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Matt Thorpe and John Phillips To Headline Knuckleup: Origin
17 Jan 2010
Knuckleup the new driving force behind UK MMA returns on February 20th at the Cheltenham Racecourse in South West England. As promoter Matthew Hand looks to build upon a successful 2009, which saw the fledgling promotion deliver the critically acclaimed “Knuckleup at the Manor” which was made famous by its epic main event between the recent Bellator FC signee “Judo” Jim Wallhead and former UFC “Ultimate Fighter” season 9 participant Che Mills.
Now after a 2 month absence Knuckleup returns with a stacked 13 bout fight card which includes four Title fights, two members of the 2009 English M-1 Challenge team, a Shooto Japan veteran and a former UFC veteran. Headlining the card is an intriguing domestic clash for the vacant Knuckleup Middleweight Title. As the former Welsh Commonwealth Boxing team member John Phillips (9-3-0-1nc) takes on the 2009 Team England M-1 Challenge Middleweight fighter Matt “12 Gauge” Thorpe (13-10-0).
John Phillips trains out of Team Predator in Swansea, Wales and is currently ranked tenth in the MMAUnltd.com British Middleweight rankings. Having made his MMA debut in 2005 after a distinguished amateur boxing career, Phillips quickly made his way through the local circuit and scored with three quick TKO wins in his first 4 fights (with his only defeat coming at the hands of the more experienced grappler Jim Wallhead in a British Title bout in 2006). Nevertheless Phillips' performances saw him called-up overseas where he picked-up two more quick wins in Croatia during 2007, before signing-up for the now defunct Cage Rage show in London, where he picked-up two further wins between 2007 and 2008.
However Phillips comes into this bout after a quiet 2009 which saw him win by TKO yet again in Slovenia at the WFC against the veteran Czech fighter Bohumil Lungrik last April. However Phillips' career was put on hold after a heartbreaking loss against Denniston Sutherland at the inaugural BAMMA show last June. As a Sutherland hip throw takedown dislocated the Welshman's shoulder and forced him to tap-out to avoid further punishment as he was subjected to some relentless ground and pound midway through round 1.
Since that loss, Phillips has been out of action but should not be underestimated due to his phenomenal striking skills which has seen 8 of his 9 victories come by the way of (T)KO and his one submission win also being caused via strikes. With an improving all-round game and previous big fight experience at Wembley Arena against the now MFC bound Tom “Kong” Watson; Phillips will not be fazed by the big occasion and will be looking to show why he is a force in the UK scene by defeating the well travelled Team Coliseum fighter next month.
However Matt Thorpe is a near eight year veteran of the sport and has faced some top names in Europe during his career. Known for his epic five round Cage Warriors Title bout against the now UFC star Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy in 2005; Thorpe currently finds himself ranked eighth in the MMAUnltd.com British Middleweight rankings. This likeable Middleweight has not only fought on some of the biggest events in the UK but also overseas in BodogFIGHT, M-1 Global and Battle of Botina, which has seen the 29 year old travel around the world. (Russia x2, Japan, the USA, Holland and most recently Sweden.)
A former Welterweight; Thorpe is known for his all-round skills, height and reach. (he stands at 6ft 4/193cm) Whilst he also holds wins over the likes of Che Mills, Raymond Jarman, Peter Angerer and several other domestic fighters. After Thorpe moved up a division in 2009 and joined the English M-1 Challenge team (that reached last year's Semi Finals) the Stockport native picked-up individual victories over Yasuke Masuda (Team Japan) and Rafael Rodriguez (Team Spain). However like his opponent; Thorpe has a lot to prove after coming off two straight losses toward the end of last year, against two of Europe's best Middleweights in the form of the UFC veteran Ansar Chalangov and the rapidly rising Swedish star Tor Troeng.
Whilst the casual observer may see Thorpe purely as a submission fighter (as all but 2 of his 13 wins have come by Submission) his record is somewhat deceiving and he is far more versatile than his record suggests, with a vastly underrated stand-up game and some previous Muay Thai/Kickboxing experience too.
Despite their seemingly contrasting skill-sets, this bout is much more than just another classical striker vs. grappler clash, as some have previously suggested and with considerable hype already surrounding this bout on internet forums, this bout promises to be an explosive main event as both men look to stop the slide and walk-away with the vacant Knuckleup Title on February 20th.
With this fantastic main event now secured, Knuckleup hope to raise the expectations and level of UK MMA once again. We also plan a full and exciting undercard which will feature some of the UK's best up-and-coming talent. We hope this move will once again give the potential talent nestling within the UK scene a real chance to shine in the spotlight on an event, which not only promises top class MMA action, but also delivers it to the fans via revolutionary production values for a UK based event.
For more information on this show go to www.knuckleup.co.uk and see below for the latest card
Knuckleup: Origin
Saturday 20th February 2010
The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, Evesham Road, Prestbury Pk, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH
Main Event - Vacant Knuckle Up Middleweight Title Bout
Matt "12 Gauge" Thorpe (13-10-0) vs. John Philips (9-3-0-1nc)
Knuckle Up Lightweight Title Bout
(Champion) Matt Sellers (7-2-0) vs. Daniel "Denzil" Thomas (16-6-0)
Vacant Knuckle Up Welterweight Title Bout
(Champion) Jake Blyth (8-1-0) vs. Kevin Reed (7-10-0)
Vacant Knuckle Up Featherweight Title Bout
Antanas Jazbutis (10-7-0) vs. Ashleigh Grimshaw (7-6-1-1nc)
Bantamweight Bout
Leigh Remedios (24-7-4) vs. Paddy Doherty (6-7-0)
Welterweight Bout
Simon Phillips (10-4-0) vs. Danny Mitchell (7-0-0)
Featherweight Bout
Ross Mould (4-5-0) vs. Dino Gambatesa (5-1-0)
Featherweight Bout
Dave Hill (6-0-0) vs. James Lutman (2-4-0)
Bantamweight Bout
Martin McDonaugh (Pro Debut) vs Raj "The Tiger" Bista (Pro Debut)
Lightweight Bout
Grant Harris (2-1-0) vs Kris Edwards (2-2-0)
Welterweight
Lewis Long (1-0-0) vs Jon Maggs (1-1-0)
Welterweight Bout
Jack Marshman (Pro Debut) vs. Andrew Cochran (Pro Debut)
Welterweight Bout
Anthony Johnson (Pro Debut) vs. Neil Spiring (Pro Debut)
Ticket Information
£25 Rear Tier
£30 Central Tier
£40 Front Row
Plus there are 3 bands of VIP table available:
£500 which includes table service,
£700 which includes buffet food and table service
£1000 GOLD VIP tables which includes a hot 3 course meal, table service and awesome cageside views.
All tables seat 10 people.
Tickets for this event are available at www.knuckleup.co.uk and www.ticketmaster.co.uk
The official Knuckleup After Show Party will be held at Sub Tone in Cheltenham, where Knuckleup guests will get discounted entry. Whilst Knuckleup will once again be raising money for the “Help for Heroes” charity.
About Knuckleup
Knuckleup is a new British Mixed Martial Arts promotion, who are dedicated to bringing the best of British MMA to both live events and in the near future television broadcasts. MMA is one of the fastest growing and most explosive sports in the UK and Knuckleup is committed to showcasing British MMA talent and promoting the sport to a wider audience.
Our philosophy is to combine excellent fight cards alongside quality production values. We want to see the sport of MMA in the UK grow to the size of our US counterparts. Every show that Knuckleup promotes will endeavour to deliver the highest class in production possible and to strengthen itself as the "Home of UK MMA."
www.knuckleup.co.uk
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