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Aaron Chatfield
Ten questions with Roberto Attala23 Nov 2009 3:42PMTen questions with.....
I mentioned last week that I would be continuing my series of interviews and that some of the subjects you may not of heard of. I'm guessing that for most of you, this week will be the case. About 4 years ago I met and trained with my first genuine BJJ black belt, Roberto Attala. Roberto is an amazing BJJ coach, but someone that you may not have had much exposure with... hopefully this interview will change that!
1. Roberto, we met a number of years ago when you were in the UK, but some people may not have heard of you. Tell me about yourself?
I am a coach in BJJ and grappling, with more than 15 years teaching groundwork, I trained with some of the best coaches available in Brasil and was quite successful in my career as a competitor, which was pretty much ended in 2000 after an ACL reconstruction, although at times I test myself by competing, my focus is on teaching. For more info people can check my personal blog, there is a page in english and other 5 or 6 languages with my CV at http://robertoatalla.wordpress.com
2. I know you have had a log career in martial arts, where did it all start?
My career started long time ago, as a kid I loved all bruce lee movies, but later on I started doing capoeira, i tried judo a bit but when i began doing bjj, i started to take it seriously and never stopped since them (1990).
3. What's been the highlight to your career so far?
I suppose my world gold medals in 96 and 97 were the happiest moments, but as a coach the decision to leave Brasil and start something new in Europe was a turning point in my life.
4. It's probably 4-5 years since you came to the UK, what brought you to our shores?
I arrived in the UK 6 years ago. It was my first experience in Europe and the start is always painful, the scene was a lot smaller than nowadays and i struggled to get students in London, maybe if i settled down in Glasgow i would have stayed, but i have no regrets, I helped some people to improve their games, and moved on to new projects.
5. You are now based in Poland, why Poland... it's cold isn't it?
I chose Poland because I saw a huge potential for BJJ and grappling, being located in central europe makes it easy for me to travel around, i live in Wroclaw, a vibrant city with 750.000 people, we have big facilities inside a wrestling gym that belongs to the army, and actually is really cold during winter, but I learned to appreciate more when is -10C and sunny outside as compared to +5 and rainy like most winters in England and Holland.
6. The Rio Grapplng club has had some recent success in compeition, tell me about your students and their achievments
In the last three years we have developed a strong foundation in Italy and Poland, and results are gradually appearing. Our team in Italy is winning medals in bjj and grappling alike, we have guys going to Brasil to train, fighting in Portugal and Spain, and doing well in every italian comp, from fila grappling to sambo to bjj and adcc rules, so things are going well there. In Poland our club is small, there are 3 other teams with more than 200 competitors and a many smaller, the level is high all over the country, but we start to make waves. The last polish bjj nationals was 2 weeks ago, and our student Mariusz Koziej won the heavyweight division for brown and black belts, submitting his 3 opponents with the same choke. They elected him best fighter of the tournament, and the extra motivation in all students will pay off on future comps. We still have a long way to go but we start to see results that give us impulse to keep going forward.
7. Some of the UK may remember a grudge match you had against Alez DeSouza a few years ago. What caused the problems with Alex and you and did the fight solve those problems?
The problems were caused by his attitude on the internet, disrespecting me and my job. The animosity ended up in us fighting 3 rounds of 10 minutes. I do not think at all, that the fight solved the problem, although he went quiet after that, which was a bonus.
I am sure that in that night I was the aggressor, dominating him for 27 minutes of the 30, and the result was unfair, but I cannot blame Alex for it, he went there and fought, and I can live with an unfair decision.
I really don't think of it much at all, but since you asked me about that, no, the fight was unnecessary because my focus should have been in teaching all along, but was valuable as a lesson.
8. Have you had other MMA fights?
That was my only MMA fight.
9. You appear settled in Poland, but I know that you are a bit of a nomad, are you planning on staying put or moving on to a new challenge?
I am in Poland to teach and to learn and still I believe I will be around for a while, but I do have plans to move back to Brasil at some point, but all depends on many things, lets first see if we survive 2012 LOL :-D
10. You have years of experience in BJJ, trained with some awesome people. There are lots of new guys out there, at the start of their career. What advice would you give them?
I find hard to advise anyone as each person should draw his/her own plans and work towards its goals, but one thing is important, as bjj you cannot train alone, you need good partners, and the best coaching available. All of this will not make you better unless you commit to the sport and train a lot. The rest is up to each one really, or to put it simply: "carve your own path"
That's it for this blog, I'll be back with another interview soon. Until then... chin down, hands up!
Aaron
 Ten questions with Ian "The Machine" Freeman17 Nov 2009 11:58PMTen questions with.....
OK, as promised a change to my format on these blogs. Over the last ten years in MMA I have been lucky to meet and train with some pretty amazing people. What I wanted to do was use this space to ask some of these people a few questions. I expect that some people you will of heard, others maybe not. To kick the series off, I had the great privileged of interviewing a true pioneer of UK MMA. A guy who was fighting on the UFC before most of the current crop of UK UFC stars had even seen MMA. With his recent announcement that he would like to return to competition.
It was an ideal time to have ten questions with Ian "The Machine" Freeman!
1. Ian the rumours are all over the forums, are you looking to fight again? What's cause you to consider a return?
I never really quit to be honest. I just stopped competing as often as I did. My training is still hard and I'm still kicking ass in the gym. I haven't slowed down on been sitting on my backside, just not competing as much.
The guys I train with now are great and I have no problem dominating them, whether it be fitness, speed or skill.
I think there just comes a time that my mind and body have said, yes, you still have what it takes and I would like to show everyone that.
2. You are basically the pioneers of UK MMA on the UFC, tell me how you first got on the show?
I fought Travis Fulton on a show called Millenium Brawl and beat him. Travis was to fight Scott Adams in the UFC but broke his hand in training, so someone said lets get the last guy who beat Travis to fight Scott and that was me. I received an email on the Tuesday, flew to USA on the Wednesday, arrived on the Thursday and fought in the UFC on the Friday. That's something I would never do now, I went on my own, no corner men, nothing. I had never even left the UK before .. crazy!
3. Your biggest victory in the UFC has to me a destruction of then poster boy, Frank Mir, tell me about that fight and what it meant to you?
I trained with Josh Barnett for my fight with Frank Mir, but while I was in Seattle I had a phone call saying my father was ill and had been diagnosed with cancer of the brain. I flew back home devastated and my fight was only 3 weeks away. I told my mother I didn't want to fight, but she said there's nothing we can do to save dad, but if I go to the fight and beat Frank Mir, it would be the best going away present I could ever give my dad. that just charged me up. No man could have beaten me that night.
4. Since then you have dropped to LHW and fought on other promotions, how does LHW compare to fighting the big boys?
When I fought as a heavyweight, it was all I knew so didn't even think of dropping to LHW. But then as I got a little older, I thought I would like to try LHW before I retire just to see how I compare and to be honest LHW is the better weight class for me. Especially nowadays with all the heavyweights weighing in over 250lb now.
5. The UFC has some top champions at present, who do you like and why.. plus what do you think of the LHW champion, Lyota Machida?
The LHW division is stacked right now. Too many great fighters to pick out. I have never been a fan than picks out fighters as greats, but a fan than picks out great match up's.
Loyota Machida is a great fighter, that's why he is the champ. His style is slightly different to most fighters and think that throws people off their game, a little like the Gracie's did back in the day. I feel once people understand his style, he will be beaten, but saying that we all get beat.
6. We recently saw the return of 46 year old Randy Couture, who scored a controversial victory over Brandon Vera. What did you think of that fight and how Randy's ageing?
Randy is a testament that age is but a number. He looked great. I do honestly think Vera won that fight, the fight was not entertaining, but he won all the same.
7. If Dana said "pick you opponent" tomorrow, who would you choose and why?
I haven't picked an opponent to fight in my whole career, but I'm not going to be silly and start picking names just because they are big in the game of MMA. I think the UK fans would love to see The Machine fight old skool vs old skool and to be honest, so would I.
8. Is this return a one off, or do you want to campaign to a LHW title?
Its how I'm feeling at this moment in time. As you can see from my past history, I have retired more times than I care to remember, but I say to people 'Never say never'. when I, so call retire, I don't hang up my gloves, I just wait for the urge to kick ass arrives again.
There are so many MMA fighters in the UK now, it's silly trying to compete with every single one of them at my age. Let them shine through and earn their respect as fighters. then every now and then I will shine through and take a comeback fight. It's not as if I didn't work hard at the beginning. I've done what I had to do, but now its time to let people know I'm still here.
9. Apart from a return to the cage, what else are you doing these days?
So many things. I'm the face of the worlds greatest MMA magazine, Fighters Only. I am the face of a new MMA fighting event called Optimus Fighting championships. I'm also acting, TV presenting, MCing, coaching, charity work and much more.
10. Finally, the UK scene is making waves with Hardy, Pearson, Bisping. Who else on the UK scene do you think has the potential to make it big and why?
Like I said earlier, I don't pick names as a fan, but match ups that make fights. Ross Pearson is the one to watch I think. He has all the tools to make it to the top
I for one am looking forward to seeing Ian back in the cage and I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there keen to see it to.
That's it for this blog, I'll be back with another interview soon. Until then... chin down, hands up!
Aaron
Shameless plugs09 Nov 2009 2:05PMApologies for the disrupted service, I have been to the USA on business... but I am back now... that's what counts
Let's start of with a big well done to "Judo" Jim Wallhead for his victory over Che Mills. This was a HUGE domestic fight, for real bragging rights in the domestic welter weight division. I didn't see the fight, but heard it was a close affair, with Wallhead securing the decision. Hopefully his team mates can continue the Roughouse ride to the top on the UFC!.... not sure what took Jim so long, 12 Gauge submitted Che in under a minute :)
Anyway, this is going to be a selfish blog... I'm going to pimp the Team Colosseum sponsors!
Caged Steel - http://cagedsteel.com/
Caged Steel is Team Colosseum's main sponsor, supplying the day to day apparel, fight wear and gloves for the professional and semi-professional fight team. Caged Steel is headed up by Jamie Thwaites, a guy who is passionate about UK MMA and I last told you about when he supported the M-1 Challenge England Team. In my opinion UK fighters should be supporting Caged Steel as much as possible. It's our brand... a Domestic brand! Why buy all the US brands, when we can have our own strong home grown brand? Anyway, Jamie started Caged Steel in July 2007.
Jamie first started MMA, or vale Tudo as it was known about 10 years ago, however, he drifted away because back then it was still an underground thing and there was nowhere you could go to really learn. He returned to the sport about 5 years ago when a friend was fighting on Pride and Glory up in the North East. Not only did it rekindle his interest in the sport, but gave him the idea of starting an MMA brand. It has taken 2 years to build the Caged Steel range. Every product is a quality to rival the big American brands, indeed Caged Steel use the same manufacturers who make the Hayabusa gear.
As the leading European MMA brand Caged Steel has also made it a point to not only try and build relationships within the sport, but to put a lot back in. Jamie opened Caged Steel Gym in October 07, and with the help of Neil Hall, Caged Steel now has a fight team of about 20 fighters.
It has also been a point of Caged Steel to support UK fighters and shows. Caged Steel has supported a number of UK fighters including Ross Pearson and Jim Wallhead, and currently, they sponsor 44 established and up and coming fighters in the UK. Caged Steel have also partnered up with promotions such as Ultimate Force and Strike & Submit.
MMA Hit Pit - http://www.mmahitpit.com/
MMA Hit Pit has quickly turned into the leading UK website for MMA news. Covering both domestic and international shows and fighters, MMA Hit Pit work almost like an all access TV station. The website carries a number of blogs (including mine!) from top fighters, promoters and coaches. In addition MMA Hit Pit also runs a weekly live chat with some names from the sport. This is a weekly session and allows anyone to ask virtually anything. We have seen guests such as Ian Butlin, Terry Etim and Marc Goddard, with more great names coming up. Everyone should put it in their diary. 8pm on Sundays (c'mon... it's better than X Factor!)
CKA Martial Arts Supplies - http://www.ckamartialartssupplies.co.uk/
Stockport based martial arts supplies are one of the few genuine shop fronts selling top MMA gear. Carrying all the brands you would expect. CKA supply Team Colosseum with protective equipment such as gum shields, hand wraps and groin guards, ensuring our fighters remain intact! It's the perfect place to visit and buy your Caged Steel gear from, if you want to see the gear, before purchasing.
Phil Marsden Strength and Conditioning
Recently our fighters have been working with local Leigh expert, Phil Marsden. Phil is the strength and conditioning coach at Leigh Rugby club and also holds a JC Santana MMA-CSCC certification. He has spent a lot of time with "Superman" Sam Fergusson and Chris "The Red Devil" Thompson, helping them achieve a supreme level of strength and fitness. In addition to full programs for Sam and Tommo, Phil has been advising Matt "12 Gauge" Thorpe on his conditioning program, as Matt prepared for his 12th Dec face off in Sweden.
As always, Team Colosseum is keen to speak with anyone that would like to sponsor us. We've been around for 15 years.... basically day one in the UK and have produced European title holders, international fighters and domestic champions. If you wish to discuss sponsorship, drop me an email on aaronchatfield@hotmail.co.uk
I'll sign off with a quick mention about Burnley Brawl 2 and P4TV Sports Network (http://www.p4tv.com/). Ian Butlin and I have commentated on a lot of shows recently, with 3-4 of them being filmed by P4TV, including Burnley Brawl. I urge you to check out P4TV. They charge just £15/year for full access to their programme of MMA, Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, etc. This includes shows like OMMAC, Cage Gladiators, Fight Ikon and Burnley Brawl. P4TV have bold plans to get a dedicated combat sports TV channel, but this won't happen if we don't support them now, as an internet channel. Go subscribe! As for Burnley Brawl, Got to say, one of the best UK shows I have been to. Mr. Ashton and Sinclair promote a great domestic show, delivering exciting local fighters with an incredible crowd. You have to give it to the people of Burnley, they know how to support their fighters. Make sure you get to Burnley Brawl 3, you will not regret it!
Anyway, enough of the plugging... next week, I am going to hopefully start posting some interviews with people.... some obvious and hopefully some not so obvious
Until then... chin down, hands up!
Aaron
And he's back26 Oct 2009 12:40PMwow, it's been a busy couple of weeks! Recently I have noticed how many events there appear to be. Every weekend there are 2-3 shows on up and down the country. It's incredible how far the sport has come in the last 10 years... or has it? I'll get back to that later. In the meantime, what have I been up to?
I started the a couple of busy weeks by being in the lucky position of being cage side for one of the best domestic fighters this country has seen. Sinclair v Sass on OMMAC, was quite simply awesome. It really demonstrated how exciting a fight could be, without relying on two guys swinging haymakers at each other. Sass and Sinclair showed incredible grappling skills, swapping submissions for the full three rounds. Sass got the nod on a split decision, just showing how close the fight was. After a great night at OMMAC, I found myself heading up the motorways to Gateshead to commentate on Strike and Submit. Along with my partner in crime, Ian Butlin, we enjoyed a night of calling the shots to some hot fights on a stacked 19 fight card. I have to say, Michael Surtees certainly knows how to put on a show, the house was packed with a very vocal crowd.
Shortly afterwards Ian and I found ourselves side by side and working with P4TV Sports Network (got to love these guys, check 'em out on www.p4tv.com, there are some awesome fights on there.. including Cage Conflict, OMMAC and Fight Ikon), at Cage Conflict 3. The promoter on this show is Rick Belcher, who runs the type of domestic show that is key to seeing the best of local talent. A great show with some superb fights. Also got a chance to chat with Paul Rimmer from Next Generation. We haven't spoken for a while, so it was good to see he was doing well. If you are in the Liverpool area, check his gym out! Worth noting, his fighters were the pick of the crop on the event.
Now, back to my point earlier about the amount of shows on at the moment. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? It's difficult to be sure, but it's certainly great to see a lot more opportunities to start their MMA career. On the downside, the competition for fighters hots up. There are only so many to go around. Most of the shows that have started up are AM/SP levels shows, with 1 or 2 pro fights. This is great, but it means that whilst we have lots of opportunities for up and coming fighters, there are less top shows for the elite pro fighters to compete on. With only 1-2 top level shows in the UK, will our fighters struggle to get the competition they need to make the leap up to international level? I don't have the answers here... in fact, I am probably not making much sense! I do have some concern that with so many AM/SP shows and so few top pro shows, do we have the structure to prepare a new breed of fighter for their international career? Plus, are we leaving some of our top fighters out to dry, with only international events capable of paying the purse and providing the level of competition. It's just something to think about! :)
Until next time
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
2-0 for Team Colosseum, boom12 Oct 2009 11:55AMStar Date:..... yeah right... GEEK!
Anyway, what a weekend!
2-0 for Team Colosseum, boom!
We had two guys fighting on the new Fight Ikon show in Bolton. I've mentioned Fight Ikon before. It's Bolton's first MMA show and was promoted by Darren Sherlock at Salford Fight Factory. Got to say Darren did well. A excellent show by all accounts. I'm sure there were the usual challenges (I'll tell you about 1 in a minute), but essentially the show ran smoothly and was a pleasure to be involved in and watch. You should be able to check it out on www.p4tv.com very soon.
First up was Sam Fergusson facing off against Scott McLellan. Scott fights out of Dec Williams camp, Team Warriors Elite and had a few fights under his belt. Similar experience to Sam, but more mature at 32. No disrespect to Scott, but the fight was complete domination from Sam. Sam dropped Scott twice in the first 10 second of the fight, both from head kicks... a left and a right. Sam then threw some shots and owned the stand up, he then initiated and secured a good takedown. Took control on the ground, secured side control and a 'step over kimura' position. After using body shots to weaken Scott, Sam took the kimura...a very quick and classy win..... AWESOME work!
Next up was Steve Hazeldine. Fighting Evolution MMA's Dale Russel, a young 18 year old prospect. This fight was a different kettle of fish. Steve didn't look on form and Dale is not a fighter to be 'off form' with. A Young warrior, he took it to Steve, throwing some great shots and winning the stand up exchanges. Dale also controlled the clinch and secured the takedowns, so Steve was in real defence mode. It would of been easy for Steve to lose composure as the fight was not going as plan, but Steve kept working and eventually secured a triangle position from guard. Russel hadn't finished though, he tried twice to slam out of the submission... big slams. Steve hung in their and sunk in the submission... again, excellent performance! I expect to see big things from Dale though, loads of respect... at 18, the guy was an animal!
We should of had a third fighter on, Chris Thompson, against Nij Wright, again of Team Warriors Elite. Unfortunately Nij opted not to make weight and we opted to not fight someone who refused to make weight. There's probably a few stories floating around, so I will try to set the record straight as accurate as possible and without any opinion... those who know me.. know this will be tough! :)... so let's get the opinion out of the way now. Tommo would of destroyed Nij and given us our third win of the night
So, on Friday night Tommo was 72k. The fight is contracted at 70k, leaving a very easy 2k cut. excellent. On Saturday Tommo went to the sauna around 9am and struggled to get the weight off. he managed only 600 grams. After a discussion with me, he hit the salt baths, hoping to suck out more and possibly skip off the last few hundred grams at the weigh in. The ISKA rules are clear. You have a 2 hour window on the day before, in order to make weight. You can also only cut a maximum of 4% in that time. If you still can't make weight, you can way in on the day, 8 hours before fight time. We knew we would be OK.
We got to Salford Fight Factory for the weigh in, around 12:20. Tommo hit the scales and was 70.2k. 200 grams over, which we were happy to lose, but actually there is usually a 1 pound allowance and we were within that. Darren Sherlock confirmed that Paul Hennessy of the ISKA had confirmed the allowance meant 70.5k, so we are sorted! Darren also stated that he checked the weight as Nij's coach had called on Friday night, wanting to confirm. Nij was 2k over and a little worried about weight. When Nij turned up, he weighed in at 71.4k 1.4k over the weight and 900grams over any possible allowance. But no problem, he had 2 hours to cut and a sauna near by. I've been with fighters who have cut this and more in far less time, so we weren't worried. Nij and crew headed to the sauna. around an hour or so later they returned and Nij stepped on the scales. 71k... still 1k over, after only loosing 400g. I confirmed that he would still have to loose the weight for the fight to happen and he still had 45mins to do that. To my surprise Nij and his team promptly refused to cut any more weight and Nij grabbed a bottle of gatoraid and started guzzling fluids. I'm a little in shock at this point as Nij still has 45mins to cut weight and won't even try. He's given up and failed to meet weight.... actually, he hasn't fully tried... 45mins are still left! I discussed with Tommo and advise him not to take the fight. There are some discussions with the promoter and during this time Nij approaches Tommo directly to ask him "Are we fighting or what?", which considering Nij's refusal to make weight, is pretty disrespectful. I confirm with the promoter and the fight is off.
They're the facts. With 45mins left on the clock and a back up weigh in 24hours later, Nij Wright opted to stop trying to cut weight. End of story.
You can make up your own mind about the situation, argue about "a few hundred grams", etc, but the fact remains that Nij didn't hit weight, didn't fully try and gave up. That was hugely unprofessional and disrespectful to his opponent, Team Colosseum and the promoter. After Sam SMASHED his team mate to pieces, Team Elite might start getting some bad blood with Team Colosseum. We could rise to that, but to be honest... we don't deal with unprofessional people. I could never match a fighter against a Team Warriors Elite fighter, as I don't believe they will make weight. It would be a waste of time for all involved!
Raises the question of what a professional is... it's not just a set of rules, it's an attitude... it's behaviour... it's credibility. To be a professional you have to do everything you do to the highest standard you can, regardless of how you feel on that day. You can't be right every time, but if you are wrong, be accountable. For a fighter, that means hitting weight. if you can't do that, say you can't do that and except the responsibility. If you can't do this... don't masquerade as a professional... you are an amateur with delusions of professionalism!
Until next time
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
5th October05 Oct 2009 5:50PMHello again.
I thought I best get a blog done before Del puts a contract on my head!
It's been an odd few weeks, I appear to been very busy with lots of things, so no time to myself to get my stuff done... like blog! Usual format for this week, however, next time around one section is going to drop... for obvious reasons!
M1 Team England
Most of you know by now, but the ride is over. After a year of M-1, Team England have unfortunately not made it to the finals. It's really disappointing, would of been great to get to the final two, but let's not forget what a huge achievement it has been. England's first year in M-1 and we won our division and made it to the semi's. Awesome! I am so proud of all the team and their achievements. Going into the finals now will be Russian Legion and USA East (... Brasil North). That will be an awesome match up and very difficult to call. A real East v West night of action... like Rocky 4! For the moment, it's going to be a little down time, before considering plans for 2010. There are some format changes hinted at, so no one knows what next year will hold. If all goes well and we put another team in place, I believe the plan will be to hold try outs (maybe a 2-3 up and down the country?) and pick a squad of 20-30 fights. From that squad we can pick the best five fighters for each team we face. Nothing is set in stone, but if you want to be on the team, start focusing on some try outs around January!
Team Colosseum
Alongside Matt's loss to heel hook in Russia, Team Colosseum have completed the set with a draw and a win at AMMA. AMMA is Marc Goddard's amateur show in the Midlands. The smart people will know Marc from his fighting career and currently from his many appearances as referee on a number of high profile shows. He runs a tight ship at AMMA, its a professionally run show...... better than some we have worked with! On the last AMMA we had Ste Lane making his debut, Awesome performance that saw Ste get a 1st round submission win. Big things ahead for Ste! Also on the show was Sam Fergusson, debuting at WW after a few fights at middle. Sam got a draw for his troubles, but put on a superb performance, which many people have said he should of won. Sam is fighting on Ikon Fight, along with Steve Hazeldine and Chris Thompson.
The team has also started working with a new Strength and conditioning coach, Phil Marsden. Phil is working with Chris Thompson and Sam Fergusson to advise them on a number of areas in their training. Phil himself has had a successful career in Rugby and current works with Leigh Rugby team as well as holding the JC Santana MMA-CSCC qualification, specifically for Mixed Martial Arts. We are expecting some big results. Phil is keen to work with other fighters, so feel free to contact him directly - Philmarsden4@hotmail.co.uk and mobile number is 07951427322
MMA noise
What's getting my gripe at the moment is the number of shows that profess to be 'professional' shows, but are leagues away from being so. One of the downsides of a sport like MMA growing is that it attracts people keen to make some money on the back of it. Nothing wrong with making money, but often these promoters (and coaches, etc) don't have a solid understanding or grounding in the sport or even in the area they are working with. Once you get past the promoter themselves, many of whom are self-righteous and arrogant before you have even started, you start having to deal with the pitfalls of an unregulated sport. Without a governing body in the UK, promoters have free reign to use any rules set they desire, any pay structure the feel warranted and any number of other things. Over the last few months I have had to deal with a number of things:
- A promoter who couldn't understand that for me to have 3 fighters on a show 250 miles from home, with a day before weigh in, we would need more than one hotel room! Also, a ticket deal isn't really going to be a worthwhile payment method for someone fighting that far away from his fan base!
- A promoter that didn't see an issue with fighters weighing in at different times, on different scales and even in different venues!
- A promoter that expected fighters to be exactly on weight and then put fighters in a hotel with no sauna or gym facilities or even close to any similar facilities!
- A judge who handed me a score card for a fight that had been won in the 3rd round by submission.... his score card had no result for round 2 and he didn't even remember there being a round two
- The same judge involved n a conversation with a crowd member in between rounds of a fight he was judging. The crowd member was a team mate of one of the guys fighting!
- A judge seeking my advice after a round, "How do you score that round"!!!
That's just a taste of what's out there. Anyone new to the sport, looking to get involved should take the time to at least understand the sport that they are getting involved in. What is expected of them in the job they are doing. With the absence of a governing body, we are self regulated. It carries responsibilities for the whole of UK MMA so everyone has to take their responsibilities seriously. What ever your job in MMA, promoter, ref, judge, etc. Do it to the best of your capabilities, be above reproach and be professional. One day we may be under the microscope and it will be these individual performances that will demonstrate how professional the sport is!
I am going to sign of with a shameless plug..
.. alongside my coaching duties at Colosseum and M-1 Team England, I am also involved if judging for a number of shows (OMMAC is my regular haunt) and commentating at a number of shows (inc Cage Warriors, Champions and Strike & Submit).. which I do with my partner in crime, Ian "Beverley Hills" Butlin. If you are in need of a judge or commentator with a professional attitude, get in contact. aaronchatfield@hotmail.co.uk
Until next time
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
Guess who's back!21 Sep 2009 12:47AMThe problem with holidays is you spend months looking forward to them, then you have the stress of going on holiday, it takes a week to de-stress and then your on your way back! After 1 day back at work, it's like you have never been at all!
I've been back fro 5 days, so this is likely to be a short blog.... here goes!
M1 Team England
OK, less than a week to go until the M-1 Challenge Semi-Finals. Wow, that's come quick. There's been the usual opponent changes, which have become common practice with the M-1 promotion, but apart from that things have run smoothly. Oh hold on, there's the visas! People don't realise some of the things that have to be sorted for a fighters when they are fighting international. You can't just jump on a plane and fight. These are professional fights and therefore you have to have working visas. They can be tough and time consuming and as it stands right now, the only fighter I know who actually has a visa is Matt Thorpe. Hopefully the rest will get sorted this week... or he is in for a busy night! You have probably heard the team for the semi's already, but just in case... it's Scott Hewitt, Si Phillips, Matt Thorpe, new boy Lee Austin and the big guy, Robbie Broughton. It's a winning team and we are confident that the results will go our way and we will be heading to the finals!
Team Colosseum
Good to be back at the Colosseum this week....man it's busy. We have picked up a lot of new faces recently, as well as some of the old guard such as Widge Milward, Steve Hazeldine and Andy Parkinson. Andy has been with us for quite some time now and has an excellent record in AM MMA. He is one of the toughest guys in the gym. Strong and taut, the guy will go toe to toe with anyone. He is on a hiatus from fighting at present... maybe reading this will encourage him to make a return, cause I think he could have a solid career if he focused on it! Most of the focus on the guys that are fighting soon, as we have a big few weeks ahead of us. On Saturday, whilst Matt is in Russia, the team will be in Birmingham for AMMA. On that show is Sam Fergsson and Ste Lane. Fast forward to October 11th and we have a team of grappler's heading to the Ground Control competition, followed by some action at Fight Ikon in Bolton, where we have Sam fighting again, accompanied by Steve Hazeldine and Chris Thompson. I am also going to be joined by my good friend Ian "Beverley Hills" Butlin, as we are commentating for the evening. Ian and I have also got a few other commenting gigs coming up and if you want to take advantage of our services, drop either of us a line!
MMA noise
OK, the main big news is the arrival of Paul Daley in the UFC. Something he has probably deserved for a long time. He was facing Martin Kampmann, which could of been a tough fight. I had Martin in the UK fighting on King of the Cage UK, he KO'd MW veteran Brendan Seguin in R1. Since then Martin has put together a streak of solid wins. Which makes his destruction at the hands of Daley even more impressive. Paul has certainly made a statement and I'm sure Dana has some plans for him. With his team mate Dan Hardy in the same division, one wonders if there would be pressure to fight each other on the way to the title? Anyway, that's me for the week. Hopefully have some more time next week and something more to say!
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
This is what has happened this week PART 131 Aug 2009 2:48PMThat time already... man, my life is getting eaten away by writing blogs!!! This is what has happened this week...
M1 Team England
As you can imagine the current focus with Team England is training and game plan, in preparation of the up and coming semi-finals in Russia. The rumour is that Team Russian Legion will be making wholesale changes to the team that we saw against Turkey, which is very frustrating. It's typical of the way some of the teams have run themselves in the tourney. With us, it's been a case of choose a team and stick with it. The only changes we have been made have been unavoidable due to injury to other engagement. So the team we started with in Japan, Ian Butlin, Si Phillips, Matt Thorpe, Tom Blackledge and Robbie Broughton, is pretty much the team we have had through out and the team that we will take to the finals... that's the idea of a TEAM. The replacement fighters have only been for very real reasons, such as Danny Giblin (look out for him in the up and coming Total Combat MW tourney next week!) replacing Tom Blackledge in the Kansas leg. This was due to Tom being injured. Dave Keeley replaced Robbie due to Robbies fight on affliction and with Ian "Beverley Hills" Butlin now retired, Scott Hewitt is the permanent light weight fighter. Out team going into the Semi's will be Scott "Honey" Hewitt, Si "The Exeter executioner" Phillips, Matt "The mighty 12 gauge" Thorpe, Tom "Bruno" Blackledge and Robbie "The Bear" Broughton... just one change from the very first leg of our campaign. That's how it should be! Anyway... back to the prep! We aren't sure of our opponents, so focus is on our guys, not out opponents. Developing their styles to match the typical Russian style. It's challenging, although we know our guys are better skilled and have a more flexible style. As always, we are confident. The most frustrating thing has been the lack of attention from media. You would expect that Fighters Only or MMA Universe would of been on the phone, eager to interview the team heading into the semi-finals, yes?....well, no actually. It can be depressing that the guys are working hard, but don't appear to be getting the coverage or respect they deserve. Hopefully when we are through to the finals all that will change. Team England DESERVE the support of the media and the UK fans base... COME ON ENGLAND, COME ON ENGLAND!
Team Colosseum
The Team Colosseum diary is filling up nicely, we currently have 5 fighters training for a total of 6 fights. It's great when this happens as it gives each session a real focus and livens it up. Every fighter eager to give it their all in training. This can also help the guys who aren't fighting, who get a glimpse of what it takes to be a fighter... well, a small fraction of what it takes. We've also picked up a number of new guys recently, which is awesome. A couple of them have got some real fire in the belly and can be a handful. One guy has been training for about 6-7 months and has bags of potential, a real firecracker.... I'm crap with names though... so I'll tell you his name next time.
Let's talk about the fighters who are training for fights.... in no particular order. Sam Fergusson. Wow! Sam is 19-20, just a young kid really, but over the last 12 months he has come on leaps and bounds. His record isn't a reflection of his potential, he sits at 1-3, however, he isn't pro yet, so it doesn't matter. AM/SP (I hate the term Semi-pro... it's basically Amateur in this sport) is where a fighter builds experience and develops his style, so results don't matter. Pro is where it counts. I paraphrase myself when I say "Amateur is for getting in and trying, professional is for getting in and doing!" Sam is dropping to WW this time around, a good move. He is now leaner, faster and sharper, without loosing any of his power. His next fight, on AMMA, will be a barnstormer! (Sam will be fighting on the ISKA show in Bolton, October) Also on AMMA is new comer Ste Lane. Fighting at LW, Ste is a friend of Tommo's and has been with us for maybe 5-6 months. He has previous experience and is quickly becoming a valued team player. He has an awesome skills set and I have seen him troubling even some of our experienced guys. We have some things to work on, but his skills inspire confidence. After the AMMA show, we have guys on the ISKA show in Bolton, promoted by our good friend, Darren Sherlock at Salford Fight Factory. I haven't known Darren for long, probably only 2-3 months, but he is my kind of guy. A No shit merchant... just gets on with it. He also lives and breathes martial arts! Anyway, on this show we have Sam, plus two other guys. Steve Hazeldine fighting at Welter. Steve has been training for a long time in Muay Thai and MMA and actually teaches our MMA fundamentals class at Colosseum. In his last outing he submitted his opponent in the first round. Steve can be quite and he doesn't look like your typical fighter, but he is very skilled and as tough as old boots. Very deceptive. I think his opponents look at him and believe they are in for an easy night... so wrong! The final fighter I have mentioned before, Chris Thompson. Chris is a great lad, both in and out of the gym. I can't say how highly I respect the way he has bonded with the team, he really has become one of the foundations of the squad and I hope is around for many years to come. Another guy with a deceptive record. He is in exceedingly good shape, excellent on the ground and with solid power. He is another tough hombre. Would never back down in a fight and never give in. I hope to work him on the pads more for this fight (I usually get so involved with Matt's training.. sometimes it's not fair to the other fighters) and send him into his next fight with confidence.. so he comes out with a big shiny "W". I'll be commentating on the ISKA show, alongside with good friend Ian Butlin. Ian and I have commentated together a number of times before, on shows such as Champions. It works well... it's like Brains and Brawn, Beauty and the Beast... I won't say who is who though!
PART 2
This is what has happened this week PART 231 Aug 2009 2:47PMMMA noise
Let's talk about fighters growing old. It happens in lots of sports, unfortunately in combat sports it can happen over night. The level of training, the weight cutting and the impact of fighting, often means that fighters are right on the edge of blade when it comes to peak performance. The downside of that is that even the best of fighters suddenly drop off the edge. Even though they see it coming one day, fighters are rarely able to see the exact moment that they are simply "too old". It's a painful time. It hurts to realise that, even though the mind is sharp and you train hard, the body simply isn't capable of doing what is asked of it. Recently there are a few fighters that concern me, some may prove my concern unfounded, but other may have to realise that the time to stop is here. If you look at fighters like Coleman, Kerr, Ortiz, Liddell etc they are all at that stage. yet all of these guys are actively competing. This weekends UFC saw Randy Couture lose a decision against Nog. Randy is a tough guy and Nog is good... but I still find myself asking if this is the the fight where Randy turned old? I hope not, cause he is a legend in the sport. Randy has signed a new contract with the UFC, so we will see soon. The other reason that fighters have to be able to identify when it is time to quit, is that this is how the sport evolves. There are new fighters out there, looking for opportunities to show what they have got. Top shows like the UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, etc should be looking to give more new guys an opportunity to impress. It's these new guys that will be the future of the sport and pave the way for further evolution of MMA. To be honest, I don't really want to see a 'legends' studded card (well maybe as a special one off), I want to see new fighters on their way to their peak, demonstrating the sport at it's finest. Hungry, focused athletes with lots to prove. Anyway... it just noise, just my thoughts... ignore it if you want :)
I'm on a well deserved family holiday next week (I cancelled my last one to go to Kansas with M-1!), so nothing until I get back.... until then...
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
FIVE BLOODY NIL!24 Aug 2009 11:22AMI'm back!
Just about back in the swing of things after the recent trip to Holland for the final edition of the M1 regular season. Funny how even a short trip like that, takes it out of you. Something about flying (even for an hour or so) tires you out. It took three days to feel normal again! lol, look at me moaning about travelling the world in the name of MMA!!! God, I am a very lucky person to be in the position I am... and very thankful. This year alone I have been to Japan, USA and Holland, with Russia coming up and potentially another USA... awesome! Anyway, enough chit chatting..on with the updates!
M1 Team England
Er..... FIVE BLOODY NIL!
Just in case you have been in a cave for the last week or so... I said CAVE, not cage... I hope some of you have been in a cage! Team England put on an awesome performance in Holland, destroying Team Spain five nil and sealing a spot in the semi-finals in September. I have to say a massive well done to the whole team, especially Scott Hewitt and Dave Keeley, neither of who have a lot of experience, but delivered like true pros on the days. I want to quickly cover the M1 season this year. It's the first season that England have had a team in the event, so I'm not sure what anyone expected, results wise. The first match up we had was against Team Japan, in Japan. It was a huge ask, but the team went out and performed incredibly, pulling a 4-1 victory and getting the attention of the other teams in the challenge, as well as the promoters. In fact, we really hit it off with the M1 people, especially the US guys, Cory, David, Sam, etc. The team was on a high heading into the second match up against Team France. Another long flight, this time to Kansas. Looking back, something didn't feel right about this trip and sure enough, the results reflected that. After a bad start with Ian Butlin getting KO'd quick, we followed with loss after loss until Robbie Broughton stopped the rot... unfortunately to late and we went down 1-4. It was devastating. On the good side, Robbie's performance got him a place on Affliction Trilogy! With a little time off before the next fight, we had to rebuild the team moral. Unfortunately, not before another blow. After consulting a dentist and doctor, Ian Bultin was advised to retire from fighting, meaning we had to find a new lightweight. To add to that, the 30 day rule meant that we would not be able to have Robbie on the team. We were hurting! Dave B and I discussed options and decided to replace Robbie's spot with 6'10" Dave "Iron Giant" Keeley and Dave's fighter, Scott "Honey" Hewitt, stepped in at LW. The team trained hard and the 5-0 victory is now, as the say, history. So what's next? Team Russian Legion, that's what. Luckily we watched them fight in Holland, where they put on a great performance. Typical Russian, they are tough and mean, excellent greco skills and their LW and WW put in superb performances. That doesn't scare us. We have better rounded fighters and we know we can beat this team and get to the finals. This time around we don't need a 5-0 win, 3-2 will secure our place... of course, you know us by now....our prediction? WE PREDICT PAIN!... ok, we predict five nil! :)
On the other bracket, USA East v USA West? I'm confident that USA West will secure a dominating victory and go through to the finals. USA West are a great bunch of lads. We got on well with them in Japan... the last words we said to them when we left Japan?... "See you guys in the finals!"... looks like we are only 5 fights away from that!
Before moving on, I just want to thank the Team Sponsors... we couldn't do it without them!
http://cagedsteel.com/main.php
http://www.sci-mentor.com/
http://www.fightshop.com/
http://www.chokeoutpoker.net/index.php
Team Colosseum
The focus on M1 recently has meant that I haven't had a lot to say about Team Colosseum, which is a shame, cause we have a good bunch of lads and a growing fight team. Hopefully some future champs in the next 3-4 years. I've been trying to get a few fights organised and have some match ups in the diary. At the end of September we have AMMA, a great amateur show. On this edition we have regular, Sam Fergusson. Sam is 1-3 at Am/SP, all at MW. To be honest, Middle weight was always to big for him and he has now got his weight down to Welter Weight. At u77k I expect to see fireworks. Sam has a bang and a half on him and has worked his grappling hard. I predict a big win for Sam this time and the start of a streak of WW wins in the coming months. We also have a new guy, Ste Lane on the show. Ste us a mate of Tommo's and is an excellent prospect. This will be his debut, so not sure what we will see until the day, but I am confident. At the same time Matt will be in Russia fighting for Team England. Unfortunately I won't be at either, as I have tickets for a music festival... METAL FEST!!! It's not very often that I miss guys fights, but I have the tickets and sometimes you have to look after yourself first :)
After the AMMA show, we have a new show in Bolton, which is run by Darren Sherlock from Slaford Fight factory. This will be a return from one of my favourite guys on the team. Chris Thompson has trained hard in the past and unfortunately the victories haven't been forthcoming, however, I strongly believe that he has all the skills he needs and the work ethic. if he can stick to his game plan and take his time, we will be rewarded with a great victory!
We've also got other shows and Ground Control 6.0 coming up. I hope to see more fighters out there, as we re-build the Colosseum brand.
MMA noise
Not got a lot to talk about here, simply because it's all been M1 for me. The only things that really grabbed my attention was the strikeforce results. Mousasi v Babalu... round of applause, please! I had Gegard down as winning this, thought that he had a style that may cause Renato some problems, but didn't realise how dominating the finish would be... are we seeing a rising star? Speaking of dominating.... Cyborg is here! The way she destroyed Carano was incredible. Great to see Carano actually make weight too. This is Carano's first loss, so I am keen to see how she bounces back, but more importantly I am interested to see where Santos can go. Here only loss was at the start of her career, since then she has pounded her way to 8 straight wins. if she was a bloke, she would be tipped for UFC champion, but she's not and the options are limited. There are no high profile titles for women and even worse than that, there simply isn't viable competition out there. With Carano despatched, who next for Cyborg? Kobold? Evinger... maybe UK's only Rosi Sexton? With so few viable opponents, especially in any clearly defined weight catagory, can any female fighter truly achieve their full potential?
What's the answer to that? Attract more female fighters? Wider weight categories? Mixed-sex fights? It would be a great shame to see the genuinely talented female fighters go untested and unfulfilled....
Thats your lot for this week...
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
MMA Noise04 Aug 2009 6:13PMWelcome to the blog again... I can't believe how quickly it comes around!
Let's crack on!
M1 Team England
I've had to laugh this week. After all the hassle and turmoil of getting a team together, what with injuries, fighters fighting on other shows and not being able to fight for the team, etc, etc, it's really disappointing to see people complaining about the team picks. It's been tough getting a team together, surprising how many people don't want to be involved, we knew not everyone would be happy with the choices (most people want their team mates on the team!), but we are confident we have a good team... a winning team. Next year we hope to have a Team GB and to give more people an opportunity to be on the squad and maybe fight for their country, so hopefully the people who aren't happy with who's fighting for us in September, will be happier in the new year. I still doubt we will be choosing any fighters that have been active for nearly a year though!
Anyway, apart from that little bit of negativity from some people, things are going well. The Saturday fighters sessions are packed at the moment, Tom Blackledge, Rob Broughton, Danny Giblin, Matt Thorpe, Scott Hewitt, Rosi Sexton and host of others, have all been down to further their own training and lend support to their country. it's been really valuable. I've managed to get some Thai pad work in with Tom Blackledge, which was excellent... for someone with such great grappling, he has great striking. One of the bes LHW's around and someone we have 100% confidence in securing a win in Holland. The rest of the team is also looking sharp. Matt Thorpe has done a lot of grappling on the run up to this fight, training at Manchester BJJ with BJJ Black Belt, Steve Campbell and his students, whilst continuing with his striking. I'd argue he is the best MW striker in UK MMA. Scott Hewitt, our new LW representative, is a huge undiscovered talent. He is going to shock a lot of people. Skilled in all areas and with incredible cardio, he's going to make waves on the 15th August. Speaking of cardio, we have no had Dave Keeley for the last week, Jesus this guy is fit! I've never seen a HW with such cardio, he never tires. Round upon round of hard padwork with Andy, followed by grappling, wrestling, etc with Tom, Rob and the team, the guy just keeps going!
We are now just two weeks away from fight night, less actually, so the final prep is taking place. Hopefully, I can get some 'live' updates on MMA Hit Pit from Holland. We fly out on 13th August, so now is the time to be wishing the fighters good luck!
Team Colosseum
Again, it's been quiet on the Colosseum front. Most of the guys are fighting late Sept, early Oct, so it's all about skills at the moment, no hard sparring or anything. We should have guys fighting on AMMA, the top amateur show promoted by Marc Goddard and a new show show in Bolton, Rumble at the Reebok, promoted by Salford Fight Factory coach, Darren Sherlock. Rumble at the Reebok has been a thai boxing show in the past, I believe this is the first time it will feature MMA bouts. So that's good news!
MMA noise
I guess the main news this week is the continuing UFC sagas. Over the last week there has been lots of talk about Dana's attempts to get Fedor into the UFC. I don't get it tbh. I know Fedor has some great wins under his belt and having met him, he scared me shitless, but doesn't he need the UFC more than the UFC need him? Fedor is regarded as the top HW in the world, but aren't you as good as your last fight? Which in Fedor's case was a KO win over the every 'chinny' Andrei Arlovski. Before that, Fedor's wins include Tim Sylvia, Choi and Matt Linland... who is a middle weight. When was the last time Fedor fought at true world class opponent? If Fedor is to be truly recognised as the best HW out there, then he needs to be facing the top heavyweights... he's only going to do that in Dana's back yard. I do hope it happens though... Lesnar v Fedor could be an amazing test for both fighters!
Also from the UFC was the announcement that Tito is back! Tito used to be the big ticket draw at the UFC and I must admit to liking hi at his peak. His old, 'slam 'em and smash 'em' style was awesome to watch. The he learnt how to box and it all went downhill. Part of me thinks that when Tito learnt striking himself, he also learnt how dangerous it could be and developed a fear for it. I hope the time off has done him well, he's had time to heal and can make a return to his old ways.. I for one will be tuning in to see it, but I hope I am not just being nostalgic, cause I feel for that one with Tyson... a few times!
Anyway, I am done for a week.... so have fun and train hard!
Chin down, hands up
Aaron
M-1 Team update part 126 Jul 2009 5:52PMWell here we go again... you would be surprised how fast Sunday appears to come around. It's been in interesting week, lots have happened with M1.... been quiet on the Colosseum front though.
Let's kick off...
M1 Team England
Ok, over the last few weeks the biggest challenge has been sorting the team out for 15h August. For some time we have known that Ian Butlin wasn't going to be representing the team this time around. After the Mahktar fight, Ian had some X-rays and discovered that he has 5.. yes FIVE, fractures in his jaw. Non of these were a result of the fight in Kansas, but are the result of fights in the past.. some in the cage... some maybe not :)
The result is that he was advised not to fight. I don't think it's any secret, but Ian has made the decision to retire from fighting. It's a great shame to see him go, but he has had a varied career and has to put his health first.... so the end of the "M16" and the start of Ian "Beverly Hills" Butlin
The result is that he was advised not to fight. I don't think it's any secret, but Ian has made the decision to retire from fighting. It's a great shame to see him go, but he has had a varied career and has to put his health first.... so the end of the "M16" and the start of Ian "Beverly Hills" Butlin
So we needed a lightweight.
We'd also lost Rob Broughton from the team, as Rob had been picked up to fight on the ill fated Affliction show in California (more about that later). So we needed a LW and a HW.
LW was quite easy. Scott Hewitt is a Team Quannum fighter, quite in-experienced, but very skilled and focused. He has been training alongside the team for a few months, so just like Danny Giblin in the past, he nosed his way on to the team. It's going to be huge for Scott, fighting on such a high profile show. Although Scott isn't new to international competition as he represented Britian in international competition a few years back. That was for his first love, Rhythmic Gymnastics. Scott Has been competing in gymnastics for main years and having a natural flair for showmanship, a slim waif-like build and a strong sense of rhythm, led Scott to the floor mat and competing for his country in rhythmic gymnastics. Scott is famous for his routine with ribbon and ball to The Weather Girls famous 80's anthem, "It's raining men". Hopefully Scott can take some of that international experience in to the ring in Holland!
The heavy weight fighter has been a bigger challenge. Although the UK has some top HW fighters, most are tied to other shows, i.e. James Thompson, Neil Grove and our own Rob Broughton . Finding a HW replacement for Rob has been challenging. Looking at the division, there are some instant names, Martin Thompson, Neil Wain, Wayne Buck and Oli Thompson. Looking at these guys, some have a great record, but are way to small for the division. Others have size on their side and are natural heavyweight, but like the experience. Others simply asked for too much or turned us down flat. We finally got the list down to two guys. Martin Thompson, a well known fighter, with dynamite in his hands and a relatively new comer, 6'10" Dave Keeley from Caged Steel. it was a tough decision, but the coaches decide that Martin was just to small for a HW, especially as we didn't know who the opponent would be. We needed someone capable of handling a big HW. So it’s a great pleasure to welcome Dave Keeley to the Team.
Yesterday, Saturday 25th July, was the first chance to see Dave in action. The fighters training session at Quannum is open to all, but we use it for M1 team training too. This Saturday, alongside Dave Keeley, coach Dave Butlin and his brother and pro boxer, Andy Butlin... oh and myself, was Team England fighters, Rob Broughton, Tom "Mr. Awesome" Blackledge, the number one UK female MMA fighter, Rosi Sexton, James "scraps" Saville and the ever graceful form of Scott "Honey" Hewitt. A great session was had, everyone working with everyone else. and sharing knowledge It was also the first time to see Dave Keely training. Mindful of his relative inexperience, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the guy impressed. Working the pads with Andy, Dave moves quick, has varied hand, good cardio and huge power. Dave moved on to some grappling with The Bear, Rob Broughton, some sprawl and brawl and further wrestling with Matt "The Mighty Twelve Gauge" Thorpe. All in all, the guy impressed.
So the team is set and ready for Team Spain on 15h August. If you can get out to Holland, grab some tickets. You can get more information from http://www.m-1global.com/ The team it's self is:
Lightweight - Scott "Honey" Hewitt
Welterweight - Si "The Exeter Exectutioner" Phillips
Middle Weight - Matt "The Mighty Twelve Gauge" Thorpe
Light Heavyweigh - Tom "Calvin Klien" Blackledge
Heavyweight - Dave "The Iron Giant" Keeley
Has the shape of a great team.... dare I say a 5-0 team?... I'm sure Ian "Beverly Hills" Butlin would agree!
The focus in the coming weeks, will be fitness and sparring, getting the guys read for war!
CLICK HERE FOR PART 2
M-1 Team update part 226 Jul 2009 5:49PMTeam Colosseum
It's been quite on the Team Colosseum front. We have now got our own sub forum on the Powerbeck gym forum, c'mon and join - http://www.powerbeckonline.co.uk/powertalksports/
We've missed Tommo for a couple of weeks, I think he was taking a little time off, after the disappointment of the cancellation of his last fight. He's back in the cage in September, so he'll be back in gym soon.
As always, we are keen for new guys to join us, so if you live in Manchester, come along!
MMA noise
Interesting week in MMA.... Great to see Chris Zorba back on point. After the disappointing demise of Cage Gladiators, Chris is back on 8th August, with his new show OMMAC, and their first show, Assassins, on 8th August at the Olympia in Liverpool. Good look Chris.
So one show starts, another one ends... almost speechless to see things unravelling last week with Affliction Trilogy. During the week we saw the loss of the headline fight between Fedor and Barnett, as Barnett failed his drug test. The promoter’s scrambled for a replacement, lots talked about including newcomer, Bobby Lashley, before the show settled with Light heavyweight, Vitor Belfort. The MMA community reacted badly to this match up, but at least the show would go on... or would it?
By the end of the week there was a sudden flurry of news and a release to state that the Affliction Trilogy show had been cancelled at the last minute. This was devastating for everyone involved, including the UK fighters Paul Daley and Rob Broughton, who were both fighting on the under card. As I went bed on Friday night, I wondered what the future held for the Affliction promotion. By the time I woke up on Saturday, it was clear what the future held... nothing! The releases overnight stated that Affliction had returned to the UFC fold patched up their differences and signed an agreement to once again be a clothing sponsor for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. What a day! So what does that mean? I guess Afflictions promotions hadn't be that well received, although I enjoyed them and actually they had the money to compete with the UFC. With Affliction not promoting, the UFC have cut down some credible competitors. What about Tapout? Well I believe that UFC own the majority of Tapout, so surely that sponsorship will continue? What about the affliction fighters? I expect some of them may get picked up by UFC... maybe even Fedor? although most are probably going to head to Strikeforce, M1 or Dream. Nothing solid about the M1 has been released, although M1 have announced their Breakthrough shows, the first taking place at the end of August... inside tip, will we see Rob Broughton on this show? Does it also mean we will get some new team T-Shirts... without the Affliction sponsorship? Who knows?
And finally, Dana White being vague about the return of Tito to the UFC. Nothing concrete, but who knows. I'm in two minds about his return. Tito used to be awesome, he used to destroy his opponents...has he still got it? I certainly don't want to see a jaded Tito being used as a stepping stone for new fighters.
Anyway, that's me done for a week. Another two blogs before we fly off to Holland with Team England. I'll try to get on line whilst in Holland, give you an update from the show....
Until next time... hands up, chin down!
Aaron
Sunday 19 Jul 2009 2:52PMSo here I sit on Sunday afternoon, absolutely knackered. I spent all last night in hospital with my little girl, with potential Swine Flu. She's home safe now, very ill, but not with piggy cold!
Anyway, what's happened this week?
Let's start with M1 Team England. Logistically this has been a nightmare at present. With the pending fights on 15th August, you would hope that we would have a team in place and ready to fight, unfortunately due to injuries, international duties, lack of reserve fighters willing to step up and fighters being restricted by athletic commissions, we still don't have 100% confirmed team. The fighters I can definitely confirm are Si Philips at WW and Matt Thorpe at MW. I'm pretty sure that Tom Blackledge will be returning at LHW and equally sure that Rob won't be fighting for us this time, due to his fight on Affliction Trilogy. LW still proves a challenge, with injuries causing us a problem... so you will have to stay tuned to this one!
We've also had a change of date, moving from 16th August to the 15th August, as part of the M! big weekend in Holland. Doesn't change a lot, but potentially takes some pressure off. We won't know what we have to achieve, we will just have to go out and do our best.
The coaches and management have also started to think about 2010. We'd like a bigger squad next year, more depth to choose from and more opportunities for domestic fighters. Maybe an X-factor style tryout day... :)
The final bit on M1 Team England.. this weekend was the Ian" The Machine" Freeman Seminar for the M1 Team. We opened this up for the public and had about 20+ guys down for the 2 day seminar. Day 1 was offence and covered a chain of techniques from wrestling, through to a submission finish. The detail was incredible and I know everyone came away learning something. Day two was defence. If you are after a proper MMA seminar, then Ian is the guy to turn to; he will not fail to deliver!
Leaving M1 behind for the moment, Team Colosseum has been quiet this week. Matt is obviously training for M1, but apart from that no one is training for a fight, so the training is revolving around technical sessions and Matt's sparing. Matt and I have also been at BJJ, where we covered some techniques from taking the back. It was damned hot on Tuesday and I think I suffered from a bit of dehydration!
Before I sign off for a week, I'd like to pick up on a hit topic from the Cagewarriors forum. We've recently seen hot prospect, James Saville, fighting for our friends at Caged Steel, facing off against Dave Elliot, experienced BJJ Blackbelt and MMA fighter. From day one I've said this was not a good example of matchmaking and I still stand by that. For those that don't know the result... STOP READING!.... Saville won in the first round. A great result and brings James' record to 1-1-0. The kid has a huge future in front of him, he really does! It still doesn't change the matchmaking in the first place. Dave Elliot is a veteran of the scene with over 20 Pro MMA fighters, before the fight Saville was 0-1. Anyone can argue that James won, so it was a good match, but really... should a guy with a 1 fight record be facing a guy with over 20 fights? What does that say about our sport? Does it present it as a professional and well run sport, where fighters of equal ability face off in competitive combat or does it say that anyone can be matched against anyone and either of those fighters could win? The later doesn't sound like an enjoyable sport, in fact, it could be replaced by the toss of a coin!
Anyway, that's it for a week. Hope you have enjoyed reading my blog, if you agree with my views, great... if you don't, great... debate breeds evolution!
Aaron
First Blog15 Jul 2009 5:17PMRight, this is my first Blog post and you lot are way behind on what’s been happening, so I'm going to do an update of 2009.... Pay attention as there is likely to be a test at some point!
It's in no particular order... I am way to punch drunk to put things in a chronological order!
M1 Challenge Team England
Well we put a team together, Ian Butlin, Si Philips, Matt Thorpe, Tom Blackledge and Rob Broughton. We trained together a few times, went to Japan and smashed Team Japan to pieces! Superb, That's was my birthday too... Rampage came over to support "Pretty Boy" Blackledge, so we went out partying with the team and Rampage. Best night of my life.
Tom's get's injured and can't fight in Kansas, Team has Danny Giblin in his place. Kansas was an awesome trip, maybe we got to complacent, cause France handed us our asses on a silver platter... with some garlic butter and a glass of wine! Only Robbie saved face, we beat their guy by intimidation! When we come back there's a lot of concern over the loss, it's screwed up the points and meant that the face off with Spain is a must win situation.
Picked up some great sponsors for the Team. Caged Steel, who are supplying all the clothing. They have been cool, Jamie Thwaites worked his nuts off for the team. Sci-Mentor nutrition. They sponsor the Warrior Promotions guys, so by proxy Team England. Richard and the guys have been great. Finally Simon Crowther at www.fightshop.com has sponsored us with loads of Sandee gear... cool!
Next fight is 15th August, against Team Spain. We've lost Robbie, cause he is fighting on Affliction Trilogy.. go on! Ian Butlin has a broken jaw... in several places, so he needs replacing too. Problem is, not many fighters have made themselves available for the team, so not many to choose from! Team Spain appears to be playing games. Their fighters all appear to have 2-3 names, so you never know what the record of the opponent is.
5th and 16th are the last Pool A fights, back to back. So by the end of the 16th we will know if we are going to Russia or not. Nervous times.
We've got Ian "The Machine" Freeman doing Team Training on 18th/19th July, should be awesome and great for the whole team. We are running it like a seminar, so might be some potential Team England fighters on show... who knows?
Team Colosseum
Been a busy year. We have pciked up some new guys who are keen to fight, which is awesome. Chris "Tommo" Thompson has really become part of the team, he's fought twice this year. Unfortunately both losses, but he's got the skills and he will be getting the wins soon. Matt's training hard. M1 has got him focused. He's also taking the mental training seriously, so that's great.
Widge came back for a while, had a fight. He's backed off from training again, but it would be good to get him back, he's part of the foundations of the gym. I'm supposed to be designing a new logo for the gym, but never get the time. Danny R has been on my case about it!
Next fights for the guys are AMMA in September, we should have 3-4 guys on the show.
Pyjama fighting
Yeah, I've taken up BJJ. Rolling in PJs! Spenna has leant me a gi, I look badass, like one of the fat Karate guys in Martial art Illustrated! I'm training with Steve Campbell at Manchester BJJ. Matt's coming along and the level is good. As it's been hot though, we are doing No Gi!
That's it... clearly more has happened this year, but I can't remember it all... just bring you up to speed. Next Blog will be a bit more detailed and hopefully have some inside info on M1 Team England for you.
Introduction15 Jul 2009 3:04PMAlmost 40 year old grumpy old cynic who has been involved in martial arts non-stop for 18 years or so. Starting out in boxing and Muay Thai, I competed. poorly, built up a fairly poor record and then started getting interested in refing, judging and coaching. Eventually got graded to red grade in Muay Thai and was instructing the beginner’s class at Naresuan Muay Thai in Stockport, Cheshire. Got licensed for as a referee and Judge for Muay Thai under the BTBC.... hated refing... to much to do... like juggling jelly and focused on judging.
Around 1999, started wondering if that UFC stuff was still going, I remember watching it back in 1993. Looked on the internet, found SFUK and found Defence Unlimited. Coached by "Kali" Phil Wright, I trained there for 6 months.. it was pretty poor and I ended up RNCing the coach.... I thought there must be better places? Defence Unlimited is where I first met Matt Thorpe
Anyway, it closed down and Phil said I should try the Colosseum Gym... which I did. I strolled in one night, trained and then got owned in sparring.... I knew nothing!
I've been at the Colosseum ever since, so about 8 years in total and have joined the coaching staff alongside Danny Rushton and Danny Wallace. Over the years I have become Matt's main coach. He still goes other places for techniques and sparring, but I basically manage his training and develop his ability, especially on striking. I think Matt is THE best striker in UK MMA... and that's all under my coaching.. I'm proud of that!
Along the way, I have judged on a number of shows, such as Cage Warriors and Cage Gladiators, refed a couple. I still hate it! Commentated on a number and promoted a couple. I promoted King of the Cage UK... lost £42,000... Love this sport.
In 2009 I got the pleasure of getting involved with the M1 Team England, which has been a rollercoaster... but great fun and a career pinnacle for me.
Hoping that 2009/2010 bring more success for Team England, we continue with it in 2010
I have also written a few articles for MMA Unlimited
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