Cage Wars 9: Staredown (3/9/2008)

Unbelievably, this show that somehow had not seen the light of day before finally makes TV. And what a show it is: Dan Severn is in the main event fighting Colin Robinson. Along with him, other Cage Wars vets like Lee McKibben, Daniel Abrol, and several others.

1) Daniel Abrol vs. Danny Van Bergen: Van Bergen is a european journeyman I'm familiar with from watching M-1. Abrol I've seen fight repeatedly in Cage Wars, and he's almost never very good.

FIGHT: Van Bergen Submission Rnd 1. KOTC special as VB closes distance, gets a big takedown, and works for a kimura. (0)

2) Tom Ahrens vs. Peter Duncan: Duncan sucks but at least puts on a good show. Ahrens defines journeyman and is from the US.

FIGHT: Duncan Unanimous Decision. I feel truly bad trying to give any sort of reasonable breakdown because I didn't pay a ton of attention to this, perhaps the most irrelevant of fights. But it wasn't too bad from what I saw - Ahrens won the first with takedowns and control, but gassed out in the second, was swept by Duncan, and basically Duncan ran shit from there. He bashed up Ahrens with some punches and knees in the third round while also nullifying any sort of offense when stuck on his back, and so he wins the fight. Like I said before about Duncan; not very good, but you like to watch him anyways. (0)

4) Tim Estes vs. Chris Stringer: Estes looks so ridiculously young.

FIGHT: Stringer Unanimous Decision. Again, another fight I tried to pay attention to and couldn't. Estes gets taken down repeatedly and beaten up on the feet, loses every round, and drops a decision. Estes does nothing to threaten Stringer from his back, so the fight is kinda a wash. (0)

5) Lee McKibbin vs. James Head: McKibbin is a guy who does a lot of things not too special, and Head is a guy from the US that looks a lot bigger.

FIGHT: Head Submission Rnd 2. Head gets down McKibbin in the first and does a decent amount of work there. Standing, both guys are hella wild. Second round sees Head being buzzed with a punch, being on his back, and he works for a triangle that he sorta sets up and takes his time with. He gets it though, and that's all that matters. (0)

6) Jimmy Mills vs. Michael Nichol: Mills has a decent overall record and hails from the US. Nichols I know has some sort of grappling background.

FIGHT: Mills Submission Rnd 1. North/South choke ends this after he takes down Nichol very early in the fight and lands a few shots. Its called an anaconda choke, but its clearly not. (0)

7) Colin Robinson vs. Dan Severn: Severn is, at this point, 49 I believe. Robinson had a chance in the UFC that did not go well.

FIGHT: Dan Severn Unanimous Decision. Horrible Dan Severn fight as they all are - he shoots in on Robinson who can't stop the double and can't do anything off his back. Meanwhile, Severn sits in half guard and does nothing round after round. Robinson may have actually won the first landing some punches standing and having Severn in trouble but gave up the second and third. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Ahrens/Duncan

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Mills/Nichol

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3.5 out of 10. Another lousy Cage Wars show. At leat I can say I've seen more than half of them.

D&R Rating: 6% (2/35)

Cage Wars 12: Nightmare (11/29/2009)

Graham Little and Jude Samuels are the chief commentators, with Jay Adams along on site for moral support (I think). This is an event review I've been dreading with good reason - its across 3 hours of TV, features no good fights, and really only one passable present day fighter in Rich Clementi. Clementi fights Chris Stringer - why? Don't know. Also, John Lober! The event is being held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and it looks to perhaps be the last CFC show. Ever.

1) Radek Rychlack vs. Ryan Boyd: Heavyweights. Boyd is wearing a rashguard and pudgy.

FIGHT: Rychlach Submission Rnd 2. Sloppy striking everywhere, Boyd gasses in the first, and then its a slow crawl till we get a finish. Boyd finally ends up on the mat on his back and is subject to a couple keylock attempts then a RNC. Lousy to watch. (0)

2) Colin Neeson vs. Jonny McGillion: More Irish fighters at 145.

FIGHT: Neeson Split Decision. I didn't pay that much attention to this, to be honest. A lot of the fight had Neeson on the mat on top banging on McGillion. Standing it was pretty even with lots of robot arm punching. Its tough to care when neither guy is going anywhere ever. McGillion had a small gastank as well.(0)

3) Ali Maclean vs. Julien Dennis: Maclean is a CFC regular. Dennis is from France, and so I would guess he does judo and sucks. Not an indictment on judo though, for reals. Just french judoka in MMA.

FIGHT: Maclean Submission Rnd 1. Easy fight as MacLean drops Dennis early with wild strikes, and ends up locking up a d'arce after beating on Dennis awhile. He was setting up the choke for like 20 seconds. (0)

4) Ben Boekee vs. Hugh Brady: Holland vs. Ireland. Boekee is supposedly 6-0.

FIGHT: Boekee Split Decision. This can be summed up as being the most basic kind of ground battle: One guy (Brady) is a big bruiser who likes top control and prefers to ground and pound. Doesn't even care to pass or anything. The other (Boekee) has long legs and will throw submissions till the cows come home. The end result is a 3 round exciting fight between two guys not really going anywhere ever but that entertains. Boekee eats huge punches at times while Brady powers out of armbars and triangles and heel hooks all sorts of submission attempts time and time again, no matter how "done" the fight seems. (1)

5) Jorde Peute vs. Neil Seery: Holland vs. Ireland, take two. Featherweights. Peute is THE SUBMISSION WIZARD.

FIGHT: Peute Submission Rnd 2. Same exact style of fight as the preceding one. EXACTLY. Peute is a submission guy and Seery is the top control grappler trying to land shots and not get caught. Seery actually rolls Peute late in round 1 and seems to be instituting his game plan and rolling towards a win, but when the round ends, his chances are gone with them. Peute drops for a leg lock at the very start of round 2 and gets a kneebar. (0)

6) Daniel Thomas vs. Duane Van Helvoirt: Lightweights, never heard of either.

FIGHT: Thomas Submission Rnd 2.(0)

Thomas: You can't hate the guillotine he wins with too much. And yet, when he first pulls guard with it in round 1, he ends up having it escaped out of and he is immediately mounted. And then nearly triangled. Nonexistent standup. Top control grappler with not much skill.

Van Helvoirt: Gassed 2 minutes in because he had so much nervous energy. Falls into a guillotine early in the second round after nearly being tapped with one in the first round. As a submission guy, he should recognize this. Does he? Well, no. He adjusts a little by trying to pull guard rather than shoot and get caught in another one, but inevitably he goes to the clinch, and another guillotine beats him.

7) Colin McKee vs. Neydson Santos Ferriera: McKee I've liked. His opponent is an old BJJ guy. Apparently McKee was supposed to fight Che Mills, and this is a late replacement.

FIGHT: McKee TKO Rnd 1. (1) Ferriera comes out swinging and tries to surprise McKee, but its to no use. After some sustained hugging on the cage, Ferriera is arm weary and tired. More clinching and dirty boxing, then its knees and Ferriera is in trouble. A flurry of shots end the fight. Easy fight, honestly.

8) Lee McKibbin vs. John Lober: Irish dude fights old journeyman 13 years past his best. Amazing.

FIGHT: McKibbin Submission Rnd 1. Lober's leg is swept out by a low kick and he rushes to clinch. McKibbin sets up a guillotine for about 20 seconds and Lober just keeps trying to stick his head under the armpit. Easy win. (1)

9) Chris Stringer vs. Rich Clementi: Enormous gap between who Stringer has faced and who Clementi is. Stringer has poor submission defense, an admitted flaw say the announcers. Uhhhh.....

FIGHT: Clementi Submission Rnd 2. (1) This is one of the most brutal embarassments in a ring that I can remember. Up there with Roy Jones/Jeff Lacy. I mean, Clementi gets taken down off a kick and then almost immediately sweeps Stringer and goes to mount, then starts mugging and throwing elbows. He trashes Stringer with hard elbows as he applies the triangle from mount. Incredibly easy stuff.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Boekee/Brady

KO OF THE NIGHT: McKee/Ferreria

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Peute/Serry

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Impossibly long, tons of commercials, lots of lousy fights with a couple surreal moments mixed in.

D&R Rating: 9% (4/45)

Cage Wars 6 (4/21/2007)

Okay, this is out of order, but I can only watch 'em as they're shown. Main event features Jason Jones of M-1 fame, and this eminates from Kings Hall in Belfast, a famous sports venue.

1) Ciaran Kelly vs. Paddi Dixon: Amateur bout? Maybe?

FIGHT: Kelly Submission Rnd 2 (0)

Kelly: Sloppy dude in terms of technique, but proves that even a rudimentary takedown in UK MMA is massively effective. Drubbing punches that are all arm.

Dixon: Tough and game, but no apparent training in any aspect of MMA. More or less a brawler.

2) Johnny Deehan vs. Michael Nichol: Light heavyweights.

FIGHT: Nichol Submission Rnd 1 (0)

Nichols: One of these guys is a decent grappler, and its Nichols. He gets a nice little judo throw at the start and then tries for a sort of guillotine choke from inside his opponent's half guard. He's swept and put on his back but is moving around his hips and making things tough on Deehan, who is set on "smash". Deehan tries to pass and does it totally wrong, leaving himself wide open for a triangle. He's submitted.

3) Jimmy Mills vs. Callum King: 205.

FIGHT: Mills Submission Rnd 1. KOTC special as Mills gets a takedown early on, passes the guard, beats up King and forces him onto his stomach, and gets the RNC.

4) Colin Davidson vs. Tim McCrory: Light heavyweight contest.

FIGHT: Davidson Submission Rnd 1. One sided affair with McCrory being taken down very early in the bout, controlled pretty much the entire first round, and Davidson setting up and taking about 20 seconds to pull off the armbar out of the mount. McCrory could have hung on a few seconds longer and made it to the bell, but it would have not mattered anyhow. (0)

5) Gareth Loye vs. Lee McKibbin: Welterweight bout with a CW regular.

FIGHT: Loye Submission Rnd 2.

Loye: Hurts McKibbin with a series of strikes in the early part of the second and gets on top. from there, he's able to keep dominant position and eventually take the back and a RNC.

McKibbin: He's reckless on the mat, doing some wild attempts at escapes that only put him in further danger. He's also not much standing beyond brawling. This is not the finest McKibbin moment, as he spends most of the first round tepidly punching inside the guard of Loye and trying to avoid armbars. (0)

6) Daniel Abrol vs. Michael Angelista: Smaller dudes.

FIGHT: Abrol Submission Rnd 1. Angelista is from Golden Glory but appears to be a grappler. Abrol gets a triangle, is nearly slammed out, but holds on and wins. (0)

7) Romer Trompert vs. Colin McKee: A welterweight contest. McKee is not terrible either.

FIGHT: Trompert Unanimous Decision. Remember what I said about McKee being not terrible? Can't stop Trompert's takedowns to save his life. He tries an array of escapes to get on top, and occasionally he succeeds, but generally he is under Trompert and getting hit with punches. Lots of them. He has a pretty decent beard to survive them all, but loses pretty much every round. McKee's last loss. (1)

8) Sami Schiavo vs. Chris Stringer: This is a big deal, see, because they include the ring entrances on the tape.

FIGHT: Schiavo KO Rnd 1. No breakdown here either. Schiavo wins by KO in 18 seconds, landing his first serious strike standing (looping overhand right lead) and Stringer drops. There's some followup and that's it. (0)

9) Martin Begley vs. Vincent La Toel: Lightweight bout. Again, intros. La Toel is from Golden Glory.

FIGHT: La Toel Submission Rnd 1. Another short fight. Begley rushes, puts his head under La Toel's arm, gets choked out standing. (0)

10) Casimir Bendy vs. Peter Duncan: Another welterweight bout featuring the promotion's most popular fighter.

FIGHT: Bendy Submission Rnd 1. Another short fight. Yes, three inside one commercial block. Bendy goes for a guillotine early and Duncan tries to slam out. Then he stands with Bendy attached and tries to slam himself out again. And it doesn't work. Instead, he is forced to tap. (0)

11) Jason Jones vs. Rodney Moore: YOUR MAIN EVENT.

FIGHT: Moore Submission Rnd 2.

Jones: Jones gasses out 3 minutes in. Am I shocked? Of course not. That is his MO. Lots of him taking muay thai knees land on his face and he doesn't have the strength to pull off one of his signature throws at the end of the round. He goes out with a last gasp at the start of the second round, getting the thai plumb and then tossing in knees to the body and a takedown, but when he gets there, Moore starts looking to work subs. From there it is just a matter of time - the last expenditure of energy is occasionally supplemented with some strange attempts for position and subs (side headlock/neck crank?), but you can see the fatigue all over him. The only reason he sticks around in the fight as long as he does is because of Moore's mediocre talents.

Moore: Decently skilled on the mat, he runs into trouble because Jones is a (potentially gassed up) more muscular and generally larger individual. Standing up, Jones has the advantage thanks to his time at Golden Glory, but his poor gas tank means that even there Moore ultimately takes over in the first round and begins to land more meaningful knees and punches. After a number of generally meaningless losses, Moore seems to have retired. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Moore/Jones

KO OF THE NIGHT: Schiavo/Stringer

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Bendy/Duncan

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. A lot of people might say "blah blah penalizing ground work". There is nothing artistic, entertaining, or great about watching fights where one guy has no idea what to do on the mat at this level. Disagree if you must, but does anyone really get stoked to see one guy lay on another until he can force them to roll over and give up a RNC? Really? Honestly? Its like saying you hate chess because watching a grandmaster roll a mildly retarded child isn't entertaining to you.

D&R Rating: 2% (1/55)

Cage Wars 11: Decade (3/29/2009)

So here goes. Another show from Cage Wars via Fightzone.

1) Hugh Brady vs. Michael Reid: This is a welterweight contest. Reid is much taller.

FIGHT: Brady Submission Rnd 3. (0)

Reid: Bigger fighter, appears more athletic looking at him, drops Brady very early, rides his back for a couple of minutes, goes for a number of submissions from his back when he loses the position. Honestly was surprised that Brady made it to the second after nearly getting choked and armbarred. Then in round two, Brady leans he can take him down and push him into the fence, and that's the fight. He was totally worthless in that position, just taking occasional punches and otherwise laying there gassing until giving his back and being submitted.

Brady: Game, some skills on the mat, but nothing obscene. No crazy "jungle jiujitsu" as Rogan once called Matt Serra's style. More like "adequate for survival past the second minute BJJ". As the fight wears on, he gets Reid down with simple takedowns, pushes him into the fence, and puts weight on him. That's enough to gas Reid and he eventually is able to start passing the guard and takes the back for a submission win.

2) Colin McKee vs. Arunus Silcius: Silcius is some Lithuanian plumber with a HORRIBLE stomach scar brought in to probably lose. McKee is on a win streak and seems to be a solid grappler.

FIGHT: McKee TKO 1. Exactly as I anticipated. McKee with a quick takedown to start and he pounds out Silcius from the half guard against the fence. No real resistance. (0)

3) Jordy Peute vs. Gary Morris: "Lightweights". Puete is 138, Morris 144. Puete is said to be dutch, so I expect either Judo or kickboxing.

FIGHT: Jordy submission Rnd 1. Morris tries the "punch when the other guy tries to bang gloves at the start" move. For that, Jordy shoots, pulls guard, gets the armbar, and then injures the arm, leaving Morris screaming in pain. (0)

4) Lee McKibbin vs. Karolis Liukaitis: McKibbin is a regular for the promotion, and Liukaitis could be anything skillwise. Middleweight bout. McKibbin is much bigger.

FIGHT: McKibbin Submission Rnd 1 (0)

Liukaitis: Undersized kickboxing guy who uses his strength to escape an armbar early and leaps backwards in an attempt to shake McKibbin, on but eventually gets trapped in a choke due to the skill of McKibbin overcoming the unorthodox desperation.

McKibbin: Had all the advantages and still went out to try and win. Still nothing notable to be said about his wrestling, as it was Liukaitis who got him down to the mat, even when it was a terrible idea.

5) Daniel Abrol vs. JC Pennington: Pennington has been seen before losing to Javier Vazquez on this blog, and Abrol's last fight with an American ended in an embarassing loss to some dude who looked like a preteen.

FIGHT: Pennington Submission Rnd 2. (0)

Pennington: Pennington is better on the mat, and this being MMA, that's what matters. Abrol is a decent striker and lands some hard right hands, but Pennington is an experienced gatekeeper type and isn't so quickly shook. When the time comes, he takes over and wins.

Abrol: Flatfooted and throwing looping leads, he's caught with Pennington's not so great strikes as he rushes in, eventually being forced to do jumping front kicks and stuff. On the mat he's still not good enough to beat a decently trained grappler. The announcers are basically rooting on Abrol, demanding the ref stop the bout and that Abrol is "good enough to get out of this" as Pennington takes him down and starts rolling for submissions. Daniel is "dominating position wise" as Pennington starts abusing him, taking him down, switching to his back, and choking him out.

6) Peter Duncan vs. Bryan Goldsby: Goldsby is from the US and looks to be in better shape than Duncan. Duncan though is the local guy and the crowd's favorite.

FIGHT: Duncan Submission Rnd 2. (0)

Duncan: Was taken down a few times, but proved to be the better man on the mat, reversing positions and taking dominant stances. Eventually, he ended up in side control and locked up the kimura to win. Duncan looked passable off his back.

Goldsby: Some solid wrestling takedowns, but his follow through with keeping positional control left tons to be desired. Didn't want to strike with Duncan much at all.

7) Jeff Monson vs. Sergej Maslobojev: Another random Lithuanian against a man who never actually lived under communism, but would like to. Main event.

FIGHT: Monson Submission Rnd 2. I'm not gonna break this down much, in that Monson takes down the Lithuanian repeatedly, lays on him, and punches him some while occasionally looking to pass guard. He goes to north/south and gets the anaconda choke. (3)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Duncan/Goldsby

KO OF THE NIGHT: Silcius/McKee

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Monson/Maslobojev

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3.5 out of 10. Another piddling fight card. At least we have Monson with an awesome choke against some dude who probably makes 9 USD an hour doing some manual labor for the trouble of watching. Peter Duncan also continues to entertain. He might not be very good, but he could be one of the most interesting to watch journeymen in the fight game.

D&R Rating: 8.5% (3/35)

Cage Wars 10: Braveheart (3/15/2008)

Another CWC show. This one originates in Belfast, Ireland.

1) Alan Love vs. Richie Bagby: Middleweight contest. Amateur bout.

FIGHT: Love Submission Rnd 1. Love with a takedown, and then a guillotine. Bagby, who is muscular, does nothing. (0)

2) Ali McClean vs. Anthony Thompson: Amateur Lightweight contest.

FIGHT: McClean Submission Rnd 1. Thompson looks composed early on and gets a takedown, but is unable to do anything in guard and we get a standup. McClean goes wild with strikes and then grabs a guillotine and pulls guard. Thompson taps. (0)

3) Arno Rotgans vs. Daren Petrikonis (?): Another lightweight bout, but this time, a pro boutwith a man who is perhaps a Polish Plumber stereotypes. But from Lithuania. Rotgans is from Mike's Gym in Holland.

FIGHT: Rotgans Submission Rnd 1. Rotgans with a nasty armbar after a takedown and beating in the mount. He starts looking to take the arm and Petrikonis turns to his belly. Rotgans still has it and basically flips Petrikonis over with it. Yikes. Rotgans is undefeated at 7-0 but inactive going on 3 years. (0)

4) Peter Duncan vs. Cyrille Crochet: Lightweights. Duncan is sometimes fun to watch.

FIGHT: Duncan Submission Rnd 2. Yet another guillotine. Duncan repeatedly took down Crochet, had dominant positions (banana split!) and eventually grabbed him and guillotined him. (0)

5) Alexandre Abin vs. Daniel Abrol: Lightweights.

FIGHT: Abin Submission Rnd 1. Really wild striking at the start of the fight, and Abin ends up grabbing a rear naked choke standing. Abrol tries to jump and slam him down to release, but the plan fales. Abin ultimately sinches it in and forces a tap.

6) Jontas Novaes vs. Mamarizaev Jahongir: Jahongir is much bigger than his opponent.

FIGHT: Novaes Submission Rnd 1. Novaes decides not to try and stand and trade, and takes down Jahongir, then gets the armbar. It ain't a choke as Sherdog has it. Straight armbar out of mount. Novaes has had a nondescript career since. (0)

7) Lee McKibbin vs. Aureles Kerpe: Middleweights.

FIGHT: Kerpe TKO Rnd 3. McKibbin was killing this early on in the first round, and Kerpe came back with a vengence. (0)

McKibbin: Decent jitz, and almost had a W by submission early on. But he couldn't close the deal, and also couldn't block a punch. That was his undoing.

Kerpe: Seems to have some sense of submission defense and can stop menially skilled takedown attempts. Tough. Landed a lot of punches without totally gassing out, earning him the W.

8) John Smith vs. Graham Turner: Lightweights.

FIGHT: Turner TKO Rnd 1. A throwback - Smith is a former kickboxer with no ground skills, and gets taken down and demolished by Turner, who does. Turner is the only story here, and there's not a great story to be told. Can't even tell if he can throw a punch standing. (0)

9) Mo Gormley vs. Andy Hillhouse: Huge heavyweights. Gormley is with a shirt and resembles Chance Williams. Hillhouse has a shaved head and a tattoo on the back of his head.

FIGHT: Hillhouse KO Rnd 1. Some slobberknockering ends with Gormley being taken out with a right hand to the head. Hillhouse's only career win. (0)

10) Heman Gipson vs. Michal Kita: Kita's name is misspelled, but I know who it is. He's an M-1 vet. This is a heavyweight fight with the potential of some skill being exhibited.

FIGHT: Kita Submission Rnd 1. This was a extra special thing, because he won with a Sakuraba kimura with Gipson having his back. Sorta. I mean he twisted him all over the mat while trying to lock it in and eventually fucked the dude's shoulder up. Also had a sweet judo throw. Gipson rolled around a little to defend and failed. The end of that. (1)

11) Daniel Tabera vs. Ken Sparks: This is a 90 minute TV show, and there's 30 minutes left...and we've seen 10 fights! Jesus. Light heavyweights.

FIGHT: Tabera Submission Rnd 1. Another total domination; Tabera lands some looping shots while coming forward, ends up pushing Sparks to the cage, it goes to the mat, Tabera smashes him and eventually takes his back and chokes him out. I learned nothing other than I'm not sold on Tabera to strike with anyone. Presently 16-2-3, he lost in Bellator last year but drew with Mamed Khalidov, beat Mikhail Zayats, and is an M-1 vet. (1)

At this point, the show then starts to display fights from Scotland the Brave that were already reviewed. So I guess that's it.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kerpe/McKibbin

KO OF THE NIGHT: Gormley/Hillhouse

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Rotgans/Petrikonis

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Another lousy CWC show with a mildly entertaining beatdown over several rounds, and a bunch of one sided tomato can beatings. I'm glad I've come near the end of these programs. With CWC 9 not making TV here yet (Colin Robinson vs. DAN SEVERN, Danny Van Bergen, and Jimmy Mills!), I have to shoot ahead to CWC 11 which features an appearance by JEFF SNOWMAN MONSON. That I can get excited about.

D&R Rating: 4% (2/55)

CAGE WARS 8: Celtic Rage (10/20/07)

From Belfast in Ireland, the next installment of Cage Wars, this from 10/2007.

1) Michael Reid vs. Steven Nolan: Welterweights. Amateur fight too.

FIGHT: Reid Unanimous Decision. Its listed on the screen as a submission, but clearly is not. Nothing to see here: Reid mounts Nolan, does nothing. Spends probably 10 minutes of the fight in mount, 4 in half guard or guard, then a minute in some other position. Better than Nolan in every way. Only one fight since, another decision win. (0)

2) Ali McClean vs. Ryan Roddy: Lightweights. A pro bout, thankfully. I think.

FIGHT: Roddy Submission Rnd 1. McClean tries to take off Roddy's head when Roddy wants to touch gloves, and Roddy responds by dominating him on the mat and eventually getting the triangle off his back (after a failed armbar attempt) to end the fight in 88 seconds.

3) John Smith vs. Moen Takalou: Oh man. Takalou is so bad. Smith is an ex-kickboxer, as we know from previous shows.

FIGHT: Takalou KO 1....or not. Catches Smith who is otherwise tooling him and drops him hard with a punch. He then attacks Smith voraciously and forces a ref stoppage. After the ref jumps in, Takalou tries to stop the downed Smith. Poor Takalou gets a No Contest instead. (0)

4) Peter Duncan vs. Arman Soufi: Lightweights. Duncan clearly larger.

FIGHT: Duncan Submission Rnd 1. When watching Soufi, it looks like he doesn't know how to do anything, and then he does some crazy looking escape and makes it work. But Duncan eventually rolls into an armbar and forces a tap. Duncan's first win in 4 fights. Soufi not much better. (0)

5) Chris Stringer vs. Michael Angelista: Lightweights. Based on what I've seen, easy night for Angelista.

FIGHT: Stringer Submission Rnd 1. And that is why they have the fights. Stringer comes out fast, swinging with tight punches and kicks. Angelista closes and goes for a single, but gets caught in a guillotine. He tries to slam out but needs to tap. Had the arm in, BTW. (0)

6) Brian Kerr vs. Paul Murtagh: Welterweights I don't know.

FIGHT: Kerr Submission Rnd 2. All Kerr in this fight. He lands a bunch of clean shots early in the fight and the announcers mention his ammy record in boxing. Murtagh nearly pulls off a miracle submission after being dropped with a punch as he locks in a triangle and transitions to an armbar, but Kerr escapes, and that is all that for Murtagh. He ends up getting caught in a guillotine in round 2 and gets DDTed to boot in a desperate attempt to get a takedown. (0)

Kerr: Good submission defense, solid striking. Last fight in MMA.

Murtagh: Bleeder. All submissions, nothing else.

7) Lee McKibbin vs. Bastiaan Rejen: Middleweights.

FIGHT: McKibbin Submission Rnd 1. McKibbin beats the "submission specialist" with an armbar after Rejen is in top control early in the first. Took forever to finish. (0) Nothing inspiring to mention here about either man's technique. McKibbin's wrestling isn't that great and Rejen clearly wasn't prepared to see a submission attempt come at him.

8) Daniel Abrol vs. Tim Estes: Lightweight bout. Estes is from the US and looks to be about 12.

FIGHT: Estes Submission Rnd 1. Powpowpow swinging for the fences, though with some technical panache, and then they roll on the mat a little wildly. Abrol gets the fight back up and we have some clinch fighting. Abrol looks to throw Estes and gets defended against well. Estes throws him down and starts smashing with punches, forcing Abrol to roll over and eventually this leads to a RNC. Estes' last win. (0)

Abrol: More of the same from him. You see the massive lack of solid grappling, and frankly Estes was doing a solid job of striking with him. Abrol had a tough time with the jab.

Estes: Threw basic 1-2s with single jabs, outgrappled a guy who didn't grapple, forced the submission. Really should have never lost mount in the first round, but perhaps he wasn't even totally understanding that he had such a dominant position.

9) Colin McKee vs. James Orso: Welterweights.

FIGHT: McKee TKO 2. All McKee in this bout. Orso had nothing for him on the mat, and it kept going there. McKee regularly went for submissions and dominant positions in the fight, but was a bit sloppy and lost them when he probably had good shots at finishing. McKee was gassed after 3 minutes, and in the second just ended up getting sucked down and pounded out. (1)

Orso: Tried to wrestle, but nothing when on the mat for McKee. Since went on to beat Danny Abiddi.

McKee: This fight turned around McKee's career. He's won 8 straight going to Feb. 2010. Nothing I could see about standup, but he's a solid grappler who understands the basics of positioning rather well.

10) Cliff Wheatley vs. Augusto Frota: Lightweights. Frota seems like a decent fighter. Wheatley is an American and very lanky. (0)

FIGHT: Frota Submission Rnd 1. Wild, WILD striking to start the fight that looks like a pansy slap fight. Frota then decides to take down Wheatley and from there easily pounds the American and forces him to roll over to his stomach. Wheatley says in the post fight interview "I flat out got my ass kicked!"

11) Jimmy Mills vs. Colin Davidson: Light heavyweights. Another USA/UK bout.

FIGHT: Mills Submission Rnd 1. Total domination by Mills as he takes down Davidson and cuts him badly with GNP, then eventually forces the tap with a head and arm choke. (0)

Mills: Soft around the midsection. Really soft. Lost to Kevin Casey. Generic wrestler guy.

Davidson: Short notice opponent, not any good at anything, best I can tell. Should find a different profession. No reason to get beat up like this for no money.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kerr/Murtagh

KO OF THE NIGHT: Takalou/Smith

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Stringer/Angelista

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. Not the worst show I've seen but lots of uninspiring with some Jobbers Get In Offense fights.

D&R Rating: 1% (1/55)

CAGE WARS 7: Scotland the Brave (10/20/07)

Lots of CWC has appeared on Fightzone TV recently. Of that which has been shown, this is the oldest show thus far. A live view on the fights can be fine back at Total-MMA, as done by Iain Liddle here: http://www.total-mma.com/2007/08/04/cage-wars-scotland-the-brave-live-results/

1) Ciaran Kelly vs. Jamie McKenzie: Who are these guys?

FIGHT: Jamie McKenzie MD. Terrible fight to watch. Dudes rolling all over the mat apparently hoping to look bad in the ring. (0)

McKenzie: Hurt Kelly with some strikes early, but on the mat he was terrible. He was mounted several times in the second and third rounds, and it was only the propensity of the British judges to score for minor damages from strikes that saved him in this one.

Kelly: Had one solid takedown in this fight - otherwise he was on the mat either from falling down from punches or just some mangled throw attempts where he ended up on his back. And yet, he was able to turn over McKenzie and get in dominant positions many times, landing solid shots. Neither looks like a serious competitor.

2) Andy Hillhouse vs. Luis Vagner: Heavyweight fight. Both dudes are pretty muscled up.

FIGHT: Luis Vagner TKO 2. Dreadful. (0)

Vagner: Won on strikes, not a striker. Wild haymakers and arm punches. Zero defense. Went for an armbar that took forever to set up and try to execute, then didn't finish. Hasn't fought now in almost 3 years.

Hillhouse: 1-4 career record.

3) Dean Caldwell vs. Antony McIllroy: Welterweights? Maybe? Dunno?

FIGHT: Caldwell Submission Rnd 1. McIllroy gets the fight down, then gets swept, is laid on for awhile, and eventually is caught in a choke. Its said to be a anaconda but looks a lot more like a d'arce to me. (0)

Caldwell: Slow to do much on top, AKA Dean Lister Syndrome. Doesn't seem to be much of a wrestler. Strikes as much on the ground as does Dan Severn, AKA not at all. Can't beat people without setting stuff up. No fights since.

McIllroy: Balding. Got laid on. Had green shorts.

4) Martin Begley vs. Ivan Mussardo: Welterweights.

FIGHT: Mussardo Submission Rnd 1. A win for the German by guillotine in under 30 seconds. Just jumps into guard and grabs the choke at first opportunity. Nothing to say about either from this. Mussardo lost to Daniel Weichel, the best fighter he's ever faced. (0)

5) John Smith vs. Gareth Hindz: Welterweights.

FIGHT: Smith Submission Rnd 2. Gareth had controlled the fight almost entirely in top control, and Smith hadn't been working for anything. All of a sudden he starts to move his hips and Hindz doesn't even defend it. (0)

Smith: Decent low kicks standing - apparently he had 15 pro kickboxing bouts. However, he looked hapless on the mat until going for his one and only submission attempt.

Hinds: Top control grappler with no submission defense.

NOTE: A commercial appeared for an MMA cruise. Really. Apparently you can fight there and become an Open Waters Champion. Amazing.

6) Michael Angelista vs. Kevin Karney: Missed the weight class, but its clear watching that I don't really need to go back and find out.

FIGHT: Angelista TKO 1. Angelista had some issues with Karney going for submissions off his back during the fight, but Angelista was overwhelming athletically and ended up beating him down from the mount. (0)

Angelista: Some decent strikes, nearly caught in a really sloppy armbar attempt. 1-3 now.

Karney: Has heart, some submission ability, but this was his last fight.

7) Paul McVeigh vs. Christian Binda: Lightweights. McVeigh is very pale.

FIGHT: McVeigh Submission 1. Binda looks to bang and gets caught with strong counters and meaty takedowns. He ends up shooting in when that early gameplan doesn't work out and is actually pretty successful with GNP. But McVeigh is able to grab the leg as Binda stands out and gets a kneebar. Binda tries to defend with an illegal stomp (which he isn't warned for) but it doesn't prevent a tapout. (0)

McVeigh: Decent fighter with decent takedowns and a counter punching style. Adequate, good at the Commonwealth level, not really an international level guy.

Binda: Had a good double and was gutsy. Not much else to go on though.

8) Moien Takalou vs. Daniel Abrol: Lightweights I think.

FIGHT: Abrol TKO 1. Ugly fight with Takalou only having one frame of offense with an armbar attempt early in the first and getting pounded otherwise. (0)

Abrol: Decent striker. Rangy. Lost to Danny Van Bergen.

Takalou: Honestly, this dude did almost nothing right and took a pounding. Ugly. 1-7 career record.

9) Chris Stringer vs. Casimir Bendy: Another lightweight bout. Bendy actually fought in the WEC and for Shooto, losing in both shows. He does have a couple nice wins though against Niko Puhakka, Andre Winner, and Mikhail Malyutin.

FIGHT: Bendy Submission Rnd 1. Bendy gets a nice big takedown early and tries to pass guard. Stringer gives him his neck and gets submitted. The end. Basically a good ol' fashioned KOTC special. (1)

Bendy: Nice takedown, but not much standup exhibited at all. After that, it was rudimentary. You can see here why he beat Winner (now a prospect of sorts): Winner's a kickboxer, and Bendy exploited that big time.

Stringer: Didn't do anything. Losing career record.

10) Peter Duncan vs. Augusto Frota: Lightweights. This is the main event.

FIGHT: Frota Submission Rnd 2. Duncan is a strong guy and has some decent submission defense, but against a wizard like Frota, he's bound to get caught. Frota grabs the guillotine and while Duncan tries to slam out, its pointless. Almost a bulldog choke when there's finally a tap. (1)

Frota: Frota has legitimately great BJJ. Its not just a situation where he can get top control and dominate someone there. He's rolling for stuff constantly. He's never really beaten anyone great and doesn't currently rank internationally, but could.

Peter Duncan: Don't see much from him, to be entirely honest. Again, there's strength there, some heart, but not much else. No surprise that he has a losing record.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Frota/Duncan

KO OF THE NIGHT: Abrol/Takalou

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Frota/Duncan

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1.5 out of 10. This was terrible to watch. I mean, just not fun at all. So many bad fighters who would need to be booked against homeless people or random children from the audience in order to score victories on the West Coast of the US. Frota's BJJ exhibition was really the only thing worth seeing.

D&R Rating: 4% (2/50)