Our Mixed Martial Arts fight team kicked off the weekend for the crew on Friday, with Sem Kakembo and Will Toumbos representing in the octagon at Wollongong Wars MMA 7. First up was Will who had a very good first round, catching a body kick to take down his opponent with a counter right hand. Will controlled the round in a dominant performance, letting up his opponent to slam him. Unfortunately in the second round, there wasn’t enough energy left in the tank, with Will receiving a body shot and being unable to continue. Not the result he wanted, however Will definitely has all the tools to win in the future, and we look forward to seeing him get in there once again!
Sem Kakembo put in an excellent performance in his bout against a tough local opponent. Sem was dominating the first round, dropping his opponent with a head kick, taking him down, taking his back and chasing a RNC. In an exciting back and forth round resulting in Sem’s opponent sustaining a cut, it was close, and it could have gone either way. The second round went to Sem’s opponent, however it was definitely close. In the third round, Sem was controlled against the fence,and didn’t get the result in the end in what turned out to be a very close fight.
The Saturday saw our MMA team continue to work hard, with Danielle Steven and Bekhzod Usmonov making the journey to Tasmania for their bouts on Legion 10, with Bek headlining as main event. Danielle fought well on the night against opponent Emily Nalu in a 61kg bout, with the first and second rounds being extremely close rounds. Unfortunately, Danielle got mounted in the last minutes of the fight and sustained a loss via TKO. Lots for Danielle to take away and learn from in this bout, and we look forward to seeing her come back stronger for the experience!
Bek was fighting a very seasoned opponent in Shaun Etchell (6-1) in a 62kg bout. Bek put in a fantastic performance, and it was clear that he is much improved from his last appearance on Hex. Fighting smart, Bek managed to secure take downs and hold his position to dominate on top. He also put in a great striking display, utilising his low leg kick in the second and third rounds to dominate. A great effort by Bek against a tough opponent where he used cage control, pressure against the fence and top position to grind out a win. Congratulations to Bek!
Battleground (Amateur Fight Event) at the Doncaster Shoppingtown Hotel saw two of our team eager to prove themselves in their first Amateur Muay Thai fights. Joseph Choundary won via unanimous decision after an aggressive performance against his opponent, and Ben Arias unfortunately lost his bout via decision, despite performing well against an opponent with a significant reach advantage. Congratulations to both of you on your debut bouts at the amateur level, we look forward to what the future holds for you both in your fight careers!
Absolute MMA also had a strong contingent represent at the AGC (Australian Grappling Championships) over the weekend in Adelaide at the Arkaba Hotel. Jeremy Skinner is now the u77kg champions for the 3rd time running, and Dan Schuardt is the 77+kg champion for the second time, securing his win via triangle. Lachlan Warne put in a strong performance, but ultimately lost his Superfight against opponent Declan Moody (Adelaide Jiu Jitsu Academy) via arm bar. And a special shout out to Bradley Wiedenhofer who made it to the u77kg final, but lost to team mate Jeremy via heel hook. Congratulations to all who stepped up and competed!
Sunday saw strong performances from active competitors Bobby Sandhu and Hugh Boyd at the Central Coast Open held at the Gosford City Basketball Stadium in New South Wales. Bobby got through some tough sports to secure gold in his division and is on a great streak competitively, having just come off a win at Grappling Industries in early July. Hugh took away a double gold for his efforts, battling through six fights and achieving six submissions to secure his division and the open weight. Huge congratulations to our competitors! Amazing effort from the two of you.
We also had team members working hard locally on the Sunday, with Rob Pelle, Edward Smith, Josh Ber, Nicholas Duggan, Trenton McNee and Amir Gholizadeh all competing in wrestling at the Australia Cup, held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC). Amir and Josh both took away 1st place, with Josh in the Junior Male 74kgs, and Amir in the Senior Male Freestyle 74kgs. Well deserved team! We also had the following results from the team:
- Nicholas Duggan – 3rd in the Senior Male Freestyle 74kgs
- Edward Smith – 5th in the Senior Male Freestyle 86kgs
- Rob Pelle – 3rd in the Senior Male Freestyle 70kgs
- Trenton McNee – 5th in the Senior Male Freestyle 79kgs
Well done to everyone who competed and placed!
Photography: Laos Toohey, Sem Kakembo, Will Toumbos, Dogs of War Photography, Bobby Sandhu, Throwdown Photography
