Two matches for Cage Rage and two French opponents? Do the Cage Rage promoters dislike the French? Do they think it’s funny to feed our continental neighbors to the Brazilian smashing machine that is Renato “Babalu” Sobral? I know that Pierre Guillet is an excellent submission fighter and a highly regarded prospect. I know that he’s due a big, breakout fight, but I just don’t like this match-up for him. For his sake I hope I’m wrong, but it’d take a fool to pick against Babalu’s proven strength, experience and durability.
The match-up between Curtis Stout and Sol Gilbert will be intriguing. Gilbert is from the new breed of British fighters and he has proved himself on the UK MMA scene. It is about time he was given a “bigger” opponent, and Curtis Stout is a very good match-up. Stout clearly prefers the striking game, which may suit Gilbert and his boxing background. I think I would pick Stout if the two were really to slug it out, but I think Gilbert is the more versatile fighter, and I would hope that he would take advantage of his submissions knowledge to pull off the win.
The presence of Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos has been somewhat overshadowed by the announced appearance of his teammate, Wanderlei Silva, in his corner. The Brazilian brings some serious striking skills to the party, and his clash with Frenchman Antony Rea should make for interesting viewing. Despite having fought names like Rich Franklin and Matt Horwich, Rea still has a relatively low profile in the UK. I’m not sure which way it’ll go, but somebody’s going to get knocked out. I think it might be Rea.
The fight between Alex Reid and Jorge Rivera reads quite similar to the Stout-Gilbert clash, in the sense that we have another bright British middleweight hope against a “bigger” international name. I don’t like this fight for Reid. He’s a tough guy and an excellent striker with some slick ground skills, but I just think that Rivera is too strong, too savvy and too experienced.
The last-minute clash between Jean Silva and Leigh Remedios is intriguing—I’m very impressed with Remedios taking this fight. In doing so, he’ll be stepping up a weight category at extremely short notice, and with almost no time to prepare for a fighter who is not a bit like his previous opponent. There is also the X-factor surrounding their previous fight, at Cage Rage 5, which ended with Silva defeating Remedios with a highlight-reel style knockout kick. I know that Remedios wanted a rematch but I think this is too brave. Silva is on the cusp of something really, really big and, talented as he is, I just can’t see Remedios stopping him. Not with only a week to prepare. I just hope this doesn’t spoil Remedios’ shot at the featherweight title, which many see as his by right.
Mark Weir is not someone who needs an introduction. A UFC veteran, and holder of one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, Weir is known for the incredible speed of his strikes. He always starts a fight strongly, but will that be enough to swing this fight in his favor? Gabriel “Gladiator” Santos is a relative unknown, about whom I have not heard much beyond the fact that he likes to ground-and-pound. Weir has been exposed a little against strong wrestlers, but I feel that he has enough experience and ring-savvy to hold off the Brazilian’s challenge, despite the relative lack of preparation time.
The next fight I wanted to look at sees the return of Cage Rage’s very own villain, Jeremy “Bad Boy” Bailey. Bailey’s a strange character—outside the cage he’s actually a nice, funny guy. But for some reason, as soon as he steps inside the Cage, he becomes a bit of a moron. I mean this in the nicest possible way—he’s clearly a talented showman, but recent incidents with opponents Phil Gildea and Henrique “Lagartixa” Santana have marred his profile. The bottom line, though, is that he’s a character who sells well on television and whom the crowd love to hate and therefore it is not hard to understand why Cage Rage brought him back.
This Saturday will see Bailey face Turkish “Tai Chi” practitioner Sami Berik. Berik is being brought back on the strength of his performance against Abdul Mohammed at Cage Rage 9, where he spent the match being suplexed, slammed and dominated before managing to cut the muscular Mohammed with elbows from the bottom. The one thing that Berik proved to me was that he was tough, both mentally and physically. The same applies for Bailey, but I think the “Bad Boy” might have too much experience here. I’m picking Bailey to win by decision.
My final breakdown concerns the last minute match-up between James Zikic and Melvin Manhoef. This is a difficult one to visualize. Manhoef is a beast who is all about the striking—pretty much all of his fights end with someone unconscious. Zikic is a strange one. He has a background in boxing, and is one of those quiet, studious types who you always underestimate. Zikic has fought all over the world and has faced, and beaten, some good fighters. Aside from fights with Ronald Jhun, Nate Schroeder and Phillip Miller, Zikic also has draws against Jeremy Horn and new PRIDE sensation, Fabricio Werdum. That takes some doing. Zikic sometimes looks sluggish, but you can never question his heart or his skill and I have no intention of doing either. He’ll find a way.
Other fights
Another fighter worth keeping an eye out for is Andy “The Rock” Costello. I’m not shy about saying that there is a real dearth of talent in the UK MMA heavyweight ranks. We have some good fighters, but they are not that common, and unfortunately most heavyweight fights here tend to be tedious affairs. Costello, I’m hoping, is altogether a different beast.
The last time I saw him fight was against Marc Goddard at Cage Rage 6. Goddard is no slouch—a tough guy with good ground skills—but Costello made him look bad that night. It was a simple performance, ended with some brutal ground-and-pound, but it displayed speed, strength, accuracy and determination. Costello’s had some time off from the Cage, but if he’s been training hard then I predict not only a win, but a dominating performance.
As for the others, I’d be interested to see how Brad Pickett does against a tough and seasoned grappler. Freeborn has not got the best record, but he’s fought everyone and he’s usually competitive, so he’ll provide a good test for the hat-wearing boxer.
Final comment
Cage Rage 10 is at the Wembley Conference Centre on Saturday, February 26. I’ll be there to bring an exclusive report and photos to Sherdog as per usual. For those of you attending, I hope you enjoy the show and I’ll see you there.