THIS MONTH IN FIGHTERS |
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MUAY THAI PREMIER LEAGUE SPECTACULAR - at The London Excel Arena |
 MSA put on yet another outstanding Muay Thai Premier League super show at the Excel in London on Saturday the 29th of May. The show thrilled the audience just as much as their hugely successful show in March at the MEN arena, which was another true world class production with superb match ups.
The main bout was none other than Britain's Jordan Watson versus the Thai superstar Buakaw Por Pramuk. This was the first time that Buakaw had fought on these shores and it was a tremendous feat by MSA to arrange the fight, especially under Full Thai rules.
Buakaw entered first and the atmosphere was simply electric, the likes of which hasn't been seen since Liam Harrison fought Sanchai Sor Kingstar. The whole arena was on its feet with everyone holding their phones in the air like at a rock concert! Watson too, received a fantastic reception and you could feel the tremendous excitement in the air.
From the opening bell, it was clear that the fight would NOT disappoint. The entire audience in the arena roared with delight as an early low kick from Watson put Buakaw to the floor. Talk about jaw-dropping action! Some (very wrongly!) had thought this would be a one sided contest but this clearly was not to be the case. Watson used a fantastic array of techniques, both fighters showing unbelievable speed and fluidity in everything they threw.
In the second round, Buakaw took it up a level by firing off vicious combinations. Watson responded well and the fight was, at this point, becoming truly electric. In the third, Bucksaw's great experience showed as he used clever combinations throughout the round to open Watson up for a body shot that gave him an eight count. The third was clearly all Bucksaw's. Watson knew that he had to recover ground convincingly, and in the fourth, he pressed forward impressively creating some outstanding clashes between the two. At no time did Watson look out of his depth and Buakaw seemed unpleasantly surprised - he knew he was in a real fight and that Watson was here to win!
Watson knew he needed a knockout to win this top contest and went looking for this in the fifth; pulling out all the stops including a great flying knee, which is fast becoming his trademark. However, Buakaw, with awesome experience (gathered from his 222 previous fights) stood toe-to-toe unfazed. The fight was non-stop powerful action until the very end...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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BOXING VIEW - With Mark Wilson Smith |
 We are only half way through the year and already there has been plenty of activity for British boxing fans to mull over. This is down to the fact that over a very busy six-week period we saw most of our leading stars involved in high profile bouts. With some heartache but mostly good results, we look back over the fights that have made for such a fascinating time.
Going back to April 3rd, which was the start of our busy period, we saw David Haye outclass John Ruiz. A Haye victory was always going to be a safe bet, but it was his tactics on the night that impressed me. There are still question marks over Haye’s stamina, and he knew that going in there and trying to blast out Ruiz would have been energy sapping and unwise, given that Ruiz had only been stopped once in his career. Instead, a strategy was formed that would allow him to conserve energy and go the full distance if necessary. Haye’s game plan was to fight on the back foot, allowing the Latino-American to plod forward while being economical and picking his shots. Even when Ruiz was dropped twice in the first round, Haye stuck to the script and it worked a treat, forcing a stoppage in the ninth round. Fantastic!...
Also in April we witnessed Audley Harrison put himself in the mix for a shot at the world title. I was genuinely delighted for big Audley when he knocked out Michael Sprott in the last round to become the new Euro champ. I went to watch one of his first professional fights, which now seems like ages ago, and have always liked the big man, although that is more down to Audley the man rather than his achievements in the ring. At the time, I felt that it was a mistake for Audley to be headlining events the moment he turned professional. Like all boxers, he started to learn the ropes against lesser opponents, but this should have been done on under cards, not as the main event and under the microscope. The expectations put upon him at the start of his career were huge, but Audley himself didn’t really help matters by making so many ambitious claims...
Unfortunately things took a turn for the worst at the end of April, as Carl Froch was defeated by Mikkel Kessler in the Super Six Boxing Classic- a defeat that ended his reign as the WBC Super middleweight champion. Before the Super Six tournament began, I would always have picked Kessler to beat Froch, but Kessler’s dismal performance against Andre Ward made me think that the contest would be a more even affair. Unfortunately for Froch, Kessler returned to form that night to win by a unanimous decision...
Amir Khan made a good start to his 'American career' with a very predictable win over Paulie Malignaggi in front of 8,000 fans at Madison Square Garden. Although Khan stopped his opponent in the eleventh and most people gave him all but one of the rounds, he didn't look quite as polished as he normally does. It wasn't really until the later rounds that he started to look like the slick, fluid Amir that we know so well. Perhaps this can be put down to the fact that his training schedule was disrupted with a move to Canada and the fact that Malignaggi is still a tricky, fast moving opponent. In any case, it was still a good performance by Khan and it was great to see him do well on his American debut...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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THANK GOD FOR LYOTO MACHIDA - By Alex Wright |
 The name of this article may be a little deceptive in as much as my original intention was to write something about how the amiable Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts fighter Lyoto Machida has brought some life back into what is becoming an almost accepted style of 'MMA fighting' by interjecting his Shotokan Karate based striking system into the UFC Octagon. However, someone beat me to it with an excellent article on that very subject (on a popular MMA forum) so Instead I'll explore a little of what is happening in the evolution of martial arts through MMA competition and how it is effecting perceptions in the wider world of martial arts, especially in what would be termed 'traditional systems'.
There is so much I could write about in this article, from many different perspectives, but the theme of this article will be: the old blending with the new. With the idea being, that this particular martial arts evolution, martial arts are going almost full circle in its quest to find the 'ultimate' fighting methodology.
Beyond the glamour and hype around organisations such as the UFC, the actual principal of Mixed Martial Arts competition is hardly a new idea, in fact many cultures including our own have had a form of Vale Tudo or 'Anything Goes' competition at one time or another. Then In terms of challenge matches this is the way most of the old masters established their fearsome reputations just as modern day MMA fighters can establish credibility and respect amongst their peers by proving their skills in a controlled environment, which can help establish them as coaches in later life if they so wish.
Fighting in this format can certainly make a coach stand out next to their lesser experienced counterparts, offering 'realistic' systems. I won't get into the often petty arguments put forward by those traditional martial art groups who hide in fear of the new kid on the block, except to say that this form of challenge is what many of their systems were originally built on. Sure MMA doesn't prepare you for three guys with baseball bats but neither does Kata or Kumite, chi sao or pre arranged sparring drills. What it does do, is show up what works in a straight up fight and what has room for refinement, it has provided every open hand martial arts system out there a platform to learn from, test and evolve.
The problem (which has arisen recently) is that the MMA evolution had slowed right down, maybe even stopped, where the mix of several key styles with some refinements & a particular training style had become the accepted practice in MMA. Therefore the idea of style versus style has to a large degree disappeared in Mixed Martial Art competition, making way for a definitive sport practice which is almost certainly effective but from the martial artist's perspective maybe not as interesting as the old battles where there was a clear stylistic difference. Even the 'striker Vs grappler' scenario is disappearing as the standards of both disciplines increase in MMA gyms all over the world. Watching grappling based fighters such as Frank Mir or Josh Koscheck beat guys with their boxing skills certainly brings this fact home to the long term students of mixed martial arts...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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A BETRAYAL OF THE REVOLUTION? |
The Gracie Academy's decision to offer
online belt promotions causes global controversy!
 It has been confirmed: the next phase of the controversial 'Master Cycle' programme is now being rolled out. Even as we speak a selected few pioneers are preparing to become the first Gracie Jiu Jitsu practitioners to be promoted beyond blue belt ...without ever having met or trained with a jiu jitsu instructor.
The Gracie family, who singlehandedly revolutionised the martial arts and pioneered the development of MMA and the UFC, are now providing online tuition and grading services to their students. The decision, which has even provoked disagreement within the Gracie family itself, has left many in the wider jiu jitsu community aghast with what is being seen as a betrayal. Indeed the martial arts world in general is now holding its breath, fearing that this may set a dangerous precedent.
The service, which is the brain child of Rener and Ryron Gracie, is being hosted by the Torrance Gracie Academy's online spin off: the 'Gracie University' (www.gracieuniversity.com). It provides a syllabus and video instruction to enable students to train remotely. All well and good so far, but the controversy begins when after having followed the online course, students are then encouraged to submit a video of themselves performing the techniques they have learnt. This is in turn assessed by a Gracie instructor and if the student is deemed to have successfully executed every move that is expected of them, they are given their next belt.
Before looking at the criticism levelled at this development we should be fair to the Academy and acknowledge that there are a few undoubtedly positive aspects about the Gracie University concept. Firstly, they have set up an online international training network, which is designed to help people find training partners. This is particularly useful to people who may live in areas that are a long way from the nearest jiu jitsu school, or for those who wish to get a little extra mat-time in on the side. Secondly, they have also launched the 'Gracie Garage' concept which was named in homage to Rorion Gracie's actual garage from which the Gracie's taught their first students outside Brazil. The idea here is to encourage people to come together in informal environments to practice their jiu jitsu. The so-called 'Gracie Garage Leader' may themselves be ungraded and they will receive no payment for their role in advertising and organising the group. Training is supposed to be conducted in the spirit of fostering mutual development and encouraging the spread of jiu jitsu throughout the world. Again the Gracie Garages will be of most benefit to those without access to full-time schools and who otherwise would be unable to train. Few would argue that these developments go against the spirit of the art...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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SUTURES, FRACTURES & FAINTING - MMA stitch-man reveals the inside story on working ringside! |
 Dr. Alex Constantinides had his first ringside experience when he moved from his home state of Wyoming to Colorado Springs, CO in 2001 for a family practice residency. One of his colleagues, who had been a stitch-man for a local USA boxing program, asked Dr. Alex if he would be interested in replacing him at the amateur events.
Dr. Alex took the opportunity without thinking twice. He worked several fights, but when his residency ended in 2003, he returned to Wyoming to practice rural medicine. Though he missed the action and energy of the boxing matches, he found a substitute that would soon ignite a lifelong passion.
"We got a TV station out of Salt Lake City and on Fridays at one in the morning, they would show MMA fights that would take place at one of the local bars. I loved watching for the technique. You could have a guy who was a really good boxer and he might not win because he might get out-wrestled or submitted by a jiujitsu submission. It adds so many other layers to combat sport."
After two years in Wyoming, Dr. Alex and his family relocated back to Color-ado Springs to join Front Range Medical Arts where he continued practicing family medicine and Osteopathy. Not long after settling in, he returned to working as a 'stitch-man' at professional boxing matches on the weekends. Though he enjoyed the events, his ultimate goal was to get involved working ringside at MMA fights. Eventually, Dr. Alex's name was passed along to the right folks and an MMA promoter approached him with an opportunity. Dr. Alex has been an MMA stitch-man ever since.
Dr. Alex has worked at more than 80 MMA fights and though he has never encountered a serious medical issue, he has dealt with his fair share of broken noses and hands, nasal fractures, cuts, dislocations and ruptured ligaments. As for amazing or peculiar happenings in the ring, Dr. Alex mentioned two tales:
At a Colorado MMA event called the Rocky Mountain Nationals, a fighter by the name of Nick Bushman kept fighting even though his arm was broken. Dr. Alex said Bushman called it quits after the second round, finally admitting that something was wrong with his arm. "A testament to the heart of a fighter." Dr. Alex also recalled an embarrassing moment involving a fighter who fainted before the fight even began.
"The fighters were called into the ring and they came in with their music and were introduced, the ref turned to one fighter and said, "fighter are you ready to fight?", and he said "yes." Then the ref turned to the other fighter and said, "fighter are you ready to fight?" and that fighter passed out unconscious. He woke back up within a minute - felt horrible about it. He was an experienced fighter, but sometimes nerves get you. I don't remember his name which is probably good for him..."
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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ULTIMATE CHALLENGE UK - Never Back Down, The clash of the Titans |
 On May 8th two of the UK's most dominating heavyweights collided for the heavyweight title. Defending champion Neil Grove took on challenger Stav 'Crazy Bear' Economou in an all out brawl for the belt. These two were not the only big guns on the card, as resident knock out machine and light heavyweight champion Jimi Manuwa took on little known Reza Mahdavian. London's Troxy was packed to see these giants of the scene give it their all and not one of these fighters left the fans disappointed.
JIMI MANUWA VS REZA MAHDAVIAN - Light Heavyweight Championship
Few in the UK MMA scene are as feared as the UCMMA light heavyweight champion Jimi Manuwa. Not yet going once to the referees decision in his perfect record, Jimi has become a prodigy, with still only two years of experience in the sport. Iranian born challenger Reza Mahdavian had defeated Michael Brown via TKO in first round in his last fight and assured everyone that Manuwa's reputation did not intimidate him. Mahdavian was looking for to the opportunity to pull off the upset and become the champ.
As the fight begun, Reza started to put on quite the show. Flailing his arms and showboating to Jimi, Mahdavian tried to distract the champ, but Manuwa does not fall for it for a second. Picking his shots, Jimi 'The Posterboy' circles and stays clam until the opportunity came for him to wrap up Reza in the clinch and fire knees. A clean left hook from Manuwa that landed flush then knocks the challenger down and Manuwa stands over the covered up Mahdavian to throw his final punches. Reza tried to save himself from harm, but the referee saw that real danger is imminent and could not allow the fight to last any longer.
Mahdavian showed courage, but Manuwa showed that he needs a challenge. Jimi's 8-0 record can't be knocked, but it is time someone stepped to see if the champion is ready to compete on the world stage.
STAV ECONOMOU V NEIL GROVE - Heavyweight Championship
If there was ever a debate for best heavyweights in the UK then the choice for the number one spot would always be a tossup for between these two. Both held impressive records (Neil 8-2 and Stav 10-1) and both are renowned for finishing fights quickly. Although the two were close friends, all feelings of companionship would be left outside the cage door as both were hungry for the title. Grove was desperate to keep his name in the top slot and make a good return after seven months off, and Economou finally wanted to get the prized belt wrapped around his waist
This fight was a brawl. The adrenaline was high and the fighters let their hands fly from the opening of the first round. When Stav switched gears and wanted to take it to the ground, he couldn't seem to quite complete the takedown and get control of the larger Grove. Economou's attempts to get it to the mat were not out of desparation though, as his right hand frequently found a home in the stand up exchanges; so much so that Grove even looked a little tentative towards the end of the round, perhaps surprised by Stav's gameness...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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