Caledonian Combat 3 Preview by Jimbo Slice

Post date: 16-Jul-2013 12:31:25

Caledonian Combat 3 Preview

This Saturday marks the third instalment of the North East’s top MMA show – Caledonian Combat. The show, alongside SFC and The Art of Combat is one of the top shows promoting C-Class Scottish talent.

As someone who fought on their last card, has fought against two people on the card for this show and trained with three more of them, who better to give a quick preview of the exciting night of fights that we can look forward to!

As well as a stacked card of C-Class fights featuring the best up and coming Scottish talent, the main event will be a professional rules bout pitting HAMMA’s Andy Green v D-Unit’s John Cullen in an England v Scotland match up which is sure to have the Eden Court very lively!

Here, I will take a look at some of the more interesting bouts on the card. I will avoid making a “pick” – in my experience C Class fighters can be very tender and easily offended if you DARE think that they might lose, so I’ll do my best to avoid making picks!

Main Event

Andy Green (HAMMA) v John Cullen (D-Unit) @ 66kg – one look at the records of these guys shows us we are guaranteed some action. Green has NEVER gone the distance in his 11 fight career and Cullen, one of Scotland’s most respected pros, has only gone the distance ONCE in 21 fights. This one is not going the distance. Great to see such high level MMA action in Inverness and with all of Green’s pro victories being by submission and JC having a near 50/50 split between T/KO victories and Submission wins, this one is sure to feature some exciting action both on the feet and on the mat. You hear this a lot and often roll your eyes, but this one AIN’T going the distance! Whilst this main event will not be as satisfying for the crowd as the last CC main event was (me getting choked unconscious), the level of fighting will far surpass the previous main event!

C-Class

Carlos Dunbar (Spartan Fight Team) v Tony Chan (Urban Disturbance) @ 93kg – this is the fight I am most excited about on the whole card. There aren’t a lot of light heavyweights plying their trade in Scotland but these guys are two of the best. Carlos has been tapping me out and mauling me on the mats since I first started and Tony has been dominating every grappling comp he enters as of late, and is riding the momentum off of a submission win over Khaled Jasser at Art of Combat. This battle of Big T v Big C (they have both been known to refer to themselves in this way!) is sure to have some exciting grappling exchanges. Both good guys and looking forward to seeing this one play out!

Chris Cownie (RGFT) v Craig Harrower (Team Unity) @ 70kg – this one is a sleeper for Fight of the Night. Cownie’s record is very impressive and he has shown skills both on the ground and in the striking department in recent performances. I can vouch for Craig’s well roundedness first hand – he gave me the worst shiner I have ever had AND just about submitted me with a triangle choke when we fought. Both guys are reasonably skilled in every area and are both hungry for the win, having lost their last bouts. Don’t miss this one!

John Black (Street Combat System) v Andrew Marley (Shooters Dundee) @ 70kg – if you have seen results for any Scottish show recently, you have probably seen John Black with the phrase “winner by sub” next to his name. The “Ninja” has been on a tear recently, subbing anyone put before him with his arsenal of weird and wonderful moves – he even choked me out into retirement. Look for Black to lose the first round and then win the second with a sub – seems to be how his fights tend to go haha. Marley is no slouch on the ground, with a signature armbar which has won him a lot of fights and some other submissions of his own. The submission of the night may well take place in this bout.

Martin Donaldson (Fusion MMA) v James Pattie (RGFT) @ 77kg – Martin is one of Scotland’s premiere competitive grapplers (beat me three times :-/) and has been working hard on his boxing as of late. This is his first bout under the new C Class rules, having worked up a 4-0-1 record under the old Amateur rules. However, I don’t see him having any difficulty adapting to the rules. Martin is one to watch and I think this match is just the first on his way to the top of the C Class ranking. Credit also to Martin, who is donating his fight purse to The Archie Foundation

Dave Philp (GCG) v Jason Mcknight (IFS Belfast) @ 70kg – Dave is a training partner of mine, hence the interest (I can be biased if I want!). This match was put together on short notice and is a testimony to how hard the promoters work to look after fighters who have bouts cancelled due to injury. Both guys are 2-0 and coming off submission wins against good opponents and I expect this to be a good fight

Dawid Kostecki (Immortals) V Mateusz Grabiek (Oban MMA) 73kg – Mateusz is a crazy physical specimen who needs to be seen to be believed. He has had some tough opponents in his first two fights but has great potential and I am looking forward to seeing him fight, as he is a bit of a BEAST

On the day of the show, there will also be a no gi submission only competition kicking off at 12 and a Scottish Backhold Wrestling competition at 3.30. I’m doing them both – wish me luck!

A whole day of combat sports is going down in Inverness this Saturday – don’t miss it! The MMA Show will be posting live updates and results from the show, so stay tuned to our FB page to keep up with the show!

Full Card

Pro Main Event

Andy Green (HAMMA, Manchester) Vs John Cullen (D-UNIT) – Featherweight Pro Bout

C-Class card

Carlos Dunbar (Spartan) V Tony Chan (Urban Disturbance) 93kg

Chris Cownie (RGFT) V Craig Harrower (Team Unity) 70kg

John Black (SCS) V Andrew Marley (Shooters Dundee) 70kg

Martin Donaldson (Fusion MMA) V James Pattie (RGFT) 77kg

Jason McKnight (IFS Belfast) V Dave Philp (GCG) 70kg

Dawid Kostecki (Immortals) V Mateusz Grabiek (Oban MMA) 73kg

Dawid Loukil (Oban MMA) V Fabian Szrama (Immortals) 80kg

Scott Drummond (SMAC) V Mateusz Szadowiak (Immortals) 66kg