Gunnar Nelson vs Danny Mitchell Video

Gunnar Nelson vs Danny Mitchell fight video from Cage Contender 6 on 28th August 2008 in Altrincham, Manchester.

Gunnar Nelson vs Danny Mitchell

Picture courtesy of Cage Contender

As he casually wanders through the Leisure Centre, Gunnar ‘Shotgun’ Nelson’s face is a picture of calmness. His pleasant demeanor wouldn’t look out of place in a Customer Service based role as he stops to greet people, many friends, some fans and a few team mates but still many people are oblivious as to who he is. His polite manner and huge respect for each and every one of his opponents is well received by the MMA community with UFC referee and Fighters Only Magazine contributor Marc Goddard saying Gunnar is “…everything that is good about this sport…“.

Danny ‘Turbo Time’ Mitchell, a well liked British MMA and boxing champion also fools a number of people with his friendly manner and sense of humour. Popular within the MMA community for his love of cheesecake and his ponytail hairstyle, Mitchell is a fierce fighter, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt and a European MMA champion. Not exactly a walk over. Not one to shy away from a tough fight having fought the likes of Lee Doski, Jordan James and Andrew McQueen to name a few, Mitchell has unfortunately gone 0-2 in his last 2 bouts (albeit the most recent to Nelson). His loss before Nelson was to UK stand out and the talented Midlands fighter, Eugene Faidora, who Gunnar is set to fight next at BAMMA 4 on 25th September 2010 at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Both fighters step into the cage after being announced to cheers from the crowd at Altrincham Leisure Centre in Greater Manchester. Cage Contender certainly outdid themselves in hosting this much talked about fight. The preliminary bouts were certainly entertaining and the main event had everybody on the edge of their seats from the moment both fighters were announced.

The bell rings and both fighters effortlessly move around each other seeing who would make the first move. Both fighters move laterally so as not to stay in the same spot to avoid any ‘sitting duck’ situations. At the same time as Mitchell throws a jab, Nelson explodes and clips Mitchell with a hook before securing a bodylock and scoring a takedown. Nelson is immediately in side control and is securing position before looking to move. He looks to pass to mount and throws a few shots before a glancing elbow opens a cut above the left eye of Mitchell. ‘Turbo Time’ manages to retrieve guard and keep ‘Shotgun’ at range by extending his legs before Nelson passes once again to land more shots. Using strikes to bait Mitchell to turn to his side to expose his back, Nelson establishes the same back control in which he had on Jeff Monson and looks to sink in the choke. Mitchell throws a couple of punches to the head of Nelson to try and loosen the grip but is forced to tap at 2 minutes and 54 seconds of the first round.

A short fight but one which makes a bold statement – Gunnar is no joke.

His last 2 fights have been won by rear naked choke and both Sam Elsdon and Danny Mitchell have commented on Nelson’s superior Jiu Jitsu skills – namely his hip movement and strength with Mitchell stating, “…the cut was bad like but didnt affect what followed, his control was just awesome, i was suprised i managed to put him back in my guard when he mounted me, his hip movement is the best i have ever felt. His shot was lightening fast too, nothing i could do to stop it even after so much prep…” and Sam Elsdon, “..his guard is unbelievably rigid and his hips thrust forward. My main mount reversal plan was quite simple but pretty effective (most of the time)… What I found was that his groin strength and hip and back rigidity was too much to be able to push him with the amount I would have needed to sweep, so I then decided to turn a bit to create more space. He came down to close the space and for a second or so there was a small gap which I thought I might be able to escape from, but he put the choke in position but as it was on the side I wasnt massively concerned as he felt he was on his side as well, but with a slip of the hips he was on top and pulled up. I didnt tap because of the choke I tapped because neck crank pain I felt and you can see the pain on my face in the photos, he pulled upwards, once again I imagine using his immense hips and back strength….”.

With so much dedication and skill, one can always be forgiven for thinking Gunnar is in a rush to make it on the big stage. Many people are insistant that Gunnar is being watched by the likes of the bigger, world dominating promotions such as the UFC and Strikeforce but his father, Halli, insists he is in no rush, “We have been approached by some promotions, big and not so big, but Gunnar is in no hurry. If the right offer and a good contract comes along, then we will surly look at it. If not, he has plenty of things to work on. This is his life and he’s in no rush living it…”.

Gunnar’s next fight will be against Eugene Fadiora on BAMMA 4, headlined by Tom ‘Kong’ Watson vs Alex Reid. Tickets and event information can be found here.

The full event report can be found on the website of Fighters Only Magazine which can be found here.

UCC – ‘Manchester Mayhem’

Ultimate Cage Championships (UCC) put on it’s second MMA installment at The Ritz nightclub in Manchester last night dubbed ‘Manchester Mayhem’. A co-promotion with already popular boxing show, KO Promotions, UCC has set it’s feet in not only showcasing local Mancunian fighters but in making a stand in how popular MMA is in the northern city.

In the past Manchester has had huge exposure in regards to overseas promotions, ie World Cage Fighting Championships (in which Mike Tyson was famously the referee for one of the bouts) and various UFC shows but UCC has already paved the way for UK organisations to host fight nights too ie Cage Contender, an Ireland based promotion who are due to feature fierce up and comer Gunnar Nelson vs ultra talented Danny Mitchell in Altrincham on 28th August. Last night truly proved how popular MMA is becoming amongst the north western crowds.

Moss Side Ground & Pound‘s, Chris Ram took on  virtually unknown Lithuanian, Arturas Ziukas in Ram’s comeback fight after a long lay off. Ram faced disappointment as the Antonio’s Gym fighter took advantage of his showboating in the second round with a counter punch which floored Ram. Taking advantage, Ziukas (who fights under different names) finished his opponent to take the TKO win.

Sheffield MMA’s Sam Boult showed great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills as he neutralised the wrestling of Stockport MMA‘s, Daniel Tansey, to secure a triangle win within 2 minutes of the opening round.

Ali Arish proved once again his dominating wrestling ability but yet again failed to show any finishing ability as he took a unanimous decision over Dragon’s Lair’s Kent Kaupinnen. Scoring takedown after takedown, Arish seemingly couldn’t finish his opponent and threw very few strikes from top position as his opponent attacked from guard and Kaupinnen even looked frustated at a few points as he tried to make it clear to the referee that very little was happening on Arish’s part once the action hit the ground.

Cagewarriors Forum‘s famously outspoken youngster, Chris Clarke suffered an unfortunate knee blowout at 2 minutes of the first round as Hyde MMA‘s Craig Chesters has him pinned against the cage on the ground. Chesters came out tentatively looking to initiate the standup before Clarke shot for the takedown but failed to out scramble the Wanderlei Silva lookalike. As Clarke attempted to sit up from bottom half guard, audible cries of pain could be heard from Clarke before referee Neil Hall stopped the bout and seeked medical attention.

UK MMA soon-to-be Hall of Famer and Combat Sports representative, Shaun Lomas shot in for an unexpected takedown against Moss Side Ground & Pound’s Paul Gardner and went to work, pounding on his opponent until the end of the first round. Lomas, who in the past fought 6 professional contests in the short space of 8 days, put the hurt on Gardner who failed to answer the bell for the second round. An unofficial source claims this would be Gardner’s last bout as he looks to retire from professional competition.

Cocky Murat Polat from Evade Blackbelt School retained his Featherweight crown as he TKO’d Wolfslair‘s Andy Brocklebank after a stiff shot sent Brocklebank to the canvas. Brocklebank looked calm as he threw a few jabs out to try to negate Polat’s aggressiveness but Polat threw solid shots before one crept through to floor Brocklebank.

Keiron Mullen from Moss Side Ground & Pound was upset in an intense fight with Samurai Jiu Jitsu standout Andy Evans. Having a massive fan base, Evans threw solid strikes and stayed busy in the clinch and scored a 2nd round TKO victory over the durable Mullen. Mullen who had been deducted points in the 2 rounds for illegal strikes to the back of the head, came out in the second with intensity as he looked to finish Evans quickly but was beaten convincingly by Andy Evans to retain the Middleweight title.

Manchester Ground & Pound‘s Andy Devant dwarfed Hyde MMA’s Leigh Cohoon in the main event for the Welterweight Title. Outsizing and out-tattooing Cohoon, Devant looked to shoot on the champion but was outscrambled for dominant position as Cohoon latched on an inverted triangle. At first Cohoon looked unsure of the position so opted to drop punches and elbows to the head of Devant before realising his position. After a couple of adjustments, the triangle tightened forcing Devant to tap in 2.02 of the first round.

Results and times:

1. Scott Jackson def Jonny Gillan via TKO, 18secs Rd 1
2. Eden Newton def Shaun Law via TKO, 58 secs Rd 1 for Vacant UCC LW Title
3. Arturas Ziukas def Chris Ram via TKO, 2:22 Rd 2
4. Sam Boult def Daniel Tansey via Triangle, 1:23 Rd 1
5. Alex Minogue def Andrius Juskas via Armbar, 3:10 Rd 1
6. Ali Arish def Kent Kauppinen via Unanimous Decision
7. Craig Chesters def Chris Carke via Verbal Tap, 2:00 Rd 1
8. Shaun Lomas def Paul Gardner via Corner Stoppage between 1st/2nd Round to Retain UCC LHW Title
9. Murat Polat def Andy Brocklebank via TKO, 38secs Rd 1
to Retain UCC FW Title
10. Andy Evans def Keiron Mullen via TKO, 2:53 Rd 2 to Retain UCC MW Title
11. Leigh Cohoon def Andy Devant via Inverted Triangle, 2:02 Rd 1 to Retain UCC WW Title