Cahoon, Freeman Finally Meet at Cage Rage 26
Cahoon, Freeman Finally Meet
The hitherto London-based promotion Cage Rage makes its first trip
outside of England's capital Saturday to put on a stacked domestic
card at Birmingham's massive National Exhibition Centre. Though the
show is missing the known international names that have become Cage
Rage's signature, each one of the 10 bouts has the potential to be
a barnstormer.
Ian Freeman (Pictures) vs. Paul Cahoon (Pictures)
The main event between these two U.K. legends promises some explosive action and is unlikely to go the distance. With bragging rights over the U.K. scene on the line, both fighters have trained incredibly hard for this fight and it therefore promises to be a rough encounter with both men going all out for victory.
With his pioneering ground-and-pound, Freeman always has a realistic chance of taking the win. On paper, though, it appears an exercise of sincere optimism on Freeman's behalf that he should choose to step in the cage with the Cage Rage British heavyweight champion.
At 31 years of age and a veteran of 20 MMA fights, Cahoon is in his prime. Yet he is still younger than his Sunderland opponent was when he put on his first pair of four-ounce gloves.
I pick Cahoon's power and aggression to make the difference in this contest, as he batters his way to victory inside the distance.
Che Mills (Pictures) vs. Marius Zaromskis (Pictures)
The chief supporting bout is a rematch of an explosive fight that took place on the Cage Rage Contenders show back in August 2006. On that occasion, Mills scored an incredible knockout win, catching a kick from the Lithuanian and then sending him crashing into unconsciousness with a solid hook to the jaw.
Both of the two promising welterweights have been on impressive winning streaks since. Zaromskis has battled his way through a vicious war with Ross Mason (Pictures). He also put on a gutsy performance against Ross Pointon (Pictures), as he split the TUF graduate open with a pair of straight left hands to claim victory.
Mills has shown equally good form. He also glided through Mason's defenses to secure a rear-naked choke in the first round at Cage Rage 23.
For all his well-rounded skills and ability, however, the Range fighter may well suffer on his feet if he is forced to engage Zaromskis in a standup war. Look for Zaromskis to keep the fight standing and wear his opponent down in the later rounds.
Rodney Faverus vs. James Zikic (Pictures)
Perhaps the mentally strongest athlete on the U.K. scene, James "The Messenger" Zikic famously walked through numerous low kicks in his April 2007 war with Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos to earn a clear decision win. Facing tough Dutch kickboxer Rodney Faverus, the London Shootfighter may have to draw upon his incredible resilience if he is to come through this fight intact.
With injury problems finally behind him, Faverus will be out to impress the fans and promoters alike.
However, if Zikic can take the fight to the floor, his recent stint of jiu-jitsu training in Brazil will make a telling difference en route to a third-round submission.
Ross Mason (Pictures) vs. Ross Pointon (Pictures)
Matchmaker Dave O'Donnell is a master of ensuring that at least one fight on each Cage Rage card is guaranteed to be a complete standup war. This is that fight.
Ross Pointon (Pictures) showed immeasurable improvement in his bout with Marius Zaromskis (Pictures) at Cage Rage 24 and was bitterly disappointed that the match was stopped due to a horrible gash on his forehead late in the second round. Back in business after a brief layoff to heal up, Pointon will be looking to take out his frustrations on local fighter Ross Mason (Pictures).
Mason bounced back from three straight losses with an extremely impressive stoppage of Henrique Santana (Pictures) in late 2007. He hammered the jiu-jitsu master on the floor to seal a much-needed win. Now facing a similar fighter in Pointon, "The Boss" should take charge on the feet to earn a close-fought decision.
Mark Epstein (Pictures) vs. Matt Ewin (Pictures)
Going from two fighters who are quite similar to two fighters who couldn't be anymore different, grappler Matt Ewin (Pictures) will defend his Cage Rage British middleweight title against hard-hitting Mark "The Beast" Epstein.
Ewin has been quoted as saying that he has no qualms with duking it out on the feet with his South London opponent. But if he has any sense, he will take the fight to the floor at the first opportunity to avoid Epstein's flying fists.
This is an extremely difficult fight to call, as two very different game plans are set to collide in the cage. As a former heavyweight, though, Epstein's strength advantage should have a significant role in this fight. He'll hold off his opponent's takedowns to win by knockout early in the third round.
Ian Freeman (Pictures) vs. Paul Cahoon (Pictures)
The main event between these two U.K. legends promises some explosive action and is unlikely to go the distance. With bragging rights over the U.K. scene on the line, both fighters have trained incredibly hard for this fight and it therefore promises to be a rough encounter with both men going all out for victory.
With his pioneering ground-and-pound, Freeman always has a realistic chance of taking the win. On paper, though, it appears an exercise of sincere optimism on Freeman's behalf that he should choose to step in the cage with the Cage Rage British heavyweight champion.
At 31 years of age and a veteran of 20 MMA fights, Cahoon is in his prime. Yet he is still younger than his Sunderland opponent was when he put on his first pair of four-ounce gloves.
I pick Cahoon's power and aggression to make the difference in this contest, as he batters his way to victory inside the distance.
Che Mills (Pictures) vs. Marius Zaromskis (Pictures)
The chief supporting bout is a rematch of an explosive fight that took place on the Cage Rage Contenders show back in August 2006. On that occasion, Mills scored an incredible knockout win, catching a kick from the Lithuanian and then sending him crashing into unconsciousness with a solid hook to the jaw.
Both of the two promising welterweights have been on impressive winning streaks since. Zaromskis has battled his way through a vicious war with Ross Mason (Pictures). He also put on a gutsy performance against Ross Pointon (Pictures), as he split the TUF graduate open with a pair of straight left hands to claim victory.
Mills has shown equally good form. He also glided through Mason's defenses to secure a rear-naked choke in the first round at Cage Rage 23.
For all his well-rounded skills and ability, however, the Range fighter may well suffer on his feet if he is forced to engage Zaromskis in a standup war. Look for Zaromskis to keep the fight standing and wear his opponent down in the later rounds.
Rodney Faverus vs. James Zikic (Pictures)
Perhaps the mentally strongest athlete on the U.K. scene, James "The Messenger" Zikic famously walked through numerous low kicks in his April 2007 war with Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos to earn a clear decision win. Facing tough Dutch kickboxer Rodney Faverus, the London Shootfighter may have to draw upon his incredible resilience if he is to come through this fight intact.
With injury problems finally behind him, Faverus will be out to impress the fans and promoters alike.
However, if Zikic can take the fight to the floor, his recent stint of jiu-jitsu training in Brazil will make a telling difference en route to a third-round submission.
Ross Mason (Pictures) vs. Ross Pointon (Pictures)
Matchmaker Dave O'Donnell is a master of ensuring that at least one fight on each Cage Rage card is guaranteed to be a complete standup war. This is that fight.
Ross Pointon (Pictures) showed immeasurable improvement in his bout with Marius Zaromskis (Pictures) at Cage Rage 24 and was bitterly disappointed that the match was stopped due to a horrible gash on his forehead late in the second round. Back in business after a brief layoff to heal up, Pointon will be looking to take out his frustrations on local fighter Ross Mason (Pictures).
Mason bounced back from three straight losses with an extremely impressive stoppage of Henrique Santana (Pictures) in late 2007. He hammered the jiu-jitsu master on the floor to seal a much-needed win. Now facing a similar fighter in Pointon, "The Boss" should take charge on the feet to earn a close-fought decision.
Mark Epstein (Pictures) vs. Matt Ewin (Pictures)
Going from two fighters who are quite similar to two fighters who couldn't be anymore different, grappler Matt Ewin (Pictures) will defend his Cage Rage British middleweight title against hard-hitting Mark "The Beast" Epstein.
Ewin has been quoted as saying that he has no qualms with duking it out on the feet with his South London opponent. But if he has any sense, he will take the fight to the floor at the first opportunity to avoid Epstein's flying fists.
This is an extremely difficult fight to call, as two very different game plans are set to collide in the cage. As a former heavyweight, though, Epstein's strength advantage should have a significant role in this fight. He'll hold off his opponent's takedowns to win by knockout early in the third round.
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