By Dean Weir

The second event under the banner of "MAX MMA" was held at Wesley's Nightclub in Pudsey, Leeds. Mark Spencer and Peter McFadden laid on another great night of MMA action that was enjoyed by the sell out crowd.

"Team Fulinkazans" Neema Jalilian and "Independent" fighter Jordan Ashington got the night started in the first amateur contest.
Jalilian gained the victory via a Split Decision.

Next up was another amateur contest between Rob "Chuck" Norris, from Team Fulinkazan, and Farrell MMA's Hamzah Hason. No headshots are allowed in amateur rules so this contest started off with an exchange of body punches before Hason threw a well aimed knee from which he immediately used to his advantage in taking Norris to the ground and gained side control. An attempted arm triangle was released by Hason after he received repetitive punches to his ribs. Norris spun out but Hason took his back, failed to gain any advantage and Norris escaped and switched the positions ending up on top in Hasons guard. A flurry of body punches followed before Norris stood up and requested Hason join him on his feet. Hason threw a viscous knee to the ribs of Norris which floored the man from Fulinkazan. Hason, strangely, allowed Norris to stand up without taking advantage. A clinch ensued with both men throwing punches and knees in the final seconds of the round.

Norris pushed the pace when the second round started with the better punches and knees, especially in the clinch. Hason managed to throw Norris to the ground but both men stood immediately. Norris gained conrol on the fence before Hason scored another takedown. Yet again no advantage was possible from the position and Norris got back to his feet and punished his opponent with some excellent body punching to which Hason had little response. A claim of a blow to the head of Hason caused a delay in the contest while he "recovered". The referee reminded Norris headshots were illegal in amateur contests. The fight resumed with the now much more aggressive Norris pushing forward constantly. Hason, again, managed a takedown but Norris gained the advantage ending up on top in full guard. The referee stood the fighters up with Hason, again, complaining of an illegal blow to the head. The final seconds of the contest saw exchanges of control in the clinch, along with punches and knees from both.
The judges decision of a majority draw was a fair result for a great contest.

Fan favourite James Harrison followed Chester Submission Wrestler Mike Adams to the cage for the third contest of the night. The Fulinkazan fighter exchanged with Adams initially before being taken down and allowing Adams side control. This soon became full guard with Harrison showing good defence and escape credentials, eventually working an armbar attempt. Adams escaped to take the back of his now kneeling opponent but was unable to gain any significant advance. Harrison escaped again and attempted yet another armbar from his back. Body punches from the top forced Harrison to release and the round ended with Adams gaining a reverse guillotine choke just as the bell sounded.

The second round started with a flying knee from Adams, Harrison gaining control in the clinch and attempting a standing guillotine choke. This position transferred to the floor where Harrison made the transition to another armbar attempt. Unable to hold Adams, Harrison quickly switched to the top and just as quickly made two unsuccessful knee bar attempts. Adams escaping the second with a number of powerful hammerfists to the ribs of Harrison. On escaping, Adams gained the top position again but was soon defending a kimura attempt from the local man. With no progression from this point, the referee stood the fighters and the contest ended with both men showing signs of fatigue.
Adams taking the judges decision.

Bout four saw the first stoppage of the night with Fulinkazan fighter Matt Standing submitting Farrell MMA's Paolo Margaglioie. The start of the round saw Standing charging across the cage and aiming a flying knee and a kick at his opponent, followed with a flurry of punches, before Margaglioie clinched and slammed Standing to the floor. Position and control changed numerous times in a very fast paced contest. Numerous submission attempts by both fighters ensued before Standing locked in a guillotine choke that forced Margaglioie to tap after 3:36.

The fifth amateur contest of the night was a very one sided affair. James Riley of Fulinkazan completely dominated from start to finish. Chester Submission fighter Alan Hughes pushed forward repeatedly but offered very little in offensive strikes in either round. Riley kept up his work rate with kicks and punches throughout. Each time Hughes threw a kick, Riley caught it and swept his standing leg and immediately let Hughes stand. A unanimous decision from the judges, arguably with two 10-8 rounds.

The action and intensity was stepped up in the next contest with another Fulinkazan fighter, and crowd favourite, Ollie Townsend battling with Chester Submissions Dan Lancaster. Townsend came out fast with kicks and knees before he was lifted and slammed into the floor, he immediately had Lancaster in full guard and worked for a triangle. For what seemed like an eternity, Lancaster worked to escape, eventually lifting Townsend up and slamming him while still in the triangle hold, which succeeded in the release of the submission attempt. Both men gained their feet and exchanged knees in the clinch until the end of the round.

The second round carried on where the first ended, with knees, kicks and punches being exchanged with some gusto. Townsend attempted a standing guillotine forcing Lancaster to the ground. Numerous switches in position and control followed in quick succession until Townsend succeeded in attempting a knee bar. Lancaster kept his cool and wriggled free, gaining the top position and nullifying any further submission attempt. The referee allowed bot to their feet and the fight ended with both men looking completely exhausted. 

The contest was declared a draw, with one judge calling both rounds 10-10, and certainly gained the plaudits of "Fight Of The Night".

Next up was the first Semi-Pro fight of the evening with Dave Leeson of Farrell MMA up against Chester Submissions Vince Irvine. The contest started with Irvine being floored from an excellent left hook from Leeson, who dropped into side control, moved to an attempted a guillotine which was attempted simultaneously by Irvine, from the bottom. Both released and were stood up by the referee. Irvine managed to take the leg of Leeson forcing him to the ground and moved into full guard and then into side control. Leeson swept and ended up in Irvines full guard. From this position he maneuvered into full mount and overpowered his opponent forcing him to tap to a one armed throat choke.

"Team Colosseum" man Saul Rogers gained the fastest stoppage of the night over Independent fighter Danny Skaife. After an initial exchange, Skaife failed in an attempt to takedown Rogers who then floored Skaife with a well timed left hook. Skaife regained his feet, Rogers attacked with kicks and punches. Skaife, inexplicably turned away from Rogers and was caught with a left hook, come uppercut, that ended the contest at just 56 seconds of the first round.

Qasim Shafiq gave a dominant performance over Team Colloseum man Sam Fergusson in the next semi-pro contest. The Team Fulinkazan fighter exchanged initially with Fergusson before he was caught in a standing guillotine attempt. Fergusson tried to pull guard but Shafiq forced his opponent onto his back and maneuvered into side control, attempted an arm triangle, moved into full mount and punished Fergussons body with some heavy body shots. Fergusson spun onto his knees and gave up his back, Shafiq locked on and continued with the barrage of body shots. Fergusson eventually wriggled out but ended up in a triangle choke from which he made a valiant and successful attempt to escape only to have Shafiq end up in full mount before ending the round with an arm bar attempt.

Round 2 continued in pretty much the same way, with Shafiq making submission attempts early on and once he gained the full mount he punished Fergusson with continuous body punches. At one point the referee paused the fight as Fergusson indicated he had received a headshot. The fight restarted in the same position, with Shafiq in full mount, and continued until the final bell with Shafiq punishing Fergusson.

Shafiq gained the judges decision in what was his last contest at Semi-Professional before he makes his debut in the Professional ranks.

The final Semi-Pro bout of the evening saw Steve Dinsdale add to his list of victories. The Chester Submission man succumbed early to a takedown from Fulinkazans Andy Wilcocks, who threw a number of punches from the full guard position before moving for an arm triangle attempt. Dinsdale escaped and in the blink of an eye maneuvered to take the left arm of Wilcocks and gain the submission victory.

The first of the nights two Professional fights ended somewhat disappointingly despite an excellent start. Chester Submissions Daniel Cobel and Farrell MMA's Zoltan Antel came out with guns blazing with a short exchange before clinching and falling to the ground. Cobel took the back of Antel, the two then stood up and Cobel proceeded to complete a pair of excellent suplexes before moving into half guard. Antel failed in an armbar attempt before they gained their feet. Antel attacked with five unanswered leg kicks and then the contest exploded with a great exchange of punches with Cobel being floored twice by well timed left hooks from Antel. Cobel regained his feet, but after the second occasion, with a cut above his eye. At this point he turned to the referee claiming a clash of heads causing the cut. The referee eventually stopping the fight as Cobel requested the delay due to the cut. A disappointing end to a contest that promised much more.

The nights events came to an end with the most dominant performance of all. Colosseums Chris Thompson gaining the TKO victory over Independent fighter, and last minute replacement, Neil Harwood, in just 1:10 of the first round. When the bell sounded for the start of the contest, Harwood raced across the cage and threw a wild punch at Thompson, who evaded the effort and Harwood lost his balance and fell to the floor. He almost immediately curled up into a ball and was subject to a barrage of head shots from Thompson before the referee rightly stepped in to call a halt to the proceedings.

The third MAX event is due to be held, again at Wesley's Nightclub, on 3rd July 2010. This is sure to be another excellent night of amateur, semi-pro and professional fights. For further details, and tickets, visit www.mma-max.com

Full Results :-

Amateur - Neema Jalilian def. Jordan Ashington by Split Decision.
Amateur - Rob Norris v Hamzah Hason - Majority Draw.
Amateur - Mike Adams def. James Harrison by Decision.
Amateur - Matt Standing def. Paolo Margaglioie by Guillotine Choke RND 1 (3:36).
Amateur - James Riley def. Alan Hughes by Unanimous Decision.
Amateur - Ollie Townsend v Dan Lancaster - Draw.
Semi Pro - David Leeson def. Vince Irvine by Choke RND 1 (4:25).
Semi Pro - Saul Rogers def. Danny Skaife by KO RND 1 (0:56).
Semi Pro - Qasim Shafiq def. Sam Fergusson by Unanimous Decision.
Semi Pro - Steve Dinsdale def. Andy Wilcocks by Armbar RND 1.
Pro - Zoltan Antol def. Daniel Cobel by TKO (Cut) RND 1 (2:55).
Pro - Chris Thompson def. Neil Harwood by TKO (G and P) RND 1 (1:10).