 |
|
CAGE WAR CHAMPIONSHIP - CWC "No Nightmare" for fans at King's Hall, Belfast” BY BRIAN ELLIOTT ON NOV 30, 09 12:24 AM IN MMA
November 29, 2009 Kings Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland
Rich "No Love" Clementi (73kg, USA) proved to be a little too much for 23-year-old Chris "Menace 2 Society" Stringer (71.7kg, Northern Ireland) in the main event of Cage Wars Championship's "Nightmare" event, held at the King's Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clementi vs. Stringer
Clementi - the UFC veteran who has beaten the likes of UFC 106 semi-main event fighter Anthony Johnson - found it tough to connect with an elusive Stringer in the first round, but when he took the contest to the mat in the second, it was his fight for the taking, and Stringer was forced to tap out to a triangle choke in 3:11 of the second round.
Stringer Triangled by Clementi
"I'm just so happy to be fighting in Ireland," said Clementi. "This is my fifth time out here, and I've finally got to fight. Chris stepped up a month ago (after Peter Duncan was injured), so that took balls. My hat's off to him.
"The ground game is my world, when I get on top that's when I win fights. But was a tough fight, and he's a tough kid."
In an extraordinary result, Lee "The Dragon" McKibbin (84.5kg, Northern Ireland) took just 45 seconds to dismiss of veteran John "The Machine" Lober (82.7kg, USA) via submission. The manner of the tap-out was the most surprising of all, a standing guillotine choke which can rarely be applied with enough torque to force a submission.
Lee McKibbin chokes Lober
"It's unbelievable," said McKibbin of the win. "My respect to John Lober, he's an amazing fighter. He's fought the best, and he's beaten the best.
"When he was going for the single-leg (takedown), I got one arm out and was looking to do the same with the other," he continued. "When I did that, I knew it (the guillotine) was on, so I finished it."
Colin "The Gift" McKee's (78.9kg, Northern Ireland) uncompromising style proved to be too much for Neydson Santos Ferreira (74kg, Brazil), in what was the first of the night's three feature attractions. Santos - a Brazilian ju-jitsu expert who was a late replacement for the injured Che Mills - was never able to utilise his ground skills, with McKee trapping him against the cage and delivering some big punches before the referee called a stop to the contest at 3:04 of the first round.
Colin McKee vs. Neydson Santos Ferreira
The win by Daniel "Denzil" Thomas (70.4kg, Wales) over Duane van Helvoirt (68.9kg, Holland) was one of technique following attrition, finally getting the guillotine choke in 2:34 of the second round. Prior to that, Thomas had worn down his opponent on the ground, enabling him to get a lightning-quick finish in the end.
Jordy Puete (62.5kg, Holland) may have taken five minutes to find his rhythm against Neil Seery (60.7kg, Republic of Ireland), but it took him only 17 seconds of the second round to roll his opponent into a kneebar for the immediate tap-out. Up until then, it had been Seery who was relentless with his ground-and-pound, clearly taking the first round in doing so.
Ben Boekee (65.9kg, Holland) set his stall out from the get-go against Hugh Brady (69.4kg, Northern Ireland), locking in constant submissions coming off numerous big takedowns. A triangle choke was almost enough to finish it in the first, as an armbar was in the second, and even though Brady came back with some brutal ground-and-pound in the final round, the points seemed to have been tallied in favour of Boekee by that time. The decision was in fact split, however, with two judges giving the fight 29-28 Boekee, and one inexplicably scoring it 30-27 Brady.
In the first of the evening's professional bouts, Ali McClean (70kg, Northern Ireland) submitted Julien Denis (69.2kg, France) with a d'Arce choke in 2:44 of the first round. As expected, McClean was the proverbial house of fire, looking for big strikes, but he was soon able to take his over-matched opponent to the ground and apply an impressive finish.
In a bout fought under amateur rules (2x5 minute rounds, no striking to the head of a downed opponent - all the below bouts fought under these rules), Colin Neeson (64.5kg, Northern Ireland) won a majority decision over Jonny McGillion (65.8kg, Republic of Ireland). Neeson was more aggressive on his feet throughout, although McGillion showed good submission evasion on the ground.
In one of the most atmospheric contests of the evening, Ryan Boyd (118.9, Northern Ireland) took on Radek Rychlak (117.9kg, Poland). Boyd was the more accurate with his striking in the first round, and also produced one of the highlights of the night by body-slamming the Pole, using a technique more akin to professional wrestling than Mixed Martial Arts. He seemed to tire in the second round, however, and had no answer when Rychlak used his position on top to work a Kimura for the submission, he then switched and closed the bout with a RNC in 3:41 of the second round.
Brendan Dalton (69.5kg, Northern Ireland) had to wait until the second round to score a submission victory over Rowan Prenderville (69kg, Northern Ireland). Prenderville took several big shots to the chin in the first, a legacy of his low hands throughout, but seemed to have his opponent on the back-foot in the second. However, once the fight went to the ground, an armbar eventually sealed it in 3:14 of the second round.
Pat McAllister (75.6kg, Northern Ireland) delighted the partisan Belfast fans by producing a flawless 30- second performance to take a win from Rich Edgeworth (73.6kg, Republic of Ireland). McAllister immediately took the fight to the ground with a huge slam, and having had an attempt at a keylock foiled, transitioned beautifully to submit his opponent with an armbar.
Andy Young (65.9kg, Northern Ireland) knocked out Gareth Lyons (67.2kg, Northern Ireland) in 1:30, stalking his opponent before catching him with a short right-hand against the cage.
It was a battle of wrestling vs striking when Chris McFall (75.6kg, Northern Ireland) faced Ramunus Venslovas (75.4kg, Lithuania). After the full ten minutes had elapsed, all three judges scored the bout in favour of McFall.
Tirnan Carlin (67.7kg, Strabane) weathered a vicious storm from Stephen Hazzard (64.9kg, Northern Ireland), taking everything the Newcastle fighter had before tapping him with an achilles lock at 4:09 of the first round.
In the opening contest, Colin Quinn (76.7kg, Northern Ireland) tapped out Stephen Clelland (75.9kg, Northern Ireland) with a triangle choke in 2:37 of the first round.
(All photos courtesy of Cage Wars Championship / Kirth Ferris Photography [www.kirthferris.co.uk])
- From Cage Wars - Photos courtesy of Cage Wars Championship \ Kirth Ferris Photography
(12/2/09) |
 |
