ProElite's British acquisition, Cage Rage, kicked off another event in England on Saturday evening that featured the return of Ken Shamrock to the cage. The card also featured bouts between Jean “White Bear” Silva and leglock specialist Masakazu Imanari, UK heavyweights Neil Grove and Rob Broughton, and a US vs. Britain showdown between Tom Watson and Pierre Guillet. The main event card had some lackluster moments, but the preliminary bouts provided some excitement for the crowd to get amped up. Surprisingly, Wembley Arena sold out for this event, and it looks like the British mixed martial arts scene is continuing to grow. Let's look at the action from today's event.

Shamrock's nonexistent gameplan causes embarrassment

For Ken Shamrock, this was to be his comeback fight. After losing his last five bouts and losing eight in his last ten fights, Shamrock was taking on a relatively weak chinned fighter in Robert Berry. The plan was for Shamrock to defeat Berry and move on to potentially take on Kimbo Slice on a CBS-EliteXC MMA show. Unfortunately, Shamrock's return was spoiled by the heavy hands of “Buzz” Berry.

Berry and Shamrock stood toe-to-toe for most of the fight, but Shamrock took a hard strike to the temple that immediately dropped him like a tree. Berry's size was a significant factor in the battle as Shamrock had problems trying to take down the larger Berry. His reach also provided enough range to keep Ken outside while he peppered him with shots.

The critical flaw in Shamrock's gameplan was exactly that... his gameplan. Ken's primary weapon in the past has been his ability to submit opponents with devastating leg locks, but his primary focus has moved away from that recently. That type of gameplan hasn't been successful for Ken, and it will continue to plague him with embarrassment if he doesn't realize the flaw.

Imanari finishes Silva quickly

Masakazu Imanari has remained relatively unknown to the casual fanbase for most of his career. While holding both the Cage Rage and DEEP titles and maintaining a top 10 ranking in the Featherweight division throughout the world, Imanari has quietly and consistently defeated mid-echelon talent. Saturday night at Wembley Arena was no different.

Imanari worked his signature heel hook submission on Jean Silva at only 2:30 in the first round. Silva was edging out Imanari early in the standup department, but Imanari pulled Silva into the leg lock position as Silva tried to work a ground and pound game. After a few attempts by Imanari to secure the lock and Silva rolling out of the hold, Imanari sunk in the heel hook and visibly hurt Silva's leg to end the fight. Silva had to be escorted out of the ring and eventually left the arena on a stretcher.

Other action

ProElite's British mixed martial arts promotion will hold another installment of their Cage Rage series from London, England on Saturday. The event will feature the return of Ken “The World's Most Dangerous Man” Shamrock to the cage against Robert Berry. Berry is best known for his recent performance against Neil Grove in which he lost after outstriking Neil Grove throughout the first round of their matchup. Berry stated recently that a horrible head cold forced him to stop fighting during the fight. In a higher profile lightweight matchup, Masakazu Imanari, arguably a top 10 featherweight, will take on Cage Rage veteran Jean “White Bear” Silva. Check out our brief preview and predictions below.

Main Event: Ken Shamrock vs. Robert “Buzz” Berry

Shamrock will enter this bout well past his prime and coming off some huge losses to Tito Ortiz in his last bouts in the UFC. Can he overcome age and the progression of MMA's styles over the years to defeat Berry? It's quite possible considering the fact that British MMA has yet to really break the mold of being one-dimensional. Robert Berry certainly doesn't break that mold.

Berry comes into the bout at 11-7. It's a bit deceptive considering his bout with undefeated heavyweight Neil Grove in his last performance was fairly impressive for the one round that it lasted. Grove went on to win when Berry gave up at the end of round 1, and earlier this week admitted to having a severe head cold that rendered him unable to continue. Despite the loss, Berry has some big power and size that he can throw around against Shamrock. Does he have enough to actually push Ken to the limit?

I don't believe he does. He's still reckless in his striking, and Ken's submission wrestling should be able to take care of Berry quickly. The only real question that can be asked is whether Ken will actually try to go for the submission early, or try to stand with Berry's proven chin. Look for Shamrock to try to test Berry's chin and get the TKO victory early.

Leland's Prediction: Ken Shamrock via TKO, Round 1

Masakazu Imanari vs. Jean Silva

Imanari is no slouch to fighting top competition. Mainly a featherweight fighter, he's currently ranked fifth in the world on the Sherdog.com rankings. He will defend his Cage Rage title on Saturday, and may soon have to defend his current DEEP title as well.

Imanari's skills are more than enough to keep him on top in both promotions. His leg locks are renowned as being his primary skill to defeat opponents. Toe holds, leg locks, heel hooks... Imanari is no stranger to the submission game. Undoubtedly, the ground will be where this fight is won and lost.

Silva is also a submission specialist who trains out of Chute Box in Brazil. As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Silva's primary skills revolve around choking opponents out. His striking is average, but he does possess some power to put opponents out. Silva has, however, fallen on some tough times, running 2-2 in his last four fights.  Imanari's skill could prove to be too much for Silva. I'm going to go with Imanari's submission game to prevail over Silva's jiu-jitsu. Silva hasn't been as impressive lately, and Imanari's record of facing competent competition should give him an experience edge as well.

Leland's Prediction: Masakazu Imanari via submission, Round 2

Quick Hits
Gary Turner vs. Mustaph al Turk: I'm going to actually pick Mustaph al Turk in this fight for a couple of reasons. Turner is a converted kickboxer who really hasn't fought tough competition. Most of his opponents have tried to stand with him and paid for it. Turk, on the other hand, has fought some decent competition in Mark Kerr and Tengiz Tedoradze. He has a punishing ground and pound that I believe could overwhelm Turner. Nonetheless, I'll take Turner due to his striking abilities. Turner via decision

Pierre Guillet vs. Tom Watson: I'm going with Guillet's experience and submission game over Watson's standup striking pedigree. Guillet has had a rough time within the last year of competition, but Watson is a green fighter who is susceptible to the submission. Long shot pick. Guillet via submission, Round 2

Ivan Serati vs. Roman Webber: Serati will be my pick here. I was a bit surprised with his performance over Lee Hasdell. He wasn't as lackluster as I've seen from him in previous fights, and his takedowns and ground and pound looked to have improved. Webber is much of the same type of fighter as Serati, but Serati has a bit more experience on his side. Serati via TKO, Round 2

Neil Grove vs. Rob Broughton: Although Grove was being beaten by Berry in their matchup until Berry threw the towel in, Grove still has shown some devastating striking early in each fight. Broughton shows nearly the same set of skills as Grove in all of his fights. The only difference is the experience of Broughton that has given him 3 losses to his record. Grove will have to watch for the takedowns from Broughton, and Broughton will have to shake off the ring rust after sitting since February of last year. I'll take Grove due to his activity, and big knockout power early. Grove via TKO/KO, Round 1

Aysen Berik vs. Aisling Daly: The beautiful Aysen Berik will take on the 2-0 Aisling Daly. From viewing some of the training tape on Berik, she didn't look too impressive. Daly will have a distinct advantage in having actual MMA experience, but Aysen will be able to get some training from her brother, Sami “The Hun” Berik. I'm going with the experienced Daly. Daly via TKO, Round 2

Ryan Shamrock vs. Giorgio Andrews: I'm not really sure what to believe in this one. Ryan was impressive in his pro debut with a quick choke submission win, but Giorgio has put away two opponents with relative ease as well. Shamrock's first MMA bout was impressive though, and his body control was surprising. He avoided shots, had an excellent slam to put his opponent to the floor, and was actively trying to submit his opponent. Shamrock via submission, Round 2

John Hathaway vs. Marvin Arnold Bleau: Hathaway should be able to pound Bleau out in this one. Bleau is very susceptible to ground and pound, and Hathaway can dish it out. At 6-0, I think Hathaway will extend his undefeated streak in the Middleweight division. Hathaway via TKO, Round 1

Jake Bostwick vs. John Phillips: Bostwick has been a punching bag to nearly everyone he has faced, and Phillips will be no different. Phillips has big power, and should end it in the first round quickly. Phillips via TKO/KO, Round 1

Michael Johnson vs. Henrique Santana: This is a pure pick'em for me. I haven't had the chance to see either fight, but Santana seems to be less susceptible to submission, and that's where Johnson excels and has weaknesses. I'll pick Santana to choke out Johnson. Santana via submission, Round 1

CBS Sportsline writer and FiveOuncesOfPain.com blogger, Sam Caplan, had an interesting article regarding his picks for some of the break out fighters that we may see in 2008. His picks were Ed Ratcliff, Neil Grove, Jon Murphy, Tim Kennedy, Aaron Meisner, Carlo Prater, Demian Maia, and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Those are some pretty decent picks for 2008, but there are a few that have been left out that should be looked at. Also, some of these names look to have some major roadblocks to overcome as well. Let's take a look.

Some thoughts on Caplan's picks

Ed Ratcliff is a great pick, and he brings the Karate background to his skillset that many mixed martial artists rarely have. A fighter who many people may know what has a demoralizing tactical gameplan for nearly every fight which features a karate background is Lyoto Machida. Ratcliff doesn't seem to garner the same type of patient countering as Machida, but he has crisp striking and precision kicks. Picking him over Karalexis recently was a damn good bet on my part, but Karalexis's wrestling was definitely a factor I had weighed. Regardless, Ratcliff pulled out a good win. Check out his Chuck Norris-esque spinning back kick win over Brett Cooper (Just recently beat Rory Markham at the IFL GP Final).

Tim Kennedy is definitely a nice pick. He nearly finished Jason Miller, but was ultimately defeated. Even with the setbacks, he's a warrior with good power, decent striking, and a great wrestling background. He'll be able to improve significantly as well as he has been training with The Pit, Liddell's camp.

Both are fantastic picks, but I'm not sold on the Demian Maia and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza picks for a couple of reasons. First, Maia and Souza could run into the possibility of just being punched into unconsciousness. We all know that, but my main gripe deals with grapplers in general moving to the top of the middleweight division. Both guys could make waves in a weak UFC middleweight division for awhile, but the grapplers near the top and the over talent at the top rely on some decent standup skills as well. A guy like Filho has better chances because he has huge power in his arms and has a possibility of catching his opponent. His raw power is also tough to stop on the ground. His raw power makes him dangerous in the striking even though he isn't that technically sound in it. Maia and Souza don't have that advantage.

Neil Grove didn't impress me in his last fight, and honestly, he's a typical British standup fighter. Robert Berry, who wasn't using really any technique at all in his striking, was able to actually drop him to the ground and win the round. Unbelievably, Berry gave up due to exhaustion. Grove was lucky, and he will probably be exposed in any other organization.

Cage Rage 24 will take place this Saturday at the Wembley Arena in Middlesex, England. It's rash of stripper dancers, horrendous music, and quick standups should be a refreshing scene to most of you who haven't seen the British promotion's style of putting on a show. Although the production value isn't great, the fights usually aren't too bad and they do present a lot of fighters who just simply like to stand and strike. Let's take a quick look at some of the big fights on this card.

Murilo "Ninja" Rua (14-8-1) vs. Xavier "Professor X" Foupa-Pokam (13-7)

If you've been keeping up on your secondary promotion MMA lately, you'll know that "Ninja" Rua just recently came off a huge loss to "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler at EliteXC Uprising back in September. In the unification title bout, Lawler slowly picked Rua apart and ended the battle with some huge blows in the third round. Lawler's gameplan was specifically how Rua has been beaten in the past, in the standup. He'll have another test with Xavier.

Xavier is a French Muay Thai fighter, and as many would say, French MMA isn't exactly the best. Many of their fighters tend to stick with striking skills and fail to have impressive ground tactics. A good example would be the UFC's Cheick Kongo. Xavier has some decent standup with good knockout power, but is very susceptible to the submission on the ground. Many fans have been stating that Xavier's recent 5-win streak will extend through Rua, but I beg to differ.

Barring a complete lack of intelligence from "Ninja" Rua, I look for Rua to take it to the ground and prove that his black belt in jiu-jitsu will be too much for Xavier. Although "Ninja" isn't at the caliber as his brother "Shogun" Rua, he has some fairly good skills on the ground. I look for "Ninja" to feel out Xavier in the first round. I'll give Xavier some time, but I think Rua should put him out by the second round via submission.

Drew Fickett (30-5) vs. Mark "The Wizard" Weir (18-14)

Fickett has kept his skills on display recently with a stint in the newly formed HDNet Fights promotion. He recently defeated Anthony Lapsley, a fairly good wrestler, quickly via a first round submission. Before that battle, he had a six-fight stint in the UFC going 4-2 with a notable win over Josh Koscheck. Fickett had problems with some of the stronger fighters in the Welterweight division of the UFC, but still remains a top fighter in the world, only dropping 5 fights in his lengthy career.

Mark Weir is considered one of the more veteran fighters in the British scene, specifically in Cage Rage itself. He's known for his striking, but has some ground skills, enough to choke out lesser opponents. He's lost 5 out of his last 6 fights however, and it won't get any easier with Fickett. In his last fight, he was straight knocked out by up-and-coming British prospect Paul Daley. I don't look for Fickett to knock out Weir, but he shouldn't have a hard time submitting him. Fickett by second round submission.

Marius Zaromskis (6-1) vs. Ross "The Gladiator" Pointon (5-9)

You'll recognize one of these fighters as the TUF contestant on season 3 of "The Ultimate Fighter". Ross Pointon didn't fair too well in his 2 UFC fights, losing both by submission. As a matter of fact, he hasn't faired well in his career at all. He tends to do better against guys who like to stand and bang, but even then he's more susceptible to being caught due to his small size.

On the other side of the spectrum is Marius Zaramskis, a knockout fighter coming out of the Lithuanian MMA scene. The scene is beginning to produce some very tough competitors in the mixed martial arts scene. Zaromskis is a powerful standup fighter who has only lost one fight in a flash knockout by Che Mills at Cage Rage Contenders 2. Pointon is just too bad of a fighter for me to pick him here, but who knows, both fighters will stand and bang. Zaromski by first round knockout.

Abdul Mohamed (14-5-2) vs. Robbie Oliver (14-7-1)

One of the tougher fights to pick on the card, Mohamed is primarily a striker with some ground and pound abilities. He's not a prolific finisher, but he has hung around with some very good fighters. Although he recently lost to a good fighter in David Baron in October, he has defeated Jean Silva, Jess Liaudin, and drew with Paul Daley. Overall, Mohamed isn't a bad fighter, but he's not dangerous on the ground, and has trouble stopping the submission. He may be in trouble with Oliver.

This is a step up in competition for Oliver. He's taken on mostly Cage Rage fighters except for losing to Masakazu Imanari inside :30 seconds at Cage Rage 20. He recently won an impressive decision over Ronnie Mann, a man also fighting on the card. Oliver is also fairly well rounded, but susceptible to the submission, something he shouldn't be afraid of in this battle. Look for a strategic battle of standup from both competitors trying to put their opponents into the mat for a beating. I'll take Mohamed's experience. Mohamed by decision.

Elvis Sinosic (8-10-2) vs. Paul Cahoon (9-10)

Sinosic is mostly known for his journeyman status and gatekeeper status in the UFC. He was recently used in the UFC 70 Nations Collide card in which he was beaten by Michael Bisping after nearly defeating Bisping by a vicious knee strike and a close submission. After taking much of the year off, Sinosic will return to Cage Rage where he had success last year defeating Mark Epstein and Katsuhisa Fujii, both by 1st round armbar submission. Sinosic is mostly known as a ju-jitsu fighter, and I wouldn't expect anything less than Sinosic heading to the floor against the striking Paul Cahoon.

Cahoon is riding a 4 win streak with some decent submission wins mixed in. He has some ground game, but nothing compared to Sinosic. His style is mainly kickboxing, but he has been known to go to the floor. He has some knockout power, but I expect Sinosic to avoid it and put Cahoon to the floor early. Sinosic by 1st round submission.

Tom "Kong" Watson (4-2) vs. Mark Epstein (13-10)

Mark Epstein is another big name in British MMA circles, but he hasn't had that great of a go in the cage recently. He's lost his last 3 out of 4 fights, recently losing to Paul Cahoon by decision in July. Sinosic and Ian Freeman also defeated him late in 2006 before Epstein knocked out Roman Webber at Cage Rage 21. Epstein is a typical knockout fighter who can either pop you standing or put you down and maul you. He tries for various submissions on the ground, but I'm not sure if he has the skills to actually pull them off in guard. Look for him to try to pound out Watson.

Watson is much like Epstein in that he will stand and bang and basically look for any way to end the fight. He isn't primarily one type of fighter. He likes to clinch and use knees, throw looping blows, a typical Cage Rage matchup. I'm going to take Epstein for the pure fact that he has some more bulk on his body, a bit more power, and he may be able to take down Watson easier. Epstein, 2nd round TKO.

Neil Grove (4-0) vs. Robert Berry (11-6)

Neil Grove is on a run, a run that probably shouldn't be happening considering he isn't exactly the most polished fighter, but he has some very big power and the ability to maul his opponent to the ground. In his first Cage Rage fight, he flash knocked out James "The Colossus" Thompson in :10 seconds, increasing his stock instantly. He came back for Cage Rage 23 by mauling Domagoj Ostojic inside :35 seconds. A big powerful striker who can use his size to put you down and pound you out as well. He'll have another test with Robert Berry.

Berry is another standup fighter who hasn't fought since February. He defeated Mark Buchanen at Cage Rage 20, and then turned around and lost 14 days later to Colin Robinson at a non-CR event. He doesn't have any notable wins, but has managed to run into problems against Tengiz Tedoradze on multiple occassions. Tedoradze is one of the more successful fighters in the weight class in Cage Rage. Look for another standup war for this fight. Grove's size and power should put Berry down, Neil Grove by 1st round TKO/KO.

In other action...

George "Triplex" Castro, who seems to have a nickname, but no record will take on late replacement Mark Buchanan. Lee Hasdell, who just recently got back into MMA, will take on Ivan Serati, an Italian striker. James McSweeney will fight newcomer Robert Paczkow, this is Paczkow's first fight. Lastly, Ronnie Mann should make quick submission work of the 2-4 Jordan Miller.

You can view the event on ProElite.com as a Pay-Per-View stream for a price. They have packaged 3 stream together for $24.95 at ProElite.com, so check it out. It will be on Saturday during the day in the States at 1 PM.