Our grappling team proved themselves on the mat this weekend at Grappling Industries on Saturday, held at Monash Sport, Monash University in Clayton. Grappling Industries is a great competition to be a part of, and we are proud of all of our members from Collingwood, St Kilda and Melbourne CBD who competed on the day. We would like to say a huge thank you to all the friends and family who came down to support the Absolute MMA team. Irrespective of whether you took away a medal or not, we would like to congratulate you on furthering your grappling game in competition, and taking away an invaluable experience that will only move you forward in your martial arts journey!
While we are proud of all of our students that participated, we would like to draw attention to some standout performances.We had three of our white belt ladies take away amazing results on the day, with Vesper Chun taking away a gold in the gi, winning her four gi matches via submission (two armbars, two straight footlock) and a silver in no-gi after two matches (one win, one loss), Kathleen Peachy taking away a gold in her no-gi division (female, beginner, master, -150lbs) and Marielle Lee, who in her debut competition took away the gold in gi, and a silver in no-gi! These ladies have spent tireless hours on the mat in preparation and it is amazing to see their hard work pay off.
We would also like to congratulate Lane Cole Delu who took away the gold in no-gi (intermediate) after 4 wins and 1 loss, and bronze in the gi, and Susy Ferri for taking away a silver in the gi after three wins and 1 loss. Meesh Hall also took away a silver medal in the no-gi intermediate adult (+165kg) after winning two of her three matches! We would also like to shout out to Lee Harker, who battled through four matches to take away silver in the no-gi adult advanced (-170lbs), missing out on the gold to Izaak Michell, a well known international competitor who has trained with us in the past. Well done team!
Edward McMutrie took away a double gold for his efforts in both gi and no-gi (beginner, -210lbs) with three wins in the no-gi (Joshua Zuccato taking away silver shortly behind him with two wins and one loss in a great result for his competition debut) and a huge five wins in the gi! A huge eight matches for Edward! Blair McGrouther took away a massive three medals for his efforts, with a silver in the gi at -210lbs (3 wins, 1 loss), gold in no gi after two wins and a gold in the absolute (white, masters/seniors). 
Interstate at the WA Italian Club in Perth, Eternal MMA launched their very first Eternal Development Series (EDS) for up and coming Mixed Martial Artists. First up on the card for team Absolute MMA was Danielle Stevens, who fought an aggressive, forward moving grappler in opponent Michala Manning. Danielle used her defensive grappling well against a tough opponent who had made it her mission to put Danielle on the cage and take her down. Defending well against her opponents takedown attempts, Danielle kept her on the outside and continued to land long, straight punches through the bout. Great striking from Danielle, who made solid use of her jab to secure a win via unanimous decision! Congratulations Danielle!
In back to back Absolute MMA bouts, Jake Savic was up next on the card against opponent Dan Molyneux. Jake came in composed, and achieved what he had set out to do, showing off his footwork and using crisp boxing combinations well to set up his take downs, which he did repeatedly throughout the fight. Controlling the fight well on the ground and against the cage, Jake secured a decision victory for his efforts. Well done Jake!
Coach Liam McNeill finished up the card for the Absolute MMA team, against opponent Logan Murray. Liam came out strong, keeping Murray on the outside, and doing significant damage with low kicks and body kicks. Murray went for a take down and ended up fighting against the cage, Liam took his back in the scramble to sink in a rear naked choke in the first three minutes of round one, achieving victory via submission. We always enjoy seeing our coaches showcase their skills, congratulations to Liam on a stellar performance against a game opponent!
Photography: Eternal MMA, Meesh Hall, Joshua Zuccato and Vesper Chun.