It's no secret that the team behind Ultimate Challenge are the same guys that brought you the runaway success that was Cage Rage. Let’s set the record straight, no one has done more for UK MMA than these guys. From their humble beginnings in 2002, they have gone from strength to strength and have promoted sell out shows ever since. They don’t just talk the talk; these guys make dreams a reality with well over 40 successful events to their name. Their main coverage is in London; one event being taken to a sell out Birmingham NEC in 2008. Sky Sports aired the Cage Rage events for 2 years on pre-recorded, edited highlight shows. Then the massive step of going live with 6 shows for Sky Sports was taken, which was ground breaking for UK MMA.
We are continually having our footage aired around the World, so from Brazil through to the Middle East you can sit down and watch Cage Rage on a multitude of sports channels. Not content with just producing huge live events from Wembley Arena we proposed an idea for an MMA talk show, which was quickly copied in the USA and started off with a 30 part series of 30 mini shows presented by Sara Kaywood.
Dave O’Donnell and Andy Geer then set about recording and hosting 177 x 1 hour episodes of the series ‘Cage Fighter’ which in itself was a massive achievement and was aired on a twice daily basis on The fight Network in Canada, Kohinoor in South Africa and TWC in the UK. It is still being aired around the World. Another great success was the Cage Rage Contenders talk shows which focussed on up and coming fighters. 30 half hour episodes were produced and recorded, hosted by O.J. Borg from the National Lottery. Documentaries based around MMA were another huge success and once again Cage Rage was at the forefront of bringing MMA to mainstream TV, with ITV, BBC and Channel 4 ( C4-Unarmed & Dangerous) producing and screening over ten documentaries made about fighters or the Cage Rage events.
The best is still yet to come as “The men behind the cage, Dave & Andy” is still in the making, A Cage fighter film which is currently in location planning has also been written by Dave and is being headed up by leading film makers, Vertigo. Music made for the Cage is what most shows forget, but the international sound mix for other countries is very important. We have had over 20 tracks commissioned with full clearance, plus an album which is still selling well. We have also produced and released 2 music videos with that special Cage feel. Our presence in feature films has always been strong and here are just a few examples, ‘Ten Dead Men’ has a great cage fight scene where our very own promoter, Dave O ‘Donnell, gets seven bells knocked out of him. ‘Clubbed 2 Deaths’ and ‘Sucker Punch’ are two more films that feature the Cage and Dave O’Donnell. Dave has always stated that “ Mixed Martial Arts belongs on TV and in the cinema” and that he would do everything within his power to get it there. “I have a different idea every day, some are good, some are great, but an idea is not reality until it’s in production”.
The Reality show, Fighting Hurts proved to be a huge success as it broke all previous viewing figures every time it was shown. We took 16 talented young hopefuls and trained them to be cage fighters, with the last two contestants fighting it out on a live televised final. We are waiting to launch the next big reality show, so watch this space! Cage fighting, Mixed Martial Arts is all about fighting, but we always look to expand on what we are able to offer in terms of pure entertainment. We endeavour to please the fans with not just fights, but also a great night out.
The team has recently been concentrating on home grown talent in the form of the Grand Prix Tournament that is being held throughout 2009. Let’s not forget some of the great former champions and all out true fighters, from the likes of Anderson Silva , Vitor Belfort, Lee Murray, Mike Bisbing, Phil Baroni, Ian Freenan , Butterbean, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua, Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro, Matt Linland, Melvin Manoeff, Antonio Silva, Jean Silva, Jorge Riveira, Mark Kerr, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos, Brad Pickett, Japanese MMA Superstars Matsui, Minowa, Imanari, Paul Daley, Chris Lytle, Zelg Galesic, Tony Fryklund, Dave Menne, Amar Suloev, James Thompson, Gilbert Yyvel, Alexander Lungu, Xavier Pokam, Kimo Leopold, Elvis Sinosic, Luiz Azeredo, Dan Severn, Tank Abbott, Michael McDonald, Herb Dean, Mario Sperry, Julius Francis, Chris Brennan and Drew Fickett, to name but a few .
If you’re looking for the best cage fighting entertainment, be it live or on TV, then go no further than, "THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE"
