UFC - CAGE RAGE 24 - K-1 - KICK - MUAYTHAI
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QASIM’S GONNA KNOCK YOU OUT!! ‘THE DREAM’ TURNS PRO AT LAST CAGE RAGE 24 Feel The Pain
UFC 76 Liddell vs Jardine
‘THE BEAST’ BOB SAPP Exclusive Interview & Poster
MUAY THAI Stephen Wakeling
UK MMA Marc Goddard
ELITE XC BUYS CAGE RAGE Dave & Andy Interviewed 12 9 770260 496080
DECEMBER 2007 £3.50
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CONTENTS 10
NEWS ROUND-UP Domestic & International
CONTENTS
14
LIVING THE DREAM Qasim Nisar
18
MARC GODDARD Interview By Edwin Junior
EDITORIAL
22
THE BEAST Bob Sapp Exclusive
28
STEPHEN WAKELING Britain’s Most Successful Muaythai Fighter
34
ELITE XC IS THE FUTURE! Andy & Dave Are on Top of The World
38
CAGE RAGE 24 “Feel The Pain”
42
FIGHTERS POSTER
46
DAVE RAGE! Dave’s Back With His New Question & Answer Column
50
UFC 76 Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine
56
MULTI MEDIA ACTION Bringing You The Best Fight Based DVD’s & Books Every Month!!!
60
AMAZING THAILAND Festival 2007
64
MUAYTHAI SUPERFIGHTS England vs Portugal
66
FRIDAY FIGHT NIGHT What a Night!
68
SCORPION SHOW SUCCESS Fight Night Five
70
BRAWL ON THE WALL Ringside at the Millennium Forum
74
WAKO PRO Lincoln Show
76
CAGE RAGE CONTENDERS Ireland - Dynamite
80
INDEPENDENT BRITISH THAI BOXING RANKINGS
81
FIGHTERS BRITISH INDEPENDENT KICKBOXING RANKINGS
Kickboxing The most exciting fighter to emerge in recent times, Birmingham’s very own Qasim “the Dream” Nisar is our featured Kickboxer and cover star this month. Qasim is an amateur World Champion of undisputed class who has just begun a much awaited professional career. We believe Qasim to be the future of the sport and hope you enjoy the story as much as I did meeting this affable young man. Cage Rage Andy and Dave join us this month for an EXCLUSIVE interview. These two heavyweights of UK MMA explain to us just what the Elite XC buyout means for them and for Cage Rage. These guys pull no punches in the interview and have some controversial things to say! Cage Rage 24 is destined to take London by storm on December 1st, bringing what is in my opinion the best line up of any Cage Rage event in its history. Read our full preview on the show on page 38 UFC It seems that Mike Bisping can do no wrong in the eyes of the UFC. Our MMA golden boy will have taken on and hopefully defeated Rashad Evans by the time you are reading this magazine. It is the first time a British fighter has headed the bill at a UFC show; we’ll be bringing you all the reaction from the Wolfslair and from Mike next month. Newcastle has been announced as the venue for the next British installment of the UFC. More exciting even than the prospect of a Saturday night in the North West, two of our homegrown fighters will go head to head in what is expected to be a viewer’s delight. Paul Kelly, the latest exciting prospect out of Wolfslair, will be battling it out with fellow Englishman Paul Taylor. We will be speaking to both these gladiators in next month’s mag to help us decided who we think will be victorious. K-1 Bob Sapp is the biggest name in K-1. A huge star in more than one capacity, Sapp provides us this month with one of the best interviews we’ve published in a while. Plenty to say, and not afraid to say it, Sapp discusses past, present and future with our sub-ed Dan Green. Of course, don’t forget to check out the online mag at www.FightersMag.co.uk! Marcus P.S. I hope you enjoy your Cage Rage DVD with this month’s mag. If there isn’t a DVD attached to the cover, drop us an email and we’ll get one out to you.
Qasim Nisar page 14 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK PUBLISHER/MANAGING DIRECTOR Paul Clifton EDITOR Marcus Haig SENIOR DESIGNER Mark John Davies GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Thompson Matthew Riches UK THAI SUB EDITOR Dan Green UK MMA SUB EDITOR Rob Nutley UK BJJ SUB EDITOR Carl Fisher
CONTRIBUTORS THAI / KICKBOXING Tony Myers, Paul Hennessy, Shaun Boland, Neil Holden, Carl Sams, Colin Payne, Rob Cox, Charlie Joseph, Cris Janson-Piers, Dawn Whillock, Joe Holroyd HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED Drop us an email at fighters@martialartsinprint.com or give the editorial team a call on 0121 344 3737 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: FIGHTERS, 135 Aldridge Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham. B42 2ET. Tel: 0121 344 3737 Fax: 0121 356 7300 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 Martial Arts Publications Ltd, Regent House, 135 Aldridge Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham. 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, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE. No part of this magazine may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior permission. Fighters, may not be sold at more than the recomended retail price shown on the cover. SUBSCRIPTION RATES To take out a subscription to Fighters, just send your cheque for the correct amount made payable to Martial Arts Publications ltd. to: Subscription Dept. 135 Aldridge Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham B42 2ET. or telephone: 0121-344 3737 12 issues = UK @ £38.95 EUROPE @ £70 (Airmail) REST OF WORLD @ £85 (Airmail)
Welcome to...
WAKO WORLD ASSOCIATION OF KICKBOXING ORGANISATIONS Founded in 1970 WAKO is the largest unified kickboxing organisation in the World with over 100 nations currently in membership. WAKO World H.Q. is based in Milan. ★ WAKO History ★ WAKO started its activity in Europe in 1976. The founder was Mr Georg Bruckner from Berlin, who promoted the first ever World Championships in semi and full contact karate (as it was called in those days) back in 1978 with 110 competitors representing 18 countries. WAKO immediately created the rules and regulations for the new fighting sports and acted, since the very beginning, as the authentic Kickboxing Federation of the world. In our Championships, only national teams are accepted. Each member country can present only 1 competitor in each weight class. The WAKO World Championships are NOT open competitions therefore each representative is the premier competitor in that category, from their country.
World Governing Body for Kickboxing World and European Amateur Championships Title Fights held continually both Amateur & Professional Regional Competitions are held throughout the year British Amateur Championships to choose British Teams Full-Contact, Light Continuous-Contact, Semi-Contact, Musical Forms Licence, Membership and Insurance available to all of U.K., Southern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Coaching courses, Referee Training, Seminars and Training Dan Gradings and WAKO certificates for all Members For upto the minute details of all forthcoming W.A.K.O events visit our website To see national ama/wako listings of over 13,000 instructors/clubs on the web, type: www.bt.com/thephonebook then in ‘business’ type: martial arts and town
Contact: WAKO, 66 Chaddesden Lane, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6LP Tel: 07973 507716 / 01332 663086 / 01628 784254 or Fax: 01332 280286 WAK001/11
www.wakogb.co.uk
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LIVING THE DREAM QASIM NISAR here are very few fighters in Full Contact Kickboxing that have managed to capture the attention of the whole fight community, across all the different ring sport disciplines from kickboxing to the wider fighting disciplines. It would appear that there is another British golden nugget on the scene, a young man from Birmingham whose style in the ring inspires all those who love their combatants wiry, skilful, evasive and elusive to eulogy.
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Qasim “The Dream” Nisar is that man. Or should I say man/boy, as we are talking about an 18 year old here. “Qasim is the future of the sport” is a sentiment heard often in the full contact kickboxing world; if he’s got the whole weight of an entire sport on his shoulders, you certainly wouldn’t know it by his outwardly relaxed and confident demeanor. As I approach our meeting point outside the studio in central Birmingham, the city that Qasim calls home, I spot two figures lurking in the shadows. Qasim and his coach, Neil Kelly, a successful former fighter in his own
right, are already waiting for me. At first glance it is obvious they’re in the fight game. Neil is dressed in his full fight sport trainer attire; tracksuit bottoms, trainers and an association hoodie. Qasim is sporting one of those modern, street-style, boxing inspired tracksuits with a twist; a part combatant, part gangsta rapper feel to it. His beanie hat completes the 100% fighter look; and if anyone was in doubt, the ten (yes ten!) belts under his arm gave the game away! I’ve met Qasim many times before and I can never quite get over just how young this teenage gladiator looks; “How have I been beaten by this kid?” is the question I imagine many of his opponents have asked themselves after a thorough going over by the “Dream Machine”. It is a question I suspect may flash through the minds of a fair few more in the near future....
“How have I been beaten by this kid?” Qasim is comfortable in front of the camera and it isn’t long before it is him directing the photo shoot. He knows he’s good, you can
see it in the way he holds himself, the way he speaks, the way he moves. It is much to the testament of Neil that Qasim’s feet are grounded securely on terra firma. Many a less talented young man has wasted his talent through distraction, although you get the impression that Qas has no such worries ahead of him. Neil has known that Qasim would be worldclass for a long time; as a youngster Qas tried to juggle playing football for Premiership Club Birmingham City, cricket for his county, Warwickshire and kickboxing at USKA with Neil. Both fighter and coach knew he needed to specialise; his talent had to be focused on one of the three, and to Neil’s surprise, Qasim chose kickboxing. Qasim’s advice to all young lads wanting to make a name for themselves in Kickboxing, is “Just concentrate on your training if you want to make it. Focus on one thing, don’t play too many sports and keep on working hard. Success helps; when I won my first title I just wanted more!”
After an expected, successful start to his professional career in the sport, it seems the natural thing to do to talk more about this new chapter in the career of this undefeated star. “It feels like I’m finally doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a professional fighter now. It’s the best thing ever for me” Qasim tells me. “It means that I don’t need to worry about anything. Kickboxing is my career now, my life.”
“I’ve kept him amateur simply for the good of the sport”. To read the rest of this article make sure you get your copy of fighters available from WH Smiths & all good newsagents
LIVING THE DREAM - QASIM NISAR Page 17
To see Qasim in action log onto www.FightersMag.co.uk and www.freewebs.com/qasimthedream
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First I won 1 belt... now I want them all
Page 18 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
Interview with
odd G c r a M M arc Goddard is a man who I believe to be one of the most overlooked fighters in the world of mixed martial arts. He has been on the scene for many years since the beginning and is not just a top class fighter but also a diligent teacher and top notch referee. I caught up with mark at his gym F’s Freestyle in Kings Norton, Birmingham, as he tells us his story on his life and time in the world of U.K. MMA.
it, and so I went down and started training. I caught the bug and have not looked back since. From there it snowballed and evolved as I began to compete on shows like the very early grapple and strikes with the likes of Ross ‘the boss’ Mason, Mark Weir, Paul ‘hands of stone’ Jenkins and Tom Blackledge Very early on in your career you sustained two losses to James Thompson. What are your thoughts on the fights? Do you think inexperience played a part in the defeats?
How long have you been involved in MMA? MARC GODDARD: Easily at least six or seven years in one way or another through training, competing and refereeing. I first started when I was quite young but as I got older and started to go out my training took a bit of a back seat until my mid twenties when I really decided to knuckle down. What made you first get involved in MMA? MARC GODDARD: When I left home my next door neighbour was a traditional ju-jitsu instructor, I always wanted to try
MARC GODDARD: (Hahahaha) Well the first fight between me and James I lost plain and simple. It was my own fault because initially I was winning the fight and placed an armbar on James. I let go of the arm bar as I thought James tapped and I had won the fight but this was not the case! As a result I turned my back on James thinking the fight was over by which time James swung a big right hook to the side of my face. Inexperience may have played a part as those sort of mistakes I would never do again but James was also a bit wet behind the ears as these were the very early days of MMA. I spoke to James afterwards and he was pretty cool about it all, what more can I say. The second fight James looked like he had been training a lot as he was much heavier and muscular and there not much you can do when you’re giving away 25kg in weight difference. I took the fight on three weeks notice as well as coming out to a hostile crowd but I was prepared to fight. The weight difference was apparent straight from the off I took one on the chin but was not knocked out, James then pressed down on top, all 19st plus worth of force behind a big fist and I lost the fight. For those who didn’t know you retired from MMA for the best part of two years, why? MARC GODDARD: Well my first thoughts were before I fought Robert ‘Buzz’ Berry on Cage Rage. I had already talked myself out of the fight in the changing rooms. When I lost a lot of people were surprised as I had been in such good form, and in the gym I was excelling. I lost the fight in the changing room, as I was planning to leave fighting MMA I took the loss as an excuse to do so. I quit plain and simple in that fight and it was not a nice place to be for me after that fight for a while!...
Marc outside his Birmingham fight school
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INTERVIEW WITH MARC GODDARD Page 19
ar d by Edwin Junior
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Page 22 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
THE BEAST
BOB SaPP EXClUSIVE How did you first get involved in Martial Arts fighting? BOB SAPP: Whilst I was wrestling I was introduced to a K1 fighter by the name of Sam Greco. He trained for this tough man fight against a former NFL legend William “The Refrigerator “ Perry. After I fought Perry under the wrestling character nicknamed The Beast I was introduced to K-1. They saw the fight and basically thought hey maybe this guy can do some good things and they sent me over to Japan.
BOB SAPP: Now, it’s difficult to say, over 20 fights for kickboxing; roughly 18 fights for MMA, and roughly 40-50 fights for pro wrestling. Do you really enjoy it, or do you see it as an extension of acting. Some people say that you don’t really like to fight and that you do it for the money. BOB SAPP: I don’t think anyone enjoys getting their face bashed in, that I don’t enjoy.
Who won the fight with Perry? Reporter laughs - You’d be surprised. BOB SAPP: The Beast won the fight. “It’s in his nature”? How many fights have you had now?
BOB SAPP: Sapp (laughs) - I’m not into s&m that much but let me tell you I do enjoy the aspect of getting into shape and being a combatant in the competitive element of fighting. I don’t particularly enjoy getting injured or injuring someone to do it, it’s reassuring when everybody gets up at the end and says “hey you got me” it was great and it’s not too much. Yeah it’s reassuring when there’s no major injuries at the end. Have you ever had a moment when you have been worried that someone has been seriously hurt or when someone is out cold? BOB SAPP: Definitely, when I fought Noguera, I thought when I slammed him on top of his head that it might have been taking it too far. They asked that perhaps I shouldn’t do that move anymore and I haven’t done that move since then. Some things you just don’t want to injure somebody with. I knew very little about fighting then, so I just did what comes naturally. With that in mind you’ve done a little MMA as well - is that why you prefer K-1 because it’s more of a visual thing than a brutal thing? BOB SAPP: To be completely honest it depends on whom I’m fighting, upon what arena or what particular style of fighting I like to do. For MMA of course I love it when I’m playing against someone that’s using their mind and for kickboxing when you’re going up against legends. It’s amazing because you can see that they really practice and hone their skill and their trade more so than I do because, the one thing that I do is I practice fighting at all venues against the top. It’s kinda flattering when you go against a Peter Aerts or Ernesto Hoost knowing that in kickboxing they are like
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THE BEAST - BOB SAPP INTERVIEW Page 23
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I don’t do the Sapp slam in MMA anymore... I don’t want to injure anyone
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“Hey we’ll take you “The Beast” on in kickboxing but they kinda do it tongue in cheek and with a wink wink. Guys it’s really unfair that you’re asking a guy to come take you on in your sport that you’re the number one at, so if you really want to make it fair why don’t you challenge me at MMA! It never happens! Sapp Laughs. How do you find what you do now compares to your NFL stuff, your training, etc, has it changed your body? BOB SAPP: Definitely, it’s definitely changed my body. Now I can tell you that the hardest form of training and the hardest form of hitting and doing good things has always been fighting in the competitive sports. These sports, no these men, are gladiators, they are legends for what they are doing and they can take on and destroy any NFL football player. I mean they just push their bodies to a level, to an extent where their body is their entire armour and in NFl and other sports you’re using armour to block off these hits and in this they’re like “Hey listen we don’t need that stuff” and I think if kickboxing didn’t have gloves and so on I still believe think you’d see the same guys doing the same stuff. With that in mind, what’s the hardest you’ve ever been hit, who’s hit you the hardest? BOB SAPP: Do you mean with their fists or? I mean Jerome le banner hits hard but. Just the hardest - not quite knocked you for 6 but you know...? BOB SAPP: Maybe we should say the individuals then Jerome Le Banner has punched me the hardest and the hardest kicks have come from Mirko and of course Ernesto Hoost. I’ve had some confusing roundabout ways from Ray
A typical sight @ a Sapp fight
Sefo, the great techniques that has really pushed me the most have been by Musashi. So it’s been a host of different things. Of course as well you’ve had Nohara who to me has shown the heart of a champion to come back the way he has. A lot of people rate Hoost for his technical side, so do you think Musashi is a better technician or do you think; he actually just doesn’t have the power behind him that Hoost does? BOB SAPP: Yes that’s exactly right and I think that Hoost has the right combination of technique, and of course stamina and speed but Musashi’s technique I think is awesome. He can go back and forth both sides he just doesn’t have the stamina or power to really put it together whereas Hoost has. With that in mind, do you think Musashi is the hardest fighter that you’ve been up against if not who would you say was? Not in terms of hurting you but who was the most difficult to fight? BOB SAPP: One of the hardest fights was Musashi. He kinds goes like at constantly with a longer level of resistance when you fight him. Possibly take a loaf of bread say and continually have to eat that same loaf of bread with an 8 ounce glass of water for a week that’s kinda how it is fighting Musashi. You get the same bland stuff and then you get a dryness and before you know it you’re either dying out of boredom or lack of stamina from your jaw chewing. Would you like to fight him again? BOB SAPP: I definitely would enjoy fighting him again but I feel now that with the new weight classes that K-1 have introduced, that as lot of the combatants are kinda toning down a little bit. Of course you’ll still see the legends that can dominate over someone because of the knowledge level and they’ll take on the bigger opponents. But you will not see most combatants that take on the larger opponents that have the size and the technique and the capacity of say Semmy Schilts. Out of the larger opponents is there someone you’d like to have a crack at? BOB SAPP: Definitely Semmy Schilt without question. Of course I would like to do that but I’m not gonna say “Hey Semmy Schilt, I want to fight you tomorrow or next week” which surprisingly enough happens a lot with my fights but I would love to fight Semmy with say ten weeks notice. Give me ten weeks notice with anybody and I’ll get down and dirty with them real quick no problem, in K-1 rules...
To read the rest of this article make sure you get your copy of fighters available from WH Smiths & all good newsagents
THE BEAST - BOB SAPP INTERVIEW Page 25
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MMA & K-1 fighters would destroy an NFL hardman
Page 28 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
STEPHEN WAKELING aythai fighter
Britain’s most successful mu aythai tephen Wakeling is undoubtedly Britain’s best and most successful muaythai fighter currently fighting. He has held every major title - WMC, WBC and S-1 and has beaten some of the biggest ever worldwide names such as Australia’s John Wayne Parr and Thailand’s Jomhod Kiatidisak. He is now a full time professional fighter and trainer with Scorpions Gym.
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Wakeling was brought into thaiboxing by his father Mark, who himself was an instructor and former fighter. He began training when he was 12 years old but didn’t really start training properly until he was 15, when he got into fighting. His brother Michael started training also around this time and the two are generally pretty close. Wakeling had his first fight when he was 15. After a couple of interclubs in London/Leeds, he went straight into adult fights winning on points. He remembers still what it was like stepping into the ring for the first time, something that usually stays with a fighter all his life: “I felt was very nervous, some enjoyment and wanted to get in there and do well for my Dad and everyone else, to make them proud.”
Of course it’s different now that he is a seasoned professional and now it’s mainly enjoyment he feels getting in there to fight after all the hard preparation: “I still get a little bit nervous but nowhere near like how it used to be. I just get in there and enjoy it now and enjoy fighting the highest level opponents out there.” At 15 years old, Wakeling was unnaturally tough, composed and technical for his age and it wasn’t long before he was fighting for titles. His first title fight was a Southern Area title beating Paul Dewberry from Keddles on points. He then went on to win 3 British titles in a row, beating Craig Scurry on points, Colin Armstrong by stoppage and Chris Stenson on points. Kevin Harper is probably the biggest British name that he has come up against. They fought twice: Wakeling won the first contest by stopping Harper with a cut in the third round, Harper then won the second contest after Wakeling hurt his leg blocking one of Harper’s low kicks in the first round. He still has a lot of respect for Harper though think’s it’s unlikely they would meet again:
“I respect Kevin as a fighter, he’s been around a long time. I haven’t really seen him recently though, I think he’s slowed down the last few years. If we fought again I think I have the height and reach to beat him and he’s naturally lighter than me at 70 kilos. I’m fighting 72.5 and 75 now.” Wakeling used to fight for a few years at 70 kilos but as he has got older and bigger he has moved up in weight slowly. Even if a big money fight from K-1 Max came along Wakeling has decided he wouldn’t make the weight anymore. This is quite a decision and one done with health and safety as the main priority. It’s incredibly hard making a living as an English muaythai fighter. It requires tremendous sacrifice and dedication to train and fight regularly at top level and when asked if he fancies doing something else you can see that he doesn’t want to at all: “I am just training and fighting for now but if the money available in the sport doesn’t go up then I may have to consider looking elsewhere just to ensure my future once I’m too old to be fighting.” He thinks the sport has progressed within recent years but hopes it will go further “I thought it would be a bigger sports with purses higher etc. It’s very hard for a fighter to fight and train for big title fights full time with the money that’s in the sport in the UK.’ As a professional fighter you have to look to fight for money and if someone came up and offered him 10,000 pounds to fight but it was full contact rules Wakeling says “I’d of course say yes, as a professional fighter you have to fight for good money.” Wakeling has never had a big name sponsor behind him but used to have a good partnership with Fairtex for his training in Thailand, however that relationship has turned sour recently: “For my fight with Langsongkram I went out there for 3 months to train and didn’t get any trainers until the last two weeks and was living outside the camp next to a karaoke that was open until 4 o’clock in the morning, keeping me awake. I trusted Fairtex to get him ready for the hardest fight of my career but came back unprepared not ready for it. My
STEPHEN WAKELING - BRITAIN’S BEST Page 29
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I’d even fight in kickboxing for the right money
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team tried to stop the fight because of the poor preparation and the state I was in when I came back but the WBC officials in the UK asked me to sign a contract, saying it doesn’t matter I’ll get two big pay days because I will get a guaranteed rematch for the title should I lose and I can say when I’m ready up to a year after the first fight. The preparation at Fairtex was very bad so I’ve gone back to training with just my Dad in UK for fights for now.” When asked if there is any way back with Fairtex though the door isn’t completely closed: ”Fairtex is a really good gym. I liked to train there but it’s just become too big and too commercial. Obviously if you go there and give up 3 months of your life, if they don’t have the trainers there to train me to fight then there’s no point me going back there. You can’t take a gamble if you are told that they have got the trainers there and then you turn up and there’s no trainers available until the last 2 weeks. if things change at Fairtex and you can be guaranteed of getting trainers, then we’ll see what happens.” Following his fight with Langsongkram, Wakeling fought most recently in a Kings Of Kickboxing tournament in Germany on 15th September. This was a 4 man tournament featuring some good names: John Lidon of France, Istvan Toth of Hungary and Jan De Keyser of Belgium who won the It’s Showtime Trophy tournament in England earlier this year. “My dad stopped work for 6 weeks to train me himself personally twice a day. Trained for most of it at home.’ Wakeling won both his fights by stoppage, stopping both De Keyser and Lidon and this was the first time he had fought without elbows since becoming a professional A class fighter. “At first it was very
hard to get used to adapting the training, but we had good preparation, good sparring and training and it just felt normal getting in there and fighting. They only let me clinch with one strike as well like K1. As it was a tournament instead of an A class fight we did more rounds, faster rounds of pad work and lots of stamina work. I still prefer fighting with elbows but obviously where the money is that’s where you have to fight.” Wakeling has during his career, and at the age of only 24 won every major title there is already: WBC, WMC and S-1. However out of the three he feels the one that brought the most satisfaction when the final bell went was the WMC title. “It was my first world title against Ying Yai and felt amazing. I was watching out for his elbows, fighting a smart plan. We had a good game plan having seen him fight before, we prepared well and came out, put it to work and it worked!” However whilst the WMC title was the most pleasing for him, undoubtedly the biggest names Wakeling has been up against were Wayne Parr and Jomhod. Wayne Parr he fought first for the WBC world title on 12th March. “We had a good game plan for Wayne Parr, we knew he was a strong puncher and had to watch out for his punches. Keep away from his hands, and keep him at long range using long knees and elbows and keeping him away using push kicks. The game plan worked and I won on points.” It’s always interesting to see the distinction between a top level fighter and a journeyman and one of those things has got to be the ability to know who’s winning when you’re fighting. “When you’re in there you’re
counting the points up, how many shots he’s hit you with, how many clean shots you’ve hit him with and you add the points up as the rounds go by and work out how far ahead you are.” After that he fought Jomhod in what was Jomhod retirement fight. Jomhod had only lost to a Westerner once before under full Thai rules in his entire career, Ivan Hippolyte, and had only lost once in the past 6 years to Buakao Por Pramuk. Scalp’s on Jomhod’s Cv include Ramon Dekkers and Sackmongkol. “He always felt strong when I fought him but he didn’t hurt me in the fight, but then I haven’t been hurt really in any of the fights I’ve had. I just kept him away and kept scoring my points.” Jomhod is famed for some of the tricks and clever moves he pulls as well as his vicious low kicks but they didn’t really come off against Wakeling “With me he tried a few jumping elbows which I had to watch out for and evade and he did try some hard low kicks which I had to drop out and make sure he didn’t catch my legs and then he came in with hard punches as well and so I evaded and threw good shots back.” As mentioned earlier Wakeling is an unnaturally tough fighter and rumours that he fractured his cheekbone against Langsongkram in the first round are true “I fractured my cheek bone and eye socket in the first round and it stopped me seeing clearly so I had to change the game plan. I couldn’t really go into him to mess him up with punches and elbows and had to watch out for shots to the face.” Some might question why he didn’t throw in the towel straight away once he knew he was injured but again this is another thing that differentiates a top level fighter and how they think “Well because they promised us a rematch even if I did lose the title I stayed in the fight with him to learn everything about him, to find out how hard he hit, the angles he hit at, learning everything he did so I would win the rematch.” Wakeling feels this approach definitely is work taking if a rematch were to happen “I think it would be a lot closer this time, I’ve got a different game plan knowing how he hits and stuff and he’ll be hungry to keep his title and he’s had a few good wins, he’ll be more confident but I believe I can go in there and beat him and take the title.”...
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Page 34 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
ELITE XC IS
TURe wEor!ld THEaveFarU e o n top of th
A n dy an d D
ave O Donnell and Andy Gear are the two best known faces in the world of UK MMA. Pioneers in their own right, Dave and Andy are the founders of the UK’s only home grown, internationally renowned MMA organization Cage Rage. It had been six months or so since I caught up with these two loveably Londoners and I was eager to hear what they had to say. Six months is a long time in the fast paced world of Mixed Martial Arts and a lot has happened in that period; UFC joining the fray and the takeover of Cage Rage by Gary Shaw, a US based Billionaire.
D
The journey from our Birmingham base to the new Cage Rage offices on the far side of London was a nightmare, taking the best part of 5 hours. I had spoken to Dave so many times on my journey (always to say I was “nearly” there), that unbeknown to me, his mobile battery had died and I couldn’t get hold of him upon arriving at the destination postcode. (The sat nav, disappointingly, didn’t have CRC head office on it’s landmark list). What was I gonna do? Had he got pissed with me for being so late and just gone home? Not wishing to panic I remembered all those Kung Fu classes, regained my chi power and began to prowl the town centre looking for anything that might point me in the right direction. 10 then 15 minutes went by, driving round and round in circles with no octagon shapes in sight, no cages on rooftops; the conversation with the maga-
zine directors about why I’d been gone all day, spent £100 in fuel and come back with nothing was swimming round my brain. Then I saw it. Lurking in the shadows of a small pay and display car park like a beast waiting to pounce and devour any mini cars or unsuspecting children loitering nearby. Dave’s car growled at me from across the street, beckoning me closer. As I inched into a space nearby “thump thump thump” shook my whole being. Was the Chrysler alive? Would it gobble me alive for my tardiness?? Thankfully it was just Mr O’Donnell testing his zillion watt sound system and charging him Eriksson. Phew, I was finally here. The first thing you must realize about Dave and Andy is that what you see on Cage Fighter and on Cage Rage’s show production, is 100% what you get in the flesh.Dave is the same bundle of untapped energy, fizzing round the room at 100mph, belying his forty odd years in a way that would shame men half his age. You just know this guy gets things done. Andy is the more reserved of the two, a successful business man before Cage Rage, and the chalk to Dave’s cheese. As partnerships go, Dave and Andy seem to have one made in heaven; not only do their personalities complement each other well, but they are genuine mates. There is a family feel about the Cage Rage team that you don’t get from most business driven organisations, you just know these guys would die for each other.
The first thing we needed to get cleared up was the takeover. Even as an industry insider, I admit I was a little confused myself as to what exactly had happened and more importantly, what it would mean for the future? Elite XC made Dave and Andy an offer for Cage Rage that they simply couldn’t turn down; not only was Shaw offering to purchase Cage Rage in it’s entirety, but make it an integral part of the Elite XC empire whilst leaving Dave and Andy at the helm for as long as they wanted the post! Elite XC has built a network of shows across the world, the better known being King of the Cage, Icon, Spirit and Rumble on the Rock. The re-branding is taking place now. All the fighter exchanges will start from early next year. Everything will be branded “Elite XC presents”. What does this mean for Cage Rage and UK MMA? Well, we’ll be seeing a lot more international fighters strutting their stuff at Wembley that’s for sure. Elite XC have made it clear that they love the “British-ness” of Cage Rage, the Bulldog Spirit that emancipates from its core, so nothing will change on that front. “They want us to be more British, they don’t want an American show filmed in London” Andy adds. I don’t need to ask him who he’s referring to.
ELITE XC IS THE FUTURE! Page 35
there are plenty of good, hard working promoters in the Uk that we work with or are looking to work with. We want to help the sport.Want to use our brand to help the sport in the UK” Contenders is run using Cage Rage branding but promoted by trusted partners.
Who can blame these fellas for being upbeat; everything seems to be coming together in a big way for Cage Rage; Contenders, their feeder series, is growing
“We don’t take money off Contenders copromoters; we just insist that they have proper referees, judges, medical conditions, health and safety assessments etc. We have to make sure that they match the fighters properly and that everything is run in a professional manner. Nobody wants to go to a show to see two doormen bashing the life out of each other! You can still get that, it makes you think, “What’s goin’ on? Someone’s gonna die”!
“Contenders is fully sold out, bigger than most of the other shows in the Uk” Dave tells me”We’re looking to extend that brand;
They aren’t martial artists, the game’s moved on. Local tough guys scrapping in the cage we aint interested in!”
“Cage Rage has become our lives, our wives are cage rage widows” Andy jokes, “It doesn’t stop. The Americans just expect us to be the end of the line any time of the day or night..they never stop working!”
‘‘
Andy has some tough words for promoters wanting to just jump on the band wagon “The problem is loads of associations cropping up promoting “cage fighting”, run by people with no experience. Every night club promoter fancies themselves as a Cage Fighting promoter. It needs regulating. Now! We don’t want to be part of a governing body, we want to be regulated. We don’t want to control the sport, we want to be controlled.” Dave spent many years involved with another once booming, now widely ridiculed fightsport, full contact kickboxing. “We want to see regulation. We don’t want to see another kickboxing. I was a kickboxer once, everyone’s a champion in that game. We want one, true champion. Kickboxing promoters haven’t got a clue.” Dave certainly has a point. Kickboxing should already be where MMA is in the UK, with MMA learning from its experience, not the other way round. Hopefully the MMA scene can help to focus promters in other ringsport on getting back to par.
‘
Dave interjects “They (their American bosses) won’t interfere with the production of the show; they want more British Bulldog, Union Jack stuff. We’re now better funded and the television networks involved across the world gives us amazing exposure. Cage Rage has viewing figures of 18 million across Europe and our Sky viewing figures make our rival’s pale into insignificance”
Elite XC want us to be more British, not an American Show filmed in London
Page 36 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
The conversation leads naturally to the new medical procedures planned for Cage Rage. There are voices within the UK scene that are critical of Cage Rage’s medical requirements for their shows, citing the UFC as an example where more extensive tests are mandatory. Andy quickly rebuffs this charge; There is a lot of mudslinging with regards to our medical procedures, with people who tap away on their keyboards on internet forums, slating us. We think it’s a shame..such low tactics.” “We are testing for steroids, despite the massive costs, for CRC 24 on December 1st. Next year, blood tests and brain scans will become mandatory, which although expensive is worthwhile. The fighters’ safety must come first, certainly before profits.” “We comply with British rules and regulations. We are not an American company, they (UFC) have to abide by US rules and regulations. We aren’t doing anything wrong, but certainly agree that there is more we can do, so that’s what we are implementing as we speak. We can’t do it overnight.
But we’re certainly not doing it because of the UFC & some internet freak on the message boards hurling insults. We’re doing it now we’ve got Gary Shaw’s backing. Safety is paramount for him.”
guys but they’re greedy and they wanted everything. They tried to put us out of business and hit us with a big law suit, believing us not to have enough money to fight it. So we decided to defend it anyway!
It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the UK now that we have essentially two very powerful, very well funded US corporations battling it out for what is still a growing market.
It’ll go away. We don’t think it will go to trial, they haven’t got a case!
We’ve opened the Pandora-esque UFC box. However Dave and Andy seem to be more relaxed about their competitor than when we last spoke to them; perhaps they’re more confident now they’ve got equal financial muscle. It seems however, that the Londoners believe that the they go about their business in a more “un-American” way, that gives them an advantage in their home market. Andy tells me a little story; “Let’s see where the UFC are in the UK in five years. We can’t see them earning more than they’re spending to be honest. We believe they’ve lost so much money in the UK. What a lot of people don’t know is that I met with Dana White and the Fertita brothers last year. They told me they wanted to come to the UK. “Great, I’m the biggest UFC fan” was my response. The best thing is if we talk, I said. I’ll lend you the top British fighters. They couldn’t understand this. Why would we do such a generous thing? We had a little hug.....look where it got us! They chose war, it’s that simple”. Andy repeats the Elite XC message: “They are obsessed with World Wide Domination. I told Dana White, he can use any of our
They’ve been threatening small time promoters across the UK with legal action for using an eight sided cage etc. “Tell ‘em bollocks” is my advice. We don’t try and squash little shows, we could do that but we don’t. We will let our contracted fighters fight on other shows. They’ve got families to feed, and we understand that. They’ll probably sue me again so I won’t tell you all the dirty tricks they used. We’re British, we let some things go, we don’t run to the lawyers every time something doesn’t go our way We can’t lose the case, not with the money we’ve got behind us now. We’re not gonna be pushed around. Elite XC and Pro-Elite are new companies that I’m sure have been produced just to stand up to a big bully. Why should we take this off anybody? We’ve been in this business a long time. I see UFC haven’t spent another squillion on advertising like for the April show; waste of their money! Elite XC is easily as big as UFC and they would be welcome to work with us for one undisputed champion. They won’t do it. But it’s still possible. A superbowl type event is feasible each year. Their fighters seem to be hand picked for their Hollywood looks and their interview techniques though unfortunately.” December’s show looks like it will be a cracker (full preview in this issue). Dave and Andy are excited already, two months in advance; “There aint a bad fight on December’s show, the top four fights are all world class international fights . They’re all moaning to us ‘cause they aint top of the bill. 18 to 20 of these fighters make you go WOW!” Dave vehemently believes that the UK fighters are beginning to hold their own in the international arena,
Group hug anybody...?
“Guys started taking the plunge and training full time a few years ago and the amount of
ELITE XC IS THE FUTURE! Page 37
learning has gone through the roof. When we started, these guys were fighting Americans that trained three times a day. They were still brikkies training three times a week. There really aint much difference between ‘em now.”
go through when promoting overseas fighters,”We’ve had big stars from Japan and the USA. We like to build our stars. Butterbean has been over a few times, to build him up, so the fans get a chance to know him.”
“The days of the one area specialist is gone, you don’t get different styles competeing, you know, jiu jitsu versus kickboxer; you got MMA fighters now. They still have their faourite zones with the intention to keep it in my zone and out of yours.” Andy explains, continuing to explain the process Cage Rage
We continue chatting about Cage Rage 24, the conversation getting stuck on Neil Grove. Despite both agreeing to his emormous power being the greatest of all their fighters, Dave and Andy begin to bicker and squabble over his weight. I took the opportunity to escape un-noticed, before
As I crossed the road and tiptoed past the sleeping black beast in the NCP, a cockney voice cried across the road “Ask Dana, “how come you got your hair cut like your two mates?” Ha ha Copied our hair cut...we’ve trademarked it. Lawyers will be calling, Dana”
‘‘
‘‘
Dave fed me to his car, slipping out unseen whilst the guys tapped determinedly away at their calculators.
UK Fighters are now equal to the Americans
Page 38 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
Sub Editor Latest fightcard announced. By Rob Nutley - MMA age Rage 24 – “Feel The Pain” is just around the corner and I can tell you the fight card we have lined up for you is absolutely breathtaking. We have a mixture of international and domestic fights, with a British Title fight thrown in for good measure, which will leave you on the edge of your seats. With the main event still to be announced the card currently looks like this……….
Ronnie from the moment the bell rings. Ronnie is the younger man with a very tight well rounded game, Ronnie has a lot of stand up experience and will be dangerous at all ranges and he has proved himself a real contender when he fought in a technical war against Robbie Oliver. This will be a great fight between two great fighters.
Brad “One Punch” Pickett Vs Ronnie Mann
Heavyweight War Robert Paczkow is the huge Polish Sumo wrestler that has won two bronze medals in 1999 & 2006 and a silver medal in 2004. He has also won the Sumo World Championships on two separate occasions and now he is about to make his Cage rage debut on December 1st as he gets ready to face James “Machine” McSweeney. The British K-1 fighter that has recently turned his hand to Mixed Martial arts, James made an impressive debut beat-
C
Featherweight War This will be an absolute war as both men work their way towards a shot at the British title. Both these fighters are well matched in terms of experience and ability. Brad is coming off a good win and performance against Vaughn Harvey, ending Vaughn’s seven fight winning streak. Brad will be looking to unleash bombs in this one as he has clearly stated he will set out to stop Pickett Vs Mann
James “Machine” McSweeney Vs Robert Paczkow
ing Mark Buchanan in the first round in his last outing, but now he faces the wrath of a freight train in the form of Robert Paczkow.
Robbie “The Flame Olivier Vs Abdul Mohamed British Lightweight Title For the first time “The Flame” Robbie Olivier will be moving up a weight category in a bid to take the British welterweight title from Abdul Mohamed. Robbie is excellent at controlling the fight from top position, but that will not be easy as he faces the brute strength of Abdul Mohamed, who is a tough durable fighter who can finish the fight in an instant. Abdul likes to slam his way to victory but is that enough to stop “The Flame” burning him up?
Ivan Serati Vs Lee Hasdell Light Heavyweight War Lee Hasdell is known as the god father of Mixed Martial arts here in the UK
McSweeney Vs Paczkow
CAGE RAGE 24 “FEEL THE PAIN” - PREVIEW Page 39
Wembley Arena, London 1st December 2007
Olivier Vs Mohamed
Serati Vs Hasdell
Page 40 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
and is a true ambassador for the sport. Lee has experience and a well rounded skill set with the ability to knock you out or submit you quickly. Lee is a formidable foe for any of today’s modern practitioners and one of those is Italian Ivan Serati, who is a big strong fighter that likes to inflict punishment to any one who dares step into the cage with him. Ivan does not like to go the distance and neither does Lee, so you can expect this war to have a sprint start and explosive finish.
Neil “Goliath” Grove Vs Robert “Buzz” Berry Heavyweight War Neil Grove is the huge man that has made a huge impact. He first stepped into the Cage Rage Arena against “The Colossus” James Thompson as an underdog and he proved that he had a big bite and stopped Thompson in just ten seconds of the first round. Next was Thompson’s Trojan Team Mate Domonic Ostich, Goliath Grove wasted no time and steamed in taking Ostich by surprise. Grove again won in only 35 seconds of the first round. Has he been tested yet? That will be the question Cage Rage Veteran Robert “Buzz” Berry will be asking when he faces Neil Grove. “Buzz” is an experienced fighter who has been in there with some of the biggest hitters and he will be aiming to let Grove feel the “Buzz” of his right hook, if he can avoid being crushed under the power of Goliath.
you has history. Dave Legeno recently spent some time training with Mixed Martial Arts legend, Don Frye. While in the states, Dave noticed a student with the wrong type of attitude and this was something that Don himself had noticed. “George Castro is a real tough guy that respects nothing and it is time he was taught a little respect” says Legeno. George Castro was subsequently asked to leave the Don Frye academy for having the wrong type of attitude towards the other students and Legeno has made it clear that he has taken Georges disrespect to Don Frye personally. So take your seat and get ready for a grudge match between two very tough fighters.
Mark “The Beast” Epstein Vs Tom “Kong” Watson Middleweight War Mark Epstein makes history again as the only fighter to compete at Cage Rage across three different weight classes. Mark is a fan favourite that likes to bang and has stopped many fighters in the past with his aggressive brawling style earning him the name “The Beast”. Mark has a tough middleweight opponent in the shape of Tom “Kong” Watson, who is an excellent boxer that strike from angles. Tom’s style is well rounded and he will be looking to stop “The Beast” in his first middleweight war. This will make the arena shudder as “Kong” goes head to head with the “Beast”
“Deathwish” Dave Legeno Vs George “XXX” Castro
Marios Zoromskis Vs Ross Pointon
Heavyweight War George Castro is a 19 stone fighter that likes to bang and this fight we have for
Welterweight War Marios has proven himself a dangerous man and an incredible striker. Marios
Grove Vs Berry
Epstein Vs Watson
recently fought Ross Mason in what can only be described as a highlight reel and proved he has the skills to belong on the World stage. Marios is an explosive fighter, but will that be enough to stop “Gladiator” Ross Pointon. Ross comes to the arena with a new founded game plan, where he is deadly at all ranges. Ross can bang, and has good submissions skills, so this one has war in the arena all over it.
Drew Ficket Vs Mark “The Wizard” Weir Welterweight War This is a war waiting to happen as both these fighters are well prepared veterans of mixed martial arts. Mark has recently moved to Welterweight and is ready to make waves internationally at this weight,. But first his has to face Drew Ficket, an experienced American fighter who will be out to knock up an impressive victory as he gets ready for his Cage Rage debut.
Evangilista “Cyborg” Santos Vs Paul Cahoon Light-Heavyweight War Two formidable strikers go head to head in a fight that will put one of these fighters back on the road to title shot. Paul Cahoon recently made his Cage Rage debut against veteran Mark Epstein. Cahoon put in a valiant performance and was crowned the winner and now he is looking to take his ferocious striking power against one of the strongest strikers in the game. “Cyborg” is a deadly striker with knockout power in both hands and feet, both these men enjoy swinging for the fences and you can almost be sure that somebody will get knocked out! Legeno Vs Castro
CAGE RAGE 24 “FEEL THE PAIN” - PREVIEW Page 41
Pointon VS Zoromskis
Santos Vs Cahoon
CLE001/27
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NAK001/05
DAVE RAGE!
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Dave’s back with his NEW question & answer column John S, Carlisle: Hi Dave, I’ve read that Gary Shaw and Elite XC have invested in Cage Rage. What does that mean for the show? It means we’re gonna take over the world! (read the full story on the Cage Rage take over on page x) James Abbott, London: Who is currently the best fighter at any weight doing their stuff at CRC? That’s a really hard question cause there’s so many good fighters signed to us at the moment. Neil Grove is our most exciting new signing, he’s been in the cage a total of just over 30 seconds and he’s blasted out two of the best guys around. Buzz Berry’s next for him in December so we’ll see just how far he’s progressed then. E. Stokes, Cardiff: Will James Thompson get another shot at CRC? What’s gone wrong with him? He’ll definitely be back. He’s still signed
with us so news will be coming soon as to his next fight with us. David J, Nottingham: There are loads of young guns entering CRC, either on the main show or on Contenders. Who do you think has the most potential to look out for? Marios Zaromskis. He can’t train full time at the moment, but he’s got loads of potential. He’s a judo black belt as well as a very experienced full contact kickboxing fighter. We’re expecting big big things from him. J G, Email: Will Cage Rage always be a London show, or will we see the main event travel around the country any time soon? I’ll tell you but I’d have to kill you. The LA board want to take the show on the road, but it’s more likely to be contenders to be honest that we continue to expand. It’s about television costs really, taking production teams up and down the country would cost a fortune!
Adam Jones, Email: What really happened to Cabbage in that hotel incident? We just don’t know. Who’s got the bollocks to attack a 6’2” cage fighter? The CCTV showed him being attacked, he wasn’t robbed or anything. We think it was one of our competitors taking out our main event man.....who else would do it? At four am in the Cage Rage hotel?? F. Green, Newcastle: Have you ever considered fighting on your own show? There was talk of it about 3 years ago but not now. I don’t train anywhere near enough. I know I only look 25 but I’m 46 years old. The way these guys train, you gotta do one thing or another; promote or fight..... Henry Davidson, Liverpool: Who would win in a fight between you and Dana White? I’d batter him. End of. I’d train for that fight.
DAVE RAGE! Page 47
Marios Zaromskis: my top pick for the future
Page 60 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2007
amazing thailand
f e s t i va l 2 0 0 7
“Put your uniforms on and get ready to carry a dancing girl around the site” were the first instructions on Saturday morning - I thought I’d signed up to a martial arts training camp, but it was to turn out to be a little more involved than that. Never having been one to argue with a man with a sword in his hand I duly donned my suit and readied myself to carry the girl around the site. We were taking part in the opening ceremony of the “Amazing Thailand Festival” which involved a parade around the site for the visitors and the Thai ambassador around the festival site. The main attractions of the parade were the traditional Thai dancers, but they needed some (allegedly) strong men to carry them on a plinth. Swords and staffs were the order of the weekend of Krabi Krabong. Prior to this my only knowledge of weapons was the nine weapons of Muay Thai, head, fists, elbows, knees and feet, but this was due to change with the help of Kru Tony Moore and the Buddhai Swan Institute. The amazing Thailand Festival, held every two years on the August bank holiday weekend, is an immersion in all things Thai and a group of us from the Singto Muay Thai Club in Cambridge attended the festival for three days to learn the art of Krabi Krabong.
Krabi Krabong (meaning sword and staff) is the Thai weapons based martial art dating from the 17th century, on which Muay Boran and subsequently Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) are based.
After the parade the training started in earnest. On the first two days we were to learn the “Daab Song Mue” - two swords, one in each hand. Training with wooden Daab, meant the frequent mistakes were a little less lethal. Training was taken by two masters, Krus Khwanhathai (Orr) and Somkiat (Gup) Junpetch from the Buddhai Swan Institute in Thailand who were visiting England for a training tour, with the help of Kru Tony and students from his gym in Manchester. Training was centred around a number of patterns, with one person attacking and one defending, of which we learnt three of four. The first day it was very tough to remember what I was meant to be doing, but by the second day I had some semblance of control and order. The training was interrupted twice daily to perform a display on stage in front of several thousand people, which included Muay Thai, Muay Boran and Krabi Krabong. The Singto group gave a display of Mauy Thai, involving padwork and sparring. This was followed by a Muay Boran display, given by
Kru Tony and his students, including a Wai Kruu (ritual dance performed prior to combat) and a demonstration of the art including a number of intricate moves. The highlight of the display was a demonstration of sword fighting using real swords performed by Kru Orr and Kru Gup from Thailand. I can assure you that the two were going for it, especially after the second demonstration, which ended up with Kru Gup getting a cut across his nose and face. With expert tuition we were able to progress quite well and by the third day our instructor (Kru Ryan Rudkin) took to the stage to demonstrate the dance of the monkey versus the giant, with him taking the part of the monkey using two Mae Sok which are batons similar to police nightsticks. The “Amazing Thailand festival” was a great experience, especially the training and I’d like to thank Kru Tony, his students, Kru Gup and Kru Orr for an enjoyable and interesting weekend. The next “Amazing Thailand Festival” will take place on the August bank holiday weekend of 2009 and I’m sure I’ll be there, if Kru Tony Moore is! For more information regarding Krabi Krabong or Muay Thai training please visit the Buddhai Swan Institute at www.suryothai.addr.com or Singto Muay Thai Academy at www.singto.co.uk
AMAZING THAILAND FESTIVAL 2007 Page 61
KAR003/06
Page 80 MUAY THAI RANKINGS
e Muaythai Onlings Independant British Rankin
ard Smith Compiled and administered by Dan Green and Rich www.muaythaionline.net To submit a fighter for the rankings please go to
MENS: Flyweight -52kg 1 Dale White Dean Whits Gym
Junior Middleweight -70kg 1 Peter Crooke Firewalker
Super Heavyweight +95kg 1 Gary Turner Farnborough
2 3 4 5
2 Kevin Harper 3 Dave Pacquette 4 Richard Fenwick 5 Richard Barnhill 6 Michael Wakeling 7 Craig Jose 8 Sean Wright 9 Wayne McCoy 10 James Jarvie
Super Gym KO Gym Keddles Super Gym Scorpions Sor Thanikul SMTC Nottingham Fighting Fit
2 Chris Knowles 3 Rob Lloyd 4 Alex Gould 5 James McSweeney 6 Rod Phillips 7 Craig Burke 8 Lukahz Lehman 9 Clive Allison 10 Liam Shore
Middleweight -72.5kg 1 Steven Wakeling
Scorpions
WOMENS: Junior Flyweight -50kg 1 Lisa Houghton-Smith Bad Company
Paulo Da Silva Robert Weir Dave Edwards No Nomination
Crawley Nai Khanom Tom Scotland Birmingham
Bantamweight -55kg 1 Damien Trainor 2 Andy Howson 3 Reece Crooke 4 Dean James 5 Liam Racktoo 6 James McGlone 7 Dean Hopkins 8 Daniel Brisset
Featherweight -57kg 1 Graeme Ness 2 3 4 5 6 7
John Dick Ranjit Dheer Stephen Holliday Siluan Zamgama Paul Timmins Dean Wheately
K-Star
Bad Company Leeds Pra Chao Sua Pra Chao Sua Dean Whites Gym Spirit Of Siam Panthanarasingh Trojan
Fighting Fit
East Area East Area Cambridge Free Fight Red Dragons Wicker Camp Keddles
Super Featherweight -59kg 1 Marc Brown Crawley 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mark Tim Gary O’Brien Jonathan Watt Davey MacIntosh Saab Singh Kevin Kovalic John Cassidy
SMTC Nai Khanom Tom Black Devils Caledonian Keddles Wutang Dean Whites Gym
2 Alex Dally 3 Daniel Hudson 4 Steven Jones 5 Phil McAlpine 6 Junior Herbert 7 Mark Beale 8 Jason Richards 9 Richard Jones 10 Eric Decarierre
Dragons Sheffield Beastmasters Bromley East Area Coventry K-Star Beastmasters Sitnarong
Super Middleweight -76kg 1 Jamie Crawford Northern Ireland 2 Colin Farricker 3 Mehdi 4 Gavin Sterrit 5 Paul Marut 6 Errol Tapper 7 Narinder Gill 8 Barry Denholme 9 Daz Jilali 10 Olly Watson
Kaobon Wicker Camp Warrington MT KO Gym Peacocks Gym East Area SMTC Beastmasters Minotaurs
Lightweight -61kg 1 Liam Harrison Bad Company Leeds
Light Heavyweight -79kg 1 Damian Hood Pra Chao Suua
2 Lee Colville 3 Dan Brown 4 Rob Storey| Keddles 5 Danny Taylor 6 Martin Shivnan 7 Wesley Smith 8 Peter Chung 9 Mark Grainger 10 Dave Fensom
2 3 4 5 6 7
Suprende Dean Whites Gym Crawley GFC Muaythai Wicker Camp Sortaskin Fighting Fit Woking
Junior Welterweight -63.5kg 1 Richard Cadden Bad Company Leeds 2 Imran Khan 3 Ashley Guishard 4 Mark Howie 5 Terry Anderson 6 Paul Young 7 Aaron Hain 8 Robert Burke 9 Matt Duncan 10 Aaron Winters
Welterweight -67kg 1 Kieran Keddle 2 Michael Dicks 3 Frankie Hudders 4 James France 5 Jordan Watson 6 Tim Thomas 7 Andy Thrasher 8 Guy Ramsey 9 Craig Shaw 10 Rab Burt
Wicker - Sheffield Beastmasters Darlington Darlington Dragons Fighting Fit SMTC Nai Khanom Tom Keddles
Keddles - Kent Darlington Franks Gym Bad Company Bad Company Bedford GFC Muaythai Caledonian Darlington Nai Khanom Tom
Colin Carson Rick Joseph Daniel Durick Steve Rodgerson James Robertson No Nomination
Scotland Kings Gym SMTC Sitnarong Crawley
2 Michelle Grizzle 3 Jaimie Rickets 4 Emma Armour 5 Julie Fleming 6 Sally Braddon 7 Ann Niven
Minotaurs Liverpool Woking TTM Bedford Bad Company Sor Thanikul Graitong Sitnarong
Master A Beastmasters Rage Bolton Bad Company, Leeds London Thai Fighters
Flyweight -52.5kg 1 Rachel Jones 2 Mary Hart 3 Michelle Preston 4 Jackie Short 5 Ruth Ashdown 6 Jane Stephenson 7 Michelle Guest 8 Charlotte Webster 9 Rosy Hayward 10 Christi Campbell
Bantamweight -55kg 1 Melissa Ray Nongkee Pahuyuth 2 Ruth Davies 3 Hilary Mack 4 Laura Craig 5 Catherine Carter 6 Nicola Simpson 7 Julie Elliot 8 Emily Cox 9 Kat Steele 10 Lisa Beeley
Super Light Heavyweight -82kg 1 Christian Di Paolo Wicker Camp
Featherweight -57kg 1 Bernise Alldis
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2 Rebecca Donnelly 3 Jenny Sawyer
Norman McKenzie Ross Parsons Daniel Paora Phil Titmus Hayden Scott Ian Coe No Nomination
Cruiserweight -86kg 1 Amir Subasic 2 Andre McIntyre 3 Dave McFarlane 4 J P Rooney 5 Phil Burke 6 No Nomination
Heavyweight -95kg 1 Duncan Airlie James 2 Chris Batchedor 3 Simon Demetrious 4 Dave McMahon 5 Leo Elenor 6 Dilian White 7 Tony Horbury
Strikeforce Wildkick KO Gym Trojan East Area Minotaurs
Luton 3D Gym SMTC Fighting Fit Nongkee Pahuyuth
Glasgow Woking Farnholme SMTC Minotaurs Red Dragons Bolton
Bradford Beastmasters Warrington KB Maryport Crawley Dragons Sitsiam Bad Company Diablo Saints
Saints Caledonian SMTC Dragons - Carlisle Golden Team Saints Phraya Pichai Sitnarong Beastmasters
Keddles Keddles Newbury
Super Featherweight -59kg 1 Gemma Coast
Stoke
2 No Nomination
Lightweight -61kg 1 Nicky Carter
Keddles
2 Roxanne Dean 3 Bonny
Tiger King Snipers
Junior Welterweight -63.5kg 1 Julie Kitchen Devon 2 3 4 5 6
Karla Hood Sheree Halliday Michelle Doig Lousie McLaughlin Claire Haigh
Welterweight -67kg 1 Helene Garnett 2 Isabella McCall 3 Zoe Mason
Pra Chao Suua Woking Fighting Fit Sit Ayuthaya Sitnarong
Wicker Camp Dragons Annan Touch Gloves
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KICKBOXING RANKINGS Page 81
KICKBOXING RANKINGS
Colin Payne, Neil Kelly and Mark Gibbs) (as of 1st November 2007) (Compiled by Carl Sams,
A debate was opened online recently in an attempt to establish the tricky situation at Lightweight. The mix of recent contests between John Eames, Mike Nudd and Rob Hingston have made it impossible to split them. There is a valid argument for each of them being at 2,3 or 4. Therefore the unusual step of 3 fighters rated at joint 2nd has been taken. It is our hope that negotiations will secure box offs between the rivals in order to establish the true order of merit over the coming months. On another note, we can look forward to more changes next month as information is being varified on several fighters who look to have retired or moved to predominantly another style. Please keep sending your information.
MENS: Super-bantamweight (55 kilos) 1. Sean Bowman (Touch Gloves) 2. Barry Lock (WUMA) 3. Keith Morris (Paragon) 4. Mel Dunthorne (Norwich)
Featherweight (57 kilos) 1. Paul Collins (Kash Gill Gym) 2. Wayne Quamina (Original Bulldog) 3. Sunny Hira (Kash Gill Gym) 4. Sean Bowman (Touch Gloves) 5.. Kalbir Singh (Leicester)
Super-Featherweight (59 Kilos) 1. Stacy Gosden (Pro-Am Brighton) 2. 3. 4. 5.
Sunny Hira (Kash Gill Gym) Ricky Glover (UKCBA) Frank Preston (TS Kickboxing) Gareth Mills (Norwich)
Lightweight (61.5 kilos) 1. Stacey Gosden (Pro-am Brighton) 2. 2. 2. 5. 6. 7.
Jon Eames (Aveley) Rob Hingston (Taurus) Mike Nudds (Touch Gloves) Elliott McFarrish (Pegasus) Richard Hines (Aveley) Simon Millward (SCDS)
Super-lightweight (63.5 kilos) 1 .Andy Burton (Sunderland) 2. Shawn Burton (Lincoln) (24-6) 3. Barinder Singh (Leicester) 4. Rhys Lilly (Wales) 5. Lee Hollingsworth (Nicholls) 6. Steve Jeavons (Wragsters) 7. Steve Granger (TS Kickboxing) 8. Daniel Scott (Cobra Notts) 9. Stuart Lawson (Paragon) 10. Dean Kelly (Bristol)
Super-welterweight (69 kilos) 1. George Pattison (Invicta KBC)
Super-cruiserweight(88.5kilos) 1. Wayne Turner
2. Grant Lawley (Kash Gill Gym) 3. Billy Gallop (Heathrow) 4. Ashley Gettings (Aveley) 5. Scott Rowley (Bulldog) 6. Daniel Flack (Ely) 7. Sean James (Bulldog Gym) 8. Kev Beckett (Fudoshin) 9. Chris Deakins 10. Aaron Robinson (Lincoln)
2. Paul Hill (WAMA)
Middleweight (72.5 kilos) 1. John Orchard (Bulldog Gym) 2. Fran Zucala (Wolverhampton) 3. Dean Sugden (Newark) 4. Chris McCartey (Middlesborough) 5. Jason Curtis (Jesters Gym) 6. Leiwa Boa (Peacock Gym) 7. Kade Sherlock 8. Trevor Soko (Bulldog) 9. Liam Cullen (Combat Kickboxing) 10. Ashley Gammon (St George)
Super-middleweight (75 kilos) 1. Brian Aston (ECKA) 2. Ryan Miller (Taurus) 3. Dale Wood (Derby) 4. Mark Elwood (Lincoln) 5. Dean Sugden (Newark) 6. David Lockood (Maltby) 7. Bertil Queeley (Bedford) 8. Daniel Webb (Kings Weymouth) 9. Chris Morgan (Russ Newton Gym) 10. John Smith (Pengelly)
Light-heavyweight (78.5 kilos) 1. Mike Wells (Bristol) 2. Mick Crossland (Dragonfoot) 3. Lee Whitfield (Bailang) 4. Jamie Bodkin (Cobra Gym) 5. Sam Lawlor (BMAC) 6. Andy Pollard (TS kickboxing) 7. Darren Trustrum (Pegasus) 8. Chris James (Bridgewater) 9. Karl Reid 10. James Sirman (Colchester)
Super light-heavyweight (82.5 kilos) 1. James Watling (Newcastle) 2. Luke Sines (Walton) 3. Jamie Norkett (Newark) 4. Amir Subasic (Storm) 5. Scott Gibson (SAMA) 6. Andrew Tate (Storm Gym) 7. Nigel Thomas (Storm) 8. Rob Taylor (Chris Sparkes Gym) 9. Ollie King (PUMA)
Welterweight (67 kilos) 1. Nick Gill (TS Kickboxing)
Cruiserweight(84.5kilos) 1. Marlon Hunt (BFKKO)
2. Steve Swinburn (Lincoln) 3. Lewis Patterson (Wales) 4. Jason Vasallo (Aveley) 5. Wes Fagan (Master Goffs) 6. Ryan Hamer (BFKKO) 7. Suky Shoria (TS kickboxing) 8. Michael Johnson (Spartans Sunderland) 9. Scott Taylor (Derby panthers) 10. Simon Okufu (Kash Gill Gym)
2. Amir Subassic (Storm) 3. John Zucala (Eclipse) 4. Ollie Green (Aveley) 5. Daniel Hughes (Scorpions Swindon) 6. Dorian O'Malley 7. Richard Jinks (Plymouth) 8. Lee Warwick 9. Ollie King (PUMA) 10. Gary Bettle (WAMA)
Super-heavyweight (91.5 kilos plus) 1.Rob Gledhill (Tornado Gym, Hull) 2. Kevin Smiles (Newcastle) 3. Adam Hart (Aveley) 4. Steve Jones (Liverpool) 5. Leon Saunders (Gladiators Nottingham) 6. Craig Copeland (Portsmouth) 7. James Richardson (SCDS) 8.Ceri Walker (Kings Tiger Weymouth) 9. Nasty Nasser (Kash Gill Gym) 10. Johnny Askey (Jesters) 11 Andy Costello 12.Keith Adams
WOMENS: Bantamweight 52 Kilos 1. Tiffany Williams (KICKS) 2. 3. 4. 5.
Nadia Grebe (Cobra Gym) Lisa Higo (TAMA) Bridie Murphy (Rotherham) Joss Agne (Bulldog)
Featherweight 56 Kilos 1. Tracy Reno (Heathrow) 2. Bridie Murphy (Rotherham) 3. Nadia Grebe (Cobra Gym) 4. Rachel Kirkhouse (Chris Sparks) 5. Emily Mason (Pegasus) 6. Vicki Ransom (TS KBC) 7. Jenny Carter (TS Kickboxing) 8. Carla Jessup (TKO) (4-3-1) 9. Martine Becque (SKA) 10. Zavina Vidale (Red Dragon) 11. Gez Wilson (KICKS) 12. Julie Tobin (Gatwick)
Lightweight 60 kilos 1. Natalie Bee (Mugendo) 2. Bonnie Webb (TKO 3. Emma Dove (Pro-am) 4. Catherine Brooks (Liverpool) 5. Anna Otterwell (Spartans) 6. Ashley Googe (Bridgewater) 7. Karen Meek (Bridgewater) 8. Amy Jeffries (Bridgewater) 9. Natasha Davies (Pro-am)
Super-lightweight 64 kilos 1. Julie Kitchen (Touch Gloves) 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Kerry Louise Norbury (BFKKO) Natalie Bee (Mugendo) Stacey Parker (TS Kickboxing) Zoe Mason (Touch Gloves) Mel Spicer (Canvey) Danielle Kudmany (Fulham Kickboxing)
Welterweight 68 Kilos 1. Rachel Ealey (John Shiels) 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Jenny Prowse (Bulldog Gym) Caroline Hageman (Phoenix) Kellie Murray (Leicester) Mel Spicer (Canvey) Karen Stokes (PUMA)
Super-welterweight 72 kilos 1. Rachel Rose (Jesters) 2. Laura Smith (Kash Gill Gym) 3. Danielle Goodyear (Black Country Combat)
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