"Anderson Elbow" Heralds New Era for Cage Rage
Cage Rage under card
Pedro Wrobel Apr 23, 2006
Cage Rage values entertainers. Someone who can cut promos like a
professional wrestler. Someone charismatic. Someone who can talk to
a crowd and inspire them with either love or passionate hatred.
That's one of the reasons why guys like Jeremy Bailey (Pictures) and Jason Barret keep coming back. The flaw with the aforementioned two is that they're just not great fighters and they don't seem to be improving all that much.
Brad Pickett (Pictures), on the other hand, is everything
that Cage Rage could wish for and more. He's entertaining in a
good, inoffensive way. He's young, hungry, tough, aggressive and
still visibly improving. This is a kid who seems to enjoy learning,
and who gets better every time you see him.
Tonight’s outing was no different, with SHOOTO veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Pictures) putting up a tough challenge but ultimately falling short of what was needed to defeat the little Englishman.
The second period was Picket's strongest as the boxer started to dominate the stand-up exchanges, scoring some good shots on Abe but nothing that put the tough Japanese down.
The majority of the final period belonged to Pickett as well, as the Japanese lightweight seemed to tire. Abe had his chances, jabbing well from the outside, but Pickett's tenacity saw him through to collect a unanimous decision from the judges, a victory that sees his nascent star continue to grow.
The consensus amongst fans following the clash between Gary Rawlings and Robert Berry (Pictures) was that Rawlings should probably spend some time on a sun bed.
Rawlings is big but Berry is a huge ask from a rookie and that's really all there is to say here. "Buzz" took Rawlings down and forced him to submit with a textbook keylock after just 47 seconds of the first round.
Mark Epstein (Pictures) loves a good tear up. The Londoner is already a legend amongst Cage Rage fans for his gutsy performances and refusal to back down from any fight.
Here he was facing young Ryan Robinson (Pictures), a man whom Epstein had already defeated once, back in 2003. Robinson put up a good show tonight, scoring some takedowns and doing a good job of shutting down Epstein's fearsome ground-and-pound game.
Unfortunately a lack of conditioning let the youngster down and as he tired Epstein flourished, wresting control of the fight from his opponent. The judges returned a majority decision in Epstein's favor.
The clash between Jeremy Bailey (Pictures) and Jason Barret left me with mixed feelings. Their promotional video was hilarious in its cheesiness, featuring the pair of them posing alongside fast cars and mouthing off about each other. The video explained, for example, how Jeremy "Bad Bob Marley" was going to get knocked out, and how "Gayson Barret" was also going to get knocked out. Furthermore, it should be noted that Mr. Bailey doesn't like Mr. Barret very much.
"I don't like him," Bailey explained. "I think he's a wanker." He is, however, willing to offer his opponent a job. "You can come and work for the Bad Boy, and I will rent out your bottom."
As entertaining as this all was, the event itself proved a big anti-climax. The fight could have been the sort of brawling slugfest that Cage Rage fans love if it wasn't for Barret's predilection for pulling his opponent's hair. Despite referee Grant Waterman's repeated warnings, Barret would not desist from this tactic and after Waterman had separated the two fighters for what seemed like the 30th time, Barret announced that he'd had enough of this, and wanted to take his ball home.
Bailey also had enough of this and punched Barret while the latter was talking to the referee. Things got out of hand but fortunately a long and cringe-worthy love-fest between both Bad People established that Barret hadn't disrespected Bailey's mother after all and they'd fight again at Cage Rage 17, unless Bailey could find a man from Japan to fight.
Seriously.
In the fastest fight of the night, Brazilian monster Edson Drago knocked out Georgian wrestler Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures) with just one huge left hook. The most impressive thing here was just how calculated Drago's movements were.
Tedoradze is a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion — a man whom few informed opponents approach lightly. Yet Drago closed the distance immediately, maintaining eye contact as Tedoradze threw a few wild shots. Only once the timing was perfect did Drago finally release his hands, a right that missed his opponent but found the range, and a crunching left hook that landed square on the Georgian's jaw and put him straight to sleep.
Tedoradze was out before he even hit the floor. Five seconds was all it took, and I'd love to see if he can repeat the feat.
Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) overcame a terrible piece of dubbing in his pre-fight interview (he was dubbed with an incomprehensible high-pitched female voice), as well as an early knockdown to comfortably defeat Michael Johnson.
Johnson, who looked much larger than his Japanese opponent, landed a good punch in the early moments of the first round, flooring Nakamura, who did a good job of instinctively tangling up his opponent until he could recover his senses.
Although the fighters did return to their feet it was only for a brief moment, until Nakamura could secure his opponent’s arm, an appendage that he did not release despite Johnson's roughhousing.
Keeping a tight grip of the arm was decisive as the Japanese eventually managed to twist his body and score a textbook Kimura from the bottom. Johnson tapped out after 1:54 of the first round.
Unfortunately the bout between Jess Liaudin (Pictures) and Gesias Calvancanti was cancelled after Jess Liaudin (Pictures) collapsed in his dressing room and was taken to hospital. Rumor was that he fainted after cutting too much weight, but this has not been confirmed.
In other action:
Mustafa Al Turk defeated Martin Thompson by referee stoppage due to ground-and-pound after 3:02 of the first round.
Mark Buchanan (Pictures) defeated Fereidhoun Nagizadeh by doctor stoppage after 2:04 of the second round.
That's one of the reasons why guys like Jeremy Bailey (Pictures) and Jason Barret keep coming back. The flaw with the aforementioned two is that they're just not great fighters and they don't seem to be improving all that much.
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Tonight’s outing was no different, with SHOOTO veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Pictures) putting up a tough challenge but ultimately falling short of what was needed to defeat the little Englishman.
This was a hard fight for Pickett, who struggled in the early part
of the first round before recovering and reversing his opponent,
finishing the round strongly.
The second period was Picket's strongest as the boxer started to dominate the stand-up exchanges, scoring some good shots on Abe but nothing that put the tough Japanese down.
The majority of the final period belonged to Pickett as well, as the Japanese lightweight seemed to tire. Abe had his chances, jabbing well from the outside, but Pickett's tenacity saw him through to collect a unanimous decision from the judges, a victory that sees his nascent star continue to grow.
The consensus amongst fans following the clash between Gary Rawlings and Robert Berry (Pictures) was that Rawlings should probably spend some time on a sun bed.
Rawlings is big but Berry is a huge ask from a rookie and that's really all there is to say here. "Buzz" took Rawlings down and forced him to submit with a textbook keylock after just 47 seconds of the first round.
Mark Epstein (Pictures) loves a good tear up. The Londoner is already a legend amongst Cage Rage fans for his gutsy performances and refusal to back down from any fight.
Here he was facing young Ryan Robinson (Pictures), a man whom Epstein had already defeated once, back in 2003. Robinson put up a good show tonight, scoring some takedowns and doing a good job of shutting down Epstein's fearsome ground-and-pound game.
Unfortunately a lack of conditioning let the youngster down and as he tired Epstein flourished, wresting control of the fight from his opponent. The judges returned a majority decision in Epstein's favor.
The clash between Jeremy Bailey (Pictures) and Jason Barret left me with mixed feelings. Their promotional video was hilarious in its cheesiness, featuring the pair of them posing alongside fast cars and mouthing off about each other. The video explained, for example, how Jeremy "Bad Bob Marley" was going to get knocked out, and how "Gayson Barret" was also going to get knocked out. Furthermore, it should be noted that Mr. Bailey doesn't like Mr. Barret very much.
"I don't like him," Bailey explained. "I think he's a wanker." He is, however, willing to offer his opponent a job. "You can come and work for the Bad Boy, and I will rent out your bottom."
As entertaining as this all was, the event itself proved a big anti-climax. The fight could have been the sort of brawling slugfest that Cage Rage fans love if it wasn't for Barret's predilection for pulling his opponent's hair. Despite referee Grant Waterman's repeated warnings, Barret would not desist from this tactic and after Waterman had separated the two fighters for what seemed like the 30th time, Barret announced that he'd had enough of this, and wanted to take his ball home.
Bailey also had enough of this and punched Barret while the latter was talking to the referee. Things got out of hand but fortunately a long and cringe-worthy love-fest between both Bad People established that Barret hadn't disrespected Bailey's mother after all and they'd fight again at Cage Rage 17, unless Bailey could find a man from Japan to fight.
Seriously.
In the fastest fight of the night, Brazilian monster Edson Drago knocked out Georgian wrestler Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures) with just one huge left hook. The most impressive thing here was just how calculated Drago's movements were.
Tedoradze is a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion — a man whom few informed opponents approach lightly. Yet Drago closed the distance immediately, maintaining eye contact as Tedoradze threw a few wild shots. Only once the timing was perfect did Drago finally release his hands, a right that missed his opponent but found the range, and a crunching left hook that landed square on the Georgian's jaw and put him straight to sleep.
Tedoradze was out before he even hit the floor. Five seconds was all it took, and I'd love to see if he can repeat the feat.
Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) overcame a terrible piece of dubbing in his pre-fight interview (he was dubbed with an incomprehensible high-pitched female voice), as well as an early knockdown to comfortably defeat Michael Johnson.
Johnson, who looked much larger than his Japanese opponent, landed a good punch in the early moments of the first round, flooring Nakamura, who did a good job of instinctively tangling up his opponent until he could recover his senses.
Although the fighters did return to their feet it was only for a brief moment, until Nakamura could secure his opponent’s arm, an appendage that he did not release despite Johnson's roughhousing.
Keeping a tight grip of the arm was decisive as the Japanese eventually managed to twist his body and score a textbook Kimura from the bottom. Johnson tapped out after 1:54 of the first round.
Unfortunately the bout between Jess Liaudin (Pictures) and Gesias Calvancanti was cancelled after Jess Liaudin (Pictures) collapsed in his dressing room and was taken to hospital. Rumor was that he fainted after cutting too much weight, but this has not been confirmed.
In other action:
Mustafa Al Turk defeated Martin Thompson by referee stoppage due to ground-and-pound after 3:02 of the first round.
Mark Buchanan (Pictures) defeated Fereidhoun Nagizadeh by doctor stoppage after 2:04 of the second round.
