The summer is finally here and the fighters at Saturday’s UCMMA 28 turned up the heat, with an evening of scintillating performances at the Troxy Theatre.

Bostwick Bags Second Title in as Many Fights  Watch here.

It seems that Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick’s size is inversely proportional to his success; the smaller he gets, the better he looks, the more titles he wins. There were as many variables going into Saturday’s main event at the Troxy as there were screaming fans watching it, but one thing was clear; the judge’s services would not be required.

The bout started off as advertised, with both men chucking heavy leather. Before long things took a turn for the unexpected, with Facey clinching up and grinding his man against the cage, delivering short knees and punches on the inside. It seemed, for a while at least, that we were in for a war of attrition...the feeling wouldn’t last though. Bostwick reversed the position and issued a call to arms heard by those at cage side. “I thought you came to stand and bang, bruv?”

With that, the two separated. As they came together again in a messy clinch, Bostwick did what he does best, landing a titanic sort hook from up close. All of a sudden the speed and reach of Facey didn’t matter; the Bandogs man was on wobbly legs and borrowed time. Falling to his knees before Bostwick, ‘Mr Pain’ left himself wide open for a pair of hellacious uppercuts that removed fans from their seats and Facey from his senses. With just over two minutes on the clock, Jake Bostwick had sealed the deal and captured the UCMMA title at 170lbs; his first ever outing at that weight.

Grimshaw ‘Cruises’ to Victory

Ash Grimshaw has had some rotten luck of late, with his last two opponents pulling out of their scheduled UCMMA Featherweight Championship bouts. While this time the title remained on the line, few gave Manchester’s Danny Walsh (3-18) much more than a punchers chance. With a reputation for taking on the best at a moment’s notice, Walsh earned the respect of the UCMMA crowd. With a couple of well-placed kicks, he earned the respect of Ashleigh Grimshaw.

As striker by trade, Walsh came out with confidence, firing off kicks at the legs of Grimshaw, who seemed happy to oblige his opponent on the feet. After an arching head kick came a little too close for comfort though, Grimshaw went back to his bread and butter, grounding his man and taking a solid top control position. From there ‘Cruiser’ unleashed hell, dropping huge bombs on the defenceless Walsh, before sealing the deal with a rear naked choke at 3:11 of the very first round.

The evening began with some gruelling wars of attrition, before building to a fever pitch as finish after finish preceded the explosive main event. When all was said and done UCMMA had crowned two new champions, and perhaps launched the careers of some future MMA superstars.

Human Highlight-Reel Bofando Shocks the Troxy

Wendle Lewis is on his way to the UFC: That was the consensus at cage side on Saturday night. Nobody told Galore Bofando though, a man with intentions of upsetting the apple cart in the most dramatic of fashions. Wendle started off well, closing the gap on the Taekwondo man, relieving him of the distance required to launch his arsenal of Kung Fu movie-esque spinning kicks. Lewis clinched up and controlled his opponent on the cage, before an inadvertent groin shot from Bofando forced a halt to the action.

After the restart Wendle seemed unable to get back into the fight. Bofando kept him at distance with pushing kicks, all the while trying to tee up one of his trademark flashy strikes. With just half a minute to go in the first period, Bofando wound up a spinning kick that rocked Lewis, before dropping him with a short right. A few violent hammer-fists followed, rendering the fallen prospect unconscious. The finish will likely grace highlight reels for some time, and Bofando could very well become the next Michael ‘Venom’ Page of YouTube infamy.

Big Possibilities for The Bigslow

When a young fighter comes in as a heavy favourite, there’s always the worry that they’ll believe their own hype or get caught up in the occasion. Not so for The Bigslow, AKA Tsunami Gym’s Luke Barnatt, who delivered a confident yet measured performance against the tough as nails Chris Harman. A boxer by trade, Harman came out hard and fast with a combination, but it was all the offence he could muster and he soon found himself on the mat. Harman was able to get back to his feet, but before long had taken a second trip to the canvas courtesy of a Bigslow single-leg.

Taking mount, Barnett turned up the volume, smashing through Harman’s guard with hammer fists and a ‘Donkey Kong Special’ double hammer blow. The rest was a formality; Harman did well to keep moving, but Barnatt stopped him at every turn. Taking the back again with just a minute and a half left in the round, Bigslow locked in a rear-naked choke and forced the tap. It’s easy to forget that Luke has just four pro fights to his name; such is the maturity with which he gets things done in the cage. He has a strong team behind him and with their guidance, and a few more fights under his belt, we can all expect big things from the The Bigslow.

Tait and Callum Get Back on Track

Two men in need of a win, ‘Capcom’ Cory Tait and Ben ‘The Situation’ Callum, were able to get back on the right track on Saturday night. Ben Callum bounced back from his unanimous decision loss to Luke Barnatt with a quick knock-out of Charlie Langdon. Both men were game for a brawl, standing and swinging from the opening bell. Langdon’s shots looped a little wider though, allowing Callum to catch and drop him with a short, powerful left. A follow up flurry put the result beyond all doubt, and although Landon protested, the stoppage at 24 seconds of the first was more than just.

Cory Tait, one of the most visually exciting fighters in all of MMA, showed that he is far from a one-trick pony with a rounded performance against ‘The Turkish Snake’ Huseyin Garabet. Garabet was happy to go strike-for-strike against the dynamic Tait, with his no-nonsense kickboxing more than holding up in the face of Cory’s traditional martial arts-infused style. It was takedowns and ground and pound that won the day though, with Tait wearing his man down, before securing a rear-naked choke in the 2nd round.

Undercard Round Up

Elsewhere on the card, Sean ‘Sexy Curls’ Carter impressed with some brutal knees, slick groundwork and a slam straight out of the ‘Rampage’ Jackson playbook in his unanimous decision over Ben Deller Smith. Umer Kayani and Jacek Kaminski went to war before the latter stopped the former with a hail of strikes on the ground. Paul Taylor weathered an early storm to knock out gargantuan youngster Scott Saward, while Danny Lawson took a confusing decision over Brandon Katz.

Full Results

Jake Bostwick def Jamaine Facey - 2:21 – Rnd 1 - KO (Punch)

Ashleigh Grimshaw def Dan Welsh – 3:11 – Rnd 1 - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Cory Tait def Huseyin Garabet - 3:06 – Rnd 2 - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Ben Callum def Charlie Langdon - 0:24 – Rnd 1 - (T)KO (Punches)

Galour Bofando def Wendle Lewis – 4:44 - Rnd 2 – KO (Hammer-fists)

Tony Giles def Arunas Slicius - 2:31 – Rnd 1 – (T)KO (Three knockdowns)

Luke Barnatt def Chris Harman – 3:43 – Rnd 1 - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Jacek Kaminsky def Umer Kayani - 4:18 - Rnd 1 – (T)KO (Strikes)

Paul Taylor def Scott Saward - 0:33 - Rnd 1 - KO (Punch)

Danny Lawson def Brendon Katz - Majority Decision

Makunga Bunduku def Steve May – 3:50 - Rnd 1 – Submission (Head and Arm Choke)

Martin Sheridan def Dan Shortman – 4:44 - Rnd 1- Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Sean Carter def Ben Della Smith - Unanimous Decision

Patrick Jalloh def John O’Donnahugh - Unanimous Decision

Salih Kulucan def Steve Brazier - 2:45 - Rnd 3 – Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

By Brad Wharton @MMABrad48

with thanks to Tom at WWBRD.com for images.