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Fighters From United Kingdom
It is hard to separate cause from effect when analyzing the roots of MMA's current "British Invasion." The recent surge in the United Kingdom's fighting talent was surely helped by the arrival in Britain of the UFC. But the UFC's arrival there was, in turn, caused by England's increasing exportation of top-flight talent to the promotion. Whatever the reason, wave after wave of skilled Brits are pouring into the UFC, notching key wins against the familiar Brazilian, Canadian and American mainstays, and rising up the divisional rankings. Though it could not be said as recently as five years ago, today MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in England, and England is a first-tier presence on the international MMA landscape.
The UFC held its first-ever event in the U.K. in April 2007, with UFC 70 in Manchester. The Zuffa-owned promotion returned six more times by the end of 2010, to cities including London, Newcastle and Birmingham, each time greeted by raucus crowds. UFC events in the United Kingdom have been held at some of the largest indoor arenas in Europe, including the O2 Arena and the Manchester Evening News Arena, venues significantly larger than the UFC's typical 10,000-12,000 seat arena for a Las Vegas, Nevada featured Pay Per View event.
But before the UFC ever entered the U.K. market, homegrown British promotion Cage Rage had been holding high level events for years. Premiering in 2002, the London-based Cage Rage held a total of 33 events, before ultimately declaring bankruptcy in 2008. Cage Rage played host to many of today's greatest fighters, including Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, and helped pave the way for MMA's modern success in Britain.
On the grassroots level, mixed martial arts gyms are flourishing in England. Two such gyms are now recognized as among the world's best: the Wolfslair MMA Academy, based in Widnes, U.K.; and Team Rough House, based in Nottingham and Leicester. Wolfslair Academy's showcase fighter is The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner, Michael "The Count" Bisping, and UFC standouts Quinton Jackson (America) and Cheick Kongo (France) also train at the Wolfslair. Team Rough House members and alumni include Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 members Andre Winner and Ross Pearson, and the UFC's Nick Osipczak. Major talent also exists outside these two teams, led by the bright young Englishman John Hathaway, who trains at London, England's London Shootfighters and holds a win over Diego Sanchez in the UFC. World Champion Jiu-Jitsu fighter Roger Gracie also founded The Roger Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in West London, England, which is home to many of the world's top grapplers.
The most famous cagefighter to emerge from England, though for all the wrong reasons, may be the infamous "Lightning" Lee Murray, whose most famous exploit was participating in (some say masterminding) the 2006 Securitas depot robbery in Kent, the single largest cash robbery in British history. Murray, a Moroccan citizen, fled to Morocco after the heist, in which he and his co-conspirators tied up fourteen bank staff members and stole the equivalent of US$92.5 million in bank notes. Back in his tamer days, when he merely fought in cages for a living, Murray knocked out the likes of Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons and submitted Jorge Rivera with a first-round Guillotine. He also reportedly knocked out Tito Ortiz during a late-night barfight.
While Lee Murray may be British MMA's true outlaw, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy was the first Brit to fight for a UFC world title, in a losing effort to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111. It is only a matter of time before England crowns its first UFC champion as a U.K.-based mixed martial arts renaissance is clearly underway.
