Alloway vs Mason set to battle at Cage Warriors 65 in Dublin

Ben Alloway vs Jack Mason confirmed for Cage Warriors 65

by Chris Houten @mrhouts



Photo Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors


Originally reported earlier this month, Cage Warriors officials have today confirmed Ben Alloway will take on Jack Mason at Cage Warriors 65.

Cage Warriors 65, which will be the promotion’s second event of 2014, is set to take place at The Helix in the Irish capital on Saturday, March 1.

Alloway (12-5) will be returning to Cage Warriors action for the first time since February 2012 following a 3 fight stint in the UFC, which saw the Gold Cost fighter defeat Manuel Rodriguez with Knockout of the Night front kick at the TUF Smashes finale, before losing to Ryan LaFlare by decision, and Zak Cummings by d'arce choke.

10 of Alloway's 12 victories have come by either TKO or submission, with his most recent decision victory coming to Mauro Chimento Jr in a Cage Warriors bout which took place prior to joining The UFC.

“I’m excited, I’m hungry and I’m healthy again for the first time in 12 months,” said Alloway. “This is Jack Mason’s ‘big fight’ and I hope he brings his A-game because I’m coming hard.”

One of Cage Warriors stand out fighters of 2013, BKK Fighters welterweight Jack Mason (26-12) is on possibly the greatest run of his career going 6-1 in his last 7 fights, with the only loss coming against Ali Arish who was a last minute change of opponent for Mason.

A top 5 UK welterweight, 31-year-old Mason could likely stake a claim as the number 1 contender with a win over Alloway after picking up four CWFC wins including stoppages of Matt Inman and Vladimir Opanasenko.

Mason said: “As soon as I heard that Ben Alloway had signed for Cage Warriors, it was a fight I was interested in. He’s fun to watch and I like his aggressive style so I’m looking forward to getting in there and taking a dominant win.”

Stay tuned to kingdomMMA.co.uk for the latest on Cage Warriors 65.

Two TUF champions set to face off in Brazil

Norman Parke set to meet Leonardo Santos at UFC Fight Night 38

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

‘Stormin’ has become one of the most fitting fighter nicknames in the UFC, with Norman Parke (19-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on a nine fight streak.

Reports from Brazilian site MMA Informativo indicate that Parke’s next match-up will take place at UFC Fight Night 38 against fellow TUF winner Leonardo Santos (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC). The main event for this fight card is scheduled to be the second meeting of Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua, a rematch of what is considered to be one of the greatest bouts in MMA history.

Since winning The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes series with a decision victory over self-proclaimed oddball Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher, Parke has added a further two decision wins to his record over Kazuki Tokudome and Jon Tuck. Though he is yet to pick up that important first UFC stoppage, Parke has distinguished himself with his crisp, technical kickboxing skills and super-human cardio. Indeed, in his last outing against knockout artist Jon Tuck, Parke’s cardio advantage was what allowed him to outwork Tuck on the feet enroute to getting the nod from the judges.
Parke’s next challenge comes in the shape of TUF: Brazil 2 winner Leonardo Santos. Santos is easily the most talented grappler to have crossed Parke’s path; of the Brazilian’s 12 wins, a whopping eight have come by submission. Santos became the TUF winner with a highly skilled arm-triangle victory over William Macario on UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs Werdum. This was that card you may remember from last year which broke records for having the most wins coming by submission; eight out of 12 fights ended with the loser tapping, the same as Santos’ submission record – weird…
This fight looks to be the classic grappler versus striker affair. It will be a tall order for Santos’ first UFC fight as the TUF champion to be facing Parke who is already on a roll in the Octagon. However, the notorious home-field advantage of fighting in Brazil is likely to give Santos an edge. Moreover, Santos fought in the TUF Brazil 2 tournament at Welterweight but has since made the drop to his more natural Lightweight – this drop in division may well translate into a strength advantage. This match is certain to be highly competitive.
This clash of TUF champs looks to be an intriguing, well-balanced matchup. Over here at Kingdom MMA we’ll be backing Norman to keep Stormin and get the job done in Brazil.

Interview: TUF Smashes Finalist Bradley Scott

Kingdom MMA Talks to Bradley Scott

By Tommy Strong - @Strong_tea

Kingdom MMA had the pleasure of catching up with TUF Smashes Finalist Bradley Scott earlier this week. Here's what he had to say about his TUF experience in Australia, and what the future holds for him.

Hi Bradley, thank you for agreeing to an interview with Kingdom MMA. Its very much appreciated and will be a welcome addition to our website.

Tommy: What age did you start getting into MMA and had you watched any fighting previous to trying it for yourself?
Brad: I started mma at 18, I was fairly new to the sport but I have stumbled across footage of Chuck Liddell which I was horrified by, but at the same time massively inspired!!!

What inspired you to get into MMA?
I wasn't inspired to get into mma it sorta fell into place! I tired out for the marines and I wasn't fit enough so I googled the 10 hardest sports and MMA / Olympic wrestling had came first so I found the nearest club which was Dragonslair and the rest started from there.

How did you get the opportunity to appear on the smashes series? Did it feel surreal getting the call?
A good training partner and friends of mine Andy Cockram rang me and filled me in for the details, and I thought why not just go for it. Then my manager Gary Cross from G4MMA got on the case and told me to give it ago.
I turned up for the try outs and had no idea I would get selected, once I saw the talent that turned up, awesome fighters were there.
Two days before we were due to leave I got a phone call off my manager saying I was selected. I was very excited but where I never gave myself much of a chance, I ate a lot of bad foods and put a few unwanted pounds on haha.

What did you learn most from being in the TUF house? And being surrounded by great coaches did your overall MMA game evolve a lot more in the time you were in Australia?
I dont think I got better technically while in the house, but my veiw on fighting on MMA completely changed. I realised how important wrestling was, and I became obsessed with it when I got out of the house, don't get me wrong I'm still shit at wrestling.

Do you think fighting in Australia in the final gave an advantage to Whittaker, and did you have any family present at the finals for support? 
I thought it was a huge advantage for him have his home crowd and making weight on his doorstep. When I arrived at the gold coast I weighed 193lbs due to the flight etc. I think if I'd fought him in the UK , I think I would of won!!!!

Do you keep in contact with any fighters from the show, from team UK or Australia?
I dont really keep in contact with many of the fighters only through email and twitter. I mainly keep in contact with Dean (Amasinger) who is a wicked coach his knowledge of the sport is fantastic

Its been 3 months since the final of TUF Smashes, how has life changed for you ?
Life changed massively after the show, as a lot of people I'd never met would come up to me and ask for photos and come up for a chat about the house!!! I get more respect off other fighters from my local area and I'm able to sell myself for seminars, which I was unable to do before.

With winning the bonus of $25k for fight of the season award, what was the first thing you splashed out on?
I bought myself a laptop and some well earned clothes but otherwise I've been really relaxed with the spending. I don't really go out and drink anymore, just spend all my money on meals out and food.

You mentioned on twitter you are out of action at the moment due to a leg injury? is this likely to keep you out for long?
I had an operation to remove abscesses from my leg caused from a VIT B12 injection and dropping a weight onto the area allowing it to spread.
This has been horrific for my training as I haven't been able to do anything. It's held me back so much I have to take my time getting back and being able to get full function from my leg

When would you like to be stepping back into the cage, and do you have any opponent in mind that you would like to fight?
I don't think ill be fighting for a while now, but I would love to fight in the uk there is no place like home!!! I don't think there is anyone in particular I would like to fight, I would just want it to be a great fight for the fans and me.

Anytime in the future do you see yourself moving up to Middleweight?
I've asked Joe Silva to move up to middle weight and this is all fine I was 102kg at the time, so it made sense. I've lost a lot of weight now, but I'm sure with my hunger pains and appetite I will get over 90 again and get ready for a cut.

Is there any specific area in your game you have been working on to improve it for your next fight?
I've really been working on my wrestling, don't get me wrong its by no means second nature but it has made a massive difference to my game and allows me to throw more freely. I had worked massively of strength training, but that went out of he window as soon as I was in hospital rotting away.

Outside of the cage is there any other sports your enjoy watching or taking part in?
Apart from fighting sports I don't really watch any. I'm not a football fan or anything either. The only things I really watch are movies I'm a massive lord of the rings fan!!!

Thank you for taking the time out to speak to me Brad, and we hope to see you back in the cage very soon.