Katana 4 ‘Bushido’ Glasgow Results

Gary Fullerton wasn't on the side of the judge. A couple of infringements on the rules one of which was certainly debatable. The referee had minus pointed him on two seperate occasions for hitting after he shouted stop. We all know that fighters are passionate but when the referee is behind the fighters it is very difficult for a fighter to hear. Gary's first round was very cautious and he should have put his stall out then but left it a bit too late. Had a great third round pushing Marc Dixon from pillar to post. Gary lost on a majority decision.  

Next up was heavyweight Paul Best in only his second fight. He was fighting under Katana semi-pro rules however both camps agreed not to wear any shin or foot protection. That may have been the downfall to the scottish fighter as Best unleashed some powerful low kicks that sent him to the canvas for a count and was clearly hurt. In the second round however, the tough Scot came back with some good punch combinations and it was very clear that this was turning into a good old fashioned

 slug fest and was going to be determined by who wanted it the most. Into the third round and it was back to the strong low kick for Best but Perry was having great success with his boxing skills and was matching Paul "The Beast" Best with shot for shot. 

Suddenly a gigantic right hook floored Perry, but due to Perry's fitness and conditioning, he rose to see the end of the match. Congratulations to both fighters for a great display of heart, fitness, brute strength and at times some good technique.

Karl McBlain was fighting Kokoro Kai's Ryan Lyall under Pro Katana rules over 3 x 3 Minute Rounds. This was not a professional fight for McBlai, the only difference that it was 3 minute rounds instead of 2 min and there were no shin guards or feet protection compared to the fights above and obviously, no money changed hands.

Saying that, it was a step up in fight opponents for the East Belfast fighter McBlain. In the opening round McBlain kept a little to his game plan, which was to concentrate on the full-contact specialist's legs. 

It was a competitive match from start to finish but definitely a clash of styles where McBlain is familiar with the low-kick style whilst Scottish opponet Lyall, wasn't. For the most part it was somewhat of an untidy fight, good boxing skills were coming from Lyall and on occasions very nice kicks from McBlain. McBlain was definitely the more effective kicker and clearly hurt the Scot who was un somewhat unfamiliar territory. When the final bell sounded there could be only one winner, McBlain who took the win on a unanimous decision.  

DarrenMcMullan was the pinultimate main event as he faced rising star Alan MacDonald from Katana Gym. Despite the weight division, 80-85kg Katana Division, the fight was agreed at 79kg Max as McMullan fights at a maximum of 77kg. At the weigh in, it took a couple of attempts for MacDonald to make the weight, mainly because he jumped on the scales with everything on including keys and phone. His final stripped weight was 79.5kg to McMaullan's 77kg.

When MacDonald was called to the ring, it seemed that the whole of Scotland had packed into the venue as he had a lot of support with him. It was a different reception that McMullan received from cheers to boo's but that's all part of the spirit of the game where home fight fans get behind their fighters. From the opening round, Darren kept to his plan of attack. To maintain the distance between him and the shorter man with his reach and using his long front strikes. There were some nice exchanges with some low kicks and good knee strikes and it was clear that it was working for The East Belfast fighter. Second round was much of the same with Darren landing the meatier and the heavier shots and it looked at times that MacDonald didn't have an answer to break McMullan's defence. It wasn't until the thirs round when MacDonald landed some heavy low kicks that clearly hurt the ProKick fighter and it's was a good job he didn't capitalise and take advantage of McMullan's leaky defence as this could have forced a stoppage in the fight. 

There was a moment of madness on MacDonald's part as he was under pressure in his own corner, taking multiple unanswered shots then decided to drop his hands and invited McMullan to take further shots. This didn't do him any favours as McMullan landed some hard shots that opened up the Scot's left eye, further sealing his defeat for the judges. Right after the fight, The 'Ballybeen Samurai' also received a special trophy for being involved in what was voted as the "fight of the night."

This would make a great top of the bill fight for any promote. Negociations are in hand to bring MacDonald to Belfast for October 30th. Let's hope we can get him here.

A big thank you to Duncan Airlie-Jame, Scotland's true braveheart. For a wonderfully organised event once more. He has done four promotions this year and he is topping off in The Hilton Glasgow for Katana 5 'The Rising Sun' Fight coaches and promoters should take a leaf out of Duncan Airlie James's event. He knows how to treat fighters, how to put on a show and he is definitely setting the bar very high for others to follow. Support him when you can.

Duncan Airlie-James will be ringside at ProKick's 'Fright Night' event as guest judge.