Bateman too strong for Lithuanian rival

HUMBERSTON mixed martial arts fighter James Bateman crushed Lithuanian opponent Aurius Carpa at the Barnsley Metrodome in his third professional fight.

Bateman, 24, who was a finalist in the Virgin One US UFC Contender TV Series, The Ultimate Fighter, overcame the distraction of two of his scheduled opponents pulling out of the bout before clinching the win inside two minutes 42 seconds with a rear naked choke.

He was due to face ex-Iranian national wrestler Ali Arish, who pulled out two weeks prior to the match, and then replacement James Ball, of Doncaster, also withdrew at short-notice.

However, Bateman, from Neal Lofts' Fight Ministry gym, based on Wilton Road, finally landed an opponent at the 11th hour when London-based Carpa stepped up to toe the line.

Carpa, who brought a record of five wins and five defeats into the fight, couldn't avoid trouble once Bateman – who avenged his pro debut defeat to Wolfslair Gym's Wayne Murray in May with a knock-out victory against his stablemate Leeroy Barnes in October – got into the clinch.

Knee strikes to the legs, body and head followed from Bateman, who worked his way into a superior head tie position.

Bateman showed further control in the clinch by switching to a double under-hook tie position, from which he nailed a smart outside trip to secure the take-down.

From then on, Bateman used strong elbows and strikes to force Carpa to expose his back and that enabled the Fight Ministry player to work the rear naked choke, which ended the fight.

On the under card, Fight Ministry's Adam Thompson lost out on his chance to impress when opponent Darrell Wescott pulled out through illness a day before the match.

Meanwhile, at a separate competition at Hull's Gemtec Arena, Louie Chapman was victorious in his home town in his last fight at semi-pro level.

Chapman, now training at Lofts' stable in Grimsby before he joins Bateman in the pro ranks, beat Jake Tear by unanimous decision at welterweight to become the holder of a 10th legion fighting championship belt.

Chapman got the better of the open exchanges using his jab.

He then bullied in the clinch, peeling off with left hooks to the face which went unanswered.

Tear looked more comfortable in the second, trawling forward looking to level things.

He made a connection with a high round kick but, generally, his strikes were not telling.

And to erase any doubts in the judges' minds, Chapman dominated the last round, going for submissions through a rear naked choke, reverse triangle, armbar and, in the dying seconds, a triangle choke.

On the performance of his fighters, Lofts said: "From a coaching perspective pullouts are disruptive but James has a 'fight anyone' attitude and was far from fazed.

"James Bateman and Louie Chapman are both learning and applying there trades well, both train full-time paying close attention to a very strict training regime.

"They set a great example to the younger guys, adding to an already strong 'esprit de corpes'."