KUMITE European MMA Rankings, April 2014

Sorry I’m a bit late with the rankings this month, been busy. Anyways it’s been an active month with movement in every division and a few big changes based on fighters being removed due to inactivity or bans. Check it out…

Heavyweight

1- Alistair Overeem (Holland) 37-13 UFC
2- Vitaly Minakov (Russia) 14-0, Bellator def. Cheick Kongo 4/4
3- Andrei Arlovski (Belarus) 21-10, UFC
4- Stefan Struve (Netherlands) 25-6 UFC
5- Cheick Kongo (France) 20-8-2 Bellator lost to Vitaly MInakiv 4/4
6- Alexander Volkov (Russia) 21-4 Bellator def. Siala-Mo Siliga 11/4 UP 1
7- Damian Grabowski (Poland) 19-1 M-1 DOWN 1
8- Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) 22-6 IND
9- Alexey Oleinik (Ukraine) 53-9-1 IND
10- Marcin Tybura (Poland) 10-0 M-1 def. Maro Perak 4/4 UNRANKED

Light Heavyweight

1- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden) 15-2, UFC
2- Jimi Manuwa (England) 14-1, UFC
3- Attila Vegh (Slovakia) 29-5-2, Bellator
4- Mikhail Zayats (Russia) 22-8, Bellator
5- Ilir Latifi (Sweden) 7-3 UFC
6- Jan Blachowicz (Poland) 17-3, KSW
7- Linton Vassell (England) 12-3, Bellator
8- Stephan Puetz (Germany) 9-1 M-1
9- Maxim Grishin (Russia) 17-6 IND
10- Mikkel Parlo (Denmark) 12-2 def. Johnny Cisneros 4/4 UNRANKED

Middleweight

1- Alexander Shlemenko (Russia) 50-7 Bellator UP 1
2- Michael Bisping (England) 24-5, UFC lost to Tim Kennedy 16/4 DOWN 1
3- Mamed Khalidov (Poland) 28-4-2, KSW
4- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia) 34-4-2 UFC
5- Frances Carmont (France) 22-8, UFC
6– Luke Barnatt (England) 7-0 UFC
7- Michal Materla (Poland) 20-4 KSW
8– Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (Russia) 23-2 M-1
9- Tom Watson (England) 16-6 UFC
10- Sultan Aliev (Russia) 11-2 IND NR

Welterweight

1- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium) 15-3, UFC
2- Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) 11-0-1, UFC
3- Cathal Pendred (Ireland) 13-2-1, Cage Warriors
4- Nicholas Musoke (Sweden) 12-2 UFC
5- Adlan Amagov (Russia) 13-2-1, UFC
6- Gael Grimaud (France) 19-6, Cage Warriors
7- Nicolas Dalby (Denmark) 12-0 Cage Warriors
8– Paul Daley (England) 34-12-2 BAMMA
9– Andrey Koreshokov (Russia) 15-1 Bellator
10- Karl Amoussou (France) 17-6-2 Bellator def. David Gomez 18/4 UNRANKED

Lightweight

1- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia) 22-0, UFC def. Rafael dos Anjos 19/4
2- Rustam Khabilov (Russia) 17-1, UFC
3- Alexander Sarnavskiy (Russia) 26-2 IND
4- Ross Pearson (England) 15-6, UFC
5 – Marcin Held (Poland) 18-3 Bellator def. Derek Anderson 18/4 UP 5 
6- Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia) 26-4 M-1 def. Sergey Golyaev 4/4 UP 2
7- Musa Khamanaev (Russia) 13-3, M-1 DOWN 2
8- Norman Parke (Northern Ireland) 19-2-1 UFC DOWN 2
9- Piotr Hallmann (Poland) 14-2 UFC DOWN 1
10- Mansour Barnaoui (France) 11-2 BAMMA DOWN 1

Featherweight

1- Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (Russia) 21-5, Bellator def. Mike Richman 4/4 UP 2
2- Conor McGregor (Ireland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC
3- Tom Niinimaki (Finland) 21-5-1 UFC
4- Marat Gafurov (Ukraine) 9-0 M-1 NR def. Lee Morrison 4/4 UNRANKED
5- Shabulat Shamhalaev (Russia) 12-2-1, Bellator
6- Daniel Weichel (Germany) 33-8, Bellator
7- Joni Salovaara (Finland) 14-7 IND
8- Sergei Greicho (Lithuania) 15-5-1 OC
9- Niklas Backstrom (Sweden) 7-0 IND
10- Robert Whiteford (Scotland) 11-2 UFC

* Dennis Siver removed from rankings due to PED ban.

Bantamweight

1- Vaughan Lee (England) 14-9-1 UFC
2- Brett Johns (Wales) 10-0, Cage Warriors © def. James Brum 12/4
3- Ronnie Mann (England) 23-6-1 Cage Warriors UP 1
4- Cory Tait (England) 8-2 Cage Warriors UP 1
5- Timo-Juhan Hirvikangas (Finland) 8-2 Cage FC def. Tymoteusz Swiatek 5/4 UP 1
6- James Brum (England) 14-2, Cage Warriors lost to Brett Johns 12/4 DOWN 3
7- Sirwan Kakai (sweden) 9-2, IND UP 1
8- David Haggstrom (Sweden) 7-2-1 IND UP 1
9- Toni Tauru (Finland) 9-1-1 Cage Warriors UP 1
10- Magomed Biboulatov (France) 5-0 IND UNRANKED

* Martin McDonough now a Flyweight

Flyweight

1- Ali Bagautinov (Russia) 13-2 UFC
2- Brad Pickett (England) 24-8 UFC
3- Pietro Menga (England) 11-0 FCC ©
4- Marcin Lasota (Poland) 8-0 Cage Warriors
5- Neil Seery (Ireland) 13-10 UFC
6- Shaj Haque (England) 4-1 Cage Warriors def. Martin McDonough 12/4 UP 1
6- Mikael Silander (Finland) 10-3 The Cage def. Daniel Barez 5/4
7- Rany Saadeh (Germany) 6-1 BAMMA def. Mahmood Besharate 5/4 UNRANKED
8- Kairat Akhmetov (Kazakhstan) IND UNRANKED
9- Kevin Petshi (France) 5-0 IND def. Victor Balica 4/4
10- Phil Harris (England) 22-12 Cage Warriors DOWN 2

Women’s P4P

(Due to the less developed state of Women’s MMA we’re ranking our top ten female fighters from across the weight classes – we hope to expand this section in future.)

1- Joanne Calderwood (Scotland) 8-0 Invicta FC
2 – Marloes Coenen (Netherlands) 21-6 Invicta FC
3 – Katja Kankaanpaa (Finland) 8-1-1 Invicta FC
4- Rosi Sexton (England) 13-4 IND
5- Aisling Daly (Ireland) 12-5 Cage Warriors
6- Milana Dudieva (Russia) 8-3 ProFC
7- Maria Hoegaard Djursa (Denmark) 5-4 IND
8- Shiela Gaff (Germany) 10-6-1 UFC
9- Agnieszka Niedzwiedz (Poland) 6-0 Cage Warriors def. Gemma Hewitt 12/4 UNRANKED
10- Pannie Kianzad (Sweden) 4-0 IND DOWN 1

 

 

European MMA Rankings, November 2013

Following an offhand Twitter comment from Cage Warriors’ Paul Dollery, we thought that European rankings might be a fun thing to have a crack at, being definitely more interesting (and more work) than UFC or world rankings (which are in some divisions almost the same thing.)

We’ve assembled these rankings based on a ‘what have you done for me lately’ premise, rewarding good form over reputation, largely concentrating on a fighter’s record over the last three years.

Wins by stoppage, over name opposition in bouts of consequence are weighted most heavily, with a narrow, competitive loss to a quality fighter often being worth more than three wins over horridly outclassed opposition.

For us, is who you fight and how that matters most, not the cold win/loss record…

Let’s get into it…

Legend –

The information at each fighter record is
#Ranking- Fighter Name (Nation) overall record, record in last three years, promotion (biggest/most recent wins)

Heavyweight

1- Vitaly Minakov (Russia) 13-0, 10-0 Bellator (Alexander Volkov, Ryan Martinez)
2- Stefan Struve (Netherlands) 25-6, 5-2 UFC (Stipe Miocic, Pat Barry)
3- Cheick Kongo (France) 20-8-2, 5-2 Bellator (Matt Mitrione, Pat Barry, Shan Jordan)
4- Alistair Overeem (netherlands) 36-13, 3-2 UFC (Brock Lesnar)
5- Andrei Arlovski (Belarus) 20-10, 5-2 WSOF (Mike Kyle, Mike Hayes)
6- Alexander Volkov (Russia) 19-4, 10-2 Bellator (Rich Hale, Vinicious Spartan, Brett Rogers)
7- Alexey Oleinik (Ukraine) 53-9-1, 10-2 IND (Mirko Filipovic, Jeff Monson, Dion Staring)
8- Damian Grabowski (Poland) 18-1, 5-0 IND (Stave Economou, Dave Huckaba)
9- Magomed Malikov (Russia) 7-2, 5-2 M-1 (Jeff Monson, Aleksandr Emelianenko, Alexey Oleinik)
10- Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) 21-6, 4-1, IND (Andrei Arlovski)

Light Heavyweight

1- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden) 15-2, 5-1 UFC (Shogun Rua, Thiago Silva)
2- Jimi Manuwa (England) 14-0, 5-0 UFC (Ryan Jimmo, Cyrille Diabate)
3- Attila Vegh (Slovakia) 29-4-2, 9-0-1 Bellator (Christian M’Pumbu, Emanuel Newton, Zelg Galesic, Travis Wiuff)
4- Mikhail Zayats (Russia) 22-7 , 10-2 Bellator (Renato Sobral)
5- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia) 34-3-2, 4-0-1 UFC (Mike Kyle, Ovince St-Preux) *returning to Middleweight in February,
6- Jan Blachowicz (Poland) 17-3, 5-1 KSW (Goran Reljic, Houston Alexander, Rameu Thierry Sokoudjou)
7- Victor Nemkov (Russia) 19-4, 10-1 M-1 (Vasily Babich)
8- Linton Vassell (England) 12-3, 7-0 Bellator (Zelg Galesic)
9- Jason Jones (Netherlands) 20-10, 5-1 BAMMA (Max Nunes, Tatsuya Mizuno, Przemyslaw Mysiala)
10- Cyrille Diabate (France) 19-9, 3-2 UFC (Chad Griggs)

Middleweight

1- Michael Bisping (England) 24-5, 4-2 UFC (Alan Belcher, Brian Stann)
2- Frances Carmont (France) 22-7, 9-0 UFC (Costa Phillipou, Lorenz Larkin, Tom Lawlor)
3- Alexander Shlemenko (Russia) 49-7, 11-0 Bellator (Doug Marshall, Brett Cooper)
4- Mamed Khalidov (Poland) 27-4-2, 7-0 KSW (Melvin Manhoef, Kendall Grove, Jesse Taylor)
5 – Luke Barnatt (England) 7-0, 7-0 UFC (Andrew Craig)
6 – Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (Russia) 23-2, 13-1 M-1 (Trevpr Prangley)
7- Michal Materla (Poland) 19-4, 6-1 KSW (Kendall Grove, Matt Horwich)
8- Tom Watson (England) 16-6, 3-2 UFC (Stanislav Nedkov, Jack Marshman)
9- Ramazan Emeev (Azerbaijan) 11-2, 8-0 M-1 (Mario Miranda)
10- Nicolas Musoke (Sweden) 11-2, 7-1 UFC (Alessio Sakara) *returning to Welterweight 

Welterweight

1- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium) 14-3, 4-1 UFC (Nate Marquardt)
2- Martin Kampmann (Denmark) 20-7, 3-3 UFC (Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves, Rick Story)
3- Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) 11-0-1, 3-0 UFC (Jorge Santiago, Damarques Johnson)
4- Cathal Pendred (Ireland) 13-2-1, 8-1-1 Cage Warriors (Che Mills, Gael Grimaud)
5- Adlan Amagov (Russia) 13-2-1, 6-1 UFC (TJ Waldburger)
6- Andrey Koreshokov (Russia) 13-1, 12-1 Bellator (Lyman Good, Marius Zaromskis)
7- John Hathaway (England) 17-1, 3-0 UFC (John Maguire, Pascal Krauss)
8- Rashid Magomedov (Russia) 12-1, 6-0 IND (Alexander Yakovlev)
9- Gael Grimaud (France) 19-6, 10-2 Cage Warriors (Jesse Taylor, Bruno Carvalho)
10- Nicolas Dalby (Denmark) 11-0 7-0 Cage Warriors (Morten Djursaa)

Lightweight

1- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia) 21-0, 12-0 UFC (Pat Healy, Gleison Tibau)
2- Rustam Khabilov (Russia) 17-1, 6-1 UFC (Jorge Masvidal)
3- Alexander Sarnavskiy (Russia) 25-2 Bellator (Ricardo Tirloni, Marcus Davis)
4- Ross Pearson (England) 15-6, 4-2 UFC (George Sotiropolos)
5- Musa Khamanaev (Russia) 13-3, 8-1 M-1 (Daniel Weichel)
6- Norman Parke (Norther Ireland) 19-2, 5-0 UFC (Jon Tuck, Colin Fletcher)
7- Steven Ray (Scotland) 14-4, 10-3 Cage Warriors © (Jason Ball, Sean Carter)
8- Piotr Hallmann (Poland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC (Francisco Trinaldo)
9- Marcin Held (Poland) 16-3, 6-2 Bellator (Rich Clementi)
10- Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia) 24-4, 8-2 Cage Warriors (Jason Ball, Diego Gonzalez)

Featherweight

1- Conor McGregor (Ireland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC (Ivan Buchinger, Max Holloway)
2- Dennis Siver (Germany) 21-9, 4-2 UFC (Diego Nunes, Nam Phan)
3- Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (Russia) 21-5, 11-1 Bellator (Mike Richman, Marlon Sandro)
4- Tom Niinimaki (Finland) 20-5-1, 6-0 Cage FC (Walel Watson, Chase Beebe)
5- Shabulat Shamhalaev (Russia) 12-2-1, 6-1-1 Bellator (Mike Richman)
6- Joni Salovaara (Finland) 14-7 7-2 IND (Olivier Pastor, Chase Beebe)
7- Graham Turner (Scotland) 23-7, 7-1 Cage Warriors (Nad Narimani, Fouad Mesdari, Nathan Beer)
8- Sergei Greicho (Lithuania) 15-5-1, 8-2 OC (Joni Salovaara, Olivier Pastor)
9 – Niklas Backstrom (Sweden) 6-0, 4-0 IND (Sergeio Greicho)
10 – Akira Corassani (Sweden) 11-3, 2-1 UFC (Robbie Peralta)

Bantamweight

1- Brad Pickett (England) 23-8, 4-3 UFC (Mike Easton, Yves Jabouin)
2- Brett Johns (Wales) 8-0, 8-0 Cage Warriors © (David Haggstrom)
3- James Brum (England) 13-2, 9-2 Cage Warriors (Olivier Pastor, Moktar Benkaci)
4- Timo-Juhan Hirbokangas (Finland) 8-2, 7-1 Cage FC (Niko Gjoka, Artemij Sitenkov)
5- David Aranda Santacana (Spain) 9-0, 3-0 IND (Olivier Pastor, James Doolan)
6- James Pennington (England) 9-1, 7-1 Cage Warriors (Kris Edwards, James Doolan)
7- Martin McDonough (Wales) 11-4, 6-2 Cage Warriors (Alex Enlund, Stee McCombe)
8- Sirwan Kakai (sweden) 9-2, 5-1 IND (Jose Luis Zapater, James Doolan)
9- David Haggstrom (Sweden) 7-2-1, 3-2 IND (Artemij Sitenkov, James Doolan)
10- Cory Tait (England) 7-2, 5-2 UCMMA (Spencer Hewitt, Nathan Beer)

Flyweight

1- Ali Bagautinov (Russia) 12-2, 10-2 UFC (Tim Elliot)
2- Neil Seery (Ireland) 13-9, 5-1 Cage Warriors © (Mikael Silander)
3- Phil Harris (England) 22-11, 3-2 UFC (Ulysses Gomez, Neil Seery)
4- Pietro Menga (England) 10-0, 10-0 FCC © (Artemij Sitenkov)
5- Mikael Silander (Finaland) 8-3, 7-3 IND (Wade Choate)
6- Paul McVeigh (Northern Ireland) 19-8, 2-2, Cage Warriors (Paul Marin)
7- Paul Marin (Romania) 6-3, 6-3 Cage Warriors (Shaj Haque)
8- Shaj Haque (England) 3-1, 3-1 Cage Warriors (Kris Edwards)
9- Steve McCombe (Northern Ireland) 19-21-1, 6-7 IND (Scott Pooley)
10- Scott Pooley (England) 6-4-1, 3-1 SnA (Kris Edwards, Martin McDonough)

Women’s P4P

(due to the less developed state of Women’s MMA we’re ranking our top ten female fighters from across the weight classes – we hope to expand this section in future)

1- Marloes Coenen (Netherlands) 21-6, 3-2 Invicta FC (Romy Ruyssen, Liz Carmouche)
2- Katja Kankaanpaa (Finland) 8-0-1, 5-0-1 Invicta FC (Aisling Daly)
3- Joanne Calderwood (Scotland) 7-0, 7-0 Invicta FC (Asjley Cummins, Sally Krumdiack)
4- Rosi Sexton (England) 13-4, 3-2 UFC (Aisling Daly, Roxanne Modafferi)
5- Milana Dudieva (Russia) 8-3, 3-2 ProFC (Danielle West, Sheila Gaff)
6- Maria Hoegaard Djursa (Denmark) 5-4, 3-0 IND (Alexandra Buch)
7- Shiela Gaff (Germany) 10-6-1, 3-3 UFC (Jennifer Maia, Aisling Daly)
8- Pannie Kianzad (Sweden) 4-0, 4-0 IND (Milana Dudieva)
9- Aisling Daly (Ireland) 12-5, 4-4 Cage Warriors (Jessica Eye)
10- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Poland) 4-0, 4-0 (Julia Berezikova)

In the interests of amusement, I decided to tally up the totals per nation, awarding points in reverse order (10pts for a first place ranking, 1pt for a 10th place ranking) just to see which nation in Europe is the most awesome at MMA right now.

European National Rankings

1 – Russia – 119 pts
2 – England – 92 pts
3 – Finland – 34 pts
4 = Ireland – 28pts
4 = Netherlands – 28pts
6 = Poland – 25pts
7 = Sweden – 21 pts
8 = France – 20 pts
9 = Scotland – 16 pts
10 = Denmark – 15 pts

We here at Kumite welcome our new Russian overlords…

UKMMA Showdown, BAMMA 13 vs. Cage Warriors 59

Ok, so BAMMA and Cage Warriors are chalk & cheese in terms of business model and the way they present the sport, but the fact remains that they are the two biggest names in UKMMA. This weekend, they’re both running events on the same night, with a hefty SIX titles on the line.

With that in mind, we thought we’d keep the previews for each card short and ask you, the discerning MMA public which event you were most excited for?

Cage Warriors 59
Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales

Returning to Wales with a stacked card, on the back of a run of successful events from such disparate locations as Dublin, London, Chechnya & Dubai, Cage Warriors are serving up a title tournament as well as a title defence in one of their most competitive and entertaining divisions.

With fight finisher Jim ‘the Beast’ Alers (10-1) making his first defence of his Featherweight title against giant Swede, Martin Svensson (12-3), Kris Edwards (8-5), James Pennington (8-1), David Haggstrom (7-1-1) and Brett Johns (6-0) contesting a one night tournament to crown a new Bantamweight champion, allied to a tasty Middleweight bout between Mats Nilsson (10-2-1) and Denniston Sutherland (20-11) it’s a card showcasing some of Europe, and indeed in the case of Alers, the WORLD’s best fighters.

For our part, we are very much on Team Alers for the Featherweight title fight, partially because Jim gave us an interview before his title win and partially because he’s a genuinely entertaining fighter.

Svensson on the other hand, we don’t like so much because he complained like a bairn after Robert Whiteford punched his face in to win the Vision FC Featherweight title last year.

In the Bantamweight fight, Edwards and Johns are the home choices for the Welsh crowd, although it has to be said we really fancied Martin McDonough’s chances and while Edwards is a fitting replacement, we can’t see him beating Pennington.

For the other three, we can’t pick a winner, with Pennington a massive Bantamweight and a commanding presence, Haggstrom the most experienced and well rounded and Johns undefeated and as yet to display any weaknesses.

It doesn’t help that all four men have wins over our beloved Dinky Ninja Fight team in the recent past, but we forgive them…

It’s a great card, so tune in to Premier Sports (or the relevant online stream for your region, check http://www.cagewarriors.com for details) and check it out. Finishes, awesome fights and the usual top notch production & commentary are guaranteed…

BAMMA 13

From the NIA in Birmingham, once home to Saturday TV staple Gladiators (a show with similar aesthetics to BAMMA’s usual production), BAMMA provide their thirteenth show, marketing it as crowing three ‘World’ champions.

On the face of it, that’s a damn fine proposition and some of the names involved, particularly ‘Judo’ Jim Wallhead, Colin Fletcher & Max Nunes are definitely worth your attention.

However the matchmaking is a little dubious by my estimation. In the main event, Max ‘Power’ Nunes (11-0) is easily one of the most exciting Light Heavyweight prospects in Europe and is an excellent choice to compete for a title belt and while his opponent Jason ‘the Villain’ Jones (19-10) has the edge in experience and is certainly an exciting fighter (21 of 29 fights ending in some form of stoppage) I find it hard to take him seriously as a title contender, seeing as he’s coming off a first round KO loss to Poland’s Maciej Browarski.

The co-main event sees BAMMA staple, Jim Wallhead (24-7) competing for the Newly minted Welterweight belt on a compelling 3-0 win streak under the BAMMA banner (less impressive is the fact that its only a 1-0 streak if you add his Bellator loss to Lyman Good into the equation.)

His opponent is ‘Fast’ Eddy Ellis (18-15-1) who is riding a six fight win streak, but is (like Jones) making his BAMMA debut and hasn’t fought since 2011.

Hmmm.

Reigning Londsdale British Lightweight champion Curt Warburton (12-3) gets the chance to upgrade to a ‘World’ title against Tunisia’s Mansour Barnaoui (9-2), a fighter who is making his BAMMA debut and boasts five of his wins in only two nights (tournaments held by France’s 100% Fight.)

The main card is rounded off by UFC & TUF alum Colin ‘Dr Freakshow’ Fletcher (8-3) looking to arrest his 0-2 slide from his Zuffa tenure against Tim Newman (10-3) who just happens to be one of Britian’s best Lightweights and presents a clear threat to his more well known opponent.

The preliminary card is pretty stacked, featuring another ‘World’ title fight, this time at Middleweight, between unbeaten Scott Askham and Jorge Luis Bezerra and UKMMA notables like Jack Marshman, Ali Arish, Wayne Murrie.

The show will be live on 5* in the UK with a selection of international streams available for folks around the world.

CHOOSE

OK, I’ll probably watch both at the same time but its worth asking the question – which would you watch if you had to choose?

In my eyes, both cards have their advantages, which I will break down thus…

Coverage

BAMMA win this, as the spread of the respective online streams is about equal internationally but their UK offering is on a free to air channel, while you need a subscription to watch Cage Warriors on Premier Sport.

Big Names

For me, this is about even as I’m plenty excited by the prospect of watching Jim Alers and the Bantamweight tournament, but if I’m honest BAMMA have the edge objectively with hot prospect Nunes, Bellator vet Wallhead and former TUF contestants Fletcher & Warburton.

Matchmaking

Cage Warriors win this big time. While I might not agree with Martin Svensson as a worthy title challenger, I appreciate that CW couldn’t get Graham Turner, Chris Fishgold or Martin Buschkamp (my choices for the shot) in the timeframe, so they had to find someone. Similarly, Kris Edwards wouldn’t have been my pick for the 135 tourney, but he’s a late replacement and steps in for his teammate, Martin McDonough who was VERY deserving of his inclusion.

BAMMA on the other hand have decided to create FOUR world titles from scratch and seem to have done so in such a way as to best accommodate guaranteed ‘home wins’ rather than paying any heed to competitive or promotional credibility. Without intending disrespect to their opponents, if Nunes, Wallhead, Warburton and Askham aren’t all world champs on Sunday morning, I’ll be VERY surprised.

If BAMMA had booked something like Marshman vs. Askham and Warburton vs. Newman I’d be much happier…

Admittedly, Jones is ranked 29 spots above Nunes on FightMatrix, so I can’t complain there too much (but coming off a win helps… ) but Wallhead is facing an entirely unbanked fighter, when there is a UK fighter in his weight class, on a chunky win streak and coming off a win over Jack Mason already on the card?

Wallhead vs. Ali Arish would have been a lot more interesting, in my eyes…

Production

Cage Warriors win this as well. BAMMA tend to the tacky, while Cage Warriors keep it classy, and the commentary team of Josh Palmer and John Gooden (or Frank Trigg, when he stands in) are in my view, the best in the business.

Quality of Fights (not the same as name value or competitive matchmaking)

I think Cage Warriors win this as well – I literally cannot wait to see Alers vs. Svensson, (especially as a submission battle) and Haggstrom vs. Johns (experience vs. mimentum) while I’m not entirely wetting myself at the prospect of any of the BAMMA fights, largely because of the lopsided matchmaking and I’ve not been given any reason on previous BAMMA shows to give the slightest fuck about Jones, Ellis etc.

That makes it 48-47 to Cage Warriors on my card, but you’re welcome to disagree.

It’s a massive night for UKMMA, and I hope that like me, you’ll watch both cards.

Also, for the Swedish MMA fight fans out there – you could have THREE world champions on Sunday morning. Perfect warm up to Alex Gustafsson’s fight next week, eh?

Global Warrior Challenge: The British Invasion Results

Box fresh promotion Global Warrior Challenge made their debut last night with a much overlooked card packed with exciting young talent and some familiar names from both sides of the Atlantic.

Adopting a nation vs. nation format, Team USA featured a mix of journeymen, experienced ex-UFC fighters and Bobby Lashley while Team UK showcased some of this isle’s top talent, including former UFC fighters Oli Thompson and Andre Winner alongside BAMMA headliners Jack Marshman and Max Nunes.

With a scale production and a top class commentary team including Karen Bryant and Jens Pulver this was a very interesting show on paper…

…and so it proved to be.

A night of extremes, every fight either ended early or stayed in the balance to the bitter end with huge finishes by Max Nunes, Oli Thompson Jack Marshman and Dayman Lake all raising their stock Stateside in impressive fashion.

With Marcin Lazarz and Andre Winner also gutting out solid decision victories over vastly more experienced opposition Ricco Rodriguez and Drew Fickett.

On the US side, LC Davis continued his great form with a commanding decision victory over James ‘Scraps’ Saville, while Kendall Grove and Bobby Lashley got the first round stoppage wins you might have expected/feared from some of the biggest names on the card.

All in all, this night was a huge success for Team UK, walking out 7-4 victors on the night and on foreign soil no less.

We’ve known about the likes of Marshman and Nunes for some time now, but North American fans might not have paid as much attention to shows like BAMMA as they should have.

Well, they know our boys come to fight now!

I’ve not seen any word on the next GWC card, but I’d this is anything to go by there should surely be a second. Make it winner stays on, and the next nation who wants a crack at Team UK has to come and face us over here next time.

It’s only fair…

Full Results

Max Nunes def. Justin Davis by TKO (elbows) Rd1 (2:39)
Bobby Lashley def. Matt Larson by submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (1:38)
Marcin Lazarz def. Ricco Rodriguez by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Andre Winner def. Drew Fickett by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Kendall Grove def. Danny Mitchell by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (4:53)
Oli Thompson def. Kevin Asplund by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (3:21)
LC Davis def. James Saville by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Dayman Lake def. Jake Heun by submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (4:34)
Jack Marshman def. Wayne Cole by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (1:26)
Michael Johnson def. Jerome Martinez by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Jake Murphy def. Tony Hervey by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

TEAM UK wins by 7-4

Lucky 13

It was announced on Wednesday that BAMMA will make their long awaited return with their thirteenth show, this time at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena on September 14th, with the card set to be headlined by Max Nunes facing Jason Jones to crown a new Light Heavyweight champion with veteran Jim Wallhead defending his Welterweight title against Eddie Ellis in the co-main event.

As a fan of UKMMA, I’m pretty excited about this, as any show announcement, especially one featuring such exciting and beloved talent as ‘Judo’ Jimmy or Nunes is a GOOD THING.

However…

…I actually half didn’t expect to see BAMMA back at all.

They’ve been very quiet since their last show, which shared the glory of being the first MMA event to air (almost) live on terrestrial television in the UK with the ignominy of having several very compelling and competitive MMA bouts playing second fiddle to a bout between two fighters with mediocre records, simply on account that one of them is a reality TV ‘star’.

Im not naive enough to imagine that the two facts are unrelated, but I couldn’t help feeling that BAMMA 12 was a missed opportunity. I mean, how can you promote other fighters if we barely see them on the broadcast?

Add to that is the fact that they’ve lost a sizeable chunk of their regular roster, with Lightweight champion Rob Sinclair signed by Bellator and most of their marketable UK stars including Tom Breese, Steven Ray, Leeroy Barnes and Warren Kee defecting to Cage Warriors.

All of the above, combined with the sense that their business model is untenable – hiring the likes of the NIA or Wembley Arena and CLEARLY not filling them is an expensive business – has lead to a sense that BAMMA are a company who’s ideas are far and ahead of their means, doing everything they can to seem like a big deal, but coming across as a bit shrill and desperate in the process.

I hate typing that, because believe me, I want… I ACHE for BAMMA to be successful. There is nothing more beneficial to any industry or sport than competition

BAMMA’s progress in making relationships with mainstream media like Channel 5 is impressive, their concept of initiating British titles underneath their top belts to help promote British talent is inspired and quite simply all of UKMMA is better off with two vibrant, credible, competing top shows, rather than one making all the running while the one behind sets of firecrackers looking for attention.

I know this wont go down well with anyone at BAMMA Towers, but in my view, they need to look at Cage Warriors. They need to cut their cloth accordingly, and concentrate more on making each show their best from a sporting point of view, rather than their biggest from a showbiz point of view.

There is room, indeed a need for promotions of all kinds, of different emphasis and style in mixed martial arts, but in order to succeed as a credible top line operation there are some constant factors.

Regular shows, with a high quality of in ring action. Credible and competitive matchmaking, professional production and presentation aesthetics. A tiny amount of realism in your own perception of your place in the game.

BAMMA’s commitment and ambition does them credit, and I don’t want any involved to think I’m having a go – I’ve just seen too many MMA promotions, indeed sporting entities and promotional projects of every hue overstep themselves and fall, never to recover.

I’m excited for BAMMA 13, I really am, with two very compelling bouts already announced and surely more to come (a big fight for BAMMA favourite Jack Marshman, perhaps against the Dinky Ninjas own Allan Love maybe?) but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give air to some of my concerns about the promotion.

I’ll watch the show, however it ends up being available and I’d urge you to do the same thing. The future of UKMMA is as much in the hands of the fans as it is the promotions…

SAFE MMA Promotions Review

 

SAFE MMA has been in place since the turn of the year and now that they have had a few months to embed their policies, and a few shows to test them out, all parties concerned met recently to review the progress and discuss any potential improvements.

SAFE MMA today issued a press release detailing the results of those meetings, here is the full statement:

Safe MMA Press Release:

SAFE MMA PROMOTIONS REVIEW FIRST REGISTERED SHOWS

(London.28th March.13) Following successful first Safe MMA events, representatives from Cage Warriors, BAMMA and UCMMA met on Thursday 21st March to feed back on their experiences of their first Safe MMA shows and to initiate improvements.

The following areas were addressed:

Registering fighters

A number of improvements have been proposed to the overall fighter registration process to make the system smoother and as simple as possible to use.

A follow up administration and processes meeting took place with 76 Harley Street’s practice manager on Tuesday 26th March to discuss and implement the changes.

Registration Times

One major issue has been fighters leaving it to the last minute to register. Sufficient time needs to be allowed for the following:
· It can take a number of weeks to book a GP appointment.

· It may also take time for the blood vials and medical forms to be posted and to arrive at Safe MMA 

· 76 Harley Street doctors will also need a number of days allowance to review the forms

· Blood screening times can vary depending on where bloods are tested, if processed outside Safe MMA.

· There is no room for error for if a problem arises (e.g. a fighter has trouble finding a GP; or tests need to be re-done for some reason)

· It is not always possible to take bloods in the last couple of days of a weight cut due to dehydration.

· In some situations treatment may be needed (such as a short course of medication), which if completed in time would still allow the fighter to fight. 

Fighters need to be encouraged to register to Safe MMA as soon as they have signed the fight contract, so their blood packs and medical forms can be sent out in good time for them to book a GP appointment.

Cut-Off Dates for Registration

Safe MMA recommends that fighters register at least 3 weeks out from the fight.

Except in the case of late replacements, the cut-off date for Safe MMA registration is one week prior to a fighter’s first fight date.

Where the fighter elects to submit NHS blood results instead of using the Safe MMA bloods service, the cut-off date for the submission of NHS blood results is 2 weeks before the fight date. There have been a number of incidents where NHS blood results have not covered either Hep B or Hep C and have had to be re-done as late as on the day of the fight.

Doctors

Fighters in some parts of the country have been experiencing difficulties with booking in for GP medicals.

Safe MMA now has supporting doctors in Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle, as well as London who have been doing fantastic work to enable the success of the project.

We will continue to build a database of Safe MMA doctors around the country to form a supporting medical network.

Post Fight Medicals & Suspensions

· Safe MMA has been asked to stipulate more detailed requirements for cageside and post-fight medical professionals, including number of staff required and their qualifications.

· Safe MMA has been asked by medical professionals to stipulate standardised advised periods of suspension for different types of common injury.

· Advised suspensions MUST be given verbally to the fighter on the night by the post-fight doctor.

· Where there has for some reason been an issue and the medic has not advised a suspension, it is the promotion’s responsibility to advise a period of suspension (based on the standardised, advised time periods).

· Moving forward Safe MMA will publish the list of suspended fighters and their suspension periods, one week after each Safe MMA event (once Safe MMA doctors have reviewed the post-fight medical paperwork).

SAFE MMA Medical Meeting

Dr Mike Loosemore will be meeting with a number of medical professionals giving their support to the Safe MMA project on 10th April, for medical feedback and revisions.

Safe MMA Fighters Fighting On Non-Registered Shows

Usually if a Safe MMA fighter fights on a non-registered show he/she will need to have his/her bloods re-tested before returning to fight on a Safe MMA show. He/she will also be expected to submit any post-fight medicals from the other show to Safe MMA.

However, if the fighter fights on a show that upholds medical standards to the same level as Safe MMA or higher then they will not need to get their bloods re-tested before returning to compete on a Safe MMA show. (e.g. British Board of Boxing, UFC, Cage Warriors’ foreign shows). The fighter will need to submit their post-fight medicals to Safe MMA.

Where a Safe MMA promotion runs an event in a foreign territory, the promotion must submit the blood results of any non-registered opponent fighting a Safe MMA registered opponent. If this is done, then the Safe MMA fighter will not need to be re-tested before returning to a Safe MMA event.

Independent Safe MMA bouts

If a Safe MMA fighter fights on a non-registered show, he can make his own agreement with his opponent for it to be a SAFE MMA registered bout, if the opponent is also happy to register with Safe MMA. This would mean the fighter wouldn’t need to get their bloods re-tested to fight again on a Safe MMA show.

Staffing & Support

· 76 Harley St is employing a new member of clinical administrative staff to support their Practice Manager with the Safe MMA administrative work.

· At this stage promotions may need a dedicated Safe MMA rep to support them with getting fighters signed up ahead of shows. This is due to the fact that a lot of education is still needed

· A number of volunteers are now offering their help to Safe MMA; and at this time volunteers are most needed as Safe MMA reps supporting promotions with particular fight cards 

· When a new promotion signs up to Safe MMA, another Safe MMA member will be allocated to provide support and advice to them for their first registered show and will be present at the event to offer help and guidance. 

Responsibility to Safe MMA fighters

Safe MMA shows have agreed show support to the fighters who have paid to register for the year by offering them fights above others.

When A Promotion’s Reach Exceeds Their Grasp

‘A Man’s Reach Should Exceed His Grasp’

So goes the quote from Robert Browning, indicating that men should strive for more than they can plausibly achieve. It’s a fitting sentiment with regards to martial arts, as every practitioner strives for an unattainable perfection and every competitor fights a battle ultimately doomed to failure as time and new opponents overcome them.

However, does the same sentiment apply to the promotions who frame the sport? While athletes are driven to better themselves, to hold themselves against philosophical ideals which can never be reached, the same can never be true of what is, at the end of the day – a business.

Of course, setting standards and holding yourself to putting on the best show possible is pretty much a basic qualification for any promotion to be taken seriously but there is a laundry list of companies who’ve reached for the top and found their grasp to fall so spectacularly short…

Affliction. Dream. Elite XC. IFL. Pride. Rings. Sengoku. Strikeforce. Tachi Palace Fights.

To name but a few.

Each of these promotions was brought low by over ambition and/or bad business practice.

Whether it was handcuffing themselves to television deals which proved expensive and/or constrictive, putting too much money on the line in terms of fighter salaries, budgeting so that one cancelled event could fold the company, accepting money from sources of dubious legality, aiming at a market niche that was too specific… it almost doesn’t matter about the specifics.

The common thread is that these companies all aimed at being the number one MMA promotion in their niche, or often the world and were in the end ruined by an unsustainable ambition, speculating that this next show or next fighter signing would be a game-changer and elevate them to a new level.

As is so often seen, the balance books don’t lie and if you live beyond your means, your life expectancy falls to zero.

With the UFC dominating the top tier of the MMA market, there is no company in the world who can hope to challenge their brand, roster or resources. As such, any other promotion is left with a few options – become a regional power, content for your top talent to potentially move on to the UFC in time, to occupy a specialised niche with a unique selling point, or to try and offer a genuine alternative to the UFC in the bright lights.

For those companies who take the latter road, there is one major drawback – almost every available bankable name is a post-UFC fighter for some reason or another. This tends to make your biggest budget, most-likely-to-draw show look like a UFC reunion. That doesn’t exactly scream cutting edge credibility, does it?

In the current landscape, Bellator look to challenge the UFC by having a distinctive format, not (always) signing their cast offs, promoting new ‘home grown’ talent and having the resources to persevere. The World Series of Fights look to be offering a limited date, almost retro UFC experience, sold on the stars of yesteryear mixed with some promising youngsters sprinkled in.

There are many promotions who try to seem like a big deal in their region, there are many who quite honestly admit that their ambition is to function as a feeder league for the UFC. There is nothing WRONG with any of that.

My favourite promotions are those who’s reach (ambition) exceeds their grasp (resources) but who keep their heads down and make it work, rather than rolling the dice on one all-or-nothing event.

You see so many promotions trying to LOOK big time, with things like live TV shows, big screens, celebrity appearances, multiple ring girls, dancers, distracting gimmicks…

I’m more impressed by the ones who’s first aim is to put on good fights, to get them seen by as many people as possible, who try to present MMA as a credible, relatable sport and who seem to have a long term, ambitious yet realistic plans.

There is no definitive ‘how to run an MMA promotion 101’ and its been shown that ambition and innovation are rewarded – the UFC are testament to that. However, ambition combined with short sightedness, product of dubious quality, edgy media partners and/or unreliable cash flow can lead to only one resolution. Sports/entertainment promotion is no place for the vainglorious.

Ambition must be tempered with realism, patience and professionalism. In such a way can a solid fan base and strong business be built. Over time, your grasp should increase, but your reach should always exceed it.

BAMMA 12: Wallhead vs. Veach Recap

It sure was nice to watch some quality UKMMA on my TV at a reasonable hour for once.

Receiving news that Dinky Ninja James MacAlister won his match on the undercard was music to our ears, and when the main card opened up on 5* we got some great action out the gate from Ryan Scope and Luke Newman with Scope picking up the impressive submission win with a sweet triangle in the first round.

My personal most anticipated bout of the evening was Scot, Steven Ray defending his British Lightweight title against Curt Warburton. In a real back and forth contest, Warburton took the first and third rounds with takedowns and ground & pound, while Ray dominated the middle frame from bell to bell and was so very close to a submission on multiple occasions.

All three judges saw it 29-28 to Warburton, but I’ve seen more than a few folks give the second to Ray as a 10-8, and even giving Ray the third. As biased as I am, I had it as 29-28 to Warburton with an outside chance of the 28-28 draw. I also cant help thinking that had it been a five round fight, as you might expect from a title contest, the result could have been different…

Ray will be back, believe that…

The co-main event was expected to feature a blink and you’ll miss it KO finish one way or another between two heavy handed Light Heavyweights, but it turned out that Max Nunes and Marcin Lazarz cancelled each other out, despite going toe to toe almost for the duration. In the end, Nunes showed his quality and secured the TKO3 to confirm his status as one of the most feared 205lbers in Europe.

The main event saw recent BAMMA and former Bellator stalwart Jim Wallhead facing UFC vet Matt Veach in what looked like a bit of a mismatch from the weigh ins. Given that Wallhead has fought and won at Middleweight and Veach washed out of the UFC as a lightweight there was a marked size difference come fight night and this played out in the cage with Wallhead dominating and progressing without ceremony to an academic rear naked choke for the win in the first round.

I’d love to see Wallhead against a top notch international welterweight or a European talent on a real run, someone like Ryan Scope or Tom Breese…

As ever, BAMMA presented a compelling mix of up and coming and veteran talent, with the regular caveat that the main event booking seemed like a bit of a gimme for the name, drawing British talent (not the case last time out with Marshman vs. Foupa-Pokam, mind) and the presentation, for all it’s bells and whistles still seemed a bit… tacky.

I love what BAMMA present in the cage, and while I was pleasantly surprised by Ken Shamrock’s contribution as an analyst their commentary and production continues to make them seem a little bit second rate, desperately trying to seem first rate but concentrating on the wrong things.

For me anyway, but I’m just an opinionated idealist with a net connection…

In any case, top show, great to see UKMMA on free to view TV and I await news of BAMMA 13 with baited breath.

Main Card
Jim Wallhead def. Matt Veach via Submission (RNC) Round 1 3:05
Max Nunes def. Marcin Lazarz via TKO (Referee Stoppage) Round 3 3:12
Curt Warburton def. Steven Ray via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to win the Lonsdale British Lightweight Title
Ryan Scope def. Luke Newman via Submission (Triangle) Round 1 4:00

Preliminary Card
Scott Askham def. Harry McLeman via Submission (RNC) Round 3 4:13
Leeroy Barnes def. Steve Watson via Submission (Guillotine) Round 1 0:47
Thomas Denham def. Brett McDermott via Submission (RNC) Round 2 3:58
Mahmood Bedharate def. Steven Gardener via UD (29-28 x3)
James MacAlister def. Steven McCombe via Submission (RNC) Round 2 3:08

BAMMA 12 – WALLHEAD VS. VEACH Preview

Saturday, March 9, 2013
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England

One of the country’s most prestigious promotions open their account for 2013 with a fantastic card showcasing some of the best of young British talent along with some more experienced warhorses and international veterans. What’s even better is that the top four matches will be shown live on 5*, which while not quite a classic terrestrial channel is free to view for anyone with a digital box in the UK which is pretty much everybody.

The main event sees one of Britain’s most experienced and proficient mixed martial artists, “Judo” Jim Wallhead (23-7) looking to continue his good recent form in the promotion following wins over Joey Villasenor and Frank Trigg and regain some momentum following another narrow loss in Bellator.

Across the cage, UFC veteran Matt Veach (16-4) provides the opposition, coming in with some good momentum following a first round KO victory over Zac Kelley in the main event of C3 – Rumble at Red Rock back in August.

Wallhead’s home form has been impressive for some time, as he’s undefeated in the UK since a submission loss to Dennis Siver in 2006. It’s also worth noting that all of Veach’s losses have come by submission, which doesn’t bode we’ll coming into an away bout against a noted Judoka with nine submission victories.

The co-main event sees a pair of undefeated Light Heavyweights facing off in what looks to be a hard hitting affair between Max ‘Power’ Nunes (9-0) and Marcin Lazarz (5-0). As much as its hard to get a bead on two undefeated guys, Nunes is highly regarded as one of the premier up & coming 205lbers in Europe and his TKO win over Kevin Thompson at BAMMA 11 was a thing to behold.

My favourite bout of the event has to be Dinky Ninja, Steven “Braveheart” Ray (12-3) defending his Lonsdale British Lightweight Title against UFC veteran Curt Warburton (11-3). Both are well rounded fighters, more than willing and capable of engaging in a war, but both have shown a certain susceptibility to being submitted…

With ten finishes out of eleven fights between them, the lightweight clash between undefeated paid Luke Newman (5-0) and Ryan Scope (6-0) promises to be explosive, especially if Newman should find himself in new territory with the bout going to the second round.

The last bout I want to talk about is another contest between hard hitting light heavyweights as undefeated Scott Askham (9-0) looks to capitalise on his impressive decision victory over Denniston Sutherland at Cage Warriors 50 by adding to the recent woes of Kevin Thompson (13-6) who finds himself in a 1-3 slide with losses to fast rising Max Nunes and Linton Vassell and former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez.

As I said at the top, the main bouts will be broadcast live on 5* and a variety of international outlets. If you need information for where you are or are in the North East and fancy grabbing a late ticket, please check www.bamma.com for more information.

FIGHT CARD
Jim Wallhead vs. Matt Veach
Max Nunes vs. Marcin Lazarz
Steven Ray vs. Curt Warburton – for the BAMMA Lonsdale British Lightweight Title
Luke Newman vs. Ryan Scope
Kevin Thompson vs. Scott Askham
James Macalister vs. Dawid Farycki
Lee Barnes vs. Steve Watson
Richie Knox vs. Thomas Denham
Paul McBride vs. Darren Wardle
Craig Robertson vs. Luke Harriman
Mahmood Besharate vs. Steven Gardener
Jefferson George vs. Steve Martin
Anas Siraj Mounir vs. John Jackson

UKMMA One Week Warning

In one week, we’ll have one of the biggest weekends EVER for Mixed Martial Arts in the UK as three of our top promotions host events on the same Saturday night.

With BAMMA 12 in Newcastle being shown live on 5*, Cage Warriors 51 from London being streamed live on www.mmajunkie.com and Shock n Awe 13 going down in Portsmouth, it’s a testament to the increasing breadth and depth of support for MMA in Britain that three such events can be scheduled on the same weekend, and that two of them will be beamed live to international television audiences.

Combine that with the ongoing SAFE MMA endeavour to add safety and credibility to MMA in this country and its a tremendously exciting time.

We’ll have full and in depth previews of all three shows and a super special interview with one of the featured fighters for you over the next week, but we thought it was important, as we get ready to settle in and watch UFC Japan in the wee small hours to remind everyone that we have some top notch, home grown MMA action viewable at a civilised hour next weekend. What’s not to love?

Next Saturday Ill be sitting with BAMMA on the TV, Cage Warriors on the laptop and waiting on Twitter updates from Shock N Awe, and doing my best to provide some live coverage, while enjoying the relative novelty of fights I don’t have to set alarm for.

What we want to know, is which event are you attending, or most interested in watching?

Which fight attracts your attention the most – is it Jim Wallhead vs. UFC vet Matt Veach or Steven Ray defending his British Lightweight title against Curt Warburton at BAMMA?

Is it Cathal Pendred challenging Gael Grimaud for the World Welterweight title, or Graham Turner facing Fouad Mesdari at Cage Warriors?

Is it Jay Furness vs. Phil Else for the British Featherweight strap or the other two title title matches at Shock n Awe?

Let us know, because while we’re committed to covering UKMMA as a whole, if we know what YOU are excited about, then we can cover it in greater depth.

Awesome times for our sport. I love it.