Pro Kumite 1st Nov 08

 
Pro Kumite’s first event was held at the Bracknell Leisure Centre, and showcased an array of debutants, along with 3 title fights in both MMA
and Kickboxing.

 
Headlined by the battle for the 75kgs Silver kickboxing championship which saw Damien Hamilton take the belt home after making short work of opponent Nigel Yarde. Despite having a significant height advantage over his opponent, and coming out immediately with a flying knee, Yarde had no response to Hamilton’s relentless attack. The dangerous Hamilton put him down after 1:20 of the very first round, and Yarde was unable to continue, making him the first ever Silver belt holder in Pro Kumite’s 75kgs kickboxing class.
 

In MMA action, Hayden Critchfield gained his first professional win with a dominant performance over Vincent Douthwaite following the most intense stare down of the night. Straight off the bat, Douthwaite comes forward looking to strike, but Critchfield ducks under and grabs a high crotch takedown. From here, he uses great hip control to stay in top position, improving to mount and attempting a tight looking arm bar to end the first round. A beautiful judo throw from the clinch sees Hayden continue the second round where he left the first, in mount and keeping Douthwaite on his back. Although Critchfield was unable to put together enough offensively to score a stoppage, he took all the judges
scorecards for the win.
 
David Lee trained Steve Obe scored a stoppage over Naz Alganga in another match up between two debutants. Obe came out strong and used a Greco Roman throw to take Alganga down, but was unable to keep him there. On the feet, they traded until Alganga took the initiative and pushed Obe up against the cage on the floor. Obe was able to prevent any damage but still spent the majority of the round on his back. Obe gain came out aggressive and was able to use Naz’s attempted throw against
him, landing in mount and letting the punches drop until the ref stepped in at 3:08 of round 2 to hand Obe his first professional MMA victory.
 
In Heavyweight MMA action, last minute replacement Shaun Gruncell had David Gregory rocked several times, before the ref decided he had seen enough at 4:40 of the first round. Taking the fight on just 2 days notice, Gruncell took a couple of shots before landing his first big punch of the night that sent Gregory to the mat. He then continued to counter punch his opponent until it was clear that Gregory was out on his feet.
 
Team Relentless fighter Brenden Flanagan walked away with the 75kgs Bronze belt after ground and pounding his way to victory over Chris Thompson. Taking the fight to the mat, Flanagan ends up in side control where he maintained position but did little damage. After a short lived mount, he was reversed as the round ended. The second round went much like the first, until Thompson was able to get back to his feet. Unfortunately for him, he was taken down again, but this time Flanagan did the necessary damage that gave the ref no option but to stop the fight at 2:34 of round 2.
 
In the other kickboxing action of the night, Streetwise Gym’s Eddie Irving impressed with his 2nd pro victory against Shaolin Tigers trained Rob Neesham. Irving came out throwing kicks and Neesham was happy to reply. The two traded some shots, but it was Irving that landed the best punch of the round, heeding his corner’s advice and connecting on a left hook that let Neesham know he was in a fight. Round 2 saw Neesham throw a leg kick and wince as his foot slapped against Irving’s thigh.
Irving saw this and came forward, landing a solid body shot and not relenting until Neesham had hit the mat. Soon after, a straight right knocked Neesham’s head back and again, Irving looked like a man possessed as he jumped straight in and floored Neesham again. This time, Neesham did not answer the ref’s count and the crowd goes wild for the local lad, who really turned it on when it was necessary. Irving is one to watch out for.
 
The first belt to be awarded was the 70kgs MMA Bronze belt, which Jared Ferre took back to Nova Forca after moving to 5-1 against Welsh debutant, Anthony Phillips. After an initial standing clinch, Ferre took the fight to the floor and launched a ground and pound attack, before switching to an arm bar that Phillips pulled out. After a few reversals, it’s Ferre again taking the top position as the round comes to a close. Round 2 sees Ferre come forward with a 1-2 combination before taking the fight to the floor again, which is familiar territory for the BJJ blue belt. Much like the first round, Ferre mostly controls the action on the floor and when he mounts this time, makes it count with a ground and pound assault.
 
Nick Wedge and Simon Northam battled to a draw in a controversial manner. Wedge was announced as the victor after 2x5 minute rounds, but later, it was discovered that 2 of the 3 judges had in fact scored the fight a draw and therefore, the fight should have gone to a sudden death 3rd round. According to promoter Rich Austin, a re-match is on the cards for the next Pro Kumite event, scheduled for March 2009. Northam began strong, landing some big shots that had Wedge reeling, but he was unable to capitalise and it seemed that he had emptied his tank with this, and the ensuing guillotine attempt. Wedge then took the upper hand, by landing some good knees to the head and mid-section of Northam. All Northam had in response were big haymakers that missed by a mile. The crowd were loving this one, voicing their appreciation in between
rounds. Round 2 saw Wedge again take the centre of the cage as they both slugged it out. Northam appeared to be nothing but a punch bag, as Wedge was stalking him for most of the second round, although after sprawling and getting side control, it was visible he had a cut over his left eye. After wiping the blood away, the ref stood them up and Wedge again scored with some knees before the bell rang to signal the end.
 
21 year old Haydn Ward sustained a lot of punishment in a come-from-behind win in his pro debut. His opponent, Stephen Neesham, landed a solid punch early and followed through to take him down. After some ground and pound, Ward attempted a reversal that was prevented by Neesham grabbing the fence. Ward managed to reverse Neesham, but then the fight returned to the feet, where Neesham was landing the heavier shots and looked more comfortable. Neesham scored with another takedown and remained in top position to end the round. Ward came out throwing kicks in the 2nd, but was again taken down and took some shots. After being reversed, Neesham attempted an arm bar, but Ward dropped him on his head and began what turned out to be a fight ending onslaught of ground and pound, 2:57 into the second round.
 
Nova Forca had a good night, as Paul Parkhouse decisively beat Team Hellboy fighter Joe Horton earlier in the night. Horton came out looking to take the fight to the ground, but Parkhouse showed good defence and ended up in Horton’s guard. Horton showed an active guard and threw up a triangle before the referee decided he wanted to see more action. Parkhouse landed a good knee that dropped Horton to his knees, and followed him to the mat, bringing down his brutal ground and pound at 1:29 of the opening round.
 
The night started with Paul Ramos defeating Gary Watson in both men’s pro MMA debut’s. It was not a pretty fight, with both fighters showing limited ground games and tiring early. Ramos threw Watson on the mat and used his ground and pound to take the victory 2:21 into the second round.
 
In an era where it seems everybody wants a slice of the MMA pie, Pro Kumite have put on a very good and well organised night of action in their first outing, giving amateur/inexperienced fighters a platform to showcase their skills in a competitive environment.
 
Thanks to everyone at Pro Kumite for putting on this great event and inviting mmahitpit.com to be a part of it.
 
Michael O’Mahoney