Cage rage 2

[cagewarriors]

Just returned from Cage rage 2, and would just like to say it was a great weekend and a great packed house sadly turned punters away show, The warnings were there guys I did tell you it would be packed?

Highlight of the night for me was to see one of my personal facourite fighters Paul "Hands of Stone" Jenkins redeem his unfortunate loss at divine retribution with an outstanding hard fought battle against a top opponent in the form of Gaz Roriston.
Great fight Paul & well done. The only other fight of the night that offered an equal display of technique and superior fighting ability was between Paul "The Terminator" Taylor against Jess Laudin. A very hard fight to deliver a decision in? but the judges cast thier vote over Paul Taylor. I would like to welcome Paul Taylor on board at cagewarriors as he debuts at our next event in Southampton on 16th March this is truly one fight you don,t wanna miss.

Regards Dougie

[iandean]

Yeah in some ways Cage rage wasn't too bad. I'm glad that i decided to go on the 11th hour, and thanks to dougie for putting a ticket by for me. I know the following report is quite damming, but there was still a great atmosphere in york hall last night. It might be hard to follow the action, but its great to be there in the flesh.

Also it looked like Cage Rage got a big non-MMA crowd. Many people i saw in the cheap seats had never been to an MMA Event before or had much idea what to expect. Although i gotta admit i did miss being with a more knowledgeable crowd.

Also the CageWarriors Octagon looked massive in the small arena that is York Hall.

But i think there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed.

1. The total lack of organisation -

From the minute the doors opened and i found myseklf in the wrong queue (Which was marked out at all) to the time i got my seat i felt i was in a very amerterish orginsation. I said i had a ticket lefty for me by dougie, however the guy at the door didn't know what i was on about and lost patience and just gave me a ticket anyway:S

Once i got in there i found the seating arrangements were a joke. As all the best seats upstairs were taken as i was messed about so much at the entrance. (if you go to the york hall, you really do need to sit upstairs.) And i know of 2 people who had VIP tickets but wasn't allowed to get into the VIP section.

Also the seats downstairs were laughable as the combination of the flat floor and the elevated octagon meant that anytime the action went to the ground you simply couldn't see the action. That situation was then made worse as peopwhingele stood up in front of me which meant my view was blocked, then people in the VIP section also stood up, which meant then it was near impossible to see anything. At one stage people were standing on chairs to get a better view, and even just moving chairs about any old how to get a view. And to top it off the guy standing on the ladder next to the cage filming it also made it hard to see.

I know i sound like an old whinger, but it does take away a bit of the enjoyment, when u have no idea how the fight finished e.g. I hardly saw anything of the main event.

2. The Elite Fighters and scoring. I know it was effectively a home game for the Elite guys but it seemed as if things were weighted heavily in their favour, and the demonstration from the elite group, was in my opinion embarrassing to say the least.

Plus the scoring in some of the fights was a joke. Surely i cant be the only person who thought that Paul "The Terminator" Taylor was very lucky to win on points against Jess Laudin. As Laudin totally dominated the fight, and a 3-0 judges decision left a very bad taste in my mouth. And the sudden change of the rules in the amateur bout also raised suspicion.

And finally, i know this is harsh and in some ways out of order, as i'm not a fighter and some people would say i dont have a right to comment, but i wasn't impressed with the Elite fighters as a group. I think they looked at time very 1 dimensional, and really did lack the finesse of what MMA is all about. Some looked terrible on the ground and resorted to desperate charging in the hope to get an advantage. I know that sounds very harsh, but that's just my point of view.

----
Maybe its late and im getting ratty i dont know, but i honestly feel that if MMA is to be taken seriously, then the top level shows have to improve as the total lack of organisation, lack of foresight and questionable choice of fighters and results will only drag the sport down and give the many detractors of MMA a field day..

PS - Sorry if i have upset anyone, but that is what i honestly feel.

I also gotta say well done to Marc Walder, who put in a great demonstration of BJJ in his win. Ditto Paul Jenkins who won an entertaining fight (even if the 3rd round was a snooze fest) And i think credit should go to Chris Cummins who looked much better than he did in his foul ridden fight at cage wariors 2.

I gotta say hi to Ross who i met and probably annoyed a couple of times at Cage Rage. It was nice to see you again and have a quick chat.

And now im off to bed :)

[Hywel Teague]

sounds like bad organisation all around. shame thast as obviously professionalism is whats needed most in this country.

lets hope that they learn from their mistakes.

[SDonovan]

I was really pissed that i got ripped off with my tickets.

No one could tell me where the vip seating was an when some one finally told me it wsa the seating inside the barrier i was quickly thrown out by a big bloke with an attitude telling me that if i didnt have a plastic vip badge i couldnt get in there.


So i paid £10 more than everyone else to stand at the side for the whole event.

It wasnt till towards the end of the show when ross invited me on to his table with Dougie. (cheers mate)

Thats fucked up!!! Never again will i waste my money on a vip ticket.

[Neil_Allen]

I think some clarification over judging criteria and rules is needed. Pride score a fight as a whole giving the decision to the person trying harder to finish.

UFC score each round.

I dont know how this was scored but Jawaad Khan was cheated out of a decision. It was great when the crowed booed when he was stood after setting up an armbar. Even better when they booed Tommy Gun winning and Jawaad got a bigger cheer as runner up, obviously the crowd knew better than the judges.

Jess was a close decision, he was closer to finishing and stand up seemed pretty equal. Also in UFC it's illegal to spike an opponent which clearly Paul Taylor did, this was the third round and I think the Ref should have deducted a point for it.

This is assuming Cage Rage uses UFC rules like Cage Warriors does?

[the ref]

I wondered when someone would mention Royces refereeing skills.
I don't think he even noticed that a fighter had been spiked on his head.

[iandean]

I bet you was knackered after refreeing 14-15 fights? How tough do you find it, having to ref so many fights 1 after the other.

Do you think that eventually more refs will be needed at UK events like the UFC.

[marvli]

I found the seating bad on ground level so hussled a seat upstairs, I was right at the edge of the balcony, with the entrance to my back where was everyone else, the only person I said hello to was Dave Webb.

[iandean]

I was on the ground floor near the back on the far right. I thought if i was at the end i could stand up and not block anyones vioew and i might also see better

I was wrong on both counts.

And i was sat next to people with no clue about MMA at all. (which is Good and bad i guess)

[cagewarriors]

At the back on the right? you should have shouted over Ian & I would have brought you to my table, I was at the back on the right where the ring girls were standing at the catwalk?

[iandean]

Doh

No i was at the back meaning near the entrance (Hmm i dont think that makes sense)

I did see you walking about a few times Dougie, but i ddint get the chance to say hi, as the bouncers stopped me from walking past where the bar was and other times the crowd was too big.

I did look about at the end of the night but couldnt see you. Which was a shame cos i wanted to say hi for saving me a ticket. (not that it mattered as the bouncers at the door didnt seem to have the foggist when i tried to explain)

[the ref]

Next time you're at a show Krainer, just say you're the ref, I seem to be allowed anywhere.

By the end of a show I am completely knackered, dehydrated and hungry. 3 to 4 hours is a long time to be leaping around. I move around the cage a lot more than any other referees I've seen, mainly 'cos I just don't want to miss anything. Many of todays fighters are up to all sorts of things in there you know. Eye poking, thumb in the trachea or clavicle, pinching skin, oh and tapping, among other things.

I train quite hard so physically it's not that bad, but mentally you have to stay switched on 100 % from the 1st fight all the way through to the last. Thanks Red Bull.

I'm not trying to sound like a hero, this is just the way it is.

A spare ref would be a good idea, however consistency throughout a show also has to be maintained. We all do things in slightly different ways and fighters and corner men like to know where they stand. Saying that it would be good to get payed the same for doing half the amount of work.

[foxy]

how far has cage rage come since this trhread guys?

[Team Supreme]

Yes hopefully people know the difference between spiking and a legitimate submission escape.

[the ref]

agreed. I was only analysing this the other day.

[Team Supreme]

agreed

For the uneducated who still like to comment, if you pick someone up in say, a crutch hold and turn them upside down driving them head first into the canvas (not slamming them on thier back which is legal) it is known as spiking.
However if someone has an armbar on for example, and, susequently gets picked up, he knows he is gonna get slammed, and, has the option to either hang on or let go. This is NOT spiking.

And Ian, have you watched that fight again since? we all know you are now a guru in MMA but domination ? are we on about the same fight

[Ben_Hutch]

Wow this forum goes back.

[shin splints]

are there any dvds of cage rage 2 knocking about? i wouldnt mind seeing the first taylor v jess fight.

[K3YM4N6]

when i saw this i thought he ment to type 25 or what ever the last one was, couldnt wait to come on here and say you got a time machine:O o well that daint happen:(

diddnt know mma at cage rage 2 but i know its come along way!! keep it up!