As usual the main event looks like being all-out war as British MMA legend Ian Freeman comes out of retirement to face Holland’s Melvin Manhoef.  A groin injury suffered by millionaire nightclub owner Amokrane ‘Kiane’ Sabet means his bizarre fight with Tank Abbott has been cancelled but there’s still plenty on offer.  The undercard is the usual parade of top British talent, name imports, hard-hitting heavyweights, five Pride veterans, four UFC veterans and three titles on the line.  The company should get off to a great start in their new, bigger home.

Line-up:

CR World Light Heavyweight title: Melvin Manhoef vs. Ian Freeman
Vacant CR British Heavyweight title: Rob Broughton vs. James Thompson
Gilbert Yvel vs. Marcio Cruz
Zelg Galesic vs. Curtis Stout
Robert Berry vs. Henry Miller
Mark Epstein vs. Dave Legeno
Daijiro Matsui vs. Pierre Guillet
Abdul Mohamed vs. Jean Silva
Vacant CR British Welterweight title: Paul Daley vs. Ross Mason
Jeremy Bailey vs. Remy De Way
Phil Norman vs. David Bielkheden
Robbie Olivier vs. Mark Chen
Darren Guisha vs. Dean Bray

July 1st
Wembley Arena, London

CR World Light Heavyweight title: Melvin Manhoef vs. Ian Freeman

British MMA legend ‘the Machine’ (14-6-1) returns to action after an 18-month retirement to fight frightening Dutch striker Manhoef (12-2-1).  Freeman’s return is hardly an easy one but he has the tools to beat his dangerous, but one-dimensional opponent.  True, Freeman hasn’t faced a name fighter since his UFC 43 draw with Vernon White in June 2003 and winning three one-sided matches against British heavyweights Keith Dace, Ryan Robinson and Will Elworthy before constant training injuries and fight cancellations prompted his retirement.  Manhoef is riding a mostly brutal six-fight winning streak that has seen him batter Shungo Oyama for K-1 Hero’s, KO Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos at CR15 in one of the most insane fights in the history of British MMA, blast out Fabio Piamonte in 51 seconds and batter promoter/fighter Paul Cahoon.  Manhoef has also scored a decision win over Bob Schrijber in Holland and bashed Mathias Riccio at CR10 during those six fights.  The Schrijber win proved Manhoef is more than just a vicious, hyper-aggressive striker as he waited for openings, countered everything ‘Dirty Bob’ tried and conserved his energy.  His stamina is a major problem though.  During his unmissable slugfest with Santos there were points were Manhoef literally stood there, hands on hips gulping in lungfuls of air in the middle of the fight and generally speaking, if the fight goes beyond a few minutes he starts to look ragged and uncomfortable out there.  Manhoef does have some ground skills but much prefers to use his kickboxing and rarely does anything else in his fights.  Freeman’s well-rounded repertoire of striking, wrestling and submissions could be the key to this one.  Like Manhoef, Freeman is a concussive puncher.  A few well-placed fists to the face had Frank Mir staggering all over the place in their UFC 38 fight and his last three fights all ended with him pounding away on his opponents.  A good finisher, Freeman has scored wins with his fists and with submissions and the way these two fight, this is unlikely to go the distance.  Manhoef is the more gifted kickboxer but Freeman’s aggressive yet controlled boxing style means he will be more than competitive standing with the Dutch monster.  Both men have good chins, though Freeman has been stopped three times while Manhoef has been KO’ed just once.  Either man can hurt the other but Freeman just has more ways to win.  Look for some furious punching exchanges early with both men landing bombs before the fight eventually hits the mat.  By the second round Manhoef may well be getting tired while Freeman, despite being 39 years old and inactive for so long, should be the fresher of the two.  Being tired with Ian Freeman on top of you and punching away is a very bad position to be in and if the fight goes past the midway point that’s how it will probably be decided.  Look for Freeman to make a triumphant return to action by battering an exhausted Manhoef and taking his title with some heavy ground n’ pound action late in the second session.

PREDICTION: Freeman by TKO late in the second.

Vacant CR British Heavyweight title: Rob Broughton vs. James Thompson

Its hard not to feel sorry for both competitors here.  Thompson (12-3) was ready for his long-awaited revenge for Tedoradze’s TKO win over him just over two years ago.  Instead, Tedoradze was stripped of the belt after being knocked out on 18th June in Holland by Dave Dalgleish.  Unwilling to risk a fighter with such a recent stoppage loss in one of the night’s biggest matches, Cage Rage took the difficult decision to cancel the match and vacate the title.  Replacement opponent Broughton (3-2-1) deserves some compassion too, partly for stepping in against someone like Thompson on just a week’s notice, and partly because he looks to be heading for a fast and painful defeat.  Debuting with a submission loss to Dutch fighter Milco Voorn in late 2004, Broughton is undefeated since but has yet to face anyone like Thompson.  An aggressive fighter coming off a 44 second TKO victory, Broughton will likely be aggressive from the outset but few fighters are such strong starters as ‘the Colossus’.  Thompson has gone 6-1 since the beginning of 2005, obliterating Andy Costello at CR13 and becoming a cult hero in Japan with stoppage wins over Henry ‘Sentoryu’ Miller, spherical Romanian Judoka Alexandre Lungu and Paulo ‘Giant’ Silva.  Thompson is coming off a loss, albeit in a career-best performance against iron-headed pro wrestler/fighter Kazuyuki Fujita in the first round of Pride’s Open Weight Grand Prix in May.  Fighting with great poise and an intelligent gameplan, Thompson displayed an excellent takedown defence, aggression and efficient, varied striking.  Unfortunately, the ten-minute opening round of Pride fights and the pace of the match were too much for a fighter of Thompson’s gargantuan size.  Pounding away at the head of a man who seems able to endure incessant punishment didn’t help either and Fujita took advantage of the Englishman’s fatigue with a last-ditch barrage of some 30 to 40 punches as Thompson’s defence collapsed.  More experienced against far better opposition, Thompson should hammer Broughton in his own inimitable way and take the title.  That will be some consolation but Thompson will still be left waiting for his chance to settle things with Tedoradze.

PREDICTION: Thompson by TKO early in the first.

Gilbert Yvel vs. Marcio Cruz

Sometimes Cage Rage book the strangest of fights.  One example was the CR14 match between Matt Lindland and Nino Schembri.  Given their respective styles it was an almost guaranteed bore whose only redeeming feature was Lindland bashing the stuffing out of a horribly negative Schembri for the third round TKO.  The fight was not well-received by the fans in attendance due mainly to Schembri’s complete inability to entertain people.  The heavyweight fight between Cruz (2-1) and Tank Abbott’s buddy John Marsh looked like being a similar fiasco.  Then with little more than a week to go, Marsh was mercifully replaced by groin-kicking, rope-grabbing, eye-gouging, ref-bashing Pride veteran ‘Hurricane’ Yvel (27-11-1).  And suddenly things got a lot more interesting.  An incredible talent in the BJJ world, ‘Pe De Pano’ Cruz is a multiple World champion, and a widely respected black belt.  He made his MMA debut for UFC last year, choking out Keigo Kunihara at UFC 55 and then hammering Frank Mir in the former Las Vegas golden boy’s return from injury at UFC 57.  Losing a decision to Jeff Monson in a dull match at UFC 59, Cruz did show some much-improved stand-up skills, landing some punches and leg kicks but just didn’t do enough to press the action and dropped a close decision.

Of course, standing with Yvel would be a huge mistake.  Dangerous (in so many ways) the fearsome Dutch kickboxer has masses of experience and has at least acquired some submission skills over the years.  But he will still be serious trouble very quickly if this fight hits the ground.  Yvel has been tapped out just twice in his near-ten year career, by Ikuhisa Minowa and Igor Vovchanchyn but has a history of being controlled and decisioned by anyone who can avoid his strikes and take him down.  He was dominated on the ground in his most recent fight before being sparked out by Roman Zentsov in Pride in May and has fought just three times in the last 18 months.  He armbarred Valentijn Overeem just over a year ago but has gone just 3-4-1 since the start of 2002.  A teammate of former Cage Rage standout Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, Cruz is still learning but has an almost inexpressibly immense edge in grappling here.  Yvel needs a knockout but Cruz, for all his sloppy technique effectively used his Stretch Armstrong-like limbs to keep Monson at bay and if he can deflect or slip enough of the aggressive Yvel’s opening flurry, close the distance and take his opponent down, this could be over quickly.  Look for Cruz to do just that and win with a choke.

PREDICTION: Cruz by submission late in the first.

Zelg Galesic vs. Curtis Stout

Promoted by Cage Rage as an almost guaranteed stand-up war, this middleweight fight should deliver exactly what everyone wants.  Bristol based Croatian Galesic (3-1) and a teammate of James Thompson is one of the most explosive fighters in the country.  A tall, lean kicker and puncher with an extensive Taekwondo and kickboxing background, Galesic is very fast, very active and very dangerous.  His introduction to the British audience was typical of his fights as he destroyed his debut opponent in just 76 seconds in 2004.  Most recently he obliterated Michael ‘Rocky’ Holmes in 1:41 at CR15.  23-year-old Galesic floored Holmes a couple of times with punches before finishing him with a punches and kick combination.  Fast, aggressive and accurate, Galesic looked like a genuine impact player.  That win really got everyone’s attention and Galesic was originally set for a match with Daijiro Matsui on this show.  However, Pride’s booking of Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos for the same evening at the Saitama Super Arena left Curtis Stout (11-9-1) without an opponent.  With a little reshuffling, Galesic was suddenly facing a very different test when he agreed to fight the Kansas City puncher with possibly the best left hook in the sport.  Energetic wrestler Matsui would have been a difficult fight for Galesic and may have ended up looking like Matsui’s CR14 war with Alex Reid where the striker was constantly landing shots from the bottom and firing off combinations on his feet but he Takada Dojo survivor just kept taking him down.  Stout is a very good wrestler himself, but after a pair of lacklustre performances where he was outworked on the mat and dropped decisions to Matsui and Jorge Patino at CR15 and CR16, he will be coming for a war.

As good as Galesic already is, and as much potential as he has, this is a massive test for him.  Stout blasted out CR crowd favourite and former boxer Sol Gilbert for a truly memorable KO at CR10.  He just annihilated UFC veteran and UK MMA legend Mark Weir at CR11 and hit Chute Boxe fighter Nilson Da Castro with a truly thunderous left hook just 15 seconds into the fight that left the Brazilian unconscious in a pool of blood at CR12.  The UFC veteran has gone the distance with Phil Baroni and David Loiseau.  The Baroni fight was over five years ago and Stout still wants a rematch, while the Loiseau decision (on a September 2004 TKO show in Canada) was questioned by enough people that a rematch is probably needed to truly settle that one as well.  With Stout’s sheer power and physical strength, technically adept kickboxing and solid wrestling, he should win this fight.  Experience counts and while Stout has lost plenty of fights he has a great chin and has only ever lost to very good fighters.  Only John Renken and Anderson Silva have ever knocked him out but Galesic is capable of joining that small group.  Galesic is a merciless finisher if he catches his opponent but Stout is a real survivor and his experience should see him through a war with the younger man.  Win or lose, a good performance will boost the Croatian’s career as well as providing the audience with a fight to remember.

PREDICTION: Stout by TKO late in the second.

Robert Berry vs. Henry Miller

Cage Rage shows traditionally feature at least one out and out heavyweight brawl featuring two enormous men pounding away at each other with little regard for either technique or personal safety.  The huge and intimidating Berry (8-4) is the absolute master of this kind of fight.  Slow on his feet, standing straight upright, flailing his massive arms and meaty fists around until his opponent falls, ‘Buzz’ is a definite Cage Rage favourite.  He gets his reward for such all-out entertainment here as he faces Pride veteran, former Sumo star and another man who loves a proper scrap, Henry ‘Sentoryu’ Miller (1-4).  It may be a sad indication of the success rate of former Sumo wrestlers that Miller has made the best transition to MMA.  Unlike some, such as the likeable but ultimately quite sad Chad ‘Akebono’ Rowan or Koji ‘Fred’ Kitao (one of the worst human beings on the planet), Miller is not just an immense flabby bloke who gets tired within 30 seconds.  Even in Sumo, there was clearly plenty of muscle packed onto his frame and he’s dropped noticeable weight since switching to MMA.  A powerful brawler with heavy hooks, a little technique and not much stamina, Miller has a questionable chin and is coming off a pair of fast stoppage defeats to James Thompson (91 seconds) and Zuluzhino (81 seconds).  While Miller has gone beyond that point before, with a decision defeat in a painfully slow match with Makoto Takimoto in 2004, it would be a real surprise if this one goes past the first five minutes.

Both men are in their mid-thirties and both will be looking to take the other man’s head off.  If they clinch, Berry could be in trouble since Miller’s Sumo background means he’s a better grappler on his feet and he can control Berry that way, sap his strength and take him down.  Berry has had real trouble with grapplers in the past, taking a pair of one-sided beatings at the hands of Tengiz Tedoradze and being choked out a month ago by nineteenth century wrestler Dan Severn.  While the sight of either man going for any kind of submission would be an odd one, Berry did tap out Marc Goddard with a guillotine at CR14 so a surprise ending like that is not beyond the realms of possibility.  But these two will probably give the crowd exactly what they want – a pair of violent behemoths trying to smash each other.  Either can win, but I’ll go for Berry.

PREDICTION: Robert Berry by TKO early in the first.

Mark Epstein vs. Dave Legeno

Few people on this show will be responsible for selling as many tickets as Londoners Epstein (11-7) and Legeno (0-2) will.  Both are hugely popular with the Cage Rage fanbase thanks partly to their simple, easy to understand fighting style of just standing there and throwing punches until either a.) they knock their opponent out or b.) they gas out completely.  Iron-chinned London Shootfighter Epstein does have other skills and he proved that with some effective work on the mat against Ryan Robinson in his CR16 victory but he’s unlikely to need them here.  Forty-something part-time fighter/actor and member of London’s Elite team Legeno is incredibly entertaining but possesses little skill and once he wears himself out throwing a few thousand uppercuts and hooks Epstein should take over and win the fight.  There should be a great atmosphere for this as the pair of them come out swinging and carry on like that until one of them crashes to the mat, defeated.  Heavyweight Legeno is naturally the bigger man but he’s a few years older, has far less experience, seems to have little stamina and his skills are even more raw and his style even less cultured.  He is undoubtedly one of the very best pre-fight interview subjects in the business though, ranting and raving like a madman in a thoroughly un-self-conscious and purely entertaining way.  Epstein won’t back down for a second and whoever lands a truly big shot first should win the fight.  Epstein seems to hit harder, as he rocked Michael Bisping a few times in their CR7 war in 2004 and floored Bryan Adams for a KO in just 19 seconds at CR14 while Legeno hit Alan Murdoch with dozens of punches before really hurting him in their outrageous CR14 brawl.  Epstein is also riding a four-fight winning streak.  Both men can take a shot and while it lasts this should be a real spectacle with Epstein emerging as the winner.

PREDICTION: Mark Epstein by TKO late in the first.

Daijiro Matsui vs. Pierre Guillet

Pride veteran, long-time training partner of the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba, Matsui (8-13-4) may have an ordinary record but his mixture of quality wrestling, tenacity, excellent chin and oddball tactics will probably be too much for Guillet (9-4).  Matsui was a little unlucky to get a draw in his CR14 London debut, an excellent fight against Alex Reid where Matsui’s wrestling looked to have earned him a close win over Reid’s busy striking on his feet and from the bottom.  But Matsui was fortunate to walk away from his CR16 match with Curtis Stout with a majority decision.  Matsui survived an early knockdown and even threw a pro wrestling dropkick and controlled the majority of the fight against an unusually subdued Stout.  Compact, innovative and relentless, Matsui also has a huge experience advantage and importantly, spent years of daily training with the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.  Guillet, based in the UK as part of the American military, is a talented submission artist, but is 0-2 in Cage Rage.  Dominated and submitted with ease by Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral at CR10, Guillet was doing much better until being overwhelmed by Anthony Rea’s punches early in the second round at CR11.  A great survivor but a poor finisher, Matsui should be too tough for Guillet but this one looks like going the distance.

PREDICTION: Matsui by decision.

Abdul Mohamed vs. Jean Silva

A protégé of Ian Freeman, Afghan born wrestler Mohamed (11-3-2) is an impressive, intimidating physical specimen.  Active on top and aggressive with his takedowns, Mohamed is currently riding a five-fight winning streak.  One of those fights was a hugely controversial and basically terrible decision over Alexandre Izidro at CR13.  Outwrestled and outworked, Mohamed was somehow awarded the win but did legitimately earn his decision victory in a rematch a month later.  At his best Mohamed can be fearsome, as he showed in his demolition of Jess Liaudin at CR11 and it usually takes a very good fighter, like Daniel Weichel or Mohamed Khacha to beat him.  Unfortunately for Mohamed, a fighter with a tendency to slip into a one-dimensional reliance on wrestling and ground control, Jean Silva (12-4-3) is a very good fighter.  CR favourite and Chute Boxe member Silva has gone 2-2-2 in the last couple of years.  ‘The White Bear’ recorded a pair of draws that many felt he lost against Ollie Ellis (CR7) and Leigh Remedios (CR10).  His only unarguable success in that period has been his submission win over the talented Samy Schiavo at CR9 since his latest win came courtesy of Paul Daley’s dislocated thumb in a freak accident during their CR15 match.  Before the injury Daley and Silva were immersed in a furious stand-up battle, swapping punches and kicks for almost ten minutes of crowd pleasing but ultimately inconclusive action.  His recent losses have come against high quality opposition in Japanese superstar Takanori Gomi and ultra-skilled Brazilian Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro.  Silva’s stubborn resistance against Gomi saw him survive long enough to lose a decision but was thoroughly outclassed by Ribeiro before tapping out to an arm triangle choke.  Silva, with his Capoeira based striking style and quality BJJ skills is an unpredictable fighter with more ways to win than Mohamed.  Silva should control the striking exchanges and is good enough on the ground to neutralise Mohamed’s ground n’ pound attack.  He may not be able to catch the active Mohamed with a submission but can take a fairly comfortable decision.

PREDICTION: Silva by decision.

Vacant CR British Welterweight title: Paul Daley vs. Ross Mason

Originally set for a rematch with ‘Semtex’ Daley (10-4-2) in defence of his CR British Welterweight title, champion Paul Jenkins pulled out and vacated the belt after suffering hand injuries in his regular job as a nightclub doorman.  Daley and Jenkins went to a very disappointing draw in a title fight at CR11 fourteen months ago but Daley against Mason (8-4) has a very different dynamic.  It’s a real shame Jenkins had to drop the title this way and he’s usually a very entertaining fighter but Mason and Daley just has immense potential as a crowd pleasing scrap.  On a card filled with great looking fights, this could be the real standout.  Two of the UK scene’s most exciting, most aggressive and most accomplished strikers face off in a fight where a single shot really could change the outcome at any time.

A much-improved wrestler after a couple of stints training with the American Top Team, the 23-year-old Daley has the potential to be Britain’s next international MMA star.  Blessed with heavy hands, Daley is rarely if ever in a dull fight and even where he focuses more on his wrestling, as he did at CR14 against Dutch kickboxer Joey Van Wanrooij, he has a very active ground n’ pound attack.  He’s clearly a better grappler than Mason but Mason has very good Muay Thai technique.  His demolition of Darren Guisha at CR14 was masterful and he is often a more controlled striker than Daley, a fighter who tends to throw left hooks like a fast-bowling cricketer.  Both men have good chins, both have some very effective low kicks, both are young and have plenty of stamina.  As impressive as Mason’s CR14 win over Guisha was, Daley was even more impressive in his deliberate three-round humbling of hugely experienced UFC veteran Dave Strasser at CR16.  Mason had a similar test at CR15, facing the excellent Chris Lytle and his purely defensive ground game was simply no match for the UFC and Pancrase veteran.  Mason was completely dominated and choked out by Lytle, his world class ambitions cruelly destroyed.  Daley, who oddly enough was originally meant to fight Lytle at that show, just has that extra bit of star quality, not to mention less injuries than Mason who has been forced to cancel a number of fights recently, and should win this in the later stages.  He may have to rely on his wrestling at times and it will be close all the way, but Daley can win this with strikes on the ground.

PREDICTION: Daley by TKO midway through the third.

Jeremy Bailey vs. Remy De Way

Fresh off a bad-tempered, confusing, hair-pulling fiasco with rival Jason Barrett, ‘Bad Boy’ Bailey (6-6) returns for what looks like being yet another session of hilarious interviews, a lacklustre fight and plenty of controversy.  Undoubtedly popular with Cage Rage regulars, Bailey loves a scrap and understands the need to stand out by mouthing off and win or lose, provide everyone with something to talk about.  Bailey is certainly not the best welterweight around, with losses to Dean Bray, Sami Berik, Phil Gildea and Rick Andrews on his record, but he regularly earns his place on Cage Rage cards with his antics and personality.  His opponent Remy De Way is a newcomer and could spring a few surprises.  The highlight of Bailey’s performance is usually his pre-fight interviews and there’s no reason why this should be any different.  Look for Bailey to use his greater experience and sometimes lax interpretation of the rules to help him pick up a chaotic, controversial win

PREDICTION: Bailey by TKO late in the first.

Phil Norman vs. David Bielkheden

Unbeaten Norman (4-0) was set for his toughest challenge yet against long-time Tank Abbott training partner and UFC veteran Eddie Ruiz but with Amokrane Sabet’s injury, Abbott’s team won’t be making the trip to London so Norman, coming off a somewhat surprising decision win over Hassan Muridi at CR12 almost a year ago will instead face the fearsome Bielkheden (10-3).  A well-rounded, capable welterweight, Norman is a good fighter but he’s out of his depth with one of Europe’s very best fighters.  With links to the Brazilian Top Team, Sweden’s Bielkheden has impressed on the British scene with first round wins over Wolfslair fighter Josenildo Ramarho and terribly overmatched late replacement Steve Dawson.  Bielkheden has some excellent mat skills and brutal punches on the ground.  Far more experienced than Norman with fights in Scandinavia, the UK, the US and Japan, Bielkheden should be a heavy favourite in this one.  Look for Bielkheden to take Norman down quickly and work relentlessly for the stoppage with his trademark right hands.

PREDICTION: Bielkheden by TKO late in the first.

Robbie Olivier vs. Mark Chen

Still awaiting his rematch with CR British Featherweight champion Brad Pickett, ‘the Flame’ Olivier (11-6-1) faces another contender in what should be a high quality all-British match.  Olivier was outpointed by the hugely popular, and sadly absent from this show, Pickett at CR15.  The decision was a close one and provoked some fierce arguments afterwards.  Many felt Olivier’s wrestling, control and greater activity won him the fight.  Many pointed to Pickett’s greatly improved grappling, striking and sheer activity as earning him a close victory.  Either way, the fight was close and a rematch is still needed.  But Olivier, a gifted, busy, experienced grappler with boundless energy, needs to get past Chen (6-4) first.  Olivier has been in with some very good fighters, losing to Jean Silva and Emmanuel Fernandez and holding wins over Thomas Hytten and Samy Schiavo.  Olivier thoroughly dominated Chris Freebourne at CR14 with his relentlessly attacking grappling style and will try to impose his kind of pace on Chen in this fight.  One of Britain’s top featherweight contenders, London based Chen has been chasing a match with Pickett for a while and needs to beat Olivier to claim his title shot.  He’s swapped wins with the experienced Ricky Moore and actually finished the slippery Freebourne with a choke in their 2003 fight.  Like Olivier, Chen is a very capable grappler and whether on their feet or on the ground, this should be an entertaining, competitive fight from start to finish.  Olivier though is just a little better and should take a decision win.

PREDICTION: Olivier by decision.

Darren Guisha vs. Dean Bray

Welterweights Guisha (5-1) and Bray (1-2) should get things off to an explosive start in the opening match.  A member of the Elite team run by CR co-promoter Dave O’ Donnell, Bray is an entertaining ticketseller who battered Jeremy Bailey to defeat at CR13.  Officially ended on a cut, Bray was working Bailey over with some great knees by the fence at the time.  He followed that with an exciting match with Nigel Whitear at CR14.  Pounding away on Whitear by the cage, Bray looked set for another crowd pleasing win but fell victim to a slick armbar and a submission defeat.  He won’t have to worry too much about armbars from Guisha though.  A rugged, aggressive fighter, Guisha likes a brawl.  Racking up five wins after his 2004 debut, Guisha was matched up with Ross Mason at CR14 and was comprehensively dismantled.  Unable to cope with Mason’s far greater kickboxing skill, Guisha was stopped 2:16 into the second round of a very one-sided fight.  Both are pressure fighters and this could be a great way to open the show.  Bray may be the better fighter technically but Guisha is strong and stubborn.  Look for both to come out quickly and look for Bray to emerge victorious.

PREDICTION: Bray by TKO late in the first.

Predictions Re-cap:

Ian Freeman TKO2 Melvin Manhoef
James Thompson TKO1 Rob Broughton
Curtis Stout TKO2 Zelg Galesic
Marcio Cruz SUB1 Gilbert Yvel
Robert Berry TKO1 Henry Miller
Mark Epstein TKO1 Dave Legeno
Daijiro Matsui DEC3 Pierre Guillet
Jean Silva DEC3 Abdul Mohamed
Paul Daley TKO3 Ross Mason
Jeremy Bailey TKO1 Remy De Way
David Bielkheden TKO1 Phil Norman
Robbie Olivier DEC3 Mark Chen
Dean Bray TKO1 Darren Guisha