Kingdom MMA review FCC 10 - Amateur Prelims

by Alex Dillon @_alexdillon_

This past weekend I attended Full Contact Contender 10 over in Bolton at the newly named Macron Stadium. For those of you who don’t know about FCC, it’s one of the biggest domestic shows in the UK, hosting both amateur and pro bouts throughout the night with fighters coming from all over the UK and Europe to compete.

Highly regarded UK talents Brendan Loughnane and Pietro Menga hold the shows pro Lightweight and Flyweight title’s respectively and other UK names such as Matt Inman and Martin Stapleton have fought on the show before. It’s also the breeding ground for many of the north west’s up and coming amateur fighters.

Amateur Fights

Ben Singleton vs Mike McGowon

Ben Singleton def. Mike McGowon via TKO (ground and pound) at 1:20 of Round 1

Paul Maverick Orr vs Maciej Dankowski

Maciej Dankowski def. Paul Maverick Orr via TKO (ground and pound) at 1:57 of Round 1

Mick Stanton vs Tom Tynan

This one was probably the fastest knockout I’ve ever seen. I had literally just finished a tweet for the play by play and Tynan had come down crashing right infront of me in six seconds from a massive punch from Stanton.

Mick Stanton def. Tom Tynan via KO (punch) at 0:06 of Round 1

Marcin Bystron vs Chris Thomas

This fight was delayed slightly because of Thomas not having a cup when he came out to the cage I believe. Both fighters started off by swinging hard before Bystron got the fight to the ground. He landed some heavy strikes with Thomas turning to his side before sinking in an arm triangle and getting the win. It looked like Thomas lost half a tooth somewhere during that fight too!

Marcin Bystron def. Chris Thomas via submission (arm triangle) at 1:05 of Round 1

Kyle Keane vs Aaron Dwyer

As soon as the fight started Keane was on the attack with a variety of leg kicks before the fight went to the ground and he finishes it via Guillotine choke.

Kyle Keane def. Aaron Dwyer via submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:35 of Round 1

James Winstanley  vs Reece Street

Street came into this fight as an independent fighter and a late replacement I believe. The fight started off with the two meeting in the centre before Street attempted a spectacular spinning kick to the head of Winstanley which was quite close to making contact. It was all Winstanley then as he got the fight to the ground first attempting a rear naked choke but ultimately finishing Street off with some powerful ground and pound and forcing Street to tap.

James Winstanley def. Reece Street via TKO (ground and pound/strikes) at 0:55 of Round 1

Danny McCloud vs Adam McGann 

Round One
The fight begins and both fighters meet in the centre with McCloud landing three leg kicks before McGann comes in with a combo of his own. McGann goes in again with the combo before McCloud pushes the action against the cage looking for the takedown. McGann does well to defend the takedown and lands a good left but McCloud again attempts to push him against the cage in hope of a takedown. McGann gains the dominant position and looks to land some knees in the clinch before they break into the centre but he’s back in again with a neat combo. He forces the action against the cage but McCloud replies with some knees of his own before McGann ends the round with a decent left followed by a few more shots.

Round Two
The fighters take the centre again as the second round gets underway and its McCloud looking for the first shots but misses as McGann gets in two shots of his own. McCloud goes in for the takedown and this time gets it. McCloud lands two shots on the ground before McGann's guard opens and the fight is back to the feet. The fight is again dictated against the cage as both fighters exchange knees. McGann trips McCloud, gets the takedown and gets a shot off before the second round comes to an end.

Round Three
The final round begins and both fighters meet in the centre of the cage again, McCloud ducks under a right thrown by McGann and drives the fight to the cage before McGann trips McCloud and gets the fight to the ground. McGann now starts to land his strikes with effect, uppercut, right and a leg kick. McCloud attempts to drive McGann towards the cage again but McGann answers back with another strike as he looks to defend the takedown. McCloud briefly gets the fight to the ground but McGann is straight up and the round comes to an end with McGann landing some knees to McCloud up against the cage. Good fight from both debutants.

Adam McGann def. Danny McCloud via Unanimous Decision: 29-28 (x3)

Joe Kennedy vs Mark McGoldrick

Round One
McGoldrick comes out swinging to start this fight off; he then gets the fight to the floor and looks to reign some strikes down on Kennedy. Kennedy uses the cage well to flip over and get back to his feet just as McGoldrick was looking to take the back. Kennedy now lands some decent shots before McGoldrick fires back with some of his own. As the round draws to a close McGoldrick is attempting another takedown against the cage but it doesn’t come.

Round Two
Round two gets underway with Kennedy landing some vicious strikes but McGoldrick weathers it and gets the takedown straight into side control. McGoldrick then goes into mount and looks to throw down some strikes but Kennedy defends well.  All McGoldrick as he continues to try and damage Kennedy from the top as the second round draws to a close.

Round Three
Kennedy starts the round off firing shots but McGoldrick is straight in pushing the action towards the cage before landing the takedown. McGoldrick gets into full mount and starts throwing some shots into Kennedy who tries his best to tie McGoldrick up but he powers out and lands another heavy shot. With little work going on the ref stands them up and the action resumes with Kennedy coming in with shots but McGoldrick gets him back to the cage and gets another takedown and finishes the round with more ground and pound.

Mark McGoldrick def. Joe Kennedy via Unanimous Decision: 30-27 (x3)

Jim Ratcliffe vs Craig Humphreys

The two fighters come out and meet in the centre, Humphreys throws a front kick which pushes Ratcliffe back before stepping in with a huge right hand which drops Ratcliffe, Humphreys charges in to finish with ground and pound as the referee stops the fight.

Craig Humphreys def. Jim Ratcliffe via KO (punch) at 0:09 of Round 1

Robbie Fallon vs Will Cairns

The fight kicks off with Cairns coming forward but Fallon is straight in for the takedown and gets it into side control. Cairns does his best to try and escape using his knees but Fallon is relentless hammering shots down, he then takes the back mount, reigns more shots down and the referee is forced to stop the fight.

Robbie Fallon def. Will Cairns via TKO (ground and pound) at 0:42 of Round 1

Conor Hignett vs Dominic Wooding

This fight was eagerly anticipated on the amateur flyweight scene across the UK. The winner would get a shot at the belt which would be contested in the fight after this.

Round One
The round kicks off with a touch of gloves and Hignett is immediately on the attack and Wooding fires back with a shot of his own. Hignett is lighter on the feet at the beginning where as Wooding seems to be very relaxed in his stance and not too worried about Hignett's movement. Both then fire off shots of their own in the centre with Wooding executing a head kick and Hignett replying before they separate and play the feeling out game again. Hignett lands a hard kick to the body, Wooding replies and the action is then forced against the cage by Hignett. Looking for the takedown, Hignett drops down for the single leg but Wooding defends well and the round comes to an end.

Round Two
The round starts off with both going for kicks before Wooding attempts a flying knee but slipping in the process. He makes it back to his feet with ease before firing off a jab backing Hignett up but Hignett responds and both exchange strikes again. As the round goes on, the two continue to exchange strikes with Hignett looking to land several kicks where as Wooding goes for a combo to the body. Wooding ends the round being the more aggressive fighter this time round and it’s even going into the final round.

Round Three
The final round begins with Wooding taking the centre and Hignett attempting a spinning back fist but narrowly missing. Both engage in the centre and Wooding lands a big shot which pushes Hignett back to the cage fence, Wooding goes in and ties up whilst landing a solid knee. The action separates and both land shots to the body before Wooding goes up high with a kick followed by another which is blocked. Both end the round the best possible way by trading in the final 10 seconds.

Dominic Wooding def. Coner Hignett via Split Decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28   

Thanks for reading part one of Kingdom MMA's FCC 10 post fight review, to read our review of the amateur title fights please click here.