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By: Dan Moore, MMATorch UK Contributor
London Shootfighters duo John Hathaway and Karlos Vemola both looked impressive in their respective wins on the UFC on Fox card last weekend. Hathaway, having been out of action for 15 months due to a serious illness, absolutely dominated German Pascal Krauss from start to finish. I've heard some say his next opponent should be Rory MacDonald but I disagree. I'd personally like to see Hathaway take one more low profile fight this summer before moving up to face any top 15 opponent. Hathaway is only 24, he's had just two fights in 18 months with multiple injury concerns recently, so MacDonald is a mammoth step up in competition that he doesn't need right now. Whilst I believe Hathaway would fair far better than Che Mills did, I don't believe his stand up game has improved enough yet for him to go up against any elite fighter in the welterweight division.
Vemola, on the other hand, was impressive for a completely different reason. Having been behind throughout the early minutes of his fight, Vemola defeated Mike Massenzio by rear-naked choke to record his first win at middleweight. Vemola is a beast, and if he continues to make weight easily at 185 lbs. he'll be a physical dilemma for anyone he's matched up against next. I hate trying to predict potential next opponents for fighters, but I'll take a stab at the winner of the Brad Tavares and Dongi Yang match up this week as a good test for the Cockney Czech.
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To mark the launch of MMA reality show Caged, MTV UK have teamed up with BAMMA and uber talented film maker Demetrio Marquez to help educate newcomers to the sport. They are an insightful look into the lives of some prominent UK talent including the already mentioned John Hathaway, UCMMA newcomer Michael Page, and BAMMA light heavyweight Przemyslaw Mysiala. If you like the UFC Primetime shows you'll absolutely love these. They are only a few minutes in length, but so engrossing and engaging, that you'll wish they were a lot longer. Check them out at www.mtv.co.uk/news/mixed-martial-arts
I'll be interviewing Demetrio on Monday so look out for the article later on in the week.
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Speaking of Michael Page, search out the YouTube clips of his last two UCMMA fights with Ben Dishman and Miguel Bernad. If you haven't heard of Page before then take note of his name. He's got the talent and exuberance to be a big star on the UK MMA scene. His fight style is reminiscent of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. While he's nowhere near that level of ability, his quick fights thus far have been engaging and fun to watch. He's extremely brash and likely to wind some fans up with his cocky style, but I love that type of showmanship if you can back it up with a winning performance. Sure he's going to have to tone it down when he moves up in competition, but he's certainly one for the future. It's clearly far too soon for him right now, but a fight with Paul Daley on a big BAMMA card would be a monumental must see match up if Page keeps progressing at his current rate.
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As Jamie reported earlier this week, the UFC have announced they are doing a UK vs. Australia version of the Ultimate Fighter, cheesily named "The Smashes" (seriously?). Whilst the UFC have several options for the UK coaching role, I am struggling to think of anyone with enough profile other than Brian Ebersole (who's actually American), to coach the Aussie team. I wouldn't watch if Dan Hardy gets the job so I'm throwing all my eggs into the John Maguire basket on this one. He's got bags of personality, and his unique humor would be compelling viewing for UK fans who can actually understand his accent. I doubt the show would be aired on TV in the States so the pay off coaches fight could come on the next UK card providing the timing suits all parties involved.
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Rob Broughton was handed a very tricky match up this week, when it was announced he would be facing Matt Mitrione on the next FOX card in August. Broughton has only survived the chop thus far because he's a heavyweight. Any other weight class and he'd be plying his trade elsewhere right now. A loss to Mitrione and I'd be amazed if he gets another opportunity after three consecutive defeats. Oli Thompson and Phil De Fries was also announced and should be a good undercard fight that won't last too long. Add those two fights to the already announced Terry Etim vs. Joe Lauzon barnstormer bout, and there are plenty of reasons to look forward to that card.
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Good luck to Andy Ogle in his TUF Quarterfinal match up with heavy hitter Al Iaquinta next Friday. He's the only reason I'm still watching this season so fingers crossed he can pull off another upset.
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I'm going to try to do a UK blog every week from now on, so if you have anything specific you'd like me to cover, then let me know on Twitter.
Feel free to follow me at @MMATorchDan
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