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Spartan Fight Challenge II : Review There had been a lot of debate amongst MMA followers and competitors before the event with the announcement of a lightweight tournament. Not seen in the UK for a few years, the four competitors in the tournament were Nathan Beer, Harvey Dines, Ian Jones and Sami Berik. This also comes on the back of a sold out first show that people are still talking about. On the night - another sell out, a noisy crowd show their support for the fighters they are there to see. Fight One was local favourite Chris Neale up against Martin McDonaugh. This fight set the tone for the night. All spectators were standing and cheering the great action. Chris came out and used his feared Judo skills and threw Martin to his back. Martin recovered and back to his feet, was ready for the next throw Chris initiated. Shifting his weight and mid-air Martin caught Chris in a rear naked choke. This show of athleticism was massively appreciated by the crowd. The first of the Lightweight tournament saw Harvey Dines take on Nathan Beer. Harvey was out first. It was immediately obvious how much support his opponent Nathan had there. The two touched gloves knowing they would have to win this fight to progress to the finals. Nathan came out with several strikes before taking the fight to the floor with a big take down. Harvey recovered well to pull guard and mount an offensive. Landing a few telling shots, Nathan then passed Harvey's guard into mount landing yet more telling strikes. After scrambling for a short period, Nathan took Harvey's back and won with a rear naked choke. Nathan's support was deafening. Our first finalist now confirmed. The second semi-final between Ian Jones and Sami Berek started with both fighters looking to strike. After a brief exchange Ian took down Sami with a big slam. Ian, working inside Sami's guard started raining down blows. With his huge experience, Sami weathered the offensive before reversing Ian. Sami, now in Ian's guard began raining down strikes of his own to inflict some damage. Ian, with his extensive ground game reversed Sami as he stood up. Now in mount, Ian grabbed the chance as Sami turned his back, to sink in a rear naked choke to secure his place in the final against Nathan. Eugene Fadiora took on Brad Scott in a very entertaining fight. Both fighters seemed evenly matched in their striking ability and entertained with some hard exchanges. Eugene using head kicks and his hands whilst Brad utilised his leg kicks and hands very well. Eventually, Eugene took the fight to the floor where from inside Brad's guard, began to ground and pound. Brad answered back with some good triangle attempts to end the round. The second round started much the same as the first, with some heavy exchanges and fast, accurate striking. Eugene landed another take down and this time, managed to pass to side control. Brad scrambled well but Eugene trapped Brad's arm with his knee and began raining hard shots. Brad was left with no choice but to tap. Both fighters put on a great show which was appreciated by the excited crowd. Jack Marshman against Matt Gordon. Two young, up and coming fighters looking to make their mark on the scene. Jack came out and went straight to work with four hard shots that knocked Matt down. Matt recovered and countered with a double leg take-down that Jack sprawled. Jack then landed a few more heavy right hands that sent Matt to the canvass. The fight was stopped by referee Leon Roberts. A great show from Jack Marshman. The last fight of the night saw Nathan Beer fighting Ian Jones in the final of the 70kg Tournament. Both men looked fresh after their first round wins. Ian started with a head kick followed by a quick clinch. After a take-down from Nathan, Ian sunk in a very tight guillotine. Nathan, turning blue, powered out and past Ian's guard into mount. After a flurry of punches, Ian turned his back allowing Nathan to secure a rear naked choke for the victory. It was a great night of action thoroughly enjoyed and supported by a very noisy crowd. Spartan Fight Challenge III will be in Newport, 20th March, 2010. A number of great fights already signed.
Spartan Fight Challenge : Review As I took to my seat at the first ever Spartan Fight Challenge event I had an air of anticipation as to what former Angrrr Management matchmaker and Cage Rage lightweight championship contender Ollie Ellis had in store for the hundreds of Welsh fans who made their way across the Severn bridge to support the eight Welsh fighters competing on tonight's show. Along with a good local following the event was a sell out and the atmosphere was electric. The main event saw undefeated Welshman, Tim Newman looking to add to his perfect 3 - 0 record against The Ultimate Fighter season nine contestant Jamie Bryan. Jamie, after losing out on the chance to go to Las Vegas in the first round of the show also had a point to prove. Up and comer Joseph Duffy was faced with his toughest test to date taking on the durable Lithuanian Marius Buzinskas. Buzinskas has a 9 - 5 record and has a notable submission win over Sol Gilbert. "Hot Stuff" displayed his slick ground skills by controlling Buzinskas and transitioning to full mount, once there he let leash a barrage of accurate elbows, each one finding its target forcing the Lithuanian to turn his back. It was only a matter of time before Duffy sank in the rear naked choke. Joseph adds another win and extends his professional record to 4 - 0. The biggest ticket seller to come out of Wales, Nathan Beer brought an army of fans with him to see him add another win to his record as he demonstrated complete dominance over his opponent Stuart Davies. From the off Beer, cheered on by the chants of his childhood nickname "Neggy" did not give Davies any space to breath whilst dishing out a callous beating, forcing the ref to stop the fight half way through the first round. The award for fight of the night has got to go to David Round Vs Darrel James. In this B-class Pro bout fought between two Welshmen the excitement reached epic proportions. Both fighters were hungry for the win and it showed. Round took charge of the early exchanges utilizing his muay thai clinch game kneeing James in the head and body. At this point the fight looked very one sided until James dropped Round with an uppercut which saw Round collapse into himself. James took top position and tried to finish off his opponent. Lucky for Round he was saved by the bell. The question on everyone's mind was, did David have "one more" Round left in him? It's safe to say that the first instalment of Spartan Fight Challenge was a success and we at MMA Hit Pit will be attending future events as the promotion will grow from strength to strength. |
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