’s something fresh.

CHRIS SABIN INTERVIEW Page 51

Given your partners current status, what would you like to do through the rest of 2011? More singles stuff or get back to teaming?

CHRIS SABIN: Well, as I said earlier, if I have to do more singles stuff I’d definitely take advantage of that. I wouldn’t mind doing some more X-Division matches, maybe go for a another X-Division championship. I have already been a four time XDivision champion before so I wouldn’t mind going for that 5th title you know?

I would happily pay to see a series between you and Kazarian over the belt…

CHRIS SABIN: Yes, I’d enjoy that too.

But when Alex comes back and he’s in good health and TNA want us to be a tag team again, then we’re gonna do our thing as we always have done.

What would you like to see TNA do through the rest of 2011?

CHRIS SABIN: Just grow man, grow. That’s the only thing I’ve ever seen this company do. I started with them in 2003 and I’ve seen the company grow at so many different stages and that’s been one of the fondest parts of being a part of TNA, just seeing the company grow and grow and grow and I hope that trend continues.

TG: Me too.

As we wrap up the interview, is there any message you’d like to give to the UK fans?

CHRIS SABIN: If you’ve never seen professional wrestling live, it’s indescribable, the energy you feel, the atmosphere, everything about it is way better live than it is on TV, so come and watch us live when we next come your way!

Chris, Many thanks for taking the time out to chat.

CHRIS SABIN: you’re welcome, and thanks too.

Mark Potter Page 52 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Speed Kills

By Ben Cartlidge Photos by Lauren Antonia Grover

Every now and again it seems a fighter comes along who captures the imagination of all who see them perform.

Heavyweight fighters have long enthralled the fans with their colossal punching power and statuesque physiques. It’s the very reason why fighters like Ali, Tyson, Frazier and Foreman are constantly discussed as public favourites.

Mark Potter may be new to the sport of mixed martial arts but fans of boxing will recognise his name as being synonymous with a breakneck style of hard punching, heart in mouth action.

Potter had always shown phenomenal talent as an athlete but it was his relationship with bodybuilder Mick Theo that was pivotal in his development. It was Theo that took the young Potter to see veteran promoter and trainer Alan Mortlock after a blistering twelve amateur fights.

Mortlock was clearly impressed with the potential showed by the twenty year old Potter and was interested in training the young heavyweight but first needed to see what he was capable of. Mortlock arranged for Potter to spar at his gym with a powerful heavyweight to see just what he was capable of. A few short minutes later and Potter stood above his defeated foe. It was clear to all to see that this young fighter had a power seldom seen.

Potter began training regularly with his new mentor and quickly made the push to the professional ranks in 1997 when he fought at Wembley on a card headlined by Prince Naseem Hamed.

It was a gutsy decision to make as Potter was lined up to meet 91-1 Joe Bugner Jr but it turned out

to be a test that he passed with flying colours as he took home an impressive points decision.

The experience had instilled Potter with the self belief that he could beat great fighters and he quickly started cleaving a trail of destruction through the domestic scene as he racked up knockout after knockout and won over the hearts of the fans along the way.

Potter’s opponents weren’t the only ones who were getting hurt though, as trainer Alan Mortlock repeatedly injured his shoulder holding the pads for the young destroyer.

“I’d have to go to the doctor’s repeatedly and he always asked if I was training that heavyweight still.

I wasn’t about to stop at this point of his career and I got on with it but his punches were unlike anything I’d ever felt before” – Alan Mortlock Potter would go on to have an impressive 21-5 professional record recording thirteen knockouts and capturing the Southern Area heavyweight crown and competing for British titles against the likes of Danny Williams.

It was at this point in his career where Potter moved away from the professional ranks and, once again, it was Alan Mortlock who offered the heavyweight an interesting proposition.

The phrase “unlicensed boxing” conjures up the worst possible images but nothing could be

MARK POTTER - SPEED KILLS Page 53

further from the truth in a lot of respects as the scene simply became full of legitimate fighters who no longer had an official boxing license.

The unlicensed scene was a perf-ect fit for Potter who was able to continue to refine his punching power against fighters who were more than willing to exchange with him.

Twenty five victories later, including a stoppage against Butterbean, and Potter once again came to a strange situation. He had won every single one of his fights but it was clear that there was nobody left for him to challenge.

Potter was at a crossroads but, once again, it seemed that Mortlock had the perfect solution as recommended that Mark should try his hand in the mixed martial arts arena.

It made perfect sense in a lot of respect because, with his fast and powerful hands, Potter had all

the potential of being a ferocious competitor if he could develop an all round game.

Mark quickly took to training with Team Titan and was under no illusions on what he needed to work on.

“I’ve been learning so much, the essentials that I need to maximise the other parts of my game. I know I can brawl I just need to get the sprawl part right!” – Mark Potter Potter’s trainers knew that teaching him the intricacies of submission grappling would simply be a wasted effort and that his advantages would always be in his lethal hands. The key to his success would be in developing good takedown defence and a solid Mirko Filipovic style defensive guard.

It was the one of the sternest tests of Potter’s career when he made his mma debut at Cage Fighters Championships against Tomas

Vaicickas in May 2010 but, in just thirty nine seconds, it was clear that his punching power had translated in devastating fashion.

His victory, at CFC 9, saw him destroy dangerous striker Mark Walker with some lethal hand speed and power in a little less than two and a half minutes and now the British fighter is starting to open the eyes of the world with his performances.

For Mark Potter the challenge lies not only in further honing his deadly punches but fitting them into a deadly skillset to make him a complete fighter.

The Great White Shark has some of the deadliest hands around and, if he continues to evolve, has all the tools to become an incredibly dangerous fighter. Potter is focused on his goal of bringing home the belt and anyone wanting to stand and trade with him is running the constant risk of waking up counting the lights.

IT’S BACK! RTIAL MAAMRRATTIA SL M A R T IA A L R T S M AARRSTTIASSLHOW M A R H O T RRSTATHIASRSTLHIASOLW W MAAMRRATATIA SOLWOW S ARSTHSOHW SHOW the

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Page 56 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Both Barrells With

Jason “SHOTGUN” Y Former UCMMA and Cage Rage Lightweight Champion Jason “Shotgun” Young RECENTLY signed with the UFC and maDe his debut at UFC 131 against Dustin Poirier. Here Shotgun gives his first interview as a UFC fighter to Mike Breton AFTER his debut in Vancouver June 11.

Congratulations on making it to the UFC, how did it all come about and how do you feel?

I’m not sure how it all come about.

I think it was because my manager has been in regular contact with Joe Silva, but I think the fight in Canada was the icing on the cake.

I honestly still can’t believe that I’m going to be fighting at the UFC, it’s a dream come true. I never thought that for my next fight Bruce Buffer would be announcing me - it still hasn’t sunk in.

I’ve done this as well by working full time and going to the gym at night and it shows it can be done. You haven’t got to give up everything; you can still have responsibilities, fight and train as well. It goes to show if you work hard enough you can get it.

What was your full time job?

I was a plasterer, but I’m not anymore. It was hard graft and you have to work hard. After work I used go to the gym and I wasn’t getting home until 9.30pm, it was really difficult when a fight was approaching especially when you’re fighting full time fighters. As soon as I got the call from UFC I left my job but my firm have been good to me and I left on great terms.

Do you expect more UK Featherweight fighters to join the UFC?

I hope so; there are a lot of good British fighters out there in the Featherweight and Lightweight division that haven’t been snapped up. However, those guys will get their chance if they keep working hard and keep fighting. But they have to put on good performances, it’s not just about winning - it’s also about putting on exciting fights. No one wants to sit there and watch someone lay on someone for three rounds.

You are a former UCMMA Champ - How influential was the promotion on your path to the UFC?

It was Dave O’Donnell that got me started in MMA. I was working on a building site and he asked me to come to his gym for some training.

To be honest Dave has been a big help, he has put on a lot of good fights and given me the fights I’ve asked for, and he managed to set them up especially my last fight in Canada. Jorge Brito was a tough opponent and Dave played a big part in me getting to the UFC along with my hard work, winning fights

and my manager talking to the UFC. You have to keep on top of that. The UFC can’t see everything and you know sometimes you need to promote yourself and say I’m fighting here and gradually they take a look at you. I think that’s what they’ve done with me Dave O’Donnell said: ‘Jason Young is a class act, always firing 16 cylinders; he’s got natural athletic ability. I remember one time at my gym he said ‘I love the way these guys do these back summersaults after they win, let me have a go’ he tried and first time he landed like he’d done it for years. Jason always gives 110%, he was our Cage Rage Lightweight champion and UCMMA UK1 Champion, and you don’t win them titles unless you’re talented.’

Dave continued: ‘I was sitting Cage Side in Ontario, Canada, the amount of guys who kept coming up to me asking “Where did you get this guy from?” After the event there was only ONE fighter everyone was talking about and that fighter was Jason “Shotgun” Young. Jason is now in the best show on the planet, UFC. We try to push our guys to become UFC Fighters, we are the only MMA organisation who has writing in the contracts a complete release that if Strikeforce or UFC come calling, the fighter will be released.

Congratulations to Jason Young, his team mates and his management who have all play a big part to get him where he is today from myself Dave O’Donnell and the UCMMA team, never stop living the dream.’

JASON ‘SHOTGUN’ YOUNG Page 57

By Mike Breton

oung

UK MMA Spotlight By David Lethaby Photos by Lee Hughes Page 58 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Ch

ris Fishgold CHRIS FISHGOLD - THE NEXT GENERATION Page 59

THE NEXT GENERATION 18 year old Liverpool based Chris Fishgold added to his unblemished pro MMA record completely dominating Ben Rose over three rounds at Ross Pointon’s Gladiator Promotions event on March 12th in Stoke on Trent.

After a successful undefeated amateur campaign Fishgold has enjoyed a seamless transition into the pro ranks. A product of the next Generation gym in Liverpool which nurtured the talents of current UFC stars Terry Etim and Paul Sass, Fishgold looks a solid prospect for the future. Fighting outside of his usual Featherweight class, Fishgold showed incredible grappling repeatedly taking his opponent down and working him on the floor. Paul Rimmer who is the head coach at the Next Generation facility cited Fishgold as being amongst a number of exciting prospects currently under his tutelage. Rimmer is a BJJ brown belt and amassed a great amount of experience training around the USA before opening Next Generation in 2002. With a great record in producing fighters that have eventually gone on to the world’s premier organisations, you cannot help but take Rimmer’s predictions seriously, that he has a number of young fighters that he considers more than capable of making it to the highest levels of MMA in the future. Rimmer has a policy of looking after his fighters outside as well as inside the gym.

He currently has a number of fighters (including Fishgold) working with him teaching classes in the gym, so they can continue to

concentrate on training. Fishgold looks to add to his perfect 4-0 pro record at OMMAC 10 in his home town of Liverpool on June 4th.

Confirmed to be taking on fellow unbeaten featherweight prospect Mike Wilkinson, Fishgold is already

in preparation for the biggest fight of his career. With both fighters having similar all action styles (and unbeaten records) the fight looks set to be a great indicator of the next best domestic prospect.

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Page 62 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

By Teddy G

Ra

In Memory

ndy Savage IN MEMORY: RANDY SAVAGE Page 63

On the morning on May 20th, Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage died at the wheel of his car. He was one of the most well known, and much loved wrestlers of all time. Fighters wishes to pay tribute to the man who was equally extrovert outside the ring as he was in it.

Born November 15th 1952 as Randy Mario Poffo, he was the eldest son of well known wrestler Angelo Poffo and his wife Judy. He showed athletic prowess and an intensity to his competitive nature that lead him to both wrestle and play baseball in his early career, before eventually taking up wrestling full time.

He worked for numerous regional promotions throughout the 1970’s and 80’s and earned a reputation for an aggressive intensity to his in ring persona which eventually lead to the legendary Ole Anderson suggesting he should call himself Randy Savage because he wrestled like one!

A genuinely larger than life personality who was well known for outrageous dress sense and gravely raspy voice, Savage always made an impression with the crowd even before he entered the ring, and when he did wrestle he was a superior worker who’s intensity brought a credibility to his matches which meant he was able to ‘carry’ less able performers to a superb match.

When Vince McMahon took over the WWF from his farther he recognized the huge potential that someone like Savage could have in his revamped glitzy showbiz type of promotion and so in 1985 the deal was done. Savage was initially a heel in the promotion who would belittle and bully his valet (and real life wife) Miss Elizabeth on screen, which got him a lot of heat with live crowds

and TV campaigners alike. Superb match after superb match lead to a feud with Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana. This in turn lead to the match of the year (and still some peoples greatest ever Wrestlemania match) at Wrestlemania 3.

Although Savage lost that match, it helped sow the seeds for a babyface turn that would see him compete in the Wrestlemania 4 World Championship tournament… and win it to lift his 1st WWF World Heavyweight Championship. This in turn lead to forming The Mega Powers tag team with Hulk Hogan before eventually allowing his ego and jealousy over Miss Elizabeth to lead to the inevitable heel turn and feud with Hogan that lead to another classic with Hogan at Wrestlemania 5.

less before he eventually shocked the wrestling world by quitting WWF and signing with WCW. At the time this was as big a shock as something like John Cena going to TNA would be today.

WCW at the time was populated with a lot of washed up, over the hill talent and a lot of youngsters without main event experience. This meant Savage became a big fish in a small pond. He even reignited his feud with Ric Flair over the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which also saw his ex wife, Miss Elizabeth, and another ex valet Sheri Martell into it.

Savage would feud with various wrestlers over the years and continued to have classic Wrestlemania matches against the likes of Ultimate Warrior and Ric Flair (whom he would beat to raise his 2nd world title), and Jake The Snake Roberts.

Savage had various feuds in WCW over the next few years, earning a total of 4 WCW world titles, before teaming with Sting, and Lex Luger to face The Outsiders at the now infamous 1996 Bash at the Beach, where Hulk Hogan turned heel and joined The Outsiders to form the New World Order (nWo). Savage feuded with the nWo throughout the rest of 1996 before joining then in 1997. He stayed as a member until 1998 and then formed his own Team Madness faction in WCW.

As Hogan’s star began to fade in WWF, he left for greener pastures, and with Ultimate Warrior failing to gain the top level respect from the fans (and thus not draw the kind of box office that McMahon had been used to), it seemed that WWF would continue to turn to Savage to delivery the headline feuds that put bums on seats. But as the 1990’s progressed and the WWF turned more and more into a giant cartoon, Savage was used less and

When WCW folded and was sold to Vince McMahon in 2001, Savage did not join WWF, partly because there was still ill feeling between him and McMahon after McMahon used WWF media to slate him for joining WCW – which didn’t sit well with Savage who had been a good company man for 9 years before he left. Instead he opted to ‘retire’ for a while before resurfacing briefly in 2004 & 2005 in TNA.

IN MEMORY: RANDY SAVAGE Page 65

His TNA tenure showed that although he was still in tremendous shape for a 50+ year old, it also showed that he had made his debut over 30 years before and that his best days where behind him.

On a side note from TNA, he did inspire TNA star Jay Lethal to impersonate him for a while, and eventually create his ‘Black Machismo’ character that was part tribute / part parody of Savage and ‘borrowed’ his sense of style for the ring attire as well as recording a serious of hilarious skits including taking a TNA Knockout out for dinner and asking if they did a kids menu (Savage was infamous in the industry for being… frugal shall we say). A tribute to Savage himself is that he was said to have to have taken all this in good humour and found the skits quite funny himself.

After his TNA tenure, Savage had been pretty much retired apart from ‘outside’ ventures such as appearing as Bonesaw McGraw in the first Spiderman film and even recording a rap album (I kid you not!).

It was said that over the past few years Savage had mellowed slightly and had got back on friendly terms with Hogan and McMahon. He even married his long term girlfriend Barbara in May of 2010.

Barbara was also with him in the car when he passed away, and was thankfully uninjured in the crash. Although no official cause of death has been released so far, the most common theory was the 58 year old had a heart attack behind the wheel which caused him to crash. Whatever the cause, 58 is no age to go and there will a massive gulf left in a lot of fans hearts now that the self styled ‘Macho Man’ has left us. Somehow I keep expecting to hear him rasp “Ohh yeah!” just before he does a giant elbow drop from heaven, but I know that he is gone and no one will ever be able to fill his star spangled wrestling boots.

Our thoughts are with his wife and the rest of the Poffo family at this time, and we hope that it is some small comfort to know that he touched so many fans hearts and will always be fondly remembered by all that saw him. Rest in peace Macho Man.

Alan Mortlock Page 66 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

The Warriorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road For Alan Mortlock, fighting mma at the age of 55 was the realisation of a dream that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d had since he first fell in love with martial arts nearly forty years ago.

By Ben Cartlidge Photos by Lauren Antonia Grover

ALAN MORTLOCK - THE WARRIORS ROAD Page 67

The promoter, manager and trainer added fighter to the bottom of his repertoire in October 2010 when he took on veteran Mali Richardson at Cage Fighters Championships.

“I knew this sport would someday be big but, at that time, I was more concentrating on the IBA and promoting that to the best of my abilities.”

As the months crept on Mortlock stayed in competition shape and approached his son Sean to fight on the upcoming CFC show in October and was soon matched up.

Mortlock’s love of combat sports had started when he had taken up Karate during the Bruce Lee boom and eventually moved on to a more contact based system called Bushido back in the seventies.

Mortlock, however, knew that his time with mixed martial arts would come but before he would seriously look at promoting he thought it only good to get acquainted with the sport.

October quickly came round and Mortlock was ready to meet Mali Richardson in what would be the culmination of nearly forty years of martial arts training.

“It was more of a full contact system but it retained the discipline and that was central to the whole ethos.”

He had known Team Titan for a while and after speaking to UFC fighter Brad Pickett, who was unable to help due to fighting constraints, he was soon training with another mma veteran in Ashleigh Grimshaw.

Mortlock continued to train martial arts during this period but, in 1976, he attended one of the first kickboxing shows to ever be staged in the UK and was quickly enthralled by what he saw.

It became his passion to test himself but his chaotic lifestyle meant that he simply was never focused enough to compete when in his prime. Mortlock is philosophical about this period looking back and realises the talent that he wasted.

“I’d go in there and spar with the boys from the gym and hold my own but I’d hear the same thing all the time that I was squandering what I had.”

Mortlock always understood the fighter’s ethos however, and it seemed that anything that he turned his hand to in the world of combat sports just couldn’t miss.

He became the coach for the 1986 British kickboxing team and was one of the first promoters to put on a kickboxing event (UKP) and to pay his fighters, one of whom was a young kickboxer by the name of Nigel Benn.

When mma began to surface in the mid nineties it interested Mortlock but he was promoting his own very successful boxing organisation at the time and, although he dabbled with a show in the late nineties which saw Alex Reid and James Zikic compete, he never really committed to this new upcoming sport.

Alan was, by his own standards, out of shape but quickly fell in love with the sport and soon began hungering for more; soaking up all he was taught with a renewed vigour.

Mortlock began sparring regularly and it was not uncommon to see him going three hard fought rounds with fighters who were half his age. MMA had helped Alan get back into fighting shape but, more importantly, it had showed his trainers that he was serious and that his warrior’s heart had not missed a beat.

It was a huge decision to make but Mortlock decided that he wanted to put his new found skills to the ultimate test and compete.

Grimshaw and the team supported his decision and a fight was announced for February 2010.

Preparation was hard but Alan drew on the experience and the discipline that his martial arts training had taught him as he dropped sixteen kilograms and was ready to fight but, in a cruel turn of events, the event was cancelled and Mortlock came to a crossroads.

It was at this point he decided that his son Sean and Ashleigh Grimshaw should manage Cage Fighters Championships so he could remain focused on his boxing promotion but somehow it wasn’t the right amount of closure.

In the end, despite landing some great shots and taking the mount position, Mortlock was stopped from the top position but was in good spirits and quickly congratulated his opponent.

“It was the greatest release I’ve ever had and, in that cage, I did every single different bit of every art I’ve ever learned. I threw some kicks, punches and some knees. We did some jujitsu and some wrestling and in the end I feel so blessed that I got in there and gave it everything that I had.”

Alan received his trophy, which now sits proudly atop his mantelpiece, and gave thanks to everyone that had made his dream possible. Mortlock had proved that a real warrior is not judged by his record but on the heart he shows in accepting a great challenge.

pictures copyright

Page 68 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

UFC - ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT LIVE Page 69

With NOT LONG to go until the UFC gives us yet another free mma card, it’s amazing to think just many gratis offerings the organisation has delivered.

There have also been Ultimate finale cards and the ventures onto the Versus network but the formula remains the same; free fights on a cable television network featuring popular fighters, headlined by a legitimate name or maybe two.

long time in modern mixed martial arts. Both fighters were bruised up quite early and although Credeur seemed to land more strikes, Quarry landed the decisive ones as he dropped his opponent several times with clubbing right hands.

The UFC has utilized these events perfectly over the years to promote a variety of different causes; from new incarnations of The Ultimate Fighter to the US Army to the latest Saw film.

It would be Quarry who’d get the nod from the judges but both fighters received a $30,000 fight of the night bonus and the knowledge that they’d been involved in a classic encounter which would inevitably get them time on highlight reels and recap shows for a very long time.

Initially the UFC used the idea of Ultimate Fight Night to capitalise on the momentum of the breakthrough success enjoyed by The Ultimate Fighter. They realised that the public had grown an affinity to these fighters that they’d seen grow together in the house and what better way to maintain the interest than to put them on a free fight card on Spike TV. No less than eight fighters from the first season featured on the first Ultimate Fight Night back in August 2005.

There have been some amazing bouts over the years on these cards so, after a marathon catch up session on my part, I present you with my top five Ultimate Fight Night moments.

5) Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur

4) Drew Fickett vs. Josh Koscheck UFN 2 – October 3rd 2005

The story of Josh Koscheck’s evolution as a mixed martial artist is an often told tale. Back in 2005, however, he was still pretty much coming into fights with an overhand right and his patented runaway train style takedowns.

He had shown a smattering of submission skills, but it was clear where his strengths were.

For the best part of fourteen minutes that night it seemed like these skills were the antidote to crafty veteran Drew Fickett. It had been a clinic in control from the

UFN: Diaz vs. Guillard – September 16th 2009 It was always going to be an odd match up on paper but, ironically, those kind of bouts always seem to produce interesting results.

Nate Quarry fights like the tin man from Wizard of Oz and Credeur’s brand of wild swinging is reminiscent of someone trying to attract attention having fallen out of a lifeboat.

The two met in the centre of the Octagon at the start and neither backed up an inch. The next three rounds saw some of the wildest exchanges that I have seen for a

Evans vs Salmon

young Koscheck and following a stand up in the third, the writing seemed on the wall.

Nobody told Drew Fickett that, however, as he threw a left kick at the advancing Koscheck, catching him with his knee and sending his foe spiralling to the canvas.

Fickett raced to capitalise on his fortune and locked in his patented rear naked choke in a matter of seconds. It didn’t look good for Koscheck and within seconds he was fast asleep.

Fickett would go on to have mixed success for the UFC and compete for a whole host of other promotions, but his defining moment under the Zuffa banner would be his fight with Koscheck. A comeback that even Rocky would have passed off as unrealistic.

3) Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon UFN: Evans vs. Salmon – January 25th 2007

Sean Salmon came into his bout with Rashad Evans as a 9-1 prospect and, was perceived to be, a good barometer of how far the TUF 2 winner had come. It was obvious once the bell rang, however, that something wasn’t quite right.

Page 70 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Diaz vs Pellegrino

Salmon seemed nervy, as expected, but took almost a Taekwondo stance as he looked to set up a step in side kick.

He then threw one of the most inexplicable kicks I have ever seen in a mixed martial arts fight. It was like watching the deleted extras from an old Cynthia Rothrock film, it’s hard to even find the words to describe it.

Ironically, after a more competitive end to the round, it would be another kick that would make Salmon famous. Rashad Evans showed just how far his stand up had moved forward as he lined up a perfect right head kick that found the mark in devastating fashion.

Salmon fell like a puppet with its strings cut, straight down to the canvas. Evans followed up but it was all academic, he had finally found his timing and served notice of his intentions to the rest of the division.

Silva vs Leben

2) Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino UFN: Florian vs. Lauzon – April 2nd 2008

It wouldn’t be right to have a countdown like this without mentioning Ultimate Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon. A card so stacked that, following a huge petition, the UFC decided to extend the broadcast to three hours; with names like Florian, Alves, Parisyan, Diaz, Edgar and Maynard it was clear that the UFC was offering pay per view quality for free.

There were several bouts on the card that were tremendously entertaining that night, incredible considering the mile high altitude proved a real conditioning problem for a lot of fighters.

Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino stood out simply because of how exciting it was from bell to bell. Diaz started slowly and found himself in a crucifix position up against the cage absorbing some heavy shots.

Pellegrino, and the crowd, seemed astounded at the toughness of the young Diaz as he managed to survive and stand back up from this position. The fight was truly back and forth but in the second round, Pellegrino grabbed a single and looked for the big slam.

It was a mistake he would live to regret as his foe would quickly wrap his legs into a tight triangle and, in true Diaz style, paused briefly to flex at the camera and fire the middle finger salute into the air.

Pellegrino had no choice but to tap and Nate Diaz had reminded us all of the fact that you can take the boy out of Stockton, but you can’t take Stockton out of the boy.

1) Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben UFN 5 – June 26th 2006

It’s hard to imagine a time when Anderson Silva could be regarded as a secret or also as an underdog but when he came into fight Chris Leben, he was both.

The new found audience had quickly fallen in love with Leben, his hard luck story and his iron chin had given the fans something to cheer about and, since coming off the show, he had shown much promise.

He still talked his customary smack but his interview before the Anderson Silva bout must still haunt him to this day. Leben made his customary brash statements, calling Silva overrated and famously saying that after the loss, Silva should, “go back to Japan, where the competition is a little easier.”

Forty nine seconds into the first round Leben had received a lesson about the competition, and Anderson Silva had proved that he was light years ahead of anyone in the UFC. The bout finished with Chris Leben crumpled in a heap; Silva had connected with every single strike that he’d thrown.

Only Josh Koscheck seemed more pleased than Anderson, who had announced his arrival with one of the most spectacular debuts in mixed martial arts history.

I could have easily picked ten or fifteen moments from these cards but all of them seem to remind me of one thing. In a day and age where everything has a price, we should surely be thankful that the UFC has given us some of the most defining moments in the sport for free.

UFC - ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT LIVE Page 71

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Manchester TNA UK Fan Party Report By Teddy G.

TNA UK FAN PARTY Page 73

Thursday 26th May 2011, and TNA held their 2nd UK Fan Party at Manchester’s swanky Tiger Tiger.

TNA had a hard act to follow after the success of their first Fan Party in London, but they blew that away with this one. A night of fun, entertainment, and surprises that treated the UK fans (or ‘freeloaders’ as Jeff Jarrett calls them) to a great evening.

Fans where allowed in at 7pm when JB himself opened the barrier for the fans. Right from the off, TNA went out of the way to make the fans feel welcome, with JB, Si Rothstein, and the ever lovely Jade, meeting, greeting and charming the fans.

At various points in the evening JB & Jade where giving away LOTS of TNA merchandise, including assorted signed goodies and even the new Impact Wrestling T-Shirts (not yet available to buy over here!).

The first ‘guest’ of the evening was the King & Queen of The Mountain, Jeff & Karen Jarrett. They joined the party on the big screen via Skype and Jeff was in a belligerent mood!

He baited the crowd with his usual accusations of being ‘freeloaders’ and then offered to take on Prince William himself! This all went down a storm with the fans.

The 2nd guest of the evening was England’s own Magnus. It’s always good to see Magnus as he is such a good guy, and always really entertaining and loves interacting with the fans. You could clearly see he was enjoying it as much as the fans and was happy to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Other surprises through the night included Skype calls to Robert Roode and Abyss which both went down well with the fans, but the biggest shocker of the evening was the arrival BG & Kip James!! This was a major stunner and caused a mixture of shock and excitement amongst the fans.

Again both these guys where great sports throughout the night.

During the Spin Cycle segment

they recorded along with Magnus, they claimed that they are now clean and sober, and they really did look in good shape, and I can personally confirm they where only on soft drinks (I know as I brought them one!).

TNA did well to keep this under wraps and kudos to JB who was the guy responsible for pulling this coup off.

The main reason for them being there was because, although JB is credited as the man behind Spin Cycle, he was honest enough to admit that the original idea that lead to it came from them. And so they did indeed record a Spin Cycle (due on Explosion in approx 3 weeks) and had great fun with Magnus, JB and most of all with the fans. The fans responded with “one more match!” chants, and where suggesting they take on Beer Money (BG then even started both sides of the room off with the “Beer...” and “Money!” chants. Although these guys aren’t currently signed to TNA it was clear the fans would love to see them again, even if it was for that one last time to take on Beer Money... lets hope TNA seize the opportunity and make it happen!

A second spin cycle was also recorded with some of the female fans which I thought was a nice touch.

JB & Jade made sure that pretty much every fan got something from the huge merchandise stash including signed and collectable goodies.

All in all it was a great night for the fans with TNA (and especially JB) working hard to go out of their way to put on a great show for the UK fans, and the lively and friendly atmosphere of the venue only added to that feeling.

Anyone who wasn’t lucky enough to attend, please keep following JB on twitter for future events and don’t forget to follow the TNA UK fan page on Facebook.

Overall 11 out of 10 guys! Keep up the good work!!

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World Fighting Championship 2 Bad Boys - Beebe, Silva, Olivier and Krecicki claim championship belts!

WFC2 delivered an all action night of fights from Grundy Park in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire that exceeded everyone’s already high expectations.

Four new champions were crowned and the rest of the card delivered a mixture of knockouts, submissions and hard fought three round battles.

Highlights of the under card included a dominant performance from Tommy “Twogunz” Maguire who took no time at all in pounding out Danny Fletcher in just forty seconds and a textbook triangle choke from the always dangerous Dino Gambatesa as he put David Haggstrom away in the second round of their bout.

Knockout of the evening had to go to Team Hellboy prospect Jack Hermansson as he wasted no time in dispatching Andor Filo with some

Bantamweight Champion Chase Beebe

scintillating punches in just twenty eight seconds.

Robbie Olivier took home the featherweight title but he had to work every second of the way as he came through a bloody battle with grinder Antanas Jazbutis. The Tsunami veteran came through some tight looking submissions and showed his trademark excellent wrestling to tough his way to victory.

Underdog Robert Krecicki took home the light heavyweight gold with a great performance against Toni Valtonen in which he used a relentless game to shut down his opponent. Valtonen, much to his credit, never stopped coming

Middleweight Champion Claudio Silva

forward but his attacks were neutralised as Krecicki held out and took home the belt.

Claudio Silva built on his grappling tournament victory at Submission 1000 last weekend by taking home the middleweight title when Matt Ewin was forced to submit in the second round due to injury. Ewin suffered an injured groin in a fight that saw him taken down but scramble repeatedly from the bottom.

The bantamweight title bout was over in a heartbeat as former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe took care of ATT’s Ralph Acosta in forty one seconds thanks to a vice like guillotine choke.

LightHeavyweight Champion Robert Krecicki

???? Page 75

Photographs by Martin McNeil for “World Fighting Championship”

WFC2 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

Jefferson George Defeats Glenn Shelford R1 4:07 Triangle Choke Marcin Lazarz Defeats Pawel Doftei R3 5:00 Unanimous Decision Marco Antonio Defeats Geoff Snelling R1 0:46 Arm Bar Dino Gambatesa Defeats David Haggstrom R2 4:34 Triangle Choke Jonatan Westin Defeats Richard Griffin R1 4:53 Guillotine Choke Tommy Maguire Defeats Danny Fletcher R1 0:40 Tko (Gnp) Jack Hermansson Defeats Andor Filo R1 0:28 Ko

TITLE BOUTS;

Featherweight Title: Robbie Olivier Defeats Antanas Jazbutis R3 5:00 Unanimous Decision Middleweight Title: Claudio Silva Defeats Matt Ewin R2 1:34 Verbal Submission Due To Injured Grion Bantamweight Title: Chase Beebe Defeats Ralph Acosta R1 0:41 Guillotine Choke Light Heavyweight Title: Robert Krecicki Defeats Toni Valtonen R3 5:00 Unanimous Decision

Featherweight Champion Robbie Oliver

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British Boxing At It’s Very Best

Fury Beats Chisora, Theophane and Toms Retain Their Crowns In Style British Boxing is alive and kicking. Last week we were treated to one of the best domestic battles in a long, long time, Kevin Mitchell-John Murray. Last night, at the Mick Hennessy promoted event at Wembley Arena, boxing fans were treated to not just the best Heavyweight fight of the year so far but also a quality undercard absolutely rammed with top quality all action bouts.

Heading up the show was the eagerly awaited Heavyweight showdown between British and Commonwealth Champion ‘Del Boy’ Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury. In the build up to the fight there were plenty of comparing this domestic biggie with the recent Wladimir Klitschko-David ‘Hayemaker’ Haye mega fight.

Not surprising really, Tyson is tall and uses his height to great advantage, like Klitschko, whilst Del Boy relies on speed and power like Haye to overcome bigger opponents. But at the end of the day that is the only comparison that could be made, because unlike Klitschko-Haye what we got

was a great fight with plenty of World class action.

on the fast back stepping Tyson.

Great round for the Londoner.

The first round was a bit of an edgy affair which see Tyson using his jab to keep the stalking Del Boy at bay.

Del Boy starts fast and continues the all out assault in the third, although this time Tyson seems prepared and stands his ground repelling the forward charging Londoner with big lefts and rights of his own. Great round for both protagonists.

After the first break Dereck turned to his trusty bullying tactics to back Tyson onto the ropes before letting rip with a big right, Tyson breaks lose but Del Boy chase him down letting of a massive double handed salvo. Tyson gathers himself and responds with a couple of exocets of his own, Dereck stands his ground and lets of a massive right that rocks Tyson to the core. No slouch Dereck launches himself into another salvo of big lefts and rights

More of the same in the fourth, Del Boy launching a seemingly never ending wave of double handed salvos that overwhelm the big Mancunian. With barely seconds left on the clock Dereck lunges forward and launches a scything left that rocks Tyson to the core, but before he can follow up the bell rings. Seriously great round for the Londoner.

The fifth was a sensational round full of nonstop back and forth action. Tyson takes the round in my book just because he used his size advantage to great effect.

Del Boy starts the sixth fast and takes the fight to the Mancunian.

Tyson stands his ground and lets rip with a big right. Some great toe-totoe action ensues until Tyson starts

BRITISH BOXING AT IT’S VERY BEST Page 77

backing Dereck onto the ropes and fires off a salvo of big shots.

Del Boy shrugs the big man off and lets rip with a big salvo of his own.

Another close round but I feel Tyson just did enough to take it.

table on the Mancunian, with a heavy double handed flurry he breaks loose and turns Tyson onto the ropes. Great, great round with no clear winner - they were both awesome!

Round seven was more a less a repeat of the sixth, but even better!

It was a great round for both but again I felt Tyson was that bit busier and landed the more meaningful shots - and plenty of them.

The eleventh was another cracking all action round as was the twelfth and final round. I have to admit I didn’t expect to the fight to go all the the way, and to be honest it nearly didn’t.

Del Boy piles on the pressure big time in eighth, with big lefts and rights raining down on the big Mancunian. Mid round Tyson tries to turn the table on the Londoner, who with his back to the corner post beckons Tyson to bring it on. Close round but it’s Del Boys in my book.

Right from the final opening bell Del Boy goes on the attack letting rip with big lunging lefts. By about the half way mark things got a bit scrappy, not for long though as Del Boy got a little space and launched a massive exocet. Tyson shrugs it off and throws a massive flurry to force the Londoner back into a corner once again. With his quarry just where he wanted him Tyson goes in for the finish with another massive salvo.

The pace noticeably slows in the ninth, Del Boy seems content to close up shop whilst backed onto the ropes and let Tyson use a lot on energy throwing shot after shot without much effect. Has to be Tyson’s round just because he worked hardest and threw the more meaningful shots, even if they were only catching the arms and gloves of the Londoner.

Tyson’s looking strong and again backs Del Boy up with some massive big scoring bombs at the beginning of the tenth. Around midway through Del Boy turns the

Surprisingly both are still upright as the final bell tolls, so the judges are called upon to decide who loses his coveted ‘O’, and in this case his British and Commonwealth titles as the judges declared Tyson Fury victorious by 118-111 and 117-112 (twice) points margin.

Have to say this was the best Heavyweight bout I’ve seen in a very, very long time - in fact I think the last featured another Tyson, Mike Tyson, it was that long ago!

Shame one had to lose but who knows maybe there’ll be a rematch in the near future, I hope so.

Slotted in between the main events was a four round lightweight contest featuring Enfield’s unbeaten Chris ‘The Flash’ Evangelou and Rotherham’s Jon Baguley.

A cracking all action fight in which the young Londoner was able to showcase his exceptional talent to yet another big crowd. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all one way traffic from Evangelou, Baguley didn’t come to make up the numbers.

For four round the pair went for it a hundred and ten percent, just as I said Evangelou is an exceptional talent and it showed. His work rate and quality of punches were the telling difference that earned him a tidy 49-47 points victory.

Remember the name Chris Evangelou, I predict that this youngster is going to be huge and it’s just a matter of time before we see him in Championship action.

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Theophane vs Cook

The main support bout for FuryChisora see Kilburn’s Ashley ‘Treasure’ Theophane defend his British Light Welterweight crown against former European and IBO World Lightweight Champion Jason Cook.

Cookie starts fast and takes the fight to the champ in the fist couple of rounds. Throughout Cookie looks well in control and lands some cracking big rights. Ashley fought well but Jason was far more active and landed a lot more shots.

The fourth was a much closer round, both men upped their work rate and added even more venom to their punches.

More of the same in the fifth, which was already heading towards being yet another round for Cookie even before Ashley was deducted a point for yet another low blow, his fourth in two rounds!

Round six was a much closer affair as Ashley started to up the pace and take the fight to Cookie. Some nice back and forth action ensued, Ashley started to turn the style on and land some peaches.

The tide starts to turn in the seventh, As before the pair went at it hammer and tongs for the full three minutes. The highlight of the all action round see Ashley land a cracking right, quickly followed by a crisp left-right to which Cookie countered with an equally venomous right. First clear round for Ashley in my book, but was it to be too little too late?

Round eight sees ‘Treasure’ pile on the pressure and at times looks extremely dangerous, especially when he started picking his shots.

The venom in these shots was clear for all to see, the tide now flowed a hundred percent in his direction. An easy round to call in the Champ’s favour.

Ashley dominates round nine, great action throughout the round but the highlight comes with just seconds left on the clock. Ashley rocks Cookie with a huge right followed by a salvo of exocets. Somehow Cookie survives until the bell.

Starting the tenth in the same vein as the previous round Ashley stalked his quarry before launching a series of big shots, that culminated in a huge right that sends Cookie down - and out with just forty three seconds on the clock.

Great performances from both fighters, I have to admit by the midway point I thought Ashley had well and truly blown it, I was wrong.

It was another great performance by the reigning champ in the fight

Pat Mcaleese vs Ryan Toms

that preceded Theophane-Cook.

Southern Area Light Middleweight Champ Ryan Toms defended his title in emphatic style against the normally oh so classy Newmarket prospect ‘Phat’ Pat McAleese.

From the off this looked like would be one helluva fight, and it was.

The early exchanges were fantastic evenly matched affairs but as the round progressed Ryan switched tactics and started to really add some power to his shots.

Early in the second Ryan lands a peach of a left, quickly followed by another. Pat comes back with a cracking double handed flurry. As the round progresses Pat changes tactics and starts to box, and box beautifully. Ryan though smelled blood and starts to really load up his shots.

The third was a real lively affair, Pat again boxes beautifully but Ryan steps it up and targets the body. As the round progresses Ryan seems content to pick his shots, again targeting the body with venomous lefts. After yet another big body shot backs the Newmarket man up and lets rip with a powerful double handed flurry. Pat does well to recover from the onslaught to survive the round.

After various big exchanges in the fourth Ryan lands another big left to the body, Pat sinks down and takes the count. As soon as the count’s over Ryan is all over Pat like a rash and again lands a big left to the body, Pat goes down for the second time. As the fight resumes the writing is on the wall and it comes as no surprise when Ryan lets rip with yet another vicious left to the body.

‘Phat’ Pat goes down for the third and final time, as the referee waves the fight off at the two minutes and forty four second mark.

It may have been a short fight but it was a right royal dust-up.

Ryan Toms looks ready to move up and have to say judging on this performance British Champion Prince Arron should be the next target in his sights. Now that’s a mouth watering prospect for the new season.

BRITISH BOXING AT IT’S VERY BEST Page 79

Heading up the Championship bouts support card see Sheffield based Qatari Kid Galahad in action against Mansfield based Latvian Pavels Senkovs.

Nice little work out for the talented Kid Galahad as Senkovs is no walk over. For five rounds Galahad barely got into second gear as he out boxed the game Latvian. The final round see Kid Galahad shift up a couple of gears and go in search of a stoppage finish. Big double handed flurries rained down on the Latvian exile for virtually every second of the final three minutes.

Excellent performance by Kid Galahad to earn a shut out 60-54 points victory.

Now having read this far you will have a good idea that this show was a bit of a blinder, and that there were some awesome performances.

Now if I were to say to you that my performance of the night wasn’t Tyson Fury, wasn’t even Ashley Theophane or Ryan Toms but was three fight veteran Peter Vaughan you’d probably laugh, that is unless you were at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.

Peter Vaughan was served up as the sacrificial lamb for hot Light Middleweight prospect Phil Fury, but as everyone soon found out this was no lamb but a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The first couple of rounds there was some great action, and most coming from young Vaughan who seemed intent to make his mark. By the third Vaughan was well in his stride and picking his shots. It wasn’t all one way traffic and there was some good toe-to-toe action midway through the round, but Vaughan’s high tempo work rate and accurate punching secured him the round, as the pair before, easily.

More of the same in the fourth, but come the fifth Vaughan shifted up a gear and really went to town, mixing it up with solid body shots and big right hands. Fury responds with some big shots of his own but

Ashley Theophane

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Qatari Kid Galahad vs Pavels Senkovs

the excellent Peter Vaughan, who was magnificent throughout and thoroughly deserved the victory.

I was little surprised that referee Bob Williams scored it 78-75 as Vaughan had won every single round by a country mile, that’s not just my thoughts but that of the amassed press corps seated around me.

nowhere near the level Vaughan was dishing out. At this point I have Vaughan five rounds up and looking to cruise to victory.

The sixth goes more or less the same way, but Vaughan digs into his well stocked arsenal of punches and starts letting rip with big rights followed by rib cracking hooks or explosive uppercuts.

Fury obviously realised his precious ‘O’ record was in serious danger as he shot out to take the fight to Vaughan in the seventh. Big mistake Vaughan catches the advancing Mancunian with a huge left and so started yet another round dominated by the young upstart Vaughan.

The eighth and final round was a cracker, Fury needed a knockout to keep his record unblemished and he knew it. This was by far Fury’s best round but again he was out boxed and out foxed by

Waltham Abbey’s Phil Gill was next up, against Sheffield based Qatari Mo Khaled.

It took Gill a couple of rounds to get to grips with the awkward Dominic Ingle trained fighter’s switch hitting style, so Khaled took the first couple of rounds comfortably.

Once Gill had him sussed he was able to land big rights at will. Khaled switched tactics and drew Gill in, big mistake that’s where Gill is at his best and boy did he make the Qatari exile pay for that mistake.

At the end of six excellent rounds I had Gill ahead by one round, although in all honesty the third could have gone either way so wasn’t really that surprised when referee Bob Williams held both hands aloft and declared it a 57-57 draw.

Yet another top class bout preceded Gill-Khaled, this time Luton based Bulgarian Bobby George (Boris Georgiev) faced Manchester’s Tamao Dwyer.

Phill Fury vs Peter Vaughan

Again it was a cracker, albeit quite one-sided. Right from the start George turned on the style and played to the gallery. As early as the second round George would look up to his many supporters after a particularly slick bit of work, no surprise really he made it look so easy.

Round after round he plain out boxed Dwyer, picking his shots before letting rip with a flurry of crisp double handed flurries.

George turned up the heat in the fourth and really went to town on the head of Dwyer, so much so that by the end of the first minute he’d opened up a cut over the left eye of the Mancunian. Referee Bob Williams was quick to notice the widening cut and called for the doctor, who declared the cut too serious to continue and handing George his second TKO finish in three pro outings.

I arrived at the Wembley Arena just as debutant Lee Markham’s bout, against the ubiquitous Matt Scriven, was about to start.

It took a round or so for the youngster to settle down, but once he turned on the class and picked off the more experienced Scriven with ease. Late in the third Markham really shook Scriven and it looked like a stoppage finish was on the cards. In the final stanza Scriven used his vast experience to keep out of trouble against the clearly talented youngster.

After four excellent rounds Lee Markham earned his first pro win by a shutout 40-36 points margin.

My final words on this most excellent (yes I know I keep saying excellent, but the bouts and the event were very much just that) event is I have covered many events, on both sides of the Atlantic, but this was my first Hennessy Sports event. If this is the level of quality of all Mick Hennessy promoted shows I can’t wait for the next, as this was quality from start to finish.

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