The event was held at the luxurious Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Heathrow, in one of the conference rooms and with its low ceiling and intimate settings, this made for one hell of an atmosphere when the fights commenced. The room was filled with tables for the guests to watch the action and started with a three course meal and waitress service from a bevy of beauties and after a few hours of eating and drinking the night got underway proper.
Pillars of the MMA community old and new were in attendance with legend Lee Hasdell undertaking judging duties, together with Rich Austin among others; Andy Foreman bringing a fighter to the event, Kevin Capel cornering for Neil Mc Leod, Alex Reid in the crowd soaking up the fun together with boxer and actor Gary Stretch and I found myself having a long chat with Robson Green who was at the show with his partner and cheering on the Team Mayhem fighters.
Wes Webb and Wez Ogle set the standard for the night with a blistering action packed fight; both fighters were making their MMA debut and both fighters were determined to make a good impression to the judges and spectators. In the fight game there can only be one winner and the bragging rights went to Wez Ogle who won the match due to referee stoppage with ground and pound, much to his fans’ delight.
In the second match in the four man tournament, Bret Bassett kept a clean sheet and progressed to 4-0 with a victory against tough Dublin fighter Dave Kelly; the start of the fight saw Kelly looking for a knockout blow, whereas Bassett secured the first takedown and the fight turned into a leg lock battle. Neither fighter managed to end the fight with a submission and it was back onto their feet where Bassett was able to keep Kelly at bay with a strong jab. Kelly then shot in for a takedown and went straight for another leg lock but again the submission was denied and both fighters were back on their feet. After a brief trade off of shots Kelly appeared to fall to the floor and Bassett followed him to the mats and after a few seconds Kelly signalled to the referee that he was unable to continue through an injured knee and the fight was over.
The final fight went to Wez Ogle in less than dramatic fashion as his opponent Bret Bassett was unable to continue due to a broken hand picked up in his first fight.
John Ashwood and Mark Lockyear both made their debut K-1 appearances and gave a gutsy three round performance and after a three round war, Ashwood was to get the nod from the judges and secure his first win to his fight record.
Team Mayhem fighter Matt Monahan also made his MMA debut against Dave Rintal and took the match in the second round after getting mount on his opponent and pressuring his opponent to give up his back, enabling Monahan to sink in a rear choke much to delight of his fans.
Gracie Barra Milton Keynes fighter Simon ‘harder than Satan’ Boulter took on Hayden Critchfield and put on the fight of the night; Boulter faked a jab to get the takedown, before working some ground and pound before getting his opponent’s back and won the match with a rear naked choke in the first round.
Another K-1 fight followed with Steven Dossett taking on Kazys Griguanias and after three rounds of back and forth action, the judges decision went to Dossett.
Dublin fighter Neil Serry, team mate of Dave Kelly’s avenged his team mate’s loss by defeating the highly rated Neil Mc Cleod, a Millennium Brawl and Extreme Brawl veteran; Mc Cleod looked to be in the driving seat through most of the fight, but in the dying seconds of the first round Serry unleashed a barrage of punches to the head of Mc Cleod, who just covered up and gave no real defence, leaving the referee no option than to step in and stop the fight in favour of Serry.
The main fight saw the busiest man in UK MMA, Paul Jenkins (45-30-2) take on Nova Forca brown belt Tim Radcliffe, a student of Fabio Gomes black belt Ricardo da Silva. Radcliffe took the fight to Jenkins early on in the fight and once on the ground, Radcliffe peppered Jenkins with strikes which culminated in opening a cut on the head of Jenkins and after the referee’s intervention and a once over from the doctor, the fight ended in favour of Radcliffe, who now moves on to 6-2.
With the fights over with, all that was left was the after show party and the arduous task of drinking beer and partying long into the night, chatting to fighters and coaches and the main people that keep the sport alive, the fight fans themselves without whom there would be no shows.
Full marks go out to the whole Extreme Brawl team, who after a lengthy hiatus have returned to the forefront of MMA promotions in the UK and delivered the next generation in mixed martial arts entertainment. The choice of venue was critical in the show’s intense atmosphere and having the event filled with VIP tables added further to the exclusivity of the evening.
The fans were as vocal as they were knowledgeable about the fight game and applauded both winner and loser and when their fighter won, they sure as hell made it clear who the winner was, with fans cheering to the maximum and the ladies gave as good as the guys, standing on chairs and chanting out loud.
Extreme Brawl have their next event on May 30th in Marbella in what promises to be another milestone for the team and for MMA, with regards to location and will be jammed packed with a stellar fight card, more of which will follow in exclusive press releases from yours truly, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled on all the main forums in the coming weeks.
Results
Wez Ogle bt Wes Webb - 3:10 of Round 1 via ref stoppage G+P
Brett Bassett bt Dave Kelly - 3:47 of Round 2 via ref stoppage (injury)
John Ashwood bt Mark Lockyear via UD
Matt Monahan bt Dave Rintoul - 3:03 of Round 2 via rear naked choke
James Lutman bt Davin Byfield - 4:58 of Round 2 via ref stoppage G+P
Simon Boulter bt Haydn Critchfield - 3:16 of Round 1 via rear naked choke
Steve Dossett bt Kazys Grigouanias via UD
Neil Serry bt Neil McLeod - 4:57 of Round 2 via ref stoppage (strikes)
Tim Radcliffe bt Paul Jenkins - 2:12 of Round 1 via
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