Night of the Samurai 1
Title:
Night of the Samurai
Venue: Sanctuary Arena, Milton Keynes, UK
Commentary: Geoff Thompson & Neil Adams
Running time: 60mins (approx)
Number
of fights: 8
Company: Total Fight Forum with Spearhead ProductionsÊ
Available From: Regular video outlets (HMV, Blackstar etc)
Rating: 7 out of 10
The tape
This is a well-produced tape with good sound and picture quality.
The fighter's names appear onscreen as they enter the ring and the bouts
are shown from several angles giving a clear view of the action.
The commentary by Geoff Thompson and Neil Adams is both informative and
amusing with both martial artists sounding comfortable in front of the
microphone.
The fights
1. Matthew Evans (Coventry) V Gene Phillips (Milton Keynes)
Under 80kg British Vale Tudo title bout
Evans, of the Geoff Thompson Academy, dominates the fight, landing punches
while standing and taking Phillips down several times with reaps, valley
drops and a single leg tackle. On the mat he controls Phillips from the
side position and mounts several times but the fight is stood up when
Gene repeatedly bridges his way towards the ropes.
Evans wins by judge's decision.
2. Mathieu Nicourt (France) V Gerrad Corville (UK)
Under 75kg European Vale Tudo title bout.
Nicourt retains his title with a textbook win.
Despite initial strikes from Corville, Nicourt clichŽs, takes him down,
passes the guard, mounts and uses strikes to force Gerrad to give up his
back before finishing with the rear naked choke.
Nicourt wins by submission R1 3:23.
3. Tony Somers (Coventry) V Chris Watts (Milton Keynes)
85kg British Vale Tudo title bout.
Despite getting the opening takedown Somers gets stuck in the closed guard
of Chris Watts. Both fighters throw strikes, Somers attempts a neck crank
and then moves to an achilles lock when Watts opens his guard. Watts clears
the foot, sits up to escape and goes for an achillies lock of his own
and Somers immediately taps out.
Watts wins by submission R1 2:27
4. Sander Thohauser (Holland) V Lee Hasdell (UK)
Over 85kg European Vale Tudo Superfight.
Sander charges in and takes down Lee who manages to put him in his guard.
In a good display of open guard work Hasdell looks for an arm, then a
sweep and goes back for an arm securing a facedown juji gatame.
Hasdell wins by submission R1 0:55
5. Justin Gray (Coventry) V James Zikic (London)
Under 85kg Brtish Vale Tudo Superfight.
Gray, another Geoff Thompson student, comes in at a very light 75kg against
the man who would later become the country's leading light heavyweight.Ê
Gray immediately goes for the clinch, gets caught with some shots and
then lands a right of his own. Zikic gets head control, puts in a few
knees, then shoots a double leg ending up in Justin's guard. The rest
of the round in spent in this position except for a short time when Zikic
takes Justin's back and lands some shots before the guard is recovered.
Round two is very similar to the first with both fighter's on the floor
for the duration, Zikic in Gray's guard.
Zikic wins by judge's decision
6. Valentine Overeem (Holland) V Dexter Casey (UK)
Over 90kg European title fight.
Casey, another fighter giving away a weight advantage, squares off against
Chris Doleman student Valentine Overeem.
Valentine opens with a big kick and they are straight into a clinch. Overeem
scores the takedown, gets side position and takes the mounts before throwing
some heavy punches. Casey tries to cover and bridges over into Overeem's
guard but is soon caught in a guillotine and taps as he is swept over
to his back.
Overeem wins by submission R1 1:50
7. Neil Rosiak (London) V Lee MacGuiness (Milton Keynes)
Over 90kg
This is a very entertaining fight with both fighters throwing plenty of
leather. MacGuiness's inexperience on the grounds shows but he manages
to get back to his feet and start swinging on several occasions.
Draw
8. Duncan 'Arlie' James (Scotland) V Scott Goddard (England)
Goddard, who later went on to train with the famous Machado brothers and
compete in American MMA events, squares of against Scottish kickboxer
and recent K1 competitor Duncan 'Arlie' James. From the opening bell this
fight belonged to Scott. He closed the distance, got a takedown, moved
from side position to the mount where he used punches to set up an armbar.
Goddard wins by submission R1 1:15
Not as good value for money as some other tapes due to the short running
time, this is still a very enjoyable tape that is an interesting glimpse
at early MMA in this country and the chance to see fighters such as James
Zikic that would later become stars of the scene.
7 out of 10
Links
-
SFUK Vision - Levo's MMA photo site
-
Leicester Shootfighters - Levo's club
