Shinobi MMA Fighting Championships held its latest event, Shinobi War 5, this past Saturday to satiate Liverpool’s appetite for live mixed martial arts, and with a host of local talent, three titles and eighteen bouts on the card, it didn’t disappoint.
Lightweight bout: Beau Gavin Vs. Aaron McDonnell
The main card began with St Helens’ up-and-comer, Beau Gavin, taking on Manchester’s Aaron McDonnell in a lightweight scrap.
With both men possessing good stand up skills, an exciting fight looking probable but, for the most part, it was a tentative affair with neither fighter willing to fully engage.
McDonnell did find some early success with his straight left punch, and heading into the latter stages of the fight, the Predators MMA product looked to be edging it.
In the final minute or so, though, Gavin rallied landing a few punches and high kicks and, with the decision going to the judges, it was anybody’s guess.
As it turned out, they awarded it to Gavin by split decision and although McDonnell may feel slightly aggrieved, he can’t complain too loudly as he failed to sustain his early authority resulting in a close contest.
Beau Gavin def. Aaron McDonnell via split-decision
Shinobi MMA FC Lightweight title eliminator:
Next up was a lightweight title eliminator between SBG’s Steven Hooper and HFFS’ Bobby Pallett.
Having featured on all four of the promotion’s previous events and winning all but 1 of the contests, Pallett was hoping to earn the next shot at the Lightweight belt with a victory. But unfortunately for the man from Deeside, he came up against a good wrestler who exposed some serious flaws in his takedown defence.
All three rounds were practically identical, with Hooper securing an early takedown and Pallett unable to get back to his feet, taking some big shots from the guard – particularly in rounds two and three.
No conundrum for the judges this time, with all three awarding the victory to Hooper, which takes his amateur record to 7-2.
Steven Hooper def. Bobby Pallett via unanimous decision
Shinobi MMA FC Welterweight Title Bout:
The first title fight of the evening was contested by Tomasz Wojtyna and Dylan McGloughlin, and the action-packed bout was easily the most entertaining on the main card.
The fight began with Wojtyna scoring an early takedown and the Wrexham-based fighter controlled the first round from top position, landing some heavy ground and pound that had his opponent in some trouble.
With Wojtyna brimming with confidence, he opted to stand and trade at the start of the second, and he quickly asserted his dominance in that department too, cracking McGloughlin with heavy punches, before reversing a takedown and again finishing the round on top.
The third round was pretty much as you were, with Wojtyna controlling proceedings, but midway through the fourth – with the Hustle Gym product possibly tiring – McGloughlin scored an unlikely takedown, and after the position appeared to be reversed, the Liverpudlian locked in an arm-bar and Wojtyna tapped out.
With nothing to show after four and a half rounds of dominance, Wojtyna will be extremely disappointed – unlike the partisan home crowd who erupted after McGloughlin’s improbable win.
Dylan McGloughlin def. Tomasz Wojtyna via submission (arm-bar) (round 4: 1:25)
Co-Main Event Shinobi MMA FC Featherweight Title Bout
This co-main event was a brief affair, with Manchester’s Manny Akpan again making short work of an opponent – this time Ben Royle – to secure the Shinobi featherweight title.
The bout began with both fighters trading leather, and another decision for the judges quickly began to look like a long shot.
Royle appeared to go for an arm-bar from the clinch, and after falling into guard Akpan landed three hard, clean shots to face, which were enough for the referee to bring the fight to an end.
Royle complained that the ref’s decision was premature and to be fair he did appear to be capable of continuing, although after viewing the replay it was easy to see why the fight was stopped with fighter’s safety a constant consideration for the officials.
Akpan now has three wins to his name, all by KO/TKO, and he looks a dangerous prospect for anyone in the amateur featherweight division.
Manny Akpan def. Ben Royle via TKO (round 1: 0:41)
Main event: Shinobi FC MMA Lightweight title bout
The main event saw two local fighters put their undefeated records on the line as Jack Flynn and Tim Barnett locked horns for the Shinobi FC lightweight belt.
The first round saw Flynn, the more competent grappler of the two, shoot for a takedown but Barnett, who prefers a stand up battle, managed to defend the attempt – ending up on top. After landing some heavy shots, the referee deemed some to be illegal and he deducted a point from Barnett’s scorecard for strikes to the back of the head.
The second round began in similar fashion to the first, with a takedown attempt from Flynn foiled, resulting in Barnett on top. But this time, instead of opting for ground and pound, he went for a rear-naked choke – coming narrowly close to securing the submission, but eventually allowing his opponent to escape and reverse the position. It was at this point that Flynn seized his opportunity as he locked in a guillotine and Barnett tapped out, ending the fight midway through the round.
The result stretches Flynn’s record to 6-0, and it snaps a seven fight win streak for Barnett handing him the first defeat of his amateur career.
After a close and entertaining fight, a rematch at some point is likely and a fierce local rivalry could be set to materialise – especially given that both fighters’ fans were involved in a minor skirmish at the end as tempers flared.
Jack Flynn def. Tim Barnett via submission (guillotine) (round 2: 1:43)
Prelims and undercard:
Bantamweight bout:
Danny Randolph def. Chris Pieroni via unanimous decision
Heavyweight bout:
Dave Lyons def. Darryl Carrington via KO/TKO (round 1: 0:34)
Lightweight bout:
Harry McKnight def. Daniel Tasker via submission (arm-bar) (round 2: 2:48)
Bantamweight bout:
Damien Firth def. Julio Calcina via KO/TKO (round 1: 1:16)
Featherweight bout:
Jordan Barton def. Ayat Loresanti via KO/TKO (round 2: 0:43)
Light heavyweight bout:
Ross Pope def. Joe Kennedy via KO/TKO (knee) (round 2: 1:32)
Heavyweight bout:
Bryn Edwards def. Jack Burton via technical split decision
Welterweight bout
Fionn Healy-Magwa def. James Doolan via KO/TKO (knee) (round 2: 4:23)
Welterweight bout:
Kyle Heathcote def. Ricardo Lima via submission (rear naked choke) (round 1: 2:52)
Lightweight bout
Simon Durose def. Dave Morrison via KO/TKO (round 2: 1:49)
Flyweight bout
Liam Gittins def. Callum Pridding via Submission (rear naked choke) (round 2: 1:12)
Lightweight bout
Ben Stokes def. Nathan Lately via KO/TKO (round 1: 0:45)
Featherweight bout:
Liam Burston def. Callum Brown via Submission (Flying arm-bar) (round 2: 0:21)
