THE TWO SHEDS REVIEW by Julian Radbourne
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Mixed martial arts is on the agenda again as we take a look at the latest offering from Ultimate Challenge UK, Dynamite, held at the Troxy in London and shown on a three day delay on Sky Sports here in Britain. The show was hosted by O.J. Borg and Dave O’Donnell, with Andy Walker and Rob Nutley handling commentary duties.
The broadcast began with welterweight action, and Alberto Mina facing Edgelson Lua for the Welterweight title. Two good performances in this relatively short fight, with Lua looking good as he defending Mina’s early take down attempts. It wasn’t long before Mina got his wish though, as he took Lua down to the ground and showed some great transitions before he locked in an arm bar for the submission victory. Nice way to kick off the show.
The welterweight action continued with former Ultimate Fighter contestant Dean Amasinger taking on Scott Jansen. Amasinger looked tremendous here, quickly taking Jansen down and getting side control. Seconds later he had the win, courtesy of an arm triangle. The time, just forty-four seconds. Very good performance from Amasinger here, even though I forgot to use my blink and you’ll miss it affair line.
Then it was down to the lightweight division as Abdul Mohammad faced Jason Young. This proved to be another enjoyable fight. Both men had their moments in the first fight on the show to make it past the first round, but as time went on Young began to assert himself more. With the fight going the three round distance, the judges were called on to make their decision, and they gave their respective nods to Young. A decision you definitely couldn’t argue with.
The usually watchable Tom “Kong” Watson was up next, defending his middleweight title against Denniston Sutherland. This was the second fight to go the distance, and although it featured some good action, it just seemed to lack that certain something, that little spark that usually make Watson fights great. Both men just seemed to cancel each other out, which was probably why the judges gave a split decision to Watson.
The main event featured the Goliath himself, Neil Grove, defending his Heavyweight title against Martin Thompson. Young Thompson looked dwarfed the massive Grove, and the champion used his size advantage to good effect, dropping Thompson with a big right hand before delivering the coup de grace with the ground and pound, knocking his man out. The referee wisely stepped in, giving Grove the title retaining win in just fifty-three seconds, giving us viewers our second blink and you’ll miss it affair of the night. See, I did manage to get that line in!
In conclusion – four out of five great fights made for a good showing, and another example of how Ultimate Challenge UK is the leading lights in British mixed martial arts at the moment. And you know what the great thing about this show was? Absolutely no mention of Katie Price and Alex Reid, proving that Dave O’Donnell and his crew don’t need to turn their product in a circus sideshow to draw in the punters. Nice work Dave.
