There is no doubt that at the minute, women’s boxing has taken off, long overdue in my book but then again, I guess women’s boxing is not for everyone; however, on 10 April 2021, that changed and for the better.
There is no doubt that at the minute, women’s boxing has taken off, long overdue in my book but then again, I guess women’s boxing is not for everyone; however, on 10 April 2021, that changed and for the better.
Rewind to 10 years ago, 27-year-old Bec Connolly walked into Paddy Fitzpatrick’s boxing gym in Swindon, Wiltshire, with no prior boxing experience and asked Paddy if he would train her. He did, however, he also took convincing that she was for real and would train hard, as hard as the men; Paddy never gave her any special treatment; in fact, he was harder on her than the men.
After completing her “apprenticeship” in the amateur ranks, Connolly turned pro in September 2017 and “Lady Luck” was born.
You could be forgiven for just looking at Boxrec and seeing the numbers in the Win, Loss and Draw columns, but then again, any pure boxing fan would delve a little deeper into who the opponents were.
Sharing the ring with the likes of Terri Harper, Rachel Ball and Tasha Jonas, to name just a few on Connolly’s resume, regardless of the result, shows just how determined she is to win a boxing title.
“Some may see me as a journeywoman, but that’s not the case. I find that rude. People only look at the record. They don’t look at the quality of the opponents. I am a contender. I’m also not anyone’s stepping stone.”
For the time being, Connolly is concentrating on campaigning for a fight for the vacant Commonwealth title (super bantamweight/featherweight/super featherweight), which the boxing fans also want to see.
“I’ve been asking for the Ebanie Bridges fight since last year, and that’s the fight I’d still like to have.
“It would be an interesting fight because I wouldn’t have to chase her all night as she comes straight forward like I do—a match made in heaven – in boxing terms. I mean, fans want to see an all-out war in the ring. Bridges bring that, and so do I.”
This brings me back full circle as if you didn’t know 10 April 2021 was the Courtenay vs Bridges fight, which got women’s boxing back on the map, front and centre.
The 14th December 2013 is a date that will be forever ingrained in Johnny Walker’s brain. It was that day that Johnny had his first-ever professional mixed martial arts contest at the age of 22, in the heavyweight division. Having had no previous amateur fights, the fight only lasted :49 seconds in round one and Johnny won via TKO, something that he would be doing later throughout his career thus far.
Johnny fought another ten times at heavyweight in Brazil with a combined record of 8-3 before moving down to Light Heavyweight in March 2017, where he had another two fights before relocating to Aberdeen in Scotland in December 2017 for a year.
Johnny had grown up in Brazil all his life, until at the age of 25, he moved across the world to Aberdeen, for an exciting opportunity to help further his MMA career on a global scale.
It was, in fact, Johnny’s coach Leo Gosling who got a proposal/job offer from a businessman in Aberdeen, to go and teach classes in mixed martial arts. Leo stated he would only accept the invite if it included bringing Johnny over too. When Leo and Johnny arrived, they soon realised that it was all a big lie and that the gym owner was broke, which resulted in Leo and Johnny receiving no payment.
These were tough times for Leo and Johnny having travelled from Brazil to Scotland, and now, having no money to live on, their only option was to sleep on gym floors. However, both Leo and Johnny stayed positive and focused on the bigger picture, and Leo managed to get Johnny 3 fights in a month, which not only started to make a name for Johnny on the UK MMA scene (Johnny won the UCMMA light heavyweight title, Feb 2018) but also gave them the much-needed money to survive and progress in the MMA scene.
It wasn’t long after Johnny won his next three fights that he decided to try out for season 2 of ‘Dana White’s contender series in Brazil’ which was held on August 11th, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This was Johnny’s chance to prove to Dana White that after all the hard work he had put in since 2013, he belonged in the world’s number one promotion. The ‘UFC’.
On Fight Night, Johnny was scheduled to meet Henrique da Silva and was looking forward to showcasing his skills. However, during his warm-up Johnny was physically sick and had a fever. He also got tired within three minutes of warming up, so he chose to stop and conserve his energy for the bout against Henrique.
Johnny went the whole three rounds with Henrique, in which he won every round on the scorecards. This was the only fight thus far that Johnny had left it in the hands of the judges. He won via unanimous decision. “It was a great experience even though I was sick, and I couldn’t make it my best performance,” Johnny said afterwards. “It was the first time that any of my fights have gone to the judges’ scorecards”.
That performance impressed Dana White so much that he rewarded Johnny with a UFC contract.
After that victory, Johnny moved to Southampton, England to train with his coach Leo Gosling, where he met female UK fighter and mum of two Bryony Tyrell. At the time, Bryony part-owned Exile MMA Central, Southampton, and later went on to train with Leo and Johnny in Thailand at Johnny’s gym called ‘Walker MMA’, while preparing for her Bellator debut on 22nd June 2019. They formed a great bond with each other that still exists today.
Born Walker Johnny Barra Silva de Souza on March 30th, 1992 in Tingua, Rio de Janeiro, Johnny, his brother Valter and his parents, relocated to Rio das Ostras when he was a teenager, where he lived until he was 25 years old.
Rio das Ostras was a cool place to grow up. The city used to be very safe back then. Johnny would frequently go play out in the street or visit the beach a lot. Unfortunately, as with many children today, some of the kids at school were mean, and for a while, Johnny got bullied for being so tall and skinny.
At 15 years old, Johnny took up one of his first loves, dancing, RIP rop, and Lamaerobica, (which is a Brazilian style of dance), — gradually moving onto lifting weights. Then he moved onto Muay Thai, which he fell in love with after his first lesson.
After leaving school, Johnny started studying Chemistry Engineering but decided that he wanted to follow his dream of becoming a world champion mixed martial arts athlete. After being introduced to Leo Gosling at Leo’s gym, Johnny was offered a scholarship to train in Brazilian Jiujitsu, and Leo invited Johnny to train in MMA as well.
With the mentorship of Leo fully formed, and an incredible bond, even when Leo went to London for a year, Johnny trained at Team Evolucao in the South of Brazil. They then reunited to carry on with their close coach/manager bond that they established.
Starting his MMA career off in the heavyweight division, Johnny knew that weight class was not for him. So, he dropped down to light heavyweight, where the 6ft 5 Brazilian has found great success in the 205lb weight class.
Since being signed to the UFC in 2018, Johnny has had three fights with all of them ending with a first-round win, and a total combined time of 2 minutes 48 seconds in the octagon, gaining three “fight of the night” bonuses while in the process. “Starting my career in the heavyweight division and now in the light heavyweight division, I’m going to win the light heavyweight belt. Then, I will move up and win the heavyweight belt” stated Johnny while we were on the subject on whether he will make a return to the heavyweight division.
If you’re familiar with Johnny Walker, then you will know that after every win in the octagon, Johnny, celebrates by doing a version of what he calls ‘the worm’. However, the last time Johnny did his celebratory ‘worm’, he dislocated his shoulder just before having his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. He then had to have surgery, and this kept him out of competitive action for four months while his shoulder was healing.
“My shoulder is 100% recovered now. I had surgery and have been rehabbing it, and I’m good to go. I will have to look for a new celebration to do when I win as my mum won’t let me do ‘The Worm’ anymore lol,” Johnny says laughing.
Having had six months out of the octagon to rehab his shoulder injury, it has given Johnny plenty of time to spend time with his two dog’s – Pitbull’s named ‘Yoga’, who is the female, and ‘Tanus’, the male. This has given them plenty of time to go down to the beach to chill as well as playing video games. Which at the moment is ‘Call of Duty 4’ online. “I haven’t had time to play the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare yet!”. As well as visiting other gyms to get some more experience, as you can never have enough skills, Johnny has recently come back from spending three weeks at SBG Ireland.
Johnny (17-3), ranked #11 will be facing Corey Anderson (12-4), ranked #7, (according to UFC rankings) on Saturday, November 2nd at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, at UFC 244.
Looking at these two athletes on paper the only similarities (which are small) is that Johnny is 6ft 5 inches and has an 82-inch reach, whereas Anderson is 6ft 3 inches and has a 79-inch reach.
Anderson is on a three-fight winning streak, all coming by way of decision. In fact, all his fights bar 4 have come by leaving it in the hands of the judges. On the other hand, Johnny is on a nine-fight winning streak, with only one of those wins coming by way of decision back in 2016. That is the only one so far on his overall career record. The rest of his wins have come by way of T/KO and two submissions, with all of those T/KO’s happened in the first round one and one coming in the second round.
With a win over Corey Anderson on Saturday, November 2nd, it should put him in the top #6 of the light heavyweight division. The question everyone will be asking is, who is next for him? Will he be in title contention to fight the current champion Jon Jones?, Or will it be someone in the top 5? “I’m not bothered by who my next opponent is, I want to fight as soon as possible, within three weeks would be ideal, in Washington, DC, on 7th December. If not then, then UFC 245 in Vegas on 14th December.”
UFC 244 takes place on Saturday, November 2nd, live from Madison Square Garden, New York, NY.
Jai Herbert with Cage Warriors lightweight belt Credit: Cage Warriors
Originally posted on 5th June 2019
It’s 6 am on a cold winters morning when the alarm clock goes off. Jai Herbert wearily turns off the alarm, gets out of bed, and heads out to start another day in his physically demanding job as a scaffolder. Jai has been a scaffolder for the past fourteen years, working all over Britain.
Come 5 pm, Jai is back at home managing a quick cup of coffee before heading out again, this time heading off to the gym for a good 3 to 4-hour session. Not for a casual workout, but for a full-on training session in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Jiu-jitsu or a cardio session – (depending on what day it is). You see, Jai Herbert is also an elite professional athlete in mixed martial arts while working a full-time job.
The 31-year-old who lives in Wolverhampton has only been competing in mixed martial arts (MMA) for the past seven years. Having won the amateur Combat Challenge British welterweight belt, and the BCMMA lightweight belt, Jai racked up an impressive record of 9-1 before deciding to go professional in March 2015. “At the amateur level, I fought all bar one of my fights at welterweight” Jai explains. “I never had to cut weight and didn’t see the point of putting my body through the strain at amateur level”.
Jai, who started training out of Wolfpack MMA in Wolverhampton and still does his strength and conditioning with John Ashley, has now made a move over to Renegade JiuJitsu in Birmingham under the tutelage of UFC athlete Tom Breese, to help improve the jiu-jitsu and wrestling aspect of his game. “It’s been a great move to Renegade Jiu-Jitsu. I get to roll and wrestle with Tom [Breese] a lot and with top athletes such as Leon Edwards (UFC) and Fabian Edwards (Bellator). They have brought my game on leaps and bounds” said Jai. “I also train at Firewalker Martial Arts where I do my striking such as Kickboxing and Boxing with Joeby Clayton.”
Currently on a four-fight winning streak, with his only loss coming in the way of a KO via Rhys McKee when he fought for the BAMMA lightweight title, Jai is no stranger to hard fights. His first fight since signing with European promotion Cage Warriors was against hard-hitting Erdi Karatas, where he won via Unanimous Decision, and it is the only fight of his career thus far to have gone the distance. His next opponent was Joe Mccolgan which Jai dispatched of in two minutes of the first round. Then, on March 2nd, 2019, Jai had the task of facing veteran MMA athlete Steve O’Keefe, who resume consists of Artem Lobov, Conor McGregor and Chris Goldfish to name a few who had gone on to compete in the UFC. Again, Jai dispatched of O’Keefe within 4 minutes of the first round.
It was at this point Jai knew he would be next in turn to compete for the vacant lightweight title. “I knew I was going to get the shot to be honest” recalls Jai “It was the day after I fought with Steve O’Keefe I got a text to say Graham wants you to fight Jack Grant for the title and I was like yeah, sweet, when?” said Jai. “I knew it was going to happen as Jack was next in line to compete for the title, so I knew it would be him and me.”
With the date set as June 29th, 2019 at Eventim Apollo, London, Cage Warriors will be hosting their 106th event billed as “Night of Champions”, where Jai will take on Jack for the vacant lightweight title. “Jack is a top fighter, he is outstanding on the ground, and he has good stand up too along with being powerful. However, I feel I am the best striker in the division. It is going to be a great fight; I’m going to get my hand raised, and it won’t be going five rounds.”
With Cage Warrior’s emphasis on fighter safety, all professional athletes must be SAFE medical checked, which includes costly MRI scans along with blood work. To help with these costs, Jai’s dad has helped with some of the medical expenses. However, Jai is still looking for additional sponsors to help him achieve the goal of being able to concentrate on being a full-time professional athlete, rather than only dedicating part of himself to his craft when he can train and wanting to reach his full potential. Jai would ideally like to give up work and train full time. If you feel you can help this young, gifted athlete out, please get in touch with him on either of the platforms mentioned below.
Jai would like to thank his current sponsor Animosity Fight Gear UK, all his training partners and his girlfriend Jaye Haynes, who helps him prepare for his fights.
You can reach Jai on the following social media platforms:
Born and raised in Southampton, England, Tom Watson first started in combat sports at the age of 16, when he took up boxing. A three-time ABA Southern Counties Champion and being awarded ‘Amateur boxing standout of the year’ in 2006 was his introduction into mixed martial arts.
Watson made his professional mixed martial arts debut on 19th February 2006 for a local show at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort in London. On ‘ZT Fight Night 1’ where he won via Guillotine choke in 71 seconds, he returned on the show’s second instalment on June 25th the same year where he won via decision.
In 2007, Watson competed in five fights for UK promotion Cage Rage gaining a record of two wins and three losses. From 2008 – 2012 Watson fought a further twelve times for promotions Cage Rage, AFC, UCMMA (formerly Cage Rage), MFC and BAMMA. With his sole loss to Jesse Taylor at MFC 26, Watson picked up the inaugural UCMMA middleweight title along with the BAMMA middleweight title when he fought Jack Marshman at BAMMA 9.
With news that Watson has signed to elite European promotion Cage Warriors and will be facing Aaron ‘King’ Khalid at Cage Warriors 104 on April 27th, 2019 in Cardiff, it was only fitting that I should re-introduce ‘Kong’ to the world.
You’d be forgiven if you are not familiar with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson as of late, with his last competitive fight being on August 8th, 2015 for the UFC. Spending three years with the world’s number one promotion in the UFC, Watson had two wins and five losses (with those losses coming by way of decisions) for the UFC taking his overall record to 17-9.
Watson was not done with competing and was still actively seeking opportunities to fight in the UFC. Having no success, Watson was released by the UFC and continued to explore roles outside of the UFC, doing some commentary jobs here and there. It was at this point that promotion BAMMA contacted Watson regarding doing some presenting and commentary jobs for them. They also wanted Watson (who had been with BAMMA since their first event up until he signed to the UFC) to compete again for them. This news was music to Watson’s ears as he had not hung up his gloves and retired as many people thought due to his 3-year absence from the sport.
Unfortunately, due to issues out of Watson’s control, BAMMA was no longer a viable option as a promotion to make his long-awaited come back on. Instead, elite European promotion Cage Warriors signed Watson in the welterweight division (Watson previously competed in the middleweight division) in January of 2019.
Watson trains predominately at his state of the art gym called ‘Analysis’ which is located right next to him in Southampton, and with the occasional odd trip back to California to train. Watson is already preparing hard for his upcoming bout for his Cage Warriors debut.
Deciding to cut down to welterweight was an easy decision for Watson. He stated that “quite a few people had told me that I should have been a welterweight when I competed in the UFC as I never really cut any weight. When I look back on my career I do wonder if 170lb was the weight, I should have been competing at, so this is an attempt to test out that theory.”
Not content with winning a UCMMA (formally known as Cage Rage) and BAMMA title, Watson has made it very clear that the aim is to win the Cage Warriors welterweight title stating “I’m not coming here to have a bit of fun or have a couple of fights. I’m coming here to pick up another title to add to the two other titles I have held. I don’t know if there is anybody that has all of those titles, so that is my goal.”
With his first love being boxing Watson is in the middle of applying of getting his trainers license as he has a few guys who are looking to make their pro boxing debut so he can be in their corner.
/With the legalisation of Bare Knuckle Boxing, Watson has a couple of guys that he trains. Watson stated “it is not something that interests me, I do like the idea of fighting without gloves more than with gloves, I think gloves are probably less safe, and bare-knuckle is safer. It’s a big misconception that people think Bare Knuckle Boxing is more dangerous. I’d say it is a lot safer as you can’t do much damage as you break your hands more and you don’t have this protection and mould on your fist to keep punching the shots away. I will say though on bare-knuckle when they wear the wraps; I think it’s like wearing gloves and its worse, so to me, bare-knuckle boxing should be basically without wraps or anything.”
Going back to his time with the UFC, Watson stated “ I competed against the best in the world, and I have never got finished by any of them, only losing by decisions. Quite a few were controversial decisions at best for me. Fighting is fighting and if you are losing a decision sport contest– well I’ve said it before, in the UFC I don’t really see that as losing, just the system and the setup. For instance, if we changed the UFC fight to a no time limit would of I lost any of those fights? I doubt it. It is what it is, that’s the rules you play by. Strategy wise I probably didn’t fight too smart. If you look at the earnings of the people in the UFC, I’m still relatively high up there, and I didn’t win many fights, so, on that basis, well it was smart – possibly.”
For those of you that have followed Watson’s career from the beginning, you will recall Watson enters the cage wearing a gorilla mask, hence why he has the nickname ‘Kong’. As Watson made his last appearance for the UFC in 2015, a new British fighter in the name of Darren ‘The Gorilla’ Till was making his debut for the promotion. “I’m not bothered by Darren Till” Watson states, “I believe Dan Hardy gave him the nickname ‘Gorilla’, it is what it is. I think everyone knows ‘Kong’ more than Darren Till’s ‘The Gorilla’.
“Darren Till is a great fighter, but I don’t think he is synonymous with a Gorilla.”
“Cage Warriors is the show where I’m going to make my comeback and win the welterweight title.”
With his debut for his Cage Warriors bout being dubbed ‘King’ vs ‘Kong’, there will only one way to find out if this is the start of a resurgence for Tom ‘Kong’ Watson by tuning into Cage Warriors 104 on April 27th live on UFC Fight Pass.
On Saturday, June 22nd, 2019, Bellator MMA will be making their return to the SSE Arena in London.
Making her debut for the promotion will be U.K’s Bryony Tyrell, and if you had told her six years ago that she would be on one of the world’s largest MMA promotions and competing in front of her home crowd, I’m pretty sure she’d be laughing at just the thought.
Born and raised in Sevenoaks, Kent, Bryony has always enjoyed the thrill and excitement of extreme sports; from BASE jumping, Bungee jumping, and sky diving, to testing herself in mixed martial arts.
Holding a Masters Degree in nursing and a Degree in Molecular Cell Biology, the critical care nurse now based in Southampton has always had a passion for martial arts.
Starting in Kickboxing and Kung Fu 19 years ago, Bryony quickly fell in love with all aspects of martial arts so much, that, she added in Krav Maga, Japanese jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai before finally concentrating on Wrestling and Brazilian Jiujitsu, forming the mixed martial arts career she has today. “Martial arts are my passion in life. I love the contrast that they can be beautiful and deadly at the same time” Bryony said. “Anyone that practices a martial art to a high level knows that it involves incredible dedication and discipline, and also pushes your body and mind to the limits of endurance.”
Originally part of U.K MMA pioneer (and ex UFC athlete) Rosi Sexton’s mentoring scheme, Bryony went about taking Rosi’s advice on training, nutrition, competing and training with Rosi. “I was very privileged to be on a mentorship scheme with Rosi. I gained invaluable advice at the beginning of my amateur career” said Bryony.
The 18th of May 2013 is a day that Bryony will forever have as a fond memory. It was when she made her amateur debut and found out exactly what she is capable of in the cage. “I think the only way to truly know how good you are at fighting is to compete. Being locked in a cage with another trained fighter who can use pretty much any style or technique against you is the ultimate test”, Bryony said when recalling the first time she stepped into the cage.
Not only content with competing in amateur MMA bouts, but Bryony also tested her skills by competing in white-collar boxing bouts, Muay Thai bouts, and grappling matches to gain invaluable experience before turning pro in November 2015.
Holding a current professional record of 4 wins 3 losses and 1 draw, with all 3 of those losses coming from title fights with two of those athletes currently competing in the UFC and Bellator, Bryony is no stranger to adversity in the MMA industry.
Having started in her MMA career aged 33, Bryony was considered by some promotions and coaches to be ‘too old’ to be competing in the sport. Once Bryony turned pro at the age of 35 and started to win, it was only then that she began to believe in herself more and knew that ‘age was just a number’. At least, to her anyway, and she set about proving just that.
Having gone 4-3-1 in her pro career, taking short notice fights and a title fight in a weight class above her usual weight division, Bryony felt that her current gym, Exile, had let her down. “I felt like the industry had written me off for being too old, and some of the coaches at my gym had said I was too old and slow after I lost the Cage Warriors title fight against Molly McCann. When they wrote me off because of that loss, I didn’t think that was fair. It was quite demoralizing for me. The whole experience was quite demoralizing, and I just stopped the enjoyment of the sport.
On top of that, Cage Warriors wouldn’t give me a fight at strawweight, and I felt I was not valued as a fighter, and not being given significant opportunities. It just wasn’t worth the sacrifice anymore. So, I decided to retire in July 2018.”
Since retiring from competitive MMA, Bryony thought that she’d feel better because of the less stress involved and would have more time to spend with her husband and two children. However, she felt like there was a massive hole in her life and felt very down, having nothing to work towards with the Adrenalin rush that she always knew she had. “Having just a normal life is not good enough for me. I know it is quite a selfish attitude to have especially the fact that I have got young children and an amazing husband and a stressful job. I need that buzz to make me happy.”
Looking to replace that ‘buzz’ Bryony decided she would concentrate on achieving the top levels in grappling. After taking home silver at the IBJFF and silver at the UK ADCC, she didn’t have the same drive for grappling as she did in MMA, stating that “I didn’t put 100% in because I just didn’t have that kind of fear factor that someone is going to smash your face in if you don’t train properly, and it wasn’t dangerous for me.”
On May 30th, 2019 it was officially announced that Bryony had come out of retirement and will be competing on the Bellator London card on June 22nd at the SSE Arena, where she will face the current kickboxing champion Denise Kielholtz in a flyweight MMA bout. A fight that has been over a year in the making, as Bryony initially accepted a short notice (1 week) fight against Denise back in February 2018 but had to withdraw due to being medically suspended after her fight with Molly McCann. It was suggested to Bryony that Denise wasn’t matched up for the London card and did she fancy another fight. It was at that point that Bryony messaged her managers, who then contacted Bellator, and they came back with a yes straight away.
With ten weeks to prepare for the bout, Bryony went to Cross Face gym in Watford, training with head coach Dave Lee and Charlie Leary who is also on the London card. For the final two weeks of her training camp, Bryony flew out to Thailand to train at UFC athlete Johnny Walker and Leo Gosling’s new gym Chokchai Muay Thai. “While Johnny and Leo were here in Southampton, I trained with them, so it made sense for me to go out and spend two weeks over at there new gym in Thailand. They have a few UFC athletes training there, and Jorge Kanella who is also on the London card. Being surrounded by world-class coaches and fighters, this fight camp has been on a different level to any other I’ve had. They treat me as an equal, and I’m keeping up with these guys who are top-level pro fighters, so it’s been a massive confidence boost to come back to fighting after people had written you off. I’ve got some amazing people around me that believe in me, and I know I can win this fight.”
With the advantage of having 16 MMA fights compared to Denise’s 4 MMA fights, and factoring in that Denise is Bellator’s kickboxing champion and has had numerous kickboxing bouts, Bryony realises that Denise is a superb striker, having watched a lot of her fights just purely to learn from her and improve her own striking. She is also a classy athlete and represents the sport incredibly well.
Feeling that this is a good match-up and an opportunity Bryony had been asking for throughout her MMA career, she now thinks that having dedicated her life to MMA and competing for the last five years, come June 22nd it will have paid off.
With the fact that Denise is a world champion kick-boxer, Bryony knows that it is unrealistic to think she could beat a multiple world champion striker on her feet, and therefore feels Denise will probably think that Bryony will want to get her to the ground as that is where she tends to do best. “She will be physically stronger than me and be powerful so it will be down to see who can implement their fight game, as always in MMA.
“It’s going to be a fair fight as we both have had a good preparation for this bout. I think I am probably going in there as the underdog and that’s fine with me as that’s normal, but the nice thing for me is she may well be a top striker in Bellator and the promotion, but we are fighting in London in front of my home crowd, which is nice for me because it’s rare that I get to fight in front of a home crowd. It is going to be amazing to have support there, and I’m also fighting on the same card as good friends of mine, Kate Jackson, Charlie Leary and Jorge Kanella, and Johnny and Leo are also going to be there. It is going to be amazing.”
Aiming for a submission win, Bryony has one last thing to say. “Last year my fire went out, this year it’s back with a vengeance! I am incredibly honoured and grateful for this opportunity on the world stage against such an impressive opponent. I got written off as a fighter. This year, I’m training alongside Bellator and UFC athletes treated as equal. Don’t let anyone crush your dreams if you surround yourself with the right people you will succeed!”
The sport of legalised Bare-Knuckle Boxing – British fighter Mark Godbeer is taking part Saturday, 21st, September 2019 live on FITE TV in the UK and PPV in North America.
Born and raised in Bridgwater, Somerset in England, 35-year-old Mark Godbeer had always felt that his ‘hands’ could do the talking – not in the way you’re thinking, but as in a career in combat sports.
Back in 2009, Mark embarked on that career in mixed martial arts.
His first competitive mixed martial arts fight was on a local show in Bath where not only was he the headlined event he won the contest in 2 minutes via TKO.
A year after that fight, Mark got the buzz and had a second fight in which he won again via TKO.
With another four fights that year, Mark won two contests via TKO and two via submission. The two fights Mark had in 2011 were a mixture where he won one via TKO and lost to a TKO himself, his first loss as a pro.
Having had been signed to now-defunct promotion BAMMA, Mark had more than his fair share of success winning all four of those contests and even winning the prestigious BAMMA World Title Belt.
After his success with BAMMA, Mark got called up to the UFC in 2016, which was an achievement and all hard work had paid off.
It was in the UFC (2017) that Mark had never gone the full three rounds and it was left in the judge’s hand to score the fight – they scored it in favour of Mark winning via unanimous decision.
After amassing a record of 13 wins (9 of those coming by way of TKO) and four losses, Mark decided to hang up his 4oz gloves. However, that retirement was short-lived as Mark signed to ACA – Absolute Championship Akhat (formerly known as ACB – Absolute Championship Berkut), which has also given himself another new goal to reach.
“My MMA contract with ACA is still active, and I can talk to my management (Duello Sports Management) they respect what I have to say “ stated Mark “They’ve been really good to me as they knew at that in my point in my career that I wanted to get as many fights in as possible and explore different adventures”
March 20th, 2019 will always be a date that Mark fondly recalls, as he was asked by the British Bare Knuckle Company who had been trying to contact him to fight one of their best guys at BKB16 at The O2 in London, which was also his BKB official debut event.
Mark won that contest against Mickey Parker who was 4-1 in BKB at the time and won the British Title, after that the offers came flooded in.
BKFC David Feldman who held the first legal promotion with it being sanctioned and commissioned since 1889 in June 2018 in Cheyenne, Wyoming had so many offers from people that he was inundated with prospects “someone reached out to me to fight in the heavyweight tournament that Valor was running” said Mark “They told me who was competing, and I was like they are all veterans of the sport, and I’m at the point of my career that I’m also a veteran, so yeah I said f**k let’s do this”.
“It has given me back the fire in my belly. I love to box, and I love the rawness of BKB and the bare-knuckle.”
There is a total miss conception of Bare Knuckle Boxing, and that is where the hands of the fighters get wrapped all around the knuckles, which defeats the object of ‘Bare Knuckle Boxing’, some promotions still use this route; however Mark is keen to put us straight “They are completely bare, the only thing we have wrapped is our wrists so we can punch harder and then say an inch to two inches to your knuckles so that they are complete bare.
“The British version and Valor do not cover knuckles anymore.”
Having decided to have his training camp out in Thailand at Phuket Top Team with Boyd Clarke, for the last five weeks was mainly due to ‘boxing politics’ back in the UK with his very good friend Marley Swindells, Mark felt right at home with Phuket Top Team “I felt that I fitted in straight away with them, having no egos, and I knew most of them from being on the circuit anyway – it was a no brainer.” He said.
“I’ve been out here for five weeks with Marley training my a** off, and now we are here we are all ready to go.”
The event will be the first inaugural promotion promoted by UFC Hall of Famer, four-time Heavyweight World Champion and WWE Legend Ken Shamrock.
“With the four-match tournament it is the first of many I believe on Ken Shamrocks Valor Bare Knuckle show, having selected four big heavyweights, we are all just going to battle it out for two fights all in one night.” Stated Mark “We will have our first fight, then, later on, we find out who we will be matched with for our 2nd fight and see who will become the First Heavyweight Valor Bare Knuckle Champion.”
With Bare Knuckle Boxing taking off all over the world for the past year, or so fans want to see two people go tow to tow in the middle of the ring, once the beer starts flowing, people do like to see a good old fashioned fistfight. Also, mutual respect is shown to each other after they have ‘beaten’ the ‘s**’t’ out of the other fighter after their contest regardless of the result. Two guys/girls have had the b*lls to step into the ring regardless and give their all to their opponent and the fans for a fight they will enjoy.
Lastly, I would like to thank Marley Swindells for helping me get ready for this incredible journey, Phuket Top Team for welcoming me, Booster Fight gear as my sponsor and my management team Duello Sports Management.
This interview was conducted back in June 2016 and featured in the July/August issue of MMA Uncaged Magazine.
“Age is just a number. I will be in the UFC by the end of the year”
London, 2002 and the UFC held its first event outside of the United States for UFC 38. ‘Brawl at the Hall’ was held inside the iconic Royal Albert Hall. Headlined by UFC Hall of Fame veteran Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton. Also on the main card was a 36-year-old Ian Freeman who faced and beat a 23-year-old Frank Mir by TKO, proving that ‘age is just a number’.
Fast forward to April 15, 2016, when European Promotion Cage Warriors returned home to London and held its 75th event. Making his debut for the promotion was 38-year-old Scott ‘The Priest’ Clist facing 25-year-old Brad ‘The Crazy Kid’ Wheeler. Clist was the heavy underdog and after weathering an early storm where it looked like Wheeler was going to submit him in the opening minutes, Clist gained control of the fight (with 30 seconds to go) landing a head kick followed by a right hook which knocked Wheeler to the canvas against the cage and began to unleash a barrage of punches (16) only for the klaxon to sound the end of the round.
It was in-between rounds that Wheeler’s corner retired him from the fight as he had taken too much damage, declaring Clist victorious by way of TKO at the end of round one. Proving yet again ‘age is just a number’.
“Age is just a number. I will be in the UFC by the end of the year”
Born and raised in Bridgwater, Somerset but now residing in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, the nightclub manager first started out in the world of Martial Arts at the tender age of 5.
“My dad would get me and my brother to throw punches and box train with him. He would show us how to twist our hips with the punches and lead with a jab” Clist recalls of his fond childhood memories. After briefly flirting with Karate, Clist settled on Kickboxing where he would start his Martial Arts career and held British titles in kickboxing and full contact Tae kwon do.
Clist was first introduced to Mixed Martial Arts by a colleague whilst he was working in Swindon as a barman at the age of 19. A doorman he knew lent him 3 video’s called “UFC” and after watching them decided he wanted to give MMA a try.
“After watching the ‘UFC’ video’s I attended my first MMA class which was also run by the same doorman who gave me the video’s. ‘Oz’, Michael Osbourne at ‘SVT’ Swindon Vale Tudo. Although I really enjoyed the class due to my working schedule at the time I couldn’t commit to it.”
After spending some time training in different Martial Arts and balancing a full time job, Clist found classes run by Tony Childs who was teaching San Shou, JKD, Combat Submission Wrestling and Escrima to add to his Kickboxing and Tae kwon do background.
Finally, after experiencing success in teaching kickboxing, Clist decided it was time to open up his own gym. In March 2008 The Revolution Gym in Trowbridge was born, all the while still competing as an amateur mixed martial artist himself from 2006 – 2009. In 2010 Clist turned pro finishing his first five opponents within two rounds. Although picking up his first pro MMA loss in 2013 to Dan Rushworth, that fight earned him fight of the night honours. Winning his next fight Clist then entered an 8-man tournament.
“I had no emotion in the lead up to the event and was spending a large amount of time teaching instead of focusing on my own training. Ali Maclean tapped my out with a north and south choke 4:34 seconds into the first round. It was the only time I had been stopped as a pro fighter. I was gutted.”
“It was after this fight that I realised I needed to focus on my own training so I shut down my gym and moved over to Dragonslair MMA in Melksham home to UFC athlete Bradley Scott.”
Photo Credit Adrenalin Fight Night
Now [10-2] as a pro and with the help and guidance of Head Coach Stu Pike at Dragonslair MMA, Clist is currently on a three fight win streak after winning his last fight against Brad Wheeler at Cage Warriors 75 where he was very much the underdog on that card.
“I kept the fight standing for a while and me and Brad traded some shots until I threw a kick and he caught it. Brad got the takedown but I managed to get back to my feet only for brad to get a deep double leg and take me down again, his ju jitsu is sleek and he managed to get my back and sink in the body lock quickly. I went into autopilot and 2 on 1 defence. I had done this so many times in the gym that I was never really worried about getting tapped, I just had to get the lock off. I tried putting pressure on Brad’s ankle but that didn’t work so I had to defend and try to turn into him but like I said Brad’s BJJ is something else and trying to get someone as good as he is off you is not the easiest thing.
“After a few mins spent on the defensive I felt the lock loosen so I stepped over his leg to avoid him getting it locked back in, I turned quickly and we got back to our feet.
“I threw a good uppercut to the body and Brad backed off. I saw my opportunity and threw the head kick followed by the right hook.
I saw brad fall and started throwing down some serious ground and pound. I could hear his corner shouting “10 seconds, hold on Brad”. I kept throwing punches thinking the ref has got to stop it but he didn’t and the buzzer sounded for the end of the round. Brad’s corner retired him in between rounds which gave me a TKO win coming at 5 mins of round one.”
The fight Clist had with Wheeler was originally scheduled for a lightweight bout but got changed to a catch weight bout a few days before. So will we be seeing Clist again in the lightweight division?
“I would like to fight against top 10 opponents. A fight with Chris Fishgold would be interesting and a fight against Andre Ward would make for a great fight. I aim to Keep growing as a fighter and I am in the right place and working with the right people to do that and keep winning. I want to be a successful UFC fighter. I don’t just want to make it into the UFC, I will make it into the UFC and get some good wins.”
With a nickname ‘The Priest’ I did however wonder how it came about.
“My first sponsor gave me that name. I told him he could pick my ring name. He had just watched The Davinci Code on dvd and decided I looked like the psycho killer from the film (blonde hair, white skin) so he said it was great to call me The Priest. I kept it because it caught on after my first fight.”
As with any interview, I ask if Scott has anyone he would like to thank.
“Firstly, my wife and daughter as they put up with me missing time spent with them, being tired from training and weight cutting etc. I would like to thank my coaches Stu Pike, Bradley Scott for making me a better fighter. My boxing and s+c coaches Mark Kent and Smudger at contender gym. My teammates who let me learn and let me be part of their learning. Stu Mourant for making a massive difference and opening doors. My sponsors for helping me with fuelling my body, BadBoy Supplements (kalv Singh) and financially Nacho Cheese, Richard Henley (Heating and plumbing), Darryl Moore (Carpentry) and a massive thank you goes out to all my friends and supporters”.
You can follow Scott Clist’s journey on the following media sites.
Swayze Valentine. Swayze. Swayze. I can hear you saying the name over and over again, it sounds familiar but where have you heard it? And before you think “Patrick Swayze”, hold it right there!
What if I were to say to you, “UFC”? Would that ring any bells? How about if I also mentioned, “cutwoman”, you know, the female version of Jacob “Stitch” Duran or Adrian “Tenacity” Rosenbusch? Has the penny dropped now?
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Swayze Valentine was a determined individual, whose parents instilled a good work ethic in her from an early age. This work ethic was instrumental in forging a career as the first (and currently only) female cutwoman in the UFC.
Having made her career choice back in 2006, it has not been an easy road, with many hurdles in the process to making it this far in her 10 year career. Acceptance and adversity is still one of the biggest challenges to overcome in this male dominated industry.
The rewards far outweigh any of the negativity that Swayze has had – and still endures – in her chosen career. Just listening to her passion and drive alone makes you want her to be successful in this forever-evolving sport.
“I feel that I make a difference. I love taking care of people. Being a Cut woman, I get to wrap the hands of these incredible athletes in a sport that many don’t understand. I get to take care of them when they need me most. I get them to the next round. A fighter recently told me that having me there brings him comfort. That meant so much. I am so glad that my presence can calm a fighter in the middle of battle. I feel that being a mother, I bring a nurturing, calming comfort to these fighters, which I think is a huge asset that I hold dearly!
I can’t lie, it feels amazing that I am one of the few, elite professional Cutmen/Women in the world. But I still have all those same struggles that I have had from the beginning. I still deal with adversity, I always will, and I’m okay with that!”
Swayze worked many hours and travelled hundreds of miles a day, just to gain experience wrapping hands in a gym environment, all for free before ever having a ‘paid’ job in her chosen career path. Swayze then asked renowned UFC Cutman Adrian “Tenacity” Rosenbusch for some advice. He took her under his wing and became her mentor for two years, training her in the ‘cut side’ of the work. Swayze held a great pedigree in her CV even before being approached by the UFC, having worked with promotions such as Invicta, Bellator, WSOF, MMA Explosion and King of the Cage, along with amateur MMA and Muay Thai promotions including, 1 Kick Nicks, Tuff N Uff, Battle at the Bay and Rumble on the Ridge, to name just a few.
Having made her first appearance with the UFC two years ago at UFC 170, “The Queen of Cuts” (a nickname given to her by Jacob “Stitch” Duran) must feel under a lot of scrutiny.
“Absolutely! There is so much more stress. Everything is more difficult. I have to be 150% better than anyone else. The pressure is magnified tenfold. I like it that way though. It keeps me on my toes and it is always exciting. I turn the pressure and stress into drive, and into a positive. I let it push me past all my insecurities and personal fears. I thrive on being in a stressful environment, I’m better, faster, and I’m stronger.”
If being a single mom to two boys and a cutwoman in the UFC is not enough to keep Swayze busy she has also taken a role in hit US Drama Kingdom. The show which features stars such as Frank Grillo, Kiele Sanchez, Matt Lauria, Jonathan Tucker, Nick Jonas, Joanna Going and has also featured guest appearances from UFC fighter Cub Swanson, with guest presenters Hendi Androl, Kenny Florian just to name a few. Airing on Direct TV, the Audience Network production will be returning to your screens next summer in the US.
With so many highlights over her two-year span thus far with the UFC, I’m sure it would be hard for anyone to choose some personal favourites but here Swayze goes through some of her highlights to date.
“Oh man, What a ride! I have had so many amazing experiences since 2 years ago! If we are just talking about UFC, some of my personal highlights was definitely my first UFC event. Next would have to be, when fighters request me to wrap their hands or be in their corner, and when Joanna Jedrzejczyk requests for me to wrap her hands because I am good luck for her. Another exciting highlight would have to be when I wrapped Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor’s hands for an episode of “Embedded” That was awesome… Just to name a few.”
As for advice to anyone who wanted to pursue a career in the same field as herself, Swayze had this to say:
“Being a Cutman/Woman, is a beautiful and rewarding career. If someone is interested, you have to check out Fight Business Academy!! This new online Academy has made becoming aCutman/Woman much more attainable than it has ever been before. Go to www.fightbusinessacademy.com. It is the first company to offer formal training for many of the exciting jobs in Mixed Martial Arts, Boxing and Muay Thai. This online academy has accomplished this through a hybrid of online classes and live Bootcamps with the top professionals in Combat Sports. Fight Business Academy also offers an exciting array of learning opportunities to fit every schedule and budget. From the “Academy Insider” weekly group chats, one-on-one Skype sessions to live Bootcamps in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas Nevada! Fight Business Academy can teach you all the technical skills you need to be a valuable asset to any organization. It is so cool! I wish this online academy was available to me when I started!! I highly recommend anyone wanting to become a Cutman/Woman, to go online and check out this course.”
Helen ‘Hellraiser’ Harper will be setting her sights on the bright lights of Las Vegas on December 14th for season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter Trials.
Born and raised in Aldershot, Hampshire in the UK and having spent a few years living and competing in Phuket under Phuket Top Team, Helen is now firmly back where she started at home in Farnham, Surrey.
With her only loss coming by the way of controversial stoppage due to a Groin Strike against Strawweight UFC Athlete Cortney Casey, the 28-year-old has only been competing in mixed martial arts for four years and holds an impressive record of 4-1 inside the cage.
Not content with simply applying herself to the world of mixed martial arts, Helen has also competed in several Muay Thai events successfully including winning her pro kickboxing bout.
The pound for pound ranked #4 in UK & Ireland and #1 in Southeast Asia on Tapology does not take anything for granted in this forever evolving sport and has been working hard over the last few months by competing in many Gi and No Gi Competitions. So much so that Helen has picked up 7 Golds, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze, placing in every competition she has entered.
Having recently competed in a Muay Thai event at ‘The Road to Main Event’ on November 21st against Kat Holden, Helen took the fight on 2 weeks’ notice due to some prior pull-outs with her own schedule of fights in mixed martial arts. After three hard fought rounds, Helen was the one to walk away victorious with a decision win, although it was no easy feat.
“I’d had a few pull outs in a row and the only fight that I could have had was up in Sunderland, which would have meant I wouldn’t have had a corner. It was very frustrating. My coach at Shinkick (Jesse Saunders) told me he already had a few guys fighting on this show and they’d had a pull out – did I want to fight? Of course I said yes, that’s equivalent to asking a fat kid if they want cake…
“It was incredible! Kat is no walkover, she’s a seriously tough girl and as you said, it was by no means easy. I absolutely loved it though, and would do it again tomorrow if I could!”
Having decided to sharpen up her forever growing arsenal of tools in her tool box, Helen has been focusing more on becoming more specialised and dedicated to the whole of her MMA game. Having spent some time down at Legacy BJJ/Urban Kings under the tutelage of BAMMA‘s Head Match-Maker Jude Samuel, who was in Helen’s corner for her last MMA fight against Sophie Langsford where Helen picked up a win via decision over three hard fought rounds.
“I’m sharpening up my technique. I can brawl amongst the best of them but when it comes to technique I do struggle to keep things tight. My Muay Thai is the main thing I can see a big improvement in, and that’s thanks to the guys at Shinkick – especially Jesse and Rob. Strength and conditioning is done at Andy’s with the resident S&C coach, James Hardy. Wrestling is also at Andy’s, with Csaba who is an absolute beast – fantastic teacher and all round nice guy. I couldn’t ask for a better set of guys. Having spent a few months’ worth of training up at Jude’s in London, it is a fantastic gym, but I just couldn’t afford to keep travelling up there. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who does find themselves in the Kings Cross area though.”
Having recently been over to Phuket in Thailand to see her good friend and UFC flyweight athlete Ben Nguyen get married, which must of been amazing. Helen went over to AKA to train and then competed in a Muay Thai fight.
“I went over to witness Ben’s wedding, and had the opportunity to fight, so I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I also got very sick that week so it wasn’t my best fight but I made it to the end without throwing up so I was kind of happy about that!“
Now back in the UK, Helen is set to face one of her biggest goals to date – the TUF 23 Trials out in Las Vegas on December 14th. This is not the first time Helen has gone to try out for The Ultimate Fighter, back in April 2014 for season 20, Helen made it through to the final 20 athletes which is a great accomplishment in itself.
“I came home on Monday evening to 8 messages telling me about the trials. I wasn’t going to go, purely through lack of funds, but then Andy had a long chat with me and told me to get there any way I could. He reminded me that this is what I have been aiming for all this time so it would be stupid not to go.
“UFC is an organisation where anything could happen. Yes, I know the general expectation of me, but what they are looking for in a person for each series varies from show to show. The real bonus having been to Vegas before, is that there are a number of friendly faces I can count on to cheer me on!”
With costs from the UK to Las Vegas being expensive, especially on a massive UFC fight card week, yet alone near Christmas, Helen has decided to set up a ‘MAKEACHAMP‘ page to try to assist with the costs associated with getting to Las Vegas for the TUF 23 Trials.
“Andy encouraged me to get to the trials any way I can. I am a Teaching assistant who’s been living in my overdraft since I can remember. Realistically the only way, even though I absolutely hate asking people, is to ask for help. I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support. The way I look at it is people are not only giving me their hard earned cash to achieve my own dream, which is incredible in itself, but they are believing in me. For that I am extremely lucky.”
Helen is also holding a grapplethon at the gym she trains at, Andy Roberts BJJ, on December 6th to also help raise funds for herself to get to the TUF 23 Trials.
“The plan is to grapple for 8 hours (10am-6pm). I was worried about not having enough people to turn up so I have been trying to book half hour slots – it’s not going that well so far. I hope I will get a few more booked this week! If anyone wants to come, it’s in Farnborough on Sunday and open to anyone!”
Piotr Ptaskinski will be making his return to the octagon this weekend after two years away from the sport at Ultimate Impact Championship 16 this Saturday, November 14th at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester, in a K1 Title fight against Craig White.
The 33-year-old, originally from Poland who now resides in Worcester, Worcestershire has only been competing in professional MMA for the last five years, but I guess realistically you could actually say only three years with his last two years out of the sport due to injury and having no motivation or hunger for the sport during that time.
Piotr Ptaskinski will be making his return to the octagon this weekend after two years away from the sport at Ultimate Impact Championship 16 this Saturday, November 14th at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester, in a K1 Title fight against Craig White.
The 33-year-old, originally from Poland who now resides in Worcester, Worcestershire has only been competing in professional MMA for the last five years, but I guess realistically you could actually say only three years with his last two years out of the sport due to injury and having no motivation or hunger for the sport during that time.
Before his two-year hiatus, Piotr fought for established European promotion Cage Warriors for which he had a career that consisted of 2 wins and 2 losses which brought his impressive welterweight record to 5-4 inside the octagon for professional MMA. Now fully healed, full of motivation and more hungrier than ever Piotr has decided to make his comeback in a K1 middleweight title fight.
“I have always liked stand up and although I have been away for two years I have been training in K1, Kickboxing and Muay Thai, so this to me was the perfect option for me to come back to with a great opponent in that of Craig White to showcase both our skills.”
Having watched several of Piotr’s fights myself, I for one know that he never takes a backwards step in the octagon and is always coming forward no matter what is being thrown at him. I guess this is where his love of the sport definitely comes in and makes him a fan favourite to watch in whatever promotion he his competing in at the time. Whenever Piotr competes you can usually guarantee there will be ‘beautiful violence’ involved.
“Whilst competing for the promotion Cage Warriors I did get given the nickname ‘The Polish Zombie’ after my fight with Moshen Bahari, at one point there was just blood coming out of my eyes but the polish zombie is not my real nickname (infact it is current TUF 22 competitor Marcin Wrzosek nickname) my nickname is ‘Iron’ given to me by Paul Sutherland after my fight with Daniel Brzozowski who knocked me down in the first round, twice, and I came back to finish him in that round in 2 mins via Armbar. That was when I was given my fight name of ‘Iron’.”
Although you may only recognise Piotr’s name from the MMA scene, you can be forgiven as although K1, Kickboxing and Muay Thai are the disciplines he prefers to compete in and for which he has done so previously in-between his MMA days, his last competitive K1 fight was in Spain three years ago for which he won and then he promptly carried on with his MMA way of life.
Being blessed in both disciplines of K1 and MMA and seeing now that Piotr’s motivation and clear hunger for the sport had worked its way back to him and having a ‘rebirth’ into this forever evolving sport the question now is what is the ultimate goal for which he would like to achieve within the sport.
“I don’t know at the moment as I don’t look too much into the future. I’m just looking at this Saturday and taking this belt, this is my ultimate goal at the moment.”
Training out of renowned Cheltenham Trojan Free Fighters under the guidance of head coach Paul Sutherland and Conditioning guru Matt Ewin who is known for his crazy hill sprints, Piotr’s level of training just keeps adding more explosive sets of weapons to the ever-growing arsenal of tools that he has already and is forever expanding into his growing tool box.
“The secret in Trojans being a really good teaching gym is the head coach, Paul Sutherland. He is one of the best coaches in the UK and the gym has a great training programme for every person. Paul Sutherland is the key to Trojans he is the Glue.”
For this specific training camp Piotr has travelled around a few places to get the ‘best of the best’ training and it all started in Poland where he trained at Tomasz Drwal gym who happened to be a pioneer of MMA in Poland and was the first Polish person in the UFC. Piotr’s next part of his camp was then spent with UIC 15 WW K1 Champion David Willmot at Team Tieu Cheltenham and then finally onto sparring seasons with former UFC and Cage Warriors athlete Chè Mills, not forgetting his daily training sessions with Paul Sutherland at Trojans.
“I was over in Poland for ten days training with Tomasz Drwal at his school which was just really good, having around 7/8 sparring partners my size training in boxing and kickboxing, it was a great experience. Training with David Willmot for whom is a multiple K1 champion, well, you couldn’t ask for any better and as for getting to train with Chè Mills he is 6ft tall just like Craig White but I feel Chè’s striking is world-class, in my opinion. If you want to beat the best you must train with the best.”
They say ‘Iron sharpens Iron’
As we start to talk about Polish fighters with the date being the 14th November when Piotr himself is due to compete, there is also another Polish fighter who goes by the name of Joanna Jedrzejczyk competing on the same night for a title belt defence, it would be rude of me not to at least test the waters on this subject.
“Joanna Jedrzejczyk is such a beast and I have been a watching her since I saw here compete in Cage Warriors. We polish are very proud. Although Valerie Letourneau may not be all together an easy fight, Joanna is still a different type of beast, her confidence is great and she will be unstoppable for a long time to come.”
Piotr would like give a shout out to his sponsors:
Five Rounds with Emma 
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