Cage Contender....

mcdermott

http://www.fight.ie/

Anyone know anything about this?

cowzerp

2 Min rounds! not great for mma in fairness..
the minute it hits the ground it would easy to spoil for a 2 mins to let the round end..

Dragan

Why are they saying a one night tournament has never been done before?

Drunkmonkey79

Dragan wrote: »

Why are they saying a one night tournament has never been done before?

Has there been a dedicated tournament in Ireland before? I can't recall any, i've seen smaller 2 fight tournaments mixed in with a normal card but never a whole elimination tournament in one night.
I know there was one scheduled about a year or so ago but had the plug pulled at the last min.

dunkamania

Interesting that they are going for random drug testing. Wonder how thats gonna work out.

2 minute rounds are going to favour strikers heavily.

Jason Mc

never heard of it

mcdermott

I was snooping around ticket master and noticed it.

didnt hear anything about it anywhere else. interesting to see who they have fighting if no one knows about it

Dragan

dunkamania wrote: »

Interesting that they are going for random drug testing. Wonder how thats gonna work out.

It's costly for a start.

As for the tournament thing, their wording is "a unique concept never before seen in the sport" implies the entire sport. No?

Martin Walker

Ive heard of this. Got a call from a fella looking to Rent my cage for an 8 man tourney.
From my understanding when talking to the bloke that thinks hes gonna run this everyone gets paid £100 no matter how far they go except the winner of the tourney. And then i think its only £1000. Good luck with that:rolleyes:
Im really not sure about this.

mcdermott

Martin Walker wrote: »

Ive heard of this.
From my understanding when talking to the bloke that thinks hes gonna run this no-one gets paid except the winner of the tourney. And then i think its only £1000. Good luck with that:rolleyes:

non runner then? lol

Karatekrazy

if the rounds are only 2 mins are the fights considered pro bouts?

Roper

Sounds a bit odd. Aren't the BMMAA fairly well regarded?

They seem to have all their ducks in a row re: medical concerns, drug tests etc. But are they maybe doing a Field of Dreams on it- if you build it they will come? Because I hear about pretty much evey show and I've never heard of this one. On another note I'd do an 8 man tourney if there was only 2 minutes per round. Concievably you could be 1k richer in 18 minutes assuming you win by decision in all your contests. That's only 3 minutes more than fighting one pro fight!

Getting to the final and only getting 100 bills would suck though.

_oveless

I think it's the open weight factor of their tourney that they're selling as unique here. Also a 900 disparity in pay is pretty good way to set the champ from the runner up IMO.

calex71

_oveless wrote: »

I think it's the open weight factor of their tourney that they're selling as unique here. Also a 900 disparity in pay is pretty good way to set the champ from the runner up IMO.

Open weight has been done before also

John Ferguson

Hi guys,

We are only now starting to approach clubs to get fighters for this event, we didn't want to go to anyone with a half arsed proposal. Im available to answer any questions you have regarding this event at info@fight.ie

We are currently seeking applications from fighters for this contest, if anybody is interested please see details at www.fight.ie

There were a few questions regarding the unique concept: A 20kg open weighted tournament, taking place over 1 night with 3 seperate fights in one night hasn't been done before, if anyone wants to show me a previous contest with this exact criteria ill eat my groin guard.

Thanks

dunkamania

fightie wrote: »

A 20kg open weighted tournament

Not sure what this means

Karatekrazy

would u consider doing it from 60kg to 80kg? the lighter fighter talent pool in Ireland is a lot lot better!

John Ferguson

hi sorry, the 20kg open weight means that anybody who weighs between 70-90kg may enter.

John Ferguson

with regards to 60-80kg, our next tournament will be at a different weight level which will be decieded post this event.

John Ferguson

Hi guys,

we have listened to what the trainers and fighters have told us and on the advice of the masses we have changed the weight range for this competition to 70-80kg. we have also increased rounds from 3x2 min rounds to 3 x 3 min rounds.

we are still seeking applications for fighters in this weight range and also any fighters wishing to fight on the undercard in a semi-pro or professional contest.

please see updated documents at www.fight.ie

we are offering £100 for getting into the cage (+ share of tickets sold) and £1000 for the winner. people also have the oppourtunity to make an extra £100 per fight if they win that fight by knockout.

again, any questions regarding this please feel free to email me: info@fight.ie

MMAgic

I dont know about what anyone else thinks, but i dont think this is a "new breed" in fighting. Exactly the opposite in my opinion, this is bringing it back to the old days and not moving forward. I for one think that this event is only going to hurt the reputation of MMA in the local community. Opinions?

cowzerp

MMAgic wrote: »

I dont know about what anyone else thinks, but i dont think this is a "new breed" in fighting. Exactly the opposite in my opinion, this is bringing it back to the old days and not moving forward. I for one think that this event is only going to hurt the reputation of MMA in the local community. Opinions?

It would depend on who was running it and was fighter safety the no.1 concern, if the fighters where all similar levels it might not be too bad, but if there was mismatches the weight differences would make a huge difference..Does the promoter know irish mma fighters so they dont mismatch?

AP75

I think that this event may destroy the good reputation that MMA has got in ireland at the moment. Whereby alot of clubs have put time and effort to enhance this reputation by putting on quality shows, whereby the weigh ins are video and all health and safety rules are adhered by.

70-80k is a big weight difference for any fighter fighting at the lighter weight. Any top fighter in Ireland fighting at 70k in my opinion would not enter this tournament as they would not give away 10k in weight. Of course you will get any amount at 80k enetring. This may entise fighters will little or no MMA experience into battle with eachother. Somebody could get seriously injured.

The promoter should make the competition be a the one weight either batam, lightweight etc.., for the safety and reputation of MMA in ireland

The above is my opinion, alot of people may agree or disagree, hopefully the former.

dunkamania

Not sure if you have a valid point, if 70 kg fighters are going to avoid the event because of weight disadvantages, than you dont really have weight mismatches.

My concern is with the 2 minute rounds. Very difficult to take someone down and submit them in 2 minutes. The rules heavily favour strikers.

weemate

If possible could the promoter post the list of officials who will be present at the event?Im assuming if it was an officially sanctioned event by BAMMA the officials would have a solid background in MMA competition and experienced in judging and or reffing?
Im not dismissing the event as there may well be changes to the weight limits etc and I do like the old tournament style events but as pointed out,fighter safety is paramount.

Martin Walker

I E-Mailed the promoters to ask a few questions i wanted answered.
This is who the promotion agency are www.crew.ie
They told me officials are not confirmed yet.
The Medical team will be BMA registered. The BMA are against MMA. Anyone who seen the show on BBC NI a few months ago will know this.
They have no experience in MMA.

I will not put fighters from our club forward. Dont get me wrong this could be the best show Ireland has ever seen. However it could set us back 5 years. Ill wait and see how it goes.
Im just being cautious and protecting my fighters. I never put fighters into a show if i dont know anyone working at it on a personal level i.e the promoters, officials or attached clubs.

Thanks
Marty (jnr):cool:

weemate

I would assume that all medical teams are registered with the BMA Marty,regardless of how individual members feel about mma or any contact sport........Im even sure that Wacky is registered..or at least I hope he is!!!
Seriously though,Im reluctant myself to put anyone forward until Im sure about the officials etc.If you recall there was the same debate going on on the fighttalk website on the same issue way before this tournament was advertised.

Drunkmonkey79

dunkamania wrote: »

My concern is with the 2 minute rounds. Very difficult to take someone down and submit them in 2 minutes. The rules heavily favour strikers.

They've changed it to 3x3 min rounds.

John Ferguson

we have now posted the information you have requested on the fight.ie website, here is a direct link:

http://www.fight.ie/docs/CC_Update030609.pdf

weemate wrote: »

If possible could the promoter post the list of officials who will be present at the event?Im assuming if it was an officially sanctioned event by BAMMA the officials would have a solid background in MMA competition and experienced in judging and or reffing?
Im not dismissing the event as there may well be changes to the weight limits etc and I do like the old tournament style events but as pointed out,fighter safety is paramount.

weemate

You cant argue with that!!
thanks for the info sir.

crosstrainer1

ive watched a few mma matches in my time and ive seen and talked to fighters who have given it their all for a plastic trophy and a pat on the back. cage contender 100 qiud in and the chance to make it £1100 plus a chance to be the best pound for pound fighter in the country i say cage contender why not

cowzerp

crosstrainer1 wrote: »

ive watched a few mma matches in my time and ive seen and talked to fighters who have given it their all for a plastic trophy and a pat on the back. cage contender 100 qiud in and the chance to make it £1100 plus a chance to be the best pound for pound fighter in the country i say cage contender why not

what horse crap, all pro fighters in ireland get payed, and 100 would be the minimum, 100 for doing 2-3 fights is nothing,, the trophys are an extra..

Raze_them_all

crosstrainer1 wrote: »

ive watched a few mma matches in my time and ive seen and talked to fighters who have given it their all for a plastic trophy and a pat on the back. cage contender 100 qiud in and the chance to make it £1100 plus a chance to be the best pound for pound fighter in the country i say cage contender why not

lol the best pound for pound fighter????
I'm guessing people like Taz Mccombe would have something to say about that

Roper

While I don't agree with crosstrainer's comments, I also have to admire the standard of officials that this show has. They're obviously trying to get the best show they can and I for one say good luck to them.

John Ferguson

Thanks

Jason Mc

Any fighters signed up yet?

John Ferguson

Jason Mc wrote: »

Any fighters signed up yet?

Deadline for applications is 1st July 2009. Feel free to contact us by telephone for a full update or to discuss a possible entry on the undercard
028 90 998720

Kind Regards

John

cowzerp

Just off the phone from the organisers and they seem to be doing everything right, good refs and judges in place and are willing to listen to feedback given..

I'll have no problem supplying fighters if i have any available, and dont see why other clubs would not do likewise, the more promoters we have that are willing to help build irish mma the better..

David Jones

Apart from the obvious lack of quality referees I would definitely prefer 5 min rounds even if its a tournament style. If need be do a 2 x 5 min a la TUF and then a decider rounnd if need be. But 3 mins isnt a great amount of time for Pro MMA.

John Ferguson

COMPETITION UPDATES : 03/06/2009

We have now received conformation of our list of officials for the cage contender event taking place on the 22/08/09 along with details of the weigh in and after-fight party. Please find the required information below.

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REFEREES

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Mr Grant Waterman

Grant Waterman is without doubt the best known, most respected and most active MMA referee on the UK circuit. An absolute pillar of the UK MMA community, it seems that his smiling face can be seen at the vast majority of events in the UK and he is widely recognized as one of the most active contributors to the scene. Grant has experience in refereeing over 500 contests and has been involved in almost every major event in the UK including Cage Wars, Cage Rage and Cage Warriors.


Mr Alex Owen

This fighter needs no introduction in the UK MMA circuit, with a total of 51 fights under his belt before his retirement in July 2007 and having defeated some of the biggest names in the Featherweight category; Alex Owen is one of the country’s most successful fighters. Since his retirement Alex has been involved heavily in promoting, referring and judging MMA events all over the UK including recently the Angrrr Management and House of Pain Events.

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JUDGES

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Mr Paul James

Paul James is a Black belt in Kick Boxing and Jiu-Jitsu and an Orange Sash in Capoeira he holds an 08:04:00 kick boxing record and has been training MMA since 2005 he last competed at Extreme Brawl 11 where he won by GNP in Round 1. Paul concentrates his time more on promoting now but still trains and teaches twice a week. Paul is the man behind the FX3 fighting brand which is one of the most highly regarded in the UK.

Mr James Fear

James Fear is one of the UKs most in demand judges. Having been a successful Submission Wrestling judge for a number of years, James was invited to judge in MMA events at the end of his amateur fighting career. James is an active Mixed Martial Artist and has most recently judged at the House of Pain and Angrrr Management Events in the UK.

Mr Alex Owen

See Above

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MASTER OF CEREMONIES

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Andy ‘Sledge’ Laverty

In the last 10 years MMA has become a major part of his life. He began training Thai Boxing and Brazilian Jui Jitsu at the Tokei Academy in London Bridge under Ronaldo Camposs (a student of Ze Marcallo) and never looked back. He has trained with some of the best including Chuck Liddell, Frank Shamrock, Paul Daley, Robbie Olivier and Lee Doski. Sledge started his MC career on 27th July 2003 in the Cage Warriors 4 show in Portsmouth and this has snowballed into a “hobby” that takes up 30 weekends a year. He has worked for Cage Rage, Angrrr Management, Ultimate Force, FX3, Cage Warriors, FCFN, AMMA, ZT Fight Night and Cage Rage Contenders among others.

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MEDICAL STAFF

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Ambulance

Two ambulance crew will be in attendance to provide any emergency medical care that may be required to the fighters and any attending spectators.

Doctor

A British Medical Association registered Doctor will oversee fighter safety before, during and after each fight. The doctor will be responsible for pre-fight medical, random drug testing, in-fight care and post-fight medical. The doctor’s details will be provided to the promoters at a date closer to the event.

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OTHER INFORMATION

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WEIGH IN

The weigh in for all fighters will now take place at 17:00 on the 21st August 2009 in the St Patrick Suite at the Denvir's Hotel Complex in Downpatrick.

AFTER PARTY

The exclusive after-fight party will begin at 11:30pm at the Denvir’s Hotel Complex in Downpatrick.

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Competition format, rules or venue may be subject to change at any time by the promoters, while every effort will be made to contact effected parties, the promoters accept no responsibility for changes made. Please see www.fight.ie for the latest information.

joeicta

hi lads im new to this web lark im just tellling how great that these guys are putting on the mma competion in downpatrick. newcastle downpatrick and the rest of east and south down are looking forward to the competion. I teach Muay Thai and kickboxing in downpatrick with over 30 students and there is a great buzz about the place. Ive been talking to theses guys and they are pulling all the stops out for this cage contender contest.I can honestly say this will be a great event for this area.mma has had a bad press in the local towns due to certain individuals miss repersenting the sport to boost there own egos as cage fighters. im sure that the martial artists who enter this event will be great amabassadors for the sport.
cherrs joe

cowzerp

joeicta wrote: »

mma has had a bad press in the local towns due to certain individuals miss repersenting the sport to boost there own egos as cage fighters. im sure that the martial artists who enter this event will be great amabassadors for the sport.
cherrs joe

Joe!
How do you know the fighters will be great ambassadors for the sport?

Who is misrepresenting the sport?
the reason i ask is the only negativity i hear from MMA is occasionally in the press and is unrelated to any bad people in MMA,
Also Joe, why would the organisers be talking to a Kickboxing coach?

Although probably well intended your post appears to smack of ignorance.

your welcome to defend yourself, and clarify the questions.

Raze_them_all

joeicta wrote: »

hi lads im new to this web lark im just tellling how great that these guys are putting on the mma competion in downpatrick. newcastle downpatrick and the rest of east and south down are looking forward to the competion. I teach Muay Thai and kickboxing in downpatrick with over 30 students and there is a great buzz about the place. Ive been talking to theses guys and they are pulling all the stops out for this cage contender contest.I can honestly say this will be a great event for this area.mma has had a bad press in the local towns due to certain individuals miss repersenting the sport to boost there own egos as cage fighters. im sure that the martial artists who enter this event will be great amabassadors for the sport.
cherrs joe

Speaking from personal experience, All the shows I've taken part in up north or one the top pro guys have taken part in have been very well run, be in EFR, Spartan, Ultimate conflict of cage wars.
All have had very good crowds who appreciate the crowds, even more so than some of the crowds in the republic.

_oveless

The only reason there would be red flags if they didn't listen to the experienced voices of the Irish mma circuit, which they seem to have. Overall it sounds like a good premise to grab attention, and a feather in the cap of whoever wins.

crosstrainer1

mma is a sport not a matial art it is an avenue to express your martial arts training all knowledge is self knowledge so if the guy is a kickboxing coach ay least he has done his time in his choosen art

Raze_them_all

Maybe back in the day one art is enough. Having just kickboxing these days just means your going to be taken down

John Ferguson

Hi Guys!!! hope you are all well.

Applications are now coming in for the main contest, so thanks to all the clubs who have put fighters forward.

We still have some space on the under card to fill, so if anyone has fighters available let us know the details asap

Thanks

john

www.fight.ie
info@fight.ie

John Ferguson

John Ferguson

Hi Guys

We need 1 person to fill the main 8 man contest and we have a couple of spaces on the undercard to fill. Also we need a match for 95kg class B

Could anyone interested let us know

Cheers

John

Martin Walker

any sign of a fight card yet?

John Ferguson

Martin Walker wrote: »

any sign of a fight card yet?

Fight card should be finished early next week!!! Will you be putting any fighters forward for the contest or undercard? We have had a good response and alot of help from the lads in the south but very little from the north. Could do with a few local fighters!!!