Senkai Promotions are continuing to push the Irish MMA envelope by delivering another cracking card of action and Ireland’s first five-round title fight at Battlezone V.
By Fergus Ryan
The Prelims
The prelim fights set a high bar for the main card with all six fights ending in finishes. In the opening bout Wayne Nash from Tuath De Danann used his boxing pedigree to keep Dean Knight on the back foot for much of the two-and-a-half rounds they fought. Knight was a gamer though and never looked like he was out of the fight. Towards the end of the third Nash was able to seal victory with a rear naked choke. Martin Downey from Team Balance Ireland looked like a seasoned pro with his victory over Liam Kelly from Coolmine BJJ. Both fighters were on debut and both acquitted themselves superbly.
The biggest men on the card stepped out for the next fight. Both were on debut having entered the sport for very different reasons. After opening his Universal Warrior gym Sean Enright felt he’d need to set the proper example to his stable of 30 fighters. David Murphy from Arena Wexford was introduced to MMA after receiving anger management counselling. Young proved victorious on the night but hopefully we’ll see plenty more of both men in the future.
Paddy McBride from Rilion Gracie in Donegal used his BJJ to coax a tap out of Dave Hanney from Primal MMA in Finglas with a triangle choke. Jason Hurly from Next Generation followed on with a kimura in the second round of his fight with Gavin Dunne from the Killer Factory.
In the final prelim fight John Regan from Team Balance Ireland took on Chris Boujard from Team Ryano. Boujard looked the part and boasts a brown belt in judo and a blue belt in BJJ. Incredibly, Regan took up MMA at the age of 32 after the birth of his third child. He figured if he didn’t do it then he’d never do it. Regan was game but Boujard dominated winning by armbar early in the first.
The Main Card
The main card started with an edge. Big slamming, former power-lifter Kevin Doyle from Coolmine BJJ fought Dennis Perry from Strabane MMA. Both fighters glared at each other with distain during MC Steve Lowry’s introductions. Doyle managed a trademark slam in the first and looked to bully Perry round the cage. The Strabane man never panicked and collected a TKO via referee stoppage early in the second round.
Next up was Anzor Atsaev who fled Chechnya during the war to take residence in Ireland. He fought Rob Wynne from Primal MMA. Wynne won the first round easily but broke his thumb during some ground and pound at the end of the round. Atsaev claimed his mind was his biggest asset during a fight, he can’t be broken. He weathered Wynne’s storm to come up with a head and arm choke in the middle of the second.
The first professional fight of the card saw SBG’s Alan Duffy take on Steve Coll from Rilion Gracie in Letterkenny. Coll seemed to have Duffy’s number for most of the fight, dictating the pace and where the fight place. With Coll one round up Duffy began to use his boxing and karate background to try and mount a comeback. Coll halted Duffy’s progress to finish the fight with a darce choke, which was JOE’s Submission of the Night.
Courtesy of WhoaTV, here’s all the behind the scenes action from Battlezone 5
The final three fights all had titles at stake and Peter Doyle from Team Ryan in Baldoyle seemed in a hurry as he wrapped up the fight early in the first. Credit is due to his opponent Barry Crossan from Strabane MMA who stepped in on short notice to take the fight.
The highly experienced Tom Maguire from Spirit MMA in Kerry fought Paul Redmond also of Team Ryano for the lightweight strap. An exciting, technical fight saw Maguire get the victory towards the end of the first. Maguire managed to tie up Redmond in a crucifix and the repeated blows forced a referee stoppage.
War!
The main event turned out to be a fight that will be long talked about in Irish MMA circles and was easily JOE’s Fight of the Night. Team Ryano’s John Donnelly brought a wealth of international MMA experience to the Battlezone cage. This was met with an equal amount of youthful exuberance from Philip Mulpeter of SBG. Battlezone is the first Irish MMA promotion to use five-round title fights and this fight needed all 25 minutes.
Mulpeter started fast and aggressive reaching double figures for takedowns by the end of the second round. Donnelly scored effectively with his strikes even from the bottom. By the third, Mulpeter seemed to be running on fumes while Donnelly’s striking was now laser like in accuracy. Mulpeter’s cardio went into overdrive in the fourth as he began to land the takedowns with ease again.
The fifth round turned into a classic. Donnelly had probably been told by his cornerman Neil Seery he needed a stoppage and he set about the task, stalking Mulpeter all over the cage. Mulpeter has probably never ducked a challenge in his life and wasn’t found lacking in effort despite the previous 20 minutes work. In the final minute Donnelly tried to summon enough fury to knock his opponent out, roaring at Mulpeter with outstretched arms. It nearly worked as Donnelly landed some of his hardest shots in the final moments.
It was close but Mulpeter emerged the new welterweight champion. Many of the spectators in the Regency Hotel reckoned they’d seen fight of the year and witnessed a war that will be talked about for a long time. A fitting way to finish a cracking card.
Battlezone 5 was recorded by Setanta Sports and will be screened shortly. Until then enjoy the YouTube clip above.
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