WHILE the UFC and Cage Rage sit at the top of the pile when it comes to mixed
martial arts in England, grassroots shows are mushrooming across the country as the sport continues to rocket in popularity.
Middlesbrough Ju Jitsu club have been promoting their own cards for the last few years as they
help fly the MMA flag in the North East, showcasing domestic and regional talents and overseas fighters of the calibre of
Dutch heavyweight Michael Kita.
And their 10th show broke new ground at Redcar Bowl as the seaside venue which staged some of
the biggest darts events of the 1980s rocked to MMA for the first time, with just
two of the 15 full contact bouts going the distance.
Contests featured two five minute rounds but the judges were left twiddling
their thumbs for most of the night as emerging and novice combatants from all over the UK took matters into their own
hands.
The host club’s Jamie Taylor and Elliott McGlade provided two of
the night’s swiftest and most convincing victories.
Ormesby welterweight Taylor forced Blackpool’s Lee Livesey to tap
out within 20 seconds of their professional rules match after following up a slam with a volley of unanswered strikes.
Featherweight Elliott McGlade badly cut and stopped East Yorkshire youngster
Joe Wilson in less than two minutes in the first of 10 semi-pro fights.
Spennymoor’s Brad Cane was not hanging around either as he submitted
Middlesbrough’s Peter Winter after just 17 seconds.
And Dewsbury visitor Paul Durber got the better of a fierce stand-up scrap
before producing a solid short right hand to knock out Middlesbrough Jujitsu’s Matt Thompson with 53 seconds on
the clock in the first round.
The night featured every facet of mixed martial arts, including
ground-based
grappling and jujitsu and thai boxing.
Jarrow heavyweight Dave Wilson fought in the main event after refereeing
several of the bouts and celebrated a first round arm lock submission win over Frenchman Pao Zoro, the only overseas competitor
on the card.
Wilson had been stopped in the first round of his previous bout by Zoro's compatriot
Akim Assenine at Total Combat 24.
Middlesbrough Jujitsu team-mates Mike Cane and Mike Rutley also provided an
exhibition filler after Cane’s scheduled opponent failed to turn up.
Battleground 11 is set to take place at Redcar Bowl in September.
Amateur rules: Jordan McMahon (M’bro Ju Jitsu) drew with Sean Earles
(CCA H’pool); David Pickard (Spennymoor Lodge Fight Club) submitted Mike Foreman (E Yorkshire MMA) round one.
Semi-professional rules: Elliott McGlade (M’bro Ju Jitsu) beat Joe
Wilson (E Yorkshire MMA) rsc1; Sirus Ali (M’bro Ju Jitsu) outpointed James Anderson (True Spirit MMA); Jamie Dewing
(M’bro Ju Jitsu) submitted Mark Mullen (Northern Alliance MMA) round one; Paul Durber (Caged Steel, Dewsbury) beat Matt
Thompson (M’bro Ju Jitsu) ko1; Brad Cane (Spennymoor)
submitted Peter Winter (M’bro Ju Jitsu); Darren Hughes
(Spennymoor) submitted Craig Widderson (M’bro Ju Jitsu) round one; Leon Osodje (M’bro Ju Jitsu) beat Adam Rome
(Phoenix MMA) rsc1; Liam O’Neil (True Spirit MMA) submitted Rob Hughes (M’bro Ju Jitsu) round one; Mabsy Alam
(True Spirit
MMA) submitted Russell Callaghan (Mario Reis BJJ) round two; Jay Hugill (M’bro Ju Jitsu) beat Dave Sloan
(Sherlock MMA) disqualification.
Professional rules: Jamie Taylor (M’bro Ju Jitsu) submitted Lee Livesey
(Musubi MMA) strikes, round one; Rob Davison (Northern Alliance) beat Gary Innes (CCA H’pool) rsc1; Dave Wilson (Northern
Alliance) submitted Pao Zoro (France) round one.
