British Bark – Aug. 10 – Lee Murray Film In Making
Former Cage Rage middleweight champion Lee “Lightning” Murray (8-2-1) will have his life story made into a film, according to Time Inc, the parent company of Sports Illustrated. The media giant has recently announced a partnership with two Beverly Hills based production companies, which will allow Sports Illustrated to turn some of its most intriguing stories into films.
Entitled “Breaking the Bank”, the Lee Murray story will recount the criminal exploits of the UFC veteran, with a focus on a 53 million pound ($92 million) bank heist, which he allegedly masterminded, in early 2006.
While British law enforcement managed to find many of those involved in the crime, Murray was never arrested, as he fled to Morocco with some of his accomplices. In 2007, British law enforcement requested to have Murray extradited, after the Londoner was arrested for unrelated crimes. Because no extradition treaty exists between the UK and Morocco, the Moroccan Supreme Court has yet to comply.
With memorable bouts against Anderson Silva, Jorge Rivera and Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons, Murray was for many years regarded as the UK’s most exciting fighter. Outside of the cage, he had a notorious reputation, after an incident where he allegedly knocked out Tito Ortiz in a street fight. The fight was described in Matt Hughes’s book “Made in America”:
“The entire alley erupted into a huge brawl. I was just standing there, and there were bodies flying all over the place. I was confused how it all happened, because it happened so fast. I was standing there with my mouth open like ‘what the hell is going on?’ I looked over and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Liddell”Chuck Liddell was with his back against the wall, knocking people out that were trying to go after him. Then I looked over and there’s Tito directly past me, taking his coat off, going after Lee Murray, and Lee Murray’s backing up the alley taking his jacket off. Both their jackets come off, and Tito throws a left hook at Lee Murray and misses, and right as he missed, Lee Murray counters with, like, a five-punch combo, landed right on the chin, and knocked Tito out. OUT. Tito fell face-first down to the ground, and then Lee Murray stomped him on the face a couple of times with his boots. Then Tony Fryklund and I grabbed Lee and pushed Lee and said ‘Get out of here!’ And Lee said ‘I’m sorry, I’ll see you later,’ and took off. And Tony Fryklund helped Tito to his feet.”
In 2005, Murray nearly died after being stabbed in a brawl outside the Funky Buddha nightclub in London. The incident caused a punctured lung and a severed artery, which was expected to end his MMA career. Miraculously, Murray not only survived but was also scheduled to make a UFC comeback against Phil Baroni. Unfortunately, the bout never took place.
Thompson To Make British Comeback at Cage Rage 28
Heavyweight veteran James Thompson (14-9-0) is set to make his UK comeback, in a headline bout at Cage Rage 28. The event is scheduled for September 20th at the Troxy in London.
Thompson’s opponent is Polish powerhouse Piotr Kusmierz (1-1-0), who made his Cage Rage debut earlier this year at Cage Rage 27. With only two professional bouts to his name, Kuzmierz will have to find a way to make up for Thompson’s wealth of experience.
Thompson’s last outing resulted in a loss to Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at Elite XC: Primetime in May. The British behemoth is on a three-fight losing streak, having not tasted victory since beating Don Frye at PRIDE 34 last year.
Pickett-Jazbutis Added to Cage Rage 28
A featherweight bout between Brad Pickett (14-4-0) and Antanas Jazbutis (7-4-0) has been added to the main card of Cage Rage 28.
Pickett is currently on a three-fight winning streak, his most recent win being a submission over Cristian Binda at Cage Rage 27. The British striker is a true Cage Rage veteran, having fought 12 of his 18 bouts for the London based promotion.
Jazbutis hails from Lithuania and is veteran of several Lithuanian promotions. He has also fought in Shooto, where he lost to Takeshi Yamazaki. Jazbutis’s last fight took place in late May, where he defeated Jay Gilbey via TKO.
Cage Rage 28 “VIP”
September 20, 2008
The Troxy, London
England
Confirmed Bouts:
Piotr Kusmierz vs. James Thompson
Ross Pointon vs. Che Mills
Antanas Jazbutis vs. Brad Pickett
Leigh Remedios vs. Robbie Olivier
Ross Mason vs. Scott Jansen
Kym Farid vs. TBA
Jack Mason vs. John Hathaway
Michael Pastou vs. Nigel Whittear
Steve Hopwood vs. TBA
John Cottham vs. Wesley Johnson
Mark Brown vs. Scott Rogan
Upcoming UK Events:
Cage Rage Contenders 11
August 16, 2008
The Troxy
London, England
FX3: Fight Night 7
September 13, 2008
Rivermead Complex
Reading, England
Cage Rage 28: VIP
September 20, 2008
The Troxy
London, England
M-1 Challenge UK
September 27, 2008
Harvey Hadden Centre
Nottingham, England
UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben
October 18, 2008
National Indoor Arena
Birmigham, England
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