Normally, I would tell fans and readers that the British mixed martial arts scene is rather primitive in comparison to the styles we see in Brazil or the United States. In fact, most fights that I’ve witnessed over the past year in Cage Rage have featured two brutes with below average skills in the art of striking. Those fights usually escalate in what I like to call an “angry state of brawling” in which neither man is skillfully trying to put a punch precisely on one’s chin, but throwing heavy blows from their hips in a desperate attempt to crush their opponent. We didn’t see a lot of that in Cage Rage’s latest installment, and although I was disappointed to see a less exciting event, the overall skills we saw at Cage Rage 26 suggest some sort of evolution in the British MMA fighter.

Ian Freeman successfully made a return to the cage with a win over Light Heavyweight champion Paul Cahoon to obtain the title. Before the battle ensued, much of the talk from fans around the event was how Freeman looked during the weigh-ins. His physique was in surprisingly tip-top condition, almost looking like he was cast in the movie “300”. V-shaped, built like a Mack truck, and ready to destroy anyone who stood in his way, Freeman took it to Cahoon in his signature fashion, brutalizing Cahoon on the ground and neutralizing Cahoon’s strengths in the standup game. It’s nice to see that even though Freeman is definitely an older veteran of the sport, he still remains true to being a strategist. It’s likely why he’s found success in the past and on Saturday.

In what could be considered an upset, Ross Pointon defeated fan favorite Ross “The Boss” Mason via a heel hook submission in the first round of their matchup. Mason was likely the favorite as Pointon has seen a career of horrible losses, but it should have been noted that Pointon’s last loss was still an improved outing for the TUF alumnus. He showed some decent cardio, good striking skills, and an improved ability to work on the ground.

In his matchup with Mason, I expected heavy doses of toe-to-toe exchanges, but instead was surprised to see Pointon take it to the floor immediately for some ground and pound. To replace the always boring lay-n-pray tactics, Pointon moved to Mason’s leg immediately and ended it via heel hook which causes most of the people watching the event with me to gasp in amazement. Has Ross Pointon actually improved substantially enough to begin a resurgence? It’s possible considering his last two performances have been huge improvements over his past battles. His next fight should be noted as a battle to check out.

Some of the other action during the event was fairly lackluster. Matt Ewin reclaimed the middleweight belt in a battle with Mark Epstein that saw a seesaw in takedowns that ended with Ewin getting the better of the exchanges on the ground. Che Mills defeated Marius Zaromskis due to Zaromskis being cut directly below the eye. It was unfortunate because the fight was actually a good mixture of striking and ground work that definitely was getting the crowd heavily involved. Paul Daley should be able to take care of Mills if he decides to stand, but it could be a decent battle if Mills gets Daley to the floor.

James Zikic defeated Rodney “Faverus” Glunder via an armbar in round 3 of their matchup. I wasn’t too impressed with Faverus’s standup at all during this fight, and he was being touted as a heavy handed striker for most of the introductions. Melvin Manhoef’s name was tagged to his introduction as be knocked out by Faverus, but during his fight on Saturday, Faverus never seemed to unleash the power that was likely needed in a fight with Manhoef. Zikic smartly avoided exchanges for most of the fight and smartly submitted Faverus in the third after he hurt one of his arms in the second round. The commentary team figured that Faverus probably didn’t want to continue once his other arm was stuck in the armbar as he gave up quickly without the arm being fully extended. It would definitely be disadvantageous to continue with both arms hurt.

The rest of the undercard results were:

Marc Goddard draw with Henrique Nogueira
Brad Pickett def. Paul Reed via Decision
Popek Rak def. Kev Simms via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
Chris Rice def. Edgelson Lue via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
Harvey Harra def. Garry Kelly via Submission (triangle choke) in Round 1

Overall, the event was a bit below average as far as excitement and expecting some huge brawls. It does look like the MMA scene in Britain is beginning to evolve a bit more as far as ground tactics go. Most of the past fights have seen a lot of these fighters coming in with a mentality to brawl. Even better strikers end up getting tagged in those types of matchups, but the smarter fighters with a skillset to pull from are able to come out victorious in other ways. Hopefully, we’ll see some more evolution of the British market because it seems to have a solid amount of fighters in the area to pull from. I’m sure that will end up helping the UFC solidify a place in England as well.