Last Event

TEAR UP 8 |  17.03.12

RESULTS | REVIEW | GALLERY

In a night of 14 fights, Kate Jackson and Wes“The Immortal” Murch score first round stoppages.
A school might well seem a strange place to stage to erect a cage and stage fourteen mixed martial arts fights, but at Tear Up 8 it worked incredibly well. In the centre of the City Academy's massive sports hall in Bristol, stood a caged platform, surrounded by fifty VIP tables with waitress service. Outside of the VIP area a further five hundred or so seats were placed, so that around one thousand fights fans could witness incredible fights, with the action beamed onto a big screen, with a great sound system and DJ, break dancing and martial arts displays between fights.

Wes “The Immortal” Murch vs Sam Boo
The main event of the evening saw Olympians MMA's veteran fighter Wes Murch take on Sam Boo of House of Pain. Straight from the opening bell, Murch looked to close distance and, securing double under hooks, pulled Boo to the ground, landing in his opponent's half guard. He found his way to mount and then side control and began to isolate Boo's arm, all the while maintaining supreme control. “The Immortal” patiently worked the arm into position and locked on a kimura, submitting Boo in impressively calm and decisive fashion.
Wes Murch won in round 1 by kimura.

Harvey Dines vs Alex Brunnen In the co main event, Harvey Dines and Alex Brunnen into the third round in an exciting back and forth fight. Dines had the better of the first two rounds, controlling Brunnen for large periods and attacking with submissions. That being said, Brunnen managed to land some significant strikes and even slammed his opponent at one point in the first round.
The most exciting action in the fight took place in the third round, with Harvey Dines pulling guard with a guillotine locked in. Alex Brunnen managed to tough it out, popping his had out and ending up in his opponent's guard. Dines managed to sweep, while holding the neck and wound up in a mounted guillotine, ending a draining fight by tap out.
Harvey Dines won at 1:39 of round 3 by mounted guillotine

Paula Ralph vs Kate Jackson
This was the first pro rules bout and only female fight of the evening, so there was a real sense of anticipation and excitement as the fighters made their way to the cage. The tension took all of twenty seconds to come to a head as Jackson knocked Ralph down with a stiff straight right, her first punch. She began to walk away, thinking her opponent out cold, but as Paula Ralph began to get up, Jackson pounced and added two or three punches on the ground to be sure.
Paula Ralph won by knock out at 0:20 of round 1.

Amateur, Semi Pro, C Class and B Class Fights
The under card saw four different stages of MMA progression.
In the first amateur bout (no head shots allowed standing or on the ground) Alex Tweedie of Bath defeated Paul Cooper of Impact Gym Bristol by unanimous decision. Trojan's Asa Hearn beat George Griffiths of Impact by armbar in round one and Dale McCrae won a split decision victory of Impact Gym's James Abbot after an intriguing kick boxing battle (with no head shots!).
In the semi pro bouts (no head shots on the ground) Trojan's Sam Francis won a quick thirty second knock out victory over David Teversham before Luke Burchill of Swindon Vale Tudo came back from being severely rocked by Gary Wardle to entangle him in a triangle choke, winning by submission.
Tear Up trialled a C class with slightly larger six ounce gloves, with punches (but not elbows) legal on the ground. The youngest fighter on the card, sixteen year old Anthony Sutton gritted out three rounds of pressure but eventually lost a unanimous decision to Olympians' Toby Meech. Olympians MMA continued a great night as Gary Lewis won by TKO over Pacer Morgan. Matt Philips survived an early knock down to knock out Max Bassett.
The final level before pro rules was B class pro, with the usual four ounce gloves worn and head shots (but no elbows) allowed both standing and on the ground. In the first of two B class fights, Phil Wells of Swindon Vale Tudo dominated Neil Harper before finishing by TKO. Then, Mark Skidmore of Impact Gym, with a horde of loud support, won a submission victory over Kane Willis after displaying effortless top control