All posts by Absolute MMA

Last Friday, four of our coaches and fighters closed up the year for the team on Hex Fight Series 20 at Melbourne Pavilion. First up we had the French born Jack Nicola in his fourth professional fight, opening the show against opponent Rohan Pope, and what a start it was. Throwing a devastating right hook to the chin of his opponent, Jack secured the win at the 18 second mark of round one via TKO! A sensational result for Jack, and a great beginning for team Absolute MMA!

The second fight of the night saw Coach Sam Hibberd face off against Juan Lizama, judo black belt from Guam, and make his debut in the Bantamweight division. No stranger to the Hex octagon, Sam put on a dominant performance from the beginning, landing heavy punches and exerting great control on the ground. Ultimately, Lizama was overwhelmed by Sam’s grappling skills, with Sam scoring multiple takedowns before setting up a Japanese neck tie, securing a tight darce choke to get the tap after the two minute mark of round two! Congratulations to Sam on an incredible win via submission!

Bout number four of the night saw Coach Kevin Jousset battle it out in a welterweight match up against a familiar face in Mat Myers (Adrenaline MMA), who he has previously come up against in his amateur career. It was a heated rematch from the two, with the match going the full three rounds. Round one saw Kevin cut his opponent above the eye with elbows on the ground. Using his elite judo skills, Kevin also tossed his opponent from the clinch, using a strong wizzer control on the ground to do damage, switching expertly to a reverse triangle to control his opponent and attack the kimura. Myers did well here, escaping the submission before the end of the round. Round two saw another dominant performance from Kevin, who began the round with an expertly placed trip against the cage, controlling the majority of the contest with his expert grappling skills. The final round began with striking exchanges on the feet, but went to the ground in a scramble, Kevin escaping a RNC to return the fight to standing. With the fight going to the judges, Kevin took away a well-deserved win via unanimous decision. What a fight!

Coach Raja Shippen finished up the night for the team on the co-main event of the evening, going to war against opponent Michael Barber. Round one saw Raja come out aggressive, throwing elbows and knees, and defending well. Back stepping towards the cage walls, Raja got Barber on the front foot to land an expertly placed spinning back elbow and securing the win via TKO in round one! A truly impressive finish from Raja, and for the team, with all four of our fighters taking away wins! We are supremely proud of all of our team, and how hard they have worked to achieve this result. A huge thank you to all of the coaches and team who took the time out to help our team prepare, and to support them in the corner, and to all our students and members who came to cheer for our fighters on the night.

Overseas in Anaheim, California, The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championships spanned four days and it was great to see so many of our students and staff head across the ocean to compete and prove themselves on the mat. Congratulations to the whole Absolute MMA team that competed and put their jiu jitsu on the line! While we are proud of all of our athletes, irrespective of whether or not they took away a medal, we would like to highlight Lisa Boyd for receiving gold at Master 3 (Blue Belt), Daniel Schuardt on taking bronze at Brown Belt, and purple belt Chisaki Akiyama‘s run at Light-Feather, in which she took away a Bronze medal. Chisaki showed beautiful technique in her No-Gi Worlds performance, and she has come so far in her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey. Congratulations Chi!

To all the athletes from Absolute MMA and the rest of the Aussies that made the trip and left their heart on the mats, we salute you. Thank you to everyone that contributes to the training of this wonderful martial art on our mats, and our training partners who make our performances possible!

At the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Jiu-Jitsu made it’s debut as a sport, and we were proud to have a representative from our gym, brown belt Coach Apryl Eppinger as a member of the Phillipines National Team. Apryl has been training tirelessly for this competition in recent months and we are extremely proud of her result, taking away a Bronze medal for her efforts in the 62kg female division! Well done Apryl!

Photography: W.L Fight Photography, Livia Giles.

This week we are excited to run an Ask Me Anything with Coach Livia Giles, BJJ Black Belt, physiotherapist and ADCC 2019 competitor! Each week we will have a new coach take questions from members via our Facebook Members Only group. New to the club? You can join our group here.

Liv is a 3-time BJJ World Champion (brown/purple/blue), World Pro Silver and Bronze Medallist (black) and IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Silver Medallist (black). She is also has worked for the Australian Institute of Sport. Before taking up BJJ, she was the 2003/04 Track Series Australian Cycling Champion and has represented Poland and Australia in rhythmic gymnastics.

Please note that while Livia is a physio, it would inappropriate (and illegal) for her to give advice on injuries or rehab without a consultation. She can still offer general advice though.

Anton Harrison-Kern – I have 2 questions! 1. What is your pre-comp ritual? 2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? And a supplementary question – how can I be less of a loser at match check in time! 😉

1. I warm up well. I usually listen to something that pumps me up. Go over my game plan and try to smile. I like walking on the mat first, and shaking the refs hand first.
2. In 5 years I will still be training and maybe competing, I’ll be coaching, employ a Physio or 2, probably have a family, keep growing Absolute MMA and help other fighters achieve their dreams.

Definitely wear shoes when you are not on the mat. Especially when in the toilet. That’s loser-ish for sure (haha).
Also make sure you have all your gear – rashies, belt and gi that is within the rules ?

Joshua Ber – What are your thoughts on cutting weight/ losing weight for comps?

I’m assuming you’re referring to BJJ? Everyone is different, but I guess it’s good to be as strong as you can in your division, which is why people cut weight.
I think for BJJ it’s very personal. I have competed between 46-60kg, and I personally feel the best when I’m around 53kg. In saying that I usually only cut for Worlds or bigger competition and let my body recover for local competition. I always consult a dietitian to help me when I’m manipulating my weight, be it cutting or bulking.

Jamie Selby-Pham – Your death stare during comp before the match starts – curious if your mindset is focus/ aggression/ visualisation of how you want it to go / other?

iI probably depends what level I’m competing at. At local competitions I usually try out new stuff, and try to relax and have a bit more fun. World champs etc, I’m there to win and nothing else will do. My RBF comes from me being focused and nervous. I don’t mean to look like a psycho, but I often do.
I try to visualise the first grip and where I want the fight to go, but it’s not always possible and you have to be flexible and just feel it out.

Weez Bee – In your opinion, what makes a good culture at a BJJ gym? 🙂

Inclusiveness, friendly people and coaches, welcoming staff and members. Also, creating a training platform for elite athletes and hobbyists alike. I think Absolute MMA does all of this pretty well.

Andy Sales – Knees. Best exercises/conditioning ideas for keeping them in one piece?

Doing the correct techniques is most important. Understanding which way your knees are not meant to bend also. In terms of general conditioning, it’s important to keep strength up – quads, hammies, glutes and proprioception.

Colm Reddy – What percentage of your time would you train what you are already good at versus improving your weaknesses (if you have any)?

I pretty much always work my weaknesses. I generally do my A game rolls around 2 weeks before major competition.
I set goals based on what I need to work on and what is most likely to help me win the next competition, and I drill those things, specific train the positions and then implement them to my A game.

Shamus Tyler – Seeing how many competitors you guys have had coming out of the absolute gym for ADCC and other super fights. What do you think sets your gym apart from the rest? What’s more important gym (coaching) or athlete (individual) to becoming elite?

I think that great coaching and coaches who lead by example is something we are very fortunate to have at Absolute MMA.
We have a structured introduction, fundamentals and advanced program but more than anything we encourage self- directed learning. I think smart training and addressing your weaknesses and being encouraged to ask questions is important.
We are also lucky to have very high level grapplers who train with us from all over the world. I am personally always inspired by my coach/hubby Lachlan Giles, Craig Jones and other teammates doing amazing things on the big stages and never want to be left behind.
I think both coaching and the athlete are important. Not everyone wants to or has the ability to become a world champion. I think a great coach is vital to an athletes success, however self-directed learning, motivation, a good plan and desire to learn and win is even more important.

Hanny Bannany – Y u so smol?

I’m giant. You seen my guns?!

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.  

This week we are excited to run an Ask Me Anything with Coach Simon Carson! Each week we will have a new coach take questions from members via our Facebook Members Only group. New to the club? You can join our group here.

You probably know Simon best from his 256th place finish in the Mongolian Wrestling Nationals. Outside of that, he is also a professional mixed martial artist, a brown belt in BJJ, registered Exercise Scientist, holds a Bachelor of Health Science (Human Movement) and of course he also founded this gym we all call home.

Also a Level 1 Olympic Lifting Coach, Simon has trained Olympians, World Champions in BJJ and State Champion boxers. His expertise is widely recognised, writing for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, and he has been featured on Nova and SEN.

Tyrell Woollcott – Big Boss, have you ever had a different profile picture Simon Carson? ?

This bad boy.

Stefano Seung Jin Lee – How did you get into MMA, and what made you open your own gym?

I got into MMA through first doing Boxing, then BJJ and then wanting to put it together. I started the gym mainly as wanted to make a place that was a really good place for me to train by making a good facility with everything I needed, including great coaches.

Trung Le – What did you learn in your past career that help you built AMMA? And how did you come up with the unique idea of Thailand for a seminar/holiday location gym? Also…what’s next?

Hey Trung, in terms of lessons from my past career in health and fitness, it was really trying to bring the service and facility standard across from that industry to Martial Arts (It was a bit more of a cottage industry 10 years ago). The Thailand gym came up as I liked training there, and it is of course the home of Thai boxing. It does not mean that there is not great coaches here for Thai boxing, but over there you can run with an instructor to student ratio of 3/4 to 1 which means everyone gets pads, and more individual instruction. In terms of whats next, it is just to continue to improve what we are doing already. We would only open another centre when we have more of our own coaches wanting to and ready to take the jump to being partners in a centre

Jack Nicola – After your dominant win in a big show like Battlefield FC…don’t you think you should continue?

Thanks Jack, but I am old and fat. More keen to help you young guys get to the top.

Reon Mahima – 1. What’s your story? 2. Who’s your top 3 MMA fighters? 3. How do you defend a NS/TBag kimura in an MMA rule set? 4. What’s your thoughts on KO’s in sparring? 5. Rank- pad work, roadwork, bag work, shadow, s&c, sparring, drills, situation.

1. My Story – My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloé with webbed feet. My father would womanise; he would drink; he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament…My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon … luge lessons … In the spring, we’d make meat helmets … When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds — pretty standard, really. At the age of 12, I received my first scribe. At the age of 14, a Zoroastrian named Vilmer ritualistically shaved my testicles. When I was 18 I went to evil medical school. At age 25 I took up tap dancing. I wanted to be a quadruple threat: an actor, dancer, singer and mixed martial artist.

2. Top 3 Fighters (Current) DC, Alexander Volkanovski and Rob Whittaker.

3. N/S Kimura Defence – If done correctly, there is no defence (wearing no underwear and Thai boxing shorts).

4. KO’s in sparring should not happen. Only on rare occasions where accidental (harder) contact is made.

5. Ranking of pad work, roadwork, bag work, shadow, s&c, sparring, drills, situation. In my honest opinion, all these things achieve different outcomes so I dont think ranking one more important than the other is the right way to look at it.

Joshua Ber – Who’s your hero and why?

I don’t really have a hero that I look up to, but the fighter I respect the most would be DC. He conducts himself well both in and out the cage and seeks to test himself against the best at any weight.

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.

Last weekend saw the highly anticipated GrappleFest 7 show take place in Liverpool (UK). On bout number seven of the card, Kaya Rudolph faced off against John Moffatt (SBG UK). To start, Kaya clinches, briefly threatening a guillotine with John pulling guard, Kaya then finding a knee slice entry. Kaya shows off his stellar defence here, fending off a single leg take down attempt by John and an attempted heel hook entry. John pulls guard into a single butterfly, with Kaya doing a great job to maintain balance on top. Kaya neutralises the butterfly with a body lock, using the body lock to pass. A wonderful back take from Kaya! Kaya transitions from double hooks into a body triangle, attempting to sink in an RNC. After a brief period of hand fighting with John managing to escape the body triangle, Kaya uses the opportunity to snap the RNC on for the tap at the 2.35 mark. Kaya marks himself as one to watch at just 18 years of age! Congratulations on taking away the win in your debut GrappleFest appearance.

Up against Kade Ruotolo (Atos), Jeremy Paul Skinner had a very dynamic match, with high level jiu-jitsu being showcased. Significant submission attempts started early, with Jeremy finding a 50/50 entry, a similar approach to that of Lachlan Giles at ADCC Worlds 2019. Jeremy showed amazing defence throughout this match, fighting off submission attempt after submission attempt. Unfortunately for Jeremy, Kade neutralised his heel hook attempt, securing a kimura grip to transition into an inverse triangle. After giving up on the inverse triangle, Kade moves to his feet in an attempt to isolate one of Jeremy’s legs, snapping on a tight d’arce. Jeremy turtles, with Kade forcing him into bottom side control. The two then move to standing, with Kade securing an underhook. Jeremy, matching Kade’s athleticism, hits a flying triangle and then proceeds to try and sink in a chin strap. From the flying triangle position, Jeremy forces a leg entanglement to no success. The two continue the fight for dominance with Jeremy in an open guard and Kade on the feet, Kade hitting another d’arce entry to get the tap with three minutes left on the clock. A hard match against a tough opponent for Jeremy, however we commend him on an entertaining performance and great skill in neutralising many submission attempts from an aggressive opponent.

In a under 90kgs match up, brown belt James Walters faced off against Ben Hills (Next Gen). Up against a skilled opponent in Hills, James regrettably got caught early in the match after some back and forth grip fighting between the two contenders, with Hills securing a high wrist guillotine. Despite this not being the result James wanted, we are supremely proud of how he conducted himself in at GrappleFest as a sporting representative for the gym and that he is competing at such an elite level.

The main event for GrappleFest saw Coach Craig Jones in a match for the under 100kg belt against Adam Wardzinski (Checkmat). The match kicks off with Craig securing the clinch off the feet to start, Adam sitting down, and Craig attempting to saddle. Craig sits into a butterfly and then quickly transitions into Z guard. Adam, understanding the danger of Craig’s Z guard, quickly moves to his feet, with Craig then finding the same clinch where the match began. This results in Adam pulling guard, this time with him finding a shin to shin, with Craig diving over the top, looking for a kimura. Craig also uses this movement to lock in an inverse triangle. Adam attempts rolling out to reverse the position, Craig, going with the momentum, closes the space on the triangle for the tap at the 1.20 minute mark! Craig continues his dominance over the competitive scene and takes away the belt!

Continuing the overseas trend, ONE ROUND IRE (Imanari Roll Ecstasy) commenced in Tokyo on Sunday (24/11/2019). Both black belt Coaches Sean Le Gourrierece and Mikael Yahaya competed at this event in a singular, 5 minute round format with overtime rules. Up against the legendary Imanari, Mikael’s match went to overtime. In overtime, the contenders take turns attacking and escaping both starting from 50/50, the fastest escape or submission wins the match, with submissions being superior to escapes. Mikael attacked first, however Imanari eluded his heel hook attempt, escaping in 20 seconds. Despite Mikael not securing the win, an amazing opportunity to compete against a legendary grappler in elite competition for Mikael!

Coach Sean Le Gourrierec had his match-up against Robson Tanno, a Brazilian competitor competing out of INFIGHT Japan. In the five minute round, Sean passed his opponent’s guard twice, transitioning from a wrist lock attempt to a d’arce choke, to a north south choke. Unable to secure the tap despite having the choke on at the 5 minute mark, the referee took the match to overtime. With overtime seeing the two start in 50/50, Tanno popped Sean’s ankle a couple of times, getting the tap 10 seconds in. With Sean’s turn to attack up next, he started in saddle, getting the inside heel hook in 11 seconds- just one second too late! An inspiring performance and amazing battle from Sean.

Written by Emilie Yap and Matt D’Arcy.

Photography: violetxanthephotos, VTG Images and Mikael Yahaya.