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Post date: 11-Oct-2010 12:04:38
SFC 3 (Scottish fighting championship)
The MMA show team attended another exciting local MMA event at the Albert halls in Stirling. This was a local event but with an international cast with fighters appearing from all over Europe.
The format for this event included an intriguing four man welterweight eliminator tournament, three professional MMA fights and a semi pro fight. In a move away from previous SFC shows a cage was utilised for the first time and the choice of venue suited the volume of crowd making for an event that had that sold out feeling with a great atmosphere. This is in stark contrast to some other local shows who make the mistake of going for too large a venue and losing out on the atmosphere and customer satisfaction that comes with attending an event with a vocal crowd.
The 4 man tournament proved to be an exciting prospect with Artur Waiz from Germany squaring off against home grown talent in Mark Young who took the fight at 2 days notice. Young dominated the first round with quality ground control but struggled to maintain the pressure in the second dropping this to his German opponent who rocked him with a series of punches resulting in him dropping to the mat. Young attempted to submit the German off his back and the fight had to go to a third round. Young eked out a decision in the third in what was a gruelling first Pro fight for the Scottish fighter.
The second eliminator was between Vincent Del Guerra of France and another home grown fighter Stevie Ray who was a clear fan favourite at the event receiving considerable vocal support. The Frenchman started swiftly with a crisp takedown although almost lost his way by leaving himself open to a guillotine choke. Stevie reversed the Frenchman and finished the remainder of the fight on top and in control to give him a well deserved victory.
In the final the two Scottish opponents squared up in what was a far removed affair from the first two battles. Young started the fight with a quick and powerful takedown but made the critical error of leaving his leg exposed. One heel hook later from Ray which was clinically applied finished the fight and gave the home favourite another victory with deafening cheers from the partisan crowd.
Moving on to the 3 remaining pro fights. Another Scottish fighter featured in the first of these fights with Ally McCrae making his pro debut against another travelled fighter from Sweden, Amir Albazi. This fight was fought at 61kg. Albazi dominated McCrae for two round taking his back in both rounds and landing a succession of punches and knees on the Scottish fighter. McCrae bravely stuck it out but eventually succumbed to a rear naked choke from the more experienced fighter. A learning experienced for McCrae but one that I’m sure he will learn and improve from.
Close to the MMA shows hometown the next fighter Marcos Nardini has been teaching BJJ in Ayrshire, Scotland and was making his pro debut against the more experienced Nicolas Joannes from France with the fight at 65.8kg. Marcos made his intentions clear from the beginning winning an early scramble to end up on top where he quickly transitioned to Joannes back and thereafter pulled off a slick arm bar highlighting that he has the skills to back up his black belt in BJJ. Joannes bravely fought off tapping out to this submission but this pressure became too much and the Frenchman had to tap.
The main event of the evening pitted John Cullen from Scotland against Paul Reed fighting out of the Olympians, an English gym which always makes for an exciting battle. The fight was to crown the new SFC featherweight champion as the belt was vacant. In a close fought fight Reed controlled the Scottish fighter but was on the receiving end of some vicious elbows from the bottom which resulted in considerable damage to the English based fighter. After 3 rounds the fight was declared a draw. The fighters and fans were demanding a 4th round to settle the affair and their wishes were granted by the organisers. The 4th round was close with Reed controlling the early part of the round with his ground game but Cullen came back strongly in the later part of the round dropping Reed with a knee after the English fighter telegraphed a takedown. Cullen then punished with some vicious ground and pound. The judges scored the round a draw and these gladiators will have to wait for a further opportunity before being crowned SFC featherweight champion.
Overall this was a well organised event with the perfect size of venue. Another good day for home-grown MMA and we hope to see another quality show in the not so distant future.
Written by The Muscle Mole
Edited by Dr Ted Blanko
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