Extreme Brawl - Report by Graham Finney
In a departure from recent events, Extreme Brawl organisers offered fight fans the ultimate in fight night experiences with a two event bill – the first featuring up and coming fighters followed later that evening by a mouth-watering bill of professional fighters. The two bill affair was dubbed ‘The Real Deal’ by the promoters and, as Graham Finney found out, it more than lived up to expectations.
SEMI PRO DAY TIME EVENT
With fans settled in their seats ready for the off, the early part of the day was given over to the future stars of MMA and, despite the event showcasing a number of debutants to the octagon, there was no shortage of skill and talent on the show ,which for this rapidly growing sport can only be a healthy thing.
Casey Tuckwell vs Nathan Towell
With the event well and truly under way, it was the turn of Casey Tuckwell and Nathan Towell to enter the cage and, as with all of these up and coming fighters, a healthy following was there to back their chosen fighter. Quickly out of their corners it wasn’t long before the two fighters grappled each other to the floor with Tuckwell coming out on top courtesy of a rear naked choke, barely a minute and a half into the first round.
Matt Flower Vs Andy Hook
As with the previous contest, this one showcased two very talented up and coming fighters. With the fight going to the ground early on in the first round, it wasn’t long before the strength of Flower brought him out on top winning the fight with an arm triangle hold after two minutes of solid grappling.
Nomaan Khalid vs Robbie Mcenzie
Khalid looked calm, confident and composed as he climbed into the octagon carrying this attitude on throughout the duration of the fight. With both fighters displaying excellent strength and grappling skills, the first round saw a stalemate however Khalid’s strength in the second round forced his opponent to tap out following a well executed head triangle.
Bradley Burnell vs John Brightwell
Burnell took this contest after one minute sixteen seconds executing a kimura choke on his opponent forcing him to tap out. It’s hard to take anything away from his opponent John Brightwell who will no doubt move on from this fight to bigger and more successful events. Two names to watch in the future.
Steven Harvey vs Matt Hogg
Other than the Khalid/Mcenzie fight, this contest was the only other one of the early fights of the day to go further than the first round. Credit must go to both fighters for putting on an excellent demonstration of MMA with Harvey coming out on top early on in the second round with a well executed guillotine hold forcing a tap out from his opponent.
Rob Silko vs Aaron Keyes
The first half of The Real Deal came to a swift conclusion with the final fight of the bill lasting a mere 28 seconds. Barely had the fighters tapped gloves before Silko had forced his opponent to the ground and into submission with a rear naked choke. It really was over before you could catch your breath showing the sheer speed of Silko taking full advantage from an early mistake by Aaron Keyes.
MMA PRO RULES EVENT
The second half of the day saw the appearance of the big hitters in every sense of the word. With some big names and hard hitting fighters set to go toe-to-toe, there was no way the rest of this evening was going to pass off without fireworks.
David Szeman Vs Charlie Bigrig
Earlier in the day Eastern European fighter David Szeman could be seen relaxing with his corner team ahead of his fight with Charlie Bigrig. It was a different man who entered the cage hours later though with little emotion showing on his face. Clearly focused on the task ahead, Szeman made sure the job was finished off quickly as both fighters went to ground early in the first round with Bigrig being put into a guillotine hold leaving him with no option but to tap out.
Ben Harrison Vs Matt Harrison
In an interesting billing, the next two fighters in the cage also happened to be brothers. All eyes were on this one to see who would come out on top and it has to be said that the first brother to brother bout to enter the arena.
Matt did look the more nervous of the two, Still both brothers gave a good account of themselves and, despite a strong performance from Matt, his brother Ben came out on top with a well executed guillotine hold. Disappointment and frustration showed on the beaten brother’s face but, a couple of hours later, the pair was all smiles again.
The reason for this match was the sheer lightness of both fighters, weighing in a mere 57kgms each and finding quality opponents of this weight is rare. Anymore out there? Step forward please.
Sean Mcquire Vs Matthew Isles
As was the case at the last Extreme Brawl, this CK1 event went the duration as both fighters unleashed an endless barrage of well-connecting, powerful blows and bone-crunching kicks onto each other. Despite the weight of the crowd backing Sean Mcguire, it can’t be denied that his opponent Matthew Isles gave a good account of himself but, with the fight being taken right to the wire, it was hard to dispute the judges unanimous decision in favour of Mcquire.
Chaz Scott Vs Sam Rocha
Fighting for the British title fight, this was another fight that brought the room to its feet as Chaz Scott took on Sam Rocha in a five round MMA bout. With very little to separate the two in the first round, Scott upped his game in the second coming out on top with a rear naked choke hold half way through the second round forcing his opponent to tap out and giving Scott the well deserved title.
Sergio Stellitano Vs Ansel Gibbs
With the infamous Barrington Patterson waiting in the wings to present the winner of this bout with the Chris Ballard Charity Cup, nothing less than 150% from both fighters would be expected. Gibbs came flying out of his corner setting out his intentions right from the off with a series of (some successful, some not so) spinning kicks. As with the Mcguire/ Isles contest earlier in the night, these two kickboxers took each other to the final round with the judges voting in favour of Stellitano who just about squeezed the win to take the Cup over his opponent.
Ian “Monsta” Hawkins Vs Matt Follain
Following Follains entrance, Ian “Monsta” Hawkins made his way into the cage acknowledging friends with a massive grin on his face. With both fighters being more suited to heavy-hitting than graceful moves, it wasn’t long before the two were landing thundering blows on each other. Such was the power behind each blow that it was clear this contest wouldn’t go the duration and it was no surprise when Follain was felled three minutes into the bout by the heavy hitting ‘’Monsta’’Hawkins
Eddie White-Overton v Shawn Gruncell
In what can only be described as an utter bloodbath, this fight left the entire room in awe. As both fighters set out from the off with one aim – utter destruction of their opponent – some punters around the cage questioned whether this fight should have continued as long as it did. With both fighters taking each other to the ground and pouring with blood, White-Overton’s corner patched him up for more punishment in the second round. It wasn’t long though before Gruncell forced his opponent to the ground again and, with one eye swelling up, White-Overtons corner had no choice but to throw in the towel.
This fight will surely be remembered as one of the most exhilarating fights of all time.
Pete Mercer Vs Steven Dossett
This one had been a long time coming as Steven Dossett finally stepped into the cage with defending Pro-CK1 title-holder Pete Mercer. With Dossetts corner furious at the type of gloves Mercer was wearing as they were not given the same make by the organisers as the original pair did not fit, an honest mistake, but after Dossetts gloves had been changed and the cage cleared the fuse was relit. Having seen Mercer pummel his previous opponents, this was the first time he’d been taken to the wire by a fighter and we got to see the real Peter Mercer as a fighter with the heart of a lion. At times looking shaken by a number of well-connecting blows from Dossett, Mercer found it increasingly difficult to wear down this opponent and credit must be given to Dossett for stopping Mercer from unleashing that one killer blow. The room was on edge as the judges results came in and, despite being frustrated by his opponent, Mercer proved himself as a great champion
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Originally Posted by armyofanubis
