What do you call six mixed martial arts fights, two exhibition grappling matches and the worlds’ best performance of ’O Canada’?  Well, on Saturday night in Brandon, Manitoba they called it Ultimate Cage Wars. The night began with a local country band getting the crowd fired up with a rendition of the national anthem that was nothing short of awe-inspiring.   Then, after a plaque presentation to CFB Shilo from UCW president Tony Condello, the fights got underway.

For the opening fight, Lindsey Hawkes from Curtis Brigham’s Winnipeg Academy of MMA took on Garret Vernoy from Franco/Behring Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Toronto.   Both fighters came to scrap and wasted no time getting to the action.   Hawkes seemed to get the upperhand striking in the first round, while Vernoy was able to turn the tables later in the fight and score with some solid ground and pound.  After three rounds of a back and forth battle, the judges awarded Lindsey Hawkes the win by unanimous decision. 

This would be the only decision of the night, as the remaining fights would all be decided by the fighters themselves.  In the second match, Lee Gaudet from Munduruca Mixed Martial Arts got the immediate upper hand on Austin “Powers” Noels from Team Warpath in London.  After securing a thai clinch and landing several brutal knees to the face, the Winnipeg warrior was able to secure a tight guillotine, forcing Noels to tap out in the first round.

First round submissions would become the theme of the night, as Aaron Basso from Miletich Fighting Systems in Vernon, B.C. defeated Chris Burns from Full Contact Cartel in Winnipeg.   Following the instructions of his corner man Kevin Manderson the BC fighter would immediately clinch with Burns and score a takedown.  Burns did what he could from the bottom, but a hailstorm of strikes forced him to turn his back, and the inevitable rear naked choke was not far behind.  While Basso may have won the fight, Burns wins the award for best post-fight interview by answering the question of “What’s next for you now?” with a one-word reply: “Beer”.  Nicely done.

Jean-Marc “The Shark” Lalonde came into the cage for his first fight backed by plenty of chat-forum hype. Clinton “Ninja” Piche seemed unfazed by his reputation and accepted the fight that, according to many people, nobody wanted.   From the opening bell, “The Shark” went straight to the takedown and put Piche against the fence.  The Brandon fighter struggled to get back to his feet but was not able to escape from under the wrestler.   Moments later, Lalonde secured the mount and began firing down.  Piche turned his back as Lalonde continued to punch and, seeing no signs that things would change, the referee stopped the fight, giving “The Shark” a TKO win in his first MMA fight.

In the first exhibition grappling match  of the night, Jason Geiger from Curtis Brigham’s Winnipeg Academy of MMA would take on Tyson Smith from team Fighting Spirit.  After a few shot attempts by Smith, Geiger would score a massive suplex and then put on a leg lock clinic; eventually securing a heel hook for the tap.  The second grappling match would go the distance and, despite a dominating performance by Andrija Pavlic from Curtis Brighams’ Brandon Academy of MMA, the fight would be declared a draw after one eight minute round.
 In the semi-main event of the night, Pete “The Trooper” Rogers from Hagakure Dojo would defeat Nathan Spence from Kaos MMA in Brandon.  Rogers seemed intent from the opening bell and, after an impressive display of ground and pound, forced his opponent to tap out due to strikes in the first round. Rogers would become visibly upset during his post-fight interview and dedicated his fight to the Canadian soldiers overseas, calling it “a rough week” for our troops.

The outcome of the main event of the evening came as a surprise to everyone, except possibly anyone who trains with Alex Popov from Curtis Brigham’s Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts.  Entering the cage to face Steve “The Snake” Claveau from Team Legion in Montreal, Popov appeared to be the smaller and less-experienced fighter.  He would defy appearances however and, securing the takedown, quickly put Claveau on his back.  The Montreal fighter began looking for a triangle but Popov proved too crafty and sat back for an ankle lock.  Claveau was no slouch here, and sat up to find himself in the guard of Popov.  From here, Popov nicely switched to an armbar, which Claveau escaped.  Popov wasted no time going for a second armbar, however, and this would prove the end of Claveau who was forced to tap out in the first round.

So came to a close the first-ever Ultimate Cage Wars in Brandon.  Promoters are planning another Ultimate Cage Wars for the end of October – this time in Winnipeg – so fight fans in Brandon get their turn to make the drive.

Jeff Meszaros does the Play By Play for the UCW