Struve Slick in Submission Win at Cage Gladiators
Nov 5, 2007
LIVERPOOL, England, Nov. 4 -- In the main event of Cage Gladiators
5, Stefan "The Skyscraper" Struve stunned the packed house into
silence with a very impressive first-round submission over local
fighter Tom Blackledge
(Pictures).
Blackledge started well, scooping up the tall Dutchman and slamming him hard onto the mat. But immediately the Wolfslair representative found himself under pressure as the Bob Schrijber (Pictures)-trained Struve eagerly pursued a tight guillotine choke.
Blackledge battled his way out of trouble, only to get caught soon
after in another slick submission attempt when his foe tangled him
up in a triangle choke.
The Brit seemed close to punching his way out of trouble. Yet as he struggled, the wily Struve adjusted his weight to apply a much tighter triangle, forcing the tap at 2:14.
Ojugbana showed some fast kicks in the early stages of the bout and continually surged forward at the Welsh veteran with punches. Jenkins, however, had seen it all before. He slipped most of the shots and scored with some brutally heavy low kicks. Then, after eating several hard knees to the face, Jenkins clung on to deliver a stream of damaging body shots in the clinch.
The close and entertaining contest was declared a majority draw, leaving the title unclaimed for now and no doubt raising the interest of many U.K. fighters in the stacked welterweight division.
The tall and rangy Kev Axworthy showed some extremely impressive low kicks while making an instant impression on opponent Paul Tabern. Forced to take the marauding Thai boxer to the floor, Tabern controlled the fight on the ground, punching his way back into the contest.
However, 13 seconds into the second round, another lurching takedown attempt from Tabern was met with a vicious knee. The blow sent him crashing to the canvas face first, sealing a sudden and dramatic win for the jubilant Axworthy.
In a harsh standup war, the Wolfslair's Gary Kelly showed some crisp counterpunching in laying waste to the powerful and determined Shergul Mohamed.
Mohamed was clearly dangerous, but he was made to pay for the majority of his attacks. Kelly kept his head, boxing intelligently behind some quick combinations. At the close of the second round, Mohamed's eye had swollen shut, and his corner correctly pulled him out of the contest to save him from further damage.
Paul Sass put on an impressive jiu-jitsu display by submitting Steve Warris midway through the first round. Sass gave up position early in the fight to pursue an ill-fated guillotine attempt. From his back, though, he looked equally tricky as he stifled Warris' top game and caught him in a triangle choke for the win.
In an always hotly disputed Liverpool-versus-Manchester encounter, Lee Chadwick and Chris Ram stood toe-to-toe, swinging with vicious intent for much of their bitter turf war. After some shocking exchanges, Ram took the Next Generation fighter to the floor and continued with his raw, violent game plan.
Chadwick somehow managed to remain composed under fire. He eventually made enough space to regain his feet and turn the tables on his opponent. After a scramble for position, Chadwick then seized control of the Moss Side fighter's back and sunk the choke for a hard-earned win.
UFR toughman Greg Loughran (Pictures) survived two accidental eye gouges to maintain control of his bout with the dangerous Daniel "Denzil" Thomas. The entertaining contest saw both fighters land an array of strikes on their feet before Loughran pushed ahead on the scorecards with his solid grappling and ground-and-pound to claim the unanimous decision.
Next Generation fighter Mark Scanlon gave Kevin Reed a painful night. Scanlon pounded the Welshman on the ground with spiteful elbows, opening a nasty cut on his forehead.
Judged able to continue after a brief doctor's inspection, Reed's discomfort was soon intensified by a deep and injurious armbar by Scanlon that sealed the win for the local fighter.
In what must have been a daunting experience for the youngsters, 14-year-old Sam Halliday and the Wolfslair's youngest product, Jack McGann, fought their hearts out in a junior MMA contest under amateur rules. It was slightly bizarre to see such young pugilists in action, but the pair put on a genuinely impressive display of skill and determination until Halliday ensnared his counterpart in a straight armbar for the win in just more than two minutes.
In other undercard action, Craig Payne landed the perfect right hand on Richie Downes to put him out of action. Unfortunately for Payne, the punch landed just after the horn had sounded to end the second round, and the bout was declared a no contest.
Danny Withington, another local fighter, submitted late-replacement Chris Clements (Pictures) with a guillotine.
Blackledge started well, scooping up the tall Dutchman and slamming him hard onto the mat. But immediately the Wolfslair representative found himself under pressure as the Bob Schrijber (Pictures)-trained Struve eagerly pursued a tight guillotine choke.
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The Brit seemed close to punching his way out of trouble. Yet as he struggled, the wily Struve adjusted his weight to apply a much tighter triangle, forcing the tap at 2:14.
Two of the U.K.'s most noted entertainers, Paul "Hands of Stone"
Jenkins and Les "Hollywood" Ojugbana battled for the vacant Cage
Gladiators welterweight title in a good-tempered but hard-fought
encounter.
Ojugbana showed some fast kicks in the early stages of the bout and continually surged forward at the Welsh veteran with punches. Jenkins, however, had seen it all before. He slipped most of the shots and scored with some brutally heavy low kicks. Then, after eating several hard knees to the face, Jenkins clung on to deliver a stream of damaging body shots in the clinch.
The close and entertaining contest was declared a majority draw, leaving the title unclaimed for now and no doubt raising the interest of many U.K. fighters in the stacked welterweight division.
The tall and rangy Kev Axworthy showed some extremely impressive low kicks while making an instant impression on opponent Paul Tabern. Forced to take the marauding Thai boxer to the floor, Tabern controlled the fight on the ground, punching his way back into the contest.
However, 13 seconds into the second round, another lurching takedown attempt from Tabern was met with a vicious knee. The blow sent him crashing to the canvas face first, sealing a sudden and dramatic win for the jubilant Axworthy.
In a harsh standup war, the Wolfslair's Gary Kelly showed some crisp counterpunching in laying waste to the powerful and determined Shergul Mohamed.
Mohamed was clearly dangerous, but he was made to pay for the majority of his attacks. Kelly kept his head, boxing intelligently behind some quick combinations. At the close of the second round, Mohamed's eye had swollen shut, and his corner correctly pulled him out of the contest to save him from further damage.
Paul Sass put on an impressive jiu-jitsu display by submitting Steve Warris midway through the first round. Sass gave up position early in the fight to pursue an ill-fated guillotine attempt. From his back, though, he looked equally tricky as he stifled Warris' top game and caught him in a triangle choke for the win.
In an always hotly disputed Liverpool-versus-Manchester encounter, Lee Chadwick and Chris Ram stood toe-to-toe, swinging with vicious intent for much of their bitter turf war. After some shocking exchanges, Ram took the Next Generation fighter to the floor and continued with his raw, violent game plan.
Chadwick somehow managed to remain composed under fire. He eventually made enough space to regain his feet and turn the tables on his opponent. After a scramble for position, Chadwick then seized control of the Moss Side fighter's back and sunk the choke for a hard-earned win.
UFR toughman Greg Loughran (Pictures) survived two accidental eye gouges to maintain control of his bout with the dangerous Daniel "Denzil" Thomas. The entertaining contest saw both fighters land an array of strikes on their feet before Loughran pushed ahead on the scorecards with his solid grappling and ground-and-pound to claim the unanimous decision.
Next Generation fighter Mark Scanlon gave Kevin Reed a painful night. Scanlon pounded the Welshman on the ground with spiteful elbows, opening a nasty cut on his forehead.
Judged able to continue after a brief doctor's inspection, Reed's discomfort was soon intensified by a deep and injurious armbar by Scanlon that sealed the win for the local fighter.
In what must have been a daunting experience for the youngsters, 14-year-old Sam Halliday and the Wolfslair's youngest product, Jack McGann, fought their hearts out in a junior MMA contest under amateur rules. It was slightly bizarre to see such young pugilists in action, but the pair put on a genuinely impressive display of skill and determination until Halliday ensnared his counterpart in a straight armbar for the win in just more than two minutes.
In other undercard action, Craig Payne landed the perfect right hand on Richie Downes to put him out of action. Unfortunately for Payne, the punch landed just after the horn had sounded to end the second round, and the bout was declared a no contest.
Danny Withington, another local fighter, submitted late-replacement Chris Clements (Pictures) with a guillotine.
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