CageWarriors: Ultimate Force
Had this not been on the same day as Cage Rage, I'd have cheerfully made the long journey up there myself, but as it is, I'm probably going to have to send along a hapless associate. Still, that shouldn't trouble anyone particularly — I'm still going to give you the benefit of my learning and wisdom through this very column. There, don't you feel privileged?
As it happens, the Ultimate Force event has only publicly confirmed their five main fights. I'm awaiting confirmation on the other fights, but in the meantime I'll look at the five announced ones in turn.
The most high profile fight at CW: UF is the rematch between Jeff "The Snowman" Monson and UK-based Georgian, Tengiz Tedoradze — one of the top heavyweights in the UK. The last time these two big boys clashed, things seemed to be going well for Tedoradze as he scored a big suplex early against Monson. However, the American grappler managed to exchange adversity for victory as he outclassed Tedoradze on the floor en route to a first round win by rear naked choke.
Will Tengiz be able to turn things around this time? He could but I think it'd take a brave man to side with the two-time world Greco-Roman champion. Monson's been the more active fighter and despite Tedoradze's extra work at the gym, I won't be surprised to see Monson's arm raised in victory, probably by submission in the second round.
Michael "The Count" Bisping takes on Dave Radford, a former professional boxer, in the latter's MMA debut. On paper, this looks like a clear mismatch. Word from Radford's camp is that he's training hard, working on his groundwork and general MMA skills, and that he's confident about the fight. That's all very nice and dandy, but Bisping is not just some guy off the street. The Cage Rage British light heavyweight champion is a skilled MMA practitioner, a young guy with good physical attributes who is still unbeaten.
The fact that Radford, the beginner, is the wrong side of 30 won't help him either. The only bright spark as far as Radford is concerned is Bisping's propensity towards striking. If Bisping keeps it on the feet too long then Radford's boxing skills will give him a puncher's chance but Bisping is not stupid. I can't see this going any other way — Bisping will take a stoppage in the first round, probably from strikes on the ground.
In a clash between relative up'n'comers Alex Owen takes on Danny Batten. I say "relative" up'n'comers because both of these guys have been around the metaphorical block a few times, although neither has yet registered as having "made it" to the top tier in the UK. A win here should help.
Batten's been fighting since 2000, taking on the toughest and best that the UK's had to offer, as well as traveling to Japan to compete at ZST 3 in 2003. A BJJ specialist, Batten also has a decent striking game, which will be his major advantage over the ground specialist, Owen. Owen is undefeated as a professional at 6-0 (the Sherdog.com Fight Finder records six wins, which were actually at semi-pro), but the feeling is that he's almost there, rather than there already.
Despite what the records indicate, I don't think Owen will win this. As I said, these are both good ground fighters but I feel that Batten will have the edge on their feet which will allow him to control the pace en route to a victory by decision.
The battle between Ian "Mongoose" Jones and Michael Holmes, two young fighters looking to further establish themselves on the MMA scene, is an interesting one. Jones is well-rounded fighter possessed of an excellent submission game and some crisp striking skills, as befits his Muay Thai background. Holmes is a heavy hitter with some brutal ground-and-pound capabilities.
In terms of how they match up, this is a story of common opponents. In this case Chris Rice is the common theme. Whereas Jones dispatched Rice with a rear-naked choke, Rice’s crisp, accurate striking stopped Holmes. I think this'll go the same way, with Jones pulling out the win by submission. If Holmes wins, it'll be a one-punch knockout. I'll back Jones to score the sub in the third round.
The final announced match-up is the clash between Dave Roche and Alexandre "Xandinho" Izidro. I actually think that this is the most interesting match on the card. On the one hand we have Dave Roche, the very epitome of the unanswered riddle. Here is a man who insiders have been raving about for as long as I can remember. Roche has been tipped as the finished article — a guy who can win standing, clinching or on the floor. Roche is also the most unlucky man in the UK, with car accidents, nuclear war and acts of God all causing him to miss various engagements in the cage. Facing this man is "Xandinho," a BJJ black belt fighting out of the Ze Marcello/BTT camp.
Izidro's strengths are obvious — he's an excellent submissions guy. There are question marks over Izidro's stand-up but there is no question over his savvy. This is the time for Roche to answer the big question. Is he really that good? He'd better be, or this will be an extremely short night for him. And just to make things interesting, I'll pick Izidro by sub in the second.
And finally...
Paul "Semtex" Daley, Dave Roche and Ian "Mongoose" Jones are set to solidify their standing as international contenders by competing at the European Vale Tudo 2005 Grand Prix on October 18 in Stockholm, Sweden. EVT will be holding four 4-man tournaments on the same day, featuring some of the best fighters in Europe. Tournaments will be held at 70-kg, 76-kg, 83-kg and 91-kg. Other recognizable names competing will be French fighters Mohamed Khacha, Cyril Diabate and Samy Schiavo, as well as the Norwegian, Thomas Hytten. This is going to be one hell of an event. … Ian Freeman will be the referee on the new ITV1 series, "Celebrity Wrestling." This will feature "celebrities" such as Annabel Croft (tennis player), Iwan Thomas (Olympic athlete), Jeff Brazier (TV presenter), Mark Speight (children's TV artist) and Michelle Heaton (from rubbish pop band Liberty X). The show starts on Saturday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m. on ITV1 with presenter Kate Thornton and then on ITV2 at 7:45 with Jack Osborne. … The Ultimate Fighter has not, ultimately, passed the UK by. Bravo has purchased the series and will be showing it in May.