Pride and Glory : SFUK's mixed martial arts reports

Pride and Glory is the show that is being co-promoted by now-retired fighter Ian "The Machine" Freeman and his partner Mick Nokes. After the success of their inaugural show in Cardiff, they have moved to a real hotbed of talent- the North East.

Held in central Newcastle there were plenty of local fighters, and from places such as Sunderland, Middlesborough, Yorkshire and Scotland. A strong contingent of French fighters made the trip over as well, injecting a little international flavour to proceedings, and of course the American Skip Hall.

The first thing everyone noticed upon entering the arena was the superb ring. Its not everyday you see a ring with the same presence as that imposing yet defining symbol of our sport- the cage. The ring was absolutely covered in the Fairtex logo, from the apron, to the canvas, to the ring ropes and corner covers. It is by far the most professional ring in the UK, and for a change, it actually had decent matting underneath the canvas.

Frank Rivas vs. Billy Saul

The first fight of night was a good choice to warm the crowd up gently. Two very evenly matched fighters in the form of Saul and Rivas came out physically very alike, both were absolutely ripped and with muscles that defied their 65kg weight.

Rivas lost at last P+G to Billy Harris by choke, whereas Saul had just won at the P+G feeder show last month.

Saul trains with Freeman in Consett, Co. Durham and had a big section of the crowd cheering for him. He managed to break Rivas’ nose with the first punch that connected (a big overhand right), displaying some of that Freeman-esque power punching. Rivas shrugged it off though and carried on regardless, albeit a little wary of Saul’s power.

Rivas was keen to get to the mat from the moment he knew he was having trouble on the feet, and managed to get there from a botched guillotine attempt by Saul. Passing to mount he only managed a few shots before Saul reversed position, ending the first round in Rivas’ guard.

With Saul feeling more comfortable, he chose liven thing sup by firing off a spinning back kick and following it with a high left kick. Rivas once again shot but was stuck in guard and did little but lay and pray. A restart saw a takedown for the Frenchman on the bell for the end of the 2^nd. Rivas was merely content to lie on a frustrated Saul to avoid the strikes. Boring round.

Touching gloves, Rivas circled and shot in Saul’s guard almost immediately, but did nothing for a good two minutes until referee Mark Woodard stood them up. Saul took advantage of the restart to land three hard rights, rocking Rivas, but as he fired off another kick, Rivas managed to catch it and get a quick mount. With Rivas in top position on the bell, Saul was declared the winner. He definitely won it on aggression and the cleaner strikes, but Rivas almost edged it with his takedowns and dominance on the ground. A somewhat lucky decision for Saul, but not totally unjust. It could have gone either way, and in this case it went to the fighter who was looking to end the fight rather than survive.

Winner: Saul, JD.

Saul showed good technical ability coupled with some impressive power for his size. Rivas is a classy fighter but needs to take the pace of his game up a couple of gears.

Michael Bisping vs. Steve Matthews

Talk to anyone from Nottingham Roughhouse or Fighting.co and the opinion on Bisping is clear. He’s a monster.

Matthews has a slightly patchy amateur record. There are doubts that he should have been fighting at this level, even incurring some harsh words and a withdrawal of support from his own camp, but he chose to go it alone. Entering the ring with a bag piper to inject a little entertainment into proceedings, the Scotsman looked softer than the pumped Bisping.

With a lot of support from travelling fans, Bisping used the energy to come out hard and strong, battering Matthews in a little over 30 seconds in what can only be described as a mauling. So it’s true, Bisping is a monster, and athletic too. You don’t see a 97kg guy back flipping in celebration everyday!

Winner: Bisping, KO, Rd1

Bisping blasts through Matthews for an easy win. It was a display in power and speed not often seen from a heavyweight. The next big thing? Who knows, a match with maybe Andy Costello would be a good indicator of his potential.

Dave Metcalf vs. Joe "Speedy" Gonzales.

19 yr old Metcalf from Washington is fast making a name for himself in UK MMA as "one to watch". A good ground technician, he is a very flexible grappler (his nickname is the strikingly obvious "Bendy").

Gonzales has fought in the UK once before, finding himself on the wrong end of a submission to Pat Carr.

A good 4 inches taller than Gonzales, Metcalf rushed in on the bell looking to trade but Gonzales dropped for a single. A scramble saw Metcalf on his back living up to his nickname working a high rubber guard, but Gonzales managed to pass and drop in with a big left.

Back in guard, Gonzales was laying with his head in Metcalf’s chest when all of a sudden he swiped his head across the face of his opponent, blatantly head-butting him. Ref Mark Woodard was having none of it, and had him up immediately with one point taken off for the infraction.

Clearly nonplussed, he shot in on the restart but was soon stood up as he couldn’t pass Metcalf’s guard and nothing was happening from either man. Deciding to storm in with punches instead, this time Metcalf shot a double, but Gonzales was warned this time for kneeing a downed opponent in the head. Allowed to continue without being penalised, Metcalf look to take the fight to him by throwing a near miss high kick and turning it into a shoot (I always get impressed when guys do that), but found himself getting kneed in clinch for his trouble.

Round two had both men trading knees in clinch, but Metcalf’s strike was a little lazy and Gonzales used superb timing to get a takedown, landing in side control. Bucking his hips up, Metcalf managed to bridge Gonzales high enough to grab and arm and catch a very tight armbar- a very unorthodox way to get it, but worked a treat.

Winner: Metcalf by Submission (armbar) Rd 2

Metcalf notches up another submission win (that’s 6 in a row now) but faces a tough challenge in the form of Dave Roche at CW Showdown. He’s going to have his hands full that night but with a classy performance such as this you have to wonder what Roache is in for.

Gonzales lost both a point on the scorecard but most importantly kudos among fighters and officials for his head butt. Ref Mark Woodard told me that he had bit Pat Carr in his last fight, but Woodard had missed it as he was on the wrong side. Expecting a foul at some point, he was disappointingly proved right when the head butt came, and acted promptly. It didn’t stop him trying the illegal knee soon after though. Maybe if Gonzales can reign in his little antics he could be a good fighter.

Michael Holmes vs. Chris Hill
Michael "Rocky" Holmes is a fighter from Ian Freeman’s stable in Co. Durham. A baby-faced lad, he looks no more than 18 or 19, but he’s stocky as hell and looks like a mini version of the Machine himself. Hill is a fighter from the Rob Lock academy in the midlands.

Being Freeman’s protégé, Rocky comes out fast and hard looking to end it quick by slugging it out. He’s obviously got huge power but his eagerness gets him caught twice and he half goes down each time. Hill can’t follow it up though, and Holmes manages to bully him to the mat where he jumps into mount.

From there, he proceeds to lay down a relentless barrage of punches, the majority hitting the arms but more than a few getting through. Hill’s stuck in the corner of the ring, and there is no way he’s shifting Holmes while the youngster is in full swing. The ref gives him plenty of time but in the end pulls him out before anything bad can happen.

Winner: Michael Holmes via "Machine" G'n'P round 1

This kid is one to watch at MW- he’s raw but he’s big, strong and aggressive. Freeman seems to produce fighters in his own image- lets hope Holmes has a career just as successful as his mentor.

Michael Garcia vs Brian Sugden

Garcia had the privilege of fighting in the main event at the last Pride and Glory, against the perennial UK MMA fighter, Paul Jenkins. Apparently a victim of pre-fight flu Garcia pulled out between rounds, as he was unable to continue. Eager to prove he’s not the kind of guy who gives up easily, the Team Minetti fighter would have his hands full with Brian Sugden.

Sugden, a winner of a four-man tournament in Italy, rushed in with punches on the bell until both fighters fell from clinch, scrambling for position. A loose triangle attempt from Garcia saw Sugden popping out but getting reversed.

Spinning out for an armbar from guard, Sugden had the arm locked out straight but Garcia picked him up to shoulder height and held him there for a second before dropping him directly on his head. Jumping on the dazed Sugden and firing off a couple of punches, Garcia was pushed off by the referee and declared winner by TKO at 1 minute and 1 seconds.
Winner: Michael Garcia via TKO (slam) round 1

Sugden got sparked- the way Garcia took his time in aiming Sugden directly on to his head will be stuck in my memory for a long time. Sugden was OK after a short while, but it was still one of the best finishes I have seen in a long time- a great KO, real highlight video material.

Aaran Barrow vs John Nicholson

Glaswegian John Nicholson is one of the protagonists of the most brutal, bloody and exciting fights of last year. His war with Sandy Geddes at CageWarriors 5 drew acclaim from everyone in the scene, and it marked him out as a true warrior. Barrow (a local lad from Washington) is another up and coming middleweight from the North East. He has a rep as a brawler with huge power for his size (he’s pretty stocky at around 5’8).

Almost from the bell both guys traded huge shots- there was to be no feeling out, no settling into a rhythm. This was balls-out, never-say-die action- but then you’d expect nothing less from these two.

A cut on Nicholson’s head was opened early, and the action was called to a halt literally seconds into the fight. The doctors and officials looked at it for a loooong time before finally allowing the fight to continue. The gash on Nicholson’s forehead was bleeding profusely, but he was straight back in, and the two picked up where they left off.

With Barrow getting a bodylock and tripping Nicholson as they met in a clinch, Nicholson showed some ground skills that belied his size. Utilising a high guard (and at points, rubber guard!) he sought to try to close down Barrows offense, but the burly Northerner kept up banging away, soon opening p another cut, this time under Nicholsons eye. Referee Chris Kerr took no time in stopping the fight, as he told me after the fight that the doctors were in two minds in not allowing Nicholson to continue. Leaving the decision to him, he gamely wanted to fight on, but the second cut was just too much and left him unable to carry on.
Winner: Aaran Barrow via TKO (cut) round 1

Barrow showed some real strength in this short but sweet fight. Choosing to trade with a noted tough-man, he has proved he’s not only got balls but skills- yet another raw talent to watch out for.

I’m told Nicholson picked up the cut earlier that week in an accident in training. Unfortunate for him it got opened early on by one of Barrows big punches- a shame, as I think this fight could have turned into another epic. Either way, Barrow comes out of this with kudos for stopping such a tough guy.

Steve Dowdling vs Sandy Geddes

Geddes is the other half of that aforementioned epic battle at CW5. A Scotsman resident at the Catterick army garrison (he is a instructor for the legendary Paratroopers) he too came out too the haunting melody of the bag piper. He would face the relative newcomer Steve Dowdling. Dowdling has a few wins at Goshin-Ryu under his belt, but this was his first challenge against an experienced opponent.

Geddes literally walked straight forward without a punch, backpeddling Dowdling into a corner and into a clinch. Going for a guillotine attempt, Dowdling held him there for a long time, with Geddes all the while using his trademark footstomps.

Finally managing to pop his head out, Geddes monetarily lost his footing and fell to the mat, where Dowdling took the back and an armbar for a submission win at 2 mins 29 seconds.

Winner: Steve Dowdling via armbar, round 1

A measured performance from Dowdling- he seemed a little wary of Geddes strikes to begin with, but as soon as the fight went to grappling range he seemed more comfortable.

Matt Thorpe vs Chris Hipkiss
Talk to any of the Colloseum or the Northern Cartel, and they will tell you about the potential of fighter Thorpe. Coming off a loss at CageWarriors 6, Thorpe had to prove not only to his team mates that he was living up to his abilities, but to himself.

Hipkiss is a veteran of a shows such as cage Rage and Ground n Pound. Having beaten Thorpe once before by guillotine, this would be a chance for redemption for Thorpe and an opportunity for Hipkiss to showcase his growth as a fighter since their last outing.

In the end, it was Thorpe who completely dominated this fight, in every range. Using his reach advantage to control the striking before getting the takedown from clinch, Thorpe found himself in Hipkiss’ guard. Standing out and moving away, he repeated the process, but landing in mount this time. Hipkiss bridged but Thorpe rode the momentum to take the back and apply the submission after securing a body triangle.

Winner: Matt Thorpe via Rear Naked choke round 1

This was the perfect fight for Thorpe. Hipkiss gamely tried to strike with Thorpe, but couldn’t land anything of merit on the Cartel member. A polished performance, and one that will delight him and his trainers.

Pete Tiarks vs Kim Phillips

Tiarks is well known in the UK for having spent much time training in Thailand. Equally happy on the mat, he has submission wins over fighters such as Patt Carr and Ricky "Ninja" Salhan. In this fight however, Tiarks kept it short and sweet, getting a quick stoppage.

After a few punches from both fighters, they moved into clinch where Tiarks showed his Thai training by landing a few short elbows from the traditional Thai plomb grip. Securing a body lock and then dumping Phillips to the mat, the action was abruptly stopped to check a cut on Phillips head. One of Tiark’s elbows had opened up a gash above Phillips’ eye, leading the doctor to call it off immediately.
Winner: Pete Tiarks via TKO cut round 1

Tiarks has only one loss to his name so far, and that is to Frenchman Emmanuel Fernandes. An equally dangerous striker and grappler, Tiarks is one of a multitude of fighters at featherweight who has the skills to go right to the top. Of course, there are a fair few names to get through before reaching it- time will certainly tell.

David Minetti vs Brian Blewitt

Frenchman Minetti lost to Gloucester Roughhouse fighter Paul Sutherland in a three round war at the last Pride and Glory in Cardiff. This fight is an eliminator for the P+G lightweight title, but in the other bracket Sutherland gets a bye as his opponent pulled out. Blewitt, representing Gracie Barra Newcastle, has fought on shows such as Ultimate Combat, CageWarriors and was also in the last Pride and Glory. It would be interesting to see if his experience and ring time would be a factor in his fight with the relatively inexperienced MMA fighter Minetti.

Feeling each other out, Minetti scored with a big right early on that woke Blewitt up.

Blewitt went for the takedown and got it but was reversed. Blewitt managed to escape and tried his hardest for a kneebar then heelhook, but Minetti managed to slip out of it. With Minetti scrambling a looking for top position, he looked to be the stronger of the two but a heartbeat later and he found himself in a deep triangle armbar. Blewitt had pulled out the move from almost nowhere to force the tap near the end of the first.
Winner: Brian Blewitt via armbar in round 1

Blewitt did well to catch the submission against such a strong opponent but he’ll have an equally tough task in his next fight, as he faces Sutherland in the final for the LW title.

Khacha Mohamed vs Abdul Mohamed

This fight was being billed (albeit tongue-in-cheek) as the Battle of the Mohameds. Abdul has so far completely tore up the UK scene, dispensing his ruthlessly efficient brand of "take them down and grind away until they quit or you get the decision".

Many people were wondering if anyone could stop this guy, and even more were wondering who’d be brave enough to take on the task. Well in this case it was the French Phenom Khacha "Mo-Mo" Mohamed who stepped up. Having previously destroyed Alex De Souza and Paul Jenkins in blistering fashion, and then coming very close to doing the same to Andy Cooper, Mo-Mo certainly had skills, but would they be enough?

Yes. Yes, they would. Coming out carefully, both fighters stood with their hands high. We were wondering when the inevitable double leg would come from Abdul, but as we were counting down to the shot, Khacha launched a massive right hand over the top of Abdul’s guard, cracking him square on the side of the head.

Abdul was badly rocked, and as he stumbled into the ropes the young Frenchman was on him in a flash, grabbing his head and laying into him with Thai style knees. A sprawl from Khacha kept the fight up, and by now Abdul was trying to close the distance, all the while getting hammered by Khacha. A quick break saw ref Mark Woodard jump in to separate them as a huge cut had been opened on Abduls eyebrow by one of the knees that Khacha had blasted in. Thirty seconds into the fight, and Abdul’s winning streak had come to an end.

Winner: Khacha Mohamed via TKO round 1

The cries of "Mo-Mo!" could be heard loud and clear that night, as a very vocal contingent made their support clear. Unfortunately, one of Abdul’s supporters took it upon himself to jump in the ring and shove Khacha while he was celebrating. The ring invader was Golum Hassan Muradi, a fellow wrestler-turned-fighter. For a second it looked ugly, but things were quickly cooled down and order was restored, enabling Khacha to receive his well-earned trophy.

Main Event:

Graeme Hussey vs Skip Hall

I’ll be honest; I had doubts about seeing "The Oldest MMA Fighter in the World" in the ring. The prospect of watching someone who is months away from their 60^th birthday fighting in the toughest combat sport in the world left me worried.

Then I met Skip. One thing is clear- the guy does not look 60. He’s got a physique that most men half his age would kill for. He’s boxed since the 50s, fought in Korea and Vietnam (in the Special Forces no less), has 40-odd kickboxing bouts from the 1980s to his name, and began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Conan Silviera in 1992 (before the first UFC took place). The guy has some impressive credentials, thats for sure.

Little was known about Hussey, but I had heard this guy could bang. Other than that, I knew nothing- unusual for a main-eventer, but hey ho.

With Hall definitely in the better shape of the two, both came out throwing some good strikes, while Hall bobbed and weaved (unusual for MMA). As they chased each other around the ring trying to take each others head off Hall launched a big right that rocked Hussey, and following it he shot forward. Hussey was extremely wobbly after the shot, but luckily for him was in the corner of the ring, so managed to stay standing. As Hall came in low, Hussey caught him in a guillotine, and cranking it hard, lifted Hall almost off his feet.

Staying there for a minute or so with Hussey grimacing with the effort, Halls legs eventually went, and as Hussey let go Hall fell onto his back, not out but clearly not able to continue.
Winner: Graeme Hussey via Guillotine round 1

An almighty roar from the crowd greeted Hussey’s win- he’s obviously well known in the North East, as a large portion of the crowd were cheering their hearts out for him. The support helped him for sure, as he did well to come back and recover from that big right he took. An impressive win for a debut, and a good addition to the light heavy weight ranks in the UK. After the fight Hall suddenly looked old, but this is probably in part to being in such a tough fight. According the various sources, he said Hussey had hit him harder than anyone ever has.

Summary:

Many of the fights could best be described as raw. This is not to say the fighters weren’t skilled- they just preferred to try and belt sevens shades of the brown stuff out of each other. But it cannot be denied that all fighters were very technical in their own right.

Indeed, matches that included plenty of skill, technique and composure offset many of the "all-out" fights; Testament to Freeman’s solid matchmaking.

He’s close to the winning formula needed for putting on a show- striking a balance between out and out action (to keep the casual fans coming back for more) while also catering for the pundits and purists.

With a good mix of local, national and international fighters, Pride and Glory is slowly making itself known as one of the big shows in the UK. You can bet I will be there for the next show on the 7^th August.