Amateur Cage Battles 9 took place on Saturday the 22nd of February at Warrington’s Parr Hall. There was a sizeable crowd in attendance, predominantly cheering on several young local fighters. All in all it made for a great atmosphere, with a lively crowd matching what you’d see at a Darts event. Most importantly, the fights definitely delivered with some high quality fights throughout the night.

Throughout the card we saw a mix of young talent looking to get experience inside the cage as well as some very accomplished performances. This only goes to show that the UK has some real talent within its gyms, with this card alone featuring several fighters to keep your eye on over the next few years.

Early on in the night we saw local favourite Connor Preston get caught in a guillotine despite starting well against Jack Holt. This was followed up by an impressive grappling display from Jordan Hill who despite running out of time in the first from the mount, picked up where the first left off and secured the guillotine victory in the second round.

The earlier fights were not just dominated by grappling exchanges either, Kyle Keene showing great clinch work to maneuver Scott Mellor around the cage, landing brutal knees in the process. Ultimately, these body shots took their toll and the fight went to the floor and Keene showed his diverse range of attacks, sinking in the triangle in impressive fashion.

There are always question marks when you see a fighter enter the cage listed as an independent fighter and it doesn’t help matters when you’re stood across from a member of the British Army. This is the predicament which Ryan Hennessy was faced with against Kristofer Griffith, Griffith not wasting any time in taking his opponent down and landing heavy shots, forcing the referee to intervene.

Next up we had every ring announcers dream in Oktawain Olejniczak who was up against James Guise. Whilst his name might not be one you can pronounce, it is definitely one you will remember. Olejniczak picked up a decision victory after landing in top position in round one without being able to secure the finish and with next two rounds largely the same as the first.

Throughout the night we saw many top gyms represented and as we know with MMA, some nights just don’t turn out as you would quite expect/hope. Unfortunately for Doghouse Gym, this was one of those nights despite impressive performances with James O’Connor in particular having a close fought first round before being submitted in the second by a Reece Parker roared on by the home crowd.

The card then moved up a gear with the title fights for the amateurs and the pros. First up was another local favourite Kyle Preston who started well, looked to be setting up a sweep on Jason McKnight after being taken down. However, it didn’t take long for those high hopes to turn to concern for Preston who got caught in a knee bar shortly after, ending the fight and leaving Preston to be carried out by former Ultimate Fighter contestant and current coach of HAMMA, Dave Faulkner. Preston did manage to walk off the stage with some assistance so let’s hope he can make a quick recovery.

After seeing their local favourite limp off, the crowd went unusually quiet. That is until the next fight kicked off. This fight between Luke Crossland and Adam Bramhald was definitely the best fight of the night in terms of back and forth action and overall competitiveness.

Bramhald picked up the first round on my scorecard after a really fast paced start from both, showcasing all aspects of MMA. Crossland fired back in the second, taking this round thanks to some good strikes which he mixed up with a takedown.

As they entered the final round, it seemed everyone was aware how close this fight was. In the end, Bramhald came on strong with a flashy jumping double knee followed up swiftly with a right hook for good measure. As the fight then went to the floor, it was Bramhald looking to finish the fight with rear naked choke and armbar attempts late in the round. The judges scored the fight for Bramhald but both men got the biggest cheer of the night in appreciation of a cracking fight.

And so, the gauntlet was laid down for the pros to follow such a great fight and first up was Scott Gregory who would ordinarily enter any fight as favourite given his wrestling pedigree. In the end, it was that Wrestling ability that served Gregory well in this one, with John Spencer unable to stop the former GB Wrestler from dictating where the fight took place. Once on the floor, Gregory transitioned to mount in the centre of the cage and Spencer had seen enough, tapping due to strikes.

In the main event, Ant Davies seemed to be in a hurry to get things over and done with. Davies wasn’t messing around with a dramatic cage walk, pacing on the stage for several minutes before the announcer took to the mic. Once inside the cage, Davies wasted little time in dispatching of the tall Scott Richardson, landing heavy elbows which opened a cut on Richardson’s forehead which was enough for the referee to step in and for Davies to take the title.

Performance of the Night:  This is a tough one as both Luke Crossland and Adam Bramhald deserve immense credit for the incredible fight they put on and even in defeat Crossland definitely impressed.

Given that Scott Gregory and Ant Davies dominated from start to finish in capturing their respective titles you could argue that one of them should be given the honour.

However, Karl Hodgson gets the nod for this one in displaying great composure and technique to sweep his opponent before sinking in the rear naked choke to finish Carl Green. This is made all the more impressive by the fact I am told Karl has only trained MMA for 5 months, after previously training in Tae Kwon Do.

T/KO of the Night: This one is much easier and goes to Kristofer Griffith who got the stoppage after some punishing shots from top position to make quick work of Ryan Hennessy.

Submission of the Night: Throughout the card, there were some really good grappling skills on display whether it be the guillotine victories for Jordan Baxter, Jack Holt or Jordan Hill or the dangerous knee bar locked on by Jason McKnight.

In my view, the best submission of the night was the lightening fast triangle secured by Kyle Keene who gave no time for his opponent to see it coming. He had already hurt his opponent on the feet with a strong showing in the clinch but the fluidity of his transition to the triangle was what sealed the award for Keene.

Looking back, it was a great night of fights in Warrington, with some real talents of the future in action. We will keep our eyes peeled for news of the next show in summer and we would recommend any UK MMA fan do the same.

The MMA Review would like to thank Caroline and Sean for looking after us and providing the best seat in the house on the Stage, within touching distance of the cage.

The results for ACB 9 are below:

Lars Atkins def Matt Norton via Split Decision

Jack Holt def Connor Preston via Submission (Guillotine) Round 1

Jordan Hill def James Rogers via Submission (Guillotine) Round 2

Jack Roughly def Lewis Johnson via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

Kyle Keene def Scott Mellor via Submission (Triangle) Round 1

Kristofer Griffith def Ryan Hennessy via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

Jordan Baxter def Nick Fitzgerald via Submission (Guillotine) Round 1

Karl Hodgson def Carl Green via Submission (Guillotine) Round 1

Oktawain Olejniczak def James Guise via Unanimous Decision

Marcin Bystron def Jay Brown via Submission (Triangle) Round 1

Ricardo Franco def Callum Gaghan via TKO (Cut) Round 1

Reece Parker def James O’Conner via Submission (Americana) Round 1

Jason McKnight def Kyle Preston via Submission (Knee Bar) Round 1

Adam Bramhald def Luke Crossland via Unanimous Decision

Scott Gregory def John Spencer via Submission (Strikes) Round 1

Ant Davies def Scott Richardson via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

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