NZ Mixed martial Arts

FROM THE EDITOR

 

Auckland BJJNZ No-Gi Comp

Sunday, March 7 2010

 

Results for BJJNZ's no-gi competition, held yesterday at the UT recreation center, will be posted on BJJNS's official website www.bjjnz.com.

 

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Muay Thai Mayhem 2 - Mt Maunganui

Saturday, March 6 2010

 

(11:23pm)

Thai Boxing Association NZ Light Middleweight Title

Fight 11: Luke Miller wins over Johan Voss by unanimous decision.

 

It took until the fifth round to decide who won this fight.  Miller's fearless attacks against a ruthless Voss who saved his best shots in retaliation for being hit or thrown to the ground, was enough to convince the judges that Miller should become the new Thai Boxing Association NZ Light Middleweight champion.

 

(10:47pm)

Thai Boxing Association NZ Light Heavyweight Title

Fight 10: Tommy Wright wins over Phil Larking by TKO - injury stoppage.

 

You can always tell the Full Thai Rules fights by the blood splatters around the ring afterwards.  And in this fight, they were pivotal when, after an awkward stop and start round 1, Larking fiercely took the fight to Wright 1.14mins into round 2.  A barrage of strikes and kicks drove a stunned Wright back into a neutral corner where one of those well-placed elbows cut Larking's head open.  Whether it was a big cut or not didn't matter because it came back to haunt him in round 3. Larking staged another exciting attack and bled all over the place - "Damn those elbows!!"  Too much blood to continue this fight.

 

Wright is the new Thai Boxing Association NZ Light Heavyweight champion.

 

(10.20pm)

Fight 9: Sam Carroll wins over Mark Akuhata by unanimous decision.

 

Oooh, I was not sure where this fight was going to end up. Carroll used his height advantage successfully over Akuhata right up until Akuhata started to counter it with his awesomely accurate front and high kicks.  From there the fight went all over the place: on the ropes, to the ground, through the ropes and back on the ground again.  A close round 1 meant the decision could have gone either way but the judges all agreed that Carroll had done enough to take the trophy.

 

(10.00pm)

Fight 8: Rochelle Stroh wins over Sarah Rankin by unanimous decision.

 

Rochelle Stroh won this fight by grit and determination after what I thought was a round 1 loss.  Rankin, started off as the stronger and more accurate striker and looked as though she would be an easy winner... and then round 2 started.  An inspired Stroh began to string together her strikes, advance more and throw stronger kicks.  Whether it was her opening pace or Stroh's increasing rate, the crowd sensed Rankin needed rallying but even their chants of "Sa-rah!  Sa-rah!" were not enough to ward off Stroh, who only got stronger as round 3 progressed.

 

(9.45pm)

Fight 7: Tom Paoto wins over Bill Mihinui by unanimous decision.

 

Why do people love the heavyweights?  Because they BANG BIG!  Which is why I decided to break away from my laptop and watch round 1 peaking over the top of the mat.  That way you get to feel the ring shake, watch the sweat fly and hear every single strike and kick connect and in this fight there was A LOT of it.  In the end, the more intense, more accurate striking of Paoto wins over Mihinui.

 

Got heaps more to write about this one but Fight 8 has started.

 

 

(9.30pm)

Fight 6: Cohen Ratcliffe wins over Dan Carlyle by unanimous decision.

 

There is nothing better than watching veteran fight legend Terry Hill push fighters around who are way too keen to start a round.  No guff from Terry.  And no pulling punches from either Ratcliffe or Carlyle.  The latter of who starts the fight will super aggression that slows down towards the end of the second round, allowing Carlyle to utilise his clinch and knees.  By round 3, Ratcliffe digs deep and pulls out every inch of bite left in his awesome right hook to inch ahead and get the decision.

 

We're on an interval now.  I'm not sure which is more entertaining, the 'dance off' or the 'best pick up line'.  Either way, both groups of contestants need more practice!

 

(8.55pm)

Fight 5: Tim Godwin wins over Joe Masters when Masters retires from the fight in Round 2.

 

This is a super exciting fight to watch.

 

Godwin starts off with aggressive combos, driving Masters back. Masters instantly fires back and so the fight goes on, back and forth, back and forth.  By round 2 the pace has slowed a little but the striking is still fierce.  Godwin lands a 'camel straw' of a right hook 1.32mins into round 2, rocking Masters, who is still standing but visibly effected by the blow.  Godwin switches up the pace, Masters weathers more storms and in a surprising end to the fight, doesn't come out of the corner for round 3. Surprising because round 2 could have easily gone either way.

 

(8.43pm)

Fight 4: Wendy Talbot wins over Holly Davenport by unanimous decision.

 

Talbot shone in her debut fight, throwing a continual stream of strikes and kicks at Davenport, who had a 10kg weight advantage.  In all fairness, Davenport's chin carried her through the fight where she was able to try her own combos too but with less effect.  Talbot was already in game mode early in round 1 and Davenport found herself playing catch-up for the rest of the fight without being able to get there.

 

Very game fight by both women.

 

(8.22pm)

Fight 3: Ivan Henwood wins over Mike Tolovae by split decision.  Henwood comes to the stare-down so fired up that it is surprising to see Tolovae open fight three with aggressive kicks.  Henwood's adrenaline carries him through round 1, leaving Tolovae to play catch up in round 2.  When he does, I start to worry that Henwood's blown his game too early cause by round 3 he's walking away from opportunities to engage.  Tolovae easily wins round 3 by continually advancing and is left wondering why he lost the fight.

 

IMHO?  Round 1 to Henwood, round 3 to Tolovae, and round 2 is a close one but yes, I gave it to Henwood too.

 

(8.06pm)

Fight 2: Mike Keane wins over Dylan Walker by unanimous decision. Walker was unable to combat Keane who continually advanced all through out the fight.  Keane's dominance in round 1 was a contributing factor to Walker who's cardio wasn't enough to hold off the assault.

 

Crowd support for the Red Dragon Thai Boxing fighters is FIERCE

 

Need cardio?  Check.

 

Need a strong psyche to block out the huge energy behind the local fighters.  Double check on that.  I'm loving this crowd.

 

(7.51pm)

Fight 1: James Simon wins over Nika Heurea by unanimous decision. Simon uses his brutal combos to defeat Heurea, who despite two standing counts in round 2 and another in round 3, makes Simon work for his win, earning Heurea lots of crowd support.

 

 

No rest for the wicked!

 

Hot after landing in Auckland for BJJNZ's no gi comp, I'm in Mt Maunganui for the Red Dragon Promotions, Muay Thai Mayhem 2.

 

Greg Stewart is warming up the crowd, people are filing in, the food smells great and sponsor Demon is cranking out the energy drinks.

 

First fight of the night is an exhibition fight between two Red Dragon fighters, which goes well.  Lots of promise for both fighters even though nobody knows who the heck they are.

 

Now I'm chilling with Adrian, the official timekeeper tonight, wondering if they sell water here - cause it's hot here tonight!

 

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