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Judo Jim Steps Up

Jim Wallhead blew away Steve Lynch inside two devastating minutes to take the headlining bout at Enter the Rough House 4.

Straight from the off, Wallhead took the experienced Lynch down and established side control. The intensity of the clash was staggering. Lynch struggled to escape as Wallhead dropped the elbows; all at silent movie speed. When Wallhead moved into mount- the crowd sensed the end was near. He let loose a series of carefully aimed bombs. Lynch’s avoidance tactics gave Wallhead the chance to take his back. With the hooks in, the rear naked choke and inevitable tap followed. Wallhead skipped round the cage in triumph as the home crowd went ballistic.

This victory confirms Jim Wallhead’s class. Such a display would be impressive against anyone. Against someone of Steve Lynch’s calibre- it sends out a message that Jim Wallhead is ready for the big time. He would have finished a bull in less than two minutes on that form.

Paul McVeigh v Anderson Pereira

(CWFC Bantamweight Title)

Paul McVeigh retained his belt with a composed performance. An even first round saw the Swiss/Brazilian Pereira repeatedly attempt to take down McVeigh. When he was eventually successful, McVeigh more than held his own in the ground exchanges.

Round two opened with Pereira landing a neat one-two. Rather than capitalise on this, he opted for the take down again. What followed was a classic MMA pantomime moment. As Pereira worked away in his opponent’s guard, McVeigh’s legs started creeping up his back. Everyone in the hall could see it, but stifled the cry of: “It’s behind you”. A split second later, McVeigh applied the decisive triangle choke. A good fight between two well matched opponents, with Paul McVeigh displaying great intelligence and maturity.

Andre Winner v AJ Wenn

Andre Winner has been the subject of a lot of hype lately. On the evidence of this fight- I’d have to say he looks the real deal. He dug deep and showed flashes of genuine class to win a war of attrition against the tough as old boots youngster AJ Wenn.

Round one was hard work for the crowd and must have been murder for the fighters. Pushed up against the cage- Wenn pressed for the takedown. Winner resisted and replied with slick elbows. The second round was equally tough, but Winner managed to find some space to dish out some knees, elbows and a crowd pleasing Superman punch. By the third, Winner was in a position to open up more. His clinch knees are technically excellent and would have stopped a lesser opponent. Wenn and Winner both showed outstanding cardio to last the distance.

The judges went for Winner unanimously. AJ Wenn was always in the fight, but was never quite able to play his game. It was far from a classic, but this fight makes me think that Andre Winner may collect more titles than the FX3 belt he already holds. As all football fans know, you win the championship by grinding out 1-0s in January. As well as having the skills, Andre Winner obviously has the heart to dig deep when he needs to.

Lee Livingstone v Marius Buzinkas

Another Rough House fighter with a bright future is Lee Livingstone. If he gets tired of fighting, he can get a job providing sound effects for Jet Li films. The smack of his shin on the thigh of his opponent caused the crowd to gasp and involuntarily pull the “I bet that hurt” face. Lee appeared to have too much for Marius in every department. Just shy of three minutes, the Lithuanian was in as bad a situation as you can be in. At the side of him was referee Goddard shouting at him to let go of the fence. Behind him, he had Lee Livingstone on his back, hooks in and ready to choke. With a look of resignation, he let go of the fence. I think you can guess the rest.

Matt Thorpe v Leslee Ojugbana

The fight came alive in the second round. Matt Thorpe started to make his height advantage tell, catching Ojugbana with some neat punches and knees. He threw Leslee to the floor, but it was Ojugbana who took control. The fight swung again, Thorpe going close with a Triangle attempt. After this failed, the two were stood up. The fight went quickly back to ground and Thorpe tried the Triangle again.

Leslee escaped and landed a couple of good looking punches on the jaw of the grounded Thorpe. Ojugbana looked to the ref and appeared to ask him a question. Seconds later, ref Goddard jumped in to end the contest. Leslee Ojugbana immediately left the cage to join his fan club. Matt Thorpe sat quietly on the canvas.

The result was not announced. Was it a tap? Was it a stoppage?

Mark "Manslaughter" O'Toole v Lola Bamgala
Paddy Doherty v Lee Coville

The other two pro bouts were victories for UFR fighters. Crowd favourite "Manslaughter" O'Toole took the W against Lola Bamgala. The number of times the UFR guys win fights off their backs is incredible. After a few unsuccessful submission attempts, O’Toole finally secured a fight ending armbar.

Paddy Doherty forced a tap from Lee Coville by way of guillotine choke.

Pro Bs

Peter McGurk and Lee Barnes were both making their cage debuts and neither will have trouble selling tickets in the future on this evidence. Lee Barnes showed spirit and a useful MMA skill set in both rounds. He certainly looks to have the tools to deal with most Pro B opposition. Unfortunately for him, he was up against a class act in McGurk.

Peter McGurk did enough to win the fight. As well as demonstrating his stand up ability, he looked comfortable on the deck. In the last round, he kept the fight at range to protect his lead. A very entertaining bout that both men can take a lot from.

Dave Bownds forced a ref’s stoppage by way of Ground and Pound in the second round of his fight with Eddie Podolski.

Darren Moore defeated Adam Greener in the first, also by G’n’P.

Crowd

Very sporting. Knowledgeable and appreciative. The atmosphere built until Jim Wallhead sent them wild.

Ring Walk Music

Tough Competition.
On any other night Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys would be a cert. Honourable mentions for Motorhead’s Ace of Spades and PE’s Bring the Noise, but there can only be one winner.

Lola ‘Spartan’ Bamgbala entered the cage to… I don’t know exactly. Kind of some breezy, modern lounge, piano and trumpet light jazz thing. After the usual diet of Death Metal, the effect was disorientating. Fingers clicked around the hall and MC Freeman and ref Goddard embraced and began to romantically waltz around the cage. (This really happened). The whole incident was psychologically disturbing.

Fashion statement of the night.

Lola ‘Spartan’ Bamgbala- Tight,1950s style swimming trunks. He carried them off with style.

Man of the Night

Jim Wallhead.
No mess, no fuss, pure impact.

And good hair.

Results

Dave Bownds def Eddie Podolski R2 1:32 ref stoppage G’n’P
Darren Moore def Adam Greener R1 1:48 ref stoppage G’n’P
Peter McGurk def Lee Barnes Points Unanimous
Mark "Manslaughter" O'Toole def Lola Bamgala R1 3:16 Sub Armbar
Lee Livingstone def Marius Buzinkas R1 2:56 Sub Rear Naked Choke
Paddy Doherty def Lee Coville R1 0:29, Sub Guillotine
Andre Winner def AJ Wenn Points Unanimous
Paul McVeigh def Anderson Pereira R2 0:53 Sub Triangle
Leslee Ojugbana def Matt Thorpe R2 G’n’P
Jim Wallhead def Steve Lynch R1 Rear Naked Choke

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