Cage of Truth

Roper

Anyone here go? What did you think?

Judomad

yeah i was there, took part in it...and ehhhh what can i say, i saw my fight and that was all, ended up gettin sent to the hospital by the docs even though i felt grand, but there was blood coming outta my ear for some reason haha
first round went well enough, i felt i controlled the fight on the ground and then in the 2nd round i made a mistake when i went to go to full guard and ended up only getting a half guard and lost by ref stoppage due to ground and pound even though i still felt fine and was after turning onto my stomach to stand up but was constantly taking punches to the back of the head which the referee warned him to stop doing (on about 4 occasions) but still done nothing and ended the fight, ah well, ya win some and ya lose some, where you at it, what did others think in general??

mark.leonard

I would give it an 11 out of ten.
Excellent match making, the best I've seen in an Irish MMA Show, exciting match ups, the skill level was up a notch from the last show.

I subtracted minus 1 from the result as they had no radio mic for me this time and I oculdn't announce from inside the cage, I mean sweet jebus, I am an artist! I can't work under these conditions.

Nothingcompares

I went . I thought it was a very good event, well organised. Had about 13 fights which started on time and the next fight rolled out almost as soon the previous fight was over. A range of different fighters from different clubs and pseudo-styles on display. Good crowd willing to cheer both fighters. Availability of cans for sale in the corner was a great convenience as what the shop selling gear. The only improvement would be tiered seating.

Roper

Nothingcompares wrote: »

The only improvement would be tiered seating.

That would be great wouldn't it? Shame there's nowhere that has it bar a few places because it really adds to the atmosphere.

Anyway the reason I asked was because I hardly got to see the show at all I was in the dressing rooms for most of it. From what people are telling me it was full of great fights so I would have liked to be a spectator!

Judomad

Roper wrote: »

I would have liked to be a spectator!

AGREED

David Jones

lost by ref stoppage due to ground and pound even though i still felt fine and was after turning onto my stomach to stand up but was constantly taking punches to the back of the head which the referee warned him to stop doing (on about 4 occasions) but still done nothing and ended the fight,

If your opponent had deliberately punched the back of your head he would have been deducted points. However as you were on your front and on i think one occasion in half guard and you were constantly moving your head, none of the few punches which landed I deemed deliberate. All fighters would have heard me throughout the night saying "check your target" as in pick your shot and its target carefully. If your opponent is on your back and in the action of throwing a punch and your head is facing right as he throws it but you turn half way through throwing it and it hits more the rear of your head than the intended side or face then I dont count that as a deliberate strike to the back of the head but the fighter throwing the punch is warned anyway. Most of the punches while you were face down on the mat landed on the side of your head possibly causing the blood from your ear. With no progress in improving your position I stopped the fight to avoid further punnishment to you.

If I stopped every fight as soon as there was an infringement of the rules, all fights would end early. Cage grabbing happens, accidental elbows happen, kicking a downward opponent with an axe kick technique can often catch the chin if aimed at the chest. Fingers on the eyes happen, holding the shorts happen, shots to the groin etc etc. If I am refereeing and decide you havent been disadvantaged by what has happened accidentally then you fight on. If I deem the action to be deliberate then I will deal with it.

Hope that clears up any misunderstanding about your stoppage, which by the way was a great fight and if you ever want to talk about decisions perhaps a PM might be more beneficial, Just a thought.

Judomad

David Jones wrote: »

If your opponent had deliberately punched the back of your head he would have been deducted points. However as you were on your front and on i think one occasion in half guard and you were constantly moving your head, none of the few punches which landed I deemed deliberate. All fighters would have heard me throughout the night saying "check your target" as in pick your shot and its target carefully. If your opponent is on your back and is the action of throwing a punch and your head is facing right as he throws it but turns half way through throwing it and it hits more the rear of your head than the intended side or face then I dont count that as a deliberate strike to the back of the head but the fighter throwing the punch is warned anyway. Most of the punches while you were face down on the mat landed on the side of your head possibly causing the blood from your ear. With no progress in improving your position I stopped the fight to avoid further punnishment to you.

Hope that clears up any misunderstanding about your stoppage.

i just thought it was funny that he was warned regarding grabbing the cage a few times when i picked him up too, and still no points deductions, im not looking for an arguement, i accept i lost the fight, just feel naturally dissapointed with losing a fight i trained my b**ls off for but as i said i did hear you warn him more than once, but what can i say i lived and im dying for my fight in galway already..
im sure u enjoyed the blood from the neil seery fight:D, from what iv heard it was nasty!

weemate

mark.leonard wrote: »

I would give it an 11 out of ten.
Excellent match making, the best I've seen in an Irish MMA Show, exciting match ups, the skill level was up a notch from the last show.

I subtracted minus 1 from the result as they had no radio mic for me this time and I oculdn't announce from inside the cage, I mean sweet jebus, I am an artist! I can't work under these conditions.

the fooker has his own entrance music.............for a fookinM.C for dears sake!!
next time I bet he'll come out like Rik Flair!!:D
myself and Dave complained because we dont have our own walk in music.....next time mr Leonard!!!

David Jones

i just thought it was funny that he was warned regarding grabbing the cage a few times when i picked him up too

I think 99% percent of fighters were warned about holding the cage, I realise its an instinct thing. If it seriously disadvantages their opponent I will deal with it but in all cases on the night the person aiming for the takedown got it so I let the fight flow.

Nothingcompares

Tomas MaGuire v Martin Begley 70kgs (A) Tomas by Submission (guillotine) Round 1

This was keenly awaited rematch from the 1000euro 4 man tournament at a recent event. Tomas Maguire to that point was building up an impressive amount of wins and looked very dangerous on the ground with his submissions. Rumours of him training in Brasil with Anderson Silva in blackhouse added to the hype. However, Martin Begley came into that fight with a complete disregard for this and dominated. However their second bout went more like our predictions. Maguire sunk a guillotine choke as both fighters were rising from a scramble on the ground to earn submission of the night. Begley is a legit lightweight who will cause anyone problems but Maguire got the hype-machine back on track avenging his earlier loss.

Dave Kelly v Irmantas Grilauskas -93kgs (A) Dave Kelly by TKO (GNP) Round 2

Big Dave Kelly took this fight at 2 days notice to take on the sambo fighter (formerly training out of the same fight camp)Grilauskas. The fight started off very tentatively, as both fighters were reluctant to engage. Kelly presumably didn't want to over commit himself and risk the take down while the grappler knew he wanted to avoid the former boxer's heavy hands. Eventually the tussle went to the ground and Kelly was able to demonstrate his much improved grappling and movement on the ground to get a dominant position on top beside the gage to grind out a TKO stoppage.

Bruno Fratini v Tomas Murnikas 77kgs (A) Bruno by Submission (RNC) Round 1

Two grapplers squared off with Murnikas stronger in the clinch but Fratini stronger on the ground, allowing him to get the submission.

Paul Cowzer v Alain Magot 65kgs (A) Alain Magot by Submission (guillotine) Round 2

Cowzer made an early reputation on the irish MMA scene as a man who will fight anyone at any time taking fights at a moments notice against lauded opposition. However, with amble time to prepare for this bout the crowd were eagerly awaiting a more realistic view of the former boxers MMA ability. Indeed he started out very impressively, using his jab and superior footwork to chip away at the submission grappler. Cowzer looked to have his opponent rocked on more than one occasion but failed to capitalise with a Ko blow rather taking the fight to the ground for a submission attempt. Magot, unsteadily survived the first round and still looked shaken in the next. I was expecting the red bull to finish him any moment but a scramble in the clinch allowed Magot to drag Paul into his guard for a guillotine that the boxer had to tap to.

Neil Seery v Husen Muhamed 61.2kgs (A) Neil Seery by TKO Round 2

I predicted this to the fight of the night and I wasn't let down. Both fighters have shown huge strength and great pugilism in the ring before so I knew someone was going to get knocked out. Seery was the aggressor trying to overwhelm the neo-samurai with straight punches and low kicks but the hairdresser used his muay thai, punches and kicks to the head in retaliation managing to cut his irish opponent. Indeed seery was gushing blood; at one point the fight looked certain to be stopped. In the second round the bjj blue belt Muhamed was on his back trying to use his guard but Seery didn't make any attempt to pass but rather tried and go through the middle with strikes. Eventually Seery thumped out the TKO on the ground as the claret rolled from the gash about his right eye and on his forehead to his face.

Arek Sternalski v Johnny Deehan 84kgs (A) Arek by submission (toe hold) Round 1

Arek seemed to take the Red Dragon fighter down with ease and roll into a clever toe hold that forced the submission early in round 1.

Thomas Egan v Arturas Pranckevicius 84kgs (A) Thomas by TKO (GNP) Round 1

Egan again showed his crisp punching on his feet and his accurate pounding from the mount to defeat the Sambo fighter. Leg locks were always a threat but Egan did enough to stay out of them and stay on top.

Joe Cunnane v Marius Lapenas 84kgs (A) Marius by decision (unanimous) after 3 rounds

Bizarrely the submission grappling of Joe Cunnane and the Wrestling of marius caused this fight to turn into a slug fest. As Marius dominated the clinch and Joe looked better on the ground but unable to get the submission the fight went all 3 rounds, with the latter ending with the two lads re-enacting a Rocky film as both threw leather exhaustedly until the end.

John Kenny v Gerrard Rooney 73kgs (B) Gerrard by Disqualification due to illegal strike (knee to the head) in Round 2

Kenny showed great work in the thai clinch, taking a firm grip of his opponent to launch knees into his midsection however, one went a stray in the second round and knocked Rooney on his head onto his ass. The fight couldn't continue as Rooney was visibly shaken. As B rules allow no knees to the head Kenny was disqualified.

Stephen King v Tommy Quinn 77kgs (B) Tommy by decision (unanimous) after 2 rounds

A very close encounter, TQ probably with better clinch, SK with better ground but Quinn did more damage to earn the decision.

Conor McGregor v Gary Morris 65.8kgs (B) Conor by TKO (GNP) Round 2

The Dumptruck showed great take downs, pick ups, double legs, leg sweeps a range of different modified judo throws to dominate the clinch. However, his opponent looked sharper on his feet with his amateur boxing pedigree setting Morris up for his big hooks. McGregor looked to submit Morris at the end of the first with a triangle and possibly an armbar from this position but Morris kept his posture strong and survived until the break for round 2. The fight looked to go to the decision as neither fighter could make the decisive move but McGregor won a scramble on the ground to take mount and get the GNP victory.

Keith Norton v Leigh Stewart 70kgs (B) Keith by decision (unanimous) after 2 rounds

Another eagerly awaited rematch, this time from a MMALEAGUE fight from a year or two back. Stewart, despite taking this fight at late notice appeared in great condition and looked to dwarf the smaller Bravo in the ring. Indeed he used his superior strength to out muscle Norton on the ground and in the clinch but the recently awarded Matt Thornton bluebelt did enough to stay out of harms way and get top position. The second round was also close with Norton landing an impressive "karate kick" and looking more dangerous on the ground to get the decision.

Keith Duffy v Peter Wilson 66kgs (B) Peter by submission (armbar) Round 2

Another grappler v striker match as Duffy won the exchange on the feet but loss by submission on the ground to the young and improving Northern fighter.

Judomad

David Jones wrote: »

I think 99% percent of fighters were warned about holding the cage, I realise its an instinct thing. If it seriously disadvantages their opponent I will deal with it but in all cases on the night the person aiming for the takedown got it so I let the fight flow.

thats fair enough..just wondered why he had multiple warnings and no actions taken, but thats fine. from what im hearing i missed a damn good show damn medics chasing around after me to get me to the hospital, i didnt think or feel i needed to. would have prefered to stay and watch the fights.

cowzerp

Dave i blame your shiny head on blinding me when i went for the takedown in my fight!! i was well in control till the blindness kicked in!!

David Jones

Amazing how your fists managed to find their target after being blinded paul, using the force were we??

Judomad

haha

paul always uses the force, but the force let both of us down this time, damn force, i always knew it was underrated

cowzerp

David Jones wrote: »

Amazing how your fists managed to find their target after being blinded paul, using the force were we??

Yeah all that jedi training is kicking in!! great show by all accounts..

FiannaGym.com

Hey Judomad,

We've all been there. Just remember that in the Cage or Ring the referee is part of the enviornment.

Your fighting against your oponent, the cage might be slippy, he might be slippy, the referee might be crap, he might be excellent (in Jonesies case!), the judges might suck, you might not have your head together, you might here a warning against your opp and focus on it too much, your gloves might come undone, you may have a freak accident, you might have some bad news going into the fight, you may have over trained, you might be fighting a better guy, these are all part of the enviornment you are fighting.

I've made monumental mistakes in my fight career (breif as it has been) but the bottom line is to remember your fight is taking place in a context, with promoters, judges, athletic commissions, managers, refs, spectators, all having a vested interested in your fight. Its up to you as a fighter to overcome that. Its one of the reasons I love MMA so much, go watch a hockey match and see what kind of impact the ref has.

Basically in MMA you have 3 periods of 5 minutes to overcome ALL of that, not just your opponent!

Good luck with your fights!!!

Peace

Judomad

FiannaGym.com wrote: »

Hey Judomad,

We've all been there. Just remember that in the Cage or Ring the referee is part of the enviornment.

Your fighting against your oponent, the cage might be slippy, he might be slippy, the referee might be crap, he might be excellent (in Jonesies case!), the judges might suck, you might not have your head together, you might here a warning against your opp and focus on it too much, your gloves might come undone, you may have a freak accident, you might have some bad news going into the fight, you may have over trained, you might be fighting a better guy, these are all part of the enviornment you are fighting.

I've made monumental mistakes in my fight career (breif as it has been) but the bottom line is to remember your fight is taking place in a context, with promoters, judges, athletic commissions, managers, refs, spectators, all having a vested interested in your fight. Its up to you as a fighter to overcome that. Its one of the reasons I love MMA so much, go watch a hockey match and see what kind of impact the ref has.

Basically in MMA you have 3 periods of 5 minutes to overcome ALL of that, not just your opponent!

Good luck with your fights!!!

Peace

point taken BUT i hope people dont think im making excuses..
i said from the start i accepted i lost the fight straight out and as i alos said i was very dissapointed..and as soon as dave said what he had to say i said yeah no problem..
you make me sound like im crying over it maybe i am, but even if i am dont be going around telling people keep it a secret that i cry myself to sleep at night haha dont tell anybody..............:p

Dragan

Judomad wrote: »

you make me sound like im crying over it maybe i am, but even if i am dont be going around telling people keep it a secret that i cry myself to sleep at night haha dont tell anybody..............:p

Personally i would have looked at Stokes post as being some solid advice from an experienced fighter and coach.

Just me though.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Judomad wrote: »

point taken BUT i hope people dont think im making excuses..

In fairness you did appear to take a lot of shots to the back of your head and if thats the reason the medic's sent you to the hospital you have a some reason to feel pi$$ed.

But reading the Ref's comments here show's the other side of that argument too.

However if we're to be fair to everyone, your lack of striking skills let you down against a superior puncher, and even had the ref deducted a point from your opponent you'd still have lost the fight.

However with your obvious Judo skills, and with more experience I bet your going to be a real force in the future - you can take a lot of positives from this fight.

In regards to the show as a whole - fantastic stuff, couldn't fault it from beginning to end.

Judomad

Dragan wrote: »

Personally i would have looked at Stokes post as being some solid advice from an experienced fighter and coach.

Just me though.

as i said point taken....with smiles too im a young'un thats still on a learning curve and appreciate any feedback i get, dont take me as trying to disregard anybodys opinion, i appreciate i was beaten by a good striker and will DEFFO BE BACK!!!!!!!!

im off work now so i shall have a read on this tomorrow
ciao......

weemate

John Kenny v Gerrard Rooney 73kgs (B) Gerrard by Disqualification due to illegal strike (knee to the head) in Round 2

Kenny showed great work in the thai clinch, taking a firm grip of his opponent to launch knees into his midsection however, one went a stray in the second round and knocked Rooney on his head onto his ass. The fight couldn't continue as Rooney was visibly shaken. As B rules allow no knees to the head Kenny was disqualified.

whereas I will agree with your version of events for the second round,I think you are missing a small chunk of the fight ie the first round,where Gerard controlled the fight .In my opinion,Gerard won the first round by a country mile and looked good at the start of teh second before getting caught with the knee.If the truth was told and this was pointed out to me after the fight by a few spectators who's opinion I respect,there were also a few elbows thrown and connected that could have stopped the fight in the first.
Now I will understand if John is a team mate of yours,but thats a bit of bias reporting right there.
Incidently,I have nothing but praise for John as a fighter and a gentleman,he opologised straightaway for the knee and the matter was forgotten by both myself and my fighter.

mark.leonard

Nothingcompaes wrote:

...tiered seating

Roper wrote: »

That would be great wouldn't it? Shame there's nowhere that has it bar a few places because it really adds to the atmosphere.

Anyway the reason I asked was because I hardly got to see the show at all I was in the dressing rooms for most of it. From what people are telling me it was full of great fights so I would have liked to be a spectator!

Tribal Warfare, April 13th in the Black Box in Galway - tiered Seating

Bad Dog MMA

mark.leonard wrote: »

Tribal Warfare, April 13th in the Black Box in Galway - tiered Seating

Will there be pyro, smoke and entrance music for the MC??

Roper

LOL Mark at the pimpage!

Quality venues are hard to come by in Dublin and while I'd say that the Trinity is limited, there's plenty of space in it, decent view for everyone and bar facilities etc. It's also 10 minutes from my house which I like the best. I also thought the atmosphere was very good the other night, really got behind the fighters and seemed to be a very educated crowd bar one or two down the back who kept calling for stand-ups and breaks from the clinch, but they'll come along next time if there's quality matches like that on display again.

We had a dissappointing night from a gym point of view with Yusuf taking a loss. He was gutted afterwards as we thought we had a stoppage for the cuts to Neil a few times during the fight, but Dave explained his reasoning behind letting the fight go on afterwards and Yusuf and I accept it. Neil's experience showed I think and he stuck to his game plan and pounded out a hard earned win. Neil and Yusuf's previous opponent Steve McCombe are 1&2 in Ireland at 61.2 I'd reckon or close to it, and they've been Yusuf's debut and second pro fights so I think he deserves a lot of credit. But maybe I would say that!

Judomad

has anybody any pictures from cage of truth, im only seen pics of thomas egan and arthuras's fight.
anybody who knows where there are pics of it or knows someone who has pics please let me know as im hoping theres a few of my fight wouldnt mind a pic of me getting my face smashed

mark.leonard

Bad Dog MMA wrote: »

Will there be pyro, smoke and entrance music for the MC??

At the very least

Nothingcompares

weemate wrote: »

Now I will understand if John is a team mate of yours.

Your absolutely right. sorry I forgot to add my usual disclaimer that everything I write is biased towards people I know over people I don't know. I also forgot how the first round went down to be honest.

weemate

very good!

Ramunas

Anybody knows when will be DVD for sale from this tournament?

Judomad

next weekend at latest is what i was told..ask tommy from sbg

Judomad

just been told its available now to buy through paypal on www dot perfect fit photography dot com

dont put any gaps in it and it will direct you to where you buy the dvd

john kavanagh

john kavanagh

ALSO AVAILABLE ON EBAY

arybvtcw0eolkf

Ordered my copy two days again from eBay - arrived this morning.

€15 well spent.

I'll be selling copies on eBay later for €9.99

DAVE_K

Ordered mine Thursday - got it Friday (and i'm over the west). Great show - spent last night watching it and got up early again this morning and watched it all over again....brillant.