The Absolute MMA fight and competition teams finished up April in style, with representatives from the gym going to war both locally and internationally. Choi Sung Wook kicked off the weekend on Kings of Kombat 21 at Springvale Town Hall, in his first striking fight, fighting under K1 rules. His two previous fights have been in Mixed Martial Arts (Path to Hex & ROGUE), with a previous record of 1 win and 1 draw.
With coaches Albert Xavier and Laos Toohey in his corner, Choi put on a dominant performance and was winning up until the final eight seconds of the match, when unfortunately he was caught by his opponent and sustained a loss via KO. Choi did incredibly well in this match and while we’re shattered for him, he’ll come back stronger for the experience. Well done Choi!
Path to Hex 4 on Saturday, 28th of April rolled around and four of our amateur MMA fighters were ready to enter the Hex octagon. First up on the card was Rebecca “The Punisher” Cerra, in her MMA debut. Rebecca lost a very close fight via decision in a match dominated by striking. While not the result she wanted, great to see Rebecca get in the ring after training so hard with her Coach Luke “The Lycan” Catubig and we can’t wait to see what the future brings for her. Congratulations on getting in there and on all your hard work Bec!
Next up from the Absolute MMA team was Mo Ridzwan on fight three of the card. Ridz was fighting well in the first round against a taller opponent with lots of back and forth action. Unfortunately after a strong first round, Ridz got caught with a high kick in the second round and took a significant amount of damage, eventually sustaining a loss via KO on the ground. Lots of to take away and work on, and Ridz will be stronger for experience gained.
Sam Yaghini was scheduled as fight five on the card, which unfortunately could not go ahead as his opponent pulled out the day beforehand due to a car accident.
Wrapping up the day for the team was Jake Savic on bout 8 of the card, facing off against a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Jake defended the take down very well against a skilled opponent, and showed great defense from Jake. This was a great fight to watch and while the fight ended in a loss via decision for Jake, it was a good performance and display of skill. We look forward to seeing Jake take this as a learning experience and coming back stronger for it. Well done Jake!
This weekend also saw our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition team travel to Abu Dhabi to represent Australia in the UAEJJF World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018.
We couldn’t be prouder of our top competitors putting their jiu jitsu on the line and displaying their skills to the world.
Special shout out goes to coach Livia Gluchowska for being the first Australia female black belt to reach the final at this coveted event and bringing home a well fought silver medal.
Coach Lachlan Giles brings home the trophy of Best Black Belt In Oceania for his consistent excellent performances at UAEJJF events through out the year.
Congratulations to all Australian athletes for representing your teams and your country with pride!
Photos: Albert Xavier, Dogs of War Photography, Luke Catubig, Livia Gluchowska & Lachlan Giles