By Jim Page
On 28th November, the Ultimate Warrior Challenge promotion returned to Southend with its 11th show which provided another night of solid action. In the main event, highly respected BJJ black belt, Jude Samuel made his much anticipated debut in the cage as he took on Storm gym fighter, Dale Hardiman.
Fears that Samuel may show obvious weakness in the stand up proved completely unfounded, as he proficiently stepped in with punches and kicks. In fact, a hard front kick, followed by a flying knee from Samuel opened up the perfect chance to take the fight to the floor.
The famous jiu-jitsu instructor dominated proceedings on the ground, passing to mount position where he carefully manufactured an opportunity to go for an armbar. Hardiman resisted as far as possible, but Samuel’s cold technical pressure straightened the arm out, forcing the tap after 3 minutes of action.
Stav Economou played a very tight, methodical game as he over-powere...