Paul Cahoon
 |
Name | Paul Cahoon |
| Nickname | Boom Boom | |
| Association | Golden Glory | |
| Weight Class | Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) / Middleweight (185 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | |
| Style | Kickboxing | |
| Stance | Southpaw | |
| Birth Date | N/A | |
| Fighting Out Of | Manchester, England | |
| Country | England | |
| Paul Cahoon Pictures | Official Website |
Paul "Boom Boom" Cahoon is an English mixed martial artist who has fought for numerous promotions, most notably would be Cage Rage and Sengoku. He fought much of his earlier career as a Light Heavyweight, until dropping down to Middleweight after not only losing a Decision (Unanimous) to Ian Freeman, but losing his Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Championship.
Cahoon holds notable victories over Elvis Sinosic and Mark Epstein, and he has also faced and lost to Ian Freeman, Melvin Manhoef, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Rodney Glunder.
Cahoon came back from a one year hiatus and fought at OMMAC 3: Only the Brave defeating Thailand's Matti Makela by unanimous decision.
Professional Record
| Record | 13 - 12 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 5 (T)KOs 5 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Losses | 5 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 6 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Andrius Juska | Submission (Heel Hook) | OMMAC 5: Showdown | 6/05/2010 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Earl Brown | TKO (Eye Injury) | Ultimate Challenge MMA: Never Back Down | 5/08/2010 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Matti Makela | Decision (Unanimous) | OMMAC 3: Only the Brave | 11/28/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Return from year-long hiatus |
| Loss | Kazuhiro Nakamura | Decision (Unanimous) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 5 | 9/28/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Sengoku 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round; Middleweight debut |
| Loss | Ian Freeman | Decision (Unanimous) | CR 26: Extreme | 5/10/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Lost Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Elvis Sinosic | TKO (Punches) | CR 24: Feel the Pain | 12/01/2007 | 1 | 0:21 | Non-title bout |
| Win | Adam Lesly | Submission | NLF: No Limits Fighting | 8/11/2007 | 1 | 4:56 | |
| Win | Mark Epstein | Decision (Unanimous) | CR 22: Hard as Hell | 7/14/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Won vacant Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Nikolajus Cilkinas | Submission (Heel Hook) | CG 3: Cage Gladiators 3 | 12/03/2006 | 1 | 3:46 | |
| Win | Thomas Valentin | Decision (Unanimous) | CFC 5: Cage Carnage | 9/04/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Melvin Manhoef | TKO | CFC 4: Cage Carnage | 7/03/2005 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Dave Vader | KO | CFC 3: Cage Carnage | 3/06/2005 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Samir Bourekba | Submission (Armbar) | CFC 2: Cage Carnage | 11/14/2004 | N/A | N/A | |
| Loss | Amar Suloev | Submission (Hip Lock) | 2H2H 5: Simply the Best 5 | 10/13/2002 | 1 | 1:03 | |
| Loss | Melvin Manhoef | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | Rings Holland: Saved by the Bell | 6/02/2002 | 2 | 2:07 | |
| Win | Joop Kasteel | Submission (Exhaustion) | 2H2H 4: Simply the Best 4 | 3/17/2002 | N/A | N/A | |
| Loss | Ibragim Magomedov | KO (Punches) | M-1 MFC: European Championship 2002 | 2/15/2002 | 1 | 6:13 | |
| Loss | Hiromitsu Kanehara | Decision (Split) | Rings: World Title Series 5 | 12/21/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Rodney Glunder | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | Rings Holland: Some Like it Hard | 12/02/2001 | 3 | 1:53 | |
| Loss | Amar Suloev | Decision (2-0 Points) | 2H2H 3: Hotter than Hot | 10/07/2001 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Piet van Gammeren | KO (Punch) | 2H2H 3: Hotter than Hot | 10/07/2001 | 1 | 1:24 | |
| Win | Joop Kasteel | KO (Punch) | Rings Holland: No Guts, No Glory | 6/10/2001 | 2 | 4:00 | First fight under MMA rules, rather than Japanese hybrid rules |
| Loss | John Weir | TKO (Cut) | UFN: Ultimate Fight Night | 12/09/2000 | N/A | N/A | |
| Loss | Chris Watts | Decision | NOTS 3: Night of the Samurai 3 | 3/07/1999 | 2 | N/A | |
| Loss | Lee Macguinness | Decision | NOTS 2: Night of the Samurai 2 | 10/11/1998 | 2 | 5:00 | |
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Paul Cahoon started his professional fighting career back in 1998 fighting under Japanese hybrid rules, adopted from the Rings series that was quite prominent at the time. The differences to MMA as we know it now are very clear, but the main ones to know are that there were no direct punches allowed, only open hand “palm” strikes, and that grabbing a rope meant you escaped a submission.
Needless to say, when MMA was starting to gain a foothold in Europe, there was a vast selection of fighters still competing in the Rings system. Paul Cahoon was one of them and somehow, time has blurred the differences – something he isn’t particularly happy about.
- “My Sherdog record is a mess because of the Rings rules. I don’t think too many people fighting back then fully understood the rules,” he explained, before providing some examples.
- “I was in mount once, really beating on this guy, and he bridges, much like you do now in a cage. I put my hands out to post and grabbed the rope – that’s a loss. I was smashing Chris Watts for three rounds. He locked my arms up, so I head-butted his stomach to release – there’s another loss.”
Cahoon didn’t actually make his MMA debut until 2001 where he collided with 19 stone worth of Joop Kasteel, a hero of sorts in his native Holland.
- “He was so big he couldn’t even put his guard up properly,” laughed the veteran in hindsight, explaining that his opportunity came by chance.
- “He had been speaking to Golden Glory at the time about finding an opponent, but they couldn’t agree on anyone, so they offered him ‘The English Guy.’ He had already beaten Lee Hasdell at this point, so didn’t think much of us Brits, but I took the fight and ended up winning. It’s still probably my favorite fight and earned me a reputation in Holland as being a crazy guy.”
Considering the length of time Cahoon had been training, it’s a surprise that he was fighting a guy of such caliber, still relatively green at the time. His training had only really been consistent since arriving in Holland. Prior to that, he had largely been floating around without a camp.
- “I first got into the sport watching the UFC, but there were no clubs or places to train around here, so I started to trial what I saw with a friend. It wasn’t until I started Catch Wrestling with Roy Wood in Wigan that things started to get serious. I went to America and trained at the Alliance before joining Shamrock’s Lions Den as their boxing coach, but it didn’t fit with me.”
Having returned home to the U.K., he chanced upon Golden Glory through a friend and went over to Holland to see what it was all about. The experience started a long association with the team and meant he was training with high profile talent such as Fatih Kocamis, Chalid Arrab, the Overeem brothers (Valentijn Overeem and Alistair Overeem), Heath Herring, Gilbert Yvel, Remco Pardoel, and Cor Hemmers.
No fan of an easy life, Cahoon crafted his trade through tough battles with a collection of hard men, from Melvin Manhoef to Amar Suloev, Ibragim Magomedov and Rodney Glunder, learning all the time and showcasing the heart of a lion.
After fighting Ian Freeman at Cage Rage 26: Extreme, where he lost a Decision (Unanimous), Cahoon realized he had to cut down to Middleweight, as he saw guys his size competing below him.
Championships and Accomplishments
- Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Championship (2007)
