It’s time for another of those déjà vu reviews again, a DVD review of a TV show I’ve already reviewed, and this time around we’re heading into the world of British MMA as we head back to The Troxy in London last August for UCMMA 29.
The show began with action from the light heavyweight division as Max Nunes faced Iain Martell.
This battle of undefeated fighters proved to be a very interesting affair. Martell sought to take the fight to the ground early on. He quickly achieved his aim, and even though Nunes managed to get back to his feet Martell took him down again.
A few moments later the referee threatened to stand them up due to inactivity. This spurred Nunes into action as he reversed the positions and finished the round with a spot of ground and pound.
Martell began the second round with another takedown, but within seconds Nunes locked in a triangle choke as Martell tapped out after just 46 seconds to give Nunes the submission win.
Then it was down to the lightweight division as the debuting Ben McConigle faced Ian Peters.
For someone making his debut young McConigle looked like a very composed fighter. He began to take control early on after the initial feeling out period, and even when Peters scored with a big slam McConigle quickly got back to his feet.
As the first round progressed McConigle’s striking got better and better as he bloodied his man’s nose, and even though Peters got off some good strikes of his own McConigle always looked like he had the upper hand.
And that was it. The doctors checked out Peters after the round ended and decided that he couldn’t go on, giving McConigle the stoppage win.
The lightweight action continued with Sean Carter facing Dom Clark.
These two didn’t bother with the feeling out period, they began swinging for the fences as soon as the fight began, and it wasn’t long before blood saw drawn when Carter sustained a cut under his eye.
It certainly was a frantic back and forth battle. One fight would get rocked, then he’d come back into the right and rock the other guy. Eventually something had to give, and after a knee to the chest and another to the head Clark slumped to the ground. Carter went for the kill with some ground and pound before the referee stopped the action to give Carter the TKO win.
Even more lightweight action followed as Andy Cona went up against Fadi Jameel.
Our esteemed announcers billed this one as the striker versus the grappler, and after the opening exchanges it was the grappler who took control when Jameel scored with the takedown.
Cona briefly went for a guillotine, but Jameel’s control was such that he was able to transition at will. It wasn’t long before he took the mount and went to work with the ground and pound, and when Jameel connected with the blow that knocked Cona out for a brief moment he ceased his attack as the referee stepped in to give Jameel the TKO win.
It was down to bantamweight for the next fight as Paul Kingdon faced Nathan Greyson.
These two began by exchanging kicks, but when Kingdon slipped Greyson immediately went into his guard. He postured up well, delivering a few choice shots, and when he transitioned away from the guard he began to rain down a torrent of blows. Kingdon curled up, and that was enough for the referee as he stepped in to give Greyson the TKO win.
The bantamweight action continued with Steve Brazier taking on Jody Collins.
Collins began his night’s work with a big right straight down the middle, followed up by a quick takedown into side control. Form there he delivered a series of knees to the body before moving so he could apply an arm triangle, and with Brazier passing out the referee stopped the action to give Collins the submission win after just 63 seconds.
Then it was up to the middleweight division as Tautvydas Lileikis took on Ben Callum.
Callum began swinging for the fences as soon as the bell sounded, and when he dropped his man with a big left and went for the ground and pound it looked all over until Lileikis managed to escape.
But like a red rag to a bull Callum continued his onslaught, and when Lileikis slumped to the mat the referee stopped the fight to give Callum the knockout win after just 33 seconds.
The only UK1 kickboxing fight on the show saw Jefferson George taking on Michael Page for the Welterweight Superfight title.
If you’ve never seen Page fighting I think the best way to describe is showboat artist. As is his custom Page moved around the cage and used an array of flashy kicks to attack George from all angles. But as good as this spectacle was he didn’t seem to connect with too many of them.
George looked a game fighter as he tried to take the fight to his man, and by the time the second round started Page seemed to take things a little bit more seriously. Although the flashy kicks were still there he introduced a few punches into the mix as well. It soon did the trick when a left/right combination sent George crashing. The referee quickly stopped the fight to give Page the knockout win.
The penultimate fight saw Spencer Hewitt challenging Giorgio Andrews for the Flyweight title.
The only fight on the show to go the distance proved to be a quite cagey affair at times as each round followed a similar pattern. From the moment the fight started Hewitt seemed intent on taking the fight to the ground. However, his efforts came to nothing as Andrews foiled him time and time again.
Andrews, on the other hand, had more success in that particular department. He was certainly the busier of the two in that respect, and although his ground work wasn’t overly flashy it was solid enough.
But with the fight going the distance the judges were called into action. Everyone was in agreement as Andrews took the unanimous decision.
The main event saw Nick Chapman challenging Linton Vassell for the Light Heavyweight title.
This one was very enjoyable. Although Vassell connected with the first blow of the fight it wasn’t long before Chapman took control. He may not have been the most graceful fighter but he was certainly effective. His big blows had Vassell in danger quite a few times, but as the first round neared it’s conclusion it was evident that the tank was nearly empty.
When the second round began Vassell took control with a takedown. Seconds later he took Chapman’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
In conclusion – as with my other UCMMA DVD reviews I must say that it’s great to see these shows in full because the television broadcasts really don’t do them justice. It’s also nice not having to fast forward through the commercial breaks!
The ethos that the fight should never be left in the hands of the judges was certainly adhered to here, because from top to bottom this show was filled with great finishes. All the fights delivered to varying degrees.
As for the fight of the night no-prize originally I went for the Max Nunes/Iain Martell fight. I’m going to change that decision now and plump for the Nick Chapman/Linton Vassell fight instead.
So with all of that out of the way there’s only one more thing to do, and that’s to give UCMMA 29 the thumbs up once again.
With thanks to the powers that be for supplying a copy of this release. For more information on how to purchase this or any other UCMMA DVD then visit www.ucmma.tv.
By day I’m an unemployed retail worker, and at weekends I volunteer at a local museum, but by night I’m the author of The Two Sheds Review, Britain’s longest running professional wrestling and mixed martial arts blog. Visit my site at www.twoshedsreview.vze.com. It’s been online in one form or another since June 2000!
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