Rage In The Cage 3 Preview- Fight Talk Scotland
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On Saturday March 21st, the ambitious Rage In The Cage promotion returns to the Lagoon Centre in Paisley.
The event is highlighted by an 8 man, one night middleweight tournament, with an incredible £10,000 prize for the winner. This throwback style tournament is certainly something we don’t see every week, certainly in Scotland. What really makes the tournament stand out is the calibre of fighters involved.
The 8 man tournament features some of the most skilled fighters we’ll see in Scotland this year, outside of UFC Glasgow, with veterans from such shows as Bellator, Cage Warriors and BAMMA all chasing the 10k prize.
The card also features two of Scotland’s top professional MMA fighters, Martin Delaney and Graham Turner. Both are arguably two of the best fighters on the card, no mean feat considering the fighters in the 8 man, in bouts against tough Spanish opposition.
With an undercard full of exciting amateur fighters to compliment the professional action, this isn’t one to miss – to keep up with all Rage In The Cage news and for all ticket information, be sure to like their Facebook Page by clicking HERE
In this preview, we’ll take a closer look at the 8 middleweights in the tournament, with a video of each man in action, we’ll tell you why they could be the man to take the money home and each of the FTS team will make their pick!
Paul’s Pick
John ‘The White Mike Tyson’ Phillips (Chris Rees) (16-6) – Welshman Phillips takes shots and throws bombs and will definitely entertain the crowd come March 21st. He’ll be looking to bounce back after losing his last fight against Jesse Taylor at CWFC 54 via first round Guillotine. In Phillips’ previous two fights he picked up his first ever wins via submission versus Tomas Penz at CWFC Fight Night 6 via triangle choke and then versus TUF Veteran Chris Fields at CWFC 48 via guillotine. Phillips really showed improved grappling in those fights but was outgunned in that department against a bigger, more experienced grappler in his loss to Taylor. Phillips only career losses have all been to respected high level opposition (Jim Wallhead, Tom Watson, Denniston Sutherland (also in the tournament), Frank Trigg, Pawel Kusch and Jesse Taylor) and anyone who beats him next Saturday will need to be on form, especially considering his grappling looks to be catching up with his striking!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY6oGAdNpT0; Phillips 1st Career Submission – a triangle choke victory over Tomas Penz at CWFC Fight Night 6
Why Paul is picking him – “Phillips is a natural middleweight and boxer by trade. He has fought some seriously tough opposition for Cage Warriors and although he is coming off a loss, he has never lost two on the trot. There is no one in this tournament with the grappling credentials of his last opponent Jesse Taylor either.
If he doesn’t win the tournament he will definitely entertain the crowd. Phillips fights like he smelled blood in the locker room and will swing for the fences with power to boot. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Honourable mentions to John ‘Johnny Jitsu’ Redmonds and Pawel Hadas but I could only pick one so Phillips it is.”
Don’s Pick
Kyle Redfearn (NEVT) (7-5) Englishman Redfearn’s last fight was his Cage Warriors debut, defeating Leeroy Barnes by KO 2 minutes into the first round in a high profile bout. Redfearn started his professional career with a loss but then went on to win his next 3 before suffering another defeat, since then he has accumulated some wins and some losses but has won his last 2 and obviously is looking to build on the momentum from his CWFC debut win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN_mtwdc3p4 – Redfearn’s last victory was his biggest win to date; a KO win over Leeroy Barnes
Why Don is picking him – “Redfearn is a finisher, with all 7 of his Professional wins coming inside the distance. That bodes well in the tournament format as you want to get your fights over quickly and keep something in the tank for the next fight. He also has momentum on his side after a very impressive performance last time out and I think he’ll keep that going March 21st in Paisley.
Jimbo’s Pick
Charlie Ward (SBG Ireland) (0-0) – every MMA one night tournament needs a wildcard and as the only entrant without a professional record, Irishman Ward fits the bill. A decorated amateur who won titles in Ireland, Ward is certainly making a big step up in his debut.
Why Jimbo is picking him; “three letters – SBG. Charlie is fighting out of Europes top MMA team, under John Kavanagh, one of Europes best coaches. They wouldn’t put him in this tournament if they didn’t think he’d win. If you made a habit of betting against SBG fighters, you’d be poor, so why start now? He also has the element of surprise – there is no tape out there on him as a pro, can’t say that about anyone else. I also love the ballsiness of your pro debut being in a stacked 8 man!”
Jonas Billstein (Combat Club) (13-4) – German Bellator vet Billstein, as well as having the accolade of having fought in a bigger promotion than any of the others on the card, can arguably claim to be the most exciting fighter in the tournament aswell, with 11 of his 13 wins coming by finish with an impressive 9 of those coming by way of T/KO. After a submission loss last time out, Billstein will be looking to return to form with a vengeance and is certainly one of the favourites.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1lJpYZRO4 – Billstein’s last victory; a first round TKO over Nikolai Alexiev
Why can he win; big show experience. Billstein is a three time Bellator vet, even picking up a submission win over Mike Seal at Bellator 70. Nobody else on the card has competed on, let alone won on, a show as big as Bellator, and that will stand Billstein in good stead, March 21st in Paisley.
Jack Marshman (Tillery Combat MMA Academy) (16-5) – Welshman Marshman went 10-0 before suffering his first professional loss to Tom “Kong” Watson at BAMMA 9 in 2012. Since then Marshman has taken a big step up in competition (fighting the country’s best), and has been slightly sporadic with 6 wins and 4 losses. He has however won 4 of his last 5 and his last 2 wins were finishes over UFC veterans Che Mills and Bola Omoyele. Marshman has an impressive finishing record with 11 of his fights ending in a TKO/KO and is widely regarded in the MMA community as the favourite to take this title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9b7T8-FC1A – Marshman’s last victory was his most impressive yet; a TKO win over UFC veteran Che Mills
Why can he win; quality of wins and opposition. Marshman is the only man on the card to hold victories over two UFC veterans (in his last two fights nonetheless). He has also recently shared the cage with current UFC fighters Scott Askham and Tom Watson. Nobody in the tournament will intimidate Marshman and he’ll be confident that he has already been in there with, and beaten, better fighters.
Denniston Sutherland (Team Crossface) (20-12) – Englishman Sutherland is clearly the veteran of the card. Always fighting against a high level of competition, Sutherland wins some and he loses some, but always looks to keep active. A fixture in the British Middleweight rankings for years, Sutherland has victories over Jack Mason, John Phillips and Leeroy Barnes, as well as going the distance with current UFC Fighters Scott Askham and Tom Watson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJEnL7HJYd4 – Sutherlands last victory; a TKO win over Brett Bassett
Why can he win; experience, toughness. Sutherland is the very definition of a “crafty vet”. He has seen it all, and his 32 fights are far more than anyone else in the field. Nothing anyone in the field can do is going to “phase” Denniston, and the experience he has could prove helpful in the tournament setting; where others might feel pressured or phased, Denniston is sure to take it in his stride. He is also very hard to finish – anyone who goes the distance with Askham and Watson is a tough out for anybody.
Pawel Hadas (Gracie Barra Poland) (3-1) – Polish light heavyweight Hadas’ professional career started with a bump losing by first round KO to Hubert Lech at SMMAS in Poland. That first loss came in 2010 and since then he has gone on a submission tear winning his next three fights via first round submission. Hadas has also competed in grappling competitions in his native Poland and it is no surprise that a Gracie Barra fighter would excel in this aspect of MMA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6lG6jr1fsw – Hadas defeating Jacek Czubak via armbar in the final of Puchar Polska ADCC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxBioLrDGHo – first of many; Hadas defeating Damian Tomasiak via RNC at FA-7 Sieradz in Poland to secure his first Professional win
Why can he win; size and submissions. A light heavyweight fighter, Hadas will be huge at middleweight. And with all of his victories coming by submission, coupled with an impressive competitive grappling record, nobody in the field will feel safe on the ground with Hadas.
Johnny ‘Jitsu’ Redmond (Team Ryano) (5-8) – Irish welterweight Redmond’s record is deceiving as a result of a 5 loss losing streak all within the space of 15 month period in 2011-2012. Redmond told Fight Talk Scotland that these losses came at a bad time personally and that he is a different fighter now with much more focus. This was evident in his last three fights against tough opposition on Cage Warriors cards. Redmond won his second Cage Warriors fight at CWFC 63 against Kieran Davern, taking the win with a slick first round guillotine. Redmond showed some dominant grappling in his most recent fight against Craig White at CWFC Fight Night 11 but lost via a Doctors stoppage TKO. Redmond shot for a takedown, ate a knee and suffered a bad cut as a result. Redmond is a fighter on the up and could be a dark horse for this tournament, we look forward to seeing him in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k5gk1neblo – the biggest win of Redomnd’s career’ his submission victory Kieran Davern at CWFC 63
Why can he win; motivation. Redmond has a point to prove. He doesn’t feel that his record is an accurate depiction of his ability, and he wants to show what he can really do. A hungry fighter is a dangerous fighter and we look forward to seeing what a focused Redmond can do.
As well as the 8 Man Tournament, the other bouts on the card are as follows
Professional
Graham Turner (Higher Level) (24-8) vs Joel Suarez (6-1) @ Featherweight
Martin Delaney (Higher Level) (8-1) vs Javier Fuentes (8-0) @ Lightweight
Amateur
Chris Morton vs Paul Mc Culloch @ Welterweight
Dave Mason vs Alexander Campbell @ Featherweight
We will be attending the show and doing live play by play reporting so remember to like Fight Talk Scotland on FB by clicking HERE