UFC 278: Leon Edwards shocks the world!

Photo credit: UFC

Leon Edwards became only the second British UFC fighter to win a title in the promotion last night at UFC 278, knocking out Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the final minute of the fifth round.

Edwards came into Salt Lake City as an underdog and knowing that Usman had beat him in their first encounter in 2015, but brushed that off, winning the first round by securing a takedown and threatening the champion with a rear naked choke attempt.

Usman would recover through rounds two, three and four, taking Edwards down repeatedly and grinding on the Brit, keeping Edwards’ back on the mat or the cage while throwing nasty little shots.

The fifth round is where the real story is though. Between rounds four and five, UFC analyst Din Thomas told the commentary booth that Edwards had lost the fight mentally as he was unable to look his corner team in the eyes, before commentators Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier starter talking about Edwards resigning himself to a decision loss and that that outcome would be in a win in it’s self for the Brit.

But as if on cue, “Rocky” would throw a left straight cross at Usman, hiding a big left roundhouse behind it that connected perfectly on the Nigerian’s chin to send him to the mat.

With that KO win, Edwards becomes the second Brit to hold UFC gold, the last British champ being Michael Bisping at middleweight.

In terms of what is next for Edwards, there seem to be two clear options. If Khamzat Chimaev beats Nate Diaz later this year, the UFC would surely have to book him in a title bout with Edwards.

The second option would be for a trilogy fight between Edwards and Usman, and with the UFC’s popularity in the UK being at an all time high with two sold out London cards this year, a first UK based PPV since UFC 204 back in 2016, which was held in Manchester.

In the co-main event, Paulo Costa took a unanimous decision win over former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.

The story of the fight was Rockhold’s gas tank, or lack of one, as he looked visibly tired after just one round, and between rounds two and three, had to be dragged by his team to the stool as he seemed two gassed to walk over.

Costa had broken Rockhold’s nose early on, and with it being full of blood, forced the former champ to breathe through his mouth the entire fight, and even wobbled him at one point.

Rockhold didn’t help himself though by continually loading up on his shots, throwing each one with the intent to end the fight without any real set-up.

The bad blood between the pair had been visible throughout fight week, and that spilled over into the fight, with Rockfold audibly telling Costa “f**k you” in the second round before hitting him with a left hook, and in a ground exchange in the third round the pair could be heard to be swearing at one another.

The judges scorecards would read 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Costa, who picks up his first win since 2019.

Merab Dvalishvili secured a huge decision win for himself against Jose Aldo in the bantamweight division.

The Georgian fighter was relentless in his attempts to get Aldo to the floor, but while the “King of Rio” was able to stay upright, he would end up with his back to the cage and being held there.

With the two landing similar numbers in the striking, Dvalishvili’s control time would give him the edge, and all three judges would award him the fight 30-27.

The night would also see one of MMA’s biggest rarities, with a split draw between Sean Woodson and Luis Saldana.

Full Results

Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman by KO in 4:04 of round five for the welterweight title

Paulo Costa def. Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision

Merab Dvaloshvili def. Jose Aldo by unanimous decision

Lucie Pudilova def. Yanan Wu via KO in 4:04 of round two

Tyson Pedro def. Harry Hunsucker via KO in 1:05 of round one

Marcin Tybura def. Alexandr Romanov via majority decision

Jared Gordon def. Leonardo Santos by unanimous decision

Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana ended in a split draw

Ange Loosa def. A.J. Fletcher by unanimous decision

Amir Alabzi def.Francisco Figueiredo by submission in 4:34 of round one

Aoriqiling def. Jay Perrin by unanimous decision

Victor Altamirano def. Daniel da Silva by KO in 3:39 of round one

5 Fighters To Look Out For In the last quarter of 2022

Nearing the end of 2022, we’ve had exciting fight cards, we’ve had some big knockouts, and we’ve had some big upsets. The UFC has a massive roster and is home to some of the greatest mixed martial artists. In my opinion, I have come up with 5 fighters that we should watch out for in the last part of 2022.

Paddy Pimblett is a British UFC Lightweight fighter who’s burst onto the scene and taken the division by storm with all 3 of his fights resulting in finishes in the early rounds. Within a short time, ‘Paddy the Baddy’ has picked up a massive following, some even suggesting it mirrors Mcgregor’s starting UFC featherweight run. He holds a record of 19 wins and 3 losses, with almost half of his wins coming via Submission, which clearly reflects his 1st-degree black belt achievement. His dominating arrival in the division has seen him awarded Performance of the Night in each fight in the UFC. He also has taken a stand on promoting mental health awareness, as it is something he holds close to his heart, and upholding a “teenage” aesthetic to appeal to and essentially influence the younger generation. He has displayed great skill in his fights. He has overcome a lot of adversity in the fight world, with his ability to drop and gain weight, weighing as much as 205lbs almost a month after his last fight, gaining notoriety and attracting trolls. Paddy has a strong friendship with Molly McCann, also a British UFC fighter in the Women’s Flyweight division, and they are admired massively by the UK UFC scene.

My next fighter is Jiri Prochazka, a Czech Light Heavyweight UFC fighter, and after a win against former LHW Champion Glover Texeira, Jiri is now the current LHW champion. Jiri has a record of 29-3-1 and has dominated all his MMA fights, with 81% of his wins coming from the 1st round. He currently sits on an 11 fight win streak in MMA and dominates his first two UFC fights against two warriors, Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir, winning by KO in the 2nd round on both occasions. He has won Performance of the Night twice in both UFC fights and Fight of the Night against Reyes. He has had 25 KO’s to his name and 3 submission victories throughout his career. His main fight style is Muay Thai, and he highlights this massively as a creative fighter within the Octagon, and his record precedes him with numerous KO victories.

Following on from Prochazka, we move to Swedish UFC welterweight fighter Khamzat Chimaev 12-0, a wrestler who has amazingly burst onto the scene. Firstly, winning 3 fights in 66 days earned him his first award in the UFC; secondly, within his first 4 UFC fights, he showed the world how dominant and skilled he was as a fighter, as he threw 254 strikes and only absorbed two. He knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds. He won numerous breakthrough fighter awards in 2020 from different fight reporters. He also won the award for quickest consecutive wins in modern UFC history, set at 10 days. Chimaev was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 279 on September 10th 2022; however, come weigh-in day, chimaev came in 7lbs overweight, so his fight with Diaz was scrapped, and Kevin Holland took Nate Diaz’s place. Chimaev went on to win in dominant fashion finishing Holland via a D’Arce Choke at two minutes thirteen seconds in the first round. His previous fight against Gilbert Burns, that is what set the standard for fans watching to see how Chimaev deals with pressure during a fight. Khamzat delivered perfectly, winning via unanimous decision against Burns, scoring 29-28. He trains alongside Gustafsson in Stockholm, where Gustafsson has stated that he hasn’t met such a tough fighter as Chimaev. Most recently, Chimaev has paired up with Darren Till, which was a big shock to the MMA world, but from what it seems, they are both trainings well and learning from each other.

The next fighter is none other than Islam Makhachev. This Russian lightweight UFC fighter has annihilated his competition, holding a 10-fight win streak, with most of the fights lasting going into the later rounds, proving his durability and having 10 submission victories in total. Training with Khabib and the Dagestani team, they all prove their durability through their intense training methods up in the mountains. Islam trains at AKA, with notable fighters such as Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier and Khabib. Overall in his UFC fights and in UFC history, he has the least absorbed significant strike rate per minute at 0.77, meaning his defence and skillset is top level, and the next lowest rate is 1.04 per minute. He has won Submission of the Month twice and won Fight of the Night once. He is the potential next contender for a title fight, facing Charles Oliveira. However, Dana White wants Islam to face Beneil Dariush to cement his confidence in giving him the title shot. [Although Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveria has been slated for October 22nd 2022, at UFC 280].

Talking of Oliveira, he is my last fighter to keep an eye on in 2022. Charles Oliveira, a Brazilian Lightweight fighter, has just come off a big submission victory over Justin Gaethje; however, it didn’t come without controversy, as Charles missed weight and relinquished the belt. However, he remains in the championship picture as the No1 contender. He holds a 33-8, with an 11-fight win streak. He has the record for the most submissions in UFC at 16 victories via Submission. He also has numerous other records, such as the most finishes set at 19, the 3rd longest LW winning streak set at 11 fights, and he holds 12 Performance of the Night awards, and the list continues. His last 3 fights have been against the top 3 LW ranked fighters, and they have grandly dominated them, submitting two and winning via TKO with the other. However, he shows great determination as he recovers quickly from knockdowns or wobbles and manages to clutch the win. He fights out of Chute Boxe in Curitiba, with previous notable fighters such as Anderson Silva, Cris Cyborg and Mauricio Rua, who will go down in the history books. His next fight has been confirmed against Islam Makhachev on October 22nd 2022, at UFC 280.

This concludes my article, and we shall see how the rest of 2022 plays out and see if any of the hype continues.

What is your thought?

georgegough999

The Ultimate Fighter Returns! New Episodes Every Week Starting June 1

After a 2 year hiatus The Ultimate Fighter Returns on June 1.

The 29th season will feature featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski and top contender, Brian Ortega as opposing coaches on the show. Both men will be responsible for training 16 of the chosen bantamweight and middleweight prospects in their quest for a UFC contract.

TUF was built for up and coming fighters to jumpstart their careers.

Since its start in 2005, the show has produced 11 champions, with two of them currently reigning at the top of their respective weight classes. Currently, Rose Namajunas and Kamaru Usman hold the belts at the top of their division.

Check out the promo ahead of the first episode to get a look into how season 29 fairs with the other seasons of TUF.

UFC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH ‘FREETRAIN’ FOR LEON EDWARDS IN HIS UPCOMING FIGHT WITH NATE DIAZ

British athlete Leon Edwards will be using Freetrain products ahead of his blockbuster fight with Nate Diaz next month, June 12, 2021.

Freetrain, the innovative fitness and running brand, are proud to announce UFC fighter Leon Edwards as their next athlete ambassador.

British athlete Leon Edwards will be using Freetrain products ahead of his blockbuster fight with Nate Diaz next month, June 12, 2021

Freetrain, the innovative fitness and running brand, are proud to announce UFC fighter Leon Edwards as their next athlete ambassador.

As part of a new initiative to work with exciting sporting talent, Edwards has signed a partnership with Freetrain to see him use Freetrain products in his training camp to prepare for his next fight against American Nate Diaz on June 12 at UFC 263 in Arizona.

The fight was initially due on UFC 262 but was moved to UFC 263 on June 12 after Diaz suffered an injury. The contest will be the first five-round non-title co-main event in UFC history.

The current Freetrain product range includes the Freetrain V1 Vest and the Freetrain VR Vest, which offers an innovative alternative to phone holder armbands.

29-year-old Edwards, based in Birmingham, is the number-three ranked fighter in the UFC 170lbs Welterweight division and is currently riding an eight-fight win streak.

Edwards will be seeking a high-profile win to add to his record after being forced out of action for over a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He was then due to fight Khamzat Chimaev on three different occasions, but the fight was then cancelled due to Chimaev’s COVID-19 issues.

Edwards ended up facing Belal Muhammad as a late-notice replacement in March at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Muhammad but an accidental eye poke to Muhammad in the second round ended the fight. The bout was ruled a no contest.

Now Leon “Rocky” Edwards moves on from that fight looking to build on an eight-fight win streak (excluding the no contest), and a win over the 36-year-old American Nate Diaz, who hasn’t fought inside the Octagon in almost 18 months, will put him within touching distance of a shot at the 170lbs title.

James Wren, a co-founder of Freetrain, said: “Being based in Birmingham, we’ve followed Leon’s journey closely over the last few years, and we are extremely excited to be partnering with him and helping him as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career.”

He added: “He is one of the most recognisable names in British MMA and is now within touching distance of a title shot and becoming a UFC champion.”

Edwards said: I’ve been a fan of Freetrain for some time now and have been using the V1 for a while, it’s a pretty simple product, but it does the job for me. Teaming up with the guys seemed like a no brainer, both based in Birmingham, so it was as simple as it gets.”

Last month, Freetrain announced their first athlete partnership with British boxer Conor Benn.

To keep up to date with Leon Edwards and to find out more about http://www.freetrain.co.uk/, visit: http://www.freetrain.co.uk

About Freetrain

The Birmingham based fitness company set up by former Aston Villa youth player Jack Dyer and former Walsall FC goalkeeper James Wren. The pair has created an innovative alternative to phone holder armbands to allow fitness enthusiasts to train smart and train free. Since 2015 when the business launched, they have experienced significant growth, increased their product range, and sold over 150,000 units worldwide in 12 different countries. The product range currently includes the Freetrain V1 Vest and the Freetrain VR Vest, along with other running accessories such as rechargeable illuminate LEDs, water-resistant gloves, reflective gloves and therma hats. To find out more about Freetrain, visit: http://www.freetrain.co.uk/

Felice Herrig vs Michelle Waterson ‘10 Years In The Making – Fight Girls’

Originally posted on 6th October 2018

Tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Michelle Waterson and Felice Herrig will finally get the chance to meet in the centre of the octagon for their strawweight battle at UFC 229.

To some, this will be another showcase of the talented females in the strawweight division getting to show why women should be on the main card within the UFC, to others (like myself) this has been a fight 10 years in the making.

Back in 2007, an oxygen original tv show, similar in spirit to The Ultimate Fighter TV series had ten female fighters live together and train together with Muay Thai instructor – Master Toddy, in Las Vegas for six weeks to win a Muay Thai championship in Thailand.

The group of women were then narrowed down to five via a three-round fight between the housemates, the winners got to go to Thailand and the losing fighter was eliminated from the house and the competition.

Felice Herrig and Michelle Waterson were two of the original ten women to compete to try to go over to Thailand and were mentored by Lisa “The black widow” King, who was the original shows winner back in 2006, when there was a one-off documentary with seven female fighters and female Muay Thai & MMA legend Gina Carano.

Whilst Michelle lost her fight to get to go to Thailand, Felice won and set off to Thailand with the rest of the other four finalists, winning her fight in Thailand via TKO.
Felice went back to her kickboxing roots for a further two years before transitioning to MMA in 2009 where “The Lil Bulldog” had arrived.

Having competed for XFC, Bellator and Invicta, Felice was finally signed to The Ultimate Fighter season 20 in 2014.

Michelle transitioned to MMA in 2007 with help from Donald Cerrone at the time and “The Karate Hottie” competed at strawweight and atomweight in which she won the Invicta Atomweight Belt before being signed to the UFC in the strawweight division in 2015.

After Felice’s third win in a row against Justine Kish in 2017, she called out Michelle Waterson citing “she had already been offered the fight and accepted it, but it got taken away from her.”

With Felice Herrig being ranked #9 and Michelle Waterson being ranked #8 in the UFC fighter rankings and given both their shared history, this is one fight not to be missed.

“Cage Warriors is the show where I’m going to make my comeback and win the welterweight title.” – Tom ‘Kong’ Watson

Originally posted on 8th April 2019

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 19^th 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 25^th 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 27^th, 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 8^th, 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 27^th live on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC 224 Full Results

ufc 224

UFC 224 took place Saturday, May 12th from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Headlining the events were women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and top contender Raquel Pennington.

Main card results:

Amanda Nunes defeated Raquel Pennington via TKO (strikes) 2:36 Round 5

Kelvin Gastelum defeated Ronaldo Souza via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Mackenzie Dern defeated Amanda Cooper via submission (rear-naked choke) 2:27 Round 1

John Lineker defeated Brian Kelleher via KO (punch) 3:43 Round 3

Lyoto Machida defeated Vitor Belfort via KO (kick) 1:00 Round 2

Preliminary Card results:

Cezar Ferreira defeated Karl Roberson via Technical submission (arm triangle) 4:45 Round 1

Oleksiy Oliynyk defeated Junior Albini via submission (ezekiel choke) 1:45 Round 1

Davi Ramos defeated Nick Hein via submission (rear-naked choke) 4:15 Round 1

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos defeated Sean Strickland via KO (strikes) 3:12 Round 1

Preliminary Card (UFC Fightpass) results:

Warlley Alves defeated Sultan Aliev via TKO (doctor stoppage) 5:00 Round 2

Jack Hermansson defeated Thales Leites via TKO (strikes) 2:10 Round 3

Ramazan Emeev defeated Alberto Mina via Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Markus Perez defeated James Bochnovic via submission (rear-naked choke) 4:28 Round 1

Bonuses

Performance of the night – Lyoto Machida

Performance of the night – Oleksiy Oliynyk

Fight of the night – Kelvin Gastelum and Ronaldo Souza

Gunnar Nelson has surgery to repair his injured knee – out for 8-10 weeks

UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson has had surgery to repair his injured knee, which caused him to withdraw from UFC Liverpool on May 27th.

Nelson took to his social media on Sunday and confirmed the news of his injury that he would not be able to compete in the co-main event at UFC Liverpool on May 27th.

The Icelandic fighter who trains out of the gym Mjölnir in Reykjavik Iceland, posted on his social media late last night, the following:

“Surgery went well, 8 weeks of recovery and then straight to the gym again… looking at a fight this year for sure.”

“When I win Cage Warriors gold the UFC have got to see that my age is not a factor” – Scott Clist

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 75^th 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.”

Scott 1 — 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.

https://www.facebook.com/scott.clist

Twitter

@scottThePriestclist

By Emma Bramford

Conor McGregor: The story so far…

On Saturday, August 20, UFC^® featherweight champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor will headline what is set to be one of the biggest events in UFC history, as he meets Nate Diaz in a five-round welterweight rematch inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ahead of UFC 202^®: DIAZ vs. McGREGOR 2, we look back at McGregor’s career so far and re-live some of the Irishman’s most memorable moments.

The early days

McGregor began boxing at the age of 12. Training at Crumlin Boxing Gym, he won a variety of amateur boxing titles. At the age of 18, McGregor’s long-time friend, Tom Egan – the first Irish athlete ever to sign with UFC – brought McGregor along to a mixed martial arts class at Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Dublin. It didn’t take long for SBG owner and head coach, John Kavanagh, to recognise the stopping power that the young Dubliner boasted.

The amateur scene

February 2007 saw McGregor contest his first amateur MMA bout. Finishing his opponent Ciaran Campbell with a striking showcase in the first round, McGregor’s spirited celebration post-fight pointed to the showman he would later go on to become.

Notorious rising

McGregor quickly earned a name for himself as a knockout artist on the professional scene. In March 2008 he made his professional MMA debut in the Cage of Truth organisation. He faced fellow Irishman Gary Morris, who succumbed to strikes from McGregor in the second round.

The Point Depot

McGregor’s second pro bout in May 2008 lasted just one round, as he defeated Mo Taylor via TKO at Cage Rage: Contenders – Ireland vs. Belgium. This would be McGregor’s first outing in The Point Depot (now the 3Arena) in Dublin, which would go on to host all three of UFC’s trips to the Irish capital.

A stumbling block

In June 2008, a loss to Lithuanian Artemj Sitenkov proved to be a serious stumbling block for McGregor. Although he later bounced back with a win over Stephen Bailey six months later, the young Dubliner drifted away from the sport. In response, McGregor’s mother, Mags, took it upon herself to call John Kavanagh to seek his help in encouraging her son to return to the gym. Kavanagh later visited McGregor in his Lucan home and encouraged him to commit to his fighting career.

A new found dedication

In November 2010, and with another win under his belt, McGregor moved up to lightweight to take on fellow surging Irish prospect Joe Duffy. When McGregor was submitted in little more than 30 seconds, many feared that the defeat would trigger another exodus from the sport. But, on the Monday after the loss, McGregor was back in the gym with a new found dedication to training.

A winning streak

The loss to Duffy would trigger a phenomenal 15-fight win streak for McGregor. After defeating Hugh Brady in one round in February 2011, McGregor’s outings against Mike Wood and Paddy Doherty lasted a combined 20 seconds, as he scored two devastatingly fast knockouts.

A warrior in the cage

In June 2011, a second round win over Artur Sowinski saw McGregor signed by the European promotion Cage Warriors, a key moment in the young fighter’s career. He quickly proved to be a stellar addition to the roster.

Falling to featherweight

After a lightweight bout with Aaron Jahnsen was stopped inside one round in September 2011, McGregor announced his intentions for the featherweight division. McGregor elbowed his way to another first-round victory over Steven O’Keefe, which positioned him perfectly for a title shot.

Tears and a title shot

Jiu-jitsu ace Dave Hill was McGregor’s opponent for the vacant Cage Warriors title bout in June 2012. The event took place in The Helix, a venue located inside Dublin City University Campus. The intensity that McGregor displayed at the event’s weigh-in had such an impact on his English opponent that fans claimed Hill began to cry after going nose to nose with ‘The Notorious’.

The lightweight title

McGregor’s popularity spread to new heights following his win over Hill. Cage Warriors wasted no time in booking a New Year’s Eve show, where ‘The Notorious’ was initially slated to defend his title against American Jim Alers. He instead went on to face Ivan Buchinger for the lightweight title on December 31^st, 2012. A crisp left hook ended the show in the first round and sent McGregor’s star on the ascent.

The hype train

When UFC President Dana White visited Trinity College in Dublin to be presented with a gold medal for Honorary Patronage by the Philosophical Society in February 2013, he was inundated with requests from fans for him to sign a young fighter named Conor McGregor.

The world stage

It was revealed that McGregor would face The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut on April 6, 2013, in Stockholm, Sweden. A stunning left uppercut separated Brimage from his senses and, with that, a star was born. McGregor’s now infamous call for a bonus after the fight, “Hey Dana, 50 G’s baby!” – endeared him to the sport’s international fan base.

Sitting on the sidelines

In August 2013 McGregor suffered an injury to his knee midway through his bout with young featherweight Max Holloway. Holloway became the only man to last the distance with McGregor. Post-fight, a scan revealed that McGregor had suffered a torn ACL, which would mean eleven months before he could take to the Octagon once again.

A night to remember

UFC’s return to Dublin in July 2014 coincided with McGregor’s return to action, and his first main event slot. McGregor’s first-round KO of Brazil’s Diego Brandao finished a perfect 6-0 night for the Irish contingent, at an event which broke viewing records for UFC’s streaming platform, UFC FIGHT PASS.

The toughest of tests

Having been sidelined for almost a year, McGregor went on to face two of his toughest tests to date in Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver. A first round TKO over Poirier in September 2014 was followed by a second round TKO win over Germany’s Siver in January 2015, as Boston turned green for McGregor’s second trip to the TD Garden. A sold-out crowd erupted with the win, and McGregor made a beeline for champion Jose Aldo, who sat Octagonside.

The World Tour

In March 2015, McGregor joined Aldo for UFC’s very first world press tour. The tour spanned eight cities in five countries, over the course of 12 days in order to promote UFC 189: Aldo vs. McGregor. But, just 12 days out from the event, Aldo was forced to withdraw from the fight citing a rib injury, and McGregor instead went on to defeat late replacement Chad Mendes to secure the interim UFC featherweight title.

Unification

On December 12^th, 2015, McGregor ended the 10-year undefeated reign of champion Jose Aldo within just 13 seconds. UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor broke UFC gate and attendance records at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor, meanwhile, underlined his status as one of the biggest draws in the history of UFC.

155lbs

McGregor immediately announced his intention to move up to lightweight. But when an injury ruled out a scheduled bout with lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos in February 2016, a polarizing opponent stepped up to the mark.

A whole different ball game

In the absence of his usual relentless weight cut, McGregor was jovial and energized throughout the week leading up to UFC 196, as he prepared to meet Nate Diaz at welterweight. On March 5^th, 2016, the pair faced off in one of the most highly anticipated match-ups in UFC history. Caught on the end of a jab-cross combination by Diaz, McGregor looked for the takedown and was pounced on by the jiu-jitsu black belt. A rear-naked choke from Diaz followed to bring McGregor’s 15-fight win streak to an end.

Losing the battle, winning the war?

On August 20, 2016, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz will meet once again, as McGregor vows to return to greatness and prove to the world that he is, indeed, the greatest of all time.

Watch UFC 202^®: DIAZ vs. McGREGOR 2 live on BT Sport from 1am BST on the morning of Sunday, August 21^st and catch the Early Prelims from 11:30pm on Saturday 20^th, live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

UFC Press Release

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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”

“Age is just a number. I will be in the UFC by the end of the year”

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