Freeman Bests Cahoon for Cage Rage Title
May 11, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Ian
Freeman (Pictures) rolled back the years Saturday at
Cage Rage 26 to reclaim the organization's British light
heavyweight title.
The Sunderland fighter put in an incredible performance against champion Paul Cahoon (Pictures), dominating position on the floor for much of the contest and unleashing a barrage of ground and pound on his younger opponent.
"I feel 10 years younger, not 10 years older," Freeman said
afterward, reflecting on 15 of the most impressive minutes of his
career. "If it wasn't for Daniel Buzzorta, I don't think I could
have won it. He put me through my paces; I cried everyday in the
gym. This was easy compared to a training session."
Cahoon had his opportunities. He put Freeman on his back on two occasions.
Marius Zaromskis (Pictures) surprised the audience by closing the distance in an attempt to take down opponent Che Mills (Pictures). Mills, however, resisted stubbornly and landed a stream of damaging strikes with the point of his elbow in the clinch.
Eventually Zaromskis forced the contest to the mat and immediately looked to bomb his way back into the fight while Mills calmly defended from his back.
At the end of the first round, though, it became clear that Zaromskis could take no further part in the contest due to a nasty gash on his lower eyelid reminiscent of the cut suffered by Randy Couture (Pictures) is his infamous second clash with Vitor Belfort (Pictures).
In victory, an elated Mills was handed the Cage Rage British welterweight title and immediately shot himself into the firing line.
Paul "Semtex" Daley leapt on the opportunity to challenge for the title, unleashing a torrent of colorful language toward the newly crowned champion. Daley also promised to return from his short-lived retirement with a bang.
Rodney Glunder, the fighter formerly known as Rodney Faverus (Pictures), failed to take advantage of his chances to push the action standing up. He was forced to fight from his back for the majority of his light heavyweight bout against James Zikic (Pictures).
The London Shootfighter showed some genuine skill on the ground after recently returning from a training camp in Brazil. Early in the third round, Zikic capitalized on a solid takedown to apply a smoothly executed armbar only 25 seconds after the restart.
A rejuvenated Ross Pointon (Pictures) scored a very quick submission win over local man Ross Mason (Pictures), as the TUF graduate continued his charge toward Cage Rage gold.
Pointon dumped his opponent on the floor in the opening seconds of the contest and immediately threatened with a sneaky armbar attempt. Mason struggled free, but Pointon appeared to be a man possessed as he flew after the local fighter and quickly ensnared him in a tight heel hook to seal the victory.
Matt Ewin (Pictures) defended his Cage Rage middleweight title in impressive fashion. He pounded South London tough guy Mark Epstein (Pictures) on the floor to claim a clear unanimous decision.
Epstein started well, turning the tables on the champion and scoring with the first takedown of the night. However, Ewin fended off most of the Londoner's punches and soon worked his way off the bottom to score with damaging blows of his own.
Ewin asserted his dominance for the rest of the fight. He scored with takedowns throughout the second and third rounds and landed hard shots to claim a well-deserved win.
In their highly anticipated rematch, Henrique "Chocolate" Nogueira and Marc Goddard (Pictures) fought to a closely contested draw in a bout filled with frustration for both fighters.
Nogueira landed a hard right hand in the first round, but he was unable to seize on his advantage while Goddard laughed off the blows. As the fight progressed, Nogueira's lack of natural striking ability became increasingly more evident, though he smothered Goddard at every occasion by taking him to the floor.
Goddard fought from guard for much of the fight, but he was able to claw back some points in the third round with some hard ground and pound that led to the draw.
In a scintillating featherweight bout, Paul Reed (Pictures) fulfilled his promise to outbox opponent Brad Pickett (Pictures). Reed consistently landed hard jabs, causing some horrendous damage to the Londoner's face in the process.
However, it was Pickett who landed the telling blows of the contest, knocking his opponent to the mat with punches in the opening stanza, followed later in the contest by an incredible flying knee to the face.
In the end, the judges declared Pickett the winner by majority decision -- a result that prompted many calls for a rematch between the two determined fighters.
Polish rapper Popek Rak (Pictures) made a near-perfect main show debut as he stormed to victory over Kevin Simms (Pictures) in only 72 seconds.
The powerful Team Titan representative quickly caught up with his 41-year-old opponent and landed a brutal right hand that sent him crashing to the floor. Rak pounced on his opportunity and finished the fight with a vicious series of left hands to the Gorilla Academy fighter's head as he covered up on the floor.
Local fighter Chris Rice (Pictures) began his bout with Edgeleson Lue (Pictures) with an excellent series of punches, rocking him all over the cage with hard rights and a piston-like left jab. Lue wisely took the fight to the floor at every opportunity in a desperate attempt to clear his head. Rice, however, would not be denied. He battered the debuting fighter on the floor in the third round and forced referee Leon Roberts to stop the contest.
Harvey Harra (Pictures) gave Wolfslair opponent Gary Kelly (Pictures) the fright of his life in the opening match of the night with a series of fast high kicks in a torrid few moments. On the ground, Kelly fared no better. Harra quickly tightened up a crafty triangle choke to force a submission four minutes into the opening round.
The Sunderland fighter put in an incredible performance against champion Paul Cahoon (Pictures), dominating position on the floor for much of the contest and unleashing a barrage of ground and pound on his younger opponent.
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Cahoon had his opportunities. He put Freeman on his back on two occasions.
However, Freeman showed some impressive skill off his back,
escaping and bulling his way back into control. He relentlessly
battered his Liverpudlian opponent on the ground with punches and
backfists to claim the title by unanimous decision.
Marius Zaromskis (Pictures) surprised the audience by closing the distance in an attempt to take down opponent Che Mills (Pictures). Mills, however, resisted stubbornly and landed a stream of damaging strikes with the point of his elbow in the clinch.
Eventually Zaromskis forced the contest to the mat and immediately looked to bomb his way back into the fight while Mills calmly defended from his back.
At the end of the first round, though, it became clear that Zaromskis could take no further part in the contest due to a nasty gash on his lower eyelid reminiscent of the cut suffered by Randy Couture (Pictures) is his infamous second clash with Vitor Belfort (Pictures).
In victory, an elated Mills was handed the Cage Rage British welterweight title and immediately shot himself into the firing line.
Paul "Semtex" Daley leapt on the opportunity to challenge for the title, unleashing a torrent of colorful language toward the newly crowned champion. Daley also promised to return from his short-lived retirement with a bang.
Rodney Glunder, the fighter formerly known as Rodney Faverus (Pictures), failed to take advantage of his chances to push the action standing up. He was forced to fight from his back for the majority of his light heavyweight bout against James Zikic (Pictures).
The London Shootfighter showed some genuine skill on the ground after recently returning from a training camp in Brazil. Early in the third round, Zikic capitalized on a solid takedown to apply a smoothly executed armbar only 25 seconds after the restart.
A rejuvenated Ross Pointon (Pictures) scored a very quick submission win over local man Ross Mason (Pictures), as the TUF graduate continued his charge toward Cage Rage gold.
Pointon dumped his opponent on the floor in the opening seconds of the contest and immediately threatened with a sneaky armbar attempt. Mason struggled free, but Pointon appeared to be a man possessed as he flew after the local fighter and quickly ensnared him in a tight heel hook to seal the victory.
Matt Ewin (Pictures) defended his Cage Rage middleweight title in impressive fashion. He pounded South London tough guy Mark Epstein (Pictures) on the floor to claim a clear unanimous decision.
Epstein started well, turning the tables on the champion and scoring with the first takedown of the night. However, Ewin fended off most of the Londoner's punches and soon worked his way off the bottom to score with damaging blows of his own.
Ewin asserted his dominance for the rest of the fight. He scored with takedowns throughout the second and third rounds and landed hard shots to claim a well-deserved win.
In their highly anticipated rematch, Henrique "Chocolate" Nogueira and Marc Goddard (Pictures) fought to a closely contested draw in a bout filled with frustration for both fighters.
Nogueira landed a hard right hand in the first round, but he was unable to seize on his advantage while Goddard laughed off the blows. As the fight progressed, Nogueira's lack of natural striking ability became increasingly more evident, though he smothered Goddard at every occasion by taking him to the floor.
Goddard fought from guard for much of the fight, but he was able to claw back some points in the third round with some hard ground and pound that led to the draw.
In a scintillating featherweight bout, Paul Reed (Pictures) fulfilled his promise to outbox opponent Brad Pickett (Pictures). Reed consistently landed hard jabs, causing some horrendous damage to the Londoner's face in the process.
However, it was Pickett who landed the telling blows of the contest, knocking his opponent to the mat with punches in the opening stanza, followed later in the contest by an incredible flying knee to the face.
In the end, the judges declared Pickett the winner by majority decision -- a result that prompted many calls for a rematch between the two determined fighters.
Polish rapper Popek Rak (Pictures) made a near-perfect main show debut as he stormed to victory over Kevin Simms (Pictures) in only 72 seconds.
The powerful Team Titan representative quickly caught up with his 41-year-old opponent and landed a brutal right hand that sent him crashing to the floor. Rak pounced on his opportunity and finished the fight with a vicious series of left hands to the Gorilla Academy fighter's head as he covered up on the floor.
Local fighter Chris Rice (Pictures) began his bout with Edgeleson Lue (Pictures) with an excellent series of punches, rocking him all over the cage with hard rights and a piston-like left jab. Lue wisely took the fight to the floor at every opportunity in a desperate attempt to clear his head. Rice, however, would not be denied. He battered the debuting fighter on the floor in the third round and forced referee Leon Roberts to stop the contest.
Harvey Harra (Pictures) gave Wolfslair opponent Gary Kelly (Pictures) the fright of his life in the opening match of the night with a series of fast high kicks in a torrid few moments. On the ground, Kelly fared no better. Harra quickly tightened up a crafty triangle choke to force a submission four minutes into the opening round.
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