Drama, tragedy, comedy, farce- all were in evidence as Stefan Struve defeated UFC veteran Colin Robinson to take the Cage Gladiators World Heavyweight title- twice.

‘Big C’ Robinson came in looking lean and mean. A man with a point to prove after some disappointing results at the top level. ‘The Skyscraper’ Struve cut an even more striking figure. Long and wiry- Struve looks like a baby faced map of Chile.

From the first bell- the pair clinched. Usually, Big C is in his element in close, but it was the Dutchman who unleashed crushing knees with little coming back. The fight hit the deck and Struve soon mounted Colin, raining down strikes. In the frenzy- a section of the padding at the bottom of the cage fence came away. The bombardment continued and the ref called it off.

The end of the fight was just the beginning. The jubilant Struve scaled the fence and celebrated. Big C furiously protested- claiming that he hadn’t been hurt. Tragedy turned to slapstick comedy when Struve dropped down from the top of the fence onto the disgruntled Irishman.

While the two camps waited for the official decision- promoter, ref and judges went into a huddle at the cage door. Then came the shock announcement. Due to the fence padding coming unstuck and interfering with the fight- both fighters had agreed to continue from where they left off.

The pair were reset- with Struve in full mount. On the signal- he let his hands go. After covering up for a few seconds- Big C showed tremendous strength to push his opponent off. The revival was short lived. In an instant, Robinson was ensnared in a tight triangle. This time there was no complaint.

A bizarre fight, but one thing’s clear- Stefan Struve is a serious threat to anyone on the European Heavyweight scene.

The other title fight was a far more straight forward affair. Steve ‘Taz’ McCombe came out blasting- but Ronnie Mann made it all look too easy. Took him down, took his back, choked him out.

Greg Loughran overcame Rob Sinclair in the third round of a gruelling battle. The two put in hard shifts over two rounds of clinch and ground work. Rob probably just had the edge in a tight contest, but Greg took his chance when it came, grabbing a stray arm and applying a Kimura to earn the sub. “The Hitman” stood up, spat out his mouthpiece and volleyed it into the fence- releasing the tension after three rounds of total concentration. A good learning fight for Rob Sinclair and confirmation that there’s no substitute for experience.

For years- old timers in the dockside pubs have talked of a legend.  A place in Liverpool that once entered- you can never return from. The Sass triangle. The latest sea dog to take the challenge was Martin Stapleton. He boldly slammed Paul Sass and went to work, but all the while, the magical legs were creeping up his back- waiting to strike. After a couple of near things, the inevitable happened. Seven in a row. Another good man drowned. Can anyone survive the mysterious force of nature that is Paul ‘Bermuda’ Sass?


Lucasz Les showcased his explosive sub skills again- winning by way of guillotine. His contest with Kam Atakura looked evenly matched early on then – bang- Game Over. In a split second, Les caught the head, dropped back and finished the fight. The charismatic Pole looks like he has what it takes to go a long way in the sport. As for Kam Atakura- he must be the most talented fighter with a 1-3 record in the country. I suspect he must have run over a matchmaker’s cat as he always seems to be in with a rising star.

Kev Axeworthy and Liam Shannon had a cartoon fight. They frantically lumped the crap out of each other from the start and it was clear that the winner would be the first to land cleanly. Both had some success, but as soon as the Axeworthy knee connected with the Shannon face, the fight was over. Breathtaking stuff from two game guys.

Cliff Hall impressed again with another first round submission victory. He took Lee Chadwick’s back early and got his hooks in. It took an age and plenty of heavy body shots to knock the stuffing out of the tough Chadwick. When Hall finally flattened his man- the choke was in and the tap was a formality.

David ‘CFD’ Johnson and Mark Glover put on a great show and look like two youngsters with big futures. The first was evenly balanced, but ‘Cage Fighter Dave’ took control in the second. He dominated, throwing a lot of leather at the grounded Glover. At times, Johnson got carried away, and Mark caught his arm, but CFD showed great strength to shrug off the armbar attempts. In the third, Glover spent the last two minutes of the fight on a prolonged triangle attempt. The judges saw the fight as a draw. I’m sure they’ll get to settle the score in a rematch down the line and I definitely want to be there when they do.

 

The Undercard

The Wolflair’s Dave Faulkner took a unanimous decision over Frenchman Aldric Cassata after three hard rounds. Jay McGuinness got the nod from the judges after a demanding battle with Luke Holuj. Mark Scanlon won via a heel hook in the first round against Greg Letch. Andy Wadsworth got the win when the referee stopped his fight with Greg Johnson because of a cut. Chris Ram pounded his way to a first round win over Sean Parr.

Lee Barnes was unable to continue after getting a sickening knee to the groin in his fight against Richie Downes.


 

Fight of the Night

David ‘CFD’ Johnson v Mark Glover

Both have guts to spare. Could be the start of a long rivalry.

Crowd

A bit flatter than normal. Must be the hot weather.

Best Ring Walk Tune


Macho Man – Village People

David ‘CFD’ Johnson

Runner Up

You Got The Love- The Source featuring Candi Staton

Richie Downes


Fashion Victims of the Night

The ITV 4 deal means that nobody was short of sponsors. This had the knock on effect of making cornermen with multiple fighters having to do quick changes to match their fighters. The Wolfslair team of Dave Jackson and Tom Blackledge came out in a number of fetching outfits. I thought they really worked that cat walk when they had their Lucasz Les Affliction gear on.

Fighter of the Night

Stefan ‘The Skyscraper’ Struve

Size is one thing- being able to use it is another. Struve looked great pulling off his second big win at Cage Gladiators. Scored clean knee strikes against a renowned clinch fighter. Displayed a cool head when chaos reigned and got the chance to show he could finish a fight by either ground and pound or submission. A potential superstar.