THIS MONTH IN FIGHTERS
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MSA - Taking Muay Thai Further Into The Big Time! |
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THE NEIL ADAMS SUBMISSION CLINIC - Part One - Juji gatame/Straight arm lock |
 As a former World Judo Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist, Neil Adams has become highly sought-after for his superb coaching skills. In this age of MMA and cross-training, Neil's reputation as one of judo's leading ne waza or ground fighting experts has also begun to attract the attention of fighters from many other disciplines.
In the Neil Adams submission clinic, FIGHTERS new 12 part column, Neil will be showing some of his favourite submission techniques and detailing the key points needed to make them successful. This twelve part series will offer something for both novices and advanced students alike. In part one we are looking at some of the key points for securing a juji gatame (straight arm lock).
One of the major problems in securing this arm lock is overcoming the opponent's final defence mechanism. Whilst this is particularly true in judo and jiu jitsu where your opponent can grip is own gi to defend his arm, it is however a problem that both MMA fighters and submission wrestlers also need to be able to address...
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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THE DAY I MET MUHAMMAD ALI - By Kru Shaun Boland |
 Inspiration comes from the Latin 'inspirare' which means to breathe upon or into. When inspired, by someone or something, it can seem as though the energy from this 'breath' has entered our body and uplifted us, given us new motivation and meaning. There are many people today and through the ages that have inspired me, who, metaphorically, have passed their 'inspirational breath' into me.
One such man is Muhammad Ali, billed as the greatest sportsman of all time and the greatest boxer of all time. His achievements in the boxing ring are well documented, he won a Gold medal in the Rome Olympics (1960), he was the first heavyweight to win the World title three times. His 'Rumble in the jungle' and 'Thrilla in Manila' events were arguably the two greatest fights in the history of heavyweight boxing.
Ali had only 5 losses from 61 professional fights (he avenged three of those in return matches) with 37 knockouts coming from his 56 wins. In his era, which has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing, Ali defeated every top ranked heavyweight. Great World champions such as Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman.
As a young child and into my early twenties I followed with avid interest the great exploits and fighting career of this man who could 'float like a butterfly and sting like a bee…
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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COLOR ME IMPRESSED WITH - Michael Bisping |
 I will be the first to admit, I have never been a fan of Michael Bisping. I wasn't a fan of his when he was on The Ultimate Fighter 3 and since his time on the show, I have slowly but surely developed a dislike for the British born fighter. I am also the type of fan that is the first to admit that while I may not like a fighter, I can be impartial and give them the props that they deserve. That is what I am here to do for the Bisping fight I watched during the UFC 105 card.
A lot of times in a fighter's career, they have trouble rebounding from their first loss but that was not the case with 'The Count'. When he lost to Rashad Evans as a light heavyweight he picked himself up and decided to drop down to 185. I thought that was the right move for him even though I felt he won the fight with Evans.
Then there are times in a fighter's career when they suffer a devastating knockout, like the one Bisping received at the hands of Dan Henderson and they never are able to recover. I was really interested to see if that was the case with Bisping. Would the memory of being layed out in front of millions of people on the biggest card in MMA history do too much damage to Bisping's psyche?
Apparently not, in his first bout since his, UFC 100 loss to Henderson, Bisping proved to the fans and more importantly to himself that he has a short memory, which in this sport is a great thing to possess. It's not like he was given an easy opponent to face either. Denis Kang is as skilled and as experienced as they come. He has faced a who's who of mixed martial artists in a career that dates back to 1998.
Having the added pressure of performing in front of his countrymen did not make the task at hand any easier for Bisping. While this bout was far from a make or break situation for the 30 year old Bisping, it was the most important fight of his career thus far.
Kang had Bisping in trouble early in the first round when he dropped him to the canvas with a strong right hand. I am sure the fans in the arena had flashbacks of Bisping crashing to the canvas in Las Vegas in July. Showing an ever improving jiu-jitsu game, Bisping defended himself nicely as Kang could not inflict any serious damage despite passing Bisping's guard numerous times.
Don't forget that Kang is the one with the black belt in jiu-jitsu, not Bisping. After surviving a rocky first round Bisping came out for the second round looking like the fresher fighter and it certainly showed as he was relentless in his attack on Kang...
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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BJJ'S PENNY THOMAS - The Jiu-Jitsu Gymnast |
 UFC 105 - The Battle of Manchester!
A brigade of British fighters, defend Manchester's honour and display the finest talent in English MMA. Unless you were from the UK, November 14th was a bad night to be in Manchester. Foreign challengers were welcomed to the octagon and attempted to defend themselves against the best of British. With Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping putting on career defining performances and some of England's biggest names giving all round dominating performances, it was undoubtedly the most significant night in UK MMA history.
DAN HARDY 171 vs MIKE SWICK 170
This was for many the real main event. England's own Dan 'The Outlaw' Hardy faced the American Mike 'Quick' Swick. Hardy came prepared, this would have to be the fight of his career, as not only was he on home territory, but the winner of this bout would get a shot at the Welterweight title.
The fight started to the chants of "Hardy" and this energy translated over to the fighters as they wasted no time into letting the punches fly. Swick threw a flurry but was caught by Hardy's right hook. This set a game plan for The Outlaw, as every time Swick was drawn into a brawl Hardy came out on top with sharper and more powerful hooks. Swick did have some good lighter shots when he peppered from the outside, but Hardy walked straight through these.
Much of the fight was played out in the clinch, this due to Swick's plan to take him down for a submission, but he was unsuccessful due to Hardy's excellent takedown defence. In the final round the strategies changed as Hardy looked to take Swick to the ground, only to have the crowd hold their breath as Mike closed up one of his infamous guillotine chokes. Once Hardy escaped the choke he dished out some sharp elbows from inside the guard. In the last few moments of the fight the two desperately tried to finish, but neither gained any clear damage as the final horn sounds out.
It was clear the person who would be facing the champion would be donning a red Mohawk haircut. Hardy's hand was raised and on the prospect of facing the champion he said "With an opportunity like that I'll fight him anywhere, Canada, Vegas, UK, on the moon in the phone box, in the car park. As long as he brings his belt along for me to take off him, I don't mind."
Hardy defeated Swick via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
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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CAGE WAR CHAMPIONSHIP - 'No Nightmare' for fans at King's Hall, Belfast |
 Rich 'No Love' Clementi (73kg, USA) proved to be a little too much for 23-year-old Chris 'Menace 2 Society' Stringer (71.7kg, Northern Ireland) in the main event of Cage Wars Championship's 'Nightmare' event, held at the King's Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clementi - the UFC veteran who has beaten the likes of UFC 106 semi-main event fighter Anthony Johnson - found it tough to connect with an elusive Stringer in the first round, but when he took the contest to the mat in the second, it was his fight for the taking, and Stringer was forced to tap out to a triangle choke in 3:11 of the second round.
"I'm just so happy to be fighting in Ireland," said Clementi. "This is my fifth time out here, and I've finally got to fight. Chris stepped up a month ago (after Peter Duncan was injured), so that took balls. My hat's off to him. The ground game is my world, when I get on top that's when I win fights. But was a tough fight, and he's a tough kid."
In an extraordinary result, Lee 'The Dragon' McKibbin (84.5kg, Northern Ireland) took just 45 seconds to dismiss of veteran John 'The Machine' Lober (82.7kg, USA) via submission. The manner of the tap-out was the most surprising of all, a standing guillotine choke which can rarely be applied with enough torque to force a submission.
"It's unbelievable," said McKibbin of the win. "My respect to John Lober, he's an amazing fighter. He's fought the best, and he's beaten the best. When he was going for the single-leg (takedown), I got one arm out and was looking to do the same with the other," he continued. "When I did that, I knew it (the guillotine) was on, so I finished it."
Colin 'The Gift' McKee's (78.9kg, Northern Ireland) uncompromising style proved to be too much for Neydson Santos Ferreira (74kg, Brazil), in what was the first of the night's three feature attractions. Santos - a Brazilian ju-jitsu expert who was a late replacement for the injured Che Mills - was never able to utilise his ground skills, with McKee trapping him against the cage and delivering some big punches before the referee called a stop to the contest at 3:04 of the first round...
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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