It was one of those weekends that come around two/three times a year where there was so much going on that it could give you a massive headache!
We will start out on Friday night where Titan FC 27 took place in Kansas. The main and co-main event featured four UFC veterans in some very intriguingly matched fights. Mike Ricci (9-4) got back to winning ways in the main event against the very experience Jorge Gurgel (14-10) when he got a first round TKO victory. In the co-main event Matt Riddle (8-3) fought his very first pro fight outside the UFC and it was a successful venture as he tapped-out fellow UFC veteran Michael Kuiper (12-4) with a guillotine choke in the second round.
In Bellator, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson won his second straight fight in the promotion with a thumbing ground and pound KO over former champ Christian M’Pumbu to set up a mouth-watering fight with King Mo in the final.
Fast-forward to Saturday night at Cage Warriors 65 in Dublin, Ireland and John Maguire (19-7) came up short against hotly touted prospect Saul Rodgers (8-1) in a unanimous decision loss. Rodgers managed to avoid the submission attempts and timed his own attacks on the UFC veteran.
Benny ‘Blanco’ Alloway (13-5) fought his first fight since his UFC release last year and I doubt he could have faced a tougher opponent than Jack Mason (26-13). The Aussie got a very close fought decision victory over his English counterpart and will now have his sights on the promotion’s title.
On the same night at UXC in Belfast, Northern Ireland a massive heavyweight clash featuring UFC veteran Colin Robinson (10-12) and Pride veteran James Thompson (19-14-0-1) took place in front of packed crowd at the Odyssey Arena. It was Thompson’s enormous frame and power that won this one for the Englishman. He avoided some slick submission attempts from Robinson from bottom position and managed to get an arm-triangle halfway through the second round.
Also in Ireland on Saturday night Paul Daley won his kickboxing fight down in Cork with another first round KO, you can view it here. Daley is allowed compete in kickboxing while fighting MMA exclusively for BAMMA.
