Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Fighter to Watch in 2014

Kingdom MMA Awards Fighter to watch in 2014: Arnold Allen
by Ben Heather @benheather

As well as taking a look back and recognising the achievements of 2013 we would also like to take a look forward to who we believe will be the fighter to watch in 2014. We wanted to give the award to a fighter who some of the casual fans may not have heard of or knew much about, but trust me by the end of 2014 you will all know this fighters name.

Unlike all of the other awards which between our writers we had numerous contenders to pick the winner from there was only one name that came to mind for this category and everyone agreed, that name was Arnold "Almighty" Allen.

Arnold Allen is the 19 year old rising star fighting out of BKK Fighters and has a record of 6-0. Arnold has only been fighting professionally since April 2012. In 2013 Arnold went 4-0, including three wins fighting for Cage Warriors in which he never had to go in to the third round. Since fighting for Cage Warriors Arnold has really showcased his skills with two victories by submission and a TKO win over Doni Miller at Cage Warriors 61.

Arnold started 2013 fighting at UCMMA 32 in February where he defeated Carl Orris picking up the fighter of the night bonus in what can only be described as a one sided unanimous decision victory. It remains the only time that Arnold has been the distance in a fight but he really showcased his skills that night. Arnold landed head kicks, take downs and when he had his opponent on the ground didn't ease up as he continued with some brutal ground and pound that his coach Jack Mason would have been proud of.

The next time we would see Arnold back in the cage he would make his Cage Warriors debut at Cage Warriors 56 where he defeated Andy Green by rear naked choke in the first round. After that fight he signed a five fight exclusive contract to fight only for Cage Warriors proving that they could also see that he is certainly a star of the future and wanted to keep him on their books.

Next up Arnold fought the most experienced fighter of his career to date as he battled Dec Williams at Cage Warriors 60 in October. If you saw the fight without knowing who was the more experienced fighter you would not have known that it was only Arnold's fifth fight of his professional career as he took Dec Williams down in the first round before posturing up and landing some explosive shots on Williams who just had no answer for it. In the second round Arnold got the victory by submission. After locking in a guillotine choke on the ground but realising he couldn't finish the fight he released it and instantly locked in a triangle choke which this time made Williams tap securing Arnold's fifth win of his career.

Arnold returned to action in December fighting for the first time outside of the UK as Cage Warriors returned to Amman, Jordan for Cage Warriors 61 where he fought Doni Miller. This fight saw Arnold show off his improved boxing skills as he floored Miller in the first with a crisp right hook but was unable to finish the fight then as Miller did a good job locking him up and being unable to get off his normal ground and pound. Within 30 seconds of the second round Arnold found his mark again this time it was the left hand which floored Miller and Arnold was then relentless with his punches on the downed Miller before the referee came in to stop the fight.

If you have not seen any of Arnold Allen's fights then I recommend that you get on YouTube and check them all out. He is a great fighter who can go a very long way in the sport and to think he doesn't turn 20 until the 17th January. Having Jack Mason as his head coach, who has witnessed and been in probably every situation during a fight and guys Luke Barnatt, Sean Carter and Jason Cooledge in his corner is only going to help him achieve whatever he wants to in this sport.

Congratulations Arnold you have been crowned Kingdom MMA’s Fighter to watch in 2014 – Arnold we salute you.

A Review of Cage Warriors 56

Cage Warriors 56 Omoyele vs Del Guerra

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea


Saturday 6th July, 6pm the doors opened at "The Forum" Kentish Town, London which was the venue for Cage Warriors 56.

Bola Omeleye def. Vincent del Guerra via 1st round TKO 

Headlining the main event was Londoner and ex 'TUF' contestant Bola Omoyele vs Vincent del Guerra in a 3 x 5 minute round bout. 

Bola making his debut fighting for Cage Warriors since signing an exclusive contract for them and competing in his first fight in just over a year, wasted little time in dismantling Vincent del Guerra.

From the bell, Bola was looking to take the Frenchman down, and done so with ease. With Bola on top controlling the fight and looking to put some ground and pound onto del Guerra, Marc Goddard called a halt to the action del Guerra complaining of an eye poke. The doctor was called in to inspect the damaged eye, and was deemed fit to continue.

This seemed to have lit a flame under del Guerra who after the restart came out swinging and putting pressure on Bola, using this anger to take Bola down, which proved to be a bad decision. Bola used his bigger frame and strength difference to reverse his position and get on top of del Guerra. Landing a barrage of unanswered punches and elbows down on del Guerra, Goddard had no option but to call a stop to the fight to prevent further damage. The official time of the stoppage was 3:21 in the first round.

The house seemed packed of Bola fans as the roof nearly came off the venue when Bola's hand was raised in victory. A very impressive victory and performance considering the man he was facing and his experience over Bola.

In the post fight interview Bola mentioned that he'd signed for the best organisation in Britain and Europe and the fight went as he planned. He went onto say he wants a belt "anyone who's going to take me to that belt, show me the path"

This victory puts Bola (7-1) and a six fight win streak in which he has finished all of his opponents inside the first round.

Catchweight (150lbs) Robbie Olivier def. Patrik Berisha unanimous decision (30/27 x 3)

At Cage Warriors 56 Robbie "The Flame" Olivier was making his first appearance for Cage Warriors in almost 10 years since he last fought at Cage Warriors 4 which saw Robbie lose inside the first round to Emmanuel Fernandez.

The fight was made at a catchweight of 150lbs due to Olivier carrying an injury into the fight and unable to make the 145lb limit. Despite the injury, Olivier dominated over the three rounds in which Berisha had no answer for.

Olivier's Jiu-Jitsu was the key to this fight, he took every opportunity to take Berisha to the mat and done so at will. Berisha managed to get to his feet on a couple of occasions but was soon pinned down on his back again with Olivier in full mount.

In what wasn't the most exciting fight of the night, Olivier got into some dominating positions but was unable to get the finish. At times the fans seems to get restless at the action going on and at one stage Marc Goddard was forced to stand the fighters up. Though it was only seconds before Olivier took Berisha back to the mat again to grind it out for the rest of the round and earn a 30/27 x 3 victory.

Robbie would be the first to admit it wasn't his finest performance saying "I'm not 100% happy, I think i dominated the fight, but i struggled to make the weight. Fair play to my opponent, he was prepared to do a catchweight to make sure the fight happened.

Middleweight Denniston Sutherland def. Brett Bassett via 3rd Round TKO

With a very tentative start from both fighters, the first round was much a feeling out process with Sutherland and Bassett clinging up against the cage for most of the round.

Into the second round and it started much of the same as the first until Sutherland started applying more pressure and landed some big shots onto Bassett until the ref Rich Mitchell stepped in and deemed Sutherland had landed blows to the back of the head, thus taking a point from Sutherland which could've proved decisive on the scorecards. Though moments later it wouldn't prove to be the case, Sutherland landed a beautiful knee to the body of Bassett which dropped him to the mat. Sutherland was raining down with punches and looked like the end was near. Though the bell rung saving Bassett from a certain TKO.

With Bassett clearly still in trouble walking back to his corner, and only a minute to recover he was really up against it. Sutherland took the advantage and came out throwing punches to the body of Bassett and seconds into the third round drops Bassett again and swarms in for the kill. Rich Mitchell has seen enough and jumps in to stop the fight!

Featherweight Graham Turner def. Nad Narimani via Split Decision 30-27 28-29 29-28

Scotland's Graham Turner came into this fight on the back of four wins, who was taking on the undefeated Nad Narimani in what proved to be a very closely fought battle!

Straight from the off both fighters were looking to counter strike and keep things standing. Back and forth punches were exchanged until late in the first round Turner picks up Nad and dumps him into the mat (rampage esq) with seconds to spare in the round and in what was a very close round , might just have pinched in with that.

Into the second , both men wanting to keep the fight standing trying to land that one punch that might finish the fight, but it doesn't come. Both rounds have been so close it was all to play for in the third. In the third round, Nad starts to pressure more and take control of the fight landing a punch that makes Turner instinctively fire back with his own punches. In an entertaining fight , the bell ends the third round with both men exhausted and thinking they've done enough to win.

Turner takes a split decision 30-27 28-29 29-28 adding the first defeat to Narimani's professional record and stretching his win streak to five fights.

Catchweight (160lbs) Philip Mulpeter def. Warren Kee via 2nd Round TKO

Philip "Honeybadger" Mulpeter had Connor McGregor by his side on Saturday night when he fought Warren Kee. England's Kee came in to this fight having lost his last 2 fights prior and Mulpeter losing his last fight to Tommy Quinn at Cage Warriors 51 on new years eve, both men were looking to get back to winning ways!

Though it was Mulpeter who came out the stronger fighter, both men come out throwing punches and its Mulpeter thats getting the better of the work and takes Kee down to the mat. Landing some ground and pound to Kee, Mulpeter secures a tight triangle late in the round but the bell rings before he can submit Kee.

Mulpeter takes Kee down again in the second, Kee replies with some elbows from below but the ref deems them illegal and to the back of the head. Neil Hall takes a point away from Kee for the elbows.  Mulpeter starts to land punches and elbows down from mounted position that have Kee in trouble. Kee covers up from the punches and Neil Hall steps in and calls a halt to the fight on 3:24 inside the second round.

A powerful display from Mulpeter that impressed not only his fans but also McGregor.

Middleweight Fabio Ferrari def. Brett Sizeland via 1st round Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Brett Sizeland entered the ring with almost a year out between his last fight which was a loss to Denniston Sutherland at Cage Warriors 48, Ferrari himself was also coming into the fight on the back of a loss himself!

The fight started brightly and Fabio Ferrari and Brett Sizeland had the fans on the edge of their seats, as they come out from the bell throwing hands from the off. Ferrari lands a beautiful right hand flush on Sizeland that stuns hims, Ferrari taking advantage of this jumps of Sizelands back and locks in a tight rear-naked choke that left Sizeland with only one option, To tap!!

Ferrarri (6-2-1) bounces back with a win, and leaves Brett Sizeland (6-3) with back to back losses.

Premliminary Card Results:

Sean Carter def Adam Bousiff via Submission (arm-triangle choke) Rd 2 (3:58)
Arnold Allen def Andy Green via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1 (4:00)
Brad Wheeler def Aymard Guih via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Paddy Pimblett def Florian Calin via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,29-28)


Ending note:

Amateur Light heavyweight bout Darren Springer def Emmanuel Cammarata via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

I just wanted to honour one fight that wasn't televised and it was also an amateur fight, but felt I couldn't leave it out of my article as it was such a great fight.

It was between two light heavyweights Emmanuel Cammarata vs Darren Springer in a 3 round x 3 mins fight.

Both men came from their corners with only one thing in mind, that was to knock their opponent out! Springer landed some huge and flush punches onto Cammrata and looked like this fight would be over within minutes, but boy how wrong I was. Cammarata just wouldn't go down, instead firing back with punches of his own. How he survived that onslaught in the first round takes a great chin and courage.

Into the second and its much of the same, Springer landing the better of the punches and doing the cleaner work, though he's starting to tire and Cammarata isn't going anywhere! Into the 3rd Cammarata looks to have more in the tank but has left it too late to take the decision from Springer.

It goes to the official score cards and Springer def Cammarata (30-27 x 3)

Both fighters take a bow, as that was a brilliant fight!!


**Thanks to Cagewarriors for the allowing KingdomMMA press accreditation to cover CWFC56**

Cage Warriors 56: Weigh in results

Cage Warriors 56 weigh in results

(Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors)

The fighters are set for tomorrow night’s Cage Warriors 56 action at The Forum in London following this afternoon’s weigh-ins.
Headliners Bola Omoyele and Vincent del Guerra both made weight for their welterweight tussle, although Omoyele needed a second attempt before tipping the scales at the 171lbs limit.

Denniston Sutherland also had to make use of the additional two hours before he was on weight for his middleweight clash with Brett Bassett, but Andy Green and Aymard Guih both failed to make the contracted weight for their respective bouts.

Green was 0.8lb too heavy and surrendered 25 percent of his purse to opponent Arnold Allen, while Guih - who accepted the fight just yesterday - came in 3.4lbs over the limit for his 165lbs catchweight bout against Brad Wheeler. However, having stepped in at such short notice, no deduction was made from Guih’s purse.

MAIN CARD
Welterweight: Vincent del Guerra (170.8lbs) v Bola Omoyele (171lbs)*
150lbs catchweight: Patrik Berisha (150.5lbs) v Robbie Olivier (149.3lbs)
Middleweight: Brett Bassett (182.9lbs) v Denniston Sutherland (185.9lbs)**
Featherweight: Nad Narimani (145.8lbs) v Graham Turner (146lbs)
160lbs catchweight: Warren Kee (160.5lbs) v Philip Mulpeter (160.4lbs)
Middleweight: Fabio Ferrari (185.3lbs) v Brett Sizeland (185.7lbs)

FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Lightweight: Adam Boussif (154.4lbs) v Sean Carter (155.2lbs)
Featherweight: Arnold Allen (144.8lbs) v Andy Green (146.8lbs)***
165lbs catchweight: Aymard Guih (169.4lbs)**** v Brad Wheeler (165.2lbs)

NON-STREAMED PRELIM
Bantamweight: Florian Calin (135.8lbs) v Paddy Pimblett (135.8lbs)

*Omoyele initially weighed in at 171.2lbs
**Sutherland initially weighed in at 187.7lbs
***Green initially weighed in at 148.2lbs; surrenders 25 percent of purse to Allen having also failed on second attempt.
****Guih failed to make weight but, having taken the fight on a day’s notice, no purse deduction occurred.

Warren Kee ahead of Cage Warriors 56 "I am getting back in the win column on Saturday night"

Warren Kee talks to Kingdom MMA before his fight at Cage Warriors 56

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Saturday night Cage Warriors 56 takes place live from The Forum in Kentish Town, London. As part of the main card Warren Kee will be fighting Philip Mulpeter, this will be the first time Kee is fighting in 2013 and comes in to the contest after losing his last two fights. Yesterday Kingdom MMA had the pleasure of catching up with Kee and discussed his recent record, dropping weight class and his fight at Cage Warriors 56.

Ben: Thank you for your time and agreeing to an interview with Kingdom MMA. For those that don't really know Warren Kee or might be checking out Cage Warriors for the first time on Saturday, can you tell us a little about yourself and what the people can expect?
Kee: No problem thanks for the interview, Cage Warriors is one of the top shows in Europe so all fights on there shows are well matched and exciting, I'm just a normal clean guy who works hard at what he does and is always looking to finish, I've just come off 2 very disappointing fights so I intend to rectify that on Saturday night, this will be a great fight.

Ben: This is the second time you have thought for Cage Warriors, what does it mean to you to fight for the biggest European MMA organisation?
Kee: It means a lot to me and I'm grateful for the opportunity, I was matched on previous Cage Warriors shows in the past but had to pull out due to injuries which was incredibly frustrating.

Ben: You are coming in to this fight off the back of two losses and 1 draw, do you feel added pressure is on you to get the win?
Kee: Yes definitely, I have massively under performed in my last 2 fights and that still hurts me personally, I am getting back in the win column on Saturday night.

Ben: Have you made any adjustments to your game after your last defeat?
Kee: Yes mainly by dropping a weight class, I haven't cut weight in last 4 or so fights so have literally walked round at 78kg and you can't do that these days, welterweights now are walking round and fighting at 85 - 90+ kilos where I was still 78kg, this was just too much of a disadvantage and with some fighters using special supplements etc it makes it even a bigger struggle, technique wise I have worked on everything and evolve each session further.

Ben: At 39 years old now would a loss on Saturday night make you think about calling an end to your mma career?
Kee: No, this is the start in my eyes. I improve daily and my hunger to train is always there.

Ben: This fight is at a catchweight of 160lbs. You mentioned before you wanted to drop to lightweight? How did the catchweight fight come about?
Kee: I wanted a catchweight fight to test the waters before the dropping fully to 155, I was fortunate that this was available to have.

Ben: So you see your future as a lightweight after this fight then?
Kee: Yes 155lbs is right for me I feel, I had tests done and all the numbers I got back have proved that too. I'm very disciplined anyway but lightweight will bring out the best in me for sure.

Ben: How is the weight coming down before the weigh ins is everything on plan for Fridays weigh in?
Kee: I feel great, better than ever so really looking forward to fighting, I knew I should have dropped divisions years ago but it wasn't broke so I just kept on at 170lbs.

Ben: You have only gone the distance once in your career which ended in a draw, do you train to be able to fight for the full 15 minutes or do you train to stop the fight ASAP?
Kee: I had points deducted in that fight that cost me the win but I always train for the full fight duration, I can push the pace for 3 rounds at this weight due to better energy levels from a better diet too.

Ben: What do you expect from your opponent Philip Mulpeter?
Kee: A really tough fight, he looks well rounded, tough and he is from from a great camp, the fans will like this one for sure.

Ben: What's your game plan for Saturday night and where do you believe you have an advantage in this fight?
Kee: I don't want to give no plans away but I feel I'm stronger in all areas and at a weight closer to where I need to be fighting, I'm in the best shape ever so just going to fight hard.

Ben: Thank you for your time Warren, lastly would you like to thank anyone?
Kee: Massive thanks to sponsors - Tsunami gym, Relentless MMA, Max office supplies, QNT UK, Setai clinic, Funky gums, Fightwear MK.

Also all my coaches and teammates and my own students too.

My girlfriend Sam and my mate Zane have been amazing as have my parents and friends.

Finally Cage Warriors for the opportunity to fight and yourself for the interview, I hope the fans enjoy my fight and a great stacked card from top to bottom it is stacked with amazing talent.

Thank you to Warren for his time and you can watch his fight at Cage Warriors 56 live on Premier Sports from 9pm on Saturday night. We will be live reporting from the event on our twitter account so if you can't make it live or get chance to watch it on TV, stay posted to those updates.

Cage Warriors 56 is headlined by the return of Bola Omoyele in his first fight since signing his exclusive contract with Cage Warriors. Bola is set to battle Vincent del Guerra in the main event, also on the card are Robbie Olivier, Graham Turner, Denniston Sutherland and Brett Bassett.

Del Guerra vs Omoyele plus four other bouts agreed for Cage Warriors 56

New Cage Warriors recruit Bola Omoyele's next opponent named

It has today been confirmed who Bola Omoyele will fight in his first Cage Warriors fight since signing an exclusive contract. The welterweight will face of against Vincent del Guerra in one of five bouts that officials have today confirmed for Cage Warriors 56. Cage Warriors 56 will take place on Saturday, July 6th at The Forum in Kentish Town, London, England.

Omoyele (6-1), who was a member of Team UK on The Smashes series of The Ultimate Fighter last year, recently signed an exclusive contract with Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. We caught up with Bola last week to discuss his new contract with Cage Warriors, that interview can be read here.

Omoyele has stopped his opponents in all six of his wins with 5 TKOs and one submission, five of which have come in the first round.

Omoyele told Cage Warriors: “Thanks to God for giving me the strength and health for this fight, and to Cage Warriors and my management for bringing me on board.
“I’m excited like a child to be finally getting into the cage again and showcasing my skill-set. Vincent is going to have his work cut out for him.”

Hailing from Marseille in France, del Guerra (20-8), will be fighting for the 29th time in his professional career, despite having only turned 23 in February.

The versatile del Guerra has 17 stoppage wins on his record - nine by submission, eight by (T)KO - and has vowed to make a real impression when he makes his Cage Warriors debut on July 6.
“This is a very big opportunity for me,” said del Guerra to Cage Warriors. “I will put on a great fight with my opponent and show everyone that I’m one of the most dangerous welterweights in Europe.”

Also featuring on the main card will be a middleweight clash between Brett Bassett and Denniston Sutherland, as well as a host of other exciting fights that will be announced in due course.

Meanwhile, following a recent injury lay-off , Brett Bassett (8-3) will return to action for the first time since his spectacular KO of Mike Ling last September to take on experienced CWFC veteran middleweight Denniston Sutherland (19-9).

On the prelims, Fabio Ferrari (5-2) and Brett Sizeland (6-2) will also meet in a middleweight bout, lightweights Brad Wheeler (9-9) and Jason Cooledge (8-4) will clash, while unbeaten featherweight prospects Chad Griffiths (4-0) and Arnold Allen (3-0) will be in opposite corners for their Cage Warriors debuts.

Interview: Bola Omoyele "I Will Fight Anyone Put in Front of Me"

Bola Omoyele "I will fight anyone put in front of me"

by Ben Heather @benheather

On the 10th May it was announced that Bola Omoyele, the fighter last seen on UFC's The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes has signed an exclusive five fight deal with Cage Warriors where he will make his promotional debut on the 6th July at Cage Warriors 56.

Today Kingdom MMA managed to catch up with Bola who holds a 6-1 MMA record to ask him how it felt to have signed for the top promotion in Europe.

"I am thrilled to have signed for Cage Warriors and I really cannot wait to make my debut on the show in Camden on 6th July."

This deal may have caught a few people by surprise, as it was only recently announced that Bola would fight in Kansas City for Global Warrior Challenge on "The British Invasion" fight card how did the change of plan come about.

"I was due to fight in Kansas City on 29 June against Kendall Grove but once my management team, Elite MMA Agency put the Cage Warriors contract in front of me it was an easy decision to sign and be part of the second best MMA show in the world after the UFC"

As Bola mentioned he is managed by Elite MMA Agency and this isn't the first time they have been able to sort out a big deal for him. They have been influential in making both this deal happen with Cage Warriors and previously got him the opportunity to fight on TUF The Smashes.

"They were crucial and I trust them totally. They got me into the TUF (Smashes) house against Australia and I felt that I let them down but I am ready to go all the way and take the Cage Warrior title. The good thing about Elite MMA Agency is that my two managers are so different. Chris 'Fig' who has fought MMA and still trains is very knowledgeable about the sport and is great at advising on technique, opponents and training. Whereas Pan Symeou is the senior partner at Faradays Solicitors and he deals with all the legal and contractual issues. They are also both very well respected in the USA and with the UFC. Pan for example is Michael Bisping's lawyer in the UK."

Cage Warriors have some of the top European Welterweights on its books now with the likes of current champ Cathal Pendred, former UFC fighter and current number one contender Che Mills, former BAMMA champ and another recent Cage Warriors signing Tom Breese and Jack Mason to name a few. However, Bola sees fights being made with the top talent in the Cage Warriors Welterweight division and this influenced his decision to sign for Cage Warriors. The fact he will now be able to test himself against some of the top guys in Europe.

"Absolutely and I aim to beat all of them and claim the title. I respect all those guys as they are all great fighters and I know to be rated the best British welterweight outside of the UFC I have to beat all them."

By the time Bola steps foot in the Cage Warriors cage on July 6th at Cage Warriors 56 it will have been 15 months since he last officially fought (obviously we all know he had fights on TUF The Smashes) but Bola is very excited about the prospect of finally getting back in the cage.

"I am so excited and I really cannot wait. It will be a full house and I will have a lot of support - it has been frustrating waiting for my next fight so you can expect some real fireworks"

No names have been mentioned yet for his Cage Warriors debut but as Bola said

"Expect an announcement any day soon - on my part I will fight anyone put in front of me"

As soon as it is announced who Bola is fighting we will let you know but for now we thank Bola for taking the time to speak to us about his new deal and look forward to seeing him make his Cage Warriors debut on July 6th.