THIS MONTH IN FIGHTERS |
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UFC 116 - Lesnar remains the king! |
 Picture copyright of ZUFFA LLC.
Having been out of the cage for over a year due to suffering from the illness diverticulitis, Lesnar had a lot resting on his shoulders, especially when he had to come back to face such a ferocious and unbeaten challenger in Shane Carwin. A native of Denver and fighting out of the Grudge Team, no one had even been a threat to Carwin in his previous twelve fights. Predictions were focused on the fight finishing early, but no one could have guessed it would end like this.
While the two came out tentatively, as soon as Carwin connected the action switched into gear with Lesnar charging Carwin for the takedown. Showing excellent defensive wrestling, Carwin proceeded to batter Lesnar with uppercuts that sent the champ running for cover and collapsing onto the floor. Carwin crouched over Lesnar throwing rapid ground and pound, some which connected and some were deflected of Lesnar's arms, but Brock was in danger. Although on the recieving end of several warnings that the fight was going to be stopped, Brock weathered the storm and managed to survive the first round.
In the second Carwin was noticeably tired and looked like he had spent all his energy trying to finish it in the first. Brock went in for the takedown with Carwin able to do little to stop it, which ended with Brock in the top of Carwin's half guard. An exhausted Carwin squirmed but could do little on the bottom as Brock passed with an arm triangle choke closed in. Carwin tried to stay relax and defend the choke, but Lesnar squeezed and made it tighter until Carwin could only tap.
A superb win for Brock, showing both his resilience and growing skills in all areas. As he remained champion, he will be facing the next contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 121...
Other fights on the night were: KARLOS VEMOLA vs JON MADSEN, DANIEL ROBERTS vs FORREST PETZ, GERALD HARRIS vs DAVE BRANCH, KENDALL GROVE vs GORAN RELJIC, SETH PETRUZELLI vs RICARDO ROMERO, BRENDAN SCHAUB vs CHRIS TUCHSCHERER, GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS vs KURT PELLEGRINO, KRYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI vs STEPHEN BONNAR, CHRIS LYTLE vs MATT BROWN, YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA vs CHRIS LEBEN
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 NEIL ADAMS SUBMISSION CLINIC - Part 5 |
KATA GATAME - Arm triangle
In the fifth part of the Neil Adams Submission Clinic we will be looking at a popular judo osekomi waza (Hold down technique) known as kata gatame. In MMA this position is commonly known as the arm triangle where it functions as a strangle, but it is also similar in many ways to BJJ's anaconda choke.
Whilst it is possible to perform the arm triangle from a variety of positions, Neil with his judo background prefers to execute it from the top position. In judo this has a strategic advantage as you can win simply by pinning the opponent for 30 seconds. If you can simultaneously strangle him then all his attention will be diverted to defending his neck rather than escaping the hold-down. In MMA the advantage of moving to the top position is that you are able to fully bear your weight down upon your opponent which increases the power of the submission technique.
In Fig 1 Neil defends a strike from the guard. He then controls the opponent's elbow and pushes his arm across his own body. He also sits up to meet his opponent as he does this (Fig 2). Wrapping his right arm around his opponent's neck Neil breaks his posture and drags him back down to the ground. This not only sets up the kata gatame but also prevents his opponent from striking him again (Fig 3). Notice how Neil has also trapped the opponent's arm and head together (Fig 4). Using his legs Neil now stretches his opponent out and begins to rotate him onto his back (Fig 5 -6). Neil completes the roll and stays on top of his opponent in Tate shiho gatame (the mount). Observe how tightly trapped the opponent's arm is throughout this movement (Fig 7). Neil now reaches under the opponent's head with his right hand and grabs his own left bicep (Fig 8). He finishes the move by squeezing his right bicep and bearing his weight down (Fig 9)...
Neil Adams is a former World Judo Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist. He is currently the Belgian national coach and his new online tutorials featuring all his judo secrets are available from www.cagefilm.com in association with Combat Magazine and Fighters Magazine.
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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LEGENDS OF THE CAGE - Bas Rutten |
 To be described as the funniest man in MMA somehow doesn't seem to sit right. It seems to be on a par with most honest politician as far as unlikely accolades go. In the most physical of combat sports there would appear to be little time for a comedian. Bas Rutten may have been a joker outside the ring, but he was a killer inside it. A UFC champion and multiple time King of Pancrase, Rutten's achievements and influence in the evolution of the sport can never be underestimated.
Sebastiaan 'Bas' Rutten was born in Tilberg, a small city in the Netherlands, on February 24th 1965. He showed a lot of interest in sport growing up but it wasn't until he sneaked into a cinema to watch Enter the Dragon that his love affair with martial arts began. Rutten was allowed to train Taekwondo originally by his parents but this soon stopped following a confrontation in the street where Bas would break another boy's nose. He would manage to convince them to allow him to continue training and it soon paid dividends. Rutten earned a black belt in Taekwondo and then went on to repeat the feat in Kyokushin Karate. Bas was a legendary hard worker in the gym and was constantly travelling to find different people to train with and different styles to adapt. It was this willingness to learn new skills that would shape his evolution as a fighter over his career.
At the age of 20 he began competing in Thai boxing and his talents quickly became very apparent. Rutten would fight 15 fights and only lose once in that time. All of his victories were knockouts and all occurred in the first round. The word about this Dutch destroyer was spreading quickly and it wasn't long before he received a call from a bigger organisation.
Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling was a new promotion but would go on to play a huge part in the development of modern mixed martial arts. Pancrase was started by Japanese Pro Wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki and was advertised as hybrid wrestling. Pancrase combined submission fighting with striking and can be seen as one of the first respected mixed martial arts organisations. Rutten was an obvious choice to take up the challenge as his hard hitting style would go on to be fantastically well received by the Japanese public. In his first ever fight for the new organisation Rutten made clear his intentions by defeating favourite Ryushi Yanagisawa in just 43 seconds. His piston like right straight, which would go on to be a trademark, was the key factor in the fight as even with open hand striking he was still able to shatter his opponent's nose. Rutten was overjoyed by this display and in victory did a celebratory mid air splits kick which would go on to be christened 'The Rutten Jump'...
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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J.F.C.C KICKS OFF WITH A BANG @ THE MARTIAL ARTS SHOW |
 Since its launch the Junior Full Contact Council has been very busy and has attracted a lot of interest from the kickboxing community including the big 4 organisations.
One of the key points of difference with the JFCC its only interest is the safe development of juniors. This is something we will never lose sight of. Since our first competition several promoters' coaches have expressed a keen interest in our format. The Martial Arts show gave us a great format to do just that. It was an opportunity to tell people why we were here and what we were trying to achieve. This was reinforced with some excellent demonstrations on the Saturday which left legend Ronnie Green acknowledging the future of the sport was looking up. On Saturday Chad Sugden undisputed Full Contact World u18 Champion showcased his skills as a fighter and also a coach and mentor to some of the younger JFCC kids. Aged from 8 to 18 these kids, teens, juniors and cadets were absolutely awesome. Showing ring craft, technique, speed and power beyond their years. They displayed defence, control, offensive moves showing real maturity beyond their years.
On the Sunday the time to do it for real arrived. Every fighter had their Record Books stamped by medical officers and officials present. Weights were checked and fighters and coaches were briefed on the rules and regulations. Insurance policy and Child Protection Policy was ringside for all to see along with Paramedics present for the fights.
First fight was a demo involving Bethany Barret from Ireland against the heavier and older Jade Munro from the very talented 3 Lions gym in Gt. Yarmouth.
Second bout was Luka McComb from 3 Lions v Korben Roche from Saxon. These 2 little warriors at -25kg are flying the flag in this weight and age category. In the first fight there not much to choose between them. And this time it was close but again victory went again to Luka.
Next bout was a challenge fight between Jay Turner from TKA v Matthew Rangely from MDMA. Mathew is a rookie to ring competition but fought all the way against a very well schooled fighter from TKA. Win went to Jay Turner...
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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COMBAT SPORTS TRAINING - Tyres, Sledgehammers and Ropes Not Necessary |
 Enter an MMA school or some gyms and you might see huge tyres, sledgehammers and thick ropes. These are tools used for any myriad of training supplements like: total body strength, maximal power development, and shoulder/torso and grip endurance. They're great if you can get them or even fit them into your training area. Sledgehammers are relatively inexpensive but truck tyres and those really thick ropes can cost you a lot more than they may be worth to you in your training.
Some of the aforementioned benefits of these tools have already been listed, here are some cons:
- Tyres may be too big for you or your students to lift as they are one size.
- You might not have enough open space to flip your tyre.
- You can only safely have 2-3 people max per tire doing sledgehammer slams depending how big the tire is.
- Ropes again due to space and cost and 5) limited to 1-2 people max per rope.
The following alternative exercises simulate similar movements and energy demands on the body. Plus, you avoid the excessive cost and space issues associated with tyre and rope training without sacrificing effectiveness.
The tire flip can be substituted with Power Clean and Jerks that is a total body strength move. This incorporates the entire hip complex, arms and shoulders just like a tire flip that is done in place and with equipment (barbells and plates) that's cost effective or you may already have. Sledgehammer slams can be mimicked by doing a medicine ball slam straight down to the floor and off a wall at multiple angles to develop maximal power. As for the movements associated with wiggling or snaking the rope, dumbbell punching doing straights and uppercuts are suitable alternatives. As they use similar muscles and body movements to do the exercise working shoulder / torso / grip endurance...
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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MUAY THAI'S DEAN JAMES - Talks Exclusively to FIGHTERS! |
 Dean 'The Black Diamond' James is one of the most humble, top rated and technical muaythai fighters the UK has ever produced. He is the current WMC European Champion and the British number one Bantamweight. Unknown to many though, James also has an amazing personal story which really shows how muaythai can help bring focus to someone's life...
When he was a kid Dean James had done a little bit of judo but his first real experience of martial arts was when he had started thaiboxing at 21. "I just wanted to get fit, I wasn't interested in fighting - there were a lot of kickboxing gyms around but I wasn't that interested. I went to look at a session of thaiboxing with one of my best mates Richard Wain - which was at Trojan in Wolverhampton. I saw Pete Crooke hit the pads and from then on I was addicted. We got totally battered in our first session by some of the guys that were there, then on our second session we met Tony Myers, who had a style I really liked (different instructors took different sessions). He was very detailed and gave us advice from the start to the finish of the session. He drilled us with the basics of footwork straight from the start. Always explaining the importance of positioning and blocking techniques"
Dean James continued training at Trojan gym with Tony Myers for about a year before moving over to the Rugeley gym where Tony's main fighters (Pra Chao Suua), Damien Hood, Karla Hood and Liam Robinson were based. "It was more a fighter's gym than general classes which was why I moved. Everyone had the same tidy style although all were very good at different things. Damien was a fighter with brilliant clinch work and awesome knee's, he was really hard to score against. Karla was a strong puncher, again good clinch and good knees who never took a step back, similar to her brother with her, 'never say die' attitude. Liam was a really skilful boxer who moved back and caught you out as you attacked, always sharp shooting and reading you. I loved all three styles and learnt loads within weeks of being there. I would try to copy them all really and use their strength to help my sparring with others, so I'm a bit of a copy cat".
After two years of training, with a more serious second year, James had his first fight against a lad from London stopping him in the first round. "I was pleased to win and pay back the people like Tony Myers and Winston Walker who had helped me with my training." Straight after that fight he then booked a flight out to Thailand and fought for Pimu out there under Full Thai rules on just his second fight. "I was training with some of the best in Thailand, Duwaw, Thailand Pinsinchai, Sangchern Pinsinchai and Verapol. I really enjoyed it, Pimu would spend time with me explaining why certain techniques are used and when is best to use the. He really did put himself out to help me improve while I was there.
When he first asked me if I fancy fighting, I was shocked, but I thought well if he thinks I'm good enough I'll give it a go and if I don't like it I'll just carry on training. Then the offer just kind of came along..."
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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