Absolute MMA fighter Josh Grove has been training at Absolute MMA Thailand since June this year, and putting in the hard work in the heat of Phuket! On Wednesday, 27th of November he faced off against Franco (Eagle Muay Thai) on the main event of the evening at Bangla Boxing Stadium. After some action packed rounds, Josh took away the title, taking away the belt and becoming “Champion of Bangla”. Congratulations Josh!
On Saturday, Maricarmen “MK” Rubae and Jess Fothergill, two of our Muay Thai students stepped into the ring at “Roots 13: Could you be loved” at the well-known St Kilda Town Hall. Great to have two of our ladies representing on the amateur day show prior to Rebellion Muay Thai, Australia’s premier Muay Thai promotion. Jess was up first for the team on fight 3 of the card, against Christine Bui (8 Blades) in a 3×2 minute match up at 59kg (with elbow pads). Roots is now operating under full Thai rules, with some bouts utilising elbow pads. Jess came out strong using nice defensive work and movement on the outside, but was outworked in the clinch for the first round. Despite the setback of her hair coming loose, she listened well to her corner and kept the fight at range well in the second and third rounds, and managed to control and nullify more of the clinch exchanges, all the while returning kicks consistently to the body and front leg of her opponent. A very close match overall, with consistent pace from two conditioned fighters. With the bout going to the judges, we thought she did enough for a 2-1 victory on the cards, but unfortunately only one of the three judges thought the same, resulting in a very close split decision loss. Given how much she hated clinching at the start of this camp, we are proud of how far she has come in that aspect of her game!
On the later end of the show, MK went to war on fight 13 of the card, with opponent Jessica Williams in a 3×2 minute bout at 54kg. MK started out looking to use her height and range to keep her shorter opponent at bay, landing some good kicks at distance and her straight punches finding their target. Her opponent was strong and pushed forward, initiating a heavy clinch game. In the exchanges on the inside, MK saw some success reversing position and landing some knees of her own but her opponent was strong and managed to finish the majority of the clinch battles in a dominant position while landing more scoring shots. This was the story for most of the fight, with some good offensive and defensive work from both sides. Ultimately it was not enough for MK take the rounds, however we commend her on a great effort against a tough opponent. Plenty to take away from the experience, congratulations to both girls for a great hard fought fight!
Representing for the gym on Australian Fighting Championship (AFC), Lyle “Krusher” Karam (5-0) was matched against Luke Howard (5-3) at welterweight. A great performance from Lyle, he came out strong, controlling the distance and pace well over the three rounds. Getting the finish late in the third round, Lyle remains undefeated, and takes away the win! Congratulations to Lyle on his stellar display of skill.
Fresh out of Grapple Fest last week, Jeremy Skinner of Absolute MMA St Kilda entered Polaris 12 this weekend in back to back competitions! Matched against Eoghan O’Flanagan in a No-Gi 79kg catchweight preliminary bout on the under card, this bout marks Jeremy’s second appearance on Polaris. Jeremy begins by pulling guard, with O’Flanagan making a rolling kimura attempt over the top, Jeremy reading this well to almost catch his opponent in a leg entanglement. O’Flanagan, using the momentum from the kimura attempt finds mount, Jeremy defending well here to force an open guard. With Jeremy now threatening a straight ankle lock, O’Flanagan threatens one in return, Jeremy making use of his superior leg entanglement system to secure an inside heel hook for the win!
Photography: Absolute MMA Thailand, Lyle Karam, W.L Fight Photography.
Written by Joe Boobyer and Emilie Yap.