|
Dale Adams post-Ultimate
Combat 11 interview 12 Sept 2004,
Bristol By Hywel Teague It’s
Sunday night in a leisure centre in Bristol. A 1700-strong crowd have been treated
to 4 fights of intense action, all of which ended by submission, stoppage or KO.
Some of the best foreign fighters to step foot in the UK are getting ready for
their bouts, the crowd sit eagerly waiting, and MC Phil Walker takes the centre
of the cage, yet asks for everyone’s attention. He
asks for silence, as an important announcement is to follow. Expecting to hear
that’s someone’s car was blocking the entrance, we were given some truly
astounding news. Ultimate Combat is
to be no more. You might say followers
of UK MMA were slightly shocked that Ultimate Combat was to cease holding professional
MMA events. In fact, you would be making a severe understatement if that was the
case, but one thing is clear- absolutely no-one saw this coming, not even the
most well informed of pundits or insiders. Desperate
for an explanation, I managed to get promoter Dale Adams to one side after the
show. Hywel Teague: Dale, I
simply have to ask- why? Dale Adams:
Well, the main reason is we have big plans for next year, we’re launching
MMAUniverse.com, which I can’t say too much about right now- its nothing
to do with MMA promotions, we haven’t got time to do that along with events.
We’ve been doing these events a long time, they’re very successful and
we’re happy with them, but its time to move on. HT:
The show has been so successful lately, why give it up now? DA:
Well this is it- we’re stepping back at the peak of the show’s success.
You only have to look around tonight, it was absolutely packed, everyone loved
it. Three world title fights, its great. We’ve just got a fighter into Pride
(James "The Colossus" Thompson). We’re ending on a high but it time for new
pastures. The main reason I got into
this was my good friend Andy Davies, I used to train a lot and he would take me
to all the early shows, the Lee Hasdell shows, and I loved it. When I first got
into the professional events there weren’t many promoters around. Now
there are loads of promoters, loads of politics. This sports just not about that,
and that’s one of the things that are ruining this sport and I don’t
want to take part in it, cos I want to see the sport grow and flourish, and I
have done since I got involved 6, 7 years ago. My involvement in this (UK MMA),
yes its positive because of the boundaries we push but it’s detrimental due
to the politics. HT: You mentioned
you would be taking more of a developmental role in the sport, can you elaborate?
DA: (Smiling enigmatically)
I can’t say anything at all. Its nothing to do with event promotion but we
are going to carry on with the Combat Sports Open Trials, the amateur stuff, cos
theres no politics, and for me that’s what the sport is about. We’ll
be doing everything as we do now, just no Ultimate Combat. HT:
So is there going to be a cage for sale on ebay tomorrow? DA:
Ha ha, it won’t be on ebay, but it might be up for sale. HT:
Any prospective buyers? DA:
Nope, no-one knew we were going to finish, it was a complete surprise, only 4
people knew. It was a very closely guarded secret; I couldn’t say, "Does
anyone want to buy a cage?" cos it would have spoiled it. HT:
It seemed quite an emotional moment for you, announcing it tonight. DA:
Yeah, very much so. Like I said, I’ve been doing this 6/7 years, we’ve
been doing Ultimate Combat 3 years. I’ve done pretty much everything there
is to do in this sport. We’ve put blood sweat and tears into every single
one, having one every three months, soon as you finish one you’re onto the
next. It becomes part of your life, and can be very restrictive of what you do
and how you live your life. Its very sad to lose it, there are elements of it
I love, but there are other outside elements that make it difficult. HT:
There doesn’t seem to be any animosity on your part though, you seem quite
relaxed about it all. You don’t seem to have been forced out. DA:
No, not at all. It was completely my decision, that decision to quit was made
almost a year ago. My original plan was to see it through until the end of the
year, until UC 12, but we had a change of circumstances and the dropouts of the
MW title eliminators, which is why Ross Mason fought tonight for the title. Plus,
we’re going to need 6 months from now until March to get really stuck into
the new project. HT: Do you
feel tonight has been a fitting end to the Ultimate Combat legacy? DA:
Yes. I mean, what a show. I know its my event and I don’t want to boast too
much but I think everyone here loved it. And the title fight with James Thompson
and Dan Severn, thats probably one of the best ever fights in the UK. Like I said,
I’m very biased, but you saw it yourself, it was awesome. And James is now
fighting in Pride… HT:
This is quite an achievement; you’ve got him on the Oct 31st show?
How did that come about? DA:
I can’t say too much, but we have quite close links with the Pride organisation.
HT: Do you have word of a prospective
opponent? DA: There are a few
ideas but nothing confirmed yet. HT:
So can you give us any clue as to what MMAUniverse.com will be? DA:
It will be… Something refreshing. It is completely 100% for the benefit of
the sport. I want to step away from this, get out of the politics and backstabbing,
the rubbish that goes with it, cos it really has no place in the sport. I want
to continue with the amateur circuit, the grass roots stuff. When
I launch MMAUniverse.com, I can’t say what it is, but it is for everyone,
for everyone in this sport, and it will benefit everyone. There
you have it. No more Ultimate Combat. With
one 28 foot cage for sale, and a shed-load of foreign fighters suddenly unemployed,
the UK MMA scene finds itself slightly shook up. Many
will see the benefits of this situation, and not in a malicious way. All of a
sudden, fighters who usually appear on only one show are free agents, able to
fight for any of the promotions looking for an injection of fresh talent. Names
that spring to mind are Ross Mason, Pierre Guillet and of course, James Thompson.
But, lo and behold, an equally shocking
announcement was made- Thompson has been booked to fight at Pride FC in October.
This is truly a landmark event, as until now only Matt Skelton has represented
the UK in the famous Japanese ring (and the less said about that, the better).
Although no word of an opponent has
been made, rumours abound of names that might see themselves matched against Thompson.
As Thompson is an unknown to the Asian audience, it is unlikely he will fight
a Japanese fighter, as they are usually reserved for established stars. It is
also equally as unlikely that he would face one of the bigger names, as it would
make no sense to throw someone of his, to be honest, limited abilities in with
someone who might seriously hurt him. One
name that has been mentioned is the Russian fighter Roman Zentsov, and so far
it seems it would be most likely to see James versus a fellow Gaijin. And
what exactly is MMAuniverse.com? Will it be a Sherdog-style UK MMA site? How exactly
will it benefit everyone? Only time will tell on this one. However,
all bombshells aside, it is a shame to see Ultimate Combat go. The South West
now sees itself without a major player in MMA, and the work they put towards bringing
over quality foreign fighters speaks for itself. Hopefully the other major MMA
shows will see a good opportunity to boost their ranks by offering these guys
match-ups with the best the UK has to offer. | 
