RIZE 5 - The Revolution

by Joe Power

When I heard that RIZE, generally known as Australia’s second-largest Mixed-Martial Arts promotion, was heading for the Chandler Arena, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, this was a venue that hosts the biggest and baddest Muay Thai show in the country, and would certainly put RIZE on par (at least!) with Australia’s largest MMA Promotion–the Cage-Fighting Championship. On the other hand, failure in regards to attendance could have spelt the end of Queensland’s largest MMA Promotion.

When I walked out into the arena during the second fight, those fears vanished as I looked upon the stands. Queensland turned out in force for this one, and were going berserk for the two talented women competing inside the cage. I saw an assortment of people in attendance; the UFC’s target male audience dressed in their brand new foil-splattered t-shirts, Boxing and Kickboxing converts, women of all ages, shapes and sizes. The attendance alone was a huge success.

But what took place on the other side of the cage was even more spectacular. From Kurdish Kickboxer; Masoud Abdollahpouri’s brutal knock-down and subsequent TKO finish of former North-Queensland Cowboy, Hale Vassa, to the two title-fights with international opposition; Australian Mixed-Martial Arts certainly rose to the occasion.

A very impressive submission win from Vincent Perry-trained Shane Wundenberg propelled him toward a ranking in the top 5 of the Lightweight division (70kg/155lbs). Both fighters looked much larger than the scale weight of 70kgs, and fought with a calm and controlled ferocity that comes from plenty of ring (or cage, as the case may be) experience. An arm-bar in round number one sealed it for Wundenberg in the end. His team–PUMMA–were overjoyed and flooded the cage to embrace their fighter. Their team ended up getting a clean-sweep with impressive performances from all their fighters.

In more great news for Australian Mixed-Martial Arts, Brisbane academy Integrated Martial Arts (trained under Mixed-Martial Arts veteran Danny Higgins) went 3 wins for no losses in their match-ups. In the opening match of the night, it was Tim Radley’s catch and subsequent counter of Modern Warrior MMA’s Vince Dyer’s kick that ended the fight. Radley finished the fights with a barrage of strikes in just nine seconds. In another Integrated-Modern Warrior match-up, Nate Thomson won via strikes from mount against head-coach Chris Bridgewater, who displayed a lot of heart.

However, the highlight of all the fights was most definitely Australia taking on the world. Head coach of Advance Martial Arts Caloundra, Ryan Dunstan, took the stage against veteran Japanese fighter Ken Yasuda. On his walk-out, an entire section of the stands exploded in support of the Australian. The two fighters shook hands and embraced multiple times before the bell sounded. An excellent show of respect. After Yasuda failed to secure a leg-lock, Dunstan spun around and took Yasuda’s back, ending the fight with a series of devastating strikes. An elated Dunstan sprinted toward the side of the cage, where his friends, fans and followers where joyously celebrating his victory.

In the first title-fight of the night, taking place in the Featherweight division (66kg/145lbs), Japanese fighter Eiji Murayama was paired against Sydney’s Hugh Cameron, fighting out of the Gracie Barra gym. After a two-round war, Eiji exploded out of the gates after the starting bell of the third round, knocking Cameron out cold six seconds into the round. Cameron was on the canvas for some time before getting to his feet; the audience applauded the two warriors and Murayama was crowned the inaugural RIZE Featherweight Champion. An emotional Ken Yasuda cried with joy in the cage as his friend was given the belt by the show’s promoter, Matt Cooper.

Then, in the final fight of the night, it was experienced Australian Bantamweight Michael Mortimer versus Masahiro ‘Jackal’ Oishi of the Shooting Gym for the RIZE Bantamweight Title (61kgs/135lbs). The first round was all Oishi, as he displayed his superior ground-game, taking Mortimer’s back and almost locking in an arm-bar. Despite its tightness, Mortimer escaped much to the delight of the crowd. During round two, Mortimer began shrugging off Oishi’s take-downs and taking control of the fight through his stand-up. Then, in the third round, it was a couple of devastating elbows that cut Oishi badly, forcing a halt to the bout. The Integrated Team entered the cage to celebrate with their newly-crowned Bantamweight Champion.

Beyond the spectacular show and fights, one aspect of RIZE and Mixed-Martial Arts that I’ve always loved is the complete and utter respect that the two fighters display toward one another, generally before, but always after the fight. Bitter rivalries become background noise as the fighters embrace after a hard-fought battle and congratulate each other. A far cry from the scare-mongering that a few select Journalists choose to cater toward in the media (a flashback to the sport’s unregulated dark ages in 1996).

All in all, RIZE 5 Revolution was a huge success on all fronts. If you were unfortunate enough to miss the show, be sure to catch it on Fox Sports in the coming weeks. RIZE 6 is well under-way already, and will be brought to you from the same place on July 31st. Be sure not to miss out! If this show was any indication of RIZE’s potential, the next one is sure to be bigger and better!