10th Legion Championship Fighting’s “Decimation”

Before I begin this blog, let me start off by saying that it is an honor to be heading to Hull, England to call the action for 10^th Legion Championship Fighting’s “Decimation” this Sunday from the Gemtec Arena in Hull before a capacity crowd. It’s exciting to be the new voice of such a great organization that pride themselves on putting on one of the best shows in all of Europe. Alan Orr and his entire staff have done a tremendous job to put on a world class event with world class production.

My journey began on Thursday afternoon around 2:30 Chicago time to check in for my flight scheduled to leave for Manchester at 5:30. Needless to say, the flight was cancelled and we boarded a flight headed to London that would connect to Manchester. After a 7 and a half hour flight to London and 6 hour layover in London, I got to Manchester around 4:30. I then went and met my contact for the evening a fantastic trainer at Iron Wolves Keighley and representative from 10^th Legion Duane Harper. Duane took me to my hotel and then we wondered off to one of the local pubs. Let me preface this by saying, the local pubs have a great atmosphere with everyone kicking back, relaxing, and just meeting old friends and new people also.

Today, we set off for Hull which is in Yorkshire here in England to head to the 10^th Legion Championship Fighting “Decimation” Weigh-Ins. The ride was about 2 and a half hours going through the English countryside while riding on one of their main roads. We passed up a lot of coal mills and saw how green England is. We also passed up Lancashire which is the birthplace of catch wrestling. Notable names like Josh Barnett and Kazushi Sakuraba use catch wrestling in their arsenal.

When we got to Hull, we passed through some of the city even catching a glimpse of the soccer stadium where Hull City the soccer team plays. I arrived at the Holiday Inn Express one of the nicest hotels in all of Hull that is connected to a huge shopping center.  I walked downstairs to the conference room where the fighters were preparing to jump on the scale around noon. A lot of them seemed pretty anxious to get on the scale, weigh in, and go eat.  

Tomorrow night, the main event for “Decimation” features a European lightweight title showdown between Abdul Mohammad (16-8-3) out of Wolfslair going head to head with Danish sensation Rasmus Bendsten (10-2) out of Fight Pit. This is such a compelling match-up for a variety of reasons. Abdul Mohammad has been known as the kingpin of the European lightweight division for years but two straight losses to Tim Radcliffe and Jason Young have been a setback for the Afghan based fighter. Mohammad is extremely strong who has great takedowns and vicious ground and pound. His spinning backfist is also something to look out for as demonstrated a couple of years ago against UFC vet Ross Pearson.

Rasmus Bendsten at 10-2 is a rising prospect in the European lightweight division. He has tremendous striking, solid wrestling, and outstanding ground and pound. Bendsten at 26 years of age is nine years younger than Mohammad, and will be looking to push the pace of the fight. Bendsten is on a three fight win streak and has finished all 10 of his opponents. Coming into the fight, Bendsten knows what a great opportunity he has in front of him and will be looking to seize the moment. He even went as far as to go train with fellow Danish standout UFC welterweight Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann and all the guys at Xtreme Coutre. Rasmus felt it was necessary to work and train with those at the top of the lightweight division including Gray Maynard and Tyson Griffin.

Watching both men take their stare down photo was pretty intense. Both Rasmus and Abdul didn’t take their eyes off each other for one second. Abdul Mohmmad even went as far as to tell Rasmus to look him dead in the eyes.

Both guys look in tremendous shape and have a look in their eye as if they are ready for battle. We are going to see something special tomorrow night no matter who wins the fight. We are going to either see Abdul Mohmmad reclaim his throne atop the European lightweight division and move closer to a contract with the UFC or Strikeforce, or we are going to see the birth of a budding star in the making as Rasmus would put himself in the top 3 of European lightweights not signed with the UFC or Strikeforce.

The main event has fireworks written all over it.

The co-main event features a featherweight clash between Neil Broadbent (2-1) and Laurent Kamoun (2-0) out of France. This fight will not go to the scorecards as both fighters are devastating strikers. Neil Broadbent is a big featherweight. His muscle stature is just incredible as he is built like a rock. Broadbent hasn’t fought in three years due to a slew of injuries, but has been keeping himself busy training during that time. Laurent Komun is (2-0) and has a tremendous amount of striking ability. He is very fluid in his movements and can hit you multiple times from a variety of angles. Komun came from Paris to try and ruin the return of fan favorite Neil Broadbent.

Also, tomorrow night marks the professional debut of English karate and kickboxing sensation Craig Burke. Burke is a former British Commonwealth Karate champion and has been working his ground game with Tenzig Tedoradze. Craig is in tremendous physical shape and will certainly be looking to put on a show against Pao Zoro from France.

All of this makes what should be an amazing night of mixed martial arts action from the Gemtec Arena here in Hull. I will be cageside calling the action alongside Daniel Singh from the Gladiators television show.

By: Ray Flores