Fighters Magazine - April 2011 by Martial Arts Publications Ltd

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COUNT On The Rise Again!

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THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7TH & 8TH MAY 2011

ULTIMATE FIGHTER Season 13 Preview

IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE Reduce The Risk of Injury & Effects of Aging

CAGE QUEEN Our Monthly Coverage of Women’s MMA

BAMMA 5 Reviewed

WARTIME With Mark Carling

UFC 126 & 127 Full Reviews Inside

ULTIMATE CHALLENGE UCMMA 19 - ‘Lights Out’

Is He The Coolest Guy in Professional Wrestling?

MARCH 2011 £3.95

ROB VAN DAMME

KICKBOXING - MUAY THAI - MMA - K-1 - BOXING

CONTENTS 6

NEWS ROUND-UP Domestic & International

FIGHTERS PRODUCT REVIEW Stop The Aches & Pains With CNP ProTect

THE NEIL ADAMS SUBMISSION CLINIC By Fergus Dullaghan

LEGENDS OF THE CAGE Matt Hughes

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE Reduce The Risk of Injury & Effects of Aging

JEFF JARRETT By Teddy G

GAS IN THE TANK For The High Performance MMA Athlete

WAKO ITALIA & WAKO GB Working Together in Order to Improve The Fighting Athletes

CAGE QUEEN Our Monthly Women’s MMA column

A WINNING SMILE IS PRICELESS

ONE FOR THE LADIES A Masterclass in WAKO K-1 Rules By Master Cris Janson-Piers

MICK FOLEY By Teddy G

WARTIME With Mark ‘Wartime’ Carling

CHALINENE BASSINAH ‘I See a Target, I hit it’

KEITH HACKNEY The Giant Killer

ROB VAN DAMME By Teddy G

JULIE KITCHEN TV Debut As Coach On Enfusion

PETER DAVIES The Man Behind The System

We’ve also got reviews from UCMMA and UFC in another packed edition of Fighters Magazine.

ULTIMATE CHALLENGE UK UCMMA 19 - Lights Out

Till next month...

UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort

Keep it locked!

BATTLE ARENA

EDITORIAL Well, the nights are quickly drawing out and at the end of this month the clocks go forward, it can mean only one thing, the temparature is rising and the Summer is almost upon us! Things are heating up as well on the full contact circuit! This month we see the UFC Light Heavyweight title on the line as Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua makes his long awaited return to the cage in an interesting match up against one of the division’s hottest prospects John ‘Bones’ Jones. This should be an exciting fight with Jones getting his title shot after coming off an impressive win over fellow contender Ryan Bader. This month also sees the return of the ever popular ‘Ultimate Fighter’ series. The franchise enters it’s 13th year and doesn’t look like letting up the pace at all. Coaches this time round should make for entertaining viewing as we see arguably MMA’s biggest star Brock Lesnar take on Number 1 Heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos with, as always the two coaches fighting each other for a shot at Cain Velasquez’ title at the end of the season. If wrestling is your thing then this month we have a lot to interest you. Our very own Wrestling correspondant Teddy G has been very busy doing interviews and recently caught up with some big names in the scene. None other than Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley and Rob Van Damme! So what are you waiting for? Read on... We all get injured now and then and whether you’re a professional fighter or just a student of the martial arts this can cause havoc to your training and fighting regimes. Well, if you flick forward to page 20 you can read an article that might just help you avoid getting injured as we give you some tips for warming up properly, it might even prolong your career a bit longer too. Our monthly women’s MMA section continues with resident writer Isobel Carnwath. This issue she takes a trip up to the Midlands to visit Leicester Shootfighters, one of the premier womens MMA gyms in the country.

WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul S. Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Thompson WEB DESIGN Nick Harley ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121-351-6930 fighters@btconnect.com PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 IRISH MMA SUB EDITOR Thomas McCullough UK THAI SUB EDITOR Dan Green UK MMA SUB EDITOR Rob Nutley UK BJJ SUB EDITOR Carl Fisher UK KICKBOXING SUB EDITOR Cris Janson-Piers UK BOXING SUB EDITORS Luke Calvert, Mark Wilson Smith THAI / KICKBOXING Tony Myers, Shaun Boland, Paul Hennessy, Bob Spour, Neil Holden, Dean Sugden, Carl Emery

CONTRIBUTORS Steve Dileo, Bryan Levick, Fergus Dullaghan, Ben Cartlidge, Teddy Galbally, Craig Bush, Rocki Sondhi, Tommy Thompson

COVER PICTURE Copywrite Zuffa LLC HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED Drop us an email at fighters@martialartsinprint.com or give the editorial team a call on 0121 351 6930 NEWS ITEMS For all news related items, simply mark your envelope “FIGHTERS NEWSLINE” and together with a photograph (if required) and a covering letter, send it to: FIGHTERS, Head Office or E-Mail: fighters.news@btconnect.com HEAD OFFICE: Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. Tel: 0121 351 6930 E-Mail: fighters.magazine@btconnect.com ADVERTISING DETAILS If you would like to advertise in FIGHTERS email us at fighters@martialartsinprint.com to obtain details, deadline dates and costs. DISCLAIMER FIGHTERS is published by M.A. Publications Ltd, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. The publishers reserve the right to reject editorial and/or advertising material as they see fit. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. However, the Publishers will endeavour to return such matter providing that it is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Any material accepted by the Publishers shall be revised or altered should the Publisher deem it necessary to do so. The act of submitting manuscripts and/or materials shall be considered an express warranty that such material is original and in no way infringes upon the rights of others. It is expressly forbidden for any part of the magazine to be reported whatsoever without the permission of Editor / Publishers. The views or comments expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or Publisher. Distribution by COMAG.

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Page 6 FIGHTERS PRODUCT REVIEW - PRO TECT

Stop the aches

and pains By Joe Hallett

Take Pro Tect once a day As a practicing Martial Artist and Forms Competitor, I have always suffered from bad joints, aches and pains, from heavy impact to my joints from hardcore training sessions. Most athletes wait until an injury occurs to start taking care of them selves. And whilst I do believe prevention is much better than cure, I have tried all the remedies out there such as Cod Liver Oil, Glucosamine tablets etc . . . (And to be honest I hate taking tablets)! I have, for a long time, searched high and low for a product that does the same thing (but not in tablet form). Well, now it’s here from Pro Tect, leading supplier of sports nutrition supplements, CNP Professional. I recently picked up my first tub of Pro Tect after offering to trial it and I was very impressed I would review it in Combat Magazine. As you know I do speak my mind but I am happy to report that this product does exactly what it says it does!

I started taking the product and after only 4 weeks of taking it, my muscles felt less tense and my joints more supple, no more waking up and feeling twice your age. So, what is in Pro Tect that protects and strengthens your joints? It’s a formulated blend of collagen and glucosamine both well known for their tissue healing properties. One dose of Pro Tect is all it takes to strengthen connective tissues in joints and reduce the potential for injury. The active con-

stituents of Pro Tect are: collagen hydrolysate (a protein that acts as a building block for the regeneration and synthesis of articular cartilage) and glucosamine sulphate (an amino sugar necessary for the construction and maintenance of connective tissue). Pro Tect is not just for Athletes if you suffer from bad joints and want a product that can lessen the effects of joint wear and tear, this is for you. Kerry Kayes, former champion bodybuilder and founder of CNP explains the reasons for developing Pro Tect “An athlete can look upon Pro Tect as a form of insurance policy and take it regularly to build joint strength and extend competitive life.” The next question I hear you ask is “Does it taste nice?” and unlike most supplements Pro Tect comes in a great Summer Fruits flavour which is very sweet and I was craving the taste of it by the end of my month’s supply. It is so easy to take, just add one scoop of the powder to water and you have a great summer fruit flavoured drink with the added bonus of joint care. Each tub is 500g, enough for 31 servings and

FIGHTERS PRODUCT REVIEW - PRO TECT Page 7

each single serving contains only 60 calories with zero fat. Its is available from CNP website www.cnpprofessional.co.uk at a discounted price of ÂŁ17.30 or from retail outlets for ÂŁ21.63 I would recommend Pro Tect to anyone looking for a supplement to assist with a healthy and a competitive lifestyle. You can call CNP on +44 (0)161 320 1212 for sports nutrition advice and +44 (0)161 320 8145 for sales.

To read more articles like this make sure you get the next issue of Fighters available from WH Smiths & all good newsagents PRO TECT STATS: Flavours - Summer fruits. Tub size - 500g. Servings per tub - 31. Serving size - 1 scoop (16g). Nutritional Facts per 1 scoop (16g): Collagen Hydrolysate 12g. Glucosamine Sulphate 1.5g. Calories 60. Protein 12.8g. (Of which Collagen Hydrolysate)12g. Carbohydrates 2.3g. Dietary Fibre 130mg. Sugars 1.6g. Total fat nil. Sodium 77mg.

Page 8 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK December 2010

The Neil Adams

Submission Clinic By Fergus Dullaghan

Hunting the armlock from the back: Part one In this, the ninth instalment of the Neil Adams Submission clinic we are focusing on Neil’s specialism; hunting for the arm lock. At times when you roll with Neil it seems that he can find the armlock no matter what position you are both in. Over the next two months we will be looking at a couple of the ways in which he does this from the back. This month we will examine how Neil switches position from the back to attack the arm. In Fig 1 Neil begins his attack on an opponent who is in the turtle position. His first objective as always is to get his first hook (foot) into position: the correct location for the hook is just inside the opponent’s thigh. He then sinks his second hook in. Notice how Neil always maintains an upright, well balanced posture until this has been achieved. Importantly he does not venture much further forward than the opponent’s belt line at any time until both hooks are in (Fig 2). Now that his hooks are both in place it is safe for Neil to begin to manoeuvre his opponent. Ordinarily, when rolling an opponent Neil would take control with his hands as well, but for the purposes of demonstrating this technique Neil has let go. This is because he wants to emphasise how the legs are used in turning your opponent, and in Fig 3 -5 you can see how Neil uses his left foot to force the opponent to roll over. It is interesting to note that by Fig 5 Neil has already underhooked the arm in preparation for the armlock. This illustrates how attacks must be embedded within transitional move-

ments and not simply applied as separate techniques. When his opponent reaches the seated position Neil is already positioned directly behind him ready to attack (Fig 6). He then begins to push his opponent’s head away with his right hand, whilst maintaining the under hook on his opponent’s arm with his left hand. His hips are starting to pivot outwards to create space (Fig 8). Neil now swings his leg over his opponent’s head. At this point many people lose the arm lock as the opponent continues to roll away. Neil prevents this by continuing to push the opponent’s head away and most importantly by pivoting his hips slightly (Fig 9). This changes the angle of the attack, and creates a space into which his opponent can fall as can be seen in Fig 10. This attack works so well because most opponents expect a choke attack once you get behind them (Fig 11). Indeed there is no reason why you don’t initially look for the choke and use the armlock as a secondary attack. In Fig 12 Neil is trying to choke his opponent who is putting up serious resistance. Neil underhooks the arm in preparation to switch to the arm lock. Neil then shifts his hips and throws his leg over his opponent’s head. As before he makes this easier

by pushing the opponent’s head away (Fig 13). Although his opponent attempts to defend by grabbing his own arm or gi (Fig 14) Neil has the position under control. He briefly allows the opponent’s head to rise (Fig 15) before pushing it back down to the ground with his leg muscles whilst maintaining pressure on the arm - this causes the opponent to release the arm (Fig 16).

To read more articles like this make sure you get the next issue of Fighters available from WH Smiths & all good newsagents Fig 1

THE NEIL ADAMS SUBMISSION CLINIC Page 9

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

Fig 10

Fig 11

Fig 12

Fig 13

Fig 14

Fig 15

Fig 16

Page 10 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK October 2010

Legends of the Cage

Matt Hugh Achieving hall of fame status is a surely a crowning moment in any athlete’s career, an accolade associated with the best of the best. Most look at the hall of fame as the zenith of their career; it represents the chance to look back on just what has been achieved and how much has changed in the wake of their accomplishments. Matt Hughes accepted his hall of fame status in the no-nonsense fashion that he’s become synonymous with. His words on the day illustrated just why he has become such a great ambassador for the sport. “Being given an award like this, the first thing that I need to do is to cut it up into pieces because there’s a lot of people who’ve helped me get to where I am.” However his post-ceremony plans were not as traditional as you might think. Hughes made the trip back home after the festivities, to diligently continue his training and teaching. Most would look at a promotional tour or some television work after an award like this. Hughes got back to training, back to his team and, in very impressive fashion, got

back to winning as he choked BJJ black belt Ricardo Almeida unconscious at UFC 117 with a hold that summed him up perfectly. It was a front wrestling headlock; a nod to his wrestling background, his brute strength and his ferocious fighting spirit. The early days of Matt Hughes are an often told tale of a determined Illinois farm boy, who was able to turn his relentless competitive nature and athleticism towards wrestling. No competition is more intense than the competition between brothers and with his twin brother Mark there to drive him onward, Matt was never short of motivation. It was the start of a wrestling career that that led him to both multiple NCAA honours and Division 1 status.

When the UFC began making more noise in the mainstream consciousness it was something that Matt was instantly interested by. He’d watched the UFC from its brutal early incarnations and throughout that period was reflecting on how his own wrestling pedigree would serve him in such a battle. He continued to train after his wrestling career but he was becoming more interested in competing in this emerging sport as each day went by. It was in 1997 that an event called the Jeet Kune Do challenge was advertised in nearby Chicago. Hughes, in an instant, realised that his chance had come, and he knew that he had to find a way to compete. The contest took place on 1st January 1998 and the young Hughes was matched up with Shidokan fighter Erick Snyder. The contest lasted merely 15 seconds and, almost instantly, became a symbol of the dangerous strength and ruthless competitiveness that Hughes would come to embody. The scorecard that day read Matt Hughes KO (Slam), a harbinger of things to come and a simplistic template for greatness. Hughes was enamoured by the success he had found in the fledgling sport of mma. He went on to fight for the Extreme Challenge promotion and racked up an impressive 8-1 record in his first 9 fights; his only loss coming by quick submission to grappling expert Dennis Hallman.

vs Royce Gracie @ ufc 60

The crowning glory of his early fights was an invitation to fight in the Shooto 10th Anniversary Event...

LEGENDS OF THE CAGE - MATT HUGHES Page 11

By Ben Cartlidge

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www.fightersmag.co.uk/backissue

Page 12 IMPROVE PERFORMANCE - BY KEN PYTLUK

Improve Performance

Reduce the Risk of Injury and Effects of Aging This article is to inform you on the effects of aging and help prevent injury, which seems more common as we age and exercise. We all know the importance of exercise and should want to stay active for the rest of our lives. The information herein will help the 35 and over crowd. But should still be taken into consideration for those younger as well. I have found that as I’m getting older I can’t just jump right in and lift or run. I have to spend about 15 minutes warming up. This includes but is not limited to: foam rolling, active isolated and dynamic stretching and activation exercises for certain muscles. This pre-exercise protocol helps prepare my entire body for what’s to come. Then I progress to my workout whether it be

lifting or cardio etc...Next are some changes we can expect as we get older. We have a say as to how much of this will happen to us. * Here are some of the differences we can expect to see in our performance as we age: * Decrease in aerobic performancemaximal oxygen intake declines by

about 5 ml.kg-1.min-1 per decade from 25 to 65 years of age, with some possible acceleration thereafter. Progressive decrease in muscle function and flexibility- strength peaks around 25 years of age, plateaus through 35 or 40 years of age, and then shows an accelerating decline, with 25% loss of peak force by the age of 65 years. The elasticity of tendons, ligaments and joint capsules is decreased as cross-linkages develop between adjacent fibrils of collagen. Athletic performance-The age of peak athletic performance depends upon the key functional element required of the successful competitor. In events where flexibility is paramount (for example, gymnastics and brief swimming events) the top competitors are commonly adolescents. In aerobic events, performance usually peaks in the midtwenties, as gains from prolonged training, improved mechanical skills and competitive experience are negated by decreases in maximal oxygen intake and flexibility. Because of a longer plateauing of muscle strength, performance in anaerobic events declines less steeply, and in pursuits such as golf

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE - BY KEN PYTLUK Page 13

and horseback riding, where experience is paramount; the best competitors are aged 30-40 years. There are nevertheless wide inter-individual differences in functional status at any given chronological age. In terms of maximal oxygen intake, muscle strength and flexibility, the best preserved 65-year-old may out-perform a sedentary 25-year-old. Whether assessing fitness for continuing employment or recommending an exercise prescription, decisions should thus be based upon biological rather than chronological age. Unfortunately, there is no very satisfactory method of determining a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biological age, because the different biological systems age at differing rates. (Shephard, R.J. (1998). Aging and Exercise. In: Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science, T.D.Fahey (Editor). Internet Society for Sport Science: http://sportsci.org. 7 March 1998.) A good pre-exercise protocol can greatly reduce injury which will help you to continue your training, whether it be power lifting, conditioning or bodybuilding etc...Which will allow you to train longer and offset some of the effects of aging (for a while at least). As you know, if the muscle and joints arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t properly warmed up, excess wear and tear accumulates which leads to inflammation, altered joint mechanics and eventually injury over time. Here are some common areas to address with foam rolling, active-isolated and dynamic stretching. * Foam Roll (30-90 second hold on tender area)- hip flexors, outer thigh, glutes, calves and lats

Active Isolated Stretching (hold for 2 seconds and release, 1 set of 5-10 reps)- calves, hamstrings, lats and inner thighs * Dynamic Stretching (use of force production of a muscle taking joint through full ROM 1 set of 5-10 reps)- front and side leg swings (hams and inner thighs), scorpions (hip flexors) and prisoner squats (glutes, low back and lats). I have found that doing these movements before training has greatly improved my personal workouts and has kept my athletes virtually injury free. This basic protocol will provide you with the longevity you need to keep you exercising longer and thus warding off the aging process.

By Ken Pytluk CES,PES. MMA Fitness and Training. ESP-XC.com

To read more articles like this make sure you get the next issue of Fighters available from WH Smiths & all good newsagents

Page 14 JEFF JARRETT INTERVIEW - BY TEDDY G

Jeff Jarr Wrestler ? Promoter ? MMA Fighter? Who is the real Jeff Jarrett ? That was the question I was asking myself when I got the invite from TNA to go and interview the man himself. Although his on screen persona isn’t the most friendly, the real life Double J is actually very funny and very honest and open and he was more than happy to chat about anything... Hi Jeff, Firstly many thanks for taking the time out of your hectic MMA training schedule to do this interview...

JEFF JARRETT: Oh, you’re welcome... Congratulations on your win against Samoa Joe on Sunday, very good match....

JEFF JARRETT: He tapped, he tapped... He certainly did, I can’t argue on that point, who do you plan to shoot on next?

JEFF JARRETT: Well, did you see last night’s show (referring to the Double J MMA challenge on Impact)? I certainly did...

JEFF JARRETT: Well, there’s your answer then, I have issued the open challenge... It certainly seemed to get a good response from, the crowd...

JEFF JARRETT: I’m not sure what exactly aired here, but after we went to commercial break, there where several more ‘willing participants’, two that jumped the rail... oh wow... Jeremy Borash, he wears a lot of heads for us, but suddenly he turned into head of security and he’s holding one guy

back and security are on the other side of the ring and they didn’t know a thing (about what was supposed to be happening) and they’re like ‘okay, is this guy going to be the next challenger?’, they didn’t know what was going on... this guy wanted to get in the ring... I couldn’t wait ( Jeff wrings his hands together with an evil grin)... people where pissed cuz they thought it was real... it was an ‘interesting’ thing. In all seriousness, it’s good to have the chance to interview the founding father of TNA. Can you please tell our readers how it all started?

JEFF JARRETT: June 19th 2002 was our first show. In March 2001 I was working for WCW, the Turner organization, and as the story goes WWE brought their competition. I’m a 3rd generation guy, I’ve been around the business... my grandmother, she didn’t wrestle but she promoted and everything else, my father wrestled and promoted... I knew there was a huge void in the marketplace and that the world of professional wrestling without a number two organization meant that there really can’t be a number one, and so it was kind of just WWE. So we ( Jeff, and his father Jerry) got into business. The television climate was very unique in the ‘states at that time and so we became the first ever weekly Pay Per View series. We were on every Wednesday night for two hours, and we did that for almost two years. We went from that to Fight Sports Net, and we went from that and signed our contract with Spike TV and we’ve been there ever since. We started out on a Saturday night with a one hour program, then we got moved to Thursday nights, late night, with a one hour show then to Thursday nights (in a better slot) with a one hour show, then to a two hour show, so it’s been a labour of love, a lot of hard work. For the first five or six years we only did our television show, now in 2011 we hope to do between 80-100 non-televised events, live shows literally from all around the world, we’ve just got back from Abu Dhabi, we’re coming over here, Paris, Germany, England and Scotland and of course Ireland, mustn’t forget our Dublin brothers... so it founded like I said, way back when and here we are over eight years later and things are good. You and your father pumped your own money into setting it up in the first place, putting your own money on the line... that’s a brave thing to do...

JEFF JARRETT INTERVIEW - BY TEDDY G Page 15

ett By Teddy G

To read the rest of this article take out a subscription, visit www.fightersmag.co.uk/subscribe

Page 16 GAS IN THE TANK - BY MORNE SWANEPOEL

Gas in the tank by Morné Swanepoel

for the High Performance MMA Athlete You have to realize that MMA conditioning is different from every other sport you can think of. The majority of competitive sports have many breaks, time-outs, rest periods, etc not to mention that every time there is a foul or rule violation, the action stops momentarily. In comparison, a MMA fight is very short, the rounds only last for five minutes each and there are virtually no stops or breaks until the end of the round. Occasionally there might be a break if a fighter gets hit in the groin or receives an eye gouge, etc. But for the most part, an entire five minute round goes uninterrupted. Then, at the end of the round, the fighter receives only one minute to rest. There are no half time breaks, and no substitutions. Most fights are scheduled for only three rounds,

with championship matches being a bit longer. The entire length of a fight, including breaks between rounds, may only last for 20 -30 minutes.

specifically for five-minute rounds. If you only get one minute of rest between rounds, then your conditioning routine needs to reflect that as well.

Within the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, the conditioning of athletes has changed over time as the rules and time limits have changed. When the UFC and Pride first started, the fights had no time limits. A fight could last 30 minutes with no rounds or 20 seconds. As a fighter, you had to be prepared for a fight that could last any length of time. On top of that, most fighting events were tournament based and had athletes fighting several times in one night. The format of mainstream Mixed Martial Arts has changed quite a bit and therefore the physical training, preparation and conditioning has changed. In fact, conditioning for the MMA athlete is still evolving today.

With a brutal sport like Mixed Martial Arts, even if you are not training or competing professionally, having tremendous conditioning is the most important aspect of your training. You need the conditioning to outlast your opponent as the rounds lag on. Fatigue is a huge factor in all sports. You need the edge in cardio to push it to the limit whenever you need to.

The most important thing to take away from all this talk of different rules, different formats, and different time limits, is to plan your MMA conditioning routine around the specifics of the event you are fighting in. In other words, if you’re fighting with five-minute rounds, your conditioning should be geared

SO which training program? When engaging in any workout program, a good question to ask yourself is: “What is my goal?” i.e. Is it to finish all my opponents within 20 seconds so that I do not need to worry about going the full length in fights or is it knowing that I am able to fight the full 3 or 5 rounds at a high level with enough gas in the tank? Asking this question will help you identify whether or not your current training routine is leading you down the right path. This is especially important when you are speaking in terms of sport specific conditioning.

GAS IN THE TANK - BY MORNE SWANEPOEL Page 17

So while your exercise selection is important, the first problem you need to address is how to organize your workouts. You can use the best exercises available, but if you don’t combine them in a way that makes sense as a mixed martial artist, your conditioning will never get to that higher level.

‘‘

Then you stack three to five of these circuits on top of each other.

Endurance is the name of the game You can have all the strength in the world, but without gas in your tank, it is useless. So while it is good to have as much strength as possible, you also have to have a real MMA conditioning routine.

‘‘

Here are some helpful hints: First off, you want the exercises and workouts you use to reflect the kind of conditioning you need in a fight. For example, MMA fights are of a very high intensity level. You are constantly moving, changing positions, engaging in explosive movements, breaking your breathing pattern, using a wide variety of different movements and using your entire body at full intensity for a given time period. It may seem obvious, but the same conditioning routine that works for a professional athlete of a different sport, while it may improve your overall conditioning, it isn’t necessarily going to improve your MMA conditioning. Likewise, the conditioning you use to train for a triathlon is not the same as the conditioning needed for a MMA fight.

The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare The simplest thing you can do is organize your workout in several circuits. Each circuit represents the round of a fight. During each circuit, you can use a variety of exercises, but the important thing is that each circuit lasts for at least five minutes without stopping at all.

Strength is great. All mixed martial artists need strength. Having more strength than your opponent is always going to be an advantage...

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www.fightersmag.co.uk/backissue

Page 18 WAKO ITALIA & GB WORKING TOGETHER

WAKO Italia &

WAKO GB Working together in order to improve the fighting athletes For the past few years Elite fighter and very successful champion Marco Mastrorocco of Italy and Master Cris Janson-Piers the president of WAKO Pro GB and the National coach and Executive Director to Great Britain for WAKO GB have been communicating by email ever since Marco came to the UK. Marco expressed from an early date that he would like to work alongside Cris and develop a close sporting and working relationship, with the possibility of passing on the wealth of the knowledge they both had to each other and to each others students. Marco has developed his own club here in the UK namely Epic Gym West London and indeed has his own fighters almost ready to go out onto the scene and is just putting the finishing touches to them. A few years on, Saturday 18th September 2010 saw these two greats come together in Sheffield at the WAKO Pro GB training headquarters. Marco had made the long journey to Sheffield from London with his own student Luca Caputo who was to help Marco with his demonstrations. Present on the day were a small, but very experienced class of Cris’ students, ranging from British to World Champions. Cris had selected these people carefully knowing that their experience would allow the group to work well together and at a good advanced pace. This was a key element in making the seminar flow and maximized the absorption rate of technique for all. With Marco being a multiple Italian Thai and Full Contact champion and an incredible WAKO Rules K1 exponent (Who was coached by Roberto Fragale), it was natural that Master Cris was going to select the newest format of K1 rules as the base of the seminar. Marco has a great reputation not only as being a top class fighter but an extremely good coach, who demands nothing but the best off all he teaches. Why have WAKO K1 Rules become so popular over the last few years then? Apart from the obvious that they are very very entertaining and the sport requires and elevated amount of fitness and stamina.

Over the last few years we have seen a massive spectator and participant increase in the ever growing UFC and MMA scene. When it first started it appeared to be mainly a ground game with the influences of such as Brazilian Ju Jitsu etc playing a main part in it. Once the fight went to the floor there could be a long wait as the fighters may be left locked on the floor right up until the end of the round. But over time and as things grew and progressed, fighters were made to stand up if the fight became inactive which then threw a greater emphasis on the requirement of a good stand up game also. Many top gyms took on “groundwork” coaches and “stand up” coaches and this is exactly what happened at Cris’ own gym. Although he also fought in Kick Jutsu all his life and fought on the combined services judo squad whilst serving in Her Majesties Forces his real love became Full Contact kickboxing before he moved onto the K1 format. He therefore remained with the stand up and passed the groundwork, MMA onto his Chief Instructor at his gym. So WAKO K1 rules or K1 Rules became attractive and widely followed

for two reasons. One was it being a fantastic combat sport in its own right with so much variation and the other as it was seen as the ultimate in stand up requirements for the MMA scene. The seminar started as per normal with a thorough warm up and then the students were straight into hands on practical application. No focus mitts or Thai pads etc were used during this seminar, everything was demonstrated and practiced practically to each other which gave every technique a great feeling of realism and a better understanding of not only how to do it but it gave a better perspective of body positioning and defensive or countering lines. Both Marco and Luca were on hand to advise and correct what seemed sometimes to be minor points but again were all very important. Marco’s English was superb and it made it very interesting to see how another country portrayed K1 rules and their slant on the game. The students were all engrossed in the seminar and were taking on all the information they were being given. What was noticeable was that Marco had obviously developed his power

WAKO ITALIA & GB WORKING TOGETHER Page 19

from his Thai fighting style but then used his Full Contact to allow his movements to become more fluent. I personally have trained and become a champion in Points, Light and Full Contact, moved on to Thai boxing of which I have still yet to compete in and I believe that all these have benefited my K1 rules fighting in one way or another. As I am always told.....K1 is a format not a style so adapt it to suit yourself as long as you fight within the rules set out on the day. Every technique was constantly grilled but in a practical moving fashion and not a stationary robotic way which some people seem to get drawn into. As with every seminar it is not always about coming out of them and expecting things to be very different but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the smallest points which can be invaluable. Many times have I come away from a seminar and taken away maybe

3 or 4 pieces of new information. It maybe that some things are just explained differently, or that it shines a new light on how you perceive or understand a technique? As with all K1 Rules work, the seminars are never long enough even though Marco gave an intense 3 hour account of the system. As an instructor I break my classes down into many different areas from boxing skills, to footwork, ringcraft, clinch work, knee application, checking skills, blocking and evading skills and obviously application and sparring. What I did think is that Marco had planned the seminar out extremely well and had tried to involve an equal amount of each area into the session. This kept it flowing and very exciting for all. To finish there was a sparring and assessment session where Marco studied the fighters in the ring and watched

them closely passing on comments to fighter and coach alike. Again it was very good to have an outsiders opinion on how we were doing as fighters. Just like learning that small, invaluable point on a seminar, having a weak area highlighted by an independent could lead to further improvement or even serve to keep you away from making a fatal error in combat! After a great seminar Marco and Luca returned to our home for a meal before the long journey home and where we further discussed some personal things and also a little more on how we could all work at moving the sport on further. A great friendship was forged on that day and it looks as though it will continue to be long and successful...

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Story by Kerry-Louise Photography by Janson-Piers Imaging

Page 20 CAGE QUEEN - WITH ISOBEL CARNWATH

Women’s Grappling at Leicester Shootf ighters Leicester Shootfighters lies about twenty minutes walk from Leicester’s mainline train station and can be found on a street that runs off from Leicester FC. Sandwiched somewhere between northern redbrick terraced housing and industrial warehouses, through an archway and up a back way stairwell, Leicester Shootfighters is surprisingly clean and well facilitated. Its location would lead you to anticipate the usual spit ‘n’ sawdust MMA gym but it in fact boasts a well lit and spacious open plan setting, with glossy bright blue matting and the luxury of clean toilets and small drinks bar. I had finally made the journey up from London to train at Leicester Shootfighter’s fortnightly women’s grappling session under the tuition of submission wrestler, Caz “Ghost Owl” Tweedy.

spread like wildfire. The very first session immediately attracted sixteen women, which as Caz points out, “ is just amazing for a first class in women’s martial arts, never mind grappling!”

As Caz remarks, “It really is unusual to have a group of women training together in Submission Wrestling. Especially women of all different abilities, sizes and backgrounds. Apart from Leicester Shootfighters’ reputation, it’s the opportunity to train with other women, drill moves they’ve been eager to try somewhere new, learn new techniques, get ready for fights, and the unique opportunity to work on fundamental techniques and fitness together that draws people. “

Now, in addition to a core group of attendees, there are number of new students every time coming from places as far afield as Manchester, Leeds, London, Devon, Cornwall, Derby, and Birmingham. The sessions have also drawn the attention of MMA fighters including Rosi Sexton, Danielle West, Katharine Jackson and Vickie Watts.

And since the first class took place in March 2010, its reputation really has

I was curious to know more about what inspired Caz to found the women’s grappling sessions; and Caz told me that as she was coming to the end of her studies at Leicester University with plans to move to Oxford, her coach Nathan Leverton persuaded her to stay on to coach: “I decided that, for the sake of training and my passion for Submission Wrestling and Leicester Shootfighters, I would stay. It was important for me to find my own niche at the club, so when Nathan asked me what was important to me, creating more opportunities for women to enter the sport seemed the obvious choice.”

It is a common problem for the female grapplers that they generally find themselves training with men with larger body weights. I’ve personally found myself frustrated with being stuck in the rut of maintaining good defence, but because I’m constantly fighting from my back against heavier guys, having little opportunity to evolve a more dominant ground game. As Caz says, “For the sake of keeping the sport alive for those women who are passionate about it, and for creating more opportunities for female competitors and competition brackets, it is important to have groups which are dedicated solely to the purpose of meeting those needs. Most female competitors find it is important in their preparation to train with women,” Additionally, she points out “Some women don’t like to train with men or can’t for religious or cultural reasons, and others just like the social aspect of it. I wanted to address those issues.” Indeed, one of the things that struck me most was the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Everyone seemed to help each other and I didn’t experience any cliquiness as a newcomer. People seemed genuinely happy to have drawn

CAGE QUEEN - WITH ISOBEL CARNWATH Page 21

another person to share their passion with. The session I attended included fitness training (circuits), technical work and rolling. Caz who runs the class is petit and was full of useful advice and techniques for smaller grapplers. For me it was a completely new experience to have a coach of similar body weight who faced similar obstacles and could offer solutions that came directly from personal experience. Caz was reassuring and encouraging. She demonstrated some guard submissions that were new to my toolbox and that work well if you are small and flexible and took time to talk me through various escapes. Perhaps the single most useful piece of advice I took away with me was that you can never shrimp enough. If you think three times is enough then go for ten -always. I was keen to know about Caz’s own personal experience training with women. How was it for her when she started? Did she have women to train with before she started up the sessions? “When I first started training there were two women training a day or two a week. Both had been training for years, one was a blue belt and one was much bigger than me. It was nice having women there to help me learn the technique, and particularly it was nice to train with a smaller woman who understood and advocated the importance of body mechanics and survival. I learnt a lot from both of them but neither of them stayed with the club. After that, there were just one or two until MMA competitor and fitness expert LJ Adams joined at the club, we both found that having a female training partner with similar ideas about fighting and goals was fundamentally important. Training with LJ and a couple of others made me realize how important having female training partners was. Training with other women has improved my game tremendously.”

Caz Tweedy on The advantages of training in an all female class * Most women feel more comfortable trying something new or breaking a sweat with other women. * You get a clearer picture of how you match up with women and women of a similar size to you, which gives you an idea of how you would handle competition. * It is nice to train under someone who you think could face similar obstacles to you. * Training under a female coach can be uplifting and empowering.

Caz Tweedy on benefits of training in a mixed class The fact that women’s classes are important shouldn’t take anything away from the mixed class environment. It is important to me to train with a mixed group as well as just women. Personally, I would never just train with women but I do seek out female training partners/groups and seminars for the purposes I have mentioned. * The men really do push me hard, * The fact that I’m usually at a strength disadvantage really encourages me to push my game to the next level. * I think that if you are really serious about improving at any sport you should always be seeking out more training partners with different attributes, skills and expertise, and more knowledge. * It is paramount to test your skills against a wide range of people and body types. Leicester Mixed Martial Arts Academy is located in Unit 22 (top floor), St Mary’s Works, Burnmoor Street, Leicester, UK, LE2 7JL

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Page 22 A WINNING SMILE IS PRICELESS

A winning smile is

priceless In all walks of life physical presentation is becoming more important with a confident ‘winning’ smile considered a real asset. However for those who practice martial arts, there is the constant risk of facial injury and in particular, severe damage to the teeth. Broken, chipped, knocked out or discoloured, damage to teeth can be as emotionally stressful as it is physically painful. Dr Saeid Sohrabi and Dr Jonathan Levy of London-based dental practice, Oral Aesthetics, are experts in the field of aesthetic dentistry. Here they discuss some of the corrective techniques that can solve a myriad of problems Martial artists constantly run the risk of facial damage and tooth loss. Interestingly the type of trauma that can affect the face and mouth varies enormously according to the kind of object that has caused it. For example let’s say someone trips up and hits their face on concrete, the trauma suffered is generally a fracture. This can very easily be repaired, especially if it’s above the gumline. If a fist or a foot hits the face, which are comparatively ‘softer’ then you can get something that’s called sublaxtation. This is where the tooth is intruded into the bone or even knocked out. If it’s knocked out, the first thing to do is put it back into your mouth so that your saliva keeps it moist. To increase your chances of the tooth being successfully re-implanted, you then need to see your dentist immediately. If the tooth dries out, the very

delicate membranes that support the tooth and the bone can die, which may mean the tooth cannot be replaced.

reduce a little so that the patient is more comfortable and is able to bite down without excessive pain.

If your tooth has suffered a simple fracture, a good dentist can build it up again with composite materials. If however you fracture the alveolus, which is the bone that supports the teeth, this will require serious specialist work. If you’ve been hit and your tooth just feels slightly wobbly that usually means it has come away from the membrane supporting it. The first thing you need to do is get an x-ray so your dentist can check the membrane around the tooth and the amount of space created around the bone. If there is a lot of space, your dentist will probably undertake vitality tests to check whether the tooth is still alive however this is not usually done until a few days after the x-ray. This time lapse allows the pain to

If you’ve fractured your tooth and it’s chipped at the tip or even cracked in half, this can easily be repaired with composite materials in the form of a paste. This paste is applied in stratified layers of colour to build the tooth up as naturally as possible. The results you can get often mean that you can’t actually tell that the tooth has ever been fractured. If your tooth has been knocked out and can’t be re-implanted, then you still have some options. If you get treatment quickly, you can get a bridge made, which is in effect a false tooth with metal wings that go behind the tooth on either side bonding it to your natural teeth. It is important to seek treatment quickly because when you lose a tooth,

A WINNING SMILE IS PRICELESS Page 23

the bone that supports it shrinks. However if you can get a dummy tooth or a portion of it into the socket quickly, with a minimal amount of bone loss, you can get excellent results. If however you do lose a lot of bone and have a cavity, this can look pretty unsightly especially when you smile. Fortunately there are specific techniques to address this problem. For example the gum can actually be built up, advanced and even plumped out and the bone can be re-generated so that the bone levels are the same as the existing teeth. This is critical to avoid an uneven appearance. If one of your teeth looks really discoloured, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have damaged or ‘killed’ it during a fight. It could be that the gum has simply shrunk back exposing some darker areas of the tooth. The good news is that there are various ways of disguising this problem. The first thing to do is visit your dentist so he can check the status of the gums and teeth and then give them a thorough cleaning, scaling and polishing.

This will reduce inflammation in the gums and the polishing will lighten the teeth. Your dentist will probably also want to check to see whether the tooth or teeth have been heavily filled as it could be that the discolouration is due to dark fillings. If this is the case, you could simply change the fillings. Alternatively you could brighten the teeth with various bleaching agents and then replace the fillings to match the new colour. These are all relatively simple and non-invasive procedures. Of course for really bad discolouration, a closer examination is necessary. This will reveal whether the staining is intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic staining is more serious and can’t usually be solved with simple bleaching. Extrinsic bleaching can be treated with varying stages of polishing in order to remove the stain followed by a strict hygiene regime. Depending on the severity of the discolouration, results can also be achieved with composites, adhesive bridges, permanent bridges and implanted crowns.

Whatever the problem with your teeth, it’s never too late to correct unsightly or damaged teeth. The dental treatments available today offer all manner of solutions: crooked teeth can be reshaped or covered with porcelain veneers; overly long teeth can be shortened (up to half a millimetre) and teeth that are too small can even be built up and yet still natural. Of course, nothing is forever, and while advances in dental techniques and technology mean that results achieved can be very long-lasting, you do need to follow a strict hygiene regime and see a hygienist on a three monthly basis.

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Page 24 ONE FOR THE LADIES - WAKO K-1 RULES

One for the

Ladies

A Masterclass in WAKO K1 Rules by Master Cris Janson-Piers Master Cris Janson-Piers is certainly no stranger to this magazine however it’s usually because he is writing about someone else or taking high quality show or article photographs as Sub Editor to the publication. Cris works tirelessly behind the scenes 24-7 and is also very actively involved in teaching seminars and coaching at the highest level all over the World in the many disciplines he teaches and has trained in for over 35 years. As Cris is the National Coach and GB Team selector for WAKO GB and President of WAKO Pro GB he is more than well versed in all WAKO Ringsports and one which is receiving much attention at the moment is WAKO K1 Rules. (This is not to be confused or compared with any other format).

What is nice to see is that there are many ladies coming into the game and what a tough breed they are. WAKO K1 rules has been a massive hit with the men for several years now and there were very few females taking part in this demanding and heavy duty discipline but it’s stepping up now and the standard of the ladies is superb. Cris stated recently “On my latest all female seminar I had a large group of ladies turn up all happy and jolly and some looked nothing like fighters at first glance, however what was to come was truly amazing. I was work-

ing with rough and tough fighters who had a hunger and passion for the sport, this made the seminar even more productive”. WAKO K1 Rules is full of action and makes sure that the fight continues even at the closest of ranges when clinch work comes into play and that the fighters are then allowed to turn and knee their opponent into the head, body or legs in a working clinch. Spinning backfists keep every fighter attentive at all times and this technique is a regular addition to most fighters armoury and very dangerous, a great KO technique! Along with all the basic boxing and kickboxing techniques the low leg kicks are truly devastating and many a fight is stopped through these alone with fighters just not being able to continue because of the systematic beating their legs have endured over the long three minute rounds. Catching and turning of kicks is allowed and again provides for further entertainment and showcasing of skills by the exponent. The courses run by Cris vary in length and cover many aspects. To take the information in fully Cris usually returns to cover different aspects at a later date but does give an idea of the full system on the 1st seminar so students can see what is to be gained by further visits.

ONE FOR THE LADIES - WAKO K-1 RULES Page 25

This involves all the basic stance and footwork drills as these vary slightly from mainstream kickboxing because of the angle of attack and the different distances, corner work, which again involves the clinch on the ropes and in the corner and how to apply or get out of them also. Changing of distance and angle is a main area because in WAKO K1 Rules it is more of a coming forward style and this means the fighters stay in range more, so by changing the angles they can learn to hit and not be hit as frequently. Cris also does an in the ring referees and judges perspective of the fight to help the fighters get the best out of their efforts, he says why work at something and burn energy when it is not going to register or impress the judges.

A special area on fighting for the clinch, maintaining the clinch and clinch dominance can take some time to cover but then teamed with the correct use of the knees from the clinch makes for a very exciting lesson. Cris regularly uses his two top exponents in WAKO K1 Rules to show clear and precise scenarios in Leif Taggart and Kerry-Louise. They all train together every day and their technical expertise is awesome and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the seminars are so popular. The proof is in the pie as they say with Leif winning the Gold medal at the WAKO Europeans and Kerry winning the silver at the WAKO Worlds, albeit it after a very questionable decision. Leif is to fight out in Holland very shortly followed by Kerry-Louise who will vie for the WAKO Pro Intercontinental title in December.

WAKO K1 rules is sitting strong in the top fight styles and another advantage is it can even prepare the MMA fighters in having one of the best stand up games in the business. Cris excelled in his early years as a Kick Jutsu fighter and represented his country, so covering the area from stand up to take down s from this position proves no difficulty to him. In his own clubs Cris has his own specialist MMA coaches who take over when it comes to groundwork and the new era of MMA fighters. It has already proven to be a great recipe for success...

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Page 26 MICK FOLEY - BY TEDDY G

Mick Foley 11/11/10 was a day of remembrance, and certainly a day I will remember for a long time as I was fortunate enough to catch up with the Hardcore Legend that is Mick Foley as he was in the UK promoting his new book.... Firstly, thank you for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to speak to us.

MICK FOLEY: Ohh you’re welcome. You are over here promoting your new book, Countdown To Lockdown, which I have to say, as someone who isn’t normally a big book reader, I have really enjoyed and I would recommend to anyone who is a fan.

MICK FOLEY: Well I appreciate that. The book has really been well reviewed, even by literary magazines in the U.S. who have gone out of their way to recommend it to people who are not wrestling fans. Publishers Weekly said they actually thought the wrestling part was the weakest, and that the chapter that weren’t about wrestling were really touching. I like the way you have included the ‘wrestlemetre’ in the book to warn fans how much wrestling content is in each chapter.

MICK FOLEY: (laughs) There were wrestling fans that were not pleased that I have other interests (outside of wrestling), so I put a little wrestlmetre on it, that way if they read a chapter that ranks a two on the wrestlemetre they have noone but themselves to blame (laughs).

I know you have also been promoting the anti bullying campaign you are involved in, Eliminate The Hate, and I think it is highly commendable that a role model like yourself would take the time to get involved in that.

MICK FOLEY: This was a campaign started by serious radio, satellite radio in the U.S., the Out Q station that caters to the gay community, because gay kids and those thought to be gay take the worst of the abuse when it comes to bullying and there have actually been several instances in the U.S. where kids have actually committed suicide due to the bullying. And they thought that unlikely allies such as wrestlers and UFC fighters might be able to reach an audience that traditional gay role models would not. I personally find it very refreshing that someone in the limelight would use that limelight for other people and not just themselves.

MICK FOLEY: I feel very good about this book, partially because I’m not going to make any money from it (laughs). I donated my advance to two different groups that work with victims of sexual assault and rape, and now that I’ve seen the books sales; I realize the advance will be all the proceeds! I know we are going to talk about wrestling and fighting soon, but I appreciate you giving me the chance to talk about the serious stuff too. Well, getting back to the wrestling side of Mick Foley then. I have been a massive fan of yours for the past 15+ years, right from when your original Cactus Jack persona started making headlines, but I wanted to ask, what where your biggest influences in getting into wrestling to begin with?

MICK FOLEY: I was a big fan of the WWF (now WWE), when I was growing up. I was a huge Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka fan and attended a match at Madison Square Garden in 1983, and he came off the top of a cage on to Don Muraco and I remember the reaction of the crowd, and I remember specifically wishing that I could one day make people feel how I felt that night at the Garden. You have wrestled all the top stars over the years, and had some extraordinary matches with the likes of Terry Funk and Ric Flair for example, but is there any one guy that sticks in your head as being your favourite to wrestle?..

MICK FOLEY - BY TEDDY G Page 27

By Teddy G

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Page 28 WARTIME WITH MARK CARLING

Hello MMA fans what an exciting time it has been over the last couple of months I have been blessed with another beautiful baby girl And we decided to called her Nancy Carling ( because of the pistols of course! ). I had my second fight on the biggest show in Europe UCMMA against Antony Liles, I was defeated but that’s Part of MMA and I love MMA so it’s all good! I have also just launched a weekly web show with the legend Dave O’Donnell and the rest of the WARTIME gang all about the UK scene and how damn good it is now! We are going to give a better stage for UK talent than it has ever had before, with the likes of Nick Chapman, Jamaine Facey and his next opponent John Maguire these world class athletes are here and causing such a storm that soon they will be destroying the Americans!

WARTIME WITH MARK CARLING Page 29

Talking about our American cousins I caught up with former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and he told me how he feels that the United Kingdom is second only to the states in fighters ability. Now some might say thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bold statement but he lives and breathes MMA in a way that even I find amazing! A good personal friend of ours Peter Mercer from Kurgan K1 also sweet talked him into holding a MMA seminar, the WARTIME team all went down and had a great time as Ricco not only taught great technique but laid down some truly inspirational words of wisdom to his lucky audience. This just shows how it takes so much more than just physical technique to be a champion, it takes heart, dedication and most importantly the ability to believe in your self against all odds. So if any of you out there ever get a chance to go to a seminar with a champion whether it be BJJ or MMA take it as you nearly always leave with more than just a new submission, you leave with a tiny piece of the magic that will stay with you for years.

In other exciting news Coalition Fight Music have produced a track for us and we are filming the music video for American MTV at the moment, you can also down load the track from iTunes right now, so get a move on and go to wartime-world.com We have also teamed up with awesome fight wear label Big Dogz to create the WARTIME range, so you can now get

your hands on some real high end clobber and look sharp in and out of the gym.

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Page 30 I SEE A TARGET I HIT IT - CHALI BASSINAH

‘I see a target,

I hit it’

Diesel Gym’s hottest new fighter, Chalinene Bassinah, is taking women’s Muay Thai by storm Written by Sarah Maybank Sub Edited by Cris Janson-Piers Chalinene Bassinah bakes a mean cherry pie and amazing fudge brownies. When she’s on a Diesel Gym girls’ night out, she cuts a dash in cheeky hotpants teamed with high-heeled shoes decorated with pink roses. With her second-to-none baking skills and girly clothes, there’s no denying that Parisienne Chali is a real lady. But ‘feminine’ lies abandoned in the changing room along with the flowery high heels when she steps into the gym. Chali, 29, is Diesel’s shooting star. Powerful, dedicated and blessed with relentless energy, she has transformed herself from novice to national champion in the space of just over 18 months, a well-deserved reward for her all-consuming work ethic. Joining Diesel in February 2009, she threw herself in the deep end from day one and immersed herself in training. She has already fought in four major competitions - including Muay Thai Legends and Fast and Furious in Penzance, where she fought on the same bill as Julie Kitchen - and now has two belts under her, belt; the IKBF British title at 61.5kg and the IKF English 63kg title. During that time she’s trained for and run the New York marathon too (in a respectable 3h 46m). She also trains in MMA, and puts her own students through their paces at the gym’s Diesel Chicks women’s class. Oh, and that’s along with holding down a day job crunching serious numbers along with all the alpha males in the City of London. ‘Game’ doesn’t even come close.

Nicknamed ‘the Chali-nator’ by fellow Diesel students, her powerhouse fighting style could give even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s indestructible T-101 a run for its money. Her trainer, Cliff Bura confirms, ‘Chali is an amazing athlete, an inspirational competitor and a success story that everyone knows will continue to heady heights. I have seen many talented fighters in my years as a trainer, and I have also seen fighters with immense dedication to their training; but Chali has both traits in awe-inspiring amounts.’ It was a challenge pinning Chali down for a chat in between her nightly double muay Thai/MMA session, but somehow we managed it... Chali, you’ve picked up Muay Thai like a natural. Did you participate in any martial arts as a kid?

CHALINENE BASSINAH: No, I wasn’t into any martial arts, but I was only friends with boys, and we’d always end up fighting for some reason! I was introduced to Muay Thai by a friend. Can you remember anything that stands out about your early lessons?

Chali & Team Diesel

CHALINENE BASSINAH: I realised I enjoyed it pretty much straight away. I was aching everywhere after every session but I was still coming back for more. I met friendly people who made me feel like I was at home. I also remem-

I SEE A TARGET I HIT IT - CHALI BASSINAH Page 31

ber picking it up quickly. That’s mainly due to the fact I connect pretty well with Cliff (Bura, Diesel’s owner). Whenever he explains something, I just remember it, integrate it and digest it. He knows how to find the best way to explain the techniques.

Have you had any bad injuries - or inflicted them on others?

CHALINENE BASSINAH: I broke my right hand from punching too hard and I broke a toe kicking my sparring partner’s knee! I’ve had sore ribs too... I haven’t inflicted really bad injuries on anyone (touch wood!). I did sometimes hurt people when I was a beginner and I had difficulty controlling my power, but now it’s getting better.

‘‘

Eighteen months training and you’re already a veteran of four big competitions. What was your toughest fight?

I don’t really have a style, I adapt to my opponent

CHALINENE BASSINAH: My first pro fight, at Muay Thai Legends in December 2009. That was the most prestigious venue I’ve fought at and I wasn’t relaxed at all, although it didn’t really show looking back at the DVD. But I was exhausted, I was really sick after that.

What do you think are the best aspects of your technique and fight style, and what needs working on?

CHALINENE BASSINAH: I don’t really have a style, I adapt to my opponent. I work more by instinct and anticipation: I see a target, I hit it. I always try to mix things up. I try to be technical, to have good technique. You train six times a week, you fight in competitions and you teach. What has martial arts taught you about yourself?

What made it so hard?

CHALINENE BASSINAH: I wasn’t breathing and relaxed enough, so the adrenaline rush hit me hard. I was tired after the third round and couldn’t fight to my game plan. I learnt a lot from it though. It taught me to relax more and to not try to count points while I’m fighting.

CHALINENE BASSINAH: I’ve learnt how to be more in control of my body and my mind. This is a way of life! I have gained self-control, confidence. I have learned that fighting can be a dangerous game. I also learned by teaching that you can’t push people too hard. You have to find a way the push them hard without them knowing it...

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Page 32 KEITH HACKNEY - THE GIANT KILLER

Keith Hackney

By Ben Cartlidge

The Giant Killer Back in the early days of the UFC, the promotion was a lot more spectacle than sport. Any serious mixed martial arts fan can name you a plethora of bouts from the early days which are beyond belief by today’s standards. Of all the stories from this time there is one man who seems to have been involved in more than one eventful octagon war. The man was Keith Hackney; the fighter that the fans christened The Giant Killer. Hackney had been a good athlete as a child but he when he began to train boxing and wrestling at the age of 14 it was clear that he had found his calling. The young Hackney was a ferocious worker and soon began looking to other

disciplines to develop his skills. He trained a variety of styles and he came to fight, as most of the fighters did, as an unknown at UFC 3: The American Dream. Hackney was one of the smaller competitors at this show at 5”11 and 200lb and, as a result of this he was expecting to fight bigger opponents. He would not be disappointed with his first match in the bracket as he was drawn against 616lb sumo champion Emmanuel Yarborough.

It was such an iconic fight for several reasons, but mostly because is embodied the question that the UFC looked to solve. It was a true David vs. Goliath contest, and it fascinated both fans and critics alike. The fight started with Hackney moving laterally and trying to throw kicks at his massive opponent but these didn’t seem to be having any effect. The colossal Yarborough came ploughing forward and Hackney quickly had to back up and change his attack. Hackney’s eyes were ablaze as he stood back and threw a looping palm strike that seemed more at home on the tennis courts than in the Octagon. Yarborough walked straight into the oncoming strike and was sent reeling to the floor. The whole building seemed to shake as the sumo wrestler hit the canvas and the entire audience jumped out of their seats. Hackney, eager to defeat the giant, went in for the finish. In closing the distance, however, he allowed his foe to grab hold of him

KEITH HACKNEY - THE GIANT KILLER Page 33

The fight was restarted and Hackney went back to throwing leg kicks as his massive foe continued to walk him down. More and more kicks began to land but it wasn’t until Yarborough caught one of these kicks that Hackney was able to land some decisive punches. Hackney did well to avoid being taken down and stood above Yarborough landing a seemingly endless stream of punches and hammerfists. It was enough to warrant a stoppage from Big John McCarthy (refereeing only his second UFC) and earn Hackney a historic victory and his moniker of The Giant Killer. His victory proved to be bittersweet, however, as he had severely damaged his hand with the barrage of strikes that he landed. He was forced out of UFC 3, but the impact that he made in that tournament and his part in that era defining fight will live forever in the history of mixed martial arts.

Gracie has famously said that the early UFC competitions were “an infomercial for Gracie Jiu Jitsu.” A statement which seems to be no exaggeration when you look at the series of victories the slender Brazilian was able to amass. Gracie’s strategy would be no secret, he came to take his foe to the ground and secure a painful submission as fast as he could. From the outset, Hackney looked to keep the fight stood up and tried to use his kicks to wear out Gracie but once the Brazilian was able to close the distance it was hard to see how Keith could survive.

‘‘

UFC 3 vs Yarborough

declaring it an honour to have competed against him.

‘‘

and in the struggle for position Hackney was flung through the cage door.

Keith Hackney would go on to make one more appearance in the UFC, a submission loss to Vale Tudo legend Marco Ruas at Ultimate Ultimate 95, but even in defeat he was still respected and admired by the newly forming mma community...

I want to work to a point where I can take a fight team around the world

After such a memorable fight it was hard to see where Hackney could go next but he came back for UFC 4 and was paired up with the eccentric Joe Son. In yet another memorable performance, Hackney was able to survive the early scare from Joe Son who scored a quick takedown. Keith managed to get back to his feet and initialize a takedown of his own and once he moved to side control he was able to finish the fight. Hackney landed a series of six punishing groin strikes, which were perfectly legal under the rules, before choking Joe son out with a rudimentary palm choke submission. He was 2-0 in the UFC and he wouldn’t have to wait long before his next challenge; an unassuming Brazilian by the name of Royce Gracie.

Hackney showed a lot of heart and rocked Gracie a few times with punches but he was unable to prevent Gracie securing a tight armbar at 5:34 of the first round. Hackney was noble in defeat and would go on to praise the skills of Gracie,

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Page 34 ROB VAN DAM - INTERVIEW BY TEDDY G

Rob Van Rob Van Dam may be the coolest guy in professional wrestling, but after catching up with him prior to his match at Manchester’s M.E.N. Arena on January 28th I also feel he is one of brightest and most dedicated too. Having previously been on the cover of our sister magazine Combat mag, RVD was keen to catch up with his UK fans and share his thoughts with them... Mr Van Dam, A real pleasure...

ROB VAN DAMME: Likewise... You are over here in the UK with TNA on their European Tour, where have been your favourite places to wrestle on the tour so far?

ROB VAN DAMME: Well, you know it’s not just the venue; it’s the crowd of course. That’s what I’m gonna judge this by, and last night in Scotland... Off the charts! That was my favourite of the towns so far, that and Dublin. Just a little more passion and energy. They have been great crowds everywhere so far, but there is just a little difference from town to town to town so far, and I must say the fans from Scotland and the fans from Dublin had so much loud, screaming energy, it was just like back in the original ECW days for me so I felt very much at home. As you say, you are formerly of ECW, WWE and just about everywhere, but can you tell the fans just how you got into the sport to begin with?

ROB VAN DAMME: Yeah, well I was just perusing a dream. A 15 years old kid, average size, never met anybody famous. But I had this love, this passion, to be a pro wrestler when I grew up so I just focused on that. I learnt that there’s wrestling schools that you pay tuition and go through much like any other trade school... so I did all my research, compared all the schools, you know the tuition (fees), duration, the credibility and who have they trained, all of this was important. In 1989 which was the same year I graduated high school, I started with the original Sheik, who fortunalty lived only 45 minutes from my parents’ house and was amongst the fairest of the tuition prices and had more credibility than any other school I checked out. The original Sheik had trained everybody. You know, at one time or another every wrestler had passed though his wrestling promotion and he had helped groom (future stars) and had helped a lot of the guys careers. This is not of course to be confused with the Iron Sheik; this was back in the ‘50’s. Oh I have certainly seen plenty of tapes of the original Sheik’s matches from back then and most of his matches ended in a blood bath!

ROB VAN DAMME: Right, which is why a lot of people are surprised that my style is so much different to his. But what I brought to the ring in terms of my martial arts and my kicks and my acrobatics and all my flips and stuff I already had that before I met the Sheik, and I was learning all that to follow my dream. As our magazine covers all forms of martial arts as well as combat sports, can you give our fans an insight as to your martial arts background and what you learnt?

ROB VAN DAMME: Yeah, it’s kind of a funny path, starting as a kid and as a fan of martial arts movies; I was always imitating everything I saw; running up trees, doing back flips and all that. When I got into wrestling, me and my buddies would slam each other onto the living room floor on Monday nights. We’d take the cushions off the couch and beat each other up. Then we found out there was a person in town that had an actual ring and we just had to meet this guy. We had to meet the guy and tell him what we did and what we where gonna do when we grew up and so he took interest in us. But to let us use his ring we first had to turn up at his kick boxing classes. Turns out this guy isn’t only a kick boxer but is also a promoter. He runs shows, he fights, he’s the middleweight champion, and so it was just like a dream come true for us. I started out paying ‘dues’, way before I got into professional wrestling. I was about 15 or 16, somewhere around there years of age, and we would drive and show up at this guy’s house on a Wednesday. We would have to go through all of his classes, his stretching, his drills, and even sparring with his kick boxers, and once the kick boxers where tired and went home, that’s when the wrestlers could have the ring with whatever energy we had left. That’s how I started getting into kickboxing, and I found that I really enjoyed it and I was really good at it! I was knocking everybody out, even his, Kit Lykins, my first trainer, even his students who had...

ROB VAN DAM - INTERVIEW BY TEDDY G Page 35

Dam

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Page 36 JULIE KITCHEN’S TV DEBUT

Jul

JULIE KITCHEN’S TV DEBUT Page 37

ie Kitchen’s

TV debut as coach on Enfusion UK Muay Thai legend and World Number 1 Julie Kitchen has confirmed her TV debut with Enfusion TV for 2011. Kitchen, who can claim 50 fights, 12 World Titles and 22 belts to her name, fights in 5 different weight categories and is renowned and respected worldwide, is looking forward to a slightly different challenge. Julie Kitchen will be one of four coaches on the 2011 TV series ‘Quest for Honor’ , training and working with one of the four team towards an ultimate final battle of skill and strength to decide who will be crowned the TV series champion. The filming for the show will take place early next year, with an added twist of a fight tournament between the four coaches at the end of the series which will also be filmed. The training and filming will take place in Thailand. “Quest for Honor”, the next instalment of Martial Arts Production Europe (MAPE), will focus on the 95 kilo max division. Enfusion have set about the task of searching for the best up and coming athletes from various countries. Talent from around the globe will demonstrate their skills to the world to show their level of skill and dedication to the Oriental Rules Tournament. The chosen athletes will meet in the proving grounds of Superpro Samui training camp in Koh Samui, Thailand, where they will be tested and eliminated until four end up in the finals of Enfusion’s Quest for Honor, with their eyes and mind firmly set on the prize money. Spectators and fans alike will be in for a real treat as the 95 kilo max division is rarely focused on, and the selected athletes will be proving how much action, drama and excitement comes in this competitive weight class.

Athletes from Armenia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Finland, Australia, Congo, Poland, Surinam, Holland, USA, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Canada, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Korea will be competing in the TV series. Julie Kitchen will be joined by Hanna Mjoberg (Sweden), Aleide Lawant (Holland) and Maria Bastasin (Canada) as coaches for the 2011 show. Go to www.facebook.com /JulieKitchenUK and ‘like’ Julie’s page for further updates on the show or visit www.breatheunity.com/ profile/julie-kitchen for further details about Julie. Julie is proudly sponsored by Touchgloves Gym, Fightstuff, Top King and Breathe Unity Athlete Management. Julie Kitchen’s fight record 50 fights - 42 wins - 8 losses Height: 5ft 11”” Weight: 59kg—67kg Julie fights in 5 different weight categories under Muay Thai, Kickboxing and K1 style oriental rules. Julie has fought and is renowned in Thailand, Jamaica, New York and Amsterdam. She has also fought no1 opponents from Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Portugal, Turkey, Holland and America and has beaten them all.

Julie is recognised as ‘the most successful female fighter ever to hail from the united kingdom’ and has won various awards including ‘ISKA fighter of the year’ for the 2nd year running and ‘2009 female fighter of the year’ in Japan to name just the most recent ones. Apart from being a skillful fighter Julie is a trainer for private and group tuition, charity supporter, school talks motivator for kids being active in sport, and mother of twin girls aged 11. She is an ambassador for sports in general, especially encouraging women to get involved and achieve their goals even when facing adversity, as well as being involved in anti-bullying campaigns and weight loss programmes. Julie is an amazing tribute to what can be achieved through dedication, hard work and a passion to inspire others through sport.

Titles held : Backstreet Brawler Top King world title @63.5kg World I.S.K.A muaythai title@67kg World I.S.K.A muaythai title @ 64kg World I.S.K.A muaythai title @ 67kg...

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Page 38 PETER DAVIES - MAN BEHIND THE SYSTEM

Peter Davies

By Cris Janson-Piers

The man behind the system Over 14 years ago I met a man who came to my gym in Sheffield to show myself and my fellow instructors what he had to offer to martial arts. He believed in a system he had developed himself of which he called the “Creative Fighting System”. I personally took an interest in this style as it was very practical and coming from a military, security and close protection background I was always attracted to anything combative that was quick and efficient. The mans speed was amazing and he demonstrated so many different areas of expertise. He was warmly accepted into our organisation and has remained with us since as a loyal member. (This kind of commitment in todays changing martial arts society is something to be hailed on its own!). Peter Davies returned on the 4th September 2010 to continue his plight. This time attempting his 5th Dan. (Which at this level is awarded if the person can show they have still been actively involved in martial arts and their actions and input have benefited the organisation and members). Peter did more than this and physically graded alongside his own student Colin Maggs who was to take his second Dan on the same day.

Passing with distinction Peter was later awarded his Masters Degree by myself. He had developed a system which has been followed for many years, not letting it be watered down or changing it to suit others. His loyalty to his own style and students was outstanding and this marked the pinnacle of his life long ambition. Peter had to write a thesis as part of his Masters and I am sharing some of this with you all as it forms quiet a nice background story to his life and the development of his style. Master Peter Davies you are a true martial artist and I am proud to have you as a friend. CJP. Peter Davies writes:

My Roots My first introduction to the Martial Arts started with me partaking in judo at the age of 13, I was a quiet kid who grew up on a rough housing estate that had a reputation which was known country wide. I had two older sisters and no Father influence as he left when I was at the grand old age of two, and then he just flittered in and out of my life for a number of years until he started a new family and all his time were spent with them. I was a slight weak looking child with very thick National Health glasses and a bad homemade haircut. I did not enjoy my school years as I mainly have memories of being bullied, my two older sister’s being my only source of protection, often getting into fights to protect me. At 13 I started going to a local boxing gym to try and toughen up, much to my Mothers dismay as she didn’t want her “little boy getting hurt” my late grandfather was the main committee man at the Social Club where the boxing classes were held so I never had to pay, this enabled me to train as often as i could. Although I enjoyed the classes with the sweating and friendships I gained after we punched each other in the face all night, I felt there was something missing but did not have enough experiences to understand what that was.

1st Introduction to Martial Arts Within a few months I moved on to a local school which taught Judo in the evenings, I loved it, close contact fight-

PETER DAVIES - MAN BEHIND THE SYSTEM Page 39

ing bigger people than myself and taking them to the floor in a well executed throw also I enjoyed the feeling of being part of a family. I thought I had found the missing piece to what I wanted to do within the training arena, so I settled down to a long life in Judo. Then in true life fashion, one evening while walking home from class, three males attacked me and I had a couple of day stay in my local hospital. After a couple of weeks of the usual puppy dog eyes and the true manly trait of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to pick myself up and continue on the path of enlightenment (didn’t know what that meant at the time but sounds good now). What I was sure of was that Judo alone was not the answer. I started hanging round with different people, usual teen trying to be part of something and gain the feeling of belonging. I started to build up a close friendship with one person in particular, a thin gangly boy who liked to scrap street style. I very quickly started to realise that if someone hits you, I could hit them back and the majority of the time they didn’t like it!

My Foundation - Karate The boy to which I grew a close bond with started talking about the Karate classes he had been taking for the past twelve months, I liked the sound of it and enrolled in the next session. Over time we both developed a good relationship with the main Instructor (with whom I am still extremely close with today). Because of this bond our Sensei invited us to extra weekend training that was only offered to a select few, I entered as many tournaments as possible and loved the fighting side of the training, I could never get the true meaning behind Kata, so always tried to get through that part of the lesson quickly.

Self Analysis A number of years past and I had won a number of individual and team events, But yet again that little nagging voice started to question why your feet had to be at a certain angle, why you had to keep your hand chambered on your hip before you punched? Why could I not kick off my lead leg when it was obviously faster than rear leg, so many questions and always the same answer was given “Tradition”

My close friend and I trained together in my small family garage nearly every day , we would train on bank holidays, Sundays and even Christmas day, we would gather information on various arts and experiment with different techniques, our families talked about us as if we were a couple! We would spar using motor bike helmets in order to pressure test certain moves, we would throw elbows and head butts, all non traditional but functional techniques, this went on for a couple of years, we would take the opportunity to train with anyone who had some form of knowledge, whether it was from a system or a street perspective as long as they would spar with us we would embrace the opportunity with both hands. The Garage was situated in a back alley close to the local shops, the area was a no go place after dark! On a number of occasions we would have bangs on the garage door! There would be a number of boys who would challenge us to fight, we took it as a sparring session, constantly learning from the outcome and questioning techniques. My Karate training continued for eight years and I became very apt and gained a high grade, the nagging little voice was still there, we decided to look for another martial Art to try and fill the void and frustration that we both felt, whilst still studying Shotokan we looked at Wing Chun, Aikido and Aki

Jujutsu to name but a few and enrolled in some of the classes, but the same thing came up we had to start from the basics and study for a number of years before we got to the “juicy bits” During this time I had a number of confrontations with My Shotokan instructor who frowned upon the fact I was looking and partaking in different arts (cross training and personal development was frowned upon twenty years ago)...

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Page 40 ULTIMATE CHALLENGE 19 - LIGHTS OUT

WHO: UCMMA 19 LIGHTS OUT WHERE: The Troxy, 490 Commercial Road, Shadwell, London E1 0HX WHEN: 26th March 2011 WHAT: 14 professional fights including 3 title fights TICKET PRICE: £25 (standard tickets) through to £150 (cage side). INFO: http://www.ucmma.com

Article By Graham Finney

ULTIMATE CHALLENGE 19 - LIGHTS OUT Page 41

UCMMA 19 Lights Out “The fans know they’re getting value for money,” explains UCMMA mainman Dave O’Donnell. “They come to our shows knowing the fighters will go toe to toe with whoever they are up against. These guys aren’t going to climb into the cage and start hugging each other, they’re there to knock each other out.”

THE FIGHT CARD

BE IN YOUR SEAT FOR...

“Well, Dyson Roberts Vs Colin French is a bit of a grudge match as they came to blows at the last event,” recalls O’Donnell. “There is the Iain Martell Vs Rafik Benziada fight which I know will be explosive as Rafik will go toe to toe with anybody. You’ve also got the Oli Thompson Vs Ben Smith title fight. People aren’t sure which way that one will go but both guys know they can knock the other out and are promising not only a title fight but a title war.”

Oli Thompson Vs Ben Smith This mouth-watering heavyweight title fight has been a long time coming for fans of UCMMA but, as Ben Smith explains, it wasn’t for the want of trying. “This fight was supposed to happen last year but, two weeks before the fight, I got headbutted in training. The cut needed fifteen stitches which meant that, despite me still wanting to fight, there was no chance of the cut healing in time.” Left at the mercy of the internet forums, Smith now views the fight as not only a way of confirming his position but also as a way of silencing the haters. “You wouldn’t believe the

Ben Smith chokes out his opponent

Oli Thompson reigns down some punishing blows

amount of people talking bullshit on internet forums about me,” laughs Smith, “people say I’ve been ducking this fight with Oli but, I’m more than ready to defend my title.” “Honestly though, I don’t think I rightfully deserve the title until I’ve defended it,” explains Ben, “so if Oli thinks he can just come in and take it off me, he’ll find he’s got a fight on his hands. I’m as happy trading punches as I am going to ground and will go with whatever Oli throws my way...

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Page 42 UFC 126 - SILVA VS BELFORT

Silva vs. Be The Kick Heard Round The Octagon UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva had to hear the rumblings, he must have been made aware of all the talk that he hasn’t been the same fighter, and that the beating he took at the hands of Chael Sonnen was just the beginning. Many pundits were talking about how the decline in a fighters skills comes seemingly overnight without a warning, how the speed and reflexes are the first to go. If that wasn’t enough to get a fighter’s juices flowing the chorus of boos rained down upon Silva during his entrance to the octagon had to open his eyes and dealt a blow to his ego. No matter what a fighter says it is impossible to completely ignore almost 17,000 people showing a man who has accomplished what Silva has absolutely no respect. Is Silva completely blameless in all of this? Absolutely not, beginning with Patrick Cote at UFC 90, continuing with Thales Leites at UFC 97, and culminating with the disrespect and blatant disregard for the fans and Demian Maia at UFC 112, Silva had been vilified for his behavior. In what seemed like an

attempt to punish the UFC for matching him up with opponents that were not on his level, Silva acted like a spoiled brat who took his ball home when he didn’t get his way. Even after suffering a non-stop assault both physically and verbally during his match-up with Sonnen, Silva could not seem to get the fans back on his side. Even after showing a tremendous amount of heart and a true warriors spirit by submitting Sonnen with a last minute triangle after being battered for over 22 minutes, Silva was still made out to be the villain. It just goes to show you that we live in a what have you done for me lately society.

Belfort has always been a fan favorite; he burst on to the scene back in 1997. Utilizing speed and strength hardly ever seen held by one man, Belfort ran roughshod over his competition by winning five of his first six UFC bouts in the first round needing just 15:55. He ended his first UFC run with a dazzling, awe inspiring knockout over Wanderlei Silva that took all of 44 seconds. Nicknamed the Phenom, Belfort proved very worthy of his nickname. Belfort was brought back to the UFC after a 4 1/2 year absence with the sole intention of challenging Silva for his middleweight title. After defeating former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at UFC 103 in September via 1st round TKO he was on his way. Unfortunately injuries kept him on the sidelines for over 16 months before last night’s title shot. Even though he would be coming off such a long layoff there were many who believed he still had what it took to defeat Silva. It took Silva less than 3 1/2 minutes to prove that he was no closer to losing his skills than Belfort was ready to dethrone him and take away the championship he has held since October of 2006, a reign that has seen him defend his title a UFC record eight times. There is a reason

UFC 126 - SILVA VS BELFORT Page 43

lfort

12 6

By Bryan Levick

why UFC President Dana White calls Silva the top pound for pound fighter in the world. Combining speed, strength, and dynamic footwork with extremely unorthodox striking Silva showed that he is far from finished.

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picture copyright

Fans grew restless and neither man made any attempts to engage the other for the first two minutes, it seemed as though we may be witnessing another Silva fight in which he was bored and uninspired. Silva began to get frustrated around the three minute mark as he implored Belfort to make a move. As the chants for Vitor grew louder, Silva was content to dance in front of Belfort. Randy Couture could be heard shouting instructions from Belfortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corner...

Page 44 BATTLE ARENA - SHUDAN MMA

Battle Arena Shudan MMA Shudan kickboxing was founded 8 years ago by Jeff Gonsalves, a enthusiastic Martial Artist who has trained in many styles including; Taekwondo, Kung fu, kicking-boxing, boxing, judo, ju jitsu, shoot fighting, self-defence and JKD. When Jeff started the club, he wanted to mix all the martial arts he had learnt over the years. Jeff attended many seminars with many of the world’s top martial artist and fighters. After UFC 1 exploded onto the scene the martial arts world changed, most say in a positive way. Jeff decided that was the way forward and the way he would run his club. Jeff developed his syllabus to encompass, realistic techniques which would work in any environment, the street or the ring (cage), so this is the way of Shudan. Recently the club has been having major success in MMA competitions especially the local battle arena, as is illustrated below. Saturday 27 November 2010, was the first birthday off the MMA battle arena and what an event it was. There was 12 MMA fights scheduled for the show, with 3 ISKA midland area title fights one of which was a professional title fight. Shudan MMA from Wellingborough had 5 fighters on the show with 3 off them fighting for the titles. The first Shudan fighter to make an appearance was Steven Singleton, fighting an opponent from Storm MMA. This was a very close contest thought over 3

x 3 minute rounds and it ended in a draw. The next fighter from Shudan was Dylan D’Cruz, having his first fight, his opponent was from the BST gym based in Northampton. Again this was a really good hard and evenly fought fight which went the distance. Unfortunately for Dylan his opponent got the decision in this really close fought contest. The next fight was for the ISKA Midlands area 79kg title. Tom Kenny from Shudan was fighting a

very game opponent from the BST gym. This fight lived up to the billing, as before the fight both fighters said they were going to K O their opponent. The fight started very quickly with Tom’s opponent drawing first blood, with some powerful punches which blooded his nose. Tom came back strongly also hurting his opponent with heavy attacks, standing and on the ground. By the end of the explosive first round both men were bleeding and looking tired. At the start of the second Tom took some heavy kicks to his legs but then came back with

BATTLE ARENA - SHUDAN MMA Page 45

some heavy strikes of his own. By now Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opponent was very tired and Tom just kept the pressure on until he hammered his opponent until the referee stopped the fight by TKO midway through round 2. So Tom took the title with a very hard but exiting fight. The next fight was for the ISKA 70kg midlands area title. Tier Blundell from Shudan, fighting another tough BST opponent. This fight was another classic. Both fighters started well landed good strikes in the early exchanges. The Tier settled down and started landing the more telling blows. By the end of the first round he was well ahead and was controlling the fight. At the start of round 2 his opponent came straight in for a take-down, trying to change the course of the fight. But this tactic did not work because Tier is a very accomplished ground fighter and was soon in control on the ground. When the fight got back to standing Tier started to land heavy hand and foot techniques, kicking his opponent to the head a few times. After some excellent work from both fighters Tierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technique and stamina came through by stopping his opponent with some excellent strikes to win the fight by TKO.

The final fight of the evening was a professional ISKA 70 kg Midlands area title fight. Martin Sheridan from Shudan was fighting a Pro fighter from Storm MMA. Martin came out very fast hitting his opponent with some heavy punches, and kicks. He then took his opponent down and straight away took his back and went into ground and pound. Martin was in control of the fight and finished his opponent with a rear naked choke about 3 minutes into the fight. It was a brilliant win and a good way to end the show.

This was the best battle arena show ever, especially for the Shudan fighters who had won all the title fights. The main thing was the supporters saw some great fights, they were all well matched up which is a credit to the promoters, especially James Price who does most of the match making and organising of the show...

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