Cagewarriors Strikeforce 1-6

[TheUnfitOne]

I'm just tripping down memory lane here, but for those that attended, fought or were involved, how fucking good were these shows ? I still believe that these were the pinacle of UK based shows (yes, I am aware of Cage Rage), and I still look back at these times with great fondness and still recount the 1000+ stories I collected there, and the diverse characters I met there.

Sorry, soppy diatribe over



CWFC - Strike Force
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
May 21, 2005
Skydome Arena, Coventry, England

1 Mohamed El-Aouji Chris Freeborn Submission (Triangle Choke) 2
2 Bendy Casimir Dave Swann Submission (Choke) 1 4:07
3 Boris Jonstomp Jim Wallhead Submission (Neck Crank) 1 4:20
4 David Baron Dan Hardy Submission (Triangle Choke) 2 3:10
5 Danny Batten Emmanuel Fernandez Submission (Triangle Choke) 2 2:18
6 Gregory Bouchelaghem Ross Pointon Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 4:10
7 Antonio Silva Marcus Tchinda TKO 1 3:03
8 Damien Riccio Matt Ewin No Contest 0
9 Marc Emmanuel Barrington Patterson KO 1



CWFC - Strike Force 2
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
July 16, 2005
Skydome Arena, Coventry, England

1 Mickey Whitty Toni Vivas TKO 1 4:49
2 Gregory Bouchelaghem Robert Mitchell Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 3:14
3 Dan Hardy Lautaro Arborelo TKO 3 3:52
4 Thomas Valentin Ross Pointon Submission (Kimura) 2 2:07
5 Danny Batten Tom Niinimaki Decision (Majority) 5 5:00
6 Moise Rimbon Henrique Nogueira TKO 2 0:30
7 Levente Varga David Brown Decision 3 5:00
8 Michael Bisping Miika Mehmet TKO (Corner Stoppage) 1 3:01
9 Nelson Semedo Ross Mason TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 2 1:49
10 Leigh Remedios Emmanuel Fernandez Draw 3 5:00
11 Wagner da Conceicao Martins Rafal Dabrowski KO 2 2:04
12 Martin Kampmann Matt Ewin Submission (Verbal) 1 2:45



CWFC - Strike Force 3
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
October 1, 2005
Skydome Arena,
Coventry, England

1 Kristian Lexell Darren Spencer TKO 1 3:33
2 Ross Pointon Jerome Laulan Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1 0:36
3 Henrique Nogueira Marc Goddard Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1 2:49
4 Alexandre Izidro Jani Lax Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1 2:58
5 David Bielkheden Josenildo Ramarho Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 4:52
6 Jim Wallhead Steve Singh-Sidhu TKO (Corner Stoppage) 1 3:14
7 Tengiz Tedoradze Tom Blackledge Submission (Strikes) 1 2:20
8 Diego Gonzalez Dan Hardy No Contest 2 1:19
9 Kyle Davis Kash Singh-Sidhu TKO 1 3:42
10 Michael Bisping Jakob Lovstad Submission (Strikes) 1 1:10


CWFC - Strike Force 4
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
November 26, 2005
Skydome Arena,
Coventry, UK

1 Rosi Sexton Dina Van den Hooven TKO (Corner Stoppage) 3 5:00
2 Paul McVeigh Phil Harris Submission (Triangle Choke) 3 1:05
3 Danny Batten Augusto Frota TKO (Corner Stoppage) 3 5:00
4 Martin Wojcik Christian Smith TKO 1 2:52
5 Alexandre Izidro Thomas Hytten Decision (Majority) 5 5:00
6 Dan Hardy Matt Thorpe Decision (Split) 5 5:00
7 Martin Kampmann Damien Riccio Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 1:58
8 Michael Bisping Ross Pointon Submission (Armbar) 1 2:00
9 Jeff Monson Marc Emmanuel Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 0:58
10 Antonio Silva Ruben Villareal TKO 1 3:07



CWFC - Strike Force 5
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
March 25, 2006
Skydome Arena,
Coventry, England

1 Jim Wallhead Henning Svendsen TKO 1 2:06
2 Paul Rodgerson Aaron Behan TKO 2 1:34
3 Samy Schiavo Sami Berik Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1 2:32
4 David Bielkheden Steve Dawson KO 1 0:50
5 Alex Cook Marcello Salazar TKO 2 3:02
6 Chris Rice Dorian Lapaj Decision (Majority) 3 5:00
7 Jakob Lovstad Henrique Nogueira Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 3 0:47
8 Hakim Goram Gulyas Zsolt Submission (Armbar) 1 1:38
9 Mario Neto Markus Hipp TKO 1 0:36
10 Dan Hardy Diego Gonzalez TKO (Cut) 3 0:19
11 Antonio Silva Tadas Rimkevicius TKO 1 3:22



CWFC - Strike Force 6
Cage Warriors Fighting Championships
May 27, 2006
Coventry, England

1 Mick Sinclair Jay Gilbey TKO 1 4:34
2 Franco de Leonardis Mark Spencer Submission (Triangle Choke) 1 0:40
3 Daniel Weichel Josenildo Ramarho Decision (Majority) 3 5:00
4 Paul McVeigh Neil McLeod TKO 2 3:27
5 Andre Balschmieter Jose Marcello TKO 1 3:08
6 Allan Lee Cengiz Dana TKO 1 3:38
7 Alex Cook Chris Rice Submission (Triangle Choke) 1 1:09
8 Bruce Davis Ben Walker Submission (Verbal) 1 0:37
9 Diego Gonzalez Arni Isaksson Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
10 Ross Mason Jesse-Bjorn Buckler TKO 1 2:24
11 Peter Angerer Jim Wallhead Submission (Choke) 1 1:49
12 Alexandre Izidro Mario Stapel Decision (Majority) 5 5:00

[David Swann]

I think I saw one to five, missed 6, but have all issued on DVD

[iandean]

Cage Warriors Strike Force 4 was a truly magical and amazing event and i am so very proud to have worked on it and made a few of the match-ups for it

From beginning to end it was a great show with 9 Titles on the line and each one Title bout meaning something too. The quality that was on display that night was off the chart. See below (bouts i made in bold)

Rosi Sexton vs . Dina Van den Hooven
Paul McVeigh vs. Phil Harris
Danny Batten vs. Augusto Frota
Alexandre Izidro vs. Thomas Hytten

Were all exciting bouts and well put together and Rosi that night was a machine, less than 9 months after giving birth she comes in and beaters a bigger opponent who was also really skilful too and the whole crowd got into it.

Whilst the 3 bouts were all technical wars too

And of course you can't forget the epic bout between Dan Hardy and Matt Thorpe. I still think it's one of the best bouts in UK MMA history

And the other 4 Title bouts all had their moments i was especally pleased with the main event as it was amazing to have Junior fight Warpath and see the big Brazilian lad back on CW. I remember how hard i worked to get Warpath on just a few days notice having to spend a fortune on phone calls and flights and worked for 14 hours through the night to get his travel arrangements booked-up and for him to leave to the UK just 24 hours later was just an epic achievement. And he was a really nice guy too, which is just as important in my book.

I remember the work that went into that card and i remember still being awake at 5am after the weigh-in but just couldn't sleep and was talking to the American guys who were also awake. The hotel was amazing, everything felt perfect even the massive argument i had with my gf couldn't sour things for too long !

I just remember being so nervous but also star stuck at the weigh-ins and through to the day of the event (and after) there was such a great vibe as everything went so perfectly, I remember giving out the Title belts on the day of the show whilst backstage, holding these 9 heavy belts panicking whilst trying not to drop them and just watching all these top European guys get ready and prepare for the fight....it just felt so special.

I miss those days as i felt CW put on not just great fights, but the right fights, pushing guys who deserved it. And i think the level of thought, care and general research we put into our matchmaking is sadly missing in the UK scene nowadays.

If you get a chance to watch the show, do so.

[caged steel]

Happy days, truly!

[kaizer]

I will have to catch up on some of these

[marc goddard]

Good times. I mean really good times.

On the reffing front CW is what made me what I am today. I don't foget.

[MMAlien]

I won tickets to strikeforce 4 and worked backstage for strikeforce six. awesome times! warpath was a legend his boots were ace, and the streaker during izidro and stapels fight was hillarious!

[caged steel]

I started out judging on the 1st cagewariors and early cage rage shows, eventually progressing onto refereeing, i even fought on cagewarriors against tom blackledge. cagewarriors was a great show where a lot of people learned their trade

[iandean]

For me it was an event series that focused on the fights and more importantly the fighters

Yeah some people used it to strike their ego but on the whole it was about the fights and the fighters and i guess the fans too. e.g. We had a party of 30 people fly over from Sweden for CW SF 5 !!

For me CW : SF had bouts you wouldn't see anywhere else, no gimmicks, (mostly) no wannbee gangsters just quality high level European MMA. Other promoters didn't even know half the guys we were bringing over but look at where most of them are now.

I would love to have the chance to do those kind of shows again as they were waaaaay ahead of their time. Although i'd never call it "CW Strike Force" as for me those events featured the stars that were available at the time e.g. Bisping, Hardy, Junior etc - i still feel you can recreated the concept behind it. Looking back that's where i really learnt my trade and although i know i made so many mistakes, they are mistakes that i wouldn't make now.

But a streamlined version of that show with 10-12 fights featuring top European MMA with some decent TV and financial backing is what this country needs, as there are so many good European guys out there wanting to fight in England and so many top UK guys wasting away with unimaginative and lazy booking here at home. For me the kinda ethos that was behind CW: SF really needs to be revived.

I'm itching to be able to match-up those kinda shows again and to be let loose and put on the kinda fightcard that will get me motivated again, as back in those days i never slept as it was a roller-coaster of emotions and with the competition from Dave Rage being so fierce at the time, it gave me so much drive to push myself further and further.

The last time i ever felt like that was at CW ETRH 7 when we went head to head with Dave Rage and murdered their show for quality and press coverage (apart from the headbutting incident they had)

I am really itching to do this again and i'm counting down the days till it happens. I promise everyone, if i get the chance to put on that kinda show again, you will not be disappointed and i will show why i am the best matchmaker in the UK, as CW is in my blood and it's killing me just waiting around on the sidelines.

[TheUnfitOne]

For me it was an event series that focused on the fights and more importantly the fighters

Yeah some people used it to strike their ego but on the whole it was about the fights and the fighters and i guess the fans too. e.g. We had a party of 30 people fly over from Sweden for CW SF 5 !!

For me CW : SF had bouts you wouldn't see anywhere else, no gimmicks, (mostly) no wannbee gangsters just quality high level European MMA. Other promoters didn't even know half the guys we were bringing over but look at where most of them are now.

I would love to have the chance to do those kind of shows again as they were waaaaay ahead of their time. Although i'd never call it "CW Strike Force" as for me those events featured the stars that were available at the time e.g. Bisping, Hardy, Junior etc - i still feel you can recreated the concept behind it. Looking back that's where i really learnt my trade and although i know i made so many mistakes, they are mistakes that i wouldn't make now.

But a streamlined version of that show with 10-12 fights featuring top European MMA with some decent TV and financial backing is what this country needs, as there are so many good European guys out there wanting to fight in England and so many top UK guys wasting away with unimaginative and lazy booking here at home. For me the kinda ethos that was behind CW: SF really needs to be revived.

I'm itching to be able to match-up those kinda shows again and to be let loose and put on the kinda fightcard that will get me motivated again, as back in those days i never slept as it was a roller-coaster of emotions and with the competition from Dave Rage being so fierce at the time, it gave me so much drive to push myself further and further.

The last time i ever felt like that was at CW ETRH 7 when we went head to head with Dave Rage and murdered their show for quality and press coverage (apart from the headbutting incident they had)

I am really itching to do this again and i'm counting down the days till it happens. I promise everyone, if i get the chance to put on that kinda show again, you will not be disappointed and i will show why i am the best matchmaker in the UK, as CW is in my blood and it's killing me just waiting around on the sidelines.

Amen to that !