It was a big night for our Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai teams last Friday with Ultimate Legends IX kicking off in Sunshine at the Westend Market Hotel, and the much anticipated Hex Fight Series 18 at Melbourne Pavilion.
Coach Darren Gn was up first for the team, facing an undefeated home favourite on home ground from Ultimate Muay Thai. In a 3 round match under K1 rules, Darren was composed throughout, and very clearly calm in the ring. Using his range and reach well, Darren dominated the fight from the opening round, piling on the low kicks and body rips! Coach Laos Toohey and Albert Xavier both noted that Darren listened well to them in the corner, utilized his footwork to great effect and remained level-headed. Congratulations to Darren on taking away a well-deserved win via unanimous decision and on a great performance, it is clear how much work Darren has put into his fight game in recent weeks, and we would like to highlight that his technical skill truly is on another level! He has done his friends, family, team mates and coach very proud.
As the main event for the evening, Albert “Timorese Assassin” Xavier stepped up against opponent Abbas “Golden Boy” Ahmadi, a long time veteran and former world champion with over 120 fights in a title match for the Welterweight Commonwealth title. In a 5 round bout with full Thai rules, Albert confidentally fought a clean and technical battle, making use of the push kick to keep his opponent at bay, and consistently landing combinations. He stuck to the game plan, scoring three takedowns, rocking his opponent and catching him off balance with his cross and hook on numerous occasions through out the fight. Great to see Albert using his swift, clean boxing combinations to get the better of Abbas, who is known for his strong kicks. In the later rounds, both fighters picked up the intensity, however the match ended up going Alby’s way. A well deserved win via SPD for Albert and we’d like to congratulate him on his shiny new title belt! Champion!
Great night for the Muay Thai team with two wins, thank you to everyone who made the trek down to Sunshine to support the boys, and of course a huge thank you to Coach Laos Toohey and Anthony Trejo for their hard work and support in the corner. It was great to see so many faces in the crowd from the gym!
Meanwhile, back towards central Melbourne at the heritage listed Melbourne Pavilion, one of the most anticipated events for our MMA team, Hex Fight Series 18 was also underway! It was a three man show for the team, with Coaches Kevin Jousset and Kaan Ofli, and sambo practitioner Bekhzod Usmonov set to jump into the fray. New to the team and all the way from Tajikistan after training in Thailand, Bek was keen to prove himself to an Australian audience in the cage.
Up against opponent Michael Barber, in the first and second rounds, Bek dominated with his wrestling skills, scoring a lot of takedowns and landing strikes. As the fight progressed into the third round, the high energy output of the earlier rounds left Bek with little in the tank for the last round, his opponent aggressively putting on the pressure through sharp strikes. It was a close fight, with the judges ultimately scoring in favour to Bek’s opponent, resulting in a loss for Bek via UPD. Job well done to Bek who took the fight on short notice, not the result we wanted, but he’ll be back in the cage soon and stronger for the experience!
Next up for the team in the cage saw Coach Kevin “Monster” Jousset make his professional MMA debut against opponent Sam McNally. Wasting no time, Kevin landed heavy strikes after the opening bell of the first round, dropping McNally, who to his credit soldiered on, getting to his feet to throw a body kick at Kevin. Kevin aggressively took control of the fight, finishing off his opponent with his striking skills, with the referee stepping in to put a stop to the onslaught. Hats off to McNally who got up in a situation where not a lot of people would have, and of course massive congratulations to Kevin on a great start to his professional career! This marks Kevin’s FIFTH fight in a row where he has secured a win in the first round via knockout.
Coach “Genghis” Kaan Ofli closed up for the Absolute team at Hex for the night, matched up against opponent Scott “Mad Dog” Macgregor. With both fighters known to finish fights before the final round, this was always going to be an explosive match! The fight opened with a few exchanges between the two on the feet, with Macgregor shooting eventually for a takedown. Kaan countered with a front head lock, using it to get back to his feet. Wrestling his opponent against the cage and showing great control, Kaan took him down quickly to work to the back and sink in a RNC for the win! A great performance from Kaan, who secured the submission just one minute into his bout. This brings Kaan to an impressive win streak of THREE in a row. What a weapon! We look forward to seeing you back in the cage again soon.
To finish up the weekend for the team on Sunday, Tina Trinh and Tim Baker, our in house Melbourne CBD power couple went to throw down on Slap Jiu Jitsu 3 (Combat Jiu-Jitsu) in Hobart. This is a promotion created by All Styles Grappling. Tim finished his match within the first two minutes on the mats, after a throw from his opponent Tim transitioned from the bottom to secure a knee bar for the win. Slick performance from Tim, a very well-deserved win!
It was a hard slog for Tina against opponent Claudia Gulino, and after over 11 minutes of aggressive back and forth on the mats, it went to overtime. Great work from Tina who has been training hard and working on her grappling, she showed great control in the match and was declared the winner via EBI overtime. Congratulations to Tina!
Written by Emilie Yap. Photography: TV Fight Photos, Emilie Yap, W.L Fight Photography and Fiona Gumboots.
As the main event for the evening, Albert “Timorese Assassin” Xavier stepped up against opponent Abbas “Golden Boy” Ahmadi, a long time veteran and former world champion with over 120 fights in a title match for the Welterweight Commonwealth title. In a 5 round bout with full Thai rules, Albert confidentally fought a clean and technical battle, making use of the push kick to keep his opponent at bay, and consistently landing combinations. He stuck to the game plan, scoring three takedowns, rocking his opponent and catching him off balance with his cross and hook on numerous occasions through out the fight. Great to see Albert using his swift, clean boxing combinations to get the better of Abbas, who is known for his strong kicks. In the later rounds, both fighters picked up the intensity, however the match ended up going Alby’s way. A well deserved win via SPD for Albert and we’d like to congratulate him on his shiny new title belt! Champion!
Great night for the Muay Thai team with two wins, thank you to everyone who made the trek down to Sunshine to support the boys, and of course a huge thank you to Coach Laos Toohey and Anthony Trejo for their hard work and support in the corner. It was great to see so many faces in the crowd from the gym!
Meanwhile, back towards central Melbourne at the heritage listed Melbourne Pavilion, one of the most anticipated events for our MMA team, Hex Fight Series 18 was also underway! It was a three man show for the team, with Coaches Kevin Jousset and Kaan Ofli, and sambo practitioner Bekhzod Usmonov set to jump into the fray. New to the team and all the way from Tajikistan after training in Thailand, Bek was keen to prove himself to an Australian audience in the cage.
Up against opponent Michael Barber, in the first and second rounds, Bek dominated with his wrestling skills, scoring a lot of takedowns and landing strikes. As the fight progressed into the third round, the high energy output of the earlier rounds left Bek with little in the tank for the last round, his opponent aggressively putting on the pressure through sharp strikes. It was a close fight, with the judges ultimately scoring in favour to Bek’s opponent, resulting in a loss for Bek via UPD. Job well done to Bek who took the fight on short notice, not the result we wanted, but he’ll be back in the cage soon and stronger for the experience!
Next up for the team in the cage saw Coach Kevin “Monster” Jousset make his professional MMA debut against opponent Sam McNally. Wasting no time, Kevin landed heavy strikes after the opening bell of the first round, dropping McNally, who to his credit soldiered on, getting to his feet to throw a body kick at Kevin. Kevin aggressively took control of the fight, finishing off his opponent with his striking skills, with the referee stepping in to put a stop to the onslaught. Hats off to McNally who got up in a situation where not a lot of people would have, and of course massive congratulations to Kevin on a great start to his professional career! This marks Kevin’s FIFTH fight in a row where he has secured a win in the first round via knockout.
Coach “Genghis” Kaan Ofli closed up for the Absolute team at Hex for the night, matched up against opponent Scott “Mad Dog” Macgregor. With both fighters known to finish fights before the final round, this was always going to be an explosive match! The fight opened with a few exchanges between the two on the feet, with Macgregor shooting eventually for a takedown. Kaan countered with a front head lock, using it to get back to his feet. Wrestling his opponent against the cage and showing great control, Kaan took him down quickly to work to the back and sink in a RNC for the win! A great performance from Kaan, who secured the submission just one minute into his bout. This brings Kaan to an impressive win streak of THREE in a row. What a weapon! We look forward to seeing you back in the cage again soon.
To finish up the weekend for the team on Sunday, Tina Trinh and Tim Baker, our in house Melbourne CBD power couple went to throw down on Slap Jiu Jitsu 3 (Combat Jiu-Jitsu) in Hobart. This is a promotion created by All Styles Grappling. Tim finished his match within the first two minutes on the mats, after a throw from his opponent Tim transitioned from the bottom to secure a knee bar for the win. Slick performance from Tim, a very well-deserved win!
It was a hard slog for Tina against opponent Claudia Gulino, and after over 11 minutes of aggressive back and forth on the mats, it went to overtime. Great work from Tina who has been training hard and working on her grappling, she showed great control in the match and was declared the winner via EBI overtime. Congratulations to Tina!
Written by Emilie Yap. Photography: TV Fight Photos, Emilie Yap, W.L Fight Photography and Fiona Gumboots.