Fighters Magazine - May 2011

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7th &MAY/JUNE 8th MAY FIGHTERS MAGAZINE 20112011 Page 1

www.fightersmag.co.uk MAY/JUNE 2011 £3.95

INSIDE...

All The Latest News & Reviews From UFC, EFC, M-1 and More!

CAGE QUEEN

Monthly Coverage of Women’s MMA

UCMMA 20 Fists of Fire

2 DAYS 14 hrs

1“Of FC A G E ull On Action”

At ONE Huge Event

KICKBOXING - MUAY THAI - MMA - K-1 - BOXING

Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

CONTENTS

Editorial Welcome back to another issue of the UK’s best and ONLY Full Contact fighting magazine! This issue is once again packed full of great articles and features for your reading pleasure!

This month sees the return of The Martial Arts Show Live at The NEC Birmingham over the weekend of May the 7th and 8th. After last years successful show our expectations are high and it look’s already and with much higher in advanced ticket sales, this year will be much bigger and far better than last. Some of the names already confirmed include; Bob Sapp, Dave O’Donnell, Mark Carling, Kash Gill, Ross Pearson, Ronnie Green, Kash “the Flash Gill”, Grant Waterman, Ernie Taylor, Silk Cummins, Shaun Boland, Michael Dicks, Pete Mercer and Nick Chapman to name but a few. We will have a ring and a cage that will feature some amazing fights and demonstrations including the UKMF’s 4 Nations championships and a purse of £10,000 in prize money (to go to the lucky winners), A fight between Mr Olympia competitor (20 stone solid muscle man mountain) Ernie Taylor and Silk Cummins, Open Q&A sessions with Bob Sapp, Ross Pearson and a whole army of other stars and guests..

So what are you waiting for, make sure you go and buy your tickets now to avoid disappointment. Go to www.themartialartsshow.co.uk for tickets and a full run down of all that is taking place at the show plus more information.

There has been lot’s going on in the news this past month and we have trawled through it all to bring the best of the headlines, from a pregnant fighter to the latest breaking stories from the UFC, we’ve got you well and truly covered. We also have a special invitation from none other than UCMMA boss Dave O’Donnell. If you’ve ever been watching an MMA bout and thought, I could do that, well now could be your chance as Dave is inviting any old Joe Blogs the chance to become Jimi Manuwa for a night and take part in UCMMA’s newest venture, White Collar MMA, read on to find out how to get involved.

Cassidy Phillips is a man with a vision, one to help MMA athletes become better and stronger. He tells us all about some of his innovative training equipment creations aimed at helping athletes recover from and prepare properly, for a gruelling bout inside the cage, and with names like Brock Lesnar and Vitor Belfort using some of his creations, this is a man worth listening to.

If wrestling is your thing then check out pages 24-27 and 34-35 for all the latest gossip.

Isobel Carnwath is back with her monthly column, Cage Queen. This month Isobel interviews Danielle ‘The Curse’ West, one of the women’s MMA scene’s brightest prospects.

We also have full reviews of some of last month’s best event’s including EFC, M-1, ISKA & World’s Collide.

As this is a double month issue (due to the workload of the show) the next issue will go on sale on June the 23rd.

So, until next month, enjoy your training and keep on fighting and I look forward to seeing you all at The Martia lArts Show Live this month at the NEC in Birmingham.

Paul. cliftoncombat@aol.co.uk

6

Newsline

Domestic & International

14

The Neil Adams Submission Clinic

By Fergus Dullaghan

16

The Martial Arts Show Live

The Perfect Recipe For a Perfect Martial Arts Extravaganza Showcase!

20

Cassidy Phillips

It all starts with training

22

John Maguire

What’s next for ‘The One’?

24

Mickie James

Putting her hair on the line

28

EFC

The fighters

34

Wrestling News

May 2011

36

Kazuyuki Miyata

Suplexes and opportunities

40

Cage Queen

Danielle ‘The Curse’ West

44

Ross Pointon

The return of ‘The Gladiator’

46

Ultimate Challenge UK

UCMMA 20: Fists of Fire

48

No Mercy

K1’s Rocky future could be MMA’s gain

52

Eugene Fadiora

‘The Sniper’ has his sights set on a big 2011

54

Hellboy

Reaches out to Japan

58

Dave O’donnell

I am the daddy of UK MMA!

62

EFC

Fight for the Fallen

66

M-1 Challenge

Damkovsky vs Figueroa

70

ISKA Kickboxing

Hit’s Derry

72

Fight Night Live

The new name in martial arts TV

76

World’s Collide

Black Box theatre Galway

80

Kickboxing hit’s Kidderminster

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

fightersmag.co.uk PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul S. Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com SENIOR DESIGNER Kevin Thompson WEBMASTER Nick Harley ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121-351-6930 fighters@btconnect.com PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 IRISH MMA SUB EDITOR Thomas McCullough UK THAI SUB EDITOR Dan Green UK MMA SUB EDITOR Rob Nutley UK BJJ SUB EDITOR Carl Fisher UK KICKBOXING SUB EDITOR Cris Janson-Piers UK BOXING SUB EDITORS Luke Calvert, Mark Wilson Smith THAI / KICKBOXING Tony Myers, Shaun Boland, Paul Hennessy, Bob Spour, Neil Holden, Dean Sugden, Carl Emery CONTRIBUTORS Steve Dileo, Bryan Levick, Fergus Dullaghan, Ben Cartlidge, Teddy Galbally, Craig Bush, Rocki Sondhi, Tommy Thompson HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED Drop us an email at fighters@martialartsinprint.com or give the editorial team a call on 0121 351 6930 NEWS ITEMS For all news related items, simply mark your envelope “FIGHTERS NEWSLINE” and together with a photograph (if required) and a covering letter, send it to: FIGHTERS, Head Office or E-Mail: fighters.news@btconnect.com HEAD OFFICE: Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. Tel: 0121 351 6930 E-Mail: fighters.magazine@btconnect.com ADVERTISING DETAILS If you would like to advertise in FIGHTERS email us at fighters@martialartsinprint.com to obtain details, deadline dates and costs.

DISCLAIMER FIGHTERS is published by M.A. Publications Ltd, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. The publishers reserve the right to reject editorial and/or advertising material as they see fit. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. However, the Publishers will endeavour to return such matter providing that it is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Any material accepted by the Publishers shall be revised or altered should the Publisher deem it necessary to do so. The act of submitting manuscripts and/or materials shall be considered an express warranty that such material is original and in no way infringes upon the rights of others. It is expressly forbidden for any part of the magazine to be reported whatsoever without the permission of Editor / Publishers. The views or comments expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or Publisher.

Distribution by COMAG.

Page 46 UCMMA 20: FISTS OF FIRE

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Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

The Neil Adams

Submission Clinic

By Fergus Dullaghan

Hunting the arm from the back part 2

To read MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS MAKE SURE YOU GET THE NEXT ISSUE OF FIGHTERS AVAILABLE FROM WH SMITH & ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS

In the tenth instalment of the Neil Adams Submission Clinic our resident former World Judo Champion again demonstrates his ability to find an armlock from unimaginable positions and at unconceivable angles. This month Neil shows us an alternative way to get an armlock from the back. This technique however also works well on an opponent who is trying to roll away from you any time you are on top of them, whether you are in the mount (tate shiho gatame), side mount (Mune gatame) or even in your opponent’s half guard.

Unlike BJJ fighters and submission wrestlers, many judo players favour rolling away as a method of escape. This is simply a product of the rules of the sport and not a reflection of poor ground-fighting strategy. In judo (unlike in jiu jitsu) you can lose by being pinned on your back and (again unlike BJJ) you concede no points by giving up your back. Since so many judo attacks focus on pinning the opponent for an easy win, judo players therefore often prefer to take the risk of spinning away rather than having their guards passed. From an MMA perspective either prospect is grim. Spin away, give up your back and get choked, or have your guard passed and be pounded into oblivion. (The solution is to develop an offensive half-guard) From our perspective as an attacking fighter however, we just need to bear in mind that opponents do occasionally attempt to roll out of trouble, and that creates an opportunity to armlock them as they go.

Fig X

But first the attack from the back: in Fig 1 Neil has taken his opponent’s back and is ready to begin his attack. Notice that he has already caught the opponent’s lapel under the armpit with his left hand (It is also possible to grab the opponent’s forearm should you not be wearing a gi). This gives him the power needed to roll his opponent (Fig 2). Neil now slides slightly backwards, allowing his opponent to fall towards him; this breaks his posture (Fig 3). Of course it is possible to look for a choke at this point (see Fig 4) but choosing to concentrate on the arm Neil flattens out his right leg in preparation for the armlock. Notice that it is unimportant if his opponent hooks Neil’s left leg or not (Fig 5).

Last month Neil attacked by swinging his leg behind his opponent (see Fig X, Y and Z for a quick recap). This issue however he is going to force the opponent onto his side. He does this by rolling his opponent over his flattened right leg (Fig 6). Neil then braces on his elbow and

Fig Y

draws his right leg back behind the opponent. Observe that crucially the arm remains hooked (Fig 7). His control over the arm and the leg prevents his opponent from rolling away, whilst his body position prevents his opponent from turning towards him, (which brings us back to attacking from the half guard: Fig 8).

Neil now drives his left elbow against his opponent’s ribs and uses his knee to push his head forward to further destroy his posture (Fig 9). Leaning on the trapped arm Neil swings his leg tightly over the opponent’s head (Fig 10-11) and begins to attack the arm (Fig 12). He then leans back and allows the opponent’s head to come off the floor (Fig 13) before pushing it back down to free the arm (Fig 14-15).

Neil Adams is a former World Judo Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist. He is currently the Belgian national coach and his new online tutorials featuring all his judo secrets are available from www.cagefilm.com in association with Combat Magazine and Fighters Magazine.

Fig Z

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

Fig 10

Fig 11

Fig 12

Fig 13

Fig 14

Fig 15

Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

The Perfect Recipe for A Successful Martial Arts Extravaganza Showcase!

Well, it’s finally here and despite the fact that it has (the past 12 months) totally taken over the lives of all the behind the scenes crew (myself, Kwoklyn, Jan and Adam), there’s only one criterion that you must obey and that is to make sure that you stage the best possible event of its kind!

You must also remember that it takes time to get it right and that you better know what your audience wants because if you don’t, it will fail as we have witnessed in the past. The Martial Arts Show Live however has been a labour of love that has surpassed ALL our expectations as well as gaining the trust and very much appreciated support of an army of helpers, performers, contributors, promotional agents. It has also been responsible for bringing quite literally thousands of martial artists together to present what will truly be “The Greatest Martial Arts Show EVER”!

Following on from last year’s first Martial Arts Show and the lessons learned from it, The Martial Arts Show Live 2011 is set to be THE Best, THE Biggest and THE most enjoyable event of its kind to ever be staged in the UK. With an army of staff, exhibitors, demonstrators, visitors and fans of Martial Arts set to descend on the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, The Martial Arts Show Live will, on the 7th and 8th of May, provide not only a perfect platform for the many demo’s, fights, exhibitions and fascinating displays of martial excellence to show case their talent, it will also play host to thousands of real martial arts fans and followers to witness hundreds of genuinely unbelievable feats of skill, strength, stamina and amazing talent!

Meet The Martial Arts Show Live Team!

The Directors: In 2009 a NEW team formed with the sole purpose of bringing martial arts into the MAIN STREAM. Mr Paul S Clifton probably the UK’s most reclusive but highly driven & hard working publisher/ publicist (Combat, Fighters magazines), joined forces with Mr Kwoklyn Wan, the larger than life martial artist who created MAF-UK in 2009 and who’s little brother is none other than Gok Wan. The tech guy behind the team is Adam Jeffery who has an ability to bring to life the images

and the vision of Paul Clifton & Kwoklyn Wan on your computer screens. Least but most certainly not last, is Jan Harley who for the past 18months has looked after the administration, scheduling, accounts and has dealt with all of the Exhibitors, Performers and Guests.

After a lot of feed back from the 2010 show we concluded that the audience should have a lot more interaction with each of the area’s. This sparked the idea to have presenters on each of the area’s who’s responsibility would be to draw and entertain the crowds on each zone, interacting with the audience and in some cases invite them to join some of the many performers on stage.

The Presenters:

The search began and the application forms were dropped onto the website under the banner “GETTING INVOLVED”.

The applications came in, in there droves.

We had at this point already appointed our main presenters these being: Zara Phythian (Lady Dragon): One of the UK’s most recognised female martial artists, who has worked in Film, TV and Stage, holds several world titles and is a Guinness World Record Holder. Zara will be on our Main Stage & Catwalk for the entire weekend co presenting with Mr Fashion himself, Gok Wan.

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

By Paul Clifton

Kate Solomons: The Miss England Jim’ll Fix It, Kate has a vast amount of experience in presenting, especially catwalk and model competitions being one of 2010 Clothes Show Live’s presenters. Kate can be found on the Main Stage and Catwalk and will also be co presenting with Gok Wan. Lee Charles: Lee has a natural ability to make you laugh and pulls you into his quirky but very funny sense of humour.

Lee still competes/fights in the UK and you will find him at The Cage Zone.

Ben Loyd Holmes: Ben has had roles in pretty much every program ever made for TV and has also been in several Films. He joins Lee Charles over at The Cage Zone.

Julian Dale: An Eagle Claw disciple, Julian has been a martial artist for over 15 years studying in Hong Kong & China. One of the most knowledgeable people in the UK in Chinese martial arts he could not be anywhere else other than The Lei Tai Zone.

Carl Thomas: Taekwondo Champion Carl, started his martial arts career at the tender age of 8. He now holds a 4th degree in TKD and is currently working on a New TV production developing martial arts for children. Carl will be presenting on The Tatami Zone...

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www. fightersmag.co.uk/ backissue

THE OFFICIAL TMA

S Models TEAM

Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Cassidy

Phillips MMA Fighters are the truest form of a modern gladiator. From the way they train, to the way they Fight, MMA Fighters need to be durable inside the octagon. But they also need to be smart outside the ring and it all starts with training.

How many other athletes can sustain such blunt force trauma and still come back for more?

Cassidy Phillips, CEO and founder of Trigger Point Performance Therapy has developed a line of therapeutic tools that manages aches and pains of the body due to muscular issues, while simultaneously releasing, lengthen and strengthening the muscles. And needless to say, they are taking over the MMA world. In a sport where every move is based on the forefoot, Trigger Point Performance Therapy products like the Footballer, Baller UFC & former Cage Rage Fighter Vitor Belfort

Bock, and The Grid are becoming wildly popular in MMA. “These athletes use their bodies as weapons,” said Phillips, “For me, I’ve always wanted to be a part of MMA. I’ve personally been able to work with a handful of MMA fighters, but to see the ones I have never met, and fighters on TV that are the best in the world that are using Trigger Point Performance Therapy products, I couldn’t be happier. I am very proud and I am looking forward to seeing those that are in this sport achieve their goals.”

Fighters like Brock Lesnar, Vitor Belfort, Pete Spratt, and Rawle Shewprashad have been seen using Trigger Point Performance Therapy products. In a sport where staying healthy and preserving your body is key, Phillips has found a niche that is revolutionizing the sport.

“The response from the MMA world has been absolutely incredible. Brock Lesnar was seen using the Quadballer during UFC 116 and Vitor Belfort was filmed with The GRID at his last weigh in for his fight with Anderson Silva,” said Phillips.

“With MMA being one of the fastest growing sports in the world it’s a great feeling to know that we are giving people a cost-effective measure to keep themselves healthy and we are allowing them to perform at an optimal level. I’m proud to be a part of MMA.” One of Trigger Point Performance Therapy’s newest products is the revolutionary foam roller known as The GRID. The GRID can be used for more of a flushing type technique to rid the toxicity out of the muscles during post training.

“The cool part about The GRID, is it can also be used in place of a stability ball through program we have developed called SMRT-CORE,” said Phillips, “This product was actually created to compete with most of the foam rollers out there in the world. The difference is we made this one better.”

Fighters depend on their fists and feet for a living. But if you aren’t taking care of your body before and after the fight, your agility decreases as does your ability to move quickly towards or away from an opponent.

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

“When we can create efficiencies within a movement, we can capitalize on the force created by those efficiencies thereby allowing an MMA athlete to be more nimble, able to produce efficient force throughout both upper and lower body, and correctly utilize the core stability in the ring,” said Phillips.

Trigger Point Performance Therapy products allow fighters to increase performance before a fight and maintain muscle strength after it.

What makes Trigger Point Performance Therapy so unique and why it’s becoming so popular in MMA is because the products mirror the feeling of an actual hand, essentially bringing your therapy home with you.

For more information about Trigger Point Performance Therapy and to learn more about Cassidy Phillips inspiring story, log on to www.tptherapy.com

“Each device is built for specific areas of the body so that you can get the greatest rate of return while using them the least amount of

time. Our goal is to prevent injury and create tissue tolerance with our products and education.”

Cassidy Phillips is no stranger to survival skills. He currently lives with fibromyalgia, a muscular dysfunction that takes over the muscle tissue. He was forced to recognize what types of therapy were working and which ones were making him worse. That’s where Trigger Point Performance Therapy was born.

Since its introduction, Phillips has worked with NFL athletes, college football stars, MMA fighters, and more. He travels the world, educating people how to properly train and use Trigger Point Performance Therapy products. To Phillips, it truly is a matter of life and death.

“You brush your teeth every day to keep the plaque off your teeth,” said Phillips, “We are doing the same thing for specific areas of your body.

If you think about it, with your teeth

you can feel the plaque, you can smell the dysfunction, and others can remind you that you need to brush your teeth but within the body, within the muscles, you’ll rarely think about it. If you don’t think about it, you don’t really know that you’ve got a problem...

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Mickie James Page 10 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Putting her hair on the line

Mickie James is one of the most well known female wrestlers in the business.

A lady who has worked hard and made a name for herself in ROH, WWE, and is now back in TNA and about to compete for the TNA Knockouts Championship…

Two weeks prior to her putting her hair on the line in her historic ‘Hair Vs Title’ match against Madison Rayne at Lockdown I was fortunate enough to catch up with Ms. James and chat to her on a variety of subjects...

Hi Mickie it,s a real pleasure to speak to you MJ: Hi, wonderful to speak to you too...

, TG: You re a busy lady, so thanks for taking the time to chat to your Fighters fans?

MJ: Yeah... I don’t think so either... I’ve never had extensions so that would scare me, and I think you have to wait about 3 months before you even get your hair long enough to put extensions in anyway, so that would not be sexy.

TG: No, not at all.

MJ: its okay, I try to stay busy… helps keep my sanity (laughs).

MJ: Plus I’m pretty sure that my head, even though I kind of hide it underneath all this hair, I’m pretty sure it’s a funny shape.

TG: Like Ozzy Osborne said, the thing he misses the most is his sanity...

, , TG: I ll take your word for it, I hope we don t find out at Lockdown.

MJ: (laughs) I think we all get like that, especially with the schedule, I find comfort in the insanity (laughs)

MJ: (Laughs) NO!

TG: I have to say it,s a real pleasure to speak to the next TNA Knockouts Champion...

MJ: Oh, thank you. I sure hope so.

, , TG: , Well I m hoping , so too, as I don t think the Britney Spears look will suit you!

, TG: How s the shoulder injury now?

MJ: It’s getting better, it’s doing alright thank you.

, TG: I ve seen the video of the match in Jacksonville, that was a bad bad landing (which caused the injury)?

MJ: Yeah, yeah it was. And I’m one of those people that gets more frustrated, and I was like really angry, more at myself… epic timing right? But what can you do. Luckily I’m tough! (Laughs)

TG: Kudos to you though, you still managed to finish the match.

MJ: Yeah, and you kind of forget what kind of limitations you have that come with that kind of injury. Even just trying to climb to the top of the turnbuckle, which is something I just usually do, just skip on up there. Just little things like that, you just forget how much you use your shoulder or whatever injury you have.

Although your adrenaline’s going and you’re toughing through it… a lot of times we get banged up and you don’t notice the effect of it until you cool down, which I’m sure most fighters are like, their adrenaline gets going and they don’t realize their injured until their body starts to cool down, then you’re like “oh god!”, but yeah I try to tough through it but I’m not as tough as I like to think I am sometimes.

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 11

, TG: It s great to finally get a chance to interview one of the, Knockouts as I have a lot of respect for women s wrestling and wrestlers, and I feel TNA gives the Knockouts the credit , they deserve which other promotions don t always do, can you tell us what TNA is like compared to other promotions you have worked for ?

MJ: It’s all in how you promote a show and in what aspect. Usually there’s only one females match on a card with seven males matches. There’s usually only one title, but here in TNA luckily we also have the Knockouts Tag Team Championship, which is really cool as it gives two different aspects, like teams and teamwork which I remember when I was growing up and watching like The Jumping Bomb Angels and it’s really cool to bring stuff like that in.

TG: Do you think it helps having Dixe (Carter) as your boss?

MJ: I don’t know, maybe one of the reasons that the Knockouts are held in such high regard here is that the owner of the company is a woman, and a strong woman in a male dominated industry. It’s always been a male dominated industry, and that’s always one of… I won’t say struggles, I’ll say obstacles, that I think every woman who wants to make it in this industry has to come to terms with and use that as a fire underneath them and prove themselves to be just as tough as any guy out there.

The thing is we’re on the road the same amount of time as the guys, doing matches same as all the guys are, but sometimes if they’re made a joke of and it (women’s wrestling) isn’t being taken seriously… we do take ourselves very seriously, you know, as athletes and how hard we work…

All the sacrifices we make are the same as anybody else in the industry, whether it’s an announcer, a wrestler or a guy selling merchandise. Like Don West, he’s one of the hardest working guys at the shows… sometimes I don’t think he gets the credit he’s due from the fans, yet he’s one of the most accessible to them. I think if you take yourself seriously and take pride in what you do then you can pretty much overcome anything...

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www. fightersmag.co.uk/backissue

Page 12 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

The Fighters EFC has quickly made a name for itself as putting on some of the most exciting fights in the UK. Supporting both new talent and bringing in some of the UK’s best fighters, EFC has forged champions such as Claudio Henrique da Silva, who are now making waves on the international circuit.

Here is a breakdown of some the EFC’s warriors.

Name: Liam Cullen Age: 24 Weight: 78-80kg Height: 5ft11in Fighting styles: Kickboxing/Muay Thai/MMA How long you have been training for? 13 years Kick/Muay Thai recently transferring to BJJ and MMA over the past six months.

Hobbies or interests: FIGHTING A bit about yourself: Good upbringing come from a council estate. I now have two children; Dempsey-Ray, my little girl who is 4 years old and Sonny-Lee is 2 years old.

I have a very supportive missus, always there to push me on for the next fight or next training session!

Where you have trained in England?

Trained all over Essex. I started with Mick Blackwells kickboxing at age 9 and met a lot of great trainers, such as former ISKA world champ Dennis Turner & ex-pro boxer Rory Burke, who taught me pretty much all my stand up. I then went to train in Thailand and got to train with some great fighters out there.

How many times a week do you train? Four to five How many different styles do you train in a week? Two K1 and MMA How long are your training sessions? 2-3 hours each What do you aim to achieve in the MMA world? As much as my talent/skills allow me. I’d love to say ‘I want be a world champion’ but the competition is fierce out there and so many great fighters. The MMA scene is only getting bigger!

What is your semi pro record? 1-1; win via guillotine choke, one loss via TKO ground and pound Name: Nic “The Matrix” K-Osei Weight: 83kg Height: 6’2” Fighting Styles: Escrima Concepts & BJJ How long have you been training for?

Escrima Concepts 16 years, BJJ 8 years Hobbies or interests: I am hugely interested in the science of body mechanics and internal physiology and psychology.

I have a vast span of different hobbies, but mainly it incorporates: Sports, music production and art.

How long have you lived in England?

Lived in London for 3 years.

What made you move to England?

Studied at the university in London, and had a lot of my training there.

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 13

A bit about yourself: I have always been a very active person, always involved in all sorts of sports. The last 15 years the main focus in sports has been to develop my martial arts.

Where you have trained in England?

I have visited and trained in a vast number of different clubs around London, but the only place I ever stay and stuck with was at the Club of Master Steve Tappin training in the art of Escrima concepts.

Where you have trained back home?

I have trained martial arts since the age of 7 at various clubs during the years. I have tried Karate, Judo, Wrestling, Boxing, Tae Kwon Do and various styles of Kung Fu, but my main influence other than the Escrima is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

What gym are you fighting out of ?

Arte Suave Copenhagen / artesuave.dk How many times a week do you train? I train and teach on a daily basis.

How many different styles do you train in a week? Well since I am doing MMA you could say that I train: Thai Boxing, Wrestling, Submission Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Escrima Concepts.

How long are your training sessions? It varies, but on average I train 5-6 hours daily.

What do you aim to achieve in the MMA world? I have two major aims: 1. To have as much personal growth and success in the sport as possible. 2. To be able to reach and influence as many people positively as possible in the future.

What is your professional record? 10-4-0 Name: Shaun ‘The Legend’ Lomas Age: 31 years young Weight: 84Kg Height: 5’11” Fighting Styles: Thai Boxing, BJJ and Boxing How long have you been training for?

I’ve been Thai Boxing for over 11 years and the other two for about 5 years each.

Hobbies or interests: Training, Training and more Training. Being a great Dad. A bit about yourself: I trained as a Chef, but martial arts have always been my passion. At the age of 7, I joined the local judo club where I rose to the grade of Blue Belt, won medals in the county championship and trained with the English NW Squad. At 13, I switched to free-style karate and earned a Brown Belt.

By 20 I was competing in free-style Karate events, but developing an interest in Thai Boxing in which I became qualified as an instructor. I’ve visited Thailand many times to compete and train with the best.

Five years ago I set up Kombat Sports in Sheffield to meet and train like minded people and juniors.

Where you have trained in England?

I initially trained at Master A’s in Manchester, but now train at John Robin’s gym in Hazel Grove Stockport.

What gym are you fighting out of ?

Kombat Sports How many times a week do you train? 5 days a week.

How many different styles do you train in a week? Mainly Thai Boxing and MMA with some BJJ. There’s general fitness training as well, such as jogging.

How long are your training sessions?

Varies from between 1 and 3 hours and up to 5 times a day.

What do you aim to achieve in the MMA world? To become a UFC fighter.

What is your professional record?

19-21-0 Name: Claudio Henrique da Silva (EFC Middleweight Champion) Age: 28 Weight: 84kg Height: 180cm Fighting Styles: Aggressive How long have you been training for? Training box, wrestling and Muay Thai for 4 years, Hobbies or interests: I like to read books and play capoeira How long have you lived in England?

I came here in 2007 till 2008. Then I went back to Brazil, and came back in 2009.

What made you move to England?

I was in Italy with my aunt and everybody talked about London. To be honest with you, I didn’t know nothing about this lovely country. I went to Lisbon to fight at Europeans and won the tournament and my friend Eduardo invited me to live in London.

I just came because I saw the opportunity to learn English and try the experience.

Shaun Lomas

A bit about yourself: My childhood was so funny and tough at the same time.

I grew up in favela in Brazil, so I always had the crime, violence and drugs around me. My mum always looked after me and took me out of crime. I was really nut boy when I was child. I fought all the time at school and on the street. I started training capoeira and jiu-jitsu and it definitely took me out of trouble and gave me the opportunity to travel abroad.

Where you have trained in England?

I have trained in Diesel Gym with Cliff Bura, Thiago Monstro and Eduardo and now I’m training at London Shootfighters...

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Claudio Henrique Da Silva

Page 1 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Wrestling News May 2011

Well its all been happening in the past couple of months, not just in WWE and TNA, but also here in the good old UK. WWE have been splashing the cash, and in the build up to Wrestlemania (still a couple of weeks away as I write this), they have brought back The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Trish Stratus all to work angles at ‘mania as well as signing Kevin Nash and Booker T to ‘Legends’ deals (big fat paycheques for a handful of appearances plus DVD deals).

They have also been reminiscing about their ‘Attitude’ era and have been clearly moving away from the PG image of the past several years. They seem to have finally realized the damage Linda McMahon’s political campaign has done to them and have decided to use the $500M cash injection they received from ‘backers’ at the end of 2010 as the springboard for change (hence the big fat paycheques).

The Rock is the official ‘host’ of Wrestlemania but has been involved in a war of words with both John Cena (who had slated him in a radio interview a couple of years ago) and The Miz and seems to be a safe bet to be the referee for their match. This whole angle has really caught the public’s imagination and the WWE have done an excellent job building

this up. So good a job in fact that it is alleged that Triple H is miffed his match with Undertaker has been overshadowed by it all (although I have a feeling his match will still steal match of the night).

Nash & Booker T where hurriedly offered big money deals in an attempt to scupper TNA’s plan to reunite the Main Event Mafia faction to combat Immortal. Both have been offered Legends deals with Booker also working as a commentator on WWE television.

Another big signing for WWE is ‘Sin Cara’ (Spanish for ‘without face’) – formerly Mistico in CMLL. He is one of the most talented Lucha’s on the planet and very hot property. He is seen as a long term replacement for Rey Mysterio who is expected to either fully or at least partly retire after Wrestlemania (lets face it, he’s had more knees than the nights in Monty Python & The Holy Grail!).

It is always a pleasure to see Trish ‘The Dish’ Stratus back on TV although this is only a short term thing until Wrestlemania.

Over in the land of TNA, it’s been a couple of months of ‘highs’ and lows…

They kicked off 2011 with tours of Japan and then Europe. Having attended the Manchester show in person, I can attest to how good a show they put on and how much they have grown as a company. Dixie spent a good 45 minutes going amongst the crowd and posing for photo’s and doing autographs – when was the last time you saw Vince McMahon interacting with his fans like that?

They have also managed to strike a deal with Sting to keep him with the company (word was the WWE had offered him a big money deal that topped Nash and Booker T’s), and fair play to him for turning down the cash and sticking by his principles (he had previously criticised WWE for their using Shawn Michaels Christian beliefs in a storyline). He made his triumphant return to beat Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Title on the Impact taping that aired on March 3rd 2011.

UK Fans got to see that match early at the first ever TNA UK Fan Party at Mayfair’s trendy Babble Bar. It was good to catch up with some of the biggest names in the UK wrestling industry and to catch up with Doug Williams again who was the guest of honour on the day and was honoured with his own ‘this is your life’ show as well as featuring in the first ever ‘Spin Cycle’ taping held outside of America. Kudos to Si Rothstein (their UK head of PR) for pulling off such a hit event and a real treat for the UK fans.

The good start to their year took a turn for the worst though at Victory Road and the Impact prior to it. The Impact show was widely criticised by fans for the over use of angles and poor match quality, and then Victory Road took a very surreal ‘twist of fate’. Victory Road was actually quite a good event and was going great until the main event. The big rematch between Sting and Jeff Hardy was hotly anticipated but as soon as Jeff ‘swayed’ down the ramp way to the ring it was clear all was not right. After Sting made his entrance, Eric Bischoff came down and used making the match a ‘no DQ , Falls Count Anywhere’ match, as an

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 1

excuse to pass instructions to both men off mic. The bell rings, and Sting tries to start the match but Hardy just clowns around pretending to throw his T-shirt to the crowd and then when Sting tries again, Hardy refuses to fight or defend himself. Even the commentary team where clearly confused by his actions. Sting realized that Hardy was ‘in no condition to perform’ and blasted him his Scorpion Death Drop and pinned him.

Sting was NOT happy and on the following Impact show TNA did very good damage limitation and had quite an honest and open verbal exchange between Sting, Hogan & Bischoff. This, combined with Hardy been sent home until after his pending court case (strangely enough for drugs charges) on April 20th, seems to have taken the sting out of the situation (no pun intended!).

Anyone who caught our April issue who have seen I have been clocking up the miles to bring Fighters readers interviews and features from some of the biggest names in the sport. As well as Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley and RVD (apologies for some bright spark using the ‘auto correct’ feature to mis spell your surname!), we have upcoming interviews with X Division Champion, Kazarian, as well as one half of the Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin.

Talking of Jeff Jarrett, I would like to congratulate him on 25 years as a wrestler – April 6th 2011 will have been and gone as you read this, but it’s amazing to think that someone working that long in this sport is still right at the top of his game and enjoying it more than ever. Double J I salute you!

Finally, don’t forget The Martial Arts Show Live at Birmingham’s NEC on 7th & 8th May. If you come over to the central stand you see someone with the body of Taz and the face of Bubba Ray Dudley (ME!) – come and say Hi, we would love to meet you!

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Page 16 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Danielle “The Curse” West When I first spoke to Danielle West about a month ago she was about to set out to Japan to fight at Jewels: Shinjuku, which was scheduled for 11 March. This fight would set a major benchmark for Danielle as she stepped up from domestic bouts to an international level. She told me, “It has always been my dream to fight in Japan. I was supposed to fight on Smack Girl right before they folded so this is a huge opportunity for me” Days later catastrophe tore through Japan as the earthquake and Tsnami hit: “We just ate lunch and my fight nerves were starting to kick in. My conditioning coach Brett Sizeland and I were walking through Shinjuku when he stopped and asked if I felt shaking. I was a bit puzzled for a second then the ground shook and the skyscrapers were swaying. You could hear the rumble of the tremor. Have you ever been to the Natural History Museum in London? They actually have a quake simulator model in a Japanese supermarket and it actually felt EXACTLY like that!! We took shelter in a shop doorway and were alarmed to hear locals screaming. I was waiting for something more and Brett was waiting to see when it would end. I hugged a crying tranny (-Shinjuku has a red light district AND a transvestite district) and tried to high five Brett for being alive but he was having none of it.

After a few moments the traffic resumed

and I even remarked that it couldn’t have been more than a 5 on the richter scale since I have seen worse quake footage, though apparently this is more a testament to Japanese design and risk management.

We walked back to the hotel and I was ready to fight. The endorphins kicked in and I had no nerves. When we reached the hotel we were told by a bi-lingual local that the quake was over 8 on the richter scale and that going into the hotel was out of the question. We were on the 10th floor which further compounded matters.

The promoter came and explained that the venue suffered some damage from the quake (- I think one of the walls or some wall tiles fell off).

We saw Jess Aguilar and her coach Marcos and told them the news. I felt terrible for Jess as she has had a few cancellations prior and was upset. We went to the venue and saw the other girls that managed to come.

(Megumi was stuck on a train that stopped

and they hadn’t seen my opponent though I managed to reach her via Facebook later and she was okay). Kinya has asked me back for May or July and I have accepted.

After that I had a lot of sake, plum wine, cookies and yakitori, visited the Cat Cafe and tried to remain calm when the tremors shook the building.”

Prior to that you are reported as not making weight. What happened?

Gah! I totally didn’t make weight and this was after a rough sauna session where I managed to shed 1.5kg (I’m a big girl:S).

Basically I had a long flight which played havoc and (though I make NO excuse with it) was a week and a half early in my cycle so it was a bit of a Murphy’s Law cut. Plus the hotel scales had me at 65kg the night before and 64.5kg the day of the weigh in so I was shocked when the Deep scales had me at 67.5kg. After 50 mins, I stag-

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gered out of the sauna, my conditioning coach checked my pulse and said I was in no shape to cut any further. I was actually so dazed I was about to start stripping in the street on the way to Deep for the weigh in. I got down to 66kg and Brett (Sizeland, Conditioning coach) gave them a look that I was done and they offered me a red card. I felt awful like I totally failed, especially after seeing Esui weigh in wearing jeans and a jumper at 64kg. They said I could take the red card which would be a big handicap for me unless I stopped her in the fight. I dreamed of fighting in Japan since I started training 8 years ago and would have chewed off a limb to compete so we accepted.

I read that there was a change of fight rules. What and why was that?

You are the first person to ask and I myself was thrown off by it. I was told after the final weigh in and didn’t dare question it but it was a surprise and I hadn’t trained for it (though Brett and Olof Ingemarsson both said it was to my advantage and my coaches are always right). Basically we would get head shots on the ground and would not be stood up after 30 seconds on the ground so it was essentially pro rules minus the elbows. I still haven’t asked Kinya about it, though I should since they asked me to return in May or July and said they’d want me to fight a bit heavier since I had a hard time getting under 66kg.

When is your next fight scheduled for?

It was supposed to be a title shot on 30 April in Geneva initially against Yana Kunitskaya. However, she pulled out due to injury but curiously enough is fighting a K1 match on 16 April now?! Then they were going to match me against Sheila Gaff who has since dropped a weight class or two and is now facing Aisling Daily on the Dublin Cage Warriors card. So officially my next fight will be on Jewels either May or July unless I manage to find a fight before then.

How did you first get into MMA? I got started training in MMA five weeks before my semi pro debut against Kelli Salone in 2003 at UC6. I was helping out a journalist that mentioned the ring girl was hoping to fight at the next event but had no opponent. I had steadily been gaining weight so volunteered myself seeing this as a great opportunity to slim down by 10kg

which I did; though I then proceeded to get slaughtered by Kelli. After that fight I had fallen for the sport and wanted to learn more and perhaps even win a fight.

The local gym, Masters Academy (aka Fuzion MMA) in Loughton had a great atmosphere when I first went. I was often the only female but have always been treated as everyone else by instructors and students alike.

Did you have any previous Martial Arts experience?

I did judo for a few years before in Stratford but found that female students were sidelined by fellow students and to some extent instructors as well. I got tired of guys saying I was okay for a girl after submitting them.

Did you know any other women training in the sport at the , time? How did you find people s reactions both in the gym and outside?

At the time I knew Kelli and Cherie Buck trained in MMA and also Rosi Sexton.

There was Debbie Purcell and Erin Toughill in the U.S. and Marloes Coenen in Europe. The reaction in the gyms I trained at was fine especially after showing I was there to train. I’ve been very lucky that I have never had any problems training at MMA gyms. Outside of the gym when people find out they are often amused. I guess I don’t fit many people’s idea of what a fighter looks like.

for the fight and stupidly had a Thai curry before the fight itself. I spent the round feeling like I was going to be sick on her so frantically tried (and succeeded at 4min 57 second) to end the fight. I was also exhausted by the end of the first and only round from the weight cut (I cut 7kg for the weigh-in which I’d try not to have to do again). The fight itself was fine in terms of not being bothered about being hit or when I was in bad positions. I could hear my corner and followed instruction.

What have been the main obstacles for you as UK female fighter?

Getting opponents mainly. There are more women training now but the pool of female fighters was much smaller years ago...

Can you tell me a bit about your To read the rest of this pro debut? article why not TAKE OUT My pro debut was August 2007 against Willemijn Van Zon who trained with Marc Duncan in Holland. I cut a lot of weight

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Page 1 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Ro

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 1

ss Pointon

The Return of the Gladiator Michael Bisping may have got by Jorge Rivera in controversial fashion but it seems that the Brit still seems unable to avoid the single shot that has become his Kryptonite.

Bisping was staggered by Rivera’s right hand in their bout at UFC 127 and before that Yoshihiro Akiyama, Wanderlei Silva and of course Dan Henderson all made him suffer for leaving his left hand low.

Before Bisping was officially a part of the UFC fraternity he came into similar trouble with the overhand right from a fighter that he knew only too well on the domestic scene.

That man was Ross The Gladiator Pointon; a seasoned campaigner in the UK, whose heart and fighting spirit on The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 won him fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pointon was a San-Shou champion who began teaching martial arts in the front room of his house that he had specially matted. It was a true Rocky story as he was selected out of hundreds who showed up at the tryouts to make his way into the house and into the spotlights of the biggest show in the world. Pointon may have not enjoyed success in the UFC, but once he returned back to the UK he set about training like never before, with astounding results.

Ross fought for Cage Rage and, following a victory against Dynamite Dean Bray, would give go on to give future Dream Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis all he could handle, before losing in heartbreaking fashion due to a bad cut. He then went on to submit dangerous kickboxer Ross Mason inside a round and was matched up to fight Che Mills for the Cage Rage welterweight belt. It was an exciting prospect to see Pointon in love with training and hard work once again; the work ethic he had developed was second to none and his performances saw him go from strength to strength.

The fight with Mills, however, never happened due to the financial troubles that Cage Rage suffered and Ross, given some time away from active competition, decided to try his hand at promoting.

Seven successful shows later, Pointon’s Night of the Gladiators has become the most successful promotion in the region and continues to expand.

In the midst of all this upheaval Ross also accepted a fight in Helsinki with decorated grappler Sauli Heilimo but was forced to withdraw

due to a nasty combination of a cut suffered in training and Swine Flu. Pointon made the big announcement that his comeback fight would be at UCMMA in December against Michael Brown. His preparation was brutal but Pointon was confident he was in the kind of shape he needed to be in...

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Page 20 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

UCMMA 20: FISTS OF FIRE

th The Troxy London 14 May 2011 7pm

http://www.ucmma.com

Ultimate Challenge is back with a bang! After the truly explosive Lights Out organisers have put together a blistering bill for their May event culminating in what promises to be an edge-of-your-seat title bout between Jamaine Facey and John Maguire. With a stunning undercard to match, MMA fans can expect another night of head-pounding, rib-cracking action from the UK’s top MMA event summed up perfectly by Jamaine Facey, “I can’t stand boring fighters who do not put it all on the line to give fans what they paid for.”

UCMMA Promoter Dave O’Donnell agrees with this sentiment adding that “I’m always telling fighters to put on a show as there could be five or six knockouts in a night but fans will remember you if you come out on a throne carried by four cage girls.”

Dave also points out that MMA

fans should keep an eye on the undercard as well as the main event. “These fighters are the future of MMA, the likes of Karl Lawrence who could really go far as could Karen Ousey and Bernise Alldis who both come from a Muay Thai background but are now realising MMA is the way to go.”

With Celice Haga and Michelle

Tyler also appearing on the bill, O’Donnell sees women’s MMA as a important piece of his plan. “Until now it’s been hard to find female fighters of a calibre good enough to fight but now they’re realising that it is no good just grappling you have to get really stuck in.”

“Michelle Tyler is a good example of that,” adds Dave, “she fights as hard as any man and it doesn’t bother her if she comes away with a black eye. Fighters like her are an inspiration to all the women in the crowd as well.”

Looking ahead Dave plans to have at least one female fight on each show and promises that, once all the fighters have been signed up, the only disappointment MMA fans will feel is when they find out there isn’t a spare seat in the room. “Get your tickets early, that’s all I can say and thanks to all the UK MMA fans who help to make the shows as special as they are.”

ONES TO WATCH

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 21

Celine Haga Vs Michelle Tyler Fighting out of Team Hellboy Hansen, Celine Haga is becoming an established name on the MMA circuit although speaking ahead of this potentially explosive bout, Haga admits her last fight, which took her record to 1-7-0, wasn’t her best. “I remember that I had the worst clinch ever seen in an MMA fight,” recalls Haga before also admitting that she wasn’t in the best frame of mind to enter the cage, “I also had a lack of fighting spirit when it was needed most.”

Haga hopes to put that right in May against London Shootfighters Michelle Tyler but knows that it won’t be an easy fight. “I know my opponent is a good striker but I’ve been working with a team of new sparring partners which has made a big impact on my training,” explains Haga, “so I can only hope we can put on a good, entertaining show while we’re trying to kill each other...”

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BY Graham Finney Jamaine Facey

FIGHTER PROFILE With a wealth of impressive names packing out the undercard at the May UCMMA, Team Crossface fighter David Lee is one that UK MMA fans will be familiar with having been an important figure in the UK scene for a number of years now. “The UK scene is getting there,” admits Lee, “I’ve been a part of it for a long time but not as long as some and it is definitely getting stronger. There are lots of things bubbling under so I just try to make sure I push my teams and events as hard as I can.”

Part of that drive comes from attending regular training camps in Thailand. “I love Thailand,” admits the fighter, “I go out to Koh

Samui WMC Camp. Hardcore Muay Thai camps. It’s a magical place to prepare for fights. They make everybody feel welcome.”

Ask him to name his favourite fight and Dave struggles to pick one. “You’ve got to love anything with Anderson Silva. How about Silva vs Tony Fryklund? Being cageside for BJ Penn vs.

Matt Hughes that was another ‘wow’ moment.

I’ve got so many tales to tell.”

Lee takes on Nathan Beer in the upcoming UCMMA and promises fight fans a good show. “It’ll probably be between two other really good fights and, at the end of the day, fight fans have paid good money so I won’t want to disappoint.”

Page 22 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

By Ben Cartlidge

Hellboy

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

Reaches Out to Japan

The Japanese Tsunami disaster has affected so many people both directly and indirectly and the mma world has been quick to offer support during this time of immeasurable change.

Organizations like Pride and Dream have a history of bringing talent from all over the world to fight in Japan and, as such, these fighters have a much closer connection to the country.

Former Pride veteran and Dream lightweight GP champion Joachim Hansen spoke out recently regarding the tragedy and offered his support to the nation where he has experienced his greatest triumphs as a fighter.

“All the suffering that the Japanese people are going through is far beyond our understanding as proven in the past they will stand and rise again. I have always looked to Japanese people, their culture and to their spirit in awe. My support is with them always.”

The disaster will continue to affect more and more people as time goes on but it’s affirming to see that fighters who have made Japan their home over the past few years are quick to recognise the severity of the situation and send their goodwill and support.

Joachim Hansen is left at a crossroads in his career by this situation in a lot of respects. His heart clearly belongs with the country that has adopted him so fondly but it seems unlikely he’ll get the chance to compete there anytime soon...

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Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Dave O’Donnell I am the Daddy of UK MMA

“I’m the f***ing Daddy of UK mixed martial arts,” laughs the charismatic Dave O’Donnell down the phone, “and don’t you forget it!”

One of the big personalities of the UK scene, the man behind Cage Rage and UCMMA, Dave is a man you could literally spend hours on the phone to as he recalls a million and one stories from his decades of hard work building up the UK MMA scene.

“I’ve been involved in martial arts for thirty five years and been a promoter for fifteen,” explains Dave. “I spent a lot of the early years going to shows and exhibitions learning how to put on a show. I watched all the American shows in the mid 90s but couldn’t see anything like that going on in the UK and I wanted to change that.”

Looking back at the early days of the UK scene, Dave reveals how badly organised the original shows were and how that had to change.

“The shows weren’t great, there were no weigh-ins, the fighters

weren’t looked after. It was poor and I wanted to do something about that.”

“I had a chat to Andy, my partner at the time, and we decided to have a go,” explains Dave, “we wanted to do one big show so we put one on in Elephant and Castle. It was sold out, we had celebrities there, great fights and everyone was looked after.”

From there Dave hasn’t looked back but, unlike some promoters, Dave admits that, even after fifteen years in the game, he’s still learning. “MMA is evolving all the time, every time I go to a gym there is something new happening but there are still people out there who think they can come in, put on a show and make a few quid.”

With few UK shows coming even close to matching UCMMA for the glitz, glamour and explosive fights, Dave thinks now is time to weed out the dead wood. “The UK MMA scene is very healthy and as long as it gets its own safety governing body and blood tests then it can only get better.”

“When I talk to other people about it and you mention blood tests and things like that, all they do is complain that it is hard work,” laughs Dave, “but surely it’s our job though?

It’s not all about the glitz and the glamour side of it - all the tests and paperwork are the shit side of

it. These shows aren’t easy to put together. I’m already working on our May event and we’re only in February but if that bit of hard work means there isn’t a serious injury then I know most serious people would be happy to introduce it. It is just a case of whittling out the fly-by-nights.”

While that may mean the end to half empty shows and poorly matched fighters, Dave is at pains to point out that it doesn’t necessarily mean fans should expect productions of a Pink Floyd magnitude. “Bigger necessarily isn’t better,” states Dave, “what we want to do is make sure that everyone who pays money to one of our shows gets a really memorable night. We want people to leave having seen the best production and the best knockouts but it isn’t about throwing money at an event.

That’s not the key to success.”

“When I’m putting together a show, I try to match fighters who I think will put on a good fight for the fans.” explains Dave, “While I do try and match fighters if they specifically want to fight someone, I won’t do it just because they’ve called somebody out from the cage; although in the case of Jamaine Facey who is fighting John Maquire at our May show, Jamaine was so wound up he ended up sitting outside Johns house until he agreed to fight.”

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page

While you are guaranteed fireworks at his shows, Dave also wants to introduce a lighter side to the sport. “A lot of people have this idea about cage-fighters and, yeah, they are the hardest men you’ll meet but I want to change that perception...”

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Page 26 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Fight For The Fallen Working hard to not only stand out as one of the top MMA promotions in the south, but also to commit itself to fundraising for deserving causes. A packed house at Basildon’s Liquid nightclub supported injured soldiers by giving donations to the Help For Heroes charity, and in return they were given a great night of K-1, Boxing, Stick Fighting and MMA.

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Kane vs Presland

A battle of fists, elbows and shins started off the evening with Semtex Gym’s Colin Wilby taking on Colchester’s Liam Cullen in a K1 bout. Wilby’s aggressive offensive was negated by Cullen’s size advantage, being able to move out the way of Wilby’s swinging hooks and landing sharp counters. Cullen’s sharp kicks and stiff jabs landed clean, but Wilby showed an iron chin and kept his march forward until the end, taking some punishment in order to dish it out some knees in the clinch. A close bout, but Cullen’s counters gave him the advantage for a win by Split Decision.

The rules shifted as Scientific Fight Club’s Alex Kane took on Combat Sports Academy’s Peter Presland. The feel out period was short as Kane grabbed for the double leg, but Presland managed to scramble back up. Kane intention of getting the fight on the ground was quickly apparent and he lunged at Presland again for the takedown, getting his wishes with a huge double leg. In the process Presland turned the tables and swung his hips that sets up an armbar. Kane never saw it coming as Presland got the elbow hyper extended to secured the victory by armbar at one and a half minutes of the first round.

Lomas vs Giles

The warhorse that is Sheffield’s Shaun Lomas is now becoming a regular at EFC, but even though the crowds knew Lomas and his full force style, this did not intimidate SWS Windsor’s Tony ‘The Rhino’ Giles for a second. The two collided under boxing rules, which suited Giles’ fast hands that frustrated Lomas from the start.

Hanging his lead hand, Giles’ flicking jab got through Shaun’s defences to which the Sheffield fighter’s only retaliation to throw powerful hooks and go for the clinch. This hunger paid off for Lomas in the second as Giles got too confident and left himself open. Following some advice from his corner, tony proceeded to claim ownership of the fight back as he timed his stiff jab and followed with a sharp right. This let Giles control the distance and win the final rounds, gaining an overall unanimous decision win for ‘The Rhino’.

The crowds were then treated to some impressive feats from unlikely candidates.

Some young, but extremely talented, Muay Thai practitioners from Benfleet Muay Thai demonstrated their skills in the art of eight limbs and a glimpse of the ancient style of Muay Boran.

Kerpe vs Claudio

Singh vs Varley

As always, EFC included a diverse range of martial arts in their bouts and now Amo Singh, who had displayed his escrima skills at previous EFC events, was taking on ES Pro Martial Arts Studio’s Jim Varley in a Escrima rules stickfighting match. While the members of the crowd who were uneducated in stickfighting may have been confused by this insert on the bill, they were hooked as soon as they saw the speed that Varley and Sighn clashed canes. Wary of the control Sighn had in longer range, Varley pushed through to the clinch and pinned Sighn against the cage. Jim worked the body from the clinch, but when the two separated Sighn once again dominated the bout. In the final round Sighn took back control of the clinch by throwing Varley with an uchi-mata that sealed his victory and gained a Unanimous Decision by the judges...

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Page 28 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

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M-1 Challenge

Damkovsky vs. Figueroa

The White Wolf Scores Middleweight Gold and Knockout of the Night When Magomed ‘The White Wolf’ Sultanakhmedov sauntered down the catwalk to the Rolling Stones’ Can’t You Hear Me Knockin, it was as if he knew the middleweight strap was rightfully his for the taking; standing at the doorstep of greatness, Sultanakhmedov made no mistakes this time out, delivering a flawless performance to become M-1 Global’s 185-pound champion. Leaving Tyson ‘The Anti Hero’ Jeffries battered and broken on the canvass, Sultanakhmedov proved to those tuning in to Friday night’s live SHOWTIME broadcast that he is one of Europe’s top strikers and a force to be reckoned with inside the ring.

Kicking off the opening frame, Sultanakhmedov showed poise and composure as Jeffries came out aggressively, missing with a front kick which allowed ‘The White Wolf ’ to counter with a snapping inside, outside leg-kick combination. With both fighters looking sharp, Sultanakhmedov nailed a powerful rib-snapping kick to Jeffries mid-section and secured a seamless takedown; knowing that his advantage is on the feet, he popped back up and as Jeffries followed suit, the Oregon native was already showing a massive damaging welt to his right ribs. Sensing that Jeffries was hurt, Sultanakhmedov exploited his vault of experience and unleashed unanswered combinations that landed at will with laserguided precision leaving Jeffries capable of doing nothing but defend as the onslaught continued until the round’s end.

The second frame’s opening bell showed a revitalized Jeffries who took the advice from corner man, Matt Lindland, and began checking Sultanakhmedov’s kicks to prevent sustaining further damage. After blasting each other in a high-powered exchange, Jeffries finally secured a much-needed takedown but failed to capitalize on his opportunity and allowed his foe to escape back to his feet; from that point forward, Sultanakhmedov took over, continuously delivering devastating shots to Jeffries’ already bruised ribs. Catching Jeffries in a tight clinch, he delivered relentless skull-cracking knees

then pushed the American fighter against the ropes where he unleashed another round of leg bombs to Jeffries’ buckling midsection. With Jeffries on the way down, Sultanakhmedov smelled blood and began raining unanswered bombs to his opponent’s head, forcing the referee in charge to intervene and halt the bout at 3:07 of round 2 due to TKO.

While Jeffries was attended to by the ringside physicians, Sultanakhmedov graciously celebrated in the ring as the championship belt was brandished around the European’s waist...

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Damkovsky vs Figueroa

Page 0 FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Fight Night Live TV The New Name in Martial Arts TV

Fight Night Live TV is the new name in town. It has come to fruition after a great deal of time, effort and a lot of hard work, together with the right financial backing.

Dell Mann, a well respected personal trainer/ martial artist and coach (to British and World kick boxing champions) set his sights on doing something that yet had not been done before. Something that is set to revolutionise the way we watch martial arts on TV. Together with a few others, Dell has created the UK’s very first Pay per view TV channel, dedicated to pugilistic pursuit, Fight Night Live TV. The WCBC (White Collar Boxing Council UK) is the first client that Fight Night Live TV are offering their services to and on the 14th of may 2011 they will be transmitting live pay per view to the world, showcasing their fists of fury 8 man super middle weight tournament. At which, the winner will take home a cheque for £........

The WCBC was started by Andy Foreman in September 2007 and over the last 3 and a half years has climbed to the very top of its field and along the way has picked up some big sponsors that have put their names behind him, such as Lonsdale and Red bull.

In 2008 Dell Mann joined Andy at WCBC and was appointed WCBC International Director, due to his world wide contacts.

Andy then invited long time friend Paul Dyer (who had good success in the professional boxing game, getting as high as no.3 in the British Rankings) to become his partner in 2010 and expand the WCBC events further.

At the moment WCBC is the only white collar boxing council in the UK that insures its boxers whilst they are in the ring.

As well as this they have a committee and a licensing officer and insist that all boxers have a photographic license. The WCBC run with the same rules and regulations as the amateur and professional game.

The “Fists of Fury, 8 man heavy weight tournament, was staged in 2010 and saw Michael Bourne win it. It was hailed as one of the best 8 man events to ever be staged in the UK, according to boxing guru Steve Holdsworth.

The great thing about this pay per view contract that the WCBC has, with fight night live TV, is that the general public will be able to watch this fantastic event from the comfort of their own home.

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FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 31

Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

ISKA World

Heavyweight kickboxing action hits Derry

Another spectacular night of kickboxing was brought to the North West of Ireland by the world famous PT’s Gym. PT’s gym’s double world champion Tommy ‘The Ghost’ Mc Cafferty started the ball rolling with a spectacular knock out of his French opponent Nourredine Ghajji.

Mc Cafferty came out looking extremely focused on the job at hand and quickly set to work landing a sharp jab every time the Frenchman came into distance but Ghajji came to fight, and continued to try to push the pressure. After several exchanges mc cafferty hit home the better shots with some thumping body shots. The Frenchman started to take a few steps back with mc cafferty piling on the pressure; the second

round started the same with mc cafferty establishing his jab and sharp left roundhouse. As mc cafferty started to close in on the target, he let off a five punch combination which finished with a heavy right hand which sent Ghajji straight to the canvas and with no sign of him making the count referee John Blackledge waved off the contest, this was what was to be a historic night for Pt’s gym and Derry City.

Next to take his place in the squared arena was Pt’s Gym’s Irish Light Middleweight Champion Aidan ‘Lights Out’ Lafferty in his attempt to add the ISKA Commonwealth Title to his Collection against England’s Steve Freeman; he entered the ring with a look of quiet confidence. After the first round it could be seen why, he bullied Freeman from pillar to post landing some heavy hands as he bobbed and weaved making Freeman continually miss and pay for his mistakes. Freeman’s nose was already bloodied after the first round and despite his overwhelming height and reach advantage he could not keep the ferocious Lafferty at bay. Lafferty found his range towards the end of the second, landing a thunderous right hand on the chin of freeman, freeman done well to recover and fight back after receiving a count from john blackledge.

The third round was more of the same with Lafferty thundering forwarding landing hard body shots, uppercuts and right legs to the body of freeman, Lafferty started to use sweeps to open up the tight guard of freeman and in the dying seconds of the round Freeman hit the canvas after

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 33

Lafferty sweeped him, he got back to his feet in obvious agony as the bell sounded, after some commotion in the corner Freeman’s coach Former ISKA World Champion Fran Zucalla signaled to John Blackledge that Freeman was no longer fit to continue due to an injury to his back, the crowd erupted as Lafferty scaled the ropes in celebration as he was crowned the new ISKA Professional Light Middleweight Commonwealth Champion.

This just left the big men to enter the ring. First to enter was French K-1 champion standing 6ft 3 and weighing in at 95kg was Pacome Assi who looked every inch a world title contender.

To an eruption of music and cheering, entered the Local home town hero Derryman Daniel ‘Pinta’ Quigley vying for his second world title having already held the ISKA Cruiserweight Title. As both men were brought to the centre of the ring the atmosphere was electric, both men touched gloves after a heated stare down and went back to their respective corners. As the bell for round one went, the fireworks started with both men exchanging hard and fast shots.

The pace was extremely fast for a 12 round heavyweight contest; exchanges were fast and furious with some heavy kicks landing from both men in what was a pretty even round, round 2 started the same with Quigley putting the pressure on constantly

sweeping Assi’s back leg, Assi replied with a thundering left leg to Quigley’s body which seemed to catch his breath for a split second before he returned with a 7 punch kick combination, the rounds continued with tit for tat exchanges Quigley going on the attack with a high work rate, and Assi covering well and landing some good counters. At the end of round seven Quigley’s coach Former 3-time world Champion Mr. Paddy Toland gave some stern words of advice; whatever he said seemed to give Quigley a whole new lease of life as he powered out of the corner As the bell sounded the start of round 8, the change of tactics seemed to pay dividends as Quigley repeatedly landed push kicks to Assi’s torso and seemed to start to take the wind out of his sails, Quigley kept the pressure up landed repeatedly to the body with hard hooks and seemed to be breaking down Assi round by round; this was until round 12 when Assi went for broke and landed a spectacular right leg to the head of Quigley sending him staggering back to the ropes but he quickly shook it off and got straight back to business. For the last 30 seconds of the round it was one way traffic as Quigley pounded in the punches to the head and body of the Paris man.

Both battle hardened warriors took a sigh of relief as the final bell sounded, John Blackledge collected the scorecards. Both

warriors and the crowd waited with baited breath to see who would be crowned the ISKA Professional Heavyweight champion of the world...

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Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

Worlds Collide

Black Box Theatre. Galway With all the commotion going on last weekend about the big fire in the Riverside Commercial Park in which the Galway Black Dragon Kickboxing Gym was burned to the ground, the core element of the club, the people who made it great and who will do so again, were involved in their biggest and most prestigious night of kickboxing in the Black Box Theatre.

The fire, which made headlines on all the newspapers, the radio stations, the TV channels etc overshadowed the achievements of these gladiators of the ring and kickboxing was, for a brief moment in time, and for all the wrong reasons, suddenly mainstream.

This article is an acknowledgement to the achievements of the fighters from Galway and all accross the country as well as the overseas visitors from as far afield as England, Wales, France and the USA and indeed their coaches and clubmates who are the unsung heroes of last Saturday night.

They say that bad news sells a lot better than good news and this was proven to be so as the photographs on the newspapers mostly showed the carnage and broken buildings that once housed the elite of Irish kickboxing.

The Black Box Theatre was alive with activity throughout the afternoon with fighters from near and far getting weighed in and queing up for their pre-fight medicals and officials were preparing their sheets and documentation and the DJ and

Collins vs Mermoux

MC were rehearsing their roles and doing sound checks while the Black Box lighting engineer was busy setting up various coloured lights for effect etc as they were all keen to celebrate 15 years of Black Dragon Kickboxing in the city.

The queue outside was slowly forming and fight fans were excitedly talking about the upcoming battles and looking forward to getting in and selecting the best seats and perhaps stocking up at the bar and the security staff were busy controlling the front doors and getting ready to let them in.

IKF President Mr. Steve Fossum from Sacramento was among the officials and as IKF Rep Mrs Jennifer Baranyai explained the rules to the fighters and coaches, the feeling of anticipation was evident among all the fighters who were anxious to get in and do their thing.

Shortly after the rules meeting, the first fighters were called to the ring and they were Jo-Ann Conlon from Tralee and Yvonne Mc Nevin from Galway Black Dragon.

Both fighters recieved a huge reception from the sporting audience and after instructions from Referee Mr Paul Cummins, the action got underway.

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 35

From the bell both girls went at it and Conlon certainly hadn’t come all the way from Tralee to make up the numbers as she came straight for mc Nevin who stood her ground and the battle was on.

Mc Nevin seemed the stronger however and forced a standing 8 count on the game Tralee lass in the first round and again in round two and the writing was on the wall for Conlon who was taking too much punishment and the ref called it off at 1.50 of the second round giving Yvonne victory

by TKO. Galways Martin Murray was next in and he took on tough Donegal fighter Chris Mc Crudden.

Mc Crudden seemed too strong for Murray and took a well deserved points victory but Murray in true sporting fashion took it on the chin and vowed to come back stronger.

Valerie Hamilton from the Galway camp took on Dragons Lair fighter Mags Walsh from Kilkenny in the third bout and scored a unanamous points victory over the Noresider in an entertaining contest between two upcoming young ladies.

The ever popular Thurles fighter Eddie Barnaville from Pat John Mc Cools camp took on Welsh wizard Levi Lawerence next

Manning vs Corneroli

and this was an International four round contest between two of Europes top junior fighters with Barnaville taking a unanamous decision.

Karen Coffey from Galway took on Donna Doherty from Ennis next in an exciting contest between two very determined young ladies and the judges couldn’t split them and the result was a very fair draw.

Gary Giles from the Galway camp was next to the ring and he faced Henry Tobann from Tommy Delaneys gym in Laois.

Giles has never been in a dull contest and this was no exception as both men gave 100% effort with Tobann showing good solid boxing skills and Giles moving in and out of range with some well placed kicks.

Gary got the nod on this occasion with a unanamous decision but Tobann, who seemed to really enjoy the fight, will no doubt be back with a bang.

The next contest was an International 5 Nations Title fight between two very talented young ladies with similar records and both National champions of their respective countries.

Catherine Cullinan from Galway who won the IKF All Ireland Title on May 15, 2010 and made a successful defence in October of the same year took on IKF English Champion Zoe Land who also won her title in May 2010 and successfully defended it in October 2010.

On paper, this was a perfect match and it proved similar in the square ring as both girls gave it their all and the fight went the full championship distance with Claregalway woman Catherine taking a split decision and with it the IKF 5 Nations Featherweight Title.

Next to the ring was tough nut Bryan Merrigan from Oughterard, Co. Galway and he squared off with Dublins Stephen Dent and both men had a huge support which was very evident due to the noise of the fired up fight fans...

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Page FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011

KICKBOXING Hits KIDDERMINSTER! Professional Kickboxing returned to the Midlands industrial town of Kidderminster for the first time since the glory days of Thai and K-1 star John Wyatt in the 1990’s.

A host of local young talent mixed with established names from around the Black Country and West Midlands put on an action packed show promoted by Matt Winsper that will hopefully put the little town famed for carpet manufacturing back on the kickboxing map.

Topping the bill, Bloxwich hardman Azza Watkinson of Eclipse Gym, put together a solid performance to win a seven round decision over Dudley rival Rob Rayman to claim the vacant ISKA Super-welterweight Title before a packed crowd at the Town Hall. Watkinson, who had pulled out injured before a previous scheduled meeting with Rayman, then the Midland Area champ, is a bonafide long distance fighter, and after allowing Rayman’s workrate to nick him the first round, settled down to business.

From the second round onwards, Watkinson’s thumping jab, solid rights and hard roundhouse kicks did most of the damage, and Rayman, having his first fight for over a year, was left trying to keep pace. He did admirably, but just couldn’t match the power or fitness of Watkinson, who turned the screw a little more each round, having Rayman on the verge of unravelling in the third to the fifth, before cruising a little in the final two rounds to collect a deserved unanimous decision.

Rayman, after the fight, lamented on a back injury which had almost forced him to cancel. “I should have pulled out,” he said afterwards, “but I continued out of loyalty to the promoter. I want the title.”

Watkinson, meanwhile, has his grasp on the Championship belt, and can look forwards to bigger fights on the horizon, both figuratively and literally, as the new ISKA championship limit of nine rounds will be in effect for his first defence.

The co-main event saw Wolverhampton prodigy Kyle Williams claim his first senior title by blowing away fellow challenger Coie Copp for the vacant British Featherweight Title in three rounds. Williams, the protégé of former multi-champ Fran Zuccala, was in blistering form, showing strength and power that belies his mere eighteen years of age. It seems his attributes have carried themselves considerably from junior to senior.

19 year old Copp, another former junior star and hailing from his father/trainer’s Cobra’s Gym in Barry, Wales, tried to use his reach and height advantage to keep Williams at bay, but as early as the first round it was clear that the main difference between the two was in sheer power.

After Copp had thrown a burst of long kicks, Williams responded with a cluster of powerful hooks punctuated by a body kick. Copp stepped back and went down in the neutral corner as Williams chased him down with more punches. It was more for respite on Copp’s behalf than actually being knocked down, but referee Mike Fowles was forced to issue a count and the tone of the fight was set.

Williams delivered more of a pounding in the second and third rounds, with Copp bravely trying to fight back and showing a little bravado from time to time by shaking his head or spreading his arms in a ‘can’t

FIGHTERS MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2011 Page 37

hurt me’ fashion, but Williams kept getting to him. Finally, after a salvo of hurtful punches from the Wolverhampton wonder, Copp went down again and his father threw in the towel.

The sky is the limit now for Williams, who may be a real future world title potential.

Local up-and-coming fighters made up the majority of the rest of the bill, and Kidderminster’s undefeated Mike ‘Morphy’ Clarke continued his rise up the super-middleweight rankings with a three round decision over in-form Rob Lawson of MSD Evolution gym in Cheltenham.

Clarke, who trains at Winspers Gym, is a former Karate champion turned kickboxer, and has a fan-friendly kicking style, with lots of loose movement and athletic ability.

Lawson, a straight kickboxer who had won his last three including a one round, one punch KO in his last bout, struggled to get to grips with Clarke’s movement and speed, although a longer-distance rematch would be interesting.

For now, though, Clarke goes to 4-0-0 and is chasing down a Midlands Title bout.

Local female flyweight Rachael Green, again from Winspers Gym, extended her record to 5-1-0 with a unanimous decision over unbeaten Ashlene Kaur of the Marks Black Belt Gym in Birmingham. Green, who holds two points wins over Commonwealth champion Andree Warbrick, stayed on course for a projected title fight of some kind in the Summer by staying out of trouble and boxing sensibly, scoring a knockdown in the third and inflicting the first loss of Kaur’s three fight record.

Another potential star for the future is 21 year old welterweight Joe Johnstone, who, in just his second bout, scored a unanimous three round win over Walsall veteran Paul Smith...

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