"Anderson Elbow" Heralds New Era for Cage Rage
"Anderson Elbow" Heralds New Era
Pedro Wrobel Apr 23, 2006
LONDON, April 22 — This was a night of endings and beginnings.
An action-packed evening presented fans with a rollercoaster ride of emotions, from the boos that sounded during Dave Menne (Pictures)'s lackluster victory over a frustrated Alex Reid (Pictures) to the hoarse roaring that punctuated Brad Pickett (Pictures)'s gutsy defeat of SHOOTO veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Pictures), to the shocked and admiring gasps that sounded as Anderson Silva (Pictures) premiered his new "Anderson Elbow" that sent opponent Tony Fryklund (Pictures) crashing to the mat.
That elbow also heralded a new era for the British promotion, with
Cage Rage 17 set to be hosted at the huge and historic Wembley
Arena on July 1.
Silva just seems to get better and better, as he successfully defended his Cage Rage world middleweight title against his American challenger, Tony Fryklund (Pictures).
The end came with violent suddenness as Silva, having seemingly missed Fryklund with a right hand, brought the same arm back in a upward reverse elbow that sliced through the American's guard and hit him flush on the chin. Fryklund crashed to the floor as a joyful Silva danced with his corner in celebration of the knockout victory after just 2:02 of the first round.
After the fight, Silva told me that he had come up with that elbow strike in training a couple of days before, and had decided that this would be how he'd end the fight. He had even told Cage Rage co-promoter Andy Geer that this would be the case, a claim that Geer confirmed.
"This is my second home," the Brazilian stated. "I've been offered a one year contract to continue fighting for Cage Rage and I'm taking that back to Brazil. It's almost 100 percent confirmed".
As for that elbow?
"It was planned, man! Fryklund didn't see it because he's never seen Muay Thai before!" Silva was also kind enough to demonstrate to me how to perform the newly dubbed "Anderson Elbow" — and I can confirm that it is extremely useful for knocking out random bystanders on public transport.
The excitement of the Silva-Fryklund clash was unfortunately not matched in the penultimate bout of the evening, as American Dave Menne (Pictures) did a good job shutting down Alex Reid (Pictures), as well as the enjoyment of the paying public.
Menne used his superior wrestling to take Reid down throughout the fight, though he did little to harm the flamboyant Englishman in the process. In fact it was Menne who looked the more pleased and the more battered when the final bell sounded.
I had this as 2-1 to Menne, as the American visibly gassed in the final round and Reid was finally able to unload the shots that left their mark on the American's body. Unfortunately for the British fighter it was too little too late, as Menne accepted a unanimous decision from the judges amidst a chorus of boos.
Paul Daley (Pictures) has improved. He's cocky, aggressive, athletic and entertaining — everything a fighter needs to be a real star. But up until now, he had always been a prospect.
Daley came into this fight as an underdog, despite the fact that his opponent, the seasoned Dave Strasser (Pictures), accepted this fight on short notice. Nevertheless, most informed observers thought that the submission-savvy Strasser would be too much for the young lion.
They — and this writer is included in that group — were wrong.
Daley pulled out the best performance of his career to turn the fight into a steady massacre, completely shutting down his opponent's game and repeatedly unloading onto the backpedaling and exhausted American.
The only thing that was lacking here was a finish, and credit should go to Strasser for enduring the buckets of punishment that Daley threw his way. As the final bell sounded the judges were left with an easy decision, awarding Paul Daley (Pictures) with a unanimous decision.
Amar Suloev (Pictures) staked his claim as Anderson Silva (Pictures)'s possible next challenger with an emphatic victory over "Gentleman" James E Nicolle. Now let's be clear about this, Nicolle is a good fighter. He's got good hands, he's strategic and he's technical on the ground. But despite Nicolle's skills and heart, this was not much short of a beating. And a savage one at that, as Suloev seemed to dominate every area of this contest.
The Armenian's strikes were crisper, more accurate and seemed heavier than anything the Englishman could throw back at him. Nicolle's takedowns paled in comparison to Suloev’s hip throws. The only moment where it seemed conceivable that Nicolle could rescue this fight was near the end of the first round, when a tired Suloev seemed to slow down considerably.
It was to prove too late though, despite the heroic efforts of a bloodied, battered Nicolle. The damage inflicted to the Englishman during the first round was such that he was unable to answer to answer the bell for the second period and Suloev celebrated his victory with teammate and PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).
Curtis Stout (Pictures) had a bad day at the office against Jorge Patino (Pictures). Patino looked good in this bout, using his superior wrestling skills to consistently plant Stout on the mat and control him. What was surprising in this bout was that Patino rarely looked for a submission, instead relying on a consistent but weak ground and pound game. Stout, for his part did a good job of neutralizing “Macaco” on the ground, but his inability to find an answer to the Brazilian's takedowns cost him the fight, and Patino was duly awarded the unanimous decision.
In an interesting post-fight note, Stout expressed his frustration that Patino refused to stand and trade strikes with him, and so used his post-fight interview to call out Patino's teammate Evangelista Santos (Pictures).
"I was jealous of your fight against Manhoeff," Stout said to Santos, "so I want to fight you toe-to-toe."
Cyborg’s response was simple: "I'm going to put you down."
This fight is likely for Cage Rage 17, although it is not clear whether Stout will move up a weight class or whether Santos will cut.
An action-packed evening presented fans with a rollercoaster ride of emotions, from the boos that sounded during Dave Menne (Pictures)'s lackluster victory over a frustrated Alex Reid (Pictures) to the hoarse roaring that punctuated Brad Pickett (Pictures)'s gutsy defeat of SHOOTO veteran Hiroyuki Abe (Pictures), to the shocked and admiring gasps that sounded as Anderson Silva (Pictures) premiered his new "Anderson Elbow" that sent opponent Tony Fryklund (Pictures) crashing to the mat.
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Silva just seems to get better and better, as he successfully defended his Cage Rage world middleweight title against his American challenger, Tony Fryklund (Pictures).
Both fighters seemed happy to trade strikes, with the Brazilian
dominating the early exchanges and setting the pace for the fight
as he used a strong Thai-clinch to control his stocky opponent.
The end came with violent suddenness as Silva, having seemingly missed Fryklund with a right hand, brought the same arm back in a upward reverse elbow that sliced through the American's guard and hit him flush on the chin. Fryklund crashed to the floor as a joyful Silva danced with his corner in celebration of the knockout victory after just 2:02 of the first round.
After the fight, Silva told me that he had come up with that elbow strike in training a couple of days before, and had decided that this would be how he'd end the fight. He had even told Cage Rage co-promoter Andy Geer that this would be the case, a claim that Geer confirmed.
"This is my second home," the Brazilian stated. "I've been offered a one year contract to continue fighting for Cage Rage and I'm taking that back to Brazil. It's almost 100 percent confirmed".
As for that elbow?
"It was planned, man! Fryklund didn't see it because he's never seen Muay Thai before!" Silva was also kind enough to demonstrate to me how to perform the newly dubbed "Anderson Elbow" — and I can confirm that it is extremely useful for knocking out random bystanders on public transport.
The excitement of the Silva-Fryklund clash was unfortunately not matched in the penultimate bout of the evening, as American Dave Menne (Pictures) did a good job shutting down Alex Reid (Pictures), as well as the enjoyment of the paying public.
Menne used his superior wrestling to take Reid down throughout the fight, though he did little to harm the flamboyant Englishman in the process. In fact it was Menne who looked the more pleased and the more battered when the final bell sounded.
I had this as 2-1 to Menne, as the American visibly gassed in the final round and Reid was finally able to unload the shots that left their mark on the American's body. Unfortunately for the British fighter it was too little too late, as Menne accepted a unanimous decision from the judges amidst a chorus of boos.
Paul Daley (Pictures) has improved. He's cocky, aggressive, athletic and entertaining — everything a fighter needs to be a real star. But up until now, he had always been a prospect.
Daley came into this fight as an underdog, despite the fact that his opponent, the seasoned Dave Strasser (Pictures), accepted this fight on short notice. Nevertheless, most informed observers thought that the submission-savvy Strasser would be too much for the young lion.
They — and this writer is included in that group — were wrong.
Daley pulled out the best performance of his career to turn the fight into a steady massacre, completely shutting down his opponent's game and repeatedly unloading onto the backpedaling and exhausted American.
The only thing that was lacking here was a finish, and credit should go to Strasser for enduring the buckets of punishment that Daley threw his way. As the final bell sounded the judges were left with an easy decision, awarding Paul Daley (Pictures) with a unanimous decision.
Amar Suloev (Pictures) staked his claim as Anderson Silva (Pictures)'s possible next challenger with an emphatic victory over "Gentleman" James E Nicolle. Now let's be clear about this, Nicolle is a good fighter. He's got good hands, he's strategic and he's technical on the ground. But despite Nicolle's skills and heart, this was not much short of a beating. And a savage one at that, as Suloev seemed to dominate every area of this contest.
The Armenian's strikes were crisper, more accurate and seemed heavier than anything the Englishman could throw back at him. Nicolle's takedowns paled in comparison to Suloev’s hip throws. The only moment where it seemed conceivable that Nicolle could rescue this fight was near the end of the first round, when a tired Suloev seemed to slow down considerably.
It was to prove too late though, despite the heroic efforts of a bloodied, battered Nicolle. The damage inflicted to the Englishman during the first round was such that he was unable to answer to answer the bell for the second period and Suloev celebrated his victory with teammate and PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).
Curtis Stout (Pictures) had a bad day at the office against Jorge Patino (Pictures). Patino looked good in this bout, using his superior wrestling skills to consistently plant Stout on the mat and control him. What was surprising in this bout was that Patino rarely looked for a submission, instead relying on a consistent but weak ground and pound game. Stout, for his part did a good job of neutralizing “Macaco” on the ground, but his inability to find an answer to the Brazilian's takedowns cost him the fight, and Patino was duly awarded the unanimous decision.
In an interesting post-fight note, Stout expressed his frustration that Patino refused to stand and trade strikes with him, and so used his post-fight interview to call out Patino's teammate Evangelista Santos (Pictures).
"I was jealous of your fight against Manhoeff," Stout said to Santos, "so I want to fight you toe-to-toe."
Cyborg’s response was simple: "I'm going to put you down."
This fight is likely for Cage Rage 17, although it is not clear whether Stout will move up a weight class or whether Santos will cut.
