Headlined by clashes between Melvin Manhoef and Vitor Belfort and Curtis Stout and Daijiro Matsui, there’s plenty of star quality and international interest.  Ross Mason gets the biggest opportunity of his career, and by far his toughest fight, against UFC veteran Chris Lytle while actor/fighter Dave Legeno faces Ikuhisa Minowa in a frankly bizarre fight.  MMA pioneers Jason DeLucia and Joe ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons face the frightening Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos and the slick Travis Lutter.  The featured matches are rounded out by highly anticipated fights that see Brad Pickett take on Robbie Olivier, Tengiz Tedoradze battle Robert Berry and Jean Silva face Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley.

Line-up:

Melvin Manhoef vs. Vitor Belfort (CR World Light Heavyweight title)
Curtis Stout vs. Daijiro Matsui
Chris Lytle vs. Ross Mason (Vacant CR World Welterweight title)
Dave Legeno vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Jean Silva vs. Paul Daley
Travis Lutter vs. Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons
Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos vs. Jason DeLucia
Tengiz Tedoradze vs. Robert Berry (Vacant CR British Heavyweight title)
Brad Pickett vs. Robbie Olivier (CR British Featherweight title)
Mark Epstein vs. Darren Little
Sol Gilbert vs. Sami Berik
Brian Adams vs. Ryan Robinson
Zelg Galesic vs. Michael Holmes
Jason Barret vs. Mindaugas Arbocius

February 4th
Wembley Conference Centre
London

CR World Light Heavyweight title: Melvin Manhoef vs. Vitor Belfort

The fearsome Manhoef (10-2-1) enters his first defence as an underdog on a 4-fight winning streak.  We may never see the near-mythical ‘old Vitor’ again, but Belfort (13-6) has an excellent chance of taking his first title since the stitching of his glove gifted him Randy Couture’s UFC Light Heavyweight belt in early 2004.  Manhoef looked unstoppable against Fabio Piamonte, needing just 51 seconds to spark out the Brazilian and claim the vacant belt at CR13.  That was the last fight of an undefeated 2005 for Manhoef, a great year where he smashed Paul Cahoon, smartly decisioned the infamous ‘Dirty’ Bob Schrijber and whacked out Mathias Riccio.  Manhoef may be one-dimensional and lacking stamina, but the things he does well, he does very well indeed.  A vicious puncher with some excellent kickboxing skills, Manhoef’s very real weaknesses in grappling could be exploited by the challenger here.  The heavily muscled Dutchman can be stopped by a top striker – Rodney Faverus and Schrijber (in their first meeting) showed that and Belfort has the power, speed and technique to do the same thing.  But that would be playing a very risky game with the dangerous champion.

Belfort answered many of his critics at CR14, finishing off Frenchman Antony Rea with some devastating punches early in the second round.  Using some excellent counterpunches and strong Muay Thai skills, Belfort hurt Rea but then backed off, allowing him time to recover.  That could have been a costly mistake but Belfort had clearly established his superiority by this point and ended the fight with a perfect left uppercut.  That snapped a 3-fight losing streak where Belfort was tapped out by Alistair Overeem, outworked by Tito Ortiz and just physically brutalised by a vengeful Couture.  Belfort is a highly talented by terribly inconsistent fighter.  He looked great in the first round of his decision loss to Ortiz and looked phenomenal against Marvin Eastman and Rea but very ordinary in plenty of his other fights.  His ground game and stamina are fairly weak but both are still better than Manhoef’s and they are his best option for winning the fight and the title.  He’s been in there with tougher opposition in his already-long career and his experience should see him take the title.  It may not be the shootout the fans and promotion are hoping for, but a measured, grappling-based gameplan would be Belfort’s safest and best chance of winning this fight.  Look for him to test the waters with the always aggressive Manhoef early, but once he feels the champion’s power, take the fight to the floor and keep it there, working for the TKO with punches.

PREDICTION: Belfort by TKO late in the first.

Curtis Stout vs. Daijiro Matsui

Kansas City puncher ‘Bang Em Out’ Stout (10-7-1) has been one of CR’s most successful imports delivering eye-popping KO’s to Sol Gilbert, Mark Weir and Nilson Da Castro.  Most recently though he was left lying in a heap by the side of the fence by CR World Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.  Using his speed and ferocious punching, Silva battered the bigger, stronger Stout to defeat with just one second left in the first round.  A talented, smart, well-rounded fighter, Stout had a nightmarish 2004, hammered by Rich Franklin, dubiously decisioned by David Loiseau and tapped out by Trevor Prangley but came back in style in 2005.  Stout’s only other losses have been against name opposition – Phil Baroni, Andrey Semenov and John Renken – and he’s finished 8 of his 10 wins with his fists.  The key to this fight could be whether the legendarily tough Matsui can really take Stout’s power.

Takada Dojo survivor/entertainer Matsui (7-13-4) may have a poor record but Kazushi Sakuraba’s regular training partner is a very skilled fighter.  Rarely seen outside Japan, Matsui is 1-3-1 outside his home country, losing to Todd Medina and Amir Rahnavardi in the US, Paulo Filho in South Korea and last time around, drawing with Alex Reid at CR14.  A real thriller, Matsui’s performance saw him crowned an unlikely cult hero to the Cage Rage audience.  Relentless with his takedowns and dominating the wrestling exchanges, Matsui was caught with plenty of vicious upkicks from the busy Englishman.  While he never came close to a submission, despite a few attempts, Matsui was widely thought to have earned the decision win based on being busy on top.  Really, you could make an argument for either fighter based on Reid’s nasty, effective striking and good defence.  True, Matsui has few wins of note but he’s such a tough, experienced fighter and so entertaining that he’s a more than welcome addition to any show.

Matsui may be 3-5-2 since the start of 2002 and an ineffective finisher (just one ‘real’ victory inside the distance in his career) but it’s a real achievement to beat him by KO or submission.  Only Rodrigo Gracie has tapped him out and only Brian Foster, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua and Igor Vovchanchyn have finished him with strikes.  Even with Stout’s brutal left hooks, the chances are this fight is going the distance.  Even if Stout does hurt Matsui, and he can, the Japanese fighter is an incredible survivor.  If this is fought at such a hard pace as the Reid fight then Stout’s endurance will be really tested.  A diligent trainer with some very underrated wrestling, Stout should be able to keep up and hand out enough punishment to earn the decision in what could at times be a pretty one-sided, but never dull, fight.

PREDICTION: Stout by decision after three rounds.

Vacant CR World Welterweight title: Chris Lytle vs. Ross Mason

This could be something special.  Part time MMA fighter-promoter/pro-boxer/fireman/species-reproduction-machine Lytle (20-12-5) is one of North America’s best welterweights and a more than worthy candidate for this title.  His opponent Mason (7-3) is one of Britain’s most exciting MMA fighters, making just his second appearance at 170 pounds.  This is Lytle’s first trip to the UK and the Hook n’ Shoot, Pancrase, UFC and WEC veteran has enormous experience, an excellent chin and is one the sport’s most criminally underrated fighters.  In his last fight, less than a month ago, Lytle survived an early guillotine attempt to patiently control and break down a stumpy, powerful but overmatched Savant Young with a efficient barrage of short elbows for a submission late in the first.  Although he’s lost 12 fights, only one man has been able to finish Lytle inside the distance – Joe Riggs at UFC 55 last October.  And that was on a cut.  Karo Parisyan, Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz, Shonie Carter and Dave Menne have all had to settle for decision wins over the Indiana hardman.  ‘Lights Out’ has drawn with Ikuhisa Minowa and Dave Strasser and beaten Kazuo Misaki, Aaron Riley, LaVerne Clark, Pete Spratt, Tiki Ghosn, Ronald Jhun and Pat Healey.  Just looking at the names on Lytle’s record in his more than 7-year MMA career should have Mason supporters worried.  True, Lytle is not the best finisher out there (though has more submission wins than Mason has had fights) and tends to come up just a little short against the very best but whatever his potential, few would consider Ross Mason one of the sport’s best.

‘The Boss’ looked excellent in his CR14 dismantling of an aggressive, limited Darren Guisha.  Picking his opponent off with body punches, leg kicks and knees then bashing him with punches on the ground for the second round win.  Mason had looked good in his first CR fight as well – stopping game Frenchman Damien Riccio with an elbow inflicted cut in the final round.  Actually, both Mason and Lytle may have some difficulty with the CR ‘no elbows’ rule since both use them with great success on the ground.  Those two strong performances aside though, Mason is out of his depth here.  At Cage Warriors: Strike Force 2 last year he was dropped heavily with a right hand from Spanish MMA debutant Nelson Semedo.  While Mason sprang back up his broken nose forced the stoppage.  It was a pity for Mason as he was controlling the fight early on, but it wasn’t the only time he’s been stopped inside the distance.  In late 2004 he squared off with Dutchman Nathan Schouteren and Mason’s busy striking carried then first round – both on their feet and on the ground.  Then early in the second Mason, who has real power in both hands, dropped Schouteren with a nice left.  But a seemingly tired Mason started taking too many punches and was dropped with a knee late in the round.  Despite a few dramatic, desperate rolls and reversals, he couldn’t escape Schouteren’s onslaught and the fight was stopped late in the round.

If Mason tires or gets careless against Lytle then he’ll be in serious trouble.  With Lytle’s excellent stamina, excellent chin and neat boxing (13-1-1 as a professional on the Indiana circuit and somewhat meaninglessly ranked in the IBF’s top 40) he’ll be more than competitive on his feet.  Lytle has a big advantage on the ground though.  Mason relies on defending on the mat and Lytle has the submission and striking skills to break him down on the mat and take the title.  Mason will put up his usual great fight and can use those Muay Thai skills to keep Lytle at bay, and even hurt him, but eventually Lytle will use his greater range of skills to just pick him apart and take the belt.  Mason has never been tapped out, but Lytle can change that, most likely with a choke.

PREDICTION: Lytle by submission late in the second.

Dave Legeno vs. Ikuhisa Minowa

This is a strange one.  Although it’s a huge opportunity for CR’s hottest new ticket-seller Legeno (0-1).  There’s surely some publicity to be gained from fighter/actor Legeno but his chances of actually winning this fight are tiny.  Essentially, his only chance is to KO Minowa (30-23-8) in the first minute.  Legeno made his MMA debut in a furious fight with Alan Murdoch at CR14 just two months ago.  An aggressive, busy puncher, Legeno dominated but couldn’t put the maniacal Murdoch away, despite landing some 5,862 punches.  Gassed out after such an intense brawl, Legeno was caught in the world’s slowest, clumsiest armbar.  Refusing to tap out, the match was stopped anyway with Legeno in danger of suffering serious injury late in the first round.  Heavy hands and a size advantage aside, the last thing somebody fighting Ikuhisa Minowa needs is an inability to defend against submissions.

Like Legeno, Minowa lost his last fight when the referee stopped it to prevent a serious arm injury.  The difference is, that was against MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba.  Being outclassed on the mat by the greatest fighter in MMA history is very different to being beaten by Murdoch.  Pancrase veteran and Pride regular Minowa is entering his 11th year as a professional fighter and has extensive submission experience.  Leglock-happy and unafraid of anyone (not to mention being completely nuts and one of the sport’s most entertaining characters), Minowa is a bad style-matchup for the raw, inexperienced Legeno.  The Londoner’s size advantage won’t intimidate ‘the Punk’ either.  Two of Minowa’s 2005 wins came against much bigger men – the ancient and limited Kimo and the ever-dangerous Gilbert Yvel – and Minowa finished them both with leglocks.  If he could do it to Yvel, he can certainly do it to Legeno.  With Minowa’s vast experience against some of the sport’s best fighters and the huge gulf in skill, there’s only going to be one result here.  And it will be quick.

PREDICTION: Minowa by submission early in the first.

Jean Silva vs. Paul Daley

Fought a few pounds above the lightweight limit, this is a high quality clash that could see the 22-year old Daley (8-3-2) really start to break through as one of Europe’s hottest fighters.  Silva (11-4-3) needs a big win too, after being outclassed in his last two fights.  Roughouse fighter Daley looked unusually measured and composed in his last outing, a decision win over Dutch striker Joey Van Wanrooij at CR14.  Showing off some much-improved wrestling, ‘Semtex’ Daley controlled the action on his way to victory.  An explosive striker, especially with his fast, heavy left hooks, most expected Daley would go to war with the Dutchman as he did with Frenchman Xavier Foupa-Pokam at CR7 in 2004.  Daley also used those fists to batter wins out of Jess Liaudin, Sami Berik and Peter Angerer.  Constantly improving with his training trips to the USA, Daley has worked with the American Top Team and has been preparing for this fight with Eddie Bravo.  That’s an excellent strategy since submissions have been Daley’s weakness.  All 3 of his losses have come by choke.  Frenchman Florentim Amorim, the UK’s best kept secret James E. Nicolle and experienced American fighter Pat Healey all caught Daley and Silva certainly has the skill to do the same.

Taken to school by the truly gifted Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro at CR13 in the loss of his CR World Lightweight belt, this is a tough fight for Silva.  Tapping to an arm triangle late in the second round, the difference in class between the Shooto veteran and the Chute Boxe fighter was evident.  In his Pride: Bushido fight against Takanori Gomi, Silva defied those who expected ‘the Fireball Kid’ to destroy him by lasting the distance.  True, Gomi dominated the fight but Silva fought to the bitter end and looked more impressive than he did at CR7 or CR10 where he retained his title in hotly disputed draws with Ollie Ellis and Leigh Remedios.  ‘The White Bear’s last genuinely impressive performance was his CR9 submission win over Samy Schiavo and he’s battled injuries and inconsistency for the last couple of years.  Before that difficult run, Silva had looked excellent, blending his BJJ and Capoeira skills to great, and entertaining effect with wins over Gerald Strebendt, Remedios, Robbie Olivier and Danny Batten.  If Silva can recapture that form, then Daley will be in real trouble.  But Daley’s fast hands and aggressive striking should put Silva on the defensive from the outset.  Look for ‘Semtex’ to pick up the biggest win of his career by using his improved grappling to neutralise Silva long enough to get the fight back on his terms – using his fists.

PREDICTION: Daley by TKO early in the third.

Travis Lutter vs. Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons

Lion’s Den Dallas fighter and BJJ black belt Lutter (6-3) returns to the UK after dropping a clear decision to Trevor Prangley at UFC 54.  Drafted in as a late substitute, Lutter did well to go the distance with the South African born AKA wrestler.  In his previous trip to the UK, Lutter thoroughly outclassed Matt Ewin at CR12, tapping him out with a keylock in 100 seconds.  1-2 in UFC with a KO win over Marvin Eastman and submission loss to Matt Lindland, Lutter is 3-0 in Europe after beating Mark Epstein and Poland’s Grzegorz Jakubowski.  Lutter’s only other loss came back in 2002 when he chose to stand and trade with Jorge Rivera and he’s one of the USA’s best submission stylists.  He may be an underrated striker but standing with ‘Pele’ would be a bad idea.

Cuban born veteran and 1990s Vale Tudo star ‘Pele’ makes his first trip to the UK since being unforgettably blasted unconscious by Lee Murray in July 2003.  Since then, ‘Pele’ has gone 1-2 fighting at both light heavyweight and middleweight.  Age, injuries and inactivity could be a problem for ‘Pele’ in this fight.  Despite his fearsome reputation, he looks to be past his best.  He’s gone just 3-5 since the start of 2001, picking up KO wins over Matt Hughes and Fabricio Monteiro and a very dubious decision win over Russian kickboxer and MMA rookie Alexander Shlemenko in his last outing.  ‘Pele’ seemed to gas out within the first three minutes against Shlemenko last November and the ensuing stalling, clinching and holding for the rest of the fight should not have earned him a decision win.  Even the Brazilian crowd booed the decision in a fight where he looked a shadow of his former self.  Being controlled and physically dominated by Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral in late 2004 was one thing, but on the evidence of the Shlemenko fight, ‘Pele’ is well past his prime.  Of course, that may have been a one-off, and ‘Pele’ has faced some of the sport’s very best fighters in his long and brutal career.  With his power and Muay Thai background, ‘Pele’ is still very dangerous, but a smart, mat-based gameplan should see Lutter use his wrestling (he even took Matt Lindland down in the early stages of their fight) and BJJ skills to control his opponent on the ground on his way to a decision win.

PREDICTION: Lutter by clear, unanimous decision after three rounds.

Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos vs. Jason DeLucia

There aren’t many fighters around these days who can say they fought in UFC 1.  Well, DeLucia (33-19-1) did, and he was back for UFC 2 as well, where he won a first round fight before being armbarred by Royce Gracie in 67 seconds.  That loss set the Kung Fu fighter (who has also tried to shoe-horn Aikido training and techniques into MMA competition over the years) onto learning submissions.  Just 4 months later he shockingly kneebarred Masakatsu Funaki in 61 seconds on his Pancrase debut.  DeLucia remained a Pancrase regular for the next 6 years, throughout the companies early glory period and into its move to full MMA rules.  Along the way he beat the likes of Manabu Yamada (three times), Osami Shibuya, Kiuma Kunioku, Minoru Suzuki, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa (twice) and Chris Lytle.  After an excellent 1999 (and Pancrase’ adoption of freer rules), DeLucia began to lose more regularly.  He’d lost to Bas Rutten, Suzuki, Funaki, Yamada, Kondo and Ryushi Yanagisawa before but in the new Millennium he was losing to people like Bob Stines, Omar Bouiche, Daisuke Ishii and Shamoji Fujii.  Age and injuries from so much training and fighting seemed to have caught up with him.  DeLucia did win his last fight (in August 2003) but he’s fought just once in the last four years and hasn’t faced someone as dangerous as ‘Cyborg’ since the late 1990s.  DeLucia has an excellent pedigree and some good submission skills but its not the 1990s anymore and this could get ugly. 

Speaking of ugly – ‘Cyborg’ (12-7) is hardly pin-up material.  Instead he’s an intimidating presence who looks like a tattoo-mad serial killer.  The Brazilian is also a furious puncher who’s fast developing a real fanbase among the Cage Rage audience.  The inconsistent Chute Boxe fighter is also riding a 4-fight winning streak, battering iron-chinned Mark Epstein, the talented Kassim Annan, the overmatched Darren Little and previously undefeated Polish fighter Michal Materla to TKO or KO losses.  Against Materla at November’s Jungle Fight 5, ‘Cyborg’ looked excellent, clearly hurting Materla several times in the first round.  Countering the aggressive European with hooks and jabs, he also landed some good high kicks and even when trapped in Materla’s full and half guard, just abused him with punches to the head and body.  As usual though, Santos looked tired early in the second and Materla landed a good punch and heavy knee to the body but before he could really press his advantage, ‘Cyborg’ floored him with a hook and followed up on the ground with enough half-hearted strikes and appeals to the referee for the fight to be waved off.  DeLucia’s inactivity and poor record this century, combined with ‘Cyborg’s recent form means the Brazilian should pick up another popular stoppage win.  DeLucia’s best chance is to try and survive the initial storm and draw Santos into the later rounds and hope to catch him with a submission.  That’s unlikely though.  Logically the winner should be set up for a title shot at the winner of the Manhoef-Belfort main event.  ‘Cyborg’ would make a very interesting challenger.

PREDICTION: Santos by TKO late in the first.

Vacant CR British Heavyweight title: Tengiz Tedoradze vs. Robert Berry

These have met before, in July 2005.  Tedoradze (16-5) smashed the frightening Berry (6-2) to defeat late in the first round.  ‘Buzz’ has picked up two wins since then, including an impressive, composed submission win over Marc Goddard at CR14.  The monstrous Berry certainly had a great 2005, going 5-1 and finishing off everyone except Tedoradze in the first round.  He looked devastating against Kuljit Degun (21 second KO) and Andy Costello (finishing him faster than James Thompson did).  A heavy-handed brawler, powerful in the clinch, Berry loves to just stand there and mete out punishment until his opponent collapses under the sheer weight and amount of punches thrown at him.

Georgian-born Tedoradze though has a massive edge in wrestling.  A former World Junior champion with plenty of international experience, Tedoradze first started ‘Tengizzing’ opponents in the UK in 2002.  Brutally strong with that excellent Greco-Roman wrestling technique, 4 of his losses have come by submission (including twice to Jeff Monson and Fabricio Werdum).  Tedoradze has been stopped just once – by 2005’s scariest rookie Antonio Silva.  The enormous Brazilian battered him in 48 shocking seconds last March and while Berry hits hard, he does not have the grappling skill and sheer size to manhandle Tedoradze in the way Silva did.  Tedoradze is coming off a pair of very impressive wins over Tom Blackledge in late 2005, and an in-form Tengiz can be a frightening thing.  Reputedly a reluctant trainer and with age catching up with him (Tedoradze is pushing 40), the big Georgian needs to make an impact this year.  Look for him to start with a TKO win.  The first couple of minutes will be dangerous for him as ‘Buzz’ tries to take his head off, but once he takes Berry down, and he will, Tedoradze can get to work with his fists and claim the vacant belt.

PREDICTION: Tedoradze by TKO late in the first.

CR British Featherweight title: Brad Pickett vs. Robbie Olivier

Originally set for CR14, this fascinating fight could easily steal the show.  This will be Pickett’s (5-1) first defence of the title he won at CR13 with a jumping double foot-stomp to Ozzy Haluk’s head.  Many insiders tipped Haluk to win the vacant tile, citing his superior ground game and greater experience.  Pickett proved them wrong with a great display in a very entertaining fight, and he’ll have to do the same here as ‘the Flame’ Olivier (11-5-1) is by far the toughest challenge of Pickett’s short career.  With wins over Thomas Hytten, Bendy Casimir, Samy Schiavo and Dave Elliott, Olivier has faced, and beaten, better opposition.  Their only common opponent is Chris Freebourne.  Olivier utterly dominated ‘the Freak’ at CR14 with his relentless mat-based attack but couldn’t put him away.  Pickett though, lost to Freebourne at CR10, stopped on cuts while trapped in a triangle choke and being repeatedly punched and elbowed.  Certainly Pickett has made great strides since then – particularly in his ground game – but Olivier is one of the UK scene’s better submission stylists and Pickett has a lot of catching up to do.

The key for Pickett is to keep the fight standing as Olivier’s striking sometimes looks ragged and Pickett’s furious brawling style has served him well in recent wins over Aaron Blackwell and Haluk.  Whether on the mat or on their feet, this will be fought at a terrific pace and conditioning could be vital.  Despite his nickname and 17 second KO over Stuart Grant, ‘One Punch’ is more of a volume puncher.  His shots are hurtful and he has a nice array of body punches, but it’s the accumulation of fast, never-ending strikes that wear his opponents down.  Unfortunately for the CR crowd favourite, he really doesn’t have the skills yet to stop Olivier taking this fight to the floor.  Once there, Olivier is aggressive with triangle attempts and if he tries enough of them then eventually he’ll get through.  Given how popular, charismatic and likeable Pickett is, a loss won’t hurt his marketability and CR’s most prolific entertainer will surely bounce back.  But at this stage of his career, Olivier is just a little better than him.

PREDICTION: Olivier by submission late in the second.

Mark Epstein vs. Darren Little

These two have a few things in common.  Both are from London, both have ‘colourful’ backgrounds as street or bareknuckle fighters and both have been completely annihilated by Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos.  Little (0-1) reportedly has a good Judo background but never had a chance to show it in 55 painful seconds with ‘Cyborg’ at CR13.  A ridiculously tough professional debut, Little was predictably hammered with ease.  London Shootfighters’ Epstein (9-7) lasted 2:16 with ‘Cyborg’ at CR11 and has scored a pair of TKO wins over Mathias Riccio and Brian Adams since then.  Epstein is rarely the most technically adept fighter in the cage, but he will be against Little.  Both are wild, uncultured strikers who will just walk out to the centre of the cage and start swinging.  Epstein’s chin is near-legendary in UK circles, and that combined with his greater experience should see him through this one.  His poor defence means Little will land a few but Epstein should be able to shake it off and bludgeon his way to another TKO win in what should be a raw, crowd-pleasing brawl.

PREDICTION: Epstein by KO midway through the first.

Preliminaries Round-up:

Brighton puncher Sol Gilbert (7-3-1) drops down a weightclass to meet Sami ‘the Hun’ Berik (4-8).  Gilbert was lucky to win his last fight.  Badly hurt by a punch from Xavier Foupa-Pokam he seemed just seconds away from his third straight stoppage defeat.  Until the Frenchman booted him in the face, giving a DQ win to the ever-popular Gilbert.  Outsized and outclassed by the middleweight division’s best, Gilbert could have some real success at welterweight.  An unusual character, Berik is uncommonly brave but has been soundly hammered by the likes of Leigh Remedios, Dan Hardy and Paul Daley and has lost his last 5 fights.  Oddly, he’s 2-0 in Cage Rage, slicing up Abdul Mohamed with elbows at CR9 and decisioning Jeremy Bailey at CR10.  He won’t be going 3-0.  It won’t be completely one-sided, but Gilbert will knock him out.

Explosive light-heavyweight Brian Adams (4-1) returns from a quick TKO loss to Mark Epstein at CR14 to face former heavyweight Ryan Robinson (5-3).  None of Adams’ fights have gone past the first round but Robinson, last seen in CR being wasted by Ian Freeman, may give him a good test.  Look for the aggressive, big punching Adams to score a second round KO in a very competitive fight.

Croatian middleweight Zelg Galesic (1-1) was excellent in his MMA debut in late 2004, destroying his opponent in 1:16 but lost his last fight to the undefeated Paul Taylor.  Fellow CR debutant Michael ‘Rocky’ Holmes (6-4) is also coming off a loss, to Wolfslair grappler Josenildo Ramarho.  Both Galesic and Holmes are talented, aggressive fighters and this could be a cracking fight.  Look for Galesic, who has an extensive Taekwondo, boxing and kickboxing background and vicious right hands, to pull off an impressive stoppage win.

Jason Barrett (0-1) returns after his submission loss to Dave Lee at CR12 to take on Lithuanian newcomer Mindaugas Arbocious.  It’s tough to make a prediction with so little information on Arbocious, but Barrett is a powerful fighter and has been in there before at Cage Rage and that could make a difference.

Predictions Re-cap:

Vitor Belfort TKO1 Melvin Manhoef
Curtis Stout DEC3 Daijiro Matsui
Chris Lytle SUB2 Ross Mason
Ikuhisa Minowa SUB1 Dave Legeno
Paul Daley TKO3 Jean Silva
Travis Lutter DEC3 Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons
Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos TKO1 Jason DeLucia
Tengiz Tedoradze TKO1 Robert Berry
Robbie Olivier SUB2 Brad Pickett
Mark Epstein KO1 Darren Little
Sol Gilbert KO1 Sami Berik
Brian Adams KO2 Ryan Robinson
Zelg Galesic TKO1 Michael Holmes
Jason Barrett TKO2 Mindaugas Arbocious