Big congratulations to the lads (Conor, Stef & Steven) who took part in the MMA League in Antrim yesterday.

Our performance goals for Conor – who has competed in the League in Galway and in Limerick this year – were:

• Dominance in the clinch (winning the takedown battle)
• Stay in stand up for a bit
• Positional control on the ground (strikes not necessary)

Our outcome goals were a win and a draw.

Conor’s first fight was a bit of a slugfest. When you’re getting hit, it’s hard to commit to the clinch. It’s actually harder to clinch it up in the League because the shots are directed to the body, so you can’t bob, weave or duck under as easily as you can with headshots.

Conor won the takedown, but got reversed when he lost the underhook and his opponent capitalised on the whizzer attempt. But Conor got his guard back easily and his opponent stood up.

Conor’s first match (5:22, 80.8MB, mpg)

Conor’s second match started furiously, with his opponent running in for a kick. Conor blocked well and got the underhook, but attempted to pull his opponent over him. This is a mistake in the clinch, with underhooks, you should drive into your opponent.

Conor quickly regained guard, and his opponent threw some hectic punches – with little effect. Conor swept his opponent, but landed outside the ring. At the restart, Conor took the back, got mount, and pulled off a tasty armbar to get the win.

Conor’s second match (1:34, 23.6MB, mpg)

Stef was a late addition to the League, we didn’t know he was going to compete until Wednesday, so our goals weren’t as defined. Having said that, Stef has been showing some consistent improvement lately so we were confident he’d perform well.

Stef’s first match was against Tom King, who has previously racked up all wins in the league and would be approaching purple belt standards in Jiu Jitsu. Stef showed some tough stand up and clinch striking, even pulling off a few shoulder throws.

Tom tried to work for a guard submission but Stef landed some punches and stood up, avoiding Tom’s game. As the round went on, Tom’s confidence began to shrink as he knew he couldn’t bring Stef to the ground. A draw to Stef – nice work!

Stef’s first match (5:05, 76.5MB, mpg)

In Stef’s second match he faced a taller, tougher striker who got in some harsh knees before Stef could get the takedown. Stef was rolled into guard where he worked for an armbar.

His opponent slapped Stef’s leg and Stef released – the ref called it as a submission and his opponent was gracious in defeat.

Stef’s second match (2:06, 31.6 MB, mpg)

Steven’s a beginner in Spartan MMA – and my policy is that beginners should start competing early. Competing helps you get over the expectation/pressure of winning all the time. We don’t compete for medals, we compete to discover ourselves.

As a novice, you find it tough to listen to instructions and calm yourself, though Steven stayed quite calm throughout. It’s also given us some aspects to improve on for December’s MMA League.

Steven’s first match (4:32, 68.3MB, mpg)

Steven’s second match (51 seconds, 12.9MB, mpg)

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