Paul Jordan looked in a different league as he despatched the hard hitting Lee Woollen at 1:51 of the first round.

Woollen was well versed in both Boxing and Judo so the assumption was that he would be a good all rounder. He certainly came to fight but seemed in shock at the ferocity of Jordan who was compact and explosive, connecting with almost every shot.

A short trade saw the fighters go to the canvas where Jordan was even more dominant, doing as he pleased whilst Woollen struggled to find his form.

At just under 2 minutes the RNC presented itself and the fight was quickly over.

Jordan looks like the man to be avoided in 2010!

Gordon Childs finished the year with an excellent stoppage of highly rated Frenchman Joubit Katim. This contest was part of a series of eliminators for the European Middleweight title and Childs did not hang about.

Stunning Katim early in the first, the stage was set and the pattern emerged from there with Katim never really recovering. It was clear that the Frenchman posessed skills to match Childs but his head was not clear and he stumbled more than once as he tried to find space betweem himself and the relentless Englishman.

Another knockdown was followed by a barrage and a final knockdown that had the referee jumping in to save Katim from further punishment.

That is 2 stoppages in a row for the light hitting Childs and you have to wonder if he has finally developed a punch?

Fighting off a late bout of illness, Shaun James did well on his return to the Kickboxing arena with a hard fought but conclusive victory over Brice Clerc (France).

James looks set to re-establish himself and make an impact in 2010 after fighting well within himself against a current international prospect who was expected to give him all he could handle.

Suffering the after effects of a virus it was clear that the Bournemouth fighter was struggling with his stamina from about round 3 but by then he was in full control, dishing out lovely fluent kicks and solid punch combinations.

Clerc may feel that he would like this again over a longer duration (this was 4 rounds) but he should be mindful of the fact that James was below par and in fact would prefer the longer distance himself under usual circumstanmces.

A nice comfortable win for the Englishmen with higher honours due next year!

From the opening Rocha did not hang about and came at the unusually hesitant Marchment with all guns blazing. Marchment wanted to go straight to ground and for 20 seconds it looked as though it may get interesting.

But it was not to be. A silly mistake from Marchment and it was over.

Gez Marchment also announced his retirement after this contest and we wish him well in his new role as coach to the Waterside MMA team. 

However, late replacement Uran Cengizhan had other ideas and brought an elusive and effective style along with him from France which confused and frustrated the Englishman.

Both men came into the contest with 2 fight records and Hartnell certainly looked the stronger of the two until Uran got into his groove. From then on it was an uphill battle with the cage providing extra space for the Frenchman to hit and move into.

Hartnell, to his credit never stopped looking for the stoppage and landed some clean and concussive shots throughout. But it was not enough and Uran Cengizhan went on to score a lop sided decision and capture the fighter of the night award.

Hartnell is still a very good fighter who should learn from this and come back stronger in 2010.

Sean Flynn made a brief and unsuccessful return to the cage, losing out to a referees stoppage in the 1st round.

This was a battle of the unbeaten as both he and Welsh opponent Russ Smith were 2-0 coming into the fight.

Flynn went for an early trade and Smith was happy to oblige until they went to ground. A short elbow opened up a horrible cut over Flynns eye and it was clear that he was on borrowed time and needed the stoppage. This involved taking risks, which he did. But Smith was more than ready for it and continued to work on the cut.

They got to their feet and Flynn started to trade again with some success but they were soon back on the canvas where Smith quickly got the upper hand with G & P, forcing the referee to step in.

Although there were complaints from the crowd that the stoppage was premature, the referee quite rightly took into account the worsening of the cut around Flynns eye. These cuts end careers but in this case swift action prevented it.

Haynes, you may remember, ko'd Rikki Beale back in March and propelled himself straight into the top ten with follow up victory in his home town of Plymouth. Despite only being 2-0 against Whittams 5-0, Haynes quality of opponent has been better so this was an excellent match up and eliminator for higher honours.

Haynes took the first round with stronger and harder shots and Whittam seemed to have stalled early as he tried to work out his foe. It was clear that Haynes fancied the early finish but there seemed no chance of that as Whittam gathered his skills and began to make progress.

The telling point was early in the second, where Haynes seemed to have put all his money on an early night and began to fade, as Whittam woke up and began working.

There were solid shots but all in all it was a nice display of Kickboxing from two promising fighters.

The third round was dominated by Whittam who sealed the victory. 

The fired up Woolly came looking for a row - and got one! Woolly sprinted across the cage to confront Crehan straight away and was met with a barrage of blows that shook him slightly. He fired back but it was Crehan who was tighter in defence and harder hitting, and before too long Woolly was looking to go to ground.

Once there Crehan dominated with a smooth transition into the full mount position. As the blows reigned down on Woolly he turned his back to try and stand but gave Crehan the opening and fell right into the Rear Naked Choke.

The fight was over at 0:59 secs of the 1st round.

Crehan fought this one at lightweight but with some adjustment he will make Featherweight and be a force in the division next year.

Although both men had weighed in inside the weight divison limits, it was clear that Francombe had made a good job of cutting weight in the lead up. For his part Hardy seemed to shed weight in the week prior to the event and come fight day Francombe looked massive and in great shape whilst Hardy, who was also in great shaped, looked a division lighter.

It was however a brutal encounter from the off with Hardy starting aggresively as always and looking for the early finish. Francombe responded and it looked as though one or other would take the shot that would see proceedings end in the first minute.

Mid-way into the round and with both men still right there, the contest went to ground and this is where Francombes strength came into play. Hardy was unable to get to grips with him and before too long found himself on the recieving end of an elongated period of G & P, forcing the referee in for the stoppage.