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04-21-2009, 11:15 AM
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also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went bankrupt and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and managed by Elite XC until that company ceased operating, and the British promoters behind Cage Rage formed a the new organization and withdrew all the old Cage Rage titles. Matchmaker and on-screen personality Dave O'Donnell was also a minority shareholder in the company. Fellow on-screen personality and co-promoter Andy Geer also owned a minority stake until he left the promotion in 2008.. Cage Rage events were replayed on Nuts TV, along with their own weekday show on The Fight Network (UK & Ireland) until these channels closed down.. Archived shows are currently shown on the Extreme Sports Channel.
HISTORY
Cage Rage started when Dave O'Donnell and Andy Geer set out to raise money by promoting a small mixed martial arts show, to provide new mats for their martial arts school. The first Cage Rage event in Elephant and Castle, London was a success, which led to fans and fighters asking for a follow up show, leading to further shows and promotion as it exists today.
In March 2007, after the purchase of PRIDE Fighting Championships by Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta from Dream Stage Entertainment, Cage Rage were announced as members of a promotional alliance instigated by ProElite and FEG, the parent companies of EliteXC and HERO'S respectively, along with Strikeforce, BodogFight K-1 and Spirit MC.
However, this working relationship barely lasted a month. When Cage Rage signed K-1 star Bob Sapp to a main event in London for their 21 April 2007, show K-1 stopped Sapp from fighting on the card. This left a desperate Geer and O'Donnell scrambling for a new main event on just days notice with aged veteran Tank Abbott eventually stepping in.
Due to the closeness of the two promotions, ProElite purchased the majority shareholding in Cage Rage in September 2007 from Cage Rage's silent partner John Faraday.
Andy Geer Left the group he founded in April 2008, and was replaced by former King of the Cage boss Chris Cordeiro.
In May 2008, Sky Sports said in a statement they would no longer be airing Cage Rage events on their channels. The official line was that they could not continue with Cage Rage as a fighter (Paul Daley) had sworn on live TV on a previous show. However, this was thought to be an excuse as the incident (where Daley used several sexual cursewords) took place well after the 9pm "watershed". Much more likely Sky was disappointed with the average 19,000 viewers Cage Rage was getting.
Rules
Cage Rage's current rules are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that were originally established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and modified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. These rules have been adopted across the US in other states that regulate mixed martial arts. As a result, they have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the US and for cage-based MMA worldwide.
As of Cage Rage 13, amendments to the Unified Rules have been made, most notably the "Open Guard" rule and the banning of elbow strikes to a downed opponent.
Rounds
All Cage Rage fights are contested over three, five minute rounds. There is a one minute rest period in-between rounds.
Weight divisions
Cage Rage currently uses six weight classes:
* Featherweight: 57 - 66 kg (125 - 145 lb)
* Lightweight: 66 - 70 kg (146 - 155 lb)
* Welterweight: 71 - 77 kg (156 - 170 lb)
* Middleweight: 78 - 84 kg (171 - 185 lb)
* Light Heavyweight: 84 - 93 kg (186 - 205 lbs)
* Heavyweight: Over 93 kg (206 lbs and heavier)
Cage
Cage Rage uses a nine-sided caged arena to stage bouts similar to the UFC's trademarked Octagon, though it is smaller in size. It has foam padding around the top and between each of the eight sections and has two entry/exit gates on opposite sides. The canvas is marked with a line that is a metre away from the fence at all points.
Attire
As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Cage Rage only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab.
Match outcome
Matches usually end via:
* Submission: a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times (or more) or verbally submits.
* Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
* Technical Knockout: stoppage of the fight by the referee if it is determined a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself or by ringside doctor due to injury.
* Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
* unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for one fighter),
* split decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with the third for the other),
* majority decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with one for a draw),
* unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw),
* majority draw (two judges score a draw).
* split draw (the total points for each fighter is equal)
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.
Former Champions
The following fighters have won titles in Cage Rage and are well-known in the world of MMA.
* Paul Daley
* Michael Bisping
* Mark Epstein
* Ian "The Machine" Freeman
* Paul Cahoon
* Zelg Galesić
* Paul Jenkins
* Chris "Lights Out" Lytle
* Melvin Manhoef
* Abdul Mohamed
* Brad "One Punch" Pickett
* Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
* Paul Taylor
* Jean Silva
* Anderson Silva
* Tengiz Tedoradze
* Mark Weir
* Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort
* James Zikic
also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went bankrupt and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and managed by Elite XC until that company ceased operating, and the British promoters behind Cage Rage formed a the new organization and withdrew all the old Cage Rage titles. Matchmaker and on-screen personality Dave O'Donnell was also a minority shareholder in the company. Fellow on-screen personality and co-promoter Andy Geer also owned a minority stake until he left the promotion in 2008.. Cage Rage events were replayed on Nuts TV, along with their own weekday show on The Fight Network (UK & Ireland) until these channels closed down.. Archived shows are currently shown on the Extreme Sports Channel.
HISTORY
Cage Rage started when Dave O'Donnell and Andy Geer set out to raise money by promoting a small mixed martial arts show, to provide new mats for their martial arts school. The first Cage Rage event in Elephant and Castle, London was a success, which led to fans and fighters asking for a follow up show, leading to further shows and promotion as it exists today.
In March 2007, after the purchase of PRIDE Fighting Championships by Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta from Dream Stage Entertainment, Cage Rage were announced as members of a promotional alliance instigated by ProElite and FEG, the parent companies of EliteXC and HERO'S respectively, along with Strikeforce, BodogFight K-1 and Spirit MC.
However, this working relationship barely lasted a month. When Cage Rage signed K-1 star Bob Sapp to a main event in London for their 21 April 2007, show K-1 stopped Sapp from fighting on the card. This left a desperate Geer and O'Donnell scrambling for a new main event on just days notice with aged veteran Tank Abbott eventually stepping in.
Due to the closeness of the two promotions, ProElite purchased the majority shareholding in Cage Rage in September 2007 from Cage Rage's silent partner John Faraday.
Andy Geer Left the group he founded in April 2008, and was replaced by former King of the Cage boss Chris Cordeiro.
In May 2008, Sky Sports said in a statement they would no longer be airing Cage Rage events on their channels. The official line was that they could not continue with Cage Rage as a fighter (Paul Daley) had sworn on live TV on a previous show. However, this was thought to be an excuse as the incident (where Daley used several sexual cursewords) took place well after the 9pm "watershed". Much more likely Sky was disappointed with the average 19,000 viewers Cage Rage was getting.
Rules
Cage Rage's current rules are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that were originally established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and modified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. These rules have been adopted across the US in other states that regulate mixed martial arts. As a result, they have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the US and for cage-based MMA worldwide.
As of Cage Rage 13, amendments to the Unified Rules have been made, most notably the "Open Guard" rule and the banning of elbow strikes to a downed opponent.
Rounds
All Cage Rage fights are contested over three, five minute rounds. There is a one minute rest period in-between rounds.
Weight divisions
Cage Rage currently uses six weight classes:
* Featherweight: 57 - 66 kg (125 - 145 lb)
* Lightweight: 66 - 70 kg (146 - 155 lb)
* Welterweight: 71 - 77 kg (156 - 170 lb)
* Middleweight: 78 - 84 kg (171 - 185 lb)
* Light Heavyweight: 84 - 93 kg (186 - 205 lbs)
* Heavyweight: Over 93 kg (206 lbs and heavier)
Cage
Cage Rage uses a nine-sided caged arena to stage bouts similar to the UFC's trademarked Octagon, though it is smaller in size. It has foam padding around the top and between each of the eight sections and has two entry/exit gates on opposite sides. The canvas is marked with a line that is a metre away from the fence at all points.
Attire
As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Cage Rage only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab.
Match outcome
Matches usually end via:
* Submission: a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times (or more) or verbally submits.
* Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
* Technical Knockout: stoppage of the fight by the referee if it is determined a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself or by ringside doctor due to injury.
* Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
* unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for one fighter),
* split decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with the third for the other),
* majority decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with one for a draw),
* unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw),
* majority draw (two judges score a draw).
* split draw (the total points for each fighter is equal)
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.
Former Champions
The following fighters have won titles in Cage Rage and are well-known in the world of MMA.
* Paul Daley
* Michael Bisping
* Mark Epstein
* Ian "The Machine" Freeman
* Paul Cahoon
* Zelg Galesić
* Paul Jenkins
* Chris "Lights Out" Lytle
* Melvin Manhoef
* Abdul Mohamed
* Brad "One Punch" Pickett
* Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
* Paul Taylor
* Jean Silva
* Anderson Silva
* Tengiz Tedoradze
* Mark Weir
* Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort
* James Zikic