Yes, you did read that correctly.
Almighty Fighting Championships made their return to Leeds on July 23, a few months after their debut, with twenty three fights on the card – value for money indeed. The venue had changed from the first event though, with the O2 Academy providing a more intimate setting than the Town Hall had back in April. It probably worked out better for the fans in attendance as they were up close and personal with the action of all twenty three fights, no matter where they were seated. Just like their debut show, Almighty FC provided another great night of fights.
Almighty FC 2 saw crowd favourite Jonny Brocklesby take on undefeated Mark Grubic for the AFC amateur welterweight title. Grubic looked to be getting the better of his opponent in the first round as he stuffed multiple takedown attempts and landed some hard strikes in response to some heavy pressure. Brocklesby telegraphed a shot and Grubic ended up in full mount after a slick transition from half guard against the cage. Grubic rained down heavy strikes to close out the round and looked to be in control of the fight going into the second round. At no point in the bout did the crowd stop chanting Brocklesby’s name and they were rewarded with a huge second round display from him. The takedowns began to work and he turned the tide, controlling Grubic for most of the round with his constant forward movement and strikes from top position. The third round began and I must admit, I thought Brocklesby had worn himself out from the frantic pace he had set in the last round. I couldn’t have been more wrong as Brocklesby continued to move forward until he took Grubic down with a big double leg, much to the delight of the crowd. After biding his time in top position Brocklesby saw an opening and went for an arm triangle with Grubic against the fence and unable to fight it off, Brocklesby got the tap 1:43 into the third round. The crowd rejoiced as he was presented with the belt and I am sure they will be with him as he defends the gold in the future. Grubic will no doubt learn from this fight and I look forward to seeing him back in the cage.
Khalid Patel picked up an eight second knockout win over Nathan Allen back at Almighty FC 1 (see above), but his return to the Almighty cage saw him pushed to the limit for five rounds with the amateur AFC flyweight title on the line. Robbie Brown was a more than game opponent for Patel and caused him problems throughout the fight, perhaps taking advantage of Patel’s confidence in the first round. Brown was getting the better of the exchanges on the feet to begin with but it became much more even as the round progressed. Patel looked to have found his rhythm in the second round, and landed shots from top position after some good clinch work and a takedown against the fence. Brown looked dangerous off of his back though, and was constantly looking for submissions. Round three was as close a round as I have seen, with both fighters exchanging top position, Patel landed some heavy ground and pound and Brown was always looking for an arm. The crowd loved every minute of the contest and their energy perhaps gave the fighters a second wind after three hard fought rounds. Round four saw both fighters throw caution to the wind as the crowd willed them on, heavy shots were landed as the action stayed on the feet and both were left bloodied by the end of the round. Going into the fifth round, it was impossible to know who was ahead on the judges score card and both fighters fought as though they were down by a round. Patel looked to be winning the striking exchanges but Brown wisely took his opponent to the fence. However, Patel took him down in the latter stages of the final round only to be caught in Brown’s triangle. It looked very tight from cage-side and I was convinced Patel would tap, but the buzzer went and the fight was over. The crowd were on their feet and rapturous applause broke out; they knew they had just seen one hell of a fight.
Both fighters embraced as the judges finalised their scorecards, with both men surely knowing just how even their fight had been. Patel’s hand was raised for a split decision win, crowning him champion. That fight will no doubt help Patel to develop and he looks very promising after showing a great deal of maturity in the cage as the fight progressed, more than his 1-0 record (prior to the fight) would suggest. Brown lost a razor thin decision, but I am sure he will not struggle to find another high profile fight after a performance like that. Fresh off of his title win and probably the fight of the night, Patel called out an injured Warren Mason who immediately walked into the cage and stared into Patel’s eyes; he was not happy. Mason’s team ushered him away after a short while, it was a tense moment to say the least. It looks like we have Almighty FC 3’s first fight and I for one cannot wait.
The main event saw Danny Missin move up a weight class to face Brent Crawley at bantamweight, in what proved to be a bridge too far for ‘Mini Hulk’ when the two BAMMA veterans met in the Almighty FC cage. The initial round was spent entirely on the feet as Crawley looked to control the distance with his jab, Missin fired back though with some heavy leg kicks. The jab looked to be taking its toll on Missin as the round came to a close, but he refused to stop coming forward. Crawley looked to be landing at will at the start of the second round as he dropped his opponent. As Missin looked to land another leg kick, Crawley clipped him with a counter and Missin hit the canvas, but was back on his feet almost instantly. Missin’s heart could not be questioned, but he was definitely hurt badly. Crawley backed him up against the cage and landed some nasty elbows as Missin turtled up in response. The referee had no choice but to step in. Crawley emerged victorious after 0:53 of the second round after a very intelligent performance. When given the mic, Crawley showed nothing but respect for Missin and you could tell that he truly meant it. An emotional Missin reciprocated that respect and said that he and Crawley had agreed to throw down after exchanging winks at the first bell, to which Crawley smiled in response. Holding back the tears, Missin announced his retirement from the cage in front of his friends, family and coaches and recounted his MMA career. Missin went out fighting and on his own terms, which seems to be a rare thing these days. It was an exciting main event that was a great testament to Missin’s career and Almighty FC 2.
Elsewhere on the card, there was in impressive performance from Onur Caglar who dropped his opponent, Callum Gaghan, almost as soon as the first bell rang. When a rear-naked choke didn’t do the job, Caglar opted for some of the heaviest elbows I’ve seen, that left Gaghan’s head bouncing off the canvas. The referee stepped in and Caglar remained undefeated at the expense of his opponent, who is now 3-1. The undefeated Jenaid Ebanks showed some slick transitions and good footwork before tapping out Vasile Cuciuc with a rear-naked choke in the first round; it was as cool a performance as you’ll see. Ebanks looks to have a lot of potential and his development is definitely worth keeping an eye out for. There was also 42 seconds of madness as Dom Stringer tapped out Marc Halford with a rear-naked choke after pulling guard; all this happened after Halford had dropped Stringer! Great fight I.Q. from Stringer, but Halford will be disappointed not to have capitalised on early on.
In a surprising turn of events, Reece Street fought twice on the card, tapping out to strikes in the first fight of the night against Marc Leigh and then stepping up as a last minute replacement to face James Rayworth, who submitted Street with a first round arm triangle. Two losses in one evening will likely not dishearten Street, who I am sure will be fighting again soon. In another strange moment, Joseph Bartle was sent back to the dressing room after he tried to make his way to the cage, Neil Hall spotted from cage-side that Bartle’s shorts had pockets. His opponent, Eskild Magnussen, was not pleased as the bout was postponed until later on in the event. He will no doubt be pleased though with his 54 second TKO win.
All in all, it was a solid second show from Almighty fighting Championships, whom I would now consider to be Leeds’ premier MMA promotion. They delivered some great matchups once again and look to be building a solid following judging from the crowd at the O2 academy. I hope that they build on their early success and keep a core group of the fighters that they have had on their first two shows for their future events. The twenty three fight card lived up to the expectations of those fortunate enough to have a ticket and of those watching the pay-per-view stream with many finishes and some real back and forth competition. No doubt Almighty FC will return to Leeds and I envisage more success for them in the future.
Almighty Fighting Championships 2 Results
Brent Crawley def. Danny Missin via TKO at 0:53 of round two
Onur Caglar def. Callum Gaghan via TKO at 0:55 of round one
Dan Gibbon def. Tobias Huber via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:23 of round two
Tom O’Brien def. Wes O’Neil via TKO at 0:17 of round one
Dan Cassell def. David Sutcliffe via unanimous decision
Jonny Brocklesby def. Mark Grubic via submission (arm triangle) at 1:43 of round three
Khalid Patel def. Robbie Brown via split decision
Andrej Bachorz def. Kajetan Szoma via TKO at 0:18 of round one
Jenaid Ebanks def. Vasile Cuciuc via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:11 of round one
Dom Stringer def. Marc Halford via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:42 of round one
James Rayworth def. Reece Street via submission (arm triangle) at 0:49 of round one
Marcin Bednarz def. Ashley Gibson via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:01 of round one
Michael Mason def. Dion Groombridge via TKO at 0:32 of round one
Kevin Green def. Seattle Best via DQ (strike to the back of the head) at 0:20 of round one
Dan Tempest def. Luke Dalton via TKO at 0:30 of round one
Ash Marston def. Ste Passey via submission (D’arce choke) at 0:36 of round two
Ben Moss def. Cameron Chamberlain via unanimous decision.
Liam Burston def. Louis James via TKO at 1:00 of round two
Sebastian Sroka def. Rhys Hepworth via TKO at 1:55 of round one
Eskild Magnussen def .Joseph Bartle via TKO at 0:54 of round one
Michael Janik def. Ben Osbourne via submission (diaphragm choke) at 1:15 of round two
Jack Flanagan def. Daniel Owens via submission (armbar) at 2:23 of round one
Marc Leigh def. Reece Street via submission (strikes) at 1:03 of round one
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