Cage Rage 5 : SFUK's mixed martial arts reports

1. Danny Fletcher def. Steve Cunningham by Arm Bar 1:36 R1
2. Colin Lingwood def. Stuart Grant by TKO - 2:55 R1
3. Dave Lee def. Chris Hipkiss by Rear Naked Choke - 4:10 R2
4. Carla O'Sullivan def. Ruth Darbyshire by Arm Bar - 2:57 R1
5. Ian Butlin def. Chin Weerasinghe by TKO - 4:35 R3
6. Ricky Moore def. Benoit Derot by Kimura - 2:30 R2
7. Ronaldo Campos def. Michael Johnson by Arm Bar - 4:10 R1
8. Sammy Schiavo def. Paul Sutherland by Tap Out from Strikes - 4:40 R1
9. Mark Epstein def. Lance King by KO - 1:53 R3 - Epstein wins Heavyweight Title
10. Paul Jenkins DRAW Suley Mahmoud after 3 rounds - Jenkins retains Middlewight Title
11. Xavier Foupa-Pokam def. Paulo Coelho by Verbal Tap Out - R2
12. Jean Silva def. Leigh Remedios by KO - R2

Over the last few years the standard of MMA fighters has been getting better in the UK, 5 UK fighters have made it as far as the UFC. 3 of those have won fights. Those of us who are familiar with the UK scene know that there's a lot of other talent competing in the UK right now some home grown and some imported. The proof of this is easy to see because the standard of show is also improving and Cage Rage 5 was no exception.

In the past I have criticised Cage Rage because, mixed in with top fights featuring UFC veterans, they always had some lacklustre fights and I felt this was holding them back. Without these fights I feel that Cage Rage could potentially set itself apart as the number one show in the UK. When the card was announced for this show it seemed that Andy Geer and Dave O Donnell had decide to do just that, Cage Rage has thrown down the gauntlet.

The venue, Caesars, was packed out as always. The club itself is a well-designed, classy looking venue in South West London. The crowd was mostly made up of regulars to the show, friends and family of the fighters and MMA Dignitaries such as Dexter Casey, Lee Murray, Lee Johnstone, Dougie Truman and Andy Foreman among others. Each fight on the card was potentially a fight of the year with Samy Schiavo making his return to the UK, Ronaldo Campos taking on Michael Johnson and the fight that everyone's wanted to see since a certain brazilian graced a UK Cage, Jean Silva V Leigh Remedios.

As is that wasn't enough there were 3 Cage Rage Belts on the line.

As with almost all shows in the UK or the US Cage Rage has some injuries and last minute pull outs in the weeks coming up to the show, but this seemed only to make the card stronger.

Ross Pettifer pulled out of his title shot against Paul Jenkins and was replaced by London Shootfighter's Suley "Baaad" Mahmoud, Alex Evans broke his hand the week before the fight and was replaced by former Mundials Champion Paulo Coelho to set up a classic striker V Grappler match.

Throughout the night, there wasn't a single fight that didn't inspire or enthuse the crowd. From the undercard fights showing Chin Weerasingh's incredible toughness against a heavier, stronger and equally skilled Ian Butlin who systematically Ground N Pounded him until, after numerous close attempts at Kimuras by Chin, the ref stopped the match in the 3^rdsetting Ian up for a title shot against Pete Tiarks and Carla O sullivans skilful domination of Ruth Darbisher leading to an armbar in the first guaranteed that nobody left disappointed.

In the international fights, Samy Schiavos return to the UK proved once again that he belongs in there with the best as he showed his wrestling skills and some excellent Ground N Pound making every shot count on the floor until Paul Sutherland (CageWarriors LightWeight Champion) was forced to tap.

Xavier Foupa-Pokam continued to impress crowds by fighting an intelligent fight against an opponent with whom he had no intention of grappling. Every time it hit the floor, usually with Coelho pulling guard, Xavier stood over him and landed solid punches to the Brazilians face then backed up forcing the fight back to the feet.

Weerasingh's Ronin Team mate Ricky Moore took on Frenchman Benoit Derot. Extreme Brawl champ, Ricky's last outing in Cage Rage was a loss against Featherweight Champion Pete Tiarks and he was out to redeem himself. Derot took the fight to the ground straight away and spent most of the first round looking for Heelhooks that Ricky defended perfectly. The second saw the fight hit the floor again but this time Ricky slipped on a Kimura and finished it halfway into Round 2.

The 3 title bouts didn't disappoint either, Michael Johnson challenged Ronaldo Campos for the Welterweight title in his first fight since losing to Jason Black in Extreme Force. Michael showed great speed and technique standing and was landing more on the Brazilian forcing Campos to go after the takedown. On the Ground the Brazilian took over, Johnson showed some good defence from his back and hindered Campos guard pass attempts for a while but once Ronaldo got past the legs he put on a superfast far arm Armbar and Johnson had no choice but to tap prompting all of the Brazilians into a chorus of JIU JITSU… JIU JITSU…

MiddleWeight Champion and the UK's most prolific fighter, Paul Jenkins, defended his belt against up and comer Suley Mahmoud. Suley had a significant reach advantage and showed the cleaner crisper striking forcing Paul to look for the single leg throughout the fight. Suley is no stranger to wrestling and defended well and took the standing portion of the bout. When Paul eventually got the takedown he usually ended up on top using some ground N Pound, the few times he did find himself underneath he managed to reverse and continue the punishment. At the end of 3 rounds Suley looked fresher but neither looked especially hurt, the Judges ruled it a draw and Paul gets to keep his belt.

The last belt on the line was the Vacant HeavyWeight title, Cage Rage regular Lance King took on Hard-hitting Lee Murray protégé Mark Epstein who floats between light Heavy Weight and Heavy Weight these days. King came in about 20Kgs heavier than Epstein but the weight difference didn't seem to make any difference to Mark who chased King looking for a KO with every single punch. King wanted no part of Marks huge punches avoided well and clinched constantly and looked for the takedown but could do no damage either standing on the ground. After 2 rounds of war both men looked tired but Epstein dug deep and putting King against the fence punished him with Knees and punches until he dropped to the floor declaring Epstein champion.

In between fights Cage Rage continued their traditional showmanship with performances from Hip Hop artists including Omar, demo's in Capoeira and from the Elite team and Bad Boy Bailey announced his retirement. They also showed the infamous leg break clip and invited Ross 'Angrier' 'Shins of Steel' Pettifer to the octagon for an interview who wished Rob well. Lee Murrays impressive UFC win was shown and Lee talked about his future and his past problems with Tito Ortiz.

On to the main event, the fight we've all been waiting for, Leigh Remedios V Jean Silva in the Feather Weight Superfight. Jean wanted this fight badly and dropped down from a lean 75 to 66Kgs to get it. Leigh had little to gain other than prestige but seemed confident coming into the fight even using Billy Jean, his nickname for Silva, as his ring entrance much to the amusement of Jean. The weigh in told a story in itself, Leigh looking fresh and sliding back up to over 70Kgs before the fight whereas Jean looked skinny and gaunt when he stepped onto the scales but was apparently feeling fresh come fight time. Rumour has it that Jean was left so weak from cutting down to Leigh's weight that he had to be helped onto the scales. In fact he had to be put on an intravenous drip to make him fit to enter the ring.

In the staredown neither man gave an inch, which was to continue into the fight. The fight started with Jean dancing Capoeira style to set up his big kicks and wild punches. Much of the fight took place standing and the contrast in styles was evident, Leigh is a tight striker who used leg kicks to control Jean's Capoeira and boxes from an orthodox stance. Jean on the other hand throws kicks and punches from all angles and all positions and seemed to want to KO his opponent with every shot. When the fight did clinch and hit the ground both guys had their chances to finish. Jean caught Leigh in a tight armbar that looked like it would finish the match but Leigh performed a quite amazing somersault type escape and plopped out in top position. Trying to do a job on Jean, Leigh squeezed in a tight heel hook, something many were predicting he could win with and Jean in turn escaped though I'm sure it still hurt on Monday morning.

When the finish finally came, it came out of nowhere. Leigh had come forward with some leg kicks which he had continued to use to try and nullify Jean's Capoeira and, as he backed off Jean lunged at him with some more punches and a kick that seemed to come out of nowhere and landed over Leigh's lowered hand dropping him on the spot. Sparked clean out. Jean followed with a punch on the floor before Referee Grant Waterman jumped in and stopped the bout.

Jean, as always, was interviewed after the match. As soon as the UFC was mentioned you could hear Lee Murray shout 'He's coming with me' Jean was elated, happy with his performance and looking forward to a bright future.

Cage Rage has thrown down the Gauntlet but even before the show had started it had been picked up. Andy Jardine was distributing flyers for his Extreme Brawl advertising Alex Reid V Mark Weir or Tony Fryklund (Weir has since been confirmed) as a headliner. Cage Warriors 6 has announced a stacked card including Gregory Bouchelaghem V Matt Ewin and the first round of the 4 man Feather Weight tournament which includes Emmanuel Fernandez and Ian Butlin and Paul Jenkins V Abdul Mohammed. Not to mention Lee Johnstone's UKMMAC with 5 titles on the line each with at least 1 international fighter.

Cage Rage has stepped out of the shadows, announced it's intentions to put on excellent shows with quality fights and dared other promoters to compete. Once again I'll say it, it's a good time for MMA in the UK