MMA – Page 44 – Five Rounds with Emma

UIC11 EVENT REVIEW – BENSKIN VS COOK 2 at GL1 FEB 22ND

`Ultimate Impact 11 held their first event of 2014 Benskin VS Cook 2 at their new location of GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester on Saturday 22^nd February to an electrified, pumped up full house.

With six K1 fights on the card including four female K1 fights and seven MMA fights, Paul Sutherland and Dan Richards had definitely pulled this one out of the bag yet again with each show just getting better and better.

The main event was all about the Middleweight Title re-match between Lenny Benskin and Tommy Cook, after the first outing ended in a DQ for Lenny Benskin in which Tommy Cook gained The Middleweight Title; it was there in the centre of the cage both men agreed to an instant re-match and tonight was the night.

Referee’s Ron Frith and Leon Roberts were the third men in the cage and MC for the night was Darren Rees.

It was time to get the first fight underway and the atmosphere of the crowd in the new home of UIC, you could already start to feel the warm, electric vibe.

UNIFIED AMATEUR MMA 70kg 3X3 MINS

JACK PRICE FURY MMA 0-1 JACK ‘THE LORD’SHORE TILLERY COMBAT 2-0

Rnd 1 Both men are straight of out the cage but it’s Shore who gains the TD and quickly moves into side control and then top position raining blows on Price who is trying to defend the flurry of shots and whilst doing so turns onto his stomach. Shore is controlling the action from the outset, and then sealing Price’s fate with a RNC at the 2min 3sec mark of Round 1.

WINNER JACK SHORE VIA RNC

K1 AMATEUR FEMALE 50KG 3×2 MINS

KATIE ELKOVA GLOUCESTER MARTIAL ARTS 1-0 PAULINA MALINA TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS DEBUT

Rnd 1 Elkova straight in with kicks in this fast paced opening few seconds. Malina pushing forward as the aggressor and drops Elkova, then Malina comes in with a lovely superman punch using her clean timed punches well. Elkova moving forward using her punches and making good use of her sidekicks.

Rnd 2 Both women come out fast, Malina coming forward with her punches and starting to use more of her leg kicks, Elkova Is starting to come into her own as both women trade alike, Malina with a great spinning back fist, Elkova moving forward and making this a two-sided affair.

Rnd 3 Elkova straight in with a one, two combination followed by Malina landing a spinning back fist and a flying knee in this fast paced round. Both women have a sense of urgency about them in this final round with neither giving an inch as the sound of clappers go for the last ten seconds Malina drops Elkova. WINNER VIA DECISION PAULINA MALINA

Paulina 'Young Gun' Malina — (c) NJFPhotography.com

K1 AMATEUR FEMALE 55KG 3X2MINS

ZOWIE TREVENA REVOULTION GYM 0-2 LEA FENDT EAST WEST MUAY THAI 0-1

RND 1 Both women come out fast; Trevena making use of angles whilst Fendt is stalking down her opponent, Trevena is in and out, circling off to the side as Fendt is still finding her range and rhythm but also landing some awesome kicks and punches in the process. Trevena has landed her own shots this first round and it is definitely not a one sided affair.

Rnd 2 Trevena is out first and lands with a front kick for which Fendt replies with a brutal sidekick, Trevena drops to her knees in agony. Referee Ron Frith checks Trevena is able to carry on – all the while Fendt’s corner are shouting at the ref for allowing ‘too much time’ and Trevena’s corner are telling her to ‘suck it up’ but the look on Trevena’s face tells a different story! With Fendt knowing she had done damage, she finds her rhythm coming forward landing brutal knees and kicks just as it signals for the end of the round.

Rnd 3 Fendt having found her earlier momentum and rhythm she is straight back where she left off throwing some brutal leg kicks and knees then threw an awesome head kick which KO’d Trevena at 1min 01 sec Rnd 3. WINNER LEA FENDT VIA KO

UNIFIED AMATEUR MMA 72KG 3X3MINS

CADRE ‘CJ’ ABDULAFUR GLOUCESTER MARTIAL ARTS 0-1 MATT FIGLAK TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS 2-1

Rnd1 Abulafur is straight out with punches, Figlak attempts an TD but Abdulafur pulls guard, Figlak in side control then gains top position where both men are working battling it out, Figlak being the dominant one with top position but Abulafur also working hard from bottom position.

Rnd 2 Figlak straight out and gains the TD, working hard from mount only for Abulafur to get back to his feet briefly and Figlak take him down again although whilst doing so Abulafur has made the error in leaving his arm out and Figlak capilatizes on this but to no avail. Figlak gains another TD and continues to control Abulafur from mount.

Rnd 3 Figlak comes out punching and gets the TD, working from mount controlling Abdulafur this is far by means a one sided affair as Abdulafur is holding his own in this well evenly matched fight.

WINNER MATT FIGLAK VIA UD

K1 MENS 68KG 3X2MINS

MATT HARTHILL FURY MMA 1-0 MATT SANSOM EAST WEST MUAY THAI 0-1

Rnd 1 Both men come out fast and are going for this like there is no tomorrow, it is constant action from the beginning with neither man not backing down. Both men are looking fierce but i’m sensing Harthill is just wanting it a bit more in this very even first round.

Rnd 2 Sansom comes out and lands an awesome high kick but its Harthill that is like a man possessed, then at 1min 16 secs Harthill KO’s Sansom. WINNER MATT HARTHILL VIA KO

UNIFIED AMATEUR MMA 59KG 3X3MINS

DARYL GRANT LIONS DENS MMA 4-1 EUAN WALLACE TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS 1-0

Rnd 1 Both men opened up with exchanges of kicks, Wallace gains the TD whilst Grant is working of his back looking for a submission, sees a small opening for an arm triangle and attempts to secure the position but to no avail.

Rnd 2 Grant opens the round with kicks and Wallace returns the favour an awesome sidekick as he does Grant comes rushing forward, there is a scramble of some sorts, I am yelling Wallace watch for the guillotine, next you know, Grant seals the deal with the Guillotine at 0.25 secs Rnd 2.

WINNER DARYL GRANT VIA GUILLOTINE

K1 AMATEUR FEMALE 55KG 3X2MINS

SAMMY DONNELLY COMBAT WARRIORS 2-2 HELEN HARPER ANDY ROBERTS BJJ DEBUT

Rnd 1 Both women come our fierce, with pure intention, working there kicks and solid knees whilst in the clinch position, Donnelly lands a lovely spinning back fist whilst Harper appears to be keeping it basic and trying to find her range in this first round.

Rnd 2 Both women come straight out firing shots at one another; Donnelly is really mixing it up well, Harper has now found her range and is landing more of her strikes on target but that is not to say Donnelly is not in this fight, quite the opposite. Donnelley is coming back with counter punches and knees of her own, making this a very even fight at this point.

Rnd 3 Harper has found her rhythm and Donnelly appears to have been caught in Harpers clinches and been dealt some of Harpers knees, just when you think Donnelley is backed up against the cage she comes back and dominates the last 15 seconds or so of this very evenly fought fight.

WINNER VIA SPLIT DECISION HELEN HARPER

UNIFIED AMATEUR MMA 60KG 3X3MINS

MICHAEL JONES TILLERY COMBAT 1-1 AMAN SAKHIZEDEH TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS 2-0

Rnd 1 Great opening round for both men, both men are feeling each other out, Sakhizedeh teeps Jones straight in the face but this does not faze Jones, he is still moving forward throughout the first round and neither man is not backing down.

Rnd 2 Sakhizedeh straight in and shoots, gains the TD, working in top position as Jones is moving back to his corner against the cage on his back then is back to his feet. Sakhizedeh shoots in for another TD just before the end of the round finishes.

Rnd 3 Sakhizedeh comes out and get Jones in a great Arm Drag Wrestling move for which the crowd go wild, Jones is straight back to his feet, Sakhizedeh has Jones against the cage working for a position but to no avail. The action moves towards the centre of the cage, Sakhizedeh shows more of his great pedigree background in wrestling. Jones puts up a terrific fight but he was just out wrestled on the night. WINNER AMAN SAKHIZEDEH VIA UD

PRO MMA 68KG 3X5MINS

KARL EVANS FURY MMA DEBUT MARK FINNEY TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS DEBUT

Rnd 1 Finney straight in with a one, two combination and knocks Evans down Finney on top raining blows. Evans manages to get back up and both men are going back at it, there’s a scramble and Evans attempts an guillotine, Finney escapes by cage walking – but you really had to see this ‘technique’ he pulled off to escape back to his feet. As soon as they are back to their feet neither man is backing down, it again goes back to the ground and both men are fighting hard for Top position, Evans sees Finney has his arm out during one of their many ‘roll’s to gain Top position and takes it at 4min 24 secs Rnd 1

WINNER KARL EVANS VIA ARMBAR

K1 MENS 3X2 MINS

STEVE SMITH GLOUCESTER MARTIAL ARTS 2-0 MATT KAUFMAN TROJAN FREE FIGHTERS 2-0

Rnd 1 Both men come out with a striking clinic and neither man is backing down. Kaufman drops Smith in the last seconds of the rounds with a brutal leg kick.

Rnd 2 Smith lands a brutal leg kick that drops Kaufman who does a celebratory jump, which is a bit premature as Kaufman recovers and comes back fighting with a lot more intent.

Rnd 3 Smith lands a great right that dropped Kaufman but Kaufman is not shying away and is still pushing the action forward in this action packed fight.

WINNER STEVE SMITH VIA UD

PRO MMA 77KG WELTERWEIGHT 3X5MINS

ADAM BOUSIFF TEAM FORCE 3-2 CHRIS ASTLEY TROJAN FREE FIGHTER 1-0

Rnd 1 Bousiff straight out and catches Astley with a left hook which drops him, Bousiff is straight on Astley to finish the job in hand, landing several shots before referee Leon Roberts calls a stop to the fight at 0.19secs. WINNER ADAM BOUSIFF VIA TKO

K1 FEMALE 58KG TITLE ELIMIATOR FIGHT 3X2MINS

LAURA HANDY FURY MMA 2-0 ANYA BAKER THE MAT ACADAMEY 2-1

Rnd 1 Both women come out fast, Handy finding her target with her long reach and constant jabs and punches early on. Baker being the more cautious fighter and using her kicks to start with. Handy gets Baker with one of her awesome knees and drops Baker in this opening round.

Rnd 2 Baker is out first and is using her kicks to reach Handy and it’s clear you can see Baker’s kicks have been damaging as I notice a big red mark on Handy’s left outside thigh. Handy is pushing forward with her awesome punching making Baker work against the cage; this is a great display of who wants this title eliminator the most in this second round.

Rnd 3 Handy straight out and in with a one, two combination followed by her awesome knees and even more punches, making Baker work off the cage. This is not a one sided affair Baker is giving Handy her own share of kicks and punches which seems as Handy is coming under fire a little in the dying seconds of the final round, as she has Baker against the cage wall. Both women give it their all in this all-out war and leave everything in the cage.

WINNER LAURA HANDY VIA UD

PRO MMA 84KG MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE

LENNY BENSKIN BROTHERHOOD MMA 0-1 TOMMY COOK IRON MANN GYM 3-0

Rnd 1 Cook shoots in and gets Benskin down, Cook on top and looking for a position all the while Cook is grinding out punches to Benskin, it gets back to their feet and Benskin is raining in some short sharp elbows to Cook’s head. Cook then gets Benskin to the ground and throws his own punches on Benskin, showing just how much this Title fight means to both men. Benskin has managed to stop quite a few of Cook’s TD’s and only two have been successful in this opening, exiting round.

Rnd 2 Cook again shoots in and Benskin defends the TD perfectly and replies with short harsh elbows to Cook’s head. Cook has Benskin against the cage and is throwing knees, and for a brief, second it did appear Benskin was in a bit of trouble but Benskin rolled out of it, Cook got straight back on Benskin raining blow after blow and even some nasty elbows. Benskin is covering up at this point and Cook rolls him over and attempts a RNC to no avail. Benskin turtles up and weathers the storm and the remainder of the round.

Rnd 3 Cook comes straight out and in for the TD for which he briefly gets as Benskin is straight out into side control against the cage. Benskin trying to land punches but Cook has hold of his wrist and therefore gains wrist control although a few of Benskin punches manages to get through, Cook gets out and gets Benskins back only for Benskin to roll to his front. Cook now in Top position, both trying to gain punches, Benskin gets Cook rolled over and he is now on Top in this ‘topsey turvey’ last few moments of this exciting Title Fight. It is clear to say that neither man wants to lose this fight. This fight had everything from start to finish and both men left everything in the cage.

WINNER AND STILL UIC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION TOMMY COOK VIA UD

UIC 11 Middleweight Champion – Tommy Cook (c) Emma Bramford

Photo Credits: NJFPhotography

ULTIMATE IMPACT 11 RESULTS

ULTIMATE IMPACT 11

FEBRUARY 22ND

GL1 LEISURE CENTRE

GLOUCESTER

#UIC 11 Started the year with an almighty bang.

The night consisted of 6 K1 fights and 7 MMA fights, in which 4 of the 6 K1 fights were represented by the women.

Here is a round up of the nights results with a full event report coming shortly.

**Jack Shore Def Jack Price Via RNC 2mins 3sec Rnd 1

***Paulina Malina Def Katie Elkova Via Decision

***Lea Fendt Def Zowie Trevena Via KO 1min 01sec Rnd 3

**Matt Figlak Def Cadre Abulafur Via UD

***Matt Harthill Def Matt Sansom Via KO 1min 16 sec Rnd 2

**Daryl Grant Def Euan Wallace Via Guillotine 0.25 secs Rnd2

***Helen Harper Def Sammy Donnley Via Split Decison

**Aman Sakhizedeh Def Michael Jones Via UD

**Karl Evans Def Mark Finney Via Armbar 4min 24 secs Rnd 1

***Steve Smith Def Matt Kaufman Via UD

**Adam Bousiff Def Chris Astley Via TKO 0.19secs Rnd 1

***Laura Handy Def Anya Baker Via UD

**Tommy Cook Def Leighthan Benskin Via UD*

* Tommy Cook still The Middleweight UIC Champion

** MMA

*** K1

TUF 20 Announces New Coaches – Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis

Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis have both been named to coach the female Strawweights on this season’s TUF 20, yes you heard right.

Gilbert Melendez has now accepted a new offer from The UFC and one it appears he just could not refuse (again), exact contract details were not revealed but here is the Press Release from The UFC.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced tonight that No.2 ranked lightweight contender Gilbert Melendez has agreed to a new contract with organization. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Melendez will now coach against UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. The two will then meet for the UFC lightweight title later this year. The show, which will begin filming in May and premiere on FOX Sports 1 on Sept. 10th features the launch of the UFC women’s 115-pound weight class. The winner of this season of The Ultimate Fighter will be crowned the UFC strawweight division’s inaugural champion.

We last saw Melendez in a toe-to-toe all out war with Diego Sanchez at UFC 166 last October in arguably one of the best fights of 2013, with Melendez coming away with the unanimous decision and ‘Fight of the Night’.

The coaching stint on TUF 20 will more than likely give Pettis the extra time for his injured knee which forced him out of his title defense against Josh Thomson back at UFC on Fox 9.

I’m going to have a guess that Melendez will bring in Nate Diaz somewhere along the line, which will make interesting viewing if you know the history of the two training camps involved!

It’s all about the women come September 10th when we can watch TUF 20 and I for one cannot wait.

Brad Pickett ‘One Punch’ fight is off with ‘Uncle Creepy’ Ian McCall

Looking at Brad Pickett’s Twitter this morning, (UK Time) it was news that he deep down, was expectpting, but probably hoping it would not become a reality.

Today at 14.54pm he tweeted the following :

Although nothing else was stated and ‘Uncle Creepy’ Ian

McCall himself had not put anything at all on Twitter, this still led everyone to believe that the problem lies with McCall.

That has now been confirmed by Dana White that Ian McCall is infact out injured and will NOT be fighting UK’s Brad Pickett who also was making his 125lb debut in the Flyweight divison.

The UFC are still working on a replacment; I mean we do still have time on our side, especially since what has just happend to Daniel Cormier, who’s opponent Rashad Evans also fell injured, with only one week to go, despite DC tweeting ‘Chael.P.Sonnen and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson to fight him; His new opponent is 4-0 fighter Patric Cummins.

Looking forward to see who the UFC bring in to replace ‘Uncle Creepy’.

There is plenty of time for The UFC come up with a suitable replacement to fight Brad Pickett on March 8th at The O2 arena in London.

Revisiting Season One.. Episode Ten.. Mark ‘The Hand Of’ Godbeer

It will be one year ago to the day on October 5th that Mark Godbeer was due to make his Bellator debut against Ron Sparks, but a Career threatening injury kept his debut waiting. I spoke to Mark about his injury, training and his Debut Bellator Main Event fight against Cheick Kongo one year on.

Keeping myself involved in MMA kept me going.

EB. You have not always been a heavyweight fighter have you?

MG. Early on in my amateur career I was a heavyweight fighter. I also had a few catch weight fights then I started cutting and cutting and dropped down to light heavy then went back up to heavyweight.

EB. We saw your first Pro fight at Heavyweight for the promotion BAMMA 9 back in March 2012, when you fought Catlin Zmarandescu, where you picked up a win in the first round due to TKO (corner stoppage). How was it for you stepping up in weight and gaining the all-important win in the new weight division?

MG. It was great. After coming of a loss at my previous weight division of Light Heavyweight to Anthony Taylor, I felt that I was really cautious in that fight but I kept my cool, picked my shots and got the job done, so to get the Win was great it all paid off.

EB. Was it your intention to move up to Heavyweight for a few fights before Bellator came knocking, or was it a choice made with you and your coach to move up a weight division way before thinking anything big was coming your way?

MG. After my last weight cut at light heavyweight I felt I was skinny as a rake, you see the likes of Max Nunes, they are big and they have a lot of muscle; I also being of a certain age was finding it a bit harder to cut those last few pounds so I had decided it was time to go back to my old days to Heavyweight. I talked it over with my manager and he agreed, but I am still today walking around at 240-242llb.

EB. You train out of Trojan Free Fighters in Cheltenham which is home to a lot of great UK & European talent and it is safe to say it is firmly putting their name on the Map. What helps make Trojan Free Fighters one of the best contended gyms to be a part of today in producing top athletes such as yourself?

MG. Trainers without a doubt Paul Sutherland is one of the best coaches the UK have to offer. Team bonding, there are no egos in the gym, everyone pushes each other and all so competitive, everyone helps one another, were like a family unit.

EB. How did your fighting nickname ‘The Hand of’ come about?

MG. It’s ‘The Hand’ I just tied the rest of it into my name, but after my first professional fight against Sam Hooker a couple of my friends started to call to me ‘The Hand’ after seeing the fight that I landed a couple of monstrous right hands and it’s been that ever since.

EB. You were due to make your Bellator Debut back on October 5th 2012 against Ron Sparks, but due to a career threatening Neck and Back Injury you had to withdraw, how did this injury occur?

MG. I was driving home from wrestling training when I had real bad pains in my neck. I then lost complete feeling in my hand and was rushed in for an emergency MRI, then rushed in for an emergency operation. I cannot pin point how as such it occurred, just accumulation of training which did result in a crack in my vertebrae and herniating the disc.

EB. Going from an all-time Career high, being signed to one of the best organisations in the world Bellator, then to have to deal with something that could off quite easily been the end of everything you had worked so hard for, how was it in those months after your injury for you?

MG. Horrible, worst time of my life, I was depressed. I became reliant on painkillers for a brief time it was a real horrible part of my life. I could not do nothing for six months, for five of those months I was in a neck brace. Going from training every day to doing nothing it really got to me as everything I liked doing before I was unable to do, to make matters worse when I had my operation that went wrong so I had to end up having another one!

EB. What kept you going through the darkest days to motivate you, to give you strength and determination, when at some points you could off quite easily given up?

MG. After the initial six months I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing anymore so I started teaching at one of the local clubs, although I could not join in, I was still part of the MMA community, it then progressed from there. I decided to put all my effort and energy into opening my own club in my home town of Brigwater, Sommerset, keeping myself involved in MMA kept me going.

EB. It was announced on Sunday September 9th that you are making your long awaited Debut for Bellator on 4th October against ex UFC Heavyweight fighter Cheick Kongo, not a bad start to Bellator 102, what do you think? (I’m smiling)

MG. It’s a great fight, great main event, and exposure but Bellator know what they are doing. A lot of people have already wrote me off, he is just another man, forget about his UFC career, forget who he has fought, look at him as a fighter, I know I can truly beat him.

EB. Does it usually bother you, who your opponent is when it’s been decided on a fight for you (obviously you agree to the fight as well as your coaches and management team), or is it just a case of getting on with the job in front of you?

MG. I’m at the level now where we don’t turn down fights, we are there to be tested and that’s the good thing with Paul Sutherland we’re professional fighters and if the fight is there we will fight who is put in front of us.

EB. Being out for 18months, does that bother you mentally? Will there be any ‘cage rust’ so say when you step into the cage to face Cheick Kongo? Or will Head Coach, Paul Sutherland will have made sure you have been prepared for this fight 100%, facing the famous ‘Meat Day’ sessions full on every Sunday to make sure you are prepared?

MG. Without a doubt I am ready for this fight, I don’t believe in the term ‘Ring Rust’, the nerves are different on fight day which are good nerves. If I have prepared for every situation in the gym and had the right training for this fight (for which I have), then I am not going to be shocked. I’ve been in with some big guys over my fight career so far and I know what to expect.

EB. You bring an astonishing record of 8-1 into the cage and not only that but you have also never seen the third round in any of your 9 professional fights with 6 of them coming via TKO/KO which again is also impressive. How are you going about preparing for what I imagine is your biggest challenge to date as in Cheick Kongo?

MG. It is going to be the biggest fight of my life, but I cannot look at this fight as it’s ‘Cheick Kongo’ I am looking at it as he is another man who has hole’s in his game and I will exploit them, also being prepared for his strong points, as there will be times when he will be stronger, but also times when I will be stronger.

EB. Although a lot of people would only be looking at your opponent’s name and career record which is 18-8-2 and then looking at your name and career record 8-1, they probably won’t be looking at the bigger picture, which is when you actually break down Cheick Kongo’s win’s, his KO win is 10 and submission is 3, put that together with yours, KO wins 6, submission 2, I call this a very even fight, what can Bellator fans expect to see on October 4th?

MG. It will be an entertaining fight, we have very similar styles, take away his name, who he has fought, look at our styles and how we have fought, we are similar. The fans will get an entertaining fight.

EB. Anyone you would like to thank?

MG. Pound Out, Sci Max, Rolling Big Power, Lexani, Club Rio Brigwater, Smuggling Dudds, Paul Sutherland, all my team mates, coaches, Trojan free fighters.

5 Quick FUN Questions

EB. If you could change 1 rule in MMA what would it be?

When they purposely put their hand down to stop a knee coming

EB. Favourite International Fighter?

Dan Henderson

EB. Favourtie Food?

Anything – I’m a heavyweight now!

EB. What song do you usually sing in the shower?

A bit of Neil Diamond

Mark is fighting live in the Bellator 102 series on Friday October 4th visit http://www.spike.com for more information.

Photo courtesy of Huw Fairclough (c) Short & Round

Revisiting Season One.. Episode Nine.. Faisel Ghazghazi

In early September 2013 I spoke with Faisel Ghazghazi, you maybe thinking who but this interview will leave you wanting to know more.

‘Training has allowed me to find the real Faisel and understand who and what I am about’.

Faisel Ghazghazi admits life is not easy. Growing up on the wrong side of the Law, he finally turned to Martial Arts to keep fit and to stay out of trouble. Little did he know he would enjoy the sport as much as he has done. After turning pro on 7th September 2013 I talked to him about his past, present and future.

EB.Tell me a bit about yourself?

FG. I am 31 years old. I have only been training in MMA around 18 months. I wanted to simply find something that would keep me fit, introduce me to some new people and help me stay out of trouble.

I decided to go pro as I wanted to have a career in something I enjoy doing although it would be great if I could make a living so I could look after my son Diesel.

EB. You mentioned you wanted something to keep you out of trouble, can you just briefly explain what you mean by that?

FG.I started drinking alcohol at the age of 12, by 15 I was drinking heavily every day, which lead to me dabbling with substances, mainly speed and cannabis. Being high helped me cope with the stress I was under and I got into a lot of trouble, with the end result which was my freedom, I ended up in prison.

EB. Do you now feel, that having that time to reflect, it has taught you a lot about yourself?

FG. I know that if I pick up another drink it wouldn’t be long before my old behaviour slipped back in and I started getting into trouble again, so upon my release I knew I really wanted something to help with my confidence and I was introduced to Arthur Meek who has years of experience training fighters, he also has a unique ability to relate and gain the respect of troubled guys like myself.

I don’t go around creating victims anymore, now I’m helping young guys who have similar backgrounds to myself, helping them to stay on the right track. I believe that training has allowed me to find the real Faisel and understand who and what I am about.

EB. You do voluntary work at YMCA in Bridgwater, can you tell me a bit more about this and what it means to you?

FG. The work I do with kids is a constant reminder that prison is only around the corner if I choose to drink, take drugs or return to my old offending behaviours. I work very hard to maintain a good self-esteem by helping others and I am always thinking about them rather than myself.

I want to give back to the community and the aim of the programme I run which is called BoxFit is to help guys boost their self-esteem, reduce offending behaviour, encourage team work, discipline and channel their energy and aggression in a positive way. My classes are disciplined and the guys do work but they also feel that they are ‘someone’ and know that they can come to me with any issue as I have their best interests at heart.

EB. Tell me about where you train out of and the club and what it means to you?

FG. I train out of All or Nothing Gym in Bridgwater, my coach is Arthur Meeks, it is what it is really, All or Nothing.

MMA showed me there is another way to live, I could never have dreamed of having the support that I have from the guys at All Or Nothing Gym they genuinely want me to do well and all put themselves out to help me get to where I need to be, if it wasn’t for martial arts I would be back in prison for sure, I would not have the success that I have had and would seriously lack that discipline and drive that I now have and crave.

EB. You have a very short but impressive Amateur record, can you tell me about it?

FG. Its four Wins one NC one DQ. I am unbeaten in the cage, having only started my Amateur career back in August 2012 it feels great to have had six fights and to be fighting regularly but also to be unbeaten in the cage.

EB. You recently made your Pro Debut on September 7th which saw you win in 44 seconds of Round one, did this go as planned?

FG. Yes, I was straight in there, got the all-important Win on my Pro Debut, although the fight was stopped by the Doctor due to my opponent sustaining a cut above his eye, but props to my opponent as he was fighting a good fight.

EB. Your next fight happens to be in my hometown of Swindon on October 5th against Phil Wells, do you know much of your opponent?

FG. I’ve seen a couple of his fights on you tube but have not really watched a lot, I tend to let my team do that and I concentrate on what they tell me do and get on with the job in hand, which is fighting.

EB. How are you expecting the fight to go?

FG. I will expect the un-expected but it will be G-Man for the win.

EB. How did you get your nickname ‘G-Man’ and what does it stand for?

FG. After one of my fights one of my friends said to me “Good fight G-Man” and it has stuck ever since, so unfortunately no big story to the name or what it stands for!

EB. Anyone you would like to thank?

FG. Trainers Arthur Meek, Richard Weatherall, Tattoo man Scott Thomas, Photographers Christian Dalton and Peter Huish, my son Diesel for giving me the drive to keep going and team mates at All or Nothing in Bridgwater.

Faisel’G-Man’Ghazghazi is fighting on October 5th against Phil Wells at the CAGED Event Swindon M.E.C.A Tickets are £20 and VIP £40 full details http://www.swindontickets.co.uk

Photo (c) D J Welsh Photography

Season One.. Episode six.. Lew Long

Ahead of his bout on Cage Warriors 59, I caught up with Lew Long, and here is what we talked about.

EB: Your last fight for Cage Warriors was at The Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, against Mark Glover, which was great to watch, we got to see a different Lew, more focused and not getting drawn into Mark’s own game plan that night, what was your own personal highlight from that fight?

LL: Probably my head movement, I felt like something out of the Matrix!

EB: In your last fight with Mark Glover you said

“I can take a fight anywhere, but I knew he wanted to stand, so I decided to showcase what I’ve been working on.”

Was this in reference, to you working with ‘The Locket Man’ Gary Locket?

LL: I’ve always been a striker, Glover gave me the freedom of me not having to worry about defending the take down so I can use what Gary has worked on.

EB: This is will be your third outing under the Cage Warriors promotion and also your third time fighting on home soil. Do you consider yourself pretty lucky to be still having the home crowd advantage?

LL: Almost all my other fights have been fought in Wales, I love fighting in Wales, what fighter does not like having a home advantage!

EB: You will be facing Tommy Maguire on September 14^th at The Motorpoint arena, Cardiff for Cage Warriors 59. Would you say this is your hardest fight to date?

LL: Don’t know, haven’t fought him yet, but if i win it would be my biggest scalp, if that’s what you mean!

EB: Is there anything different that you are implementing into this training camp for Tommy Maguire or are you just training like you usually would?

LL: My BJJ coach Rob Tylor just got his black belt, that’s the only thing that has changed really. Congrats Rob.

EB: Coming from a Judo and Wrestling background, do you feel this puts in a good position to showcase your ground skills with Tommy Maguire?

LL: Depends if he can take me down; Judo and wrestling techniques are usually fought from standing and the clinch, so if he can’t take me down I highly doubt that you will see my ground skills.

EB: What can the fans expect to see on the night?

LL: Twelve+ fantastic fights, Featherweight Title Fight, Four man bantamweight tournament to decide the new champion and myself of course.

EB: Anyone you would like to thank?

LL: No, I always forget someone and they always complain, they can f**k off this time.

5 Quick questions

If you could change 1 rule in MMA what would it be?

I’d love to be able to head butt.

Favourite International Fighter

Chael Sonnen

Walk out music

Depends how I feel on the day

Favourite Food

Chinese

If you were to hold a dinner party and invited 3 guests past or present, who would you invite and why?

Two is company three is a crowd, I eat alone!

Photo Credit (c) Huw Fairclough

Last post for 2013 – A lot of Thank You’s and some pictures :)

It’s been a challenging year for me but I wouldn’t change it for one second, after all I got to do what so many of you still want to do and I have achieved all of it in the six months that I started this harsh challenge – which fell into my lap purely by coincidence (you will have to refer back to my very first blog read about that one)!

I will however give a big shout out to the person who got me started not only in writing my own blog but who introduced me to what I currently do, and that is Jonathan Millard, for whom I am forever grateful to.

What alot of people, more than likely do not know about me, is that I have been in the ‘combat sport industry’ for just over 20 years now, so I have legitmately worked my way up the ladder – although, it’s fine for you to believe whatever you choose to believe, I personally don’t give a shit, again those that really know me, know that also!

I got to cover local grass root shows, which to me I have always been a great fan of and will always take time out of my schedule to go cover them as much as I can, I covered Pain Pit 3 times, Ultimate Impact, Into The Cage, Neilson Promotions White Collar Boxing then I also covered Cage Warriors, BAMMA and UFC Manchester, not bad even if I do say so myself!

Then a great event happend for UKMMA – The UKMMA Expo in Manchester and I got to be part of the only Media Team that had Access All Areas and when I say that, I truly mean that; not like all the other Media people that came in, the team I was with we were set up in the ‘Green Room’ with all our equipment and at one point their was one great surreal moment that I for one will never ever forget 🙂

It was a great run event by Darren Sherlock and Paul Crossley and of course Darren’s wife Michelle, all timed perefectly for when Michael Bisping would be in the UK, Manchester as it happens (his own town) and just after being announced he would be facing Mark Munoz, here also in Manchester in October (unfortuntaly due to Michael needing eye surgery he was forced to withdraw from the bout and Lyoto Machida replaced him)!

There were UFC athletes, Guest athletes, Guest speakers, Seminars to train with some of the Guest athletes and stalls for the MMA community to come together and show there products of to the public; also there was the stall for SAFE MMA – for which I personally went over to Izzy Carnwath and spoke to her to see SAFE MMA was all about, how promotions could get involved and WHY they should. I had such a better understanding afterwards.

Here is mine and Izzy’s SAFE MMA interview we also talk BAMMA 13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGFMXpvdHE

There was also a big NoGi BJJ competiton on, running throughout the Sunday which was awesome and six females took part amongst the hundreds of men.

At the show I managed to Video Interview (yes that was a very first for me) The Legend Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman straight after his MMA Seminar – let me tell you know this guy is 100% gentleman when talking to him, Ian made my first video interview effortless (well I thought) 🙂

Here is mine and Ian’s interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLO5WYrGcCM

I would however like to say a very big thank you to all the athlete’s I have worked with (so far) without you giving up your time I would not of had your stories/journeys to write about and some very memorable moments to say the least, so in list of when they were interviewed here they all are:

Leigh Remedios

Alexei Roberts

Mario Saeed

War Machine

‘Rowdy’ Bec Hyatt

Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman

Hector Lombard

Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher

Bryony Tyrell

Aaron ‘Smackwell’ Blackwell

Jack ‘The Hammer’ Marshman

Lew Long

Jorge ‘Michelan’ Bezerra

Rosi Sexton

Faisel Ghazghazi

Mark ‘The hand of’ Godbeer

Lauren Murphy

And of course it would not be me, if I did not add in afew pictures of me with some of the athletes I had met 🙂

Have a great New Year.

Emma

PS I’ve kept all my boxing ones out of this one but look out for it next year 🙂

Cage Warriors #63 Weigh-in Results and How to watch

Cage Warriors 63 take place tomorrow night – December 31st (New years eve) – at The Helix, Dublin, Ireland.

Headlining the event is Scotlands Stevie ‘Braveheart’ Ray making his defence of the inaugural lightweight belt against Ivan ‘Buki’ Buchinger,which also happens to be Cage Warriors 150th professional bout for 2013 and what a way to end the year for the promotion.

John ‘The One’ Maguire makes his anticipated debut for the promotion since being released by the UFC after making five appearances for them, he faces Philip ‘The Honey Badger’ Mulpeter.

Jim ‘The Beast’ Alers will be putting his featherweight belt on the line for his second defence when he faces Graham ‘ Afterburner’ Turner.

Full card details:

Main Card 9pm GMT (4pm ET/1pm PT)

Stevie Ray (C) VS Ivan Buchinger CWFC Lightweight Title Bout

John Maguire VS Philip Mulpeter

Jim Alers (C) VS Graham Turner CWFC Featherweight Title Bout

Paul Redmond VS Mateusz Teodorczuk

Karla Benitez VS Aisling Daly

Facebook Prelims 7.30pm GMT (2.30pm ET/ 11.30am PT)

Sean Carter VS Myles Price

Catherine Costigan VS Morgane Delagnau

Kieran Davern VS John Redmond

Amanda English VS Slavka Vitaly

Unstreamed Prelims 6.15pm GMT

Chris Boujard VS Peter Queally

Gavin Kelly VS Dylan Sheehan

Mick Brennan VS Kieran O’Brien

How to watch

Live Streaming

MMAjunkie.com – USA and Canada ONLY

JOE.ie – Ireland ONLY

Sportube.tv – Italy ONLY

CageWarriors.tv – Rest of the world (EXCLUDING THE UK)

Live TV

Premier Sports – United Kingdom

Sentanta Sports – Ireland

Fight Now TV – USA

The Fight Network – Canada, Portugal, Turkey, Angola

Fight Klub – Poland

Sentanta Action – Africa

ESPN International – Brazil, Latin, America, Pacific Rim

WEIGH-IN RESULTS

Mick Brennan 146.1lbs *(145.9lbs) * (Featherweight Bout)

Kieron O’Brien 144lbs (Featherweight Bout)

Gavin Kelly 134.5llbs (Bantamweight Bout)

Dylan Sheehan 134.3lbs (Bantamweight Bout)

Chris Boujard 157.4lbs (Catchweight Bout)

Peter Queally 158.8lbs (Catchweight Bout)

Slavka Vitaly 125.1lbs (Flyweight Bout)

Amanda English 125.4lbs (Flyweight Bout)

John Redmond 169lbs (Welterweight Bout)

Kieran Davern 169.9lbs (Welterweight Bout)

Morgane Delagnau 103.5lbs (Atomweight Bout)

Catherine Costigan 105.5lbs (Atomweight Bout)

Myles Price 155.5lbs (Lightweight Bout)

Sean Carter 155.5lbs (Lightweight Bout)

Karla Benitez 115.6lbs (Strawweight Bout)

Aisling Daly 116lbs (Strawweight Bout)

Paul Redmond 156lbs (Catchweight Bout)

Mateusz Teodorczuk 157.3lbs ** (Catchweight)

Graham Turner 143.7lbs (Featherweight Bout)

Jim Alers 144.9lbs (Featherweight Bout)

John Maguire 162lbs (Catchweight bout)

Philip Mulpeter 160.7lbs (Catchweight bout)

Ivan Buchinger 154.8lbs (Lightweight Bout)

Stevie Ray 154lbs (Lightweight Bout)

** Mateusz Teodorczuk Failed to make weight therfore Paul Redmond will receive 25% of his purse and is now a catchweight bout instead of a Lightweight bout.

* Made weight 2nd attempt

Season One..Episode Five.. Jack ‘The Hammer’ Marshman

On August 31st I sat down with Jack Marshman before he headed off for cornering duties at South Wales prestigious event Pain Pit.

There will be a drop to Welterweight on the cards in the future, not this year more than likely next year I will be looking at doing that.

EB: We recently got to see you fight in Doncaster, unfortunately the decision did not go your way; firstly looking back did you personally feel that was the right decision? And secondly how was it to be fighting in an outside stadium in our unpredictable British weather?

JM:The decision was definitely a right decision; he won the rounds with his wrestling. I went into the fight thinking he was coming to stand and I was coming to stand, as soon as I landed a straight right on him in the first round and put him down he went for the takedowns for the rest of the rounds, which fair enough he played the game really well I thought, he definitely took the decision, but it’s the type of loss I’d definitely like to avenge because I think my wrestling is much better than I showed. As for fighting outside, I didn’t know if the fight was going to go ahead, two hours before we was told it was going to rain and I wouldn’t of gone out there in the rain to be honest with you, because there was too much at stake as there was no cover for the cage, so you could imagine what would off happened if it had rained, there was no fighter safety with no cover for the cage so it spoilt the show a little bit for me.

I don’t think I could ever bring myself to sit there and not try and finish a fight, that’s not what I am about, that’s not why I do this game; it’s to fight and to see who is the best fighter, not who can give the best ‘cuddles’!

EB: You’re returning to BAMMA 13 on September 14^th to face Ion Pascu, a Romanian fighter who has recently fought on UCMMA 33 and UWC 23, do you know much about Ion?

JM: I know a little bit about him, I know he is from a kickboxing background, he is from Valentino Petrescu gym which is predominantly stand up fighters, I’ve seen a couple of bits of him on video, I’ve not studied him too much, I’m just going to do what I’m going to do, not what he’s going to do, I know his record, he’s got some wins against some guys that are not really rated, and some losses against some really good guys, so a guy like that is hard to judge really, because he’s lost too good guys, but been beaten too good guys, so you don’t really know where he is at level wise, but I’m confident I will be a bit too much for him.

EB: It is safe to say that you are a BAMMA fan favourite, having appeared on BAMMA since show 7 through to 11 and now back at 13, what can the fans expect from you this time around after the great performance at BAMMA 11, how do you top that?

JM: I’ve had a hard time fighting in Birmingham, the Noon fight was Birmingham, I won but I got beat up pretty bad, Watson and Professor X both were real hard fights and I did not come away with those decisions, but I have always had a good scrap there, I have been the distance there, I think you will see the same again but with me definitely coming out on top like it was against Noon.

EB: You train out of arguably one of the best MMA gyms to come out of the valleys in South Wales, Tillery Combat, owned and run by Richard ‘Shaky’ Shore, what do you think makes the gym so respected and having high calibre of fighters such as yourself come out of the gym?

JM: We come from a tough area in Abertillery, high in drugs crime, general crime and no jobs , it seems that naturally it generates tougher fighters, as you are brought up tougher; like me and Martin McDonough used to be nightmares , we always used to be in trouble with the police and if it was not for Shaky, he was the one that got us out of all of that, same as a lot of the boys, same as all the young ones coming through now, the way people are brought up where we are, are tough, so when they jump up into the gym they’ve been fighting since they were kids, so they just learn how to do it properly. I think what sells the gym is the way Shaky trains people, he gets you mentally prepared and it’s like a big family at the gym and that’s on a serious note, we all get along so well it’s such a laugh and that’s what I think makes better fighters, we got a good team behind us, it’s not just one individual fighter, it’s a full team every time we go out.

EB: Is it getting any easier for you fitting in your full time day job as a serving paratrooper in the armed forces, and the training needed for a full fight camp when a fight is upon you?

JM: Recently I have moved back to Wales due to my regiment giving me time off, 3 paras give me a lot of time off now, all I have to do is some bits and bobs at work, as long as I’m representing them and I’m heading to where they want me to be I’m keeping them happy, and I’m training full time so I’m in the best place I’ve ever really been because I’m training full time , fighting regular; I’ve had 3 fights in the last 4months, and I’m hoping to get another 2 in before the end of the year, and next year I will fight every month if I can, as far as fitting in with my job for the next 2years at least I’m on to a winner as I’m in the best place I could ever be really.

EB: How do you feel the weight management is going now? Do you feel you got the right mix of the weight cut spot on or is there still some tweaking to make things go a bit more smoothly for you? (In reference to not making weight in Dec 2012 and having a hard weight cut for Askham fight).

JM: I always make the weight cut hard for myself towards the end because I like to cut quite last minute, but I make Middleweight quite easy really, the only time I ever missed weight was the BAMMA fight, to be honest, the it was to do with logistics involved, I turned up to the pre-weigh in 5mins late, and they would not let me step on the scales, and I thought I was on weight, then I had to go to the actual weigh in, I came in 1lb over, being in Wembley they gave me a postcode of a gym to go to, so I could cut the weight, bearing in mind they only give you 1 hour and the gym was 20 mins away I would not of made it there and back in time to be honest with you, so I pulled the car over and started running round the streets to lose the weight, and that is the only time I have missed weight not through anyone’s fault other than mine, I should have been earlier to check the official scales but I thought I was on weight and I felt comfortable; so definitely there will be a drop to Welterweight on the cards in the future, not this year more than likely next year I will be looking at doing that.

EB: Is there anything new in this training camp you have been working on, or is it just improving on everything that there is to improve on?

JM: Just improving, I’ve been working on so much more wrestling, from my takedown defence, if people are going to be happy to take me down and grind out a win and not actually really truly fight me, why shouldn’t I actually do it, so if I look to put someone on their back why shouldn’t I, but to be honest I don’t think I could ever bring myself to sit there and not try and finish a fight, that’s not what I am about, that’s not why I do this game; it’s to fight and to see who is the best fighter, not who can give the best ‘cuddles’!

EB: Anyone you would like to Thank?

JM: All my sponsors, Icon Nutrition, Top Ten, British Military Martial Arts, Vibram, Impact LPA, The Railway Inn, My coaches, Richard Shore, all the boys at Tillery Combat, Martin McDonough, Kris Edwards, Owen Parry, everyone that helps me get ready for my fights.

Quick Questions

If you could change one rule in MMA what would it be?

You could Tickle

Favourite food?

Pizza

If you held a dinner party and invited 3 guests past or present, who would it be and why?

The Banker from Deal or No Deal as he seems like a Top bloke, Gordon Ramsey so he can cook and Frankie Boyle because he is awesome.

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