Cage Rage: Manhoef Sends Freeman Out with a Bang
Under card bouts
Pedro Wrobel Jul 2, 2006
Abdul Mohammed seems a nice, sensible guy but if he keeps winning
undeserved decisions then his popularity is going to be under
serious pressure.
Having been granted a victory against Alexandre Izidro (Pictures) in what were criminal circumstances at Cage Rage 13, Mohamed eked out a victory against Izidro's compatriot Jean Silva (Pictures). It's hard to know how Mohamed won this one. Silva clearly controlled the first round, out-striking Mohamed in the early part of the round and sinking in a Kimura and a side choke towards the end of the round. Both submission attempts looked to have almost done the job but Mohamed did extremely well to gut them out and escape.
The second and third rounds were more difficult to gauge, as a
revived Mohamed showed himself capable of taking Silva down at
will, even though the wrestler was a little unsure of how he could
finish the Brazilian.
Silva clearly won the first round but the second and third could have gone either way. It's not utterly unreasonable to award the decision to Mohamed but I personally had it as 29-28 to Silva, with the Brazilian losing the last round. That said, it seemed like Silva was actually trying to finish the fight, whereas Mohamed got a lot of takedowns but that was it, really. The crowd showed their displeasure at the decision, booing as soon as it was announced.
The first round was fought almost entirely on the feet, with a tense stand-up exchange ending up with both fighters getting rocked. Mason was staggered first, from a Daley jab, but recovered quickly. A left hook by Daley led to a second wobble from Mason, but he recovered well to land a heavy right hook of his own that put Daley down on the mat.
Having had enough of the stand-up, Daley changed tactics and came out in the second round with a takedown that brought Mason to the canvas. The Nottingham-based fighter seemed to have woken up suddenly, and his impressively heavy ground and pound seemed to suck a lot of life from Mason, as well as leaving his face swollen and bruised.
The third stanza was slightly more even but again Daley's takedowns were the main feature and it was this, along with the associated damage evident on Mason's face, that granted Daley the victory by unanimous decision.
In the first upset of the night, veteran Phil Norman (Pictures) outlasted David Bielkheden en route to a unanimous decision. The lean, rangy Norman had a clear advantage whilst standing, producing the quicker, crisper shots, and using his range to frustrate his heavy-set Swedish opponent.
Norman rocked Bielkheden a couple of times in the round, the highlight of which was when he slipped a takedown attempt and kicked a charging Bielkheden in the head. Bielkheden finished the round well, scoring a takedown, and then a transitioning from a Kimura to an armbar, but the bell sounded before he could fully extend Norman's arm.
Bielkheden's gas tank was completely empty by the end of the first round, and for the remaining two rounds he had enough to score a takedown but that was it. The pace of the fight slowed to a crawl. Norman attacked from every position, as Bielkheden remained stationary in the top position and just soaked up the shots.
The only time the Swede came close to finishing the fight was in the second round when, having been dropped by a high kick from Norman, he suddenly secured a tight triangle as the Englishman followed up. Norman wouldn't tap, but Bielkheden nevertheless released the hold after a minute or so, claiming that his opponent had submitted.
Referee Grant Waterman would have none of it, though, restarting the fighters standing and warning Bielkheden that he should stop only if the referee stops him. Since no tap was observed, and no instruction to stop had been received from the referee, the fight was allowed to continue and Bielkheden spent the rest of it stalling, en route to a loss by unanimous decision.
Robbie Olivier (Pictures) refused to be denied his chance of a title-shot against Brad Pickett (Pictures), and Mark Chen was the unfortunate standing in his path. Olivier was never in danger in this clash, using his slick grappling skills to overwhelm Chen, forcing a tapout from a rear-naked choke after 3:11 of the first round.
In the opening bout of the night, Dean Bray (Pictures) surprised a few people by making short work of powerhouse Darren Geisha. After suffering an early takedown, Bray swept his opponent and worked to take his back before forcing a tap from a rear-naked choke after 3:03 of the first round.
Having been granted a victory against Alexandre Izidro (Pictures) in what were criminal circumstances at Cage Rage 13, Mohamed eked out a victory against Izidro's compatriot Jean Silva (Pictures). It's hard to know how Mohamed won this one. Silva clearly controlled the first round, out-striking Mohamed in the early part of the round and sinking in a Kimura and a side choke towards the end of the round. Both submission attempts looked to have almost done the job but Mohamed did extremely well to gut them out and escape.
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Silva clearly won the first round but the second and third could have gone either way. It's not utterly unreasonable to award the decision to Mohamed but I personally had it as 29-28 to Silva, with the Brazilian losing the last round. That said, it seemed like Silva was actually trying to finish the fight, whereas Mohamed got a lot of takedowns but that was it, really. The crowd showed their displeasure at the decision, booing as soon as it was announced.
Paul Daley (Pictures) has had a bite at the British
welterweight title before, but a draw with Paul Jenkins (Pictures) last year at Cage Rage 11 failed
to convince anyone that he was ready. This time Daley was to leave
nothing in doubt as he overcame a slow start to dominate against a
tough Ross Mason
(Pictures).
The first round was fought almost entirely on the feet, with a tense stand-up exchange ending up with both fighters getting rocked. Mason was staggered first, from a Daley jab, but recovered quickly. A left hook by Daley led to a second wobble from Mason, but he recovered well to land a heavy right hook of his own that put Daley down on the mat.
Having had enough of the stand-up, Daley changed tactics and came out in the second round with a takedown that brought Mason to the canvas. The Nottingham-based fighter seemed to have woken up suddenly, and his impressively heavy ground and pound seemed to suck a lot of life from Mason, as well as leaving his face swollen and bruised.
The third stanza was slightly more even but again Daley's takedowns were the main feature and it was this, along with the associated damage evident on Mason's face, that granted Daley the victory by unanimous decision.
In the first upset of the night, veteran Phil Norman (Pictures) outlasted David Bielkheden en route to a unanimous decision. The lean, rangy Norman had a clear advantage whilst standing, producing the quicker, crisper shots, and using his range to frustrate his heavy-set Swedish opponent.
Norman rocked Bielkheden a couple of times in the round, the highlight of which was when he slipped a takedown attempt and kicked a charging Bielkheden in the head. Bielkheden finished the round well, scoring a takedown, and then a transitioning from a Kimura to an armbar, but the bell sounded before he could fully extend Norman's arm.
Bielkheden's gas tank was completely empty by the end of the first round, and for the remaining two rounds he had enough to score a takedown but that was it. The pace of the fight slowed to a crawl. Norman attacked from every position, as Bielkheden remained stationary in the top position and just soaked up the shots.
The only time the Swede came close to finishing the fight was in the second round when, having been dropped by a high kick from Norman, he suddenly secured a tight triangle as the Englishman followed up. Norman wouldn't tap, but Bielkheden nevertheless released the hold after a minute or so, claiming that his opponent had submitted.
Referee Grant Waterman would have none of it, though, restarting the fighters standing and warning Bielkheden that he should stop only if the referee stops him. Since no tap was observed, and no instruction to stop had been received from the referee, the fight was allowed to continue and Bielkheden spent the rest of it stalling, en route to a loss by unanimous decision.
Robbie Olivier (Pictures) refused to be denied his chance of a title-shot against Brad Pickett (Pictures), and Mark Chen was the unfortunate standing in his path. Olivier was never in danger in this clash, using his slick grappling skills to overwhelm Chen, forcing a tapout from a rear-naked choke after 3:11 of the first round.
In the opening bout of the night, Dean Bray (Pictures) surprised a few people by making short work of powerhouse Darren Geisha. After suffering an early takedown, Bray swept his opponent and worked to take his back before forcing a tap from a rear-naked choke after 3:03 of the first round.
