Cage Warriors:Enter The Rough House 5, 8th Dec 2007               Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, Nottingham

Dan Hardy got over his mugging in Japan by letting off a bit of steam. Manuel “Manu” Garcia put up some resistance- but no one was going to deny “The Outlaw” from getting back to winning ways in front of his home crowd.

Garcia was desperate to get the fight on the deck- but was repeatedly denied by Hardy’s superb take down defence. After a stalemate next to the fence, a few trademark Rough House knees began to break the Spaniard’s resolve. The pair went to the floor on Hardy’s terms and he began to unload from the top. Not a flurry. Precise, brutal bombs. Garcia tapped.

In the co-main event, Wayne Buck took Victor Aniolek down, mounted him and earned the tap in 26 seconds.

For me- “Psycho” Steve Tetley v Ross Pearson was fight of the night. Steve Tetley’s punching power is well known and Ross Pearson was in no mood to stand and trade. He caught an early Tetley leg kick and took it to the ground. Pearson proceeded to put on a dynamic ground display- switching positions like lightning as he looked for the finish.

Pearson mounted, punched then slapped a hellish rear naked choke on his opponent. The onslaught would have done for most, but Tetley dug in, even finding the strength to throw some strikes back. When it looked like he may survive the round- Pearson slickly switched from mount to decisive armbar.

A top class performance from Ross Pearson. Steve Tetley showed tremendous guts and determination to stay in the fight. Either that- or he’s a complete psycho.

Soon to be international superstar Jim Wallhead outworked Paul “Hands of Stone” Jenkins to clinch a unanimous decision after 3 rounds of cage kickboxing. Wallhead was well organised and threw plenty of shots- having most success with the right hand late on. “The Hands” posed a threat in short spurts, but it didn’t look like either man wanted to get into a brawl.

Cage Warriors fave Mark "Manslaughter" O’Toole lost out to the stylish American Chas Jacquier. Jacquier delivered some harsh knees to the ribs before the two exchanged submission attempts. Jacquier upped the pace and began to let the strikes go- forcing a tap from O’Toole.
On a more serious note- fans of UK MMA will be devastated to know that “Manslaughter“ O’Toole” has had his hair cut short.

Lukasz Les is a name to watch after a stunning sub win over Lee Livingstone in the LL derby. Les shot straight out of the traps, a bold move against someone with Livingstone’s ground fighting skills. Les got his wish when the pair hit the deck, with him in top position. Despite this, Livingstone looked the most likely as he worked for subs with his long legs. Lukasz looked short of ideas then, out of nowhere, he exploded back and finished the fight with an Achilles lock.

The other Wolfslair / Rough House match was a Pro B affair that ended with a DQ for Dave Faulkner after he instinctively slapped an illegal heel hook on Dean Amasinger.

The night was kicked off by a massively entertaining Pro B Featherweight match. Chris Trowton and Karsten Lenjoint packed in more twists and turns that a canoeist’s wife’s life insurance claim.
Despite being bounced on his head three times in an earlier armbar attempt, Karsten stuck to his task and won by triangle in the dying seconds of the first round. A superb effort by both lads.

Ox strong Heavyweight Chris Cooper dominated Svajunas Siacuila before scoring by way of ground and pound.