Mark Marches over Malik.



A day before his 27th birthday Mark Godbeer turned in an incredible performance to bring a fitting climax to the recent 'Head To Head' cage fighting championships at the Junction 24 Centre
The promotion 'The Big Guns' lived up to all the hype of the last few months and was probably the biggest sporting event Bridgwater has ever seen.
Hundreds of fight fans flocked to The Sedgemoor Auction Centre near North Petherton and witnessed a five hour show of kickboxing and mixed martial arts action.



However, the results for the local Bridgwater 'All or Nothing' club's fighters didn't go all their way. In fact only four of the home team came away with winner's medals, and there were one or two upsets too, so typical of the fight game.....
Eighteen year old kickboxer Luke Hardwell kicked off the show with a mature points wins win over Stuart Smith of Penzance. This was Luke's second fight and he displayed a calculated performance that had all three judges in favour of the young Bridgwater man.



Lewis Jordon then faced a rematch with Lewis Mulhall of Weston super Mare. Even though Jordan came back strong in the last round it was a unanimous points win for Mulhall.



Anita Godbeer in her debut fight against Penzance fighter Liz Hughes fought sensibly and used her reach advantage to keep her opponent at distance. Godbeer kept to this game plan throughout the three rounds scoring with well aimed straight punches and body kicks. Even though Hughes rallied a bit in the third round the unanimous decision went to Anita Godbeer

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Another rematched fight was Ben Nash versus Callum Mason of Newquay. This time however it was Mason to pinch the fight with a split decision over the Bridgwater fighter. Nash showed more maturity in his fighting style than his earlier bouts but was probably not quite convincing enough when on the attack. A third fight between these two could not be ruled out as they are now one a piece.



IKF Southern Area Kickboxing Welterweight champion Rob Ellick was favourite to retain his belt when he stepped into the cage to face young Ryan Edmunson of Bristol. However, Edmunson came with ambition and after the first two rounds was constantly pressing Ellick with big punches and strong roundhouse kicks to the body. Ellick was moving well and counter-punching but he was also unsettled by the relentless style of Edmunson. Early in the third a vicious right hand dropped Ellick and even though Ellick regained his feet to resume the fight he was still unsteady. This gave the Bristol fighter confidence and after another combination of heavy punches Ellick struggled to stay up. After three knockdowns referee Mark Woodard had no choice but to stop the fight. Ryan Edmunson was new IKF Area Champion.


The mixed martial arts fights started with Bridgwater's Lightheavyweight John Allen versus Joe Deeny from Milton Keynes. From the bell the game plan was obvious, Deeny was going take Allen down in order to avoid the superior boxing technique of the local fighter. The fight was spent much of the time against the cage where John Allen successfuly avoided much of Deeny's take down attempts. However it was a frustrating night for Allen because Deeny's tactics did not allow for Allen to show his stand up skills. But mixed martial arts is about tactics and so the Deeny offensive was enough to gain a points win over Allen.



Bridgwater's Paul Carrot was soon to follow in a lightweight bout against Frenchman Julian Waltz fighting out of The Bulldog Gym in Bournemouth. Waltz came out strong and pressured Carrot early but Carrot likes a stand up fight and was equal to the task when they clinched up and threw short punches and strong knees. However, Carrot was taken down and struggled to compete on the floor with Waltz who mounted Carrot and attacked the face repeatedly. Carrot, though, has superb resilience and showed great defence off his back despite punches raining down. Several times it looked almost over for Carrot but he turned the tables and got himself back into the fight. Waltz was the unanimous points winner after a hard three rounds but Paul Carrot proved a stern test for him.



Martin Greedy of Taunton, representing Bridgwater's All Or Nothing fight team, came into the cage to face Torquay's Mark Brown. These two lightheavyweights started the fight at distance picking their shots and not wasting energy. It was Greedy's leg kicks that made his work more eyecatching and throughout the fight both fighters showed good wrestling skills with some impressive picks ups and slams. But Greedy's stand up techniques proved too much for Brown although the latter did come back with some solid punches near the end. A unanimous decision went in favour of the home fighter.



A major upset was to follow. Taunton's Danny Poulsom, in his pro debut, was caught early by a takedown by Bournemouth's Andy Kerr. Kerr had obviously done his homework and was not going to get into a scrap with former boxer Poulsom. Kerr controlled Poulsom on the floor but Poulsom defended well and was not in any real danger. Poulsom looked at one time to be about to regain his feet but Kerr saw his chance and spun onto Poulsom's back to force him back to the floor. This was a bad position for Poulsom who could only cover his head while punches rained down. Even though Poulsom was unhurt the referee controversially jumped in to stop the fight deeming the grounded fighter unable to defend himself. Poulsom was unhappy, so too were the fans, but experienced referee Mark Woodard stated that in his opinion Poulsom could not improve his position and therefore would have to be stopped. A win for Andy Kerr.



Mark Godbeer stepped into the cage at around 11.45pm to look across at his opponent, Malik Merad, a huge 6ft 7ins fighter from Lyon in France. Merad wasted no time in taking the fight to Mark. In fact after several well placed punches it looked like another early stoppage was on the cards in favour of the Frenchman. Mark rallied and tied up Merad in a clinch but as he attempted a knee he slipped and was on his back where once more he came under pressure from huge hammer- like punches. The referee hovered over Godbeer but the Bridgwater light heavyweight was not to give up the fight so quickly. Godbeer managed to scramble and defend and finally pull his huge adversary to the floor with him and stop the concussive blows. To the crowd chanting his name Godbeer started to look lively and worked hard to attack Merad from underneath with submission attempts. Although unsuccessful it seemed to turn the fight at a crucial time. At the start of the second round both fighters were looking to land the big shot. It went to Godbeer after the Frenchman threw a kick and Mark landed a perfect right hand which rocked his opponent. Godbeer then moved into the clinch where he systematically pressured Merad with punches and knees. Godbeer then saw his chance, he hooked Merad around the neck with his arm and pulled him to the floor where he finished the fight with a text book guillotine choke. Seven fights, seven wins for Mark 'The Hand' Godbeer. A thrilling end to a thrilling night. For details of the next event in the spring contact Arthur Meek 07765042414.