Arnold Allen talks to Kingdom MMA about his victory at Cage Warriors Fight Night 11

Arnold Allen CWFC FN 11 Post Fight Interview

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

Copyright Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Kingdom MMA recently caught up with Arnold Allen after he made quick work of Tobias Huber at Cage Warriors Fight Night 11. Arnold went in to the fight trying to protect his unbeaten record and walked out the cage less than a minute later. What happened in that time was a dominating and very one sided performance by a true prospect and rising star of UK MMA.

Sam: Congratulations on your recent dominant victory against Tobias Huber. Had a first round TKO been the result you were expecting?
Allen: Thank you, and yeah I was expecting to finish it quick with strikes.

Sam: What was going through your mind when Huber had hold of your ankle?
Allen: I was just thinking about getting him off my foot and keeping up on my feet.

Sam: You yourself have a well-documented proficiency with submissions. How comfortable would you have felt on the ground with Huber?
Allen: I would have been happy if the fight was on the ground, I was happy wherever. 

Sam: This was the first time this year we had seen you fight and you seem to be perpetually improving. What had you been working on leading up to this most recent outing?
Allen: I was working a little bit of counter wrestling to go against Huber trying to get the fight to the ground, but as usual I focused on improving my skills all round rather than worrying about my opponents strengths.

Sam: I’m sure it must have been pleasant seeing off your opponent so quickly, When do you hope to fight next?
Allen: Yeah for sure it was nice to get a nice quick win, and also whenever! I'm looking to have around 4 or 5 fights this year.

Sam: Was it a relief to see your head coach, Jack Mason get his name back in the W column with a controlling win over Patrick Vallee later that night after such a close loss for him in his last fight?
Allen: It's always good to see your team mates/ coaches win, but it was great to see Jack get a good win over a tough opponent!

Sam: This was the second time in a row that you had fought in Jordan. Do you have a preference either fighting abroad or in the UK or are you unaffected?
Allen: I'm not too fussed about where i fight but the fans in Jordan are awesome they get behind everyone, the public weigh in was crazy I don't think there would be enough interest in the UK for something like that.

Sam: The fans in Jordan really took to you, how do you think the fans in Amman compare to the other cities you have fought in?
Allen: I'm not to sure why they have taken to me but it's really cool to have that kind of support miles away from home.

Sam: Since joining Cage Warriors you have finished all four of your opponents in the distance. After such a one-sided performance, how far do you think you are away from getting a shot at the vacant title?
Allen: I think a few good wins over tougher opposition would put me in the mix for a title for sure.

Sam: Were you offered the opportunity, would you be interested in taking part in a featherweight one night tournament for the title as this is how some of the other CW titles have been won in the past year?
Allen: I'd be all over it, I would jump at any opportunity to fight for the Cage warriors title, that's what we're all fighting for!

Sam: While we’re on the topic of the vacant title, just before this fight Jim Alers made a winning start to his UFC career with a win in Abu Dhabi while clearly Conor McGregor is making waves despite a recent injury. Does the transition these fighters have made give you confidence that CW is the best platform to ultimately make the step up to the UFC?
Allen: Definitely it's goes even deeper than a couple of champions though it's proven that Cage Warriors go on to do big things in the UFC.

Sam: At the start of the year we awarded you the title of ‘One to watch in 2014’. Luke Barnatt is also documented as saying you will be a future champ. How does it feel to receive praise and awards like this from MMA media, fans and other fighters?
Allen: It's great to get praise from other fighters and media it makes me feel like I'm heading in the right direction.

Sam: Would you like to thank anyone or any sponsors?
Allen: I'd like to thank all of my sponsors for the help Almighty Fightwear, Efectiv nutrition, Valor Fightwear, Funky gums, Revgear, Whip Street Motors, Rosewood and everyone else for the help :)

Thank you for your time. We appreciate it very much and all the best in your up-and-coming endeavours.

Luke Barnatt Meets Fellow Undefeated Middleweight Sean Strickland in Berlin

Luke Barnatt Meets Fellow Undefeated Middleweight Sean Strickland in Berlin
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Undefeated middleweight prospects Luke Barnatt and Sean Strickland will square off at UFC Fight Night 41 when the UFC touches down in Berlin for the first time in May.

UFC Fight Night 41 takes place May 31 at O2 World Berlin in Germany and features a middleweight bout headliner Gegard Mousasi (34-4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Mark Munoz (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC). The entire card will stream on UFC Fight Pass, and is the second of the series of cards scheduled for Europe.

Making a quick turnaround to return to the octagon in just 12 weeks, UK fan favourite Luke Barnatt fights for the 4th time under the UFC banner in May having recently defeated Mat Nilsson by first round TKO at UFC Fight Night 37 in London earlier this month. Prior to his victory over Nilsson, the former Ultimate Fighter season 17 contestant, defeated Colin Hart by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Finale for his UFC official debut, and Andrew Craig by second round submission at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester last October.

Speaking ahead of the bout, Barnatt who has finished 6 of his 8 victories inside the distance said:

"May 31st, Berlin, Germany, two undefeated middleweights go to war. When I get the knockout and end this young man's dream, at least he can take warmth in the fact he has a stamp on his passport and can enjoy the beautiful city of Berlin. I'm ready."

Making his UFC debut on less than 2 weeks notice as a late replacement for injured Tor Troeng at UFC 171, California native Sean Strickland stepped in to pick up a submission victory over Bubba McDaniels in the first round to take his overall record to 14-0.

A long term King of the Cage vet, 23-year old Stickland has picked up 11 stoppage victories in 14 outings since making his professional debut in 2008 at just 17 years old

With the addition of Barnatt vs Strickland, UFC Fight Night 41 card now includes: 
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Munoz
Luke Barnatt vs. Sean Strickland
Pawel Pawlak vs. Peter Sobotta
Drew Dober vs. Nick Hein

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Berlin

UFC London Results: Luke Barnatt Defeats Mats Nilsson in Barn Burner

UFC London Results: Luke Barnatt Defeats Mats Nilsson in Barn Burner
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts 

UFC.com

Luke Barnatt made a statement on Saturday night defeating Swedish Middleweight Mats Nilsson by impressive TKO in a 1 round barn burner on the prelims on UFC Fight Night 37.

Barnatt started the bout with a crisp left jab which he connected with often to keep the the Swedish Grappler on the outside. The jab was money for Barnatt as he repeatedly caught Nilsson over and over with it. As the opening minutes wore on TUF 17 Barnatt caught Nilsson with an uppercut which left the Swede with visible damage.

Midway through the round, Nilsson charged and caught Barnatt with several heavy overhand punches, which to Barnatts credit looked like they may have hurt him but he took them well. As the Swedish contingency in attendance begin to flair up, Barnatt fired back with a sneaky superman punch and left head kick to leave Nilsson wobbled against the cage.

Barnatt unleashed a barrage of punches, before dropping Nilsson with a well placed knee forcing the referee to step and and stop the fight; the first stoppage loss of Nilssons career.

Speaking after the bout, Barnatt said if the stoppage:

“I felt a bit cold in the start but when he hit me with a right I woke up. It feels very good to be the first one to ever finish him.”

Barnatt who looks a promise prospect for British fight fans extends his UFC record to 3-0 and his overall record to 8-0.

UFC Fight Night London Predictions

Kingdom MMA predictions for UFC Fight Night London

by Ben Heather @benheather, Tommy Strong @Strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

This week we will be predicting the fights for UFC Fight Night 38, as the UFC returns to London for its first EMEA show of 2014. For this event we will give a write up for the main card fights card and then we will be picking our winners for the rest of the card. Let us know if you agree with our picks.

Gustafsson vs Manuwa

Jack: Although Gus can handle himself on the feet he has a massive advantage on the ground here. Manuwa is a poor grappler and Gus is excellent. I expect this to go to the ground early and for the frustrations of the Jon Jones loss to be taken out on Manuwa. I don't think this fight will see past he halfway point of round 1.

Prediction: Gustafsson by Submission Round 1

Ben: I was shocked when this fight was announced, I thought Gustafsson should have been matched up with another top ranked fighter such as Phil Davis with Jimi on the main card against a top 10 guy.... just not the number 2 guy.

That being said, Alex has everything to lose in this fight. Jimi will be going in to this fight as a big underdog and it may be the first time that has happened in his career. I would love to see the upset, however we have never seen Jimi tested and he will be on Saturday night. I can't see it happening but I would love it for Jimi and UK MMA as well.

Prediction: Gustafsson by Submission Round 4

Tommy: I still can't figure out why and how Jimi has got this fight except for selling tickets! Jimi hasn't fought anyone on the level of Alexander Gustafsson before, this is a huge step up for him and one I think he's really going to struggle with. With so much on the line for Gustafsson he really has everything to lose and nothing to gain by beating Jimi. Its Manuwa that could be in touching distance of a title fight if he was to pull of a huge upset here.

I expect Gustafsson to play it safe here against a dangerous striker and keep the fight either at length or force Jimi onto the ground for much of the fight.

Prediction: Gustafsson by TKO Round 2.

Johnson vs Guillard

Tommy: With Ross Pearson having to pull out due to an injury, this is a very good replacement in Johnson. Both fighters can blow hot or cold on any given night, so lets hope its piping hot as we could be in for real treat here. With Guillard's knockout power and Johnson's ground game this is a coin toss to predict, I'm still not sure who to pick in this, if I was a betting man I would leave this fight well alone.

Prediction: Johnson by Unanimous Decision

Jack: This fight is as close to a pick em as you'll see. Both extraordinarily talented fighters and both frustratingly inconsistent. If we are to assume both guys turn up on point(which history tells us they won't) then I like Johnson. Tibau and Lauzon are tough tough guys and he handled both with ease. Guillard has lost every significant fight he's been in over the last couple of years only winning 2 of the past 7.

Prediction: Johnson by KO Round 2

Ben: Johnson is on a tear, he has to be in the best form of his career. First he picked apart Joe Lauzon in a fight not many people gave him a chance, then he knocked out Tibau and I think he will do the same this weekend against Guillard. That being said, Guillard has proved that he can finish anyone on a good night but his form is not consistent. I see Johnson keeping his run going and next time out facing off against a top 10 ranked fighter.

Prediction: Johnson by TKO Round 2

Pickett vs Seery

Tommy: Pickett making his flyweight debut was something I was really looking forward to. Though with the withdrawal of Ian McCall I feel a little let down now. A win against a top ranked McCall would really of put Pickett into the top 5 of the flyweight division. The UFC have done a good job in finding a late replacement in Seery but the fight lacks a little something for me.

I think Pickett's experience in the octagon and Seery making his UFC debut this could be a lop sided fight!

Prediction: Pickett by TKO Round 1

Ben: I feel for Pickett in this fight, when I spoke to him just before Christmas he mentioned challenges and pushing towards a title shot. I feel a big win against McCall could have been enough to give him a shot against Mighty Mouse and his case is helped by the fact that he is one of only two men to beat him. However, now he is set to fight Neil Seery there isn't much to gain here for Pickett. It's now a fight that he is expected to win and by winning doesn't get much reward for doing so. He certainly won't be facing the champ next time out.

As for the fight itself I can't see anything else other than a Pickett stoppage victory, I can't decide whether that will be a knockout or submission but it won't be a good night for Seery.

Prediction: Pickett by TKO Round 2

Jack: Styles may clash here, late notice for Seery who no doubt is in shape but wasn't preparing to face Pickett. Pickett was preparing for a different style all together but class should show here.

Prediction: Pickett by Unanimous Decision

Nelson vs Akhmedov

Jack: My sleeper for fight of the night. Really looking forward to this one as soon as it was announced. Akhmedov's debut lasted about 3.5 minutes and he managed to win fight of the night and come from behind to win by KO. The fight despite being so short had everything and it really showed off all the Russians skill set. Nelson has not fought since the last time the Octagon landed in London back in February of 2013. No real explanation of the extended break and that would be of concern for me. Once a real hot prospect in the sport it's difficult to pick him here though.

Prediction: Akhmedov by Decision

Tommy: It will be good to see Gunnar Nelson back inside the octagon after a year out since he last fought in London 2013. Though this could be a real tough test for Nelson. Akhmedov unbeaten in 11 fights, won fight of the night honours in his debut against Thiago Perpetuo in November. Both fighters are very well rounded here with Gunnar having the slight edge on the ground, though if Akmedov can keep it standing he has a very good chance here.

I've made the mistake to many times backing against Russian fighters in the UFC so this time I'm going for the upset here.

Prediction: Akhmedov by TKO Round 2

Ben: Unlike the others I see Gunnar Nelson returning to the Octagon and picking up where he left off last year in London. Yes Akhmedov could be his toughest opponent to date but I feel it will be a submission victory which will come and Nelson will not let it go until he gets the W.

Prediction: Nelson by Submission Round 2.

Predictions for the remainder of the Card

Diabate vs Latifi

Jack: Diabate         Ben: Diabate     Tommy: Diabate

Barnatt vs Nilsson

Jack: Barnatt         Ben: Barnatt       Tommy: Barnatt

Scott vs da Silva

Jack: Scott            Ben: Scott          Tommy: Scott

Grant vs Delorme

Jack: Grant           Ben: Delorme     Tommy: Delorme

Araujo vs Mitchell

Jack: Araujo         Ben: Mitchell      Tommy: Araujo

Harris vs Gaudinot

Jack: Gaudinot      Ben: Gaudinot    Tommy: Gaudinot

UFC London tickets now on sale

Tickets for UFC Fight Night London: Gustafsson vs Manuwa now on sale

Tickets for UFC Fight Night London: Gustafsson vs Manuwa now on sale and they are selling fast. This is in part due to the biggest ever pre sale to date for a March event.

The UFC returns to London on Saturday 8th March, where it will take over the O2 Arena, headlined by an explosive fight between Londoner Jimi “Posterboy” Manuwa and the world no.2 light heavyweight Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson.

A victory for the powerful Manuwa, who is undefeated in his professional career (14-0), could see him handed a title shot later this year.  Alexander Gustafsson will prove the toughest test of the Croydon-based fighter’s career, after the Swede’s narrow defeat to champion Jon Jones in what many MMA fans called the best fight of 2013.  Manuwa called for the fight and believes that by knocking the No.1 ranked challenger out, he can get right in the title hunt.

The event, which is the first of six UFC events across Europe and the Middle East this year, are priced at £40, £50, £75, £100, £125, £150, £450 and £850 for the VVIP experience, and are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk and www.theo2.co.uk. That being said, I would order any tickets quickly if you plan on going to see the live event as a lot of the pricing categories were selling out quickly on the first day of going on sale.

UFC is reporting it’s biggest ever pre-sale for a UK event, which is the fifth to be held at the iconic O2 Arena. 

Michael “The Menace” Johnson, ranked no. 13 in the lightweight division, will meet Melvin “The Young Assasin” Guillard in the co-main event.  Johnson has racked up two impressive wins in the second half of 2013 to see him climb the rankings.  Guillard holds the record for most TKO / KO victories in the lightweight division and will be looking to finish the fight in blistering style.

London’s Brad “One Punch” Pickett, who is one of the UFC’s most exciting fighters, will fight in his hometown under the UFC banner for the first time in his career.  Brad, who has a remarkable four Fight of the Night titles to his name, will make his flyweight debut against no.3 ranked Ian McCall, in one of the most intriguing battles on the card.

UK fans will also get a chance to see The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) runner-up Davey “Dangerous” Grant in the Octagon for the first time, as he takes on Canadian Roland Delorme.  

Jimi Manuwa, said: “The fight’s only five weeks away now and I can’t wait to get into the Octagon, in my home town, and put on a show for the fans.

“This is definitely my biggest fight yet but I’m not afraid of Alex.  I’ve beaten every single fighter I’ve faced within two rounds and I don’t plan for this fight to be any different.  I want to be World Champion, remembered as unbeaten and a knockout specialist.

“I’ve never trained as hard as I’m training for this fight and I promise a fans a fight they won’t forget – lions eat first!”

Alexander Gustafsson, who was recently chosen in a global fan vote to be on the cover of a the new EA Sport UFC game, said: “I am really looking forward to this fight, I think it’s a great match up.  Jimi is a tough guy but I’m ready for him.

“I am preparing for five rounds, but it won’t last that long!

“I’ve fought in London before and it always has big, loud crowds.  But I know a lot of fans are travelling over from Sweden to get behind me on the night.”

Other British talent on the card includes Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt who will be looking to hold on to his undefeated record against Mats Nilsson who will be making his UFC debut in London.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT LONDON: GUSTAFSSON VS MANUWA full card is:   
MAIN CARD
Alexander Gustafsson #1 vs Jimi Manuwa #11                (light heavyweight)
Michael Johnson #13 vs Melvin Guillard                          (lightweight)
Brad Pickett vs Ian McCall #3                                        (flyweight)
Gunnar Nelson vs Omari Akhmedov                               (welterweight)

PRELIMS
Cyrille Diabate vs Ilir Latifi                                              (light heavyweight)
Luke Barnatt vs Mats Nilsson                                         (middleweight)
Bradley Scott vs Claudio Henrique da Silva                    (middleweight)
David Grant vs Roland Delorme                                     (bantamweight)
Igor Araujo vs Danny Mitchell                                        (welterweight)
Phil Harris vs Louis Gaudinot #11                                   (flyweight)
 
All bouts are live and subject to change.

UFC Fight Night 37 fight card Official - The Prelims

UFC announce the finalised line up for UFC Fight Night 37 - Kingdom MMA review the Prelims

by Ben Heather @benheather

With the tickets for UFC Fight Night 37 now on sale to fight club members and those who have signed up to the UFC Newsletter it has been announced that the line up for the event has been finalised.

UFC Fight Night 37 marks the return to the UK of the UFC and its first show in Europe of 2014. The fight card has been set at 10 fights and will consist of a 4 fight main card and 6 prelim fights.

Kingdom MMA will now take a look at the prelims and discuss what is on the line in each match up.

Phil Harris vs Louis Gaudinot

The show will be kicked off with a flyweight battle between England's Phil Harris (22-11-1 MMA 1-2 UFC) and #11 ranked Louis Gaudinot (6-3 MMA 1-2 UFC) as both men look to get back to winning ways following losses to John Lineker and Tim Elliott respectively. This fight will also mark the first time that Gaudinot has fought outside of the USA, while Harris will have the crowd on his side with the home field advantage. A loss for either fighter could result in them getting cut from the UFC, although with the flyweight division not exactly overflowing with fighters they may be safe for one more fight.

Danny Mitchell vs Igor Araujo

The next fight is in the Welterweight division and will see "The Cheesecake Assassin" Danny Mitchell (14-4-1 MMA) make his UFC debut against Brazilian Igor Araujo (24-6-1 MMA 1-0 UFC), who trains at Jackson's MMA. Between both men 75% of there victories have come via submission so we could be in for a real treat in this fight if it ends up on the floor.

Davey Grant vs Roland Delorme

TUF 18's Davey Grant (8-2 MMA 0-1 UFC) gets his wish in the next fight, although he didn't win The Ultimate Fighter in 2013 he did enough for the UFC to give him a contract. Now he gets at least one more shot in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 37, back on home soil as he squares off against five times UFC veteran Roland Delorme (9-2-1 MMA 3-1-1 UFC). This will be a tough test for Grant however, a win in this fight will certainly see him settle in the division and prove that he deserves to be in the UFC and he will certainly get the full backing of the English crowd.

Delorme will also be fighting outside of North America for the first time in his career so unlike Grant will have to deal with trying to cut weight while travelling and getting used to fighting at a different time zone. All of these factors could have an impact on the outcome of this fight and will be to Grant's advantage.

Then its the turn of the middleweights as two former TUF contestants Brad Scott (9-2 MMA 1-1 UFC) and Luke Barnatt (7-0 MMA 2-0 UFC) are set to defend British pride as they take on Claudio Henrique da Silva (9-1 MMA) and Mats Nilsson (11-2-1 MMA) respectively, who will both be making their UFC debuts.

Brad Scott vs Claudio Henrique da Silva

Brad Scott will be making his third appearance in the UFC after losing in the final of TUF The Smashes to Robert Whittaker but then submitting Michael Kuiper in the first round with a front choke in Manchester back in October. As with his last fight Scott has been out in American training at The MMA Lab in Arizona training with guys such as former champ Benson Henderson and Joe Riggs, which can only be a good thing for his preperation for this fight. Claudio Henrique da Silva who trains at London Shootfighters will be coming in to this fight looking to make a name for himself and prove to the world that he deserves to be in the UFC. By the time the fight takes place it will be nearly 18 months since his last fight though so UFC debut nerves and ring rust may play a factor in the fight.

Luke Barnatt vs Mats Nilsson

At 7-0 Luke Barnatt will be putting his undefeated record on the line again as he looks to work his way up the rankings with another win in London and this time he is fighting Swedish fighter Mats Nilsson. When this fight was announced many fans were shocked that Barnatt had not been given a bigger name fight but for Luke, as always he will not be leaving anything to chance as he prepares both physically and mentally for his fight. Nilsson, who fought and won twice last year for Cage Warriors is certainly taking a step up in competition as he makes his UFC debut.

I just hope we don't see anymore showboating from Luke in this fight and he sticks to business and focuses purely on finishing his opponent instead of celebrating before the job is complete.

Cyrille Diabate vs Ilir Latifi

The final bout on the prelims sees Ilir Latifi (7-3 MMA 0-1 UFC) make his return to the UFC after headlining UFC Sweden last year as a last minute injury replacement for Alex Gustafsson. The fact that Latifi headlined a UFC event in 2013 had to be one of the strangest stories of 2013 but he certainly didn't embarrass himself, if anything his stock rose in the fight. Yes he clearly lost the fight against Mousasi who was the better fighter and cruised for most of the fight but Latifi didn't look like he didn't belong in the Octagon with him. For this fight he gets a full camp to prepare for Cyrille Diabate (19-9-1 MMA 4-3 UFC) and we will certainly the best Ilir Latifi in March.

I didn't expect to see Diabate on this card due to the fact that his UFC record when fighting in the UK is 0-3 and his overall MMA record when fighting in the UK is 3-6 which is crazy for a guy with a very good record. That being said, two of those loses have come against Alex Gustafsson and Jimi Manuwa who will be fighting each other in the main event of this event so it shows the opposition he has been facing.

I think both men need to win this fight as a loss could have severe implications on their employment status with the UFC.


That marks my preview of the prelims for UFC Fight Night 37, make sure to keep checking Kingdom MMA for the breakdown of the main card.

Tickets are on sale now for this event at www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Fighter to Watch in 2014

Kingdom MMA Awards Fighter to watch in 2014: Arnold Allen
by Ben Heather @benheather

As well as taking a look back and recognising the achievements of 2013 we would also like to take a look forward to who we believe will be the fighter to watch in 2014. We wanted to give the award to a fighter who some of the casual fans may not have heard of or knew much about, but trust me by the end of 2014 you will all know this fighters name.

Unlike all of the other awards which between our writers we had numerous contenders to pick the winner from there was only one name that came to mind for this category and everyone agreed, that name was Arnold "Almighty" Allen.

Arnold Allen is the 19 year old rising star fighting out of BKK Fighters and has a record of 6-0. Arnold has only been fighting professionally since April 2012. In 2013 Arnold went 4-0, including three wins fighting for Cage Warriors in which he never had to go in to the third round. Since fighting for Cage Warriors Arnold has really showcased his skills with two victories by submission and a TKO win over Doni Miller at Cage Warriors 61.

Arnold started 2013 fighting at UCMMA 32 in February where he defeated Carl Orris picking up the fighter of the night bonus in what can only be described as a one sided unanimous decision victory. It remains the only time that Arnold has been the distance in a fight but he really showcased his skills that night. Arnold landed head kicks, take downs and when he had his opponent on the ground didn't ease up as he continued with some brutal ground and pound that his coach Jack Mason would have been proud of.

The next time we would see Arnold back in the cage he would make his Cage Warriors debut at Cage Warriors 56 where he defeated Andy Green by rear naked choke in the first round. After that fight he signed a five fight exclusive contract to fight only for Cage Warriors proving that they could also see that he is certainly a star of the future and wanted to keep him on their books.

Next up Arnold fought the most experienced fighter of his career to date as he battled Dec Williams at Cage Warriors 60 in October. If you saw the fight without knowing who was the more experienced fighter you would not have known that it was only Arnold's fifth fight of his professional career as he took Dec Williams down in the first round before posturing up and landing some explosive shots on Williams who just had no answer for it. In the second round Arnold got the victory by submission. After locking in a guillotine choke on the ground but realising he couldn't finish the fight he released it and instantly locked in a triangle choke which this time made Williams tap securing Arnold's fifth win of his career.

Arnold returned to action in December fighting for the first time outside of the UK as Cage Warriors returned to Amman, Jordan for Cage Warriors 61 where he fought Doni Miller. This fight saw Arnold show off his improved boxing skills as he floored Miller in the first with a crisp right hook but was unable to finish the fight then as Miller did a good job locking him up and being unable to get off his normal ground and pound. Within 30 seconds of the second round Arnold found his mark again this time it was the left hand which floored Miller and Arnold was then relentless with his punches on the downed Miller before the referee came in to stop the fight.

If you have not seen any of Arnold Allen's fights then I recommend that you get on YouTube and check them all out. He is a great fighter who can go a very long way in the sport and to think he doesn't turn 20 until the 17th January. Having Jack Mason as his head coach, who has witnessed and been in probably every situation during a fight and guys Luke Barnatt, Sean Carter and Jason Cooledge in his corner is only going to help him achieve whatever he wants to in this sport.

Congratulations Arnold you have been crowned Kingdom MMA’s Fighter to watch in 2014 – Arnold we salute you.

Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Domestic Fighter of the Year

Kingdom MMA Domestic Fighter of the Year Award 2013: Brett Johns

by Ben Heather @benheather

The main reason we set up this website was to help promote the amazing talent which the UK and Ireland has and so this award is one of my personal favourites.

2013 has been a great year for MMA throughout the world and domestic MMA has been no different. Cage Warriors has been on fire this year, this week Cage Warriors 63 will be their fourteenth event of 2013 and the quality of the fighters and the fights that have taken place has been incredible. Also, BAMMA have chipped in with a couple of events this year and although they have not put on the quantity of cards that Cage Warriors have the events they have staged have been just as good again showcasing the talent we have in the UK and Ireland. All you have to do is look at the current roster of British and Irish UFC fighters who have signed in the last couple of years and chances are they have fought for one of these two organisations.

There is nothing I love more than seeing our athletes in this case fighters showcasing their skills to the world and we have picked what we feel are the cream of the crop in 2013.

At the start of the year not many casual fans knew the name Luke Barnatt let alone had seen him fight. That being said, they do now. Luke has had a good year by starting the year in the TUF house and being picked first overall by Chael Sonnen before making his full UFC debut and winning twice this year including a very impressive submission win against Andrew Craig at UFC Manchester. Next up for Luke is a fight on the UFC's return to London in March '14 where he will square off and try to keep his record undefeated against Mats Nilsson.

Also making big waves in the UFC and picking up a pair of victories in the octagon was Ireland's Conor McGregor. He started the year (OK it was last year but only a by a few hours) by becoming a two weight Cage Warriors champion as he captured the lightweight title in his home town of Dublin on New Years Eve 2012. Then signed for the UFC making a very impressive debut by Knocking out Marcus Brimmage and securing the KO of the night bonus. He then followed that up in August by getting a unanimous decision win over Max Holloway. Unfortunately for McGregor he got injured in that fight and it ruled him out for the rest of the year but I am sure we will see big things from him in 2014.

Conor's team mate Cathal Pendred has also had a very impressive year and deserves a lot of respect. He started the year as challenger for the Cage Warriors welterweight title at Cage Warriors 52 where he faced then champion Gael Grimaud, he won that fight via unanimous decision to become the new champion. Next up Cage Warriors set him the challenge former UFC fighter Che Mills at Cage Warriors 55. Cathal controlled the fight from start to finish and it was only Che's corner throwing in the towell that prevented the one sided beating from continuing. Like Conor the second half of the year Cathal has not been back in the cage but I am sure you will all see a lot more from him on your Tv's in 2014 alongside BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar....

Brett Johns has also had a perfect year going 4-0 in 2013. He started the year with a submission victory in February before following that up with a TKO victory at Cage Warriors 54 then in September came the highlight of his short career so far. Brett was included in the Cage Warriors tournament for the bantamweight title and fought twice in one night in his home nation of Wales to become the new champion.

Another young fighter who has really made his mark this year is Arnold Allen. Arnold like Brett only became a professional fighter last year and has taken his record to 6-0 with four impressive wins this year. In his last three fights he has also stopped each of his opponents and in the process increasing his reputation as one to watch for the future. At just 19 years old Arnold certainly deserves a lot of credit for the year he has had and always backs up his reputation as an explosive fighter who will fight anyone, anywhere.

Although each of the above fighters certainly deserve the award there can only be one Winner and that is: Brett Johns.

As I have already said 2013 has been a great year for Brett Johns. He has shown he can finish fights this year by finishing his first two opponents of 2013. He showcased his submission skills by finishing Joe Orrey via armbar in his first fight of the year. Then at Cage Warriors 54 went on to finish James Macalister by TKO. Brett won that fight with great ground control before finishing the fight with some brutal ground and pound. Although he won that fight by TKO my personal highlight was when Brett locked in a standing d'arce choke in the first round but couldn't quite get the finish.

Then on September 14th at Cage Warriors 59 Brett was included in the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship tournament, a two fight four man tournament to crown the new Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion. The format was a semi final fight which consisted of 2x 5 minute rounds and if required a third overtime round. Then in the final the two winners of the semi finals would meet in a 5x 5 minute round fight to crown the new champion.

Brett went in to the night as a massive underdog and as part of the prelims for the night was first matched up with David Haggstrom in his semi final. That fight ended up going in to the third round but Brett was announced the winner via unanimous decision. In the other semi final James Pennington defeated Kris Edwards but was unable to proceed to the final due to an injury which meant that Jordan Desborough who had also already fought beating Timur Mercanoglu via second round TKO was promoted to fight for the title. Now Brett was going in to a 5 round title fight for the first time in his career against a guy he had not even prepared for. After fighting for all five rounds meaning Brett had fought 8 five minute rounds on the same night. When the decision was announced Brett was crowned the Cage Warriors bantamweight champion.

For any fighter to go a full calendar year undefeated having fought 4 times is impressive enough but to do so the way Brett Johns has deserves a lot of respect for this reason we have named him our domestic fighter of the year 2013.

Congratulations Brett you have been crowned Kingdom MMA’s 2013 Domestic Fighter of the Year – Brett Johns Kingdom MMA we salute you.

Two Middleweight battles added to the UFC's return to London

Barnatt and Scott set to defend British pride as the UFC returns to the UK

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

The already-juicy UFC Fight Night card billed to take place in our great capital’s 02 Arena this March had two additional middleweight fights added earlier this week. Cambridge’s Luke Barnatt has been matched against Sweden’s Mats Nilsson while Somerset-born Brad “Bear” Scott will fight Claudio Henrique da Silva.

Luke “Bigslow” Barnatt (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs Mats Nilsson (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Team Sonnen’s first pick in the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Bigslow has lived up to the outspoken American’s high expectations of him, already having been victorious twice in the Octagon as well as picking up that coveted Fight of the Night Bonus. Barnatt’s Fight of the Night against Andrew Craig was an amazing bout. On two occasions Barnatt dropped the American and thought the fight was finished only for Craig to make an unexpected recovery. Craig – who was as high as a 4/9 favourite going into the fight with big wins over fighters like Chris Leben and Rafael Natal – was finally overwhelmed by Barnatt’s slick ground game as Bigslow locked in a rear-naked choke. Bigslow has garnered a great deal of popularity for his charisma and direct nature. Comically he and fellow UK fighter Conor McGregor have become involved in a twitter beef after Bigslow criticised the Irishman’s unwarranted hype. It’s a wonder featherweight McGregor – who has been known to pick fights with people ridiculously far outside his weight class – hasn’t challenged the 6’6” Barnatt to a fight!
Bigslow’s opponent making his debut in the UFC is Sweden’s Mats Nilsson. Nilsson will be well known to UK MMA fans after stringing together wins in Cardiff and Glasgow for Cage Warriors in 2013. Having picked up wins in seven of his last eight fights, there is little wonder Nilsson has been enlisted by the UFC and he is certainly a tough test for Barnatt.

Brad “Bear” Scott (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs Claudio Henrique da Silva (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Brad Scott looks to build on his success from UFC Fight Night 30 with his decisive first round submission victory over fearsome Dutch striker Michael Kuiper. Fighting in Manchester after a near-year hiatus following his loss to Robert Whittaker, doubters of Scott thought ring-rust combined with a dangerous opponent spelt the worst for Scott. He silenced the doubters dramatically with his first round victory and doubtless filled the wallets of shrewd MMA punters having been offered at tall 3/1 betting odds.
Like Mats Nilsson, Claudio Henriqeu da Silva will be welcomed to his Octagon debut by a Brit coming off a massive win. In very unusual circumstances, the Brazillian Da Silva may have more right to claim the home field advantage over Brad Scott as he trains full time in London with the Shootfighters gym. Da Silva has successively won nine fights with eight of the victories coming within the distance.

Both these fights are very welcome additions to an already brilliant card. Best of luck to Luke and Brad from Kingdom MMA in their preparations for the fights; we can’t wait to see them do what they do best on 8th March.

Jack Mason: Cage Warriors 61 post fight interview

Jack Mason speaks to Kingdom MMA after Cage Warriors 61 win

by Ben Heather @benheather

(Photo Copyright: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors)

Last Friday Cage Warriors returned to a very snowy Amman, Jordan for Cage Warriors 61 for its penultimate show of 2013. The event was disrupted by the show with some fighters not being able to make it and a couple of fights ended up unfortunately being called off. However, the fights that did take place certainly delivered.

The co main event of the night was a welterweight battle between Jack Mason and Seydina Seck which saw one of the most controversial points of the night when the referee stopped the fight thinking Seck had been choked unconscious only for him to be fine and the fight restarted on its feet. Today we caught up with Jack Mason to discuss his win, that controversial moment as well as much more.

Ben: Hi Jack, thanks again for your time. How was the camp going in to this fight?
Mason: Camp couldn’t have been much better to be honest. I’ve been pretty busy with my day job the back end of this year delivering some pretty stressful projects but I’ve managed to work out a training schedule that works for me and around work.

I’ve been working a lot more on my boxing with coaches John Tandy and Adam Brearley of the Tandy Boxing team and also the Tsunami boxing coach Stephen Whitwell. I think this has helped my game tremendously and I think it showed with how comfortable I looked on the feet in my last bout.

I feel like my overall game is improving every time out and that’s thanks to all my coaches and team mates at Tsunami Gym and BKK Fighters and also my wrestling coach Nick Albert.

I actually managed to complete this camp without picking up any significant injuries which is a very rare occurrence and I probably owe this to the work I’ve been doing with my strength coach Laurence Irving and my physiotherapist Jon McCornish.

Ben: How did you feel when you was originally asked to be a part of the Baghdad card? Did you have any worries?
Mason: Originally when I agreed to take part in the event I was just simply excited however the closer we got to the event and the more I googled it I must admit I did start to have a few second thoughts! LOL

Ben: What was the reaction from your friends and family when you told them you was going to fight in Iraq?
Mason: Well my girlfriend forbid me to go and I didn’t even dare tell my mum!

Ben: Since the fight was first announced it got moved to Jordan  in the same arena as your previous fight. Do you believe that gave you an advantage going into this fight because of your experience of fighting in Jordan before?
Mason: Not really, a fight is a fight wherever it is as once the cage door is locked it’s just you and your opponent and the location rarely has an impact. It may have been a slight advantage to me because I was able to visualise how I was going to win the fight in a cage I had been before.

Ben: This fight was the first time in a while where you actually got to fight the person you have trained for after your last two fights had a late change of opponent. How frustrating is it to prepare for one guy and have to fight another without training for him?
Mason: Haha, yes that’s a strange circumstance for me fighting the guy I had been training for all camp! Big respect to Seydina Seck for keeping by his word and showing up to the fight well prepared. It’s extremely frustrating to prepare for an opponent all camp only to have him pull out and get a change of opponent last minute. It’s even worse if the guy is a particular specialist in a certain area and the new opponent is very different stylistically, I had that situation when Carvalho pulled out with 5 days to go and I got Ali Arish instead. Hugely frustrating!

Ben: Following on from the last question is it hard to keep focused on a fight when you get a late opponent change?
Mason: Yeah it can be. In the Carvalho/ Arish situation it was literally so close to the fight when the opponent got switched that I had no time to prepare as was just focusing on making weight. I also had Carvalho mouthing off on social media about still wanting to fight me, even though he had failed to show up to the fight because he couldn’t have the corner man he wanted as his passport had expired. That really wound me up and I didn’t focus on the new opponent in Arish like I should have done and I think it showed in my performance. I won’t make that same mistake again and it was a lesson learnt for me.

Ben: Was the plan for this fight to get Seydina Seck to the ground and unload some of your brutal ground and pound which you showcased in the previous fight against Vladimir Opanasenko?
Mason: I had planned to use my boxing more and to try and show my improved hand skills on my feet but yes I ultimately saw the end to the fight via ground and pound. Seck did an amazing job of tying me up, not giving me any space and neutralising my ground and pound so that’s something I have to take away and improve on from this fight.

Ben: Ahead of this fight what did you make of Seck's skills and what did you expect from him? how did your thoughts compare to what he did in the fight?
Mason: The fight panned out very much how I had visualised and rehearsed it over and over except for the lack of finish! I had watched loads of tape on Seck and knew his was very dangerous as he’s knocked out UFC vet Simeon Thorensen, beaten former Cage Warriors champ Gael Grimaud and other top European fighters such as Florent Betorangel who gave Jim Wallhead a run for his money last weekend too.

I knew he’d be looking to kick me to the legs and throw overhands to try and knock me out, I also expected him to be difficult to take down as he’s a short, strong guy and that’s pretty much how the fight went. I was very disappointed that I didn’t get the finish but I’m very glad to end the year with a good win over a very solid opponent.

Ben: There was an incident in the third round where you almost had the fight won, the choke was locked in and the ref stopped the fight only for it to be restarted again but not on the ground where you had control instead back on the feet.

Please can you talk us through what happened and your thoughts on the incident?
Mason: I’ve actually had a chance to watch the fight back and as I am rolling Seck to get the top position with the guillotine it really does look like Seydina goes limp so I perfectly understand why referee Rich Mitchell thought the fight was over right there. It’s a really tough situation because as Rich asked me to let go of the choke it was clear that Seydina was still conscious and he couldn’t give me the win there, the only fair thing to do was to restart it on the feet as with any other restart from a different position would have been debated at length between me and Seydina I am sure as we were mid-submission and mid-roll!

It’s an unfortunate situation but I’d much rather have restarted where we were rather than it be called a no contest or something.

Ben: How worried were you while waiting to hear the judges scorecards after the fight? I believe if the fight wasn't stopped prematurely in the third and restarted you would have won by submission. Did any doubts cross your mind that you were not gonna get the win?
Mason: I knew the 1st round was close but I was absolutely confident that I’d won rounds 2 and 3 so I was very confident that I’d get the unanimous decision but very disappointed in myself that I didn’t get a finish in the fight.

Ben: You are 6-1 in your last 7 fights and 9-2 from your last 11 fights. Do you believe you now deserve a shot at the Cage Warriors welterweight title?
Mason: It’s a fact that I’ve got more wins on Cage Warriors FC than any other Welterweight that is currently on the Cage Warriors roster including the current champ. It’s also a fact that I have won more fights on Cage Warriors FC than any other fighter in 2013 (so far).

I will leave it up to the Cage Warriors bosses to determine when I have earned my shot, I feel am ready for it now though.

Ben: As well as fighting you also coach a lot of up and coming talented fighters. What do you get more enjoyment from, seeing your students win or winning your own fights?
Mason: That’s an easy question to answer! Watching Arnold Allen win by knockout on the same event that I fought on gave me far more enjoyment and satisfaction than my own victory! I hope to be coaching MMA for years after I retire from competing myself and am sure the lads at BKK Fighters will go on to achieve things in the sport I could only dream of!

Ben: This fight was your 6th fight in the space of 12 months,  that must make you one of if not the most active fighter in cage warriors. Would you like to be as active next year?
Mason: Whilst I am still young (sort of), injury free and have no kids I want to fight as often as is possible and enjoy my MMA career as much as I can. As soon as I have kids there is no way I could devote the time to training for fights, coaching and hold down a full time job as well and something will have to give and that is likely to be the competing. Therefore I want to get the most enjoyment from my MMA career as I can in the short period of time I have left!

Ben: Finally, with it coming to the end of the year what has been your highlight of 2013 and what is your main goal in 2014?
Mason: I’ve had a great 2013 and my highlights of the year so far are headlining a Cage Warriors card in the UAE, getting a great TKO finish over a tough Russian in front of an insane capacity crowd on Cage Warriors in Jordan, watching Arnold Allen and Sean Carter make their impact on their respective Cage Warriors divisions and seeing Luke Barnatt demolish the highly ranked Andrew Craig at the UFC in Manchester. I hope we end the year on an even bigger high with a John Maguire and Sean Carter double victory on New Years Eve.

Cage Warriors FC welterweight gold is my only personal MMA goal in 2014. I also plan to help the BKK Fighters and Tsunami Gym teams go unbeaten next year.

Ben: Would you like to thank anyone?
Mason: Thanks very much for the interview and thanks to my management, coaches, team mates, family and friends and to everyone for all the support for this fight and my career so far!

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to my sponsors, please check out their websites and follow them on Twitter:

         www.britishfighter.co.uk                        @BritishF1ghter
         www.chelmsfordphysio.co.uk                @ChelmsforPhysio
         www.blankmmauk.com                         @BlankMMAUK
         www.qntuk.com                                    @QNTUK
         www.funkygums.com                             @FUNKYGUMS
         www.ignitept.co.uk                                @LI_Strength
         www.coconoil.co.uk                              @Coconoil

Thank you very much for your time Jack, we all wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you fight again in 2014 and hopefully we will see you achieve your goals.

Cage Warriors 61: Arnold Allen Post Fight Interview

Arnold Allen speaks to Kingdom MMA after Cage Warriors 61 victory

by Ben Heather @benheather

At Cage Warriors 61 on Friday afternoon, Arnold Allen opened up the prelims with a great performance against Doni Miller. It was a fight in which Arnold showcased his ever improving skills and kept his undefeated record intact taking it now to 6-0, proving once again that he is a star of the future and certainly a fighter to keep track of in 2014. Today Kingdom MMA caught up with Arnold to discuss that fight at Cage Warriors 61.

Ben: Firstly, what a great performance you put on Friday night, how did you feel the fight went?
Allen: I was happy with the fight I did what I wanted to do which is to use my boxing more and get comfortable on my feet!

Ben: Did Doni do anything in the fight which surprised you or that you were not prepared for?
Allen: I didn't know Doni would fight as a southpaw and I thought he would try take me down so I had to make a few changes in the fight

Ben: Half way through round 1 it looked like you may have got caught with a couple of shots before coming back swinging and flooring Miller, were you hurt at all?
Allen: I was winded with the knee that he landed which I'm convinced was a one week death knee.

Ben: Then while on the floor Doni was landing some big elbows to the top of your head did any of those do any damage or did you manage to block those with your hands?
Allen: They all hit my gloves so they did no damage, my head is fine haha.

Ben: Do you feel when the fight hit the floor you could have gone for the finish in round 1?
Allen: Definitely I just fell into his guard and he did a great job of tying me up and recovering.

Ben: Were you sick between rounds 1 and 2? The camera was on you to begin with then it looked like you were before the camera quickly changed to the other corner. If you were sick do you have any idea what caused it?
Allen: Haha maybe a little bit and I was feeling a little bit funny before. I think just a bug as I'm still feeling sick now.

Ben: You finished the fight in the second round, talk us through those closing stages before the ref stopped the fight.
Allen: Yeah I dropped Doni with a left hand and started landing shots and he went limp for a second and I woke him up with another punch but the ref had stopped it already.

Ben: Do you think the referee stopped the fight early? As Doni Miller seemed very upset by the decision, even pushing the referee after the fight which no matter how he felt the decision went should never happen. A fighter should never lay his hands on the officials.
Allen: I think it was good stoppage he went limp, fair enough he came back round quick but I wasn't going to stop punching him after he woke up.

Ben: After the fight what did you say to Doni as he seemed to keep confronting you and talking about something after complaining about the decision?
Allen: I just asked him to watch the fight back.

Ben: You told us last week that you would love to finish the fight with a knock out and then delivered on Saturday night, how did that feel?
Allen: It's great to back up what you've said your going to do, I'm just happy I used my hands more as all people have seen is my ko win on my debut.

Ben: You had a very experienced corner for this fight with Luke Barnatt, Jack mason and Jason Cooledge in your corner. How much confidence did you gain from that?
Allen: It's an awesome corner Jason Cooledge and Luke Barnatt were so helpful for me and Jack from the minute we landed to getting our hands raised, they helped every step of the way. It's awesome having such a powerful corner, especially Jack who's seen every situation in a fight possible.

Ben: What's next for Arnold Allen?
Allen: 7-0.

Ben: Would you like to say thank you to anyone?
Allen: I'd like to thank all my sponsors below, my friends and family and team mates at BKK Fighters for all of their help:

www.ValorFightWear.com
www.funkygums.com
www.uksportstraining.com
www.RevGear.com
www.powering-through.com
www.katana-clothing.com
www.blankmmauk.com
www.sportsinjuryspecialist.com
www.almightyfightwear.com
www.mmaxfit.co.uk

Thanks again for your time Arnold, we can't wait to see you get back in to the cage in 2014.

The Bigslow returns to the Octagon in Manchester

Luke Barnatt vs Andrew Craig set for UFC Fight Night 30

by Ben Heather @benheather

Luke Barnatt (6-0 MMA 1-0 UFC) will get the chance to fight for the UFC in his home country on October 26th when the UFC returns to Manchester, England. Barnatt who made his way in to the UFC through the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter where he was Chael Sonnen's number one pick making him the number one pick overall. He then proved to Sonnen why he was picked first by brutally knocking out Gilbert Smith with a flying knee in his first fight in the house.

Luke ultimately lost out to Dylan Andrews in the third round of his quarter final fight. This loss may have put Luke out of the running to become TUF champion but it did put an extra $25,000 in his pocket when it was awarded the fight of the series. Once out of the house Luke made his UFC debut at the TUF 17 Finale on his 25th birthday where he squared off against fellow house mate Collin Hart. He came out of the fight with a unanimous decision giving him a perfect 6-0 MMA record.

But now comes the real test for Luke, fighting in his home country against a step up in opponent can he keep that perfect record intact?

Andrew Craig (9-1 MMA 3-1 UFC) will be doing all he can to make sure that is not the case. Craig comes in to this fight after picking up possibly the biggest win of his career at UFC 162 where he defeated Chris Leben. That victory got Craig back in the winners circle after losing the first fight of his career to Ronny Markes at UFC on FX 7 in January.

It seems to me that Andrew Craig has the attitude to fighting that he will fight anyone, anywhere and I love that in a fighter. If you take his record since he has signed for the UFC it certainly backs that up. In his four fights for the UFC he has fought and beat Kyle Noke in his home country of Australia, lost to Rony Markes in his home country, Brazil and had two fights in the USA as well. Now in October he will be coming to England to fight one of our own and I am sure the crowd in Manchester will certainly let him know which fighter is being favoured.

The card for UFC Fight Night 30 is filling up now but I am sure we will get a couple more fight announcements in the coming days which will finalise the card.

UFC 160 Fighter vs Writer Picks Challenge - The Result

Kingdom MMA's Ben Heather defeats UFC fighter Luke Barnatt again in Kingdom MMA's picks challenge

At UFC 160 Luke Barnatt was out for revenge in the Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge, after defeat in the inaugural challenge at UFC 159. It was that first event when our very own Ben Heather defeated UFC fighter Luke Barnatt 7-1 in points. Not long after this Luke tweeted Ben to say he wanted a rematch at UFC 160 and to make it a best out of three series. If needed the decider will be UFC 161.

This time the pair had to predict the fight outcomes from last nights UFC 160 which was headlined by Antonio Silva challenging Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship. 

The stakes were upped as well as a wager was put on the best of three series. If Luke lost at UFC160 he will give Ben a signed t shirt, however if Ben lost at UFC 160 and UFC 161 he has to send a signed t shirt to Luke.

The Scoring

The scoring was the same as always, if you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point. If you predict the correct method of victory you will get a second point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

So at UFC 160 the maximum either guy could score would be 15 points, if all fights ended in a finish. As it turned out we got four finishes and only one decision so for this event the maximum score was 14 points.

The Results:

Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons

Luke's Prediction: Cerrone by TKO Round 2

Ben's Prediction: Cerrone by Submission Round 2

Both men scored one point each for this for both predicting that Cerrone would win the fight.

So its 1-1 going in to the second fight.

Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant 

Luke's Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Ben's Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Both men were incorrect in predicting that Maynard would win so no points won on this fight.

Still 1-1 going in to the third fight.

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna 

Luke's Prediction: James Te-Huna by Kiwi Beatdown!

Ben's Prediction: Teixeira by TKO Round 3

In this fight Ben managed to correctly predict that Teixeira would win the fight but didn't predict the correct outcome so scored one point.

Score 2-1 to Ben going in to the co main event.

Co Main Event: Junior Dos Santos vs Mark Hunt

Luke's Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 2 

Ben's Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 3

Both men correctly predicted that Dos Santos would win by TKO scoring two points each however, Ben predicted the correct round as well and in the process picked up a third bonus point.

Scores going in to the main event: Ben 5 points Luke 3 points.

Main Event: Cain Velasquez (c) vs. Antonio Silva

Luke's Prediction: Velasquez TKO Rounds 2/3

Ben's Prediction: Velasquez by TKO Round 2

Again both men correctly predicted that Cain Velasquez would win and how he would win but neither man got the correct round to pick up any bonus points so two points go to each man for the main event.

Final Score:

After a very closely contested predictions battle in which between both competitors did very well with Ben predicting 4/5 fights correctly and Luke predicting 3/5 its time to announce the final scores.

Luke Barnatt correctly predicted three fight winners and on two of those he got the correct method as well. This led to him scoring a respectable 5 points.

However, Ben Heather manged to predict four fights correctly and like Luke he predicted the correct method in two of those fights as well. Ben also managed to predict the exact outcome of the JDS vs Hunt fight and in doing so picked up a bonus point. So in total Ben scored 7 points.

Ben Heather defeats Luke Barnatt 7-5.

This means that for the second event in a row Ben has beaten Luke in the Kingdom MMA Fighter vs Writer Challenge. It also now means that Ben will be awarded a signed T-Shirt from Luke for winning the wager that they put on the challenge.

We would all like to thank Luke again for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and maybe next time he may come out on top.

UFC 160 Competition - Can you beat Luke Barnatt

Kingdom MMA: UFC 160 Competition

At UFC 160 Kingdom MMA are doing another give away, this time the winner will win this UFC 131 Junior Dos Santos vs Shane Carwin Mini poster. The poster size is 8.5" x 11". Shane Carwin has recently retired and Junior Dos Santos is fighting in the co main event on Saturday night.

To be in with a chance of winning this prize you only need to follow these 3 quick and easy steps.

1) Follow us on twitter

2) Tweet your picks for the 5 main card fights in UFC 160 to Kingdom MMA with #KingdomMMA in your tweet. (ANY ENTRIES WITHOUT #KingdomMMA WILL NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE PRIZE DRAW)

3) Any person who can beat the number of correct picks that Luke Barnatt has predicted in our recent fighter vs writer article which can be seen here will be entered in to the prize draw. 

The deadline for picks to be submitted is 3am on 26th May as this is the time the UFC 160 main card will start. Any tweets recieved after this will not be entered in to the prize draw.

All entries who manage to predict more fights correct than Luke does, will go in to the hat. In the event that Luke predicts all the fights correct then we will submit any entries which have tied with him in to the prize draw? The prize draw will take place on Sunday night and someone at random will be picked to win the prize.

All that is left for the team to say is good luck and lets hope you can all beat Luke and get a shot at winning this brilliant prize.

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 160 Main Card Picks Challenge - Heather vs Barnatt The Rematch

UFC Fighter Luke Barnatt out for revenge in Kingdom MMA's picks challenge

At UFC 159 we published the inaugural Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge. For this first event Ben Heather from Kingdom MMA defeated UFC fighter Luke Barnatt.

The pair had to predict the fight outcomes from the UFC 159 which was headlined by Chael Sonnen challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. On that night our own Ben Heather defeated Luke Barnatt by a points margin of 7-1. Not long after this Luke tweeted Ben to say he wanted a rematch at UFC 160 and to make it a best out of three series. If needed the decider will be UFC 161.

The stakes have also been upped as a wager has now been placed on the challenge as if Luke loses he will give Ben a signed t shirt, however if Ben loses in the next two events he has to send a signed t shirt to Luke. As you can see from the picture below of the two of them I am not too sure what Luke could do with one of Ben's t shirts but that's the wager.

The Scoring

The scoring will be the same as last time, if you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point. If you predict the correct method of victory you will get a second point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The predictions:

Main Event: Cain Velasquez (c) vs. Antonio Silva

Luke: Cain will murder Big Foot.... with classic high pace cardio warfare, the pace will be to high and Cain will take the win in rounds 2 or 3 via Ground and Pound.

Prediction: Valasquez TKO Rounds 2/3

Ben: I also think that Cain will give Bigfoot another beating on Saturday night, he destroyed him in the first fight, then destroyed JDS at no point do I see this even being competitive.

Prediction: Valasquez by TKO Round 2

Co Main Event: Junior Dos Santos vs Mark Hunt

Luke: This fight has definitely got to be a fan favourite on the card... giving Mark Hunt the chance to be taken extremely seriously, because although the man has been break jaws and knocking people out left right and centre, people still don't see him as a genuine threat, but the truth is you stand in front of Hunt... you'll be getting helped up off the canvas and thinking... what happened?

But JDS is a huge test for the man and I can't really see him landing that monster KO punch, so I have to give this one to JDS via 2nd round Finish.. although my heart wants Hunt to win... my head says JDS.   

Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 2 

Ben: I agree with Luke, I would love more than anything from this event to see Mark Hunt land one more monster punch and KO JDS to hopefully line up a title shot with the winner of the main event but I can't see it happening. Only one main has given JDS a beating and he is now the champ and before that fight nobody predicted it to go the way it did.

JDS is a beast with some of the best boxing in all of MMA and I see him using this to his advantage and keeping Hunt on the outside before finishing the fight late on.

Prediction: Dos Santos by TKO Round 3

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna 

Luke: Last I saw of Te-Huna he was making an unbelievable come back against a flexible bald man... so I can't doubt the man!

Prediction: James Te-Huna by Kiwi Beatdown!

Ben: Firstly I would like to thank Te Huna for giving all the UK fans possibly the best entrance to the cage I have ever seen and definitely that I have ever seen live!! He showed great heart in the fight with Jimmo as I spoke to Jimmo after the fight and he was convinced he knocked him out three times in the first round before Te Huna came back to win the fight in the last two rounds.

However I think Glover is a harder puncher than Jimmo and if Te Huna does the same again he will be put to sleep and wake up looking at the lights above the octagon. I can't bet against Teixeira in this and I also think he will finish Te Huna.

Prediction: Teixeira by TKO Round 3

Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant 

Luke: I don't have a huge opinion on this one... I'm just going for Maynard via Decision! 

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Ben: I also agree with Luke that Maynard will win this fight, the only person to trouble Maynard has been Edgar and I don't think TJ Grant is on that level. I think Maynard wins and then goes on to fight Benson Henderson for the lightweight title.

Prediction: Maynard by Decision

Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons

Luke: The Cowboy has a lot to prove after being dismantled by Tony in infatic fashion... so I can imagine the man will come out fast and hard. KJ survives the first and gets TKO'ed in the 2nd...
 
Prediction: Cerrone by TKO Round 2

Ben: I also think Cerrone will want to remind the world just how good he is and in his last fight he certainly didn't do that. I rate Cerrone very highly and think with a couple of wins he can be right back up at the top of the division and maybe we could see him fight for the title at some point in the next 12 months.

Prediction: Cerrone by Submission Round 2

So that's our predictions for this fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Luke for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win.... again!!

Luke Barnatt Interview "I want Francis Carmont"

Kingdom MMA: Exclusive Interview with Luke Barnatt

by Ben Heather @benheather

Kingdom MMA recently had the pleasure of asking Luke Barnatt some questions about his time in The Ultimate Fighter house, his fight at the Ultimate Fighter Finale and what happened between the two.

Luke made it to the the quarter finals on the show losing to Dylan Andrews in the fight of the series but was still rewarded with a fight in the UFC after the show. Luke made his UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale as part of the prelims just over a week ago where he beat Collin Hart.

Ben: What was it like to leave the UK behind and live in Vegas for 6 weeks with a house full of guys wanting to stop your dream from coming true?
Barnatt: I've always been a bit of a lone wolf and moved around... lived all over the UK and left home at a young age... so it was easy. I was a bit naive when it came to the house, I thought it would be a lot easier than it turned out to be... but I was living out my dream and would love to do it all over again it was a life changing experience.

Ben: Was TUF as hard as Chael described it, "The Toughest tournament in sport"?
Barnatt: 100%... there is nothing in reality that comes close to matching the TUF house, eating breakfast with a group of trained fighters who are all willing to beat the hell outta you to get where they want to be.. having to fight 4 times in 6 weeks as well as be cut off from the world and all support networks is TUF...

Ben: Have you kept in touch with any of the guys from the house?
Barnatt: I made some amazing friends in that house, and we will all have a special bond for the rest of our lives, because there is no one else on the planet who can understand what happened apart from us. I speak to Jimmy Q and Thor the most outta everyone, but I tweet pretty much the whole group every now and then.

Ben: Was it hard not being able to talk to anyone once you were back about the whole series of TUF, even though you knew all the details?
Barnatt: Everyone tried to trick me into telling them things... trying to be smart, but I'm built like Fort Knox.

Ben: I met you in the bar in the Hilton after UFC on Fuel 7 and during our chat you told me I had to watch your next fight on the show as it was a great fight. We later found out that fight was the fight vs Dylan (Which won FOTS and earned you $25k)
Going in to the last round of that fight did you think the fight was yours to be won?
Barnatt: Fighting Dylan was a very important part of my career so far, its the first time I've been 3 rounds with a man who's willing to do as much as I am to win, we had a back and forth fight that was a high pace... but going into the 3rd I remember thinking I had what it took in me to take Dylan out, I searched for a FINISH... not just to win the round and I think that was my mistake... but Dylan is a tough competitor and come out stronger than I did, he was the better man on the night.

Ben: After Losing that fight, did you learn anything from it and work on in training?
Barnatt: I'm always trying to improve and have so much to get better at, I don't think there was anything specifically that let me down against Dylan so I didn't come away with anything I had to 100% get better at, it was a fight and sometimes you lose, I learnt from it that I had more fight in me, and next time I'm in that situation again you'll see that... Unless you've had to reach deep down into the depths of your soul before you won't understand, but I didn't reach far enough against Dylan, I thought I did at the time... but after the fact you realise you have more to give... so next time I'll be able to reach even deeper.

Ben: Do you think it was an advantage for you to have a fight like that and learn from it without the loss going on your record?
Barnatt: 100% I had the best possible outcome a fighter could ask for... I lost in the Quarter Finals got FOTS against a guy who's had 4x the amount of fights as me (16-4) and took him to a 3rd round, it taught me a lot and made me realise after a very short period of time I've really gained some skills and deserve to be in the UFC.

Ben: You met some true warriors while in the house not only Chael and Jon but people like Ronda Rousey and Mike Tyson. Which person did you think was great to have met?
Barnatt: Everyone was great to meet all in their own way. But Chael was the biggest person for me personally, even now when I've spent nearly half a year training with the guy every day he still holds that star power. the man is a true inspiration.

Ben: In my opinion Chael has to go down as the best coach in TUF history, some of the speeches he gave were incredible. Do you think that you have changed not only as a fighter but as a person after that experience?
Barnatt: I don't know about best TUF Coach in history I've not seen every coach to comment, but he definitely had an impact on me as a fighter, I have a very similar outlook on fighting to Chael... a fights a fight, you don't always win but you show up and fight every time. So having his point of view on things was very eye opening I changed as a fighter but not drastically.. it sort of excelled what I was already becoming.

Ben: After you had finished fighting on TUF, it seemed that you and John Maguire were travelling around America training with some really top level fighters in Chael, Vinny Maghalaes and Michael Bisping, who do you think you learnt the most from?
Barnatt: Probably from John... I mean the guys I've been training with are unreal and talented, but fighters are fighters not coaches... I've been getting great sparring and work in with the guys but John is the one who takes the time with me to break things down, talk about technique and really improve...

John Maguire is a World Class fighter with talent in every area of the game... hes not made his impact on the UFC scene yet because he's been fighting above his weight at 170... when he is clearly a 155er so at UFC 161 you'll get to see what John is all about.

Ben: Once the series was finished it was announced you would fight Collin Hart at the TUF Finale, What was the plan going in to your fight at the ultimate fighter 17 finale?
Barnatt: Don't get taken down... I worked religiously with Chael and the wrestling guys over here in Tualatin at defending the body lock take downs and scrambling to my feet...

Colin is a very talented athlete and strong in certain positions, so I avoided them and told myself I was going to work harder than him everywhere and push the pace so he would break. Collin's strengths are his grappling and his endurance, I pride myself on my conditioning and really feel I have some of the best conditioning at 185 there is, so when I hit Collin 119 times in 15 minutes and pushed the pace harder than him, I could feel him dwindle off and need more rest than me, It felt great... Chael has the best work rate in the UFC and I aspire to be the same way. 

Ben: I believe you have been working with Mike Dolce ahead of this fight, what changes to your diet has he made?
Barnatt: I worked very closely with Dolce for this camp, following the Dolce Diet 100% and he helped me cut the weight required for the fight. If you want to know what I ate... then go buy a Dolce Diet copy of Living Lean, because the grocery list is in it... that's all I had for 8 weeks leading up to the fight and now I'm doing it all year round.

Ben: You had Chael in your corner on Saturday night, was that a surreal moment for you?
Barnatt: I see Chael as a team mate now, so Surreal is the wrong word, but when I look at photos etc it does seem strange, if you had told me 6 months ago that Chael P Sonnen would be cornering me for my UFC debut on my Birthday... well you get my point!

The moment that I'll remember most is when I was walking into the octagon and Chael put his hand on my shoulder and said "I believe in you" that was a very powerful message.

Ben: How great did it feel when Bruce Buffer announced you as the winner of the fight at the end and do you think you did enough to edge the decision?
Barnatt: I thought I won all 3 rounds pretty convincingly... but that was because I knew I was fighting my fight, I dictated what was happening.

Collin did not want to stand he wanted it on the canvas, he couldn't get me there so he was forced to stand, he hit me a lot... but he punched like my mother so I was happy to take the shots and hit him back, I landed the more vicious blows and out struck him, so I knew I'd won the fight.... but you never do know with those bloody Judges... Collin was a tough guy and fought a great fight, I honestly felt the UFC should reward him with another fight. 

Ben: After winning your first UFC fight, who would you like to fight next and when would you next like to get back in the octagon?
Barnatt: I want Francis Carmont... Especially after this weekends tragic 15 minutes. He lost to Tom Lawlor and to Larkin but somehow stole two decision victories, he's on a 5 fight win streak in the UFC and people seem to be afraid of him.. that's who I want!

But being realistic the UFC aren't going to give me someone who's 5-0 in the organisation so I'd like to get out of the TUF circuit and beat the piss out of another European Middleweight... like Magnus Calenblad, who's been hiding for over a year telling the world hes a UFC fighter when he's not even won a fight yet... give me him and I'll get rid of him for you.

As for when... I'd fight in the UFC tomorrow. 

Ben: Would you like to say thanks to anyone?
Barnatt: Anyone who has ever watched MMA, spent money on MMA or spoken highly of MMA.

Thank you very much for your time and all the guys at Kingdom MMA can't wait to see back in the octagon fighting for the UFC again.