With three of our amateur MMA fighters in the cage for title fights on Path to Hex 9, it was sure to be a night of action for the Absolute MMA team! Up first for the team was Lisa “Savage” Kyriacou in a greatly anticipated rematch against Courtney Martin (Mach 1), who Lisa had previously sustained a loss against on Eternal MMA 37 in September 2018. Lisa controlled the striking well, and displayed solid defence, reversing her opponents takedowns to move on top. She put up a great performance which lasted the full five rounds, however unfortunately sustained a loss via split points decision when the fight went to the judges scorecards. It is great to see how much Lisa has improved her fight game, massive respect to her for stepping back into the cage for the rematch against an undefeated opponent. Well done Lisa! We look forward to seeing you back in the cage for Eternal MMA in three weeks time.
Second up for the team was Sem Kakembo, against opponent Pece Naumovski (Emerge MMA) for the Path to Hex Featherweight Championship. Sem largely controlled the striking, landing heavy hits and punching through the guard of his opponent. Showing good skills, speed and power in his strikes throughout all five rounds and setting the pace, the bout was conducted primarily via stand up. Sem came close to the knock out a couple of times however his opponent held on, with the bout going the distance for Sem to win via split decision! A very well-deserved victory for Sem, congratulations!
The main event rolled around, with our very own Rob Pelle stepping up against Jean Alexander (Kimekai MMA) in a bout for the Path to Hex Bantamweight Championship. In the opening minutes of the first round, Rob evaded a guillotine from his opponent, continuing to press forward in an attempt to secure a takedown, but unfortunately got caught in a second guillotine setup and submitted. A hard day in the office, but you win or you learn and Rob will be back stronger for the experience. Thank you to all the team members and coaches who came down to support the team at Path to Hex 9!
On Sunday, 5th of May, our boxing team members Aniera, Pin and Ben, coached by Pradeep “The Indian Warrior” Sihag went to compete at the Bowman Cup (Boxing Victoria Inc.) at the Italian Social Club in Altona North. Making the transition from interclubs to the amateur level, the team competed in a 3 round x 2 minute format. A day of learning for the team, who sustained three losses across the board, however we are proud of them for stepping up to the next level and challenging themselves. Thank you to everyone who came down to support the crew, and to Coach Pradeep Sihag for cornering!
Overseas in Sao Paulo (Brazil) at the IBJJF Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2019, Head Coach Thiago Stefanutti went to war on the mats! In his first match, he fought from top half guard, displaying the pressure that we all know so well, and after passing he ended up winning a points victory. Amazing work by Thiago! In his second match, he fought hard from the closed guard, inverted for a knee bar which he couldn’t quite finish, ending in 50/50 guard. His opponent did a good job of defending, and ended up winning the fight by advantage. Safe travels Thiago! We are all missing you back home, but are inspired by your work on the mats in Brazil. Thank you for being such a great example for the team!
Photography: W.L Fight Photography, Pradeep Singh Sihag and Thiago Stefanutti.