By Robert Rousseau
March 8, 2008:Cage Rage 25 came to us all from the Wembley Arena in London, England where 8,300 people were on hand. Wondering how it all went down? Then keep reading.
Submission of the Night : Jean Silva vs. Masakazu Imanari
Before this bout, in customary no frills Japanese warrior style fashion Imanari said, “I will try my best in this fight and whoever is the best fighter will win.”
Well, Silva was game no doubt, as the beginning stages of this fight saw both fighters on top in succession. But in the end it was clear who the better fighter was.
Despite the fact that Silva told the announcers before this match that he had practiced escaping leg locks a ton, eventually Imanari did what Imanari does. He caught his opponent’s leg. Though Silva also tried to go for a leg lock at the same time, leaving the two rolling on the canvas toward the cage wall in attempts to escape, eventually the wall did stop them. There, Imanari proved to be the better man, eventually leaving Silva writhing in pain on the ground via a reverse heel hook.
Imanari wins via reverse heel hook at 2:30 of round one.
The Main Event : Robert Berry vs. Ken Shamrock
Before this fight, Shamrock said, “I have to watch out for his punches.” Yep, he was right.
Simply put, Berry started slow but continually connected with punches on his legendary adversary. As time went by, Berry began throwing more strikes, eventually catching Shamrock with a left- right combination that dropped The World’s Most Dangerous Man. Moments later, the referee stepped in.
Robert Berry wins via KO at 3:26 of round one.
Wished it could have continued : Ryan Shamrock vs. Giorgio Andrews
These two bantamweights came out for blood. The action in the first round was tremendous. However, Shamrock—who started off the night landing a big right—broke his hand in the first due to that strike and was unable to continue.
A rematch should be in order.
The Best of the Rest
Tom Watson defeats Pierre Guillet at 2:08 of round one.
Rob Broughton defeats Neil Grove via majority decision.
Mustapha Al-Turk defeats Gary Turner via GNP at 3:19 of round one.
Ivan Serati defeats Roman Webber via KO after 48 seconds in round one.
Henrique Santana defeats Michael Johnson via unanimous decision.
Aisling Daly defeats Avsen Berik via GNP at 1:49 of round one.
John Hathaway defeats Marvin Arnold via GNP at 1:32 of round one.
John Phillips defeats Jake Bostwick via GNP at 4:10 of round one.
