THE TWO SHEDS REVIEW by Julian Radbourne – now in it’s 10th year!
E-mail: juli316uk@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.twoshedsreview.com
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British MMA returned to television screens this past Wednesday night as Ultimate Challenge presented their most recent offering. Unbelievable, on Sky Sports.
The broadcast began with Tommy Kelly facing Khalid Ismail in the welterweight division.
Two fights separated these two experience-wise, and both of those were defeats for Kelly, and if I’m to be completely honest he put in a very disappointing performance against the debuting Ismail.
Ismail rocked Kelly within seconds of the start, and it wasn’t long before he knocked him down again, securing the win seconds later when the referee stepped in during a sustained period of ground and pound.
The action continued in the bantamweight division as Cory Tait went up against Dino Gambatesa.
This title eliminator proved to be an exciting contest. Both men came out swinging and kicking at the start, but it wasn’t long before they went to the ground with both fighters jockeying for position.
The end came in the first few seconds of the second round. Tait unloaded with a crescent kick that sent Gambatesa crashing down to the mat, giving Tait the knockout win.
UK1 kickboxing followed as David Zetolofsky faced Jake Bostwick for the Light Heavyweight title.
An entertaining three round affair, although it was a little messy in the first round when it seemed as if they’d forgotten they weren’t fighting under MMA rules.
Zetolofsky’s lack of preparation time told at times when Bostwick rocked him with some good combinations, although he was able to work his way back into the fight, knocking Bostwick down in the third.
With the fight going the distance, the judges were called into action. One judge scored in favour of Bostwick, one in favour of Zetolofsky, while the third scored it even, resulting in the fight being declared a draw, which means they’ll probably have to do it all over again in the future.
The kickboxing action continued as Luke Sines challenged Mark Weir for the UK1 Middleweight title.
This was more patient and technical than the previous fight. Weir seemed very comfortable fighting on the counter. He was also comfortable with the fact that he couldn’t be taken down. Sines looked okay, but his best just wasn’t good enough.
No surprise with the decision as all three judges gave the fight to Weir.
The main event saw former Ultimate Fighter contestant Dean Amasinger going up against Jamaine Facey in a welterweight title eliminator.
They save the best for last with this show. The first round was fought at a frantic pace, and although Amasinger controlled the action early on Facey soon took control, taking Amasinger’s back as he looked for the win with a rear naked choke.
Facey visibly tired from the second round onwards, and Amasinger upped his game as the third round began, although it was obvious what his plan was, to control Facey on the ground with just enough effort to see him through to the end of the fight. It didn’t quite work though as Facey eventually escaped and took Amasinger’s back again.
But it was too little too late as far as the judges were concerned, as all three gave the fight to Amasinger. You have to wonder though what would have happened if Facey’s energy levels hadn’t dropped so drastically after his exertions in the first round.
In conclusion – another great five fight TV show from Dave O’Donnell and his crew as they once again proved they’re Britain’s best MMA promotion at the moment.
All the fights delivered, and I’m even starting to come round to the UK1 kickboxing action, although I wish they’d go back to using traditional boxing gloves for these fights rather than the fingerless MMA ones.
So in all top notch stuff, and another thumbs up for this slice of British MMA action.
