Broughton Beats “Butterbean”; Galesic blasts Weir
Cage Rage “Fearless”
Pedro Wrobel Dec 11, 2006
LONDON, Dec. 9 — Whilst not delivering any real surprises, Cage
Rage’s most recent card did feature some entertaining match-ups, as
well as showcasing some exciting up-and-coming British-based
talent. It was also one fight short, due to one of the most bizarre
stories I've ever heard.
It appears that as he looked for a drink at 6 a.m. in the posh hotel at which the fighters were staying, Wesley Correira (Pictures) was set upon by one or more hoodlums and hit on the back of the head. Said hooligans stole Mr. Correira's wallet and left him with a serious enough concussion that he was unable to get medical clearance in order to fight Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures).
The main event of the evening was a comedic super heavyweight
affair that featured a clued-up Rob Broughton (Pictures) executing a perfect game plan to
leave a sluggish Eric Esch
(Pictures) with no option but to cut
short his punishment with a tap out.
Broughton, the Cage Rage British heavyweight champion, was never in any danger here. At a full 400 pounds, Esch was even heavier than usual and looked fatigued from his 50-yard walk to the cage. The contrast was total as Broughton was light on his feet, landing accurate shots and taking his immobile opponent down at will, punishing the beached whale with constant shots to the head.
Although this fight was far from a technical extravaganza it was nevertheless amusing and if the thunderous cheers were anything to go by, the fans enjoyed every second of it. The win does underline the seriousness of Broughton's challenge, and shows that the youngster from Liverpool does in fact mean business. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for him but on the evidence of his three fights for Cage Rage, Broughton looks like a man who possesses the talent and the skills to go far.
In the first of the two main events of the evening, Croatian sensation Zelg Galesic (Pictures) once again highlighted his class by obliterating British MMA pioneer Mark Weir (Pictures). This one was over in the proverbial heartbeat. A cautious beginning featuring both fighters circling the ring was interrupted by a sudden flurry of strikes from the Croatian, whose powerful and accurate shots dropped his rangy opponent to the canvas.
Quick as a flash, Galesic was on top of Weir, following up the knockdown with some brutal ground-and-pound that seemed to tear Weir's left eye apart. On seeing the damage, the referee intervened immediately, calling an end to the bout after a mere 50 seconds of combat.
With that win Galesic became the new Cage Rage British middleweight champion, and is starting to realize the shocking potential that everyone can see he has. A combination of smooth, graceful movement, lightning-quick and powerful strikes and a smooth ground game should make this youngster a fearsome competitor. Keep an eye on him — he'll go far.
A contrast of styles saw the technical ground game of Elvis Sinosic (Pictures) triumph over the brutal directness of Mark Epstein (Pictures). It wasn't as easy as some had predicted.
Sinosic was unable to outwrestle his stocky opponent in the early stages of the fight, which meant that the Australian had to trade strikes with his frightening opponent until he found an opening. This was all to Epstein's taste of course, and the Englishman's strikes opened a big cut on Sinosic's right cheek. Nevertheless the Australian persisted, finally getting his opening and taking his powerful opponent down.
Once on the floor, the "King of Rock and Rumble" transitioned smoothly to isolate an arm and force the tap from an armbar after 2:47 of the first round.
In the most technical fight of the night, Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) once again turned an MMA match into a grappling exhibition as he starred in a match that featured absolutely no striking. Ribeiro shot for a takedown almost immediately, not only taking Nakamura down but also taking his opponent's back in the process.
Nakamura maintained a grip on Ribeiro's arm, threatening a Kimura for a while before "Shaolin,” calm as always, freed himself. After that it was all on cruise control for the Brazilian, who turned a failed armbar into a Kimura and cranked it hard enough that Nakamura's arm almost turned 360 degrees.
Fearing a broken arm, the referee broke up the fight after 3:55 of the first round, much to Nakamura's bemusement. A collective gasp of shock was the crowd's reaction to a replay of the injury, and even the tough Japanese fighter later admitted that his arm "hurt a bit.”
The war between Paul Daley (Pictures) and Luiz Azeredo (Pictures) was the fight of the night, with both men leaving it all in the cage. The first round started with Azeredo and ended with Daley.
The Brazilian dominated initially, setting a fierce pace with his wild and aggressive striking that backed up the British youngster before he was put down. This was only a temporary setback for Daley, however, with the Brit fighting his way back to his feet and eventually finding his range.
Daley's striking looked crisper and more accurate than Azeredo's wild swings, forcing the Brazilian to seek a second takedown, with Daley once again fighting back to his feet after minimal damage. As the round ended Daley was on top, pressuring his fatigued opponent and landing heavy strikes.
The second act was more clear-cut as Azeredo, clearly unwilling to stand any longer with the explosive Englishman, took Daley to the floor, where he utilized a more conservative strategy to hold his opponent down and slowly wear him down with consistent punches.
Daley managed to work back to his feet, but each time Azeredo took a shot before Daley had much chance to find his rhythm. Despite some bizarre stand-ups from the referee — who was calling for "more action" the moment the fighters went down, and absurdly stood the fighters up whilst Azeredo was in full mount and punching Daley in the head — this round belonged to Azeredo.
The third round was much closer. Once again the early part of the round belonged to Azeredo, who methodically worked to take his opponent down, doing minimal damage before Daley either worked his way back to a standing position or was stood up by the enthusiastic referee. Daley edged out the second half of the round, doing enough damage on the feet to warrant serious consideration as a winner, despite Azeredo's eventual third takedown.
The final decision was awarded to Azeredo, and Sherdog.com cannot argue with that. However, it is worth commending the performance that Paul Daley (Pictures) put in. "Semtex" is still young, and he certainly did not look out of place in the cage against one of the best lightweight fighters on the planet. So again, this is yet another young prospect to keep your eye on.
It appears that as he looked for a drink at 6 a.m. in the posh hotel at which the fighters were staying, Wesley Correira (Pictures) was set upon by one or more hoodlums and hit on the back of the head. Said hooligans stole Mr. Correira's wallet and left him with a serious enough concussion that he was unable to get medical clearance in order to fight Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures).
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Broughton, the Cage Rage British heavyweight champion, was never in any danger here. At a full 400 pounds, Esch was even heavier than usual and looked fatigued from his 50-yard walk to the cage. The contrast was total as Broughton was light on his feet, landing accurate shots and taking his immobile opponent down at will, punishing the beached whale with constant shots to the head.
“Butterbean” took around four steps in the entirety of the bout,
and looked completely out of his depth. It was only his toughness
and the awkwardness of his body shape that kept him alive to see
the second round. By then the finish was never in doubt as
Broughton again took it to the canvas with a textbook ankle-pick
and proceeded to bash Esch on the noggin until the big American had
had enough and tapped out after 3:43 minutes of the second
round.
Although this fight was far from a technical extravaganza it was nevertheless amusing and if the thunderous cheers were anything to go by, the fans enjoyed every second of it. The win does underline the seriousness of Broughton's challenge, and shows that the youngster from Liverpool does in fact mean business. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for him but on the evidence of his three fights for Cage Rage, Broughton looks like a man who possesses the talent and the skills to go far.
In the first of the two main events of the evening, Croatian sensation Zelg Galesic (Pictures) once again highlighted his class by obliterating British MMA pioneer Mark Weir (Pictures). This one was over in the proverbial heartbeat. A cautious beginning featuring both fighters circling the ring was interrupted by a sudden flurry of strikes from the Croatian, whose powerful and accurate shots dropped his rangy opponent to the canvas.
Quick as a flash, Galesic was on top of Weir, following up the knockdown with some brutal ground-and-pound that seemed to tear Weir's left eye apart. On seeing the damage, the referee intervened immediately, calling an end to the bout after a mere 50 seconds of combat.
With that win Galesic became the new Cage Rage British middleweight champion, and is starting to realize the shocking potential that everyone can see he has. A combination of smooth, graceful movement, lightning-quick and powerful strikes and a smooth ground game should make this youngster a fearsome competitor. Keep an eye on him — he'll go far.
A contrast of styles saw the technical ground game of Elvis Sinosic (Pictures) triumph over the brutal directness of Mark Epstein (Pictures). It wasn't as easy as some had predicted.
Sinosic was unable to outwrestle his stocky opponent in the early stages of the fight, which meant that the Australian had to trade strikes with his frightening opponent until he found an opening. This was all to Epstein's taste of course, and the Englishman's strikes opened a big cut on Sinosic's right cheek. Nevertheless the Australian persisted, finally getting his opening and taking his powerful opponent down.
Once on the floor, the "King of Rock and Rumble" transitioned smoothly to isolate an arm and force the tap from an armbar after 2:47 of the first round.
In the most technical fight of the night, Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) once again turned an MMA match into a grappling exhibition as he starred in a match that featured absolutely no striking. Ribeiro shot for a takedown almost immediately, not only taking Nakamura down but also taking his opponent's back in the process.
Nakamura maintained a grip on Ribeiro's arm, threatening a Kimura for a while before "Shaolin,” calm as always, freed himself. After that it was all on cruise control for the Brazilian, who turned a failed armbar into a Kimura and cranked it hard enough that Nakamura's arm almost turned 360 degrees.
Fearing a broken arm, the referee broke up the fight after 3:55 of the first round, much to Nakamura's bemusement. A collective gasp of shock was the crowd's reaction to a replay of the injury, and even the tough Japanese fighter later admitted that his arm "hurt a bit.”
The war between Paul Daley (Pictures) and Luiz Azeredo (Pictures) was the fight of the night, with both men leaving it all in the cage. The first round started with Azeredo and ended with Daley.
The Brazilian dominated initially, setting a fierce pace with his wild and aggressive striking that backed up the British youngster before he was put down. This was only a temporary setback for Daley, however, with the Brit fighting his way back to his feet and eventually finding his range.
Daley's striking looked crisper and more accurate than Azeredo's wild swings, forcing the Brazilian to seek a second takedown, with Daley once again fighting back to his feet after minimal damage. As the round ended Daley was on top, pressuring his fatigued opponent and landing heavy strikes.
The second act was more clear-cut as Azeredo, clearly unwilling to stand any longer with the explosive Englishman, took Daley to the floor, where he utilized a more conservative strategy to hold his opponent down and slowly wear him down with consistent punches.
Daley managed to work back to his feet, but each time Azeredo took a shot before Daley had much chance to find his rhythm. Despite some bizarre stand-ups from the referee — who was calling for "more action" the moment the fighters went down, and absurdly stood the fighters up whilst Azeredo was in full mount and punching Daley in the head — this round belonged to Azeredo.
The third round was much closer. Once again the early part of the round belonged to Azeredo, who methodically worked to take his opponent down, doing minimal damage before Daley either worked his way back to a standing position or was stood up by the enthusiastic referee. Daley edged out the second half of the round, doing enough damage on the feet to warrant serious consideration as a winner, despite Azeredo's eventual third takedown.
The final decision was awarded to Azeredo, and Sherdog.com cannot argue with that. However, it is worth commending the performance that Paul Daley (Pictures) put in. "Semtex" is still young, and he certainly did not look out of place in the cage against one of the best lightweight fighters on the planet. So again, this is yet another young prospect to keep your eye on.
