MANCHESTER — The United States, Brazil and Canada have been hotbeds for mixed martial arts talent and now it could be the United Kingdom’s turn.
July 13, 2002, England’s Ian Freeman stepped into the UFC’s famed Octagon in London during the UFC’s first trip to his homeland. Unbeknownst to Freeman, a day before he stepped foot in cage against Frank Mir his father passed away after a battle with cancer. Freeman was a massive underdog heading into the cage that night with Mir. Everyone had written him off, everyone had pegged Freeman to be top prospect Mir’s newest victim. No one believed in Freeman — no one but himself and the 3,800 fans in the Royal Albert Hall.
What happened that night will forever live in folklore amongst mixed martial arts fans in the United Kingdom. Freeman took down Mir, the jiu-jitsu specialist, and pounded him out with his famous ground-and-pound. That summer night in 2002 is seminal for the growth of MMA overseas as it paved the way for the household names we see come from the U.K. today. Freeman’s win over Mir that night showed British fighters that anything is possible and Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz in Manchester we saw the latest installment of U.K. stars display there skills.
Firstly, on the undercard Somerset’s Brad Scott, a runner up on The Ultimate Fighter:The Smashes, faced kickboxer Michael Kuiper. Scott was a +300 underdog, but like Freeman before him Scott channelled the unrivalled support of the English fans and against all odds managed to secure a front choke in the first round.
Some eyebrows were raised when the UFC announced that six-foot-six Cambridge native Luke Barnatt was matched with Andrew Craig, a fighter with more experience coming off a big win against popular veteran Chris Leben.
Barnatt had prophesied all fight week that he was going to knock Craig out with a right hand, in fact some might say he was too focused on his right hand. After dropping Craig twice, instead of following up with ground-and-pound, he prematurely began to celebrate. Barnatt was lucky that Craig wasn’t a high calibre fighter who could recover and attack after Barnatt’s hesitations. After he dropped Craig for a second time, after a momentary lapse in concentration, Barnatt regained his composure and secured a deep rear-naked choke.
Finally, on the main card London’s Jimi Manuwa beat Ryan Jimmo and even though the fight ended due to a Jimmo injury, Manuwa still impressed. On the feet, he landed numerous kicks to the thighs of the incoming Jimmo, which forced the Canadian to initiate the clinch, which was a decision he would ultimately regret because when the pair were intertwined against the cage in the clinch Manuwa landed a series of powerful knees to the thighs of Jimmo. With his legs battered and bruised, Jimmo dropped to the floor with an injury to his leg forcing the referee to call an end to the bout. Manuwa was declared the winner by TKO and really impressed en route to winning his third consecutive UFC fight.
During the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said he believed Manuwa was ready to make the move stateside for big fights, but with Manuwa’s past stint in prison for conspiracy to burgle and a lengthy criminal record in his background, it seems it’s unlikely that Manuwa will be getting a visa into North America in the near future.
Traditionally, the UFC’s U.K. publicity push has primarily featured two fighters: Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy. The latter has suffered medical troubles and as of right now it seems unlikely that he’ll ever step foot in the cage again, while Bisping himself has struggled with injuries in recent years and is now more than likely on the home stretch of his storied career.
With the UFC planning a slew of events in Europe over the next few years, expect names like Barnatt, Scott and Manuwa to feature heavily as the UFC begins its scramble to find new fan favourites to replace the aging U.K. fan favourites as the UFC presses for mainstream popularity in the region.
Follow Roy Billington on Twitter
